Rigels rajku biography books
Albanian rap and hyper-masculinity
Albanian rap and hyper-masculinity | openDemocracy DONATE Albanian rap and hyper-masculinity Albanian rap songs are hugely popular in Albania, Kosova and Macedonia, shaping mainstream ideas of masculinity. But will a new generation of rappers pose a challenge to these norms? Adem Ferizaj 14 February Noizy - Midis Tirone (O cial Video HD) “‘Cuz your face is white, like co, like co, like cocaina,” three of my cousins, girls aged around 18, sang in Albanian while dancing and filming themselves for Snapchat last year. On the video, they also put on red lipstick in front of the mirror in their apartment in Peja, a city in the west of Kosova, in order to get ready for another party night in August The song the three were listening to, Cocaina by Albanian rapper Mozzik, was the summer hit of in Kosova, 1/8 Albanian rap and hyper-masculinity | openDemocracy and the neighbouring Albanian society. It has more than 32 million views on YouTube, which means that the song has been clicked six times more than the actual number of Albanians living in Albania, Kosova and Macedonia. What Mozzik achieved with his Cocaina is exceptional but not unusual in the Albanian rap scene. Even in , he was not the only one getting more than 20 million views with a YouTube clip. Another example is Flori Mumajesi’s Beautiful featuring Ledri Vula or Ghetto Geasy’s Ajo (She) featuring Majk. The latter two have nearly 40 million views on their summer hit Sjena mo (No longer together). Given the small Albanian population of the region, around 5 million, these numbers are tremendous. Albanian rap is omnipresent in the albanosphere – Albania, Kosova, Macedonia, Albanian minorities in neighbouring countries and the diaspora. Whether you buy this music or not, the hits are unavoidable: one hears them on bus journeys inside Kosova, in bars, cafés, or nightclubs in the region, or while walking through one of the Kosovar Ottoman old city centres. Being so deeply ingrai
Noizy
In , Rajku released his first mixtape, Most Wanted. The second one, Living Your Dream, came out in In , he recorded the third one, Do You Remember Me. In , the artist presented his second studio LP, The Leader. It was also recorded together with OTR. The album became popular but didn’t make it into the charts. In fact, none of the studio albums recorded by Noizy so far managed to chart. This didn’t stop them from becoming popular on the internet. Noizy’s third studio album, The Hardest in the Market, came out in It featured such songs as “Ça I Bonet Vetes”, “Back It Up”, “3 Fletshat”, “Ole”, “Boja Me Dore”, “Cunat E Nates”, “Late Night”, “Sa Shume Te Du”, “Betta Den Dem”, and “Ke Ngju Per Mu”.
The fourth LP came out in Rigels called it Zin City. The album became popular in both London and Albania. The musician works hard recording non-album singles. In fact, they are the ones bringing him the popularity. In , he released "Ma shumë se Dollar", "The Baddest", and "Grande". A year later, he presented "Mitten in Frankfurt". The song made it to the 78th spot of the Swiss Hitparade. The single “Toto” recorded together with RAF Camora climbed to the second spot of Austria’s rap chart, settled on the 4th position of the Swiss chart, and reached the 18th spot of the German chart. In and , Rigels appeared in several movies. He worked with All Access Movie and ZORI Film. In , together with Enca Haxhia, the musician recorded “Bow Down”. The song became popular in many European countries. Fans from all over the world wished to book Noizy for their events. The artist continues recording new songs and performs live.
Hip Hop around the World [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia ,
Citation preview
Hip Hop around the World When Rigels Rajku arrived in South London as a year-old in the s he was escaping life on the fringes of a warzone. The Kosovan War was in full swing and, even though Albania was not directly participating, being so close to the deadly conflict had an impact on Rajku - better known by his stage name Noizy - and his family. “We were coming from a rough situation,” the renowned rapper told the Express in an exclusive interview. ”The whole year I was hearing gunshots and grenades. Kids were literally finding guns in the bushes. It was just horrible news everywhere.” In search of a safer environment, Noizy and his family hopped in a car and drove for six hours until they reached France where they boarded a train to their new home of Woolwich, south London. However, the situation in the UK was not what the family had anticipated. READ MORE Beautiful European country with barely any tourists 'much cheaper than Greece' “[There were no] guns and grenades on the floor, but [south London] was not safe,” he explained. “I was afraid to walk home from school without being stopped by gangs trying to rob my nice shoes or the small chain I got for my birthday. If you fought back you’d get hurt real bad.” A shy boy who didn’t speak English, Noizy found even the mild-mannered kids in the dinner hall had a problem with his presence. “Don’t sit here you’re a refugee, go back to your country we don’t want you here,” they told him when he tried to join their table with his lunch tray. Faced with this hostility Noizy claims he had little choice but to develop a tougher exterior and harsher outlook. “Can I be real?” he asked with a sigh. “The only way to survive in England is by being strong. The sad truth is there are so many cultures and races that it's al
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Hip Hop around the World An Encyclopedia
VOLUMES I and II: A-Z
Melissa Ursula Dawn Goldsmith and Anthony J. Fonseca, Editors
Copyright © by ABC-CLIO, LLC All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Goldsmith, Melissa Ursula Dawn, editor. | Fonseca, Anthony J., editor. Title: Hip hop around the world : an encyclopedia / Melissa Ursula Dawn Goldsmith and Anthony J. Fonseca, editors. Description: Santa Barbara, California : Greenwood, [] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN (print) | LCCN (ebook) | ISBN (ebook) | ISBN (hardcover : set : acid-free paper) | ISBN (hardcover : vol. 1 : acid-free paper) | ISBN (hardcover : vol. 2 : acid-free paper) Subjects: LCSH: Rap (Music)—Encyclopedias. | Hip-hop—Encyclopedias. Classification: LCC MLR27 (ebook) | LCC MLR27 H56 (print) | DDC —dc23 LC record available at ISBN: (set) (vol. 1) (vol. 2) (ebook) 23 22 21 20 19 1 2 3 4 5 This book is also available as an eBook. Greenwood An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC ABC-CLIO, LLC Cremona Drive, P.O. Box Santa Barbara, California - www.abc-clio.com This book is printed on acid-f ree paper Manufactured in the United States of America
In memory of Duane Robinson, our wonderful neighbor and friend. We w ill miss your smile. The Academy of M usic was lucky to have had you all those years.
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Contents
List of Entries ix Guide to Related Topics xvii Preface xxv Acknowledgments xxix Introduction xxxi Chronology xxxvii ‘I fled Albania for a better life but had to form a gang as London was way more dangerous'