Edo Maajka
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Edo Maajka | |
|---|---|
 Promo shot for his new 2008 album
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Edin Osmić |
| Also known as | Mc Berbo, Glavonja, Edo Mati, Maajkara, |
| Born |  December 22, 1978 Brcko,SR Bosnia,Yugoslavia |
| Genre(s) | Bosnian hip-hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, songwriter |
| Years active | 1992 - 1996: involved;1996 - present: still active |
| Label(s) | Fmjam, Menart |
| Associated acts | Frenkie,HZA,Disciplinska Komisija |
Edo Maajka (born as Edin Osmić on December 22, 1978 in Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina, then Yugoslavia) is a famous Bosnian rapper from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Edin's stage name "Edo Maajka" means "Edo the Mother".
Contents |
[edit] Beginnings
Edin was born and raised in Brčko where he finished his elementary schooling. In 1992 when the Bosnian war started, Edo left his homeland Bosnia and went to Croatia. He settled in Zagreb and started attending secondary mechanical engineering school.[1] After the war, Edo returned to Bosnia to study criminal law in Tuzla, but he never graduated.[1]
Edin took an interest in hip-hop when he was still in high school and began battling at the age of 15. He also recorded a few of his demos on his own and made his own beats using his own mouth. He went to Tuzla and became a member of the hardcore rap group Diskord, later named Obrana (Defence) . The group became one of the best in the city of Tuzla and all of Bosnia. Their demo single "Odbrana '99" (Defence '99) was the hit of the year on the "Radio Hit" station in Brčko.
Edo's love is hip hop and rap and he first gained exposure on the radio station "Kameleon", which featured his first freestyle rap. He is still a big part of the station's "Fmjam" show. "FM Jam" gathered young talents to create the Bosnian rap group "Disciplinska Komisija" (Disciplinary Commission), which Edo is a member of.
After a year of studying, Edo quit his education due to financial problems and went back to Zagreb to meet his friend Shot (from the group Elemental), where they recorded his first single "Minimalni rizik" (Minimum Risk) and, a month later, "Mahir i Alma". The songs were top hits on the Zagreb "Radio 101" station's show "Blackout" and the response was enthusiastic. The demo "Mahir i Alma" became Kameleon's hit of 2001.
[edit] "Edo Maajka"
Edo chose "Menart" as his label, no other label would take him, and his first album "Slušaj Mater" (Listen to Your Mother) was released in spring of 2002. The eponymous song became a hit in Bosnia and the rest of former Yugoslavia. In 2003 Edo became the most popular rapper in the ex-Yugoslavian countries. He also received several awards including Zlatna Koogla, Davorin, Porin (music award) and Crni Mačak. He established his reputation as the best and most famous rapper in the region, releasing more singles and being featured on songs by other artists, such as "Teško je ful biti kul" by Hladno Pivo. Edo had a successful tour with The Beat Fleet and finished the year 2003 with the hit single "Prikaze" (Spectres).
Soon after, in April of 2004, Edo published his new album "No Sikiriki". Edo and Lexsaurini started a new booking agency A1 Booking Agency, resulting in the most booked concerts for a rapper in that region. Edo toured until the end of the year to promote "No Sikiriki". He spent 2005 performing in concerts and writing new songs for his third album.
Recording of songs for the new album "Stig'o Ćumur" (Coal's Arrived) started in August of 2005, and the album was released in March of 2006. The first single was "To mora da je ljubav" (It Must Be Love) featuring Remi from Elemental), for which he shot the music video in Sarajevo. Edo started the promotion of his new album "Stig'o Ćumur" at the end of March, the day his album was released.
Edo announced his next album will be released on March 25th 2008. The album's name was changed from "Sjeti Se" to "Idemo Dalje", and since the beginning of December it was changed again to "Balknasko a Naše"
[edit] Meaning of Maajka
Edo Maajka is from Brcko. In Brcko the term majka has two meanings, one is mother and the other has a distinct meaning of started. It can't be really explained, it's just as Edo says "something that was used for a long time where he comes from".
