Greek hip hop ( el, Ελληνικό χιπ χοπ, ), is the chief genre of
rap music in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
.
History
The earliest indications of the localized genre date back to 1987 the Maxi-single Deejays's with the group
FF.C, though native language albums did not appear until the mid-1990s. The first hip hop album was ''Diamartiria'' (protest) in 1993 of Active Member along with "Σκληροί καιροί" (Hard Times) by FF.C. Both albums released under the independent label "Freestyle Productions". Though many can argue that the album Modern Fears "Η Αναμέτρηση" (circa 1992) by Aris Thomas was the first hip hop influenced record in Greece. Then
Razastarr followed with their unreleased demo on Freestyle Productions, and TXC (now Artemis/Efthimis) with their single ''Terror X Crew'' in 1995.
Gangsta rap came to Greece in 1997 with the group
Zontanoi Nekroi
Zontanoi Nekroi ("Living Dead") is a Greek rap group formed in 1997. The members are Taki Tsan, Midenistis, Katahthonios, Ypohthonios, and Harmanis.
Formation
At a concert of the hip hop group Terror X Crew in 1997 at the Camel Club–Athens, a p ...
(Ζωντανοί Νεκροί; ''Living Dead''). In 1999 the group Paremvoles (Παρεμβολές) released the first
hardcore
Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to:
Arts and media Film
* ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film
* ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott
* ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...
CD named ''En Opsi'' (Εν όψει; ''In consideration of''). In 2000 the group Alfa Gama (Άλφα Γάμα
.Γ. continued with the CD named ''Agnostofovia'' (Αγνωστοφοβία; ''Fear of the unknown'').
Imiskoumbria and Goin' Through made Greek hip-hop famous in the mainstream Greek audience. Goin' Through changed their way of music from hip hop to a kind of
R&B or
Pop music
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...
. The political issues and the society also invaded to this type of music. Terror X Crew introduced a new style of rapping with their CD's "I Polis Ealo" (1997) and "Essetai Imar" (2001). These ''ethnocentric'' albums signified the first time
Greek nationalism
Greek nationalism (or Hellenic nationalism) refers to the nationalism of Greeks and Greek culture.. As an ideology, Greek nationalism originated and evolved in pre-modern times. It became a major political movement beginning in the 18th century, ...
was involved with hip-hop music. In 2001
Makis Voridis
Mavroudis (Makis) Voridis ( el, Μαυρουδής (Μάκης) Χρήστου Βορίδης) (born 23 August 1964) is a Greek politician and lawyer. His previous and current involvement with far-right rhetoric and past association with dictat ...
, the then president of the
Hellenic Front
The Hellenic Front ( el, Ελληνικό Μέτωπο) was a Greek political party with an ultranationalist platform, founded in 1994. Its declared ''raison d'être'' was to raise national conscience and inspire freedom, creativity, and developme ...
, awarded the band for its service to contemporary Greek music.
Nowadays Greek hip hop covers a broad spectrum, all the way from hardcore hip hop to
urban pop
Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music.
The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhythm ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greek Hip Hop