Albanian hip hop

Most of the Albanian hip hop artists come from Albania, Kosovo, Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro but also from Albanian habited places around the globe such as the USA, Germany .

Hip hop in Kosovo:

Much of the original hip hop is unfortunately underground due to the fact that commercial hip hop is running the show. The youth that listens to hip hop is not that active in voting for music charts, plus this youth doesn't dictate the market because they mostly download the music from internet and do not buy the music of their choice thus becoming invisible as a market force. The other problem is that the producers do not promote this type of music in a consistent manner. It is becoming clear however that Albanians like hip hop, and the youth that started this music is maturing and very soon hip hop will have a respected voice in the Albanian culture.

Gangsta hip hop has creeped in since the beginning with the main representative "Unikatil" an Albanian rapper who lives in the USA.

Commercial rap is lead by "Baba Records" and "Etno Engjujt" who have been very active but not listened to in urban areas. A very refined commercial hip hop has however come into existence with "K-OS" and "Skills".

The most praised hip hop band however has been UrbaN Roots (NR) with an original urban flavor. Two members of this group have broken up, to try their solo career, but the group still continues to exist. NR, together with three other artists have come together to form "UFO" a very promising urban conscious hardcore hip hop crew.

ee also

*Unikkatil
*Getoar Selimi