WWW.GIPSY.CZ
Gipsy.cz exploded on the Czech music scene and the borders between world music, gypsy music, hip hop and pop were broken for the first time here this year. Radoslav Banga, aka Gipsy, was born in Prague where he lived as a street kid from the age of 13, when he got in touch with hip-hop and rap. After working with local bands like Syndrom Snopp he developed his style of Romano hip-hop, combining Roma rhythms and language with the 200bpm music played by Balkan brass bands. In partnership with top Czech gypsy "primas" (violin maestro) Vojta Lavicka (ex: Alom, Deep Sweden..), and two young brothers Petr Surmaj (gt, accordion) & Jan Surmaj (double bass, up-right bass) he made a breakthrough as Gipsy.cz. Gipsy has colaborated and performed with various well-known artists. He has played as a guest with the Boban Markovic Orkestar, shared the stage with GZA, played the main Czech festivals, the Karne¬val der Kulturen in Berlin and several concerts in Berlin's Kaffee Burger. In addition, he is a regular guest on Radio Multikulti/Funkhaus Europa.

Mondomix magazine referred to him as a new talent about to be discovered for the wider public. In 2006 Gipsy was nominated by academy of Popular Music at the Angel Awards 2005 (the Czech version of The Grammy Awards) for the Best Album in Hip-Hop & R´n´B category. In the following year the band Gipsy.cz recieved two nominations: for the Best Album in the World Music category and as a Best New Artist. He got the latter one. In the spring this year, the band shall set off to the European concert tour visiting Austria, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Hungary and Germany among others. London foundation CM, which widely cooperates with the band, prepared guest performance of the band in the British Brighton, London club the Social and Notting Hill Carnival last year; currently it organizes other interesting concerts. Gipsy.cz will play on Glastonbury festival, among others. In the new album Romano Hip Hop (first regular CD of Gipsy.cz project) you can find rapper's resentfulness, Romany musicality and knowledge of finesse of pop skill. Thus the new album brings the energetic synthesis of everything, which the talented musician with his co-players experienced and went through on their way through music and life.

Gipsy gradually find their own soapbox, new sound and space, which they remelt into the souped-up album. "We want to set the sound! But I know that there are several people abroad, who make something similar. But we are original in leaving more space for the real traditional music and at the same time we are still in hip-hop..." - says Gipsy about the new sound of his project and at the same time he answers, how the Romanies react to that - "Old Romanies welcome the new album, since it contains the verses, which are not already used. The whole album brushes up something, which most young Romanies today even do not know. We play traditionally, although in modern manner. These are the procedures we set. And here we have the advantage of "traditionality." Title song Romano Hip Hop was chosen as a "Song of the year" by readers of Czech music magazine Filter. The introductory composition of the CD Romano Hip Hop has been in the first song of the official Czech radio chart IFPI in April 2007 and also appeared in the sales chart IFPI (8th position). – absolutely best postions ever reached by world music singer or band in Czech Republic. The recording Romano Hip Hop is successful abroad, too. At present it occupies the 8th position in the World Music Charts Europe. In March this year, the song Jednou (Once) of this album has appeared on the compilation Gypsy Groove of the famous American label Putumayo.

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Radio stations play the hit Romano Hip Hop again and again, but never mind! It is a matter of principle to jump in the black & white crowd right at the concert. The band switches between the Romani tradition and masterly rap in a moment, communicating with the audience easily, strays into chanson, jazz ballads and Romani pop music. It is a small dynamic pro-show and the band goes with rhythm like hell! It is always a miracle when someone as talented as them starts their path into the world…“ Reflex, Petra Konrádová, Apríl 5th, 2007 „…Thanks to the unique attitude, Gipsy manages something unheard of – to create a completely new, original and functioning genre. We can say that the discovery of the year is not only Radoslav Banga as an individual artist, but Romano Hip Hop as a brand new music genre. A thing like this happens only very rarely nowadays and this is one of the reasons why Gipsy and their unique interpretation of world music deserve the Anděl award…“

iDnes, Ondřej Bezr, March 15th, 2007 „…Gipsy.cz is a revelation of the Czech music scene. Rap harshness, intermingling with Romani melancholy makes the Romano Hip Hop album an event of the season. Gipsy.cz is definitely an original and successful attempt to join two music worlds, which at heart have a lot in common…“ iDNES.cz, Ondřej Bezr, November 9th, 2006 Gipsy Rising Romany hip hop star achieves mainstream success By Josh Barajas Gipsy.cz fuses a pop, Romany and hip hop sound “A lot of Gypsies hate me for this, but I’m not playing for one side.” --Radoslav “Gipsy” Banga, Romany rapper One Wednesday night back in March, the Retro Music Hall, a club in Praha 2, unveiled a new breed of hip hop gathering previously unknown to the Czech Republic. It did not have the typical trappings of a trendy nightlife hangout. The smoke was not thick enough. For some time, the bartenders stood with folded arms. There were children running up and down the stairs to kill time. While one table hosted an older couple, another was occupied by a family of six. Along with the absence of urban wear such as hoodies, sweat bands, and baggy jeans, the night showed hip hop in a new light: a family affair. The main attraction:

Romany rapper Radoslav “Gipsy” Banga, 23. “I’m a new fan myself,” Elisia Cerva, 29, said shyly, sitting with her husband at the table furthest from the crowd. She explained that her curiosity was piqued when she saw one of Gipsy’s performances on television. She was not alone. The top floor of Retro was filled with spectators that pulled up chairs or stood at the rails to watch Gipsy and the undulating crowd on the dance floor below. Most cited the same curiosity that led them there that night, when white Czech faces far outnumbered those of Romany fans. “Gipsy talks to and about everyone,” James Vanek, 12, said, specifically pointing to the table behind them with two elderly women, “he sings for the Czech people.” Vanek, who was joined by his two brothers, John, 15, and Michael, 21, was emphasizing Gipsy’s multi-generational and multi-ethnic appeal. Hip hop does not dominate the commercial airwaves in the Czech Republic as it does in the Western countries, but Gipsy.cz manages the great feat of dragging an underground scene into the spotlight with a Roma at its helm. Gipsy has achieved a unique position as a Roma community who has garnered mass popularity against the background of discrimination.. Roma, who account for some two percent of the 10.2 million people living in the Czech Republic, have an unemployment rate reaches rates of up to 90 percent and frequently live in impoverished conditions.

“The lyrics alone remind us of our discrimination against Gypsies and that they have rights, too,” Pisan Friedl, 40, said sitting at a table on the top floor of Retro. Gipsy, on his last album, Ya Favourite CD Rom, opens with a tale of Romanis stealing a car, confronting the stereotype that all Roma steal. But Gipsy explains that the criticism is not as simple as it might seem. “A lot of Gypsies hate me for this, but I’m not playing for one side,” he said in an e-mail interview. “We all have made mistakes. I’m critical of the whole world because it is going through some deep troubles. We behave like stupid animals in the jungle.” Instead of adopting the aggressive style of old school hip hop to address the social issues in his music, Gipsy's approach is infused with irony and on-stage antics for his performances. He strutted and danced across the stage at Retro with the frenetic mechanical movements of a wind-up toy. He requested a man’s hat, did a brief jig, and gratefully returned it. He adorned a slightly overweight teen with flowers, and she could not stop covering her mouth in disbelief.

“My music is both serious and fun in one piece,” Gipsy said, “I believe that the point must be radical and also funny. That way, people can’t judge you. They smile, but feel that there is something deeper.” For his latest album released last fall, Romano Hip Hop, he recruited new Romany musicians to form Gipsy.cz, adding violinist Vojta Lavicka and brothers Petr Surmaj on the accordion and Jan Surmaj on the double bass/up-right bass to shape a sound that mixes hip hop, Romany traditional music and pop. Gipsy.cz won an Angel Award, the Czech equivalent to the Grammy, for Discovery of the Year. The album was also successful abroad, filling the 13th spot on the World Music Charts of Europe. Gipsy.cz even vied in March for a chance to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest that helped past winners like ABBA and Celine Dion to reach global appeal. Just competing in the contest as a Roma catapults Gipsy into the mainstream and presents a new Roma image of success far removed from the negative one so commonly whispered about, that is, Roma as abusers of the social welfare system. Back at Retro, Gipsy walked onto the stage in Retro without preamble. He donned a simple striped, collared shirt and jeans. He caught the audience offguard and the applause was delayed, but it quickly escalated. The oldest Vanek brother yelled to say one more thing. “Compared to 50 Cent, Gipsy is better because he speaks about what people care about and not about guns, money, and expensive cars,” Michael Vanek said right before he joined his brothers on the dance floor.

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