The Polish hip hop scene was born in the early 1990s, due to the popularity of American rap. Nevertheless, rap style in Polish music has its deep roots in the 1980s Polish punk rock, alternative rock, disco and funk music.
Adam Andrzej Ostrowski, better known as O.S.T.R., is a Polish rapper, musician, audio engineer and record producer, famous for his freestyle rap skills, ambitious lyrics and unique beats. He graduated from the Academy of Music in Łódź, violin class. He is one of the few Polish rappers who have received professional musical education. He has collaborated with American rappers such as Evidence, El Da Sensei, Craig G, Keith Murray, Jeru The Damaja, Lil' Dap, Sadat X and Canadian producer Marco Polo. He has also collaborated with many Polish artists, including jazz musicians Michał Urbaniak, Hades, SOFA, Fokus, DJ Deszczu Strugi, DonGURALesko, Vienio i Pelson, Fu, Pezet, Sistars and Slums Attack. He is a member of bands such as Tabasko, Skill Mega, Killing Skills, Beat Brothers and musical project POE. He is also a former member of Obóz TA and LWC. In 2013, he shared the position of art director of Męskie Granie festival with alternative rock vocalist Kasia Nosowska.
Kaliber 44 is a hip hop band formed at the end of 1994 in Katowice, Poland. The group is dubbed the most influential Polish hip hop band, while their so-called hardcore psycho rap style is the most prominent. As revealed by Abradab in an interview aired on TVP, "the name comes from the time we weren't completely sane and played gangsta". Later on members provided a revised interpretation: first part of the name indicates the calibre of problems the group sings about. The number 44 is a reference to a prophetic poem Dziady written by Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz.
LOL is the debut studio album by Polish pop group Blog 27, released in Poland in 2005 and internationally in 2006.
Perfect is a Polish rock band founded in 1977 by drummer Wojciech Morawski, bass guitar player Zdzisław Zawadzki and lead guitar player Zbigniew Hołdys. They are one of the all-time most popular rock bands from/in Poland.
Jacek Graniecki, known professionally as Tede and DJ Buhh is a Polish rapper. Also known as Tas De Fleia, TDF, Tedzik, Tedunio, Chory Pastor. He began his career in the band 1 kHz. In 1996 JanMario and Tede created a band named Trzyha, with the group changing their name to Warszafski Deszcz in 1998. In 2000 Tede began his solo career and in 2001 he recorded his first album (S.P.O.R.T).
MTV Unplugged is a live album by Polish singer Kayah, released in 2007.
Dawid Podsiadło is a Polish singer-songwriter who won the second series of X Factor in 2012. He received PLN 100,000 and a recording contract with Sony Music. On the show, he was mentored by Tatiana Okupnik.
Marcin "Abradab" Marten is a Polish rapper and music producer. Marten is a founding member of Polish hip-hop group Kaliber 44 and, since 2002, a solo artist. He is a member of Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Marten is a winner of two Fryderyk awards. In 2011, Machina magazine placed Marten at No.17 on the list of 30 best Polish rappers. He has also collaborated with artists like Piotr Banach, Bosski Roman, Maciej Maleńczuk, Wojciech Waglewski, Grubson, L.U.C and O.S.T.R..
Mika Urbaniak is an American pop singer. She is a daughter of prominent Polish jazz musicians Urszula Dudziak and Michał Urbaniak. Born and raised in the United States, she’s been living in Warsaw and London since 2001. Her style is a mixture of pop music, jazz and hip-hop. In 2010, she won the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry award Fryderyk in the category Album of the Year - Pop. She then proceeded to join forces with an extraordinary singer, composer and producer, Victor Davies. He produced Mika’s second album, Follow You, which one the Top Trendy Journalist Award and was accepted with much critical acclaim. A mix of different genres, rock, pop, and new wave, this fresh sounding album was Victor and Mika’s project together, the beginning of a long term music collaboration. In 2012 Mika Urbaniak was invited to perform with Quincy Jones at The Solidarity of Arts Festival in Gdynia. After leaving Sony Music POLSKA, Victor and Mika created their next album together. A bow to Mika’s Jazz roots they created and Swing Pop album all with Victor’s original material. They’ve toured with this material while working on their next project, a duet album of carefully selected cover songs. It was to be released in January 2019.
Kamil Bednarek is a Polish reggae and dancehall vocalist, songwriter, composer and musician. He is best known as the runner-up in the third series of Mam talent!.
Natalia Maria Przybysz, also known as Natu or N'Talia, is a Polish rhythm and blues singer. She is a member of the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
Donatan, is a Polish musician, music producer and sound engineer. Donatan along with Teka co-created RafPak.
Fonografika Sp. j. is the largest independent Polish record label, it was founded in 2001 by Jacek Caba, which he actively ran until 2014.
Łukasz Bułat-Mironowicz, better known by his stage name Hades, is a Polish rapper. He is also member of bands HiFi Banda and RH-.
Piotr Kowalczyk, better known under his stage name Tau, and formerly as Medium, is a Polish rapper, vocalist, beatboxer and hip-hop producer. In 2008, he released his underground debut album Seans spirytystyczny (Séance) under the name Medium. His next underground album Alternatywne źródło energii was released in 2010, which helped Medium to be spotted by Marcin "Tytus" Grabski, CEO of Asfalt Records, who offered him a contract.
Restaurator is the fourth studio album by Polish rapper Tau, released December 15, 2015 by his own record label Bozon Records. It is his second album released after changing his stage name from Medium to Tau. The album features no guest appearances except several background vocalists.
Życie po śmierci, stylized as Życie po śmierci) is an album by Polish hip-hop rapper and producer O.S.T.R., released on February 26, 2016 on Asfalt Records. O.S.T.R. said that the main factor that made him record Życie po śmierci was his disease he had at the beginning of 2015. He had to have his lung removed, due to the fact that he had been smoking for most of his life. He also claimed that this album is the most personal project he had ever recorded. The main inspiration for the title of the album was the Notorious B.I.G.'s 1997 project Life After Death. A special website was created to promote the album. On the website O.S.T.R. left a letter written to his fans, when he recalls a story of his disease and informs that Życie po śmierci is going to be a soundtrack for a "book or rap musical".
Podróż zwana życiem is the thirteenth studio album by Polish hip-hop rapper and producer O.S.T.R., released on February 23, 2015 on Asfalt Records. The album features several guest appearances such by Sacha Vee and Cadillac Dale. The album was promoted with three singles, "Rise of the Sun" features Cadillac Dale, "Podróż zwana życiem" and "Ja ty my wy oni" both features a vocal by Sachą Vee. There was a promotional video clip accompanied to the first single.
Sebastian Salbert better known as Rahim is a Polish rapper, producer and entrepreneur. He is the owner of record company MaxFloRec, the former member of groups such as 3xKlan, MZD, Erka and Paktofonika. Since 2003 He has been the one half of a duo Pokahontaz which he creates with Fokus. He has released several albums under his alter ego Straho.
