Džej Ramadanovski (; 29 May 1964 – 6 December 2020) was a Serbian singer. Debuted in 1987 with "Zar ja da ti brišem suze", during his life he released thirteen studio albums and a couple of standalone singles. Džej was known for balladic

kafana Kafana is a type of local coffeehouse, bistro or tavern, common in the countries of Southeast Europe, which originally served coffee and other warm drinks while today usually also offer alcoholic beverages and food. Many kafanas feature live mus ...

songs like: "Nedelja", "Gde ću sad, moja ružo" and "Uspeo sam u životu", as well as for up-beat

turbo-folk Turbo-folk is a subgenre of contemporary South Slavs, South Slavic pop music that initially developed in Serbia during the 1990s as a fusion of techno and folk music, folk. The term was an invention of the Montenegro, Montenegrin singer Rambo ...

records like: "Ko se s nama druži", "Seksi ritam" and "Lubenica".

Early life

Ramadanovski was born on 29 May 1964 in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

to parents Mazlam and Barija Ramadanovski. His family is of

Muslim Roma Muslim Romani people or Muslim Roma are people who are ethnically Romani and profess Islam. They may also be known as Muslim Gypsies, with some Roma preferring to use the term, not perceiving it as derogatory. They primarily live in the Balkan ...

ni descent and comes from the town of Resen in today's

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

. Ramadanovski grew up in the downtown neighborhood of Dorćol, where he continued living for the rest of his life. Following his parents' divorce, he began running away from school because of which he was accepted to a youth detention center. After completing

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

, Ramadanovski worked at the factory of agricultural machinery 'Zmaj'.

Career

Džej began recording music after he had been discovered by songwriters

Marina Tucaković Marina Tucaković ( sr-Cyrl, Марина Туцаковић; 4 November 1953 – 19 September 2021) was a Serbian lyricist and songwriter. Born and raised in Belgrade, Serbia, Tucaković had a degree from the Economic Faculty at the Universit ...

, Aleksandar Radulović and Sava Bojić. He rose to prominence by appearing on the International Music Fair (MESAM) in 1987 with the song "Zar ja da ti brišem suze", finishing as the runner-up. The following year, he released his debut studio album under Diskoton. Ramadanovski gained more significant popularity during the 1990s. In 1991, he held his first solo concert at the Tašmajdan. At the peak of his popularity, Ramadanovski also toured outside Yugoslavia in countries such as

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 2008, he competed at the Grand Music Festival with the song "Imati pa nemati", again finishing in 2nd place. Ramadanovski was nominated for the Male Folk Singer of the Year at the 2011 Serbian Popularity Oscar. Additionally to music, Džej made cameo appearances in movies '' Hajde da se volimo 2'' (1989) and ''Vikend sa ćaletom'' (2020).

Personal life, death and legacy

In an interview with ''

Politika ( sr-Cyrl, Политика, lit=Politics) is a Serbian daily newspaper, published in Belgrade. Founded in 1904 by Vladislav F. Ribnikar, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in the Balkans. Publishing and ownership is publ ...

'', Ramadanovski stated that he was related to mobster Iso Lero "

Džamba Iso Lero, known by his nickname Džamba, was a Romani Yugoslavian gangster based in Belgrade, Serbia. He was called "the Don of Dorćol". He disappeared on 23 September 1992 after having received a beating from several members of the Serb Volun ...

", who wrote several of his songs. He had two daughters with his former wife, Nada. At the beginning of 2020, a blood clot was found on his heart valve during an examination. On 6 December 2020, Ramadanovski died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

, at the age of 56. On December 11, he was buried at the Alley of Meritorious Citizens in Belgrade. His life and career were dramatized in the 2024 biopic ''Nedelja'', directed by Nemanja Ćeranić and starring Husein Alijević as Ramadanovski.

Discography

;Studio albums *''Zar ja da ti brišem suze'' (1988) *''Ljubio sam, nisam znao'' (1988) *''Jedan, dva'' (1989) *''Ko se s nama druži'' (1991) *''Blago onom ko rano poludi'' (1992) *''Rađaj sinove'' (1993) *''Sa moje tačke gledišta'' (1995) *''Upalite za mnom sveće'' (1996) *''Na ivici pakla'' (1997) *''Oprosti majko'' (1998) *''Zato'' (1999) *''Ludo vino'' (2001) *''Vozi, vozi...'' (2003)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramadanovski, Dzej 1964 births 2020 deaths People from Resen, North Macedonia Singers from Belgrade Serbian folk singers Serbian folk-pop singers 20th-century Serbian male singers Macedonian Romani people Serbian Romani people Romani singers