![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/rsz_peach_brandy_front_official.jpg?resize=640%2C640&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Nevjerovatno je koliko glazba spaja ljude i koliko ona mo\u017ee daleko otputovati. Sje\u0107am se jo\u0161 kao klinac kad sam po prvi put do\u0161ao u doticaj s hip-hopom, do\u0107i do informacija a kamoli nabaviti ne\u0161to novo i fresh je bilo gotovo pa nemogu\u0107e. Internet jo\u0161 nije postojao, barem ne kod nas, a mali grad kao mali grad, ono \u0161to je imao u ponudi bio je te\u0161ki minimalizam.
\nNo ipak, komadi\u0107i muzike i informacija nekako su pronalazili svoj put do mene pa sam veoma brzo shvatio da komercijala nije ono \u0161to me radi i da trebam kopati dublje u underground, tako dolaze\u0107i do fenomenalnih underrated boom bapova i do najopskurnijih eksperimentalnih rap izdanja. Naravno, dolaskom interneta sve je to znatno olak\u0161ano, ali se pojavom ADSL konekcije otvorio jedan cijeli novi svijet \u0161to je rezultiralo time da se hip-hop jo\u0161 vi\u0161e zacementirao na glazbenim ljestvicama na samom vrhu. Worldwide.<\/p>\n
Odjednom nam se toliko daleki svijet \u010dinio tako blizu i sve postaje jako dostupno, a ljudi su \u010dak mogli ponekad stupiti u direktni kontakt s artistima, poput mene koji je na najrandom na\u010din u\u0161ao u pri\u010du s njujor\u0161kim reperom Outloudom <\/strong>iz grupe Blahzