Relja Popović ( sr-cyr, Реља Поповић; born 2 August 1989) is a

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n actor, rapper and singer. Before pursuing a solo career with the single "Beograd još živi" (2015), he rose to prominence as the member of the

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

duo

Elitni Odredi Elitni Odredi (Serbian Cyrillic: Елитни Одреди, English: ''Elite Units'') was a Serbian pop duo from Belgrade, formed in 2005. They were composed of two musicians and long-time friends; Relja Popović and Vladimir Matović. Initiall ...

, alongside Vlada Matović. He is the co-founder of the record label Made In BLKN Records. As an actor, he is recognized for his performances in the movies ''

Ordinary People ''Ordinary People'' is a 1980 American Tragedy, tragedy film directed by Robert Redford in his List of directorial debuts, feature directorial debut. The screenplay by Alvin Sargent is based on the Ordinary People (Guest novel), 1976 novel by ...

'' (2009) and '' The Parade'' (2011). Popović became the youngest winner of the

Heart of Sarajevo The Heart of Sarajevo ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Srce Sarajeva'' / Срце Сарајева) is the highest prize awarded in all the competition categories at the Sarajevo Film Festival. Heart of Sarajevo The official ''Heart of Saraj ...

award for his role in ''Ordinary People''. In 2021, he joined the cast of the television series '' Besa''. Additionally, Relja has served as a judge and coach on the singing competition show ''IDJ Show'' since 2022.

Early life

Popović was born on August 2, 1989, in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

. His mother, Zoja Begolli (), was a

ballet dancer A ballet dancer is a person who practices the Art (skill), art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. B ...

at the

National Theatre in Belgrade The National Theatre ( sr-cyr, Народно позориште, Narodno pozorište) is a theatre located in Belgrade, Serbia. Founded in the latter half of the 19th century, it is located on the Republic Square, at the corner of Vasina and Fr ...

and lecturer at the

Academy of Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, and his father, Srđan Popović, worked as a

sports journalist Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in a par ...

for the

daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

Večernje novosti ''Večernje novosti'' ( sr-Cyrl, Вечерње новости; ''Evening News'') is a Serbian daily tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1953, it quickly grew into a high-circulation daily. ''Novosti'' (as most people call it for short) also employs ...

''. Popović lost his father in 1991, and his mother remarried to Kosovar actor Faruk Begolli, whom she divorced after 17 years of marriage. She died in 2017. Popović grew up in the Paviljoni neighborhood of

New Belgrade New Belgrade (, ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality of the city of Belgrade. It was a Planned community, planned city and now is the central business district of Serbia and South East Europe. Construction began in 1948 in a previously un ...

. Relja stated that he found passion for

as a child, being exposed by his older brother Miša to artists such as

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

and

Juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or Cold-pressed juice, pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat ...

. Popović graduated from the High School of Hospitality and Tourism in downtown Belgrade. In May 2008, he was shot in

stomach The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the upper gastrointestinal tract of Human, humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The Ancient Greek name for the stomach is ''gaster'' which is used as ''gastric'' in medical t ...

while defending his girl friend from a middle age man at a

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

, and had his

kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...

and

spleen The spleen (, from Ancient Greek '' σπλήν'', splḗn) is an organ (biology), organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The spleen plays important roles in reg ...

removed because of it. The assaulter was subsequently sentenced to six and a half years in prison.

Career

Music

Popović began his professional music career in 2005 alongside his childhood friend Vladimir Matović, as a part of

. Together they released one studio album, titled ''Oko sveta'' (2010), and several standalone singles. Elitni Odredi broke to mainstream attention in 2011 with the singles "Kao kokain" and "Beograd". They were one of the first urban artists to perform for

Serbian diaspora Serbian diaspora refers to Serbian emigrant communities in the diaspora. The existence of a numerous diaspora of Serbian nationals is mainly a consequence of either economic or political (coercion or expulsion) reasons. There were different wa ...

in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. At the beginning of 2015, Elitni Odredi eventually announced their disbandment to focus on solo projects. Following the duo's hiatus, Popović pursued a solo career with the release of the single "Beograd još živi" in April 2015. It was succeeded with a series of other standalone singles during the next couple of years, including "Crni sin" featuring

Coby Coby or Koby is a male and female name, a surname, or a nickname originating from the name "Jacob" or "Jakob". Notable people with the name "Coby" include A * Koby Abberton (born 1979), Australian surfer * Koby Altman (born 1982), American baske ...

and Cvija, released in May 2016. The song's music video, which has garnered over 50 million views, has been credited as the most expensive one done by IDJVideos production. Relja and Coby also partnered with singer

Stoja Stoja Novaković (; born 4 June 1972), known mononymously as Stoja ( sr-Cyrl, Стоја), is a Serbian hardcore-folk singer. Recognised as one of the most popular turbo-folk performers, Stoja is noted for her strong deep voice and often eccentr ...

for "Samo jako" in April 2017. Their collaboration has collected over 70 million views on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. With the release of the single "Princeza na belom" in June 2019, Popović announced his debut body of work ''Made In BLKN''. During the rest of the year, it was followed by four other singles: "Meduza" featuring his partner

Nikolija Nikolija Jovanović ( sr-cyr, Николија Јовановић; born 19 October 1989) is a Serbian singer. Born to folk singer Vesna Zmijanac, Jovanović was born in Zagreb and raised in Belgrade. Nikolija debuted in 2013 with the single "Ća ...

, "Takvi kao ja", "Tuga iz Porschea" and "Made in Balkan", which were all featured on the first part of the album. In July 2019, Popović held his first major solo concert during the Ulaz music festival in Belgrade. At the beginning of 2020, he established Made In BLKN Records in distribution deal with IDJTunes. The first release under the newly founded label was "Maria" in March. The company was also expanded to a clothing brand in 2021. In July 2020, he collaborated with Rasta on "Genge". The music video has amassed over 50 million views on YouTube. It was followed by "Offline" featuring Devito, "Manije" and "Kraj je", which alongside "Maria" and "Genge" were included to the second part of his debut solo project. In April 2022, he released two more duets with Devito, titled "Omađijala" and "Do zore". "Omađijala" peaked at number 2 on '' Billboard's''

Croatia Songs Croatia Songs is a record chart in Croatia for songs, compiled by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' since February 2022. The chart is updated every Tuesday on ''Billboard''s website. The chart was announced on 14 February 2022 as part of ''Bill ...

chart, whilst the music video has collected over 40 million views. In March, Popović alongside

Teodora Džehverović Teodora Džehverović ( sr-Cyrl, Теодора Џехверовић, born on 10 February 1997) is a Serbian singer. Born in Kačarevo, she rose to prominence after she had competed on the ninth season of ''Zvezde Granda'' in 2014 and later gain ...

and

Darko Dimitrov Darko Dimitrov ( ; born 21 January 1973) is a Macedonian songwriter, record producer, arranger and record executive. Highly acclaimed for revitalising the Yugoslav mainstream pop music scene, which also influenced the surrounding Balkan countries ...

was announced as a judge and coach on the singing competition series ''IDJ Show''. In June, his contestant Amna Alajbegović was declared the season winner. The following month, Relja collaborated with Nucci on the single "Zovite doktore", which was inspired by his early works with Elitni Odredi. It peaked at number 8 in Croatia. In late August 2022, Popović performed at the Music Week Festival in

Ušće, Belgrade Ušće ( sr-cyr, Ушће; pronounced ) is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Novi Beograd. Ušće is located on the mouth of the Sava river into the Danube, thus the name (''uš� ...

. In January 2024, he released "Sve si znala", which became his first single to rise atop of the Croatia Songs chart. Popović alongside

Marija Šerifović Marija Šerifović ( sr-cyr, Марија Шерифовић, ; born 14 November 1984) is a Serbian singer. Born in Kragujevac, she is best known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki, Finland with "Molitva", becoming Serbia's ...

is set to perform at the

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...

SoundClash concert in Belgrade on 22 June 2024. On 22 May 2024, he released a six-track EP, titled ''Stroberi''. On 30 May 2025, he released his studio album ''Hotel Jugoslavija''. The album included "Baš ti se sviđa", a duet with Nikolija which was accompanied by an

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, sculp ...

, highly graphic music video that features elements of

BDSM BDSM is a variety of often Eroticism, erotic practices or Sexual roleplay, roleplaying involving Bondage (BDSM), bondage, Discipline (BDSM), discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given ...

and Relja fully nude.

Acting

Popović made his on screen debut in the

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

''Dremano oko'' (2003), directed by

Vladimir Perišić Vladimir Perišić (born 1976 in Belgrade) is a Serbian film director. From 1995 to 97 he studied film directing at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, Belgrade, from 1997–99 Modern Literature at the University of Paris. He stayed in Paris and studi ...

. He continued working with Perišić on his full-length feature film ''

'' from 2009. For his performance in the movie, Popović earned the Best Actor Award at the 19th Cottbus East European Film Festival and at the

Sarajevo Film Festival The Sarajevo Film Festival is the premier and largest film festival in Southeast Europe, and is one of the largest film festivals in Europe. It was founded in Sarajevo in 1995 during the siege of Sarajevo in the Bosnian War, and brings internatio ...

, making him the youngest recipient of the

award. He was cast in the 2011 film '' The Parade'', directed by

Srđan Dragojević Srđan Dragojević ( sr-cyr, Срђан Драгојевић, , born 1 January 1963) is a Serbian film director and screenwriter, who emerged in the 1990s as a significant figure in Serbian cinema. From 2010 until 2017, he was affiliated with the ...

. The movie was enlisted as the fourth biggest Serbian box office success in the 2010s. Serbian

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

portal GayEcho also nominated Popović for the male gay icon of 2011 because of his performance in the film, which he ultimately lost to Bosnian model

Andreja Pejić Andreja Pejić ( , ; born Andrej Pejić; 28 August 1991) is an Australian actress and former model. Since coming out as a trans woman in 2013, she has become one of the most recognisable transgender models in the world. Early life Pejić was bo ...

. In December 2021, Popović was introduced to the second season of the

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

series ''Besa''. He starred in the main role of ''Videoteka'', directed by Luka Bursać, which premiered during the 2024

FEST Fest or FEST may refer to: Arts and entertainment * The Fest, a music festival in Gainesville, Florida, U.S. (since 2002) * FEST (film festival), Belgrade, Serbia (since 1971) * '' Fest Magazine'', a Scottish periodical (since 2002) * Fest, a fi ...

Personal life

Popović graduated from the Faculty of Media and Communications at the

Singidunum University Singidunum University () is a private university in Belgrade, Serbia which offers undergraduate, master and doctoral academics studies in three scientific fields – social sciences and humanities; technical sciences; and natural sciences and m ...

and also studied acting at the Academy of Arts in Belgrade. He has been in a relationship with singer Nikolija Jovanović since

collaborated with her on the single "Alkohola litar" in 2014. Together they have two daughters, born in 2016 and 2021.

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Promotional singles

Other charted songs

Awards and nominations

External links

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popovic, Relja 1989 births Living people Singers from Belgrade 21st-century Serbian male singers Serbian male rappers 21st-century Serbian male actors Pop rappers