Maxim Behar: People are Bulgaria’s Greatest Asset

Maxim Behar talks about his musical projects on the show "Bulgaria Morning" on Bulgaria ON AIR TV, hosted by Viktor Dremsizov.

Host(Viktor Dremsizov): The long-awaited music video for the hit song "Runaway" by PR expert Maxim Behar is now out. The music project conveys motivating and powerful messages for personal growth and gathered hundreds of views within minutes of its release. But more about his second project, we will learn from the author, the PR expert Maxim Behar, who is with me now. Hello!

Maxim Behar: Good morning! Hello!

Host: Are you running away from something, Mr. Behar? "Runaway" is such a motivational piece, and you rap so well in your second project.

Maxim: Thank you very much! I'm running away from my comfort zone. And I want to urge everyone, especially young people, to step out of the box a bit. If not running, at least move away from your comfort zone to succeed. That's actually the central message of this song, "Runaway". I'm particularly proud that last time we presented the previous song, "PR We Are," again here in the Bulgaria ON AIR studio, and now, for the first time, we're presenting the video. I think it turned out well because for the second time in a row, we premiered the song in New York, and now "Runaway" is number one on the Hot21 chart, which is the best American R&B radio station. It's been in first place for three weeks now, I believe. I'm not a professional performer, but I teamed up and became friends with two other great musicians – Bulgarian rapper Misho Shamara, also known as Big Sha and his son Lil Sha, and Sara Haralson, who had four Grammy nominations last year. We formed a great team, the four of us, and I'm very pleased that this song turned out so well.

Host: Why did you decide to send a message with this song – you sing or, more precisely, rap, "Run away! Make your own way. You can follow your dreams, but there's a price to pay"? That's one of the messages you deliver with this song.

Maxim: Yes, always. One of my core principles – in business and in life – that I've always held is that if your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough. And I want to tell those listening to the song that you have to follow your dreams, and it comes with a price – there may be failures, there may be successes, there may be sacrifices. It's very complex for rap music – I get that. But, you know, a few months ago, I was in America, having dinner with Richard Bona, a famous bassist who's played with Eric Clapton and many R&B bands. Richard showed me statistics that clearly showed that rap music listeners in America outnumber the listeners of any other genre – country, Taylor Swift, rock, and everything else. That is, rap is the most listened-to music now – I'm talking about America, which was my target market. I hope it will also be well-received in Bulgaria, of course. And I decided that since young people listen to it, I want to tell them to run away from whatever brings them comfort so they can succeed.

Host: You sing it – "Run away from your comfort zone."

Maxim: Yes, that's how the song even ends. Because this generation we call Gen Z, whom I deeply respect since I work with them every day; thank God, of course, they're not used to hardships. They haven't had any problems during their whole lives – 20-25 years – they haven't experienced a crisis. There wasn't a fuel shortage; stores weren't empty. Thankfully, they lived in wonderful conditions. And I want to tell them: "It's great that you haven't had problems, but you must change in order to succeed." Otherwise, you'll get too comfortable and think, "Oh, life is so great! Life must have always been problem-free. What are my parents talking about – crises, inflation, hyperinflation, coupon systems, and all that?" So, I'm telling them to make a change – it may come with a price, with difficulties and problems, but making that change will bring them experience. It might not always be better; they might face a failure or two, but they'll gain experience.

Host: Are you taking a civic stance? There's a line in the lyrics: "Fake news control the narratives with the media; Nowadays, you can't even trust Wikipedia."

Maxim: Yes, because it's a message and a warning everyone knows, of course.

Host: Do you want to awaken the young, encourage them to be more civically active, and encourage them to believe in themselves more? As you say, "There's no left or right—the important thing is to keep going."

Maxim: And we're all human. Yes, I want to wake them up. If they accept this message I'm sending them, I'm telling them not to worry; fake news will always be there, at least in the foreseeable future. However, we must have the ability to choose the most accurate information after checking. I understand this concept is very complex for a rap song. I wrote the lyrics, and Lil Sha, Misho Shamara's son, who just turned 21 last week in Bulgaria, added some more American phrases to the lyrics, after which I revised it again, and this process continued until we finally shook hands. Lil Sha, at 21, and I, at my age, met in the middle, decided that the message was good, and we made the song.

Host: You have one song – "PR We Are," the first one, and now this second one. Should we expect a third?

Maxim: There's a really good remix of "PR We Are," which is playing in many American clubs. I hear it from time to time in Bulgarian clubs, too.

Host: Isn't that strange since this song is about your work in PR? It's almost like an autobiographical song rather than something to listen to in a club. But apparently, it works.

Maxim: That's why we made the remix. It's not an autobiographical song. It's a song about the public relations business, which I'm trying to make more accessible to people who don't know what it is – working with famous people, going to beach bars, all those things we sang about.

Host: "You need a PR; my name is Behar."

Maxim: That line was by chance. At the recording studio, as I had written the lyrics in Bulgarian, Lil Sha suggested we make the song in English since no one would listen to it in Bulgarian, especially as it's rap. I told him I didn't have English lyrics, but he said I should dictate to him, and he'd write it down. He pulled out his phone and asked me for a word that rhymes with "PR." I jokingly said, "Behar," and he approved, and that's how we made it. "My name is Behar; you need a PR." It just happened by accident. I was against it, but Misho Shamara told me that rappers love singing about themselves – you listen to 50 Cent, Eminem, and all the others.

Host: Rap artists often include personal stories in their songs.

Maxim: I told them they know rap, and I know lyrics. And so we recorded the song, then made the remix. I'd especially like to highlight the participation of Sara Haralson, who I discovered by chance in a bar in Sofia.

Host: She's that soft voice we need – those tender vocals.

Maxim: Yes, she gives the song a break and a completely different sound. I didn't know who she was, and she didn't know me. We exchanged messages on Facebook – "Nice to meet you." At one point, I asked her name, looked her up on Google, and was impressed – from Nashville, a country singer with Grammy nominations. I told her I needed a voice for about 15 seconds, and she asked me to send her the song. Three minutes later, she was in. She was part of the remix, then part of "Runaway." And now I hope she'll participate in our next song, which we recorded just three days ago. Yesterday morning, I drove Misho Shamara and Lil Sha to the airport. Even when I email them, I sign as "Max Sha." As we worked together, it turned into a friendship and a really good collaboration.

Host: You're gathering songs for an album, Mr. Behar.

Maxim: Yes, by the end of the year. I've written lyrics for three more songs, two of which already have music by Lil Sha. I've spent my whole life doing this – this year marks 30 years since we founded our public relations company, not to mention the 15-16 years in journalism – practically my entire life has been about sending messages – books, articles – hundreds of thousands. At one point, I realized that through music, you can also deliver successful messages, and they can reach many more people. Because music has no boundaries – even if you don't understand the language, you understand the music. You'll be extremely surprised by the new song and video clip we recorded.

Host: Is it also in English?

Maxim: Yes, it's in English.

Host: Why are we putting Bulgarian on the back burner, even though you write the lyrics in Bulgarian, and then Lil Sha translates them?

Maxim: That was only with the first song. I didn't realize that Bulgaria is a small market, and the people in Bulgaria who listen to rap and are involved in this music understand English perfectly. Moreover, in Bulgaria, I hardly know anyone who doesn't know English well enough to understand a song. At the same time, I have a huge listenership, especially for "PR We Are," in Belgium, Turkey, for some reason in Indonesia, and India – these are large countries. When you're on Spotify, SoundCloud, Apple Music – all of our songs are there – and YouTube, suddenly someone in India – and that's a billion and a half people – automatically brings you another 300,000 likes.

Host: And not to mention what happens after the song is shared.

Maxim: If it were in Bulgarian, no one would understand anything. That's why, for the first time, I'll reveal what this new song is about – it has one single theme: Bulgaria. The song is about Bulgaria, "Bulgaria" is even in the title, and that's all I'll say for now.

Host: Will Sara also participate in the third song?

Maxim: I have yet to speak to Sara. She's not in America at the moment; she's in Europe. But yes, I definitely want to invite her. I hope she agrees to sing a song that is about my country, which I want to make more popular in America. When someone enters Spotify or Apple Music and searches for "Bulgaria," I want this song to appear along with everything else. I think it's much better than the previous two, but we'll see. The video turned out really well.

Host: Thank you so much, Mr. Behar, for motivating young people, for not stopping, and for showing that while we may need to run away from our fears and prejudices, we should never run away from our dreams. Isn't that right?

Maxim: In my new song, part of the lyrics say that people in Bulgaria are its "greatest asset" – because they greet the sunset with a smile. When a person greets the sunset with a smile, it means they've had a good day. Otherwise, if you're tired, angry, irritated by all kinds of things – what sunset? You just go home and open a beer. And that's why I really want these positive messages – that life is good, that you need to be honest, honorable, and work well – for young people to understand them. Moreover, I've never seen such smart, intelligent, positive young people gathered in one place as the young people in Bulgaria.

Host: Wonderful conclusion! Thank you very much!

Maxim: Thank you, too!

Watch the full interview here.