Relja Popović ( sr-cyr, Реља Поповић, born on 2 August 1989) is a

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

n actor and rapper who rose to prominence as a member of

Elitni Odredi Elitni Odredi (Serbian Cyrillic: Елитни Одреди, English: ''Elite Units'') was a Serbian pop-rap duo from Belgrade, formed in 2005. They were composed of two rappers and long-time friends; Relja Popović and Vladimir Matović. Initiall ...

. As an actor, he won the

Heart of Sarajevo The Heart of Sarajevo ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Srce Sarajeva'' / Срце Сарајева) is the highest prize awarded in all the competition categories at the Sarajevo Film Festival. Heart of Sarajevo The official ''Heart of Sarajev ...

award for his role in the 2009 film ''

Ordinary People ''Ordinary People'' is a 1980 American drama film directed by Robert Redford in his directorial debut. The screenplay by Alvin Sargent is based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Judith Guest. The film follows the disintegration of an upper ...

''.

Early life

Popović was born on August 2, 1989 in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

. His mother, Zoja Begolli (), was a

ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...

at the

National Theatre in Belgrade The National Theatre ( sr-cyr, Народно позориште, Narodno pozorište) is a theatre located in Belgrade, Serbia. Founded in the later half of the 19th century, it is located on the Republic Square, at the corner of Vasina and Fra ...

and lecturer at the

Academy of Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

, and his father, Srđan Popović, worked as a

sports journalist Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

at the

daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

'' Večernje novosti''. Popović lost his father in 1991. He grew up in the

Paviljoni Paviljoni ( sr-cyr, Павиљони, meaning "pavilions") is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Novi Beograd. Location Paviljoni is located in the northernmost part of the m ...

neighborhood of

New Belgrade New Belgrade ( sr, / , ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. It is a planned city, built since 1948 in a previously uninhabited area on the left bank of the Sava river, opposite old Belgrade. In recent years, it has become the central bu ...

. Relja stated that he found passion for hip-hop as a child, being exposed by his older brother Miša to artists such as

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

and

Juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or Cold-pressed juice, pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat ...

. Before graduating from high school Popović was shot in

stomach The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach i ...

while defending his girl friend in a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, and had his

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...

and

spleen The spleen is an organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The word spleen comes .

removed.

Career

Music

Popović began his professional music career in 2005 alongside his childhood friend Vladimir Matović, as a part of

. Together they released one studio album, titled ''Oko sveta'' (2010), and several standalone singles. Elitni Odredi eventually announced their disbandment at the beginning of 2015. Following the duo's hiatus, Popović pursued a solo career with the release of the single "Beograd još živi" in April the same year. In July 2019, he held his first solo concert in Belgrade during the Ulaz music festival. At the beginning of 2020, Popović established a record label imprint, called Made In Blkn Records, in distribution deal with IDJTunes. The company was in 2021 also expanded to a clothing brand. The following year, Relja alongside

Teodora Džehverović Teodora Džehverović ( sr-Cyrl, Теодора Џехверовић, born on 10 February 1997) is a Serbian singer and television personality. Born in Kačarevo, she rose to prominence after she had competed on the ninth season of '' Zvezde Gra ...

and

Darko Dimitrov Darko Dimitrov ( mk, Дарко Димитров ; born January 21, 1973) is a Macedonian songwriter, record producer, arranger and record executive. Highly acclaimed for revitalising the Yugoslav mainstream pop music scene, which also influence ...

was announced as a judge and coach on the

singing competition A music competition is a public event designed to identify and award outstanding musical ensembles, soloists, composers, conductors and musicologists. Pop music competitions are music competitions which are held to find pop starlets. Examples ...

series ''IDJShow''. In June, his contestant Amna Alajbegović was declared the season one winner.

Acting

Popović made his on screen debut in the

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

''Dremano oko'' (2003), directed by Vladimir Perišić. Subsequently, for his performance in Perišić's ''

'' (2009) Relja became the youngest recipient of the

award at the

Sarajevo Film Festival The Sarajevo Film Festival is the premier and largest film festival in Southeast Europe, and is one of the largest film festivals in Europe. It was founded in Sarajevo in 1995 during the siege of Sarajevo in the Bosnian War, and brings internation ...

. In the 2011 movie '' The Parade'', Popović starred as a

skinhead A skinhead is a member of a subculture which originated among working class youths in London, England, in the 1960s and soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in th ...

and the son of

Nikola Kojo Nikola Kojo (; born 5 September 1967) is a Serbian actor and film director. Biography Nikola was named after his great-grandfather, who was an protoiereus in Mostar. He made his acting debut before he turned 13, with the role of the boy Ivan in ...

's character. In December 2021, he was introduced to the second season of the

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

series ''Besa''.

Personal life

Popović graduated from the Faculty of Media and Communications at the

Singidunum University Singidunum University ( sr, Универзитет Сингидунум, Univerzitet Singidunum) is a higher education institution in Belgrade, Serbia which offers undergraduate, master and doctoral academics studies in three scientific fields ...

and also studied acting at the Academy of Arts in Belgrade. In 2014, he started dating singer Nikolija Jovanović after

had collaborated with her on their single "Alkohola litar". The couple has two daughters, born on 26 September 2016 and 17 July 2021.

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

Awards and nominations

;Acting ;Music

External links

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popovic, Relja 1989 births Living people Singers from Belgrade 21st-century Serbian male singers Serbian rappers Serbian folk-pop singers 21st-century Serbian male actors