Czech hip-hop

1980s and 1990s

Hip-hop culture, or rapping as a vocal component of hip-hop, has been developing in Czechoslovakia since the 1980s, mainly in large cities such as Prague, Brno, and Plzeň.^[3] The first instance of what can be called hip-hop in the country is attributed to Lesík 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 group Peneři strýčka Homeboye.^[3]

Among early adopters of the genre were Piráti, a band from Hradec Králové, active from 1988 to 1991, who combined hip-hop with rock.^[4] Following the 1989 Velvet Revolution, the Prague-based award-winning group J.A.R. performed a blend of hip-hop, rock, and funk, remaining active to the present day.^[5] The trio Rapmasters, active for a decade starting in 1989, fused hip-hop with dance,^[6] releasing five studio albums during their career. The group WWW issued their first demo in 1993, and they have remained active to this day.^[7]

One of the most popular groups of the genre are Chaozz, active from 1995 until 2002 and again since 2017,^[8] who spun off the duo Prago Union in 2002.^[9] The group Syndrom Snopp formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2006. The duo Indy & Wich formed in 1998 and remained active until 2006, putting out two studio albums.^[10] 1998 also saw the creation of Pio Squad, a hip-hop group based in the city of Jihlava. Naše Věc, a group based in Brno, released two studio albums between 1997 and 2006. The eastern city of Zlín saw the birth of DeFuckTo, active from 1999 to 2016.^[11]

2000s–present

The Prague-based hip-hop duo Supercrooo formed in 2004 and released several albums before disbanding in 2007.^[12] 2004 witnessed the formation of the Romani hip-hop group Gipsy.cz, active to the present, as well as initial activity by the rapper Řezník.