I've been listening to some Albanian music lately, so thought I'd do a post on it. :) While I like some Eastern European/Southern European artists such as Elena Risteska (Macedonian) and Zulya (Tatar/Russian) and I'd hadn't heard much Albanian music before. Here are 4 Albanian/Kosovan artists I've been listening to.
Era Istrefi
Era Istrefi (also known as ERA) is a Kosovar (Kosovan Albanian) singer from Pristina in Kosovo. Her mother Suzana Tahirsylaj was a famous singer in the 80s and 90s and her older sister Nora (see below), is also a singer and started her career in the mid 2000s. Era herself debuted on the music scene in 2013 with the single Mani për money (which according to Wikipedia translates as "Money mania"). Her other singles include A po don? (Do you want to?), Njo si ti (Someone like you) and Shumë pis (Very Naughty) featuring rapper Ledri Vula.
She is most well known for her single Bonbon which was released at the end of last year. In February she signed to the American record labels Sony and Ultra Music (which is now part of Sony). Future material will also be released in collaboration with RCA Records.
Era sings in Gheg Albanian and English. People have called her a mix between Sia and Rihanna but she also makes me think of the Guamanian singer Pia Mia.
This is Bonbon. Although it was released last December they've also recently started showing it on the British music channels. According to YouTube commenters it's about drugs! It's mostly in Gheg with a few English lines.
Update 1/5/19: I've found an old interview with Era where she says that Bonbon is about the fear of being single and being in the world alone, and inspiring people to be independent, love themselves and have fun.
Find an English translation of the lyrics here: https://lyricstranslate.com/en/bonbon-bonbon.html
There's also an English version of Bonbon which you can listen to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxc1ufJxPGM
For more on Era check out these links:
Official site (under construction): http://www.eraistrefi.com/
Other website: http://www.eraistrefimusic.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/eraistrefimusic
FB: https://www.facebook.com/strefie/
Interview: http://ventsmagazine.com/2016/03/08/albanian-popstar-era-istrefi-signs-ultrab1sony-music
Nora Istrefi
Nora is Era's older sister. She released her debut album Engjëll (Angel) in 2005 and has released 3 more since, Opium (2006), Another World (2008) and Nora (2009). Her singles include Big Love featuring Vig Poppa, S'ki me ik (You're not leaving), Sje my lifestyle and her latest Majem.
Here is Majem which came out in August. Although it's mostly is Albanian there are a couple of English lines which are explicit!
For more info on Nora visit these sites:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/NoraIstrefiOfficial
Official FB: https://www.facebook.com/NoraIstrefiOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_noraistrefi_/
Mozzik
Mozzik is a Kosovan singer/songwriter and rapper. I can't find much about him online but there is some information on his Facebook page. It's in Albanian so I used Google Translate to translate it!
I think his real name is Ali Gramoz and Mozzik is his stage name. He's from Ferizaj in Kosovo and is signed to OnRecords. He won Best Duet in the Noise Video Music Awards. Mozzik's brother is Ali Getuar "Ghetto" or "Getinjo".
This is his latest single Cocaina.
For more on Mozzik visit his FB page: https://www.facebook.com/MozzikOfficial/
Young Zerka
Young Zerka is a reggae artist and songwriter. He's from Korce in Albania and his music is also R'n'B and hip hop. His singles include Boom Boom, Like Rihanna, Habibi (with DJ Flow), Love and Syn i jemi with Albanian singer Ronela Hajati.
Here is Syn i jemi.
For more on Young Zerka check out these links:
FB: https://www.facebook.com/Young-Zerka-71678983359/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youngzerka/
And visit Ronela's Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Official.RonelaHajati/
I also like Dua Lipa who is a British Albanian singer. Check out my posts about her here:
https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2016/03/weekly-music-video_23.html
https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2016/04/more-dua-lipa-videos.html
https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2016/09/weekly-music-video.html
Hope you liked the post! :) Who are your favourite Albanian singers/rappers?
Era Istrefi
Era Istrefi (also known as ERA) is a Kosovar (Kosovan Albanian) singer from Pristina in Kosovo. Her mother Suzana Tahirsylaj was a famous singer in the 80s and 90s and her older sister Nora (see below), is also a singer and started her career in the mid 2000s. Era herself debuted on the music scene in 2013 with the single Mani për money (which according to Wikipedia translates as "Money mania"). Her other singles include A po don? (Do you want to?), Njo si ti (Someone like you) and Shumë pis (Very Naughty) featuring rapper Ledri Vula.
She is most well known for her single Bonbon which was released at the end of last year. In February she signed to the American record labels Sony and Ultra Music (which is now part of Sony). Future material will also be released in collaboration with RCA Records.
Era sings in Gheg Albanian and English. People have called her a mix between Sia and Rihanna but she also makes me think of the Guamanian singer Pia Mia.
This is Bonbon. Although it was released last December they've also recently started showing it on the British music channels. According to YouTube commenters it's about drugs! It's mostly in Gheg with a few English lines.
Update 1/5/19: I've found an old interview with Era where she says that Bonbon is about the fear of being single and being in the world alone, and inspiring people to be independent, love themselves and have fun.
Find an English translation of the lyrics here: https://lyricstranslate.com/en/bonbon-bonbon.html
There's also an English version of Bonbon which you can listen to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxc1ufJxPGM
For more on Era check out these links:
Official site (under construction): http://www.eraistrefi.com/
Other website: http://www.eraistrefimusic.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/eraistrefimusic
FB: https://www.facebook.com/strefie/
Interview: http://ventsmagazine.com/2016/03/08/albanian-popstar-era-istrefi-signs-ultrab1sony-music
Nora Istrefi
Nora is Era's older sister. She released her debut album Engjëll (Angel) in 2005 and has released 3 more since, Opium (2006), Another World (2008) and Nora (2009). Her singles include Big Love featuring Vig Poppa, S'ki me ik (You're not leaving), Sje my lifestyle and her latest Majem.
Here is Majem which came out in August. Although it's mostly is Albanian there are a couple of English lines which are explicit!
For more info on Nora visit these sites:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/NoraIstrefiOfficial
Official FB: https://www.facebook.com/NoraIstrefiOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_noraistrefi_/
Mozzik
Mozzik is a Kosovan singer/songwriter and rapper. I can't find much about him online but there is some information on his Facebook page. It's in Albanian so I used Google Translate to translate it!
I think his real name is Ali Gramoz and Mozzik is his stage name. He's from Ferizaj in Kosovo and is signed to OnRecords. He won Best Duet in the Noise Video Music Awards. Mozzik's brother is Ali Getuar "Ghetto" or "Getinjo".
This is his latest single Cocaina.
For more on Mozzik visit his FB page: https://www.facebook.com/MozzikOfficial/
Young Zerka
Young Zerka is a reggae artist and songwriter. He's from Korce in Albania and his music is also R'n'B and hip hop. His singles include Boom Boom, Like Rihanna, Habibi (with DJ Flow), Love and Syn i jemi with Albanian singer Ronela Hajati.
Here is Syn i jemi.
For more on Young Zerka check out these links:
FB: https://www.facebook.com/Young-Zerka-71678983359/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youngzerka/
And visit Ronela's Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Official.RonelaHajati/
I also like Dua Lipa who is a British Albanian singer. Check out my posts about her here:
https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2016/03/weekly-music-video_23.html
https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2016/04/more-dua-lipa-videos.html
https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2016/09/weekly-music-video.html
Hope you liked the post! :) Who are your favourite Albanian singers/rappers?
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