Croatian hip hop
|
---|
Stylistic origins
| Hip hop
,
urban
,
dance-pop
,
comedy hip hop
,
trap
,
alternative rock
,
drill
,
folk-pop
|
---|
Cultural origins
| Mid to late-1990s, Croatia
|
---|
Typical instruments
| Turntable
,
synthesizer
,
rapping
,
drum machine
,
sampler
,
guitar
|
---|
Derivative forms
| West Coast hip hop
,
East Coast hip hop
|
---|
|
Drum and bass
,
dubstep
|
Croatian hip hop
[1]
is a
genre of music
, and a culture that covers a variety of styles of
hip hop music
made in
Croatia
. Croatian hip hop was originally influenced by the
American hip hop scene
and introduced to Croatia in the mid-1990s. Croatian hip hop, particularly that originating from
Rijeka
and
Zagreb
in the 1990s, was mainly concentrated on social issues due to the corruptive system of government at the time. In the 2000s, Croatian hip hop started becoming more mainstream and it spread to
Split
developing its own hip hop style.
Origins
[
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]
During the 1980s in
Croatia
and
Yugoslavia
, there was a mainstream surge of rock music called
new wave
which mostly suppressed other types of music from the mainstream.
Electro-pop
bands like
Denis & Denis
and
funk
musicians such as
Dino Dvornik
were unique at the time. It was Dino Dvornik that in 1989 launched his first album and started a revolution of
electronic music
in Yugoslavia.
In the middle of the 1980s in
Rijeka
emerged the first Croatian rapper
MC Buffalo
who released the first and only
hip hop
album in
Yugoslavia
.
[2]
During that time in
Zagreb
Slavin Balen formed a radio show that played hip hop music called
Rap Attack.
Development of the style in the 1990s
[
edit
]
In 1992
Ugly Leaders
released the first
Croatian
hip hop album:
Channel Is Deep & Beech
. They were censored from most
radio stations
due to they hard and vulgar lyrics.
[3]
The same year
MC Buffalo & Maderfa'N'kerz
released their debut album
Made in Rijeka
, including a track titled
Moja Domovnica
, a parody of
Moja domovina
that was banned in Croatia.
Zagreb-based radio station
Radio 101
launched a show called
Blackout Project
in 1993, which popularized hip-hop. alongside
Rap Attack
.
In 1997, the Croatian rap group from Zagreb called
Tram 11
launched its single "Croatian giants" (Hrvatski Velikani) which was the first rap song to hit #1 on Croatian music top-lists.
[4]
In the late 1990s rappers emerged such as
Stoka
,
General Woo
,
Target
,
The Beat Fleet
band, DJ Knockout Renman, Drill Skillz etc. The
Split
-based band The Beet Fleet released their first album "Ping-Pong" in 1997, which was unofficially the first complete hip-hop/rap album in Croatia.
Croatian hip hop thematised social problems caused by the economic downturn and perceived government corruption. The 1990s saw a high point in the popularity of Croatian hip-hop, but it was less pronounced than that of new wave in the previous decade.
[
needs update
]
Modern-day Croatian hip hop
[
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]
By the end of the 1990s, the electronic/dance music in Croatia suffered its demise and the
Croatian popular music
started dominating the music scene.
In the early 2000s,
Bosniak
rapper
Edo Maajka
launched his first album and became an instant hit in Croatia. It was then when rap music started becoming more mainstream. In 2004, rap artist
Shorty
released his album
1,68
and his hit single "Come to Vinkovci" dominated the Croatian music charts. The Beet Fleet also managed to enter the mainstream. Their innovative experimental rapping style mixed with
Dalmatian
mentality became a household name not only in Croatia but also in
Serbia
and
Bosnia and Herzegovina
.
[5]
In 2011, another Split-based hip hop band called "Dje?aci" released their second album called "The truth" which made them one of the most popular bands in Croatia. They also gained popularity in the neighbouring countries.
[
needs update
]
In the mid-2010's appears wave of
trap music
, especially led by groups
High5
and
KUKU$
, who them many often cite as pioneers of the genre itself in Croatia.
[6]
The most notable artists in that era of 2010s and 2020s are:
Vojko V
,
BUNTAI
,
Gr?e
,
30zona
,
Dino Blunt
,
z++
,
Krank?vester
,
TTM
,
Bore Balboa
,
Podo?njaci
and
Baks
, as well as members of the KUKU$ itself with their solo careers:
Hiljson Mandela
and
Goca R.I.P
.
References
[
edit
]