[edit] Increasing Popularity
Edo Maajka popularity is mostly due because of his originality. He was quoted as saying "When I entered hip hop, I wanted to be something different, not American but more Bosnian/Balkan hip hop". During the time he entered the hip hop scene the Balkan region, almost every rapper had a American sounding rap name, Edo wanted something different, so Edo Maajka was born. He broke down all the doors in the Balkan region and thus expanding the hip hop scene there. His fist album shook down the pop music scene. He talks about the so called "Estrada" (pop/folk scene) in a negative way in the songs "Klise"(cliché) and "To sto se trazi"(that what is looked for). Since then hip hop has been led by Edo Maajka and is still expanding.
Edo Maajka's largest following is in Bosnia, his homeland, and he has a great number of fans in Croatia, Serbia and the rest of the former Yugoslav states. He also has fans in the diaspora of former Yugoslavia, mainly in Western Europe and North America. Edo expanded the hip-hop scene in Bosnia and the Balkans and has become the number one rapper in the Balkan region, with increasing popularity in Europe and the world. He is still a member of "Odbrana" and "Disciplinska Komisija". He often visits his homeland Bosnia and hometown Brčko.
[edit] Other Work
He also worked on the soundtrack to the film "Ljeto u Zlatnoj Dolini" ("Summer in the Golden Valley"), directed by Srđan Vuletić. The soundtrack for the movie was released on the 2003 album "Edo Maajka & Raja - Zlatna Dolina". He has said in an interview that he will work on the soundtrack for another film, but nothing more.
In 2003, Davor Konjikušić and Mišo Babović made a documentary about Edo Maajka called "Trajno Nastanjeni Stranac" and it was a hit at the Zagreb Film Festival.
In 2007, he recorded a duet with a Montenegrin band The Books of Knjige, titled "Ja suludan neću biti" ("I Won't Be Crazy"), in order to promote Montenegrin government's anti-drug campaign.
HTV filmed a documentary about Edo called "Edo Maajka - Sevdah o Rodama". The documentary premiered July 27th, 2007 on the Motovun Film Festival and Sunday October 28th, 2007 Edo Maajka - Sevdah o Rodama premiered on HRT.
[edit] Themes
Edo Maajka often raps about the contemporary political situation and the consequences of the Yugoslav wars, representing the Bosnian point of view, but also about the problems of the three main ethnic groups in Bosnia. For example, on "On je mlađi" he raps about the son of a Croatian War veteran who is engaged to a Serb girl. His lyrics are not limited to politics - he often raps about youth issues like in "Saletova Osveta", the state of pop music ("Kliše"), bad rapping ("Slušaj mater") and others. Some of the songs have positive messages, such as the title track from his album "No Sikiriki".
[edit] Feud with Severina
Edo Maajka has a feud with the Croatian pop singer Severina. In his 2004 album No Sikiriki, Maajka sang "svi znamo repat, svako može Severinu jebat" (everyone knows how to rap, anyone can screw Severina), apparently referring to posers on the music scene and braggarts boasting of invented sexual adventures (false rumors of orgies involving Severina were abundant in the late 1990s.) Interestingly, Severina became involved in a much-publicized sex scandal later in the year. In her album Severgreen, Severina responded back in the song Hrvatica (Croatian Girl) where she sang "hrvatski reperi dignite hajku, [...] djeca vam slušaju krivu majku" (Croatian rappers, revolt [...] your kids are listening to the wrong "mother"). Maajka in turn took that as a personal attack on him, stating in an interview that Severina said it because he's Bosnian and more famous in Croatia than she is.
In reference to this feud, the last song on 3rd Edo's album is called "Severina". But at beginning of song Edo says: "Većina ljudi što su za ovaj CD dali love, ne bi čuli ovu stvar da se ona ovako ne zove. Žalosna je okolnost čime privlacim pozornost, ali ovo morate čuti smjesta pa mi nisu bitna sredstva." (Most of people that paid for this CD wouldn't hear this song if it weren't called like this. It's a sad circumstance the way I'm drawing attention, but you must hear this so the means doesn't matter.) And the chorus is: "Severina, Severina da ne mislite da ste prevareni, ova pjesma je u biti o meni. Severina, Severina da nemislite da ste prevareni ova pjesma je u biti o tebi i o meni." (Severina, Severina so you don't think you're cheated, this song is actually about me. Severina, Severina so you don't think you are cheated this song is actually about me and you). The song is actually about problems in the Balkans, but in his previous album "No Sikiriki", the video spot "Mater Vam Jebem" was also about problems in the Balkans, but no one paid attention to his words instead they paid attention to the name of the song, so he hoped by naming this song "Severina" people would listen better to what he has to say.
[edit] Personal life
 |
This article's section named "Personal life" does not cite any references or sources. (April 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
- Edo Maajka opened a bar in Zagreb in 2006 called the Cafe "No Sikiriki" bar.
- He separated from his wife in late 2007; according to her "he was spending too much time running his bar and being in the studio". They still talk to each other.
- Edo has a new girlfriend. He met her in Tel Aviv. Edo said he is taking things slow. She got to know what he does and who he is when they went to a concert together and she found out he was the performer.
- Edo has been quoted saying that "I don't see myself on a stage at the age of 35".
- Edo has been quoted as saying that "I'd rather have a fan tell me that my album is great, than anything else". He was referring to awards.
- Edo turned down an offer to write his biography saying it was still too early for that.
- He stills talks about wanting a Cevab restaurant, but never has enough money.
[edit] Awards
- Davorin:
- 2003
- Urban artist of the year "Edo Maajka"
- Album of the year - "Slušaj Mater"
- New sound - Edo Maajka
- Video of the year - Edo Maajka "Znaš me"
- 2004
- International work - Edo Maajka and Hladno pivo - "Teško je ful biti kul"
- 2005
- Urban artist of the year "Edo Maajka"
- Album of the year "No Sikiriki"
- Urban song of the year "No Sikiriki"
- Song of the year (in all categories) "No Sikiriki"
- 2006
- Best song together - Edo Maajka and Frenkie "Hajmo Rušit"
- 2007
- Album of the year "Stig'o Ćumur"
- Song of the year "Bomba"
- 2003
- Porin:
- 2003
- New artist "Edo Maajka" (2003)
- 2004
- Best vocal featuring - Edo Maajka and Hladno Pivo - "Teško je ful biti kul"(2004)
- 2005
- Best urban album "No Sikiriki" (2005)
- Best video spot "Pržiiiii" (2005)
- 2003
-
- 2005
- Artist of the year "Edo Maajka"
- Best video spot "Edo Maajka - Pržiiiii"
- Best web site "www.edomaajka.com"
- Zlatni DOP (Golden DOP)of the year - Artist accepting of the criticism "Edo Maajka"
- 2007
- Artist of the year "Edo Maajka"
- Album of the year "Stig'o Ćumur"
- Concerts held during the year "Edo Maajka"
- Design and imaging of the album "Stig'o Ćumur"
- People's choice "Edo Maajka"
- Zlatni DOP (Golden DOP)of the year - Artist accepting of the criticism "Edo Maajka"
- 2005
- Crni Mačak:
- Artist of the year "Edo Maajka" (2003)
- Best song "Znaš me" (2003)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
- 2002 - Slušaj Mater
- 2004 - No Sikiriki
- 2006 - Stig'o Ćumur
- 2008 - Balkansko a Naše
[edit] Soundtracks
- 2003 - Zlatna Dolina
[edit] Mixtapes
- unnamed mixtape - still in production
[edit] Video
[edit] Documentaries
- 2003 - Trajno Nastanjeni Stranac - documentary
- 2007 - Edo Maajka - Sevdah o Rodama - documentary
- A animated documentary of his life - he will be animated
[edit] Other
- Brother Bear (in Bosnian) - voice
- Ice Age - The Meltdown(in Bosnian) - voice
- Chicken little(in Bosnian) - voice
