Reprezent

Gipsy.cz has released a new album called Reprezent. A year and a half after the release of the gold album Romano Hip Hop, the CD Reprezent is following the debut album, offering a developed “romano hip-hop” style which mixes hip-hop, rap, Romani traditional music, pop and R&B elements. Gipsy.cz has experienced some hectic times since the successful release of the debut album Romano Hip Hop. Last summer, they performed as the first Czech band at the famous festival in Glastonbury and on many other European stages. Gipsy.cz’s video for “Romano Hip Hop” made it all the way to the European MTV hit parade World Chart Express. The band won the 2006 Anděl award in the Discovery of the Year category as well as many other prizes (ALMA 2007, Filter magazine 2007, etc.). As the first band in the Czech Republic, they climbed their way up to the WMCE top ten charts. Last year, Gipsy’s front man became the ambassador of the EU campaign the “European Year of Equal Opportunities”. "It was quite demanding, since we had to think about the band’s future. The most difficult thing was to come up with a different sound, the evolution of the very heart of music. But at last we’ve managed to accomplish that.” says Radek “Gipsy” Banga, the band’s leader.


Benga more zajímá
Kdy ten bengál začíná
Už áno ano

(Benga more wants to know
When the party begins
Now, yeeah yeah)


“Benga Beating” is the first song of the album Reprezent. The first brisk dance piece with a strong melodic motif is immediately followed by the song Barvoslepej svět, to which Gipsy.cz added authentic social topics in addition to traditional attributes such as freshness, grace, amusement and originality. This is also true of the whole album. “Finally we decided on mainly selecting songs with an actual “message”. And I think ended up being a good move.” Also thanks to this, the band manages to overcome and remove xenophobic barriers. The band adopts this struggle as its own.

Bude nutné léčit vás x x let.
Tohle není jenom černobílej svět.
Doktor Ladislav Kolór k vašim službám.
Vidět barevnej svět já pomůžu vám.

(You’ll have to be treated for x x years.
This is not only a black and white world.
Doctor Ladislav Kolór at your service.
I’ll help you to see the world in color.)

The audience can be looking forward to a new, more informed attitude to songs, lots of energy and a fair amount of provocation, too. The final piece, which is band’s response to the xenophobic and strange behavior and statements of Czech minister and cabinet member Jiří Čunek, also appears in this album. The band spent a long time deciding whether or not to include the song on the album. “Finally,we ended up choosing an intentionally ridiculous musical form and it would be a pity not to include it in the album,” explains Vojta Lavička. The result is an ironic song called “A na závěr si s námi dejte trochu té Čunárny,” which comes off as more of a bonus for the Czech market. However, Gipsy.cz do not hesitate to make fun of anything and also point at their own ranks, as for example in the title track “Reprezent.”

Reprezent jáj more roma pýpl.
Ývl ju rydin in ňůs artykl.
Lajk amerikan rapers on MtéVé.
Žigul is maj BéEmVé..

Since the recording of the debut Romano hip hop, Gipsy.cz maintained the same lineup (Radoslav “Gipsy” Banga - Vojta Lavička - Petr Surmaj - Jan Surmaj), which is naturally reflected in the harmony and spirit of the entire album. There are 14 songs in total with the total length of 43 minutes. The CD was recorded in the renowned SONO studio. As compared to Romano hip hop, the new album has much more refined and colorful sound. This is also thanks to a number of outstanding guest musicians such as Josef Fečo (viola, double bass), Milan Kroka (guitars) or Camillo Caller (percussion). The album is released by Indies Scope records, Mars Promotion and Colours Promotion.