Cipsy.cz - Portrait

Gipsy. cz is a Czech music group. The band combines elements of traditional Czech Roma music with modern music styles such as hip hop, pop and dance music. The lyrics are sung or rapped in Czech, English and Romani. Founder of the band is the rapper, musician, singer and Roma Radek "Gipsy" Banga.

Gipsy. cz was founded in 2004 by the solo artist Radek Banga, also known as Gipsy and the violinist Vojtech Lavicka. A short time later the brothers Jan Surmaj (double bass) and Petr Surmaj (guitar and accordion) joined the group.

In 2006 the band released their debut album "Romano Hip Hop". The album developed into a complete success, and in addition to various awards, Cipsy. cz received a gold record for her first album. The title song included on the album was a top 10 chart hit in the Czech Republic in 2007 and was voted "Song of the Year" by readers of the Czech music magazine Filter.

In 2007 Gipsy. cz went on tour through Austria, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Germany. The band was also invited to the South Korean cities of Seoul and Ulsan for six concerts in East Asia this year.

In 2008 Gipsy. cz released a second album called "Reprezent". The album reached third place in the European World Music Charts. The song "A na záv?r si s námi dejmi dejte trochu té?unárny" on the album caused a controversy, as Czech politician Jirí Cunek, known for his anti-Romani comments, was verbally attacked in the song. In order to avoid a possible lawsuit, the band finally removed some of the controversial text passages.

At the beginning of 2009 the brothers Jan and Petr Surmaj left the band and were replaced by four new young musicians. Already in July 2009 the band returned to their original line-up.

Cipsy. cz third album "Desperado appeared in 2011, followed by" Upgrade "in 2013.

In the meantime there were several changes in the line-up, and only Radek Banga is left of the original line-up. This is now supported by the musicians Jan Sochor (accordion), Tomas Baros (double bass) and Viliam Didias (violin).

Discography:

2006 - Romano Hip Hop

2008 - Reprezent

2011 - Desperado
2013 - Upgrade