Hip-hop subculture emerged in theCzech Republic after theVelvet Revolution in 1989.[1] Since then, various groups, clubs, and festivals have appeared across the country. Notable hip-hop artists includeChaozz,Gipsy.cz,Naše Věc,Prago Union,Řezník, andDJ Wich.[2]
Hip-hop culture, orrapping as a vocal component of hip-hop, has been developing inCzechoslovakia since the 1980s, mainly in large cities such asPrague,Brno, andPlzeň.[3] The first instance of what can be called hip-hop in the country is attributed toLesík Hajdovský and his band Manželé, with their 1985 hit song "Jižák".[3] The track gained renewed popularity in the mid-1990s, when it was remixed by the hip-hop groupPeneři strýčka Homeboye.[3]
Among early adopters of the genre were Piráti, a band fromHradec Králové, active from 1988 to 1991, who combined hip-hop withrock.[4] Following the 1989Velvet Revolution, the Prague-based award-winning groupJ.A.R. performed a blend of hip-hop, rock, andfunk, remaining active to the present day.[5] The trioRapmasters, active for a decade starting in 1989, fused hip-hop withdance,[6] releasing five studio albums during their career. The groupWWW issued their first demo in 1993, and they have remained active to this day.[7]
One of the most popular groups of the genre areChaozz, active from 1995 until 2002 and again since 2017,[8] who spun off the duoPrago Union in 2002.[9] The groupSyndrom Snopp formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2006. The duoIndy & Wich formed in 1998 and remained active until 2006, putting out two studio albums.[10] 1998 also saw the creation ofPio Squad, a hip-hop group based in the city ofJihlava.Naše Věc, a group based inBrno, released two studio albums between 1997 and 2006. The eastern city ofZlín saw the birth ofDeFuckTo, active from 1999 to 2016.[11]
The Prague-based hip-hop duoSupercrooo formed in 2004 and released several albums before disbanding in 2007.[12] 2004 witnessed the formation of theRomani hip-hop groupGipsy.cz, active to the present, as well as initial activity by the rapperŘezník.
