The Message

Hip, Hot and Proud to be Roma: Rappers from a Czech minority gain majority appeal with a fusion of sounds and introspective lyrics.



*Just a note: the article is on Transitions Online; after a short bit, the article will get archived and you will have to pay a fee to view the article.

The Thompson Hits The Fan

Marko Perkovic (Thompson) is hitting Sarajevo, and the covers of two Bosnian weeklies (Dani and Slobodna Bosna).

For more on Thompson, the controversy, and some great blogging on Balkan culture and politics check out the Illyrian Gazette

The tunes of the Balkans

Found this article over at Yakima's.

Excerpts:

Balkanika Music Television is using pop-folk music — a uniquely
post-Communist Balkan blend of Western pop, Euro- dance, traditional folk and
eastern or Turkish styles — to create a sort of cultural unity as well as a
common music market.

So far, the toughest nut for Balkanika to crack has been Croatia. That is not
because of any lack of enthusiasm for pop-folk — or just "folk" as it is called
in the former Yugoslavia — but because of national feelings, said Alen Borbas,
Balkanika's representative in Croatia and Bosnia. Croatian channels, Borbas
said, won't show pop-folk videos because the genre is too closely associated
with Serbia, whose pop-folk industry is the most developed in the
Balkans.
"People say that if you listen to pop- folk, you are not a Croatian
patriot"Still, he said, he can see attitudes changing: "Many people here listen
to pop-folk, even the former soldiers."