Bad Copy are a
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 ...
trio group from
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 ...
,
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 ...
known for their humorous lyrics and
slang
A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...
. The members are
Ajs Nigrutin (stage name of Vladan Aksentijević),
Wikluh Sky (Đorđe Miljenović) and Timbe (Rašid Kurtanović). Miki Boj, born Milan Šaponja, was active in the band until his death in 1999. They have released several albums as a group and as solo artists and helped the popularization of
hip hop music
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...
in
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 ...
and
Ex-Yugoslavia in the new millennium.
History
The group started off as a duo consisting of Ajs Nigrutin and Miki Boj. Their first album ''
Orbod mebej'', got released by ITMM in 1996, mostly contained comical songs rapped over instrumentals from popular American rap acts such as
Method Man and
Naughty By Nature. The standout track was "Zabaci domaćine", which turned
Coolio's ''
Gangsta's Paradise'' into a song about a fishing trip gone wrong. The album failed to get much media attention, but it established them a cult following.
The death of Miki Boj in a
war in Kosovo in 1999 resulted in a hiatus that lasted a few years. The group was then composed of Ajs Nigrutin and Timbe, with Wikluh Sky joining later. Songs recorded in that period showed major improvement over their early efforts, developing their rapping skills drastically while still keeping trademark irreverent lyrics. They joined forces with Oneya, then an up-and-coming beatmaker who was working on starting the first
Serbian hip-hop label, Bassivity. They had a very prolific collaboration, recording many songs but none of them ever getting released. By the end of 2002, dissatisfied with initially agreed schedule of their album being released only after V.I.P., Oneya and Shorty even though they weren't the first ones with a fully recorded album, they wanted to end their contract with Bassivity. Eventually they were dropped with no penalties by the label. Many of the recorded songs were later leaked to the internet, while almost none were released on other Bassivity projects.
''Sve sami hedovi''
Recording all-new material in a radio station studio during the first half of 2003, the group released their second album ''
Sve sami hedovi'' for the
One Records label. The album had a specific
lo-fi sound as a result of being recorded and mastered in less-than-perfect ghetto conditions, but it was a huge hit for a short time on the strength of the first single, "Uno Due Tre", produced by Ajs Nigrutin, with most of the song lyrics consisting of unconnected
Italian or Italian-sounding words and phrases (some copied off of shampoo labels and clothing tags), and with a very low-budget video recorded by Đolođolo of
Beogradski sindikat
Beogradski Sindikat (Serbian Cyrillic: Београдски Синдикат, English: ''Belgrade Syndicate'') is a Serbian Hip hop music, hip-hop collective from Belgrade, Serbia. Beogradski Sindikat is one of the pioneers of the second wave ...
in the old town of
Budva
Budva (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Будва, or ) is a town in the Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It had 27,445 inhabitants as of 2023, and is the centre of Budva Municipality. The coastal area around Budva, called the Budv ...
.
The second single "Možeš ti to" (You can do it) featuring explicit lyrics describing various sexual acts, also produced by Wikluh Sky and also with a video by Đolođolo, was moderately successful. Featuring Bitcharke na travi (Bitches on grass) as guests vocally, the track predictably didn't get much airplay due to excessive profanity.
In total, ''Sve sami hedovi'' sold more than 5,000 copies, which is considered a moderate success in the current state of music in
Serbia and Montenegro
The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...
and Bassivity Music as a head-to-head competition. Thematically, the album contained an abundance of food-related lyrics (a trend they would maintain in subsequent projects), most prominently in the song "Sarma spremna" (''
Sarma is done''). A particularly memorable performance of this song took place at their biggest concert up to that point, the 2003 show at the
SKC 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 ...
, where they carried a table and a pot of sarma onto the stage, ate it in front of the audience and handed it out to the front rows. That show in front of 1,200 people turned out to be the beginning of the band's more commercially successful phase as they started drawing larger crowds and getting more exposure in the media.
Timbe a.k.a. Bdat Džutim Pogled sa dna
Popboks, 23 April 2010
''Najgori do sada''
The third Bad Copy album, entitled '' Najgori do sada'' (''The Worst Yet''), was released in December 2006. Guests on the album include Škabo, Bvana, Edo Maajka, and Gospodar Vremena. The first song to get a video was "Žoor," directed by Đolođolo. The second single was "Idemo odma", also directed by Đolođolo.
''Krigle''
After Bad Copy disbanded in 2008, they have reformed again in 2012 and started touring. In 2013, they published their fourth album ''Krigle'' (''Beer Steins''), with videos for tracks ''Esi mi dobar'' and ''Ljubav ili pivo''.
Other projects
All three members of the group have recorded solo albums, with Timjah's being the only one not getting a release due to an early leak to the internet.
Ajs Nigrutin has released four albums, '' Nigrutinski rečeno-Štrokavi Mozak'' in 2002, '' Štrokavi pazuh'' in 2005, ''Kajmak i katran'' in 2008 and ''Akupunktura Govneta'' in 2015
Wikluh Sky is the most productive member, constantly working on multiple projects, many of them outside of hip-hop, but seldom releasing them. Among his works are one reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
album with the group Shappa (with Coyote of the band Eyesburn); a punk album with the band Jogurt; a rock opera called ''Zagađenje u Japanu'' (''A Pollution in Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
'') about a transvestite turbo-folk star, written for the EXIT festival in 2005; a solo rap albums called ''Zašto brate Vikler?'' (2004) and ''Ortaci ne znaju'' (2007). He's also made the soundtrack for " A Serbian Film" called
Pazi Sta Radis
(Be Careful").
Ajs Nigrutin and Timjah have released a compilation of songs under the name 43zla – ''Sve same barabe'' in 2004, with a list of guests including their young protégés Blind Business and Kibu, long-time collaborators Prti Bee Gee and Bvana, and others such as Who See. Most recently, Ajs Nigrutin and Wikluh Sky serious argue have led to the disintegration of Bad Copy. Ajs Nigrutin accused Wikluh Sky for his soft music turn-over, like working on some popular pop singers (Ana Stanic) and his unsatisfied dedication to group (they recently start to work on their new album).
Members of Bad Copy have also done songs with many other Balkan 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 ...
artists, among which are Gru, Marčelo, Beogradski sindikat
Beogradski Sindikat (Serbian Cyrillic: Београдски Синдикат, English: ''Belgrade Syndicate'') is a Serbian Hip hop music, hip-hop collective from Belgrade, Serbia. Beogradski Sindikat is one of the pioneers of the second wave ...
, Edo Maajka, Bauk Squad, V.I.P. (and other Bassivity artists) etc.
Discography
* '' Orbod Mebej'' (1996, ITMM)
* '' Sve sami hedovi'' (2003, One Records)
* '' Najgori do sada'' (2006, Prohibicija)
* ''Krigle'' (2013, Mascom)
See also
* Serbian hip hop
References
External links
Discogs
Last FM
Big brother
* Popboks - BAD COPY - Krigle
*
{{Authority control
Serbian hip hop groups
Musical groups established in 1996