Rafet Yaşdut, better known by his stage name Rafet El Roman, is a Turkishpop star. He got his name from a fictional character named "El Romano".
Biography
When Rafet's parents moved to Germany in 1970, he lived with his grandmother until he was 7 years old at Uzunköprü. After he finished first grade at primary school in the village, he was sent to his parents in Germany. He completed his education in Germany. He speaks German, English, Italian and Turkish. He started writing his first lyrics at 16 years old. In 1984 he contacted Stefan Somogyfoki from Midnight Entertainment and in 1987 he played the leading role in the Fantasy MovieDefender. At this time he learned a lot about film making and acting. Also, he started to co-direct his own fighting scenes in movies. Everyone could see his talent for acting and the art of making movies. At this time he started to write his first songs Benimlen and Seni Seviyorum. He gave his first stage performances in 1988. In 1992, he was voted "Best of the Year" by Saarlaendischer Rundfunk Radio. In 1994, he was awarded with Media Artist Award in Frankfurt Cultural Festival. In August 1995, he returned to Turkey and released his first solo album. The album Gençliğin Gözyaşı sold over one million having hits like Sorma Neden, Seni Seviyorum and Amerika. In October 1997, he released his second albumEn Güzel Günler Senin Olsun. In 1998, he released his first solo album in Europe. In 1998, he played in the film Propaganda with major stars of the Turkish cinema history such as Kemal Sunal and Metin Akpınar. In May 1999, he had a huge success with his third albumHayat Hüzünlü. In 2000, Rafet El Roman vocalized the song Bir Gol Daha with Mehmet Ali Erbil for the Turkey national football team's Euro 2000 campaign. In 2000, he was the principal actor in the cinema film Offside with co-star Müjde Ar. In 2001, with his own lyrics and song, he sang a duet with Aşkın Nur Yengi "Peşindeyim". He released the fourth album Hanimeli in January 2001 and his fifth album 5 Nr. Aşk in April 2002. He released his 6th album, Sürgün, in the summer of 2004 and this album sold the best. The album had been one of the favorite albums of 2004 with many hit songs. In summer 2005, he released the seventh album Kalbimin Sultanı in honour of his 10th Year. The album became the top seller after initial release. He received the MÜ-YAP "Golden Butterfly", POPSAV "The Most Successful Pop Singer of the Year" awards. In 2006 summer, he released the album Gönül Yarası. Rafet El Roman aims to introduce new names to the music market with his music production company "RER" established in 2000. Also, it is among the greatest desires of Rafet El Roman to be a scenarist and director of his own film.
Personal life
He has two daughters with former wife, beauty contest winner Tuğba Altıntop. The couple divorced in 2003. They received wide interest in the media with the custody battle over their daughters. He also has a son with his former partner Yeşim Eryıldız. In 2014, he married his second wife Ceren Kaplakarslan in Germany. The two got divorced in August 2017.
