Martin Pohl (born 1 October 1986, in

Rumburk Rumburk (; ) is a town in Děčín District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. It lies on the border with Germany. Administrative division Rumburk consists of three municipal parts (in brackets ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

), better known by his stage name Řezník (in English: Butcher) or M.Engele, is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

, an exponent of the

horrorcore Horrorcore (also called shock rap, horror hip hop, horror rap, death hip hop, death rap, or murder rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music based on horror-themed and often darkly transgressive lyrical content and imagery. Its origins derived from ...

genre in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. He is known for his provocative songs glorifying violence against women,

homeless people Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

drug addicts Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

and

gays ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

. Řezník uses general horrorcore themes and he has collaborated with many interprets like

King Gordy Waverly Walter Alford III (born August 18, 1977), known professionally by his stage name King Gordy, is an American rapper and singer from Detroit, Michigan. He is one-fourth of underground hip hop group the Fat Killahz (with Fatt Father, Mar ...

, Bizarre, Lex the Hex Master, Mastamind,

Madchild Shane Bunting (born October 21, 1975), better known by his stage name Madchild, is a Canadian rapper. He is part of the Vancouver-based hip hop group Swollen Members. In 2009, he released a solo EP titled ''The Madchild EP''. In 2012, he rele ...

, Necro,

Ill Bill William Braunstein (born July 14, 1972), professionally known by his stage name Ill Bill, is an American rapper and record producer from Brooklyn, New York City. Having gained fame in the underground hip hop group Non Phixion, Ill Bill is known ...

Brotha Lynch Hung Kevin Danell Mann (born January 10, 1969), known artistically as Brotha Lynch Hung, is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer from Sacramento, California who is a horrorcore pioneer of his own sub-category called “Rip-gut”. The R ...

Kung Fu Vampire Kung Fu Vampire is an American rapper from San Jose, California. Since 2001, he has been recognized as a "goth rapper", and for being accompanied by a band in his live hip hop performances. He released his debut album, ''Blood Bath Beyond'' in 2 ...

, Insane Poetry,

Twiztid Twiztid is an American hip hop duo from Detroit, Michigan, known for both their horror-themed lyrics and rock-influenced sound. Formed in 1997, Twiztid is composed of rappers Jamie "Madrox" Spaniolo and Paul "Monoxide" Methric. Spaniolo and M ...

, Sean Strange,

Snowgoons Snowgoons is a German underground hip hop production team composed of DJ Illegal (Manuu Rückert) and Det Gunner (D. Keller). In 2011, producers Sicknature (Jeppe Andersen) from Denmark and J.S. Kuster (Johann Sebastian Kuster) from Germany joine ...

, Scum, Razakel, Alla Xul Elu, Donnie Menace, Mr. Hyde, Geno Cultshit, The J. Hexx Project, Heaven, Psych Ward, Gorilla Voltage, members of Butcher's Harem, etc. According to a leaked poll result of the national Czech music award

Český slavík Český slavík () is an award meant to recognize outstanding achievement and annual popularity in the Czech music industry. It was established in 1996 as the successor to the Zlatý slavík awards, which were established in 1962 in Czechoslova ...

, he won in 2013 in the category "Internet Star". He was, however, disqualified from the poll by the organizers, due to alleged objectionable conduct expressed in his songs. It led to protests of notable Czech artists, such as

Tomáš Klus Tomáš Klus (born 15 May 1986) is a Czech musician and songwriter from the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Life and career Klus was born in the industrial town of Třinec, where he spent most of his childhood. His parents were ...

and Matěj Ruppert. On 29 November 2013, Tomáš Klus announced his departure from Český slavík, while Ruppert returned his own award which he received in 2006, accusing the organizers of

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

. In 2011, Řezník and his colleagues, rappers Pitva (Autopsy) and Hrobka (Tomb) appeared at court, charged with

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

and

extremism Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied sha ...

expressed in their song Konečný řešení (Final Solution). The District Court for

Prague 5 Prague 5, formally the Prague 5 Municipal District (''Městská čast Praha 5''), is a Prague city districts, second-tier municipality in Prague. The administrative district (''správní obvod'') of the same name consists of municipal districts Pra ...

has dismissed all charges, pointing to constitutional rights such as

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

or artistic expression. Jan Vučka, a Public Prosecutor, stated that ''"The police'' harge''was based on the fact that you cannot make fun of certain things. However, this is not possible in a free country. It must be clear to everyone who listens to more than one of their songs that this is a

hyperbole Hyperbole (; adj. hyperbolic ) is the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. In rhetoric, it is also sometimes known as auxesis (literally 'growth'). In poetry and oratory, it emphasizes, evokes strong feelings, and cre ...

."'' The court also pointed to similar provocative artworks produced i.e. by creators of

Monty Python Monty Python, also known as the Pythons, were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy ser ...

, ''

Happy Tree Friends ''Happy Tree Friends'' (commonly abbreviated as ''HTF'') is an adult animated web series created by Aubrey Ankrum, Rhode Montijo, and Kenn Navarro, and developed by Montijo, Navarro, and Warren Graff for Mondo Media. Disguised as a childr ...

'', or ''

Itchy and Scratchy ''The Itchy & Scratchy Show'' (often shortened as ''Itchy & Scratchy'') is a fictional animated series featured on ''The Simpsons''. The cartoon depicts a sadistic mouse named Itchy who repeatedly maims or murders a black cat named Scratchy. ...

''. Řezník, Pitva and Hrobka emphasized that the song was meant to be a parodic exaggeration. On 30 November 2013, a lawyer of the magazine

Týden ''Týden'' (literally 'week') is a Czech weekly news magazine which focuses mainly on news and news analysis. It has been in circulation in 1994. History and profile ''Týden'' was founded in 1994 and soon became part of the Axel Springer AG med ...

stated in an interview that Řezník's song Ta holka v mým sklepě (The Girl in My Cellar) contains objectionable passages constituting incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence. The interview had to be removed from the website of Týden on the next day because of death threats the lawyer received by the rapper's supporters.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

Other activities

Pohl developed, prior to his rapper career, a series of video games Život není krásný (Life isn't beautiful). He planned 14 titles but the series have only 7 games and number 8 called Život Není Krásný: Poslední Exekuce is on the way. Pohl also directed a few films including a film version of Život není krásný and Deprivační staniol.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reznik (rapper) Living people Czech rappers 21st-century Czech male singers Czech video game designers Czech film directors Horrorcore artists 1986 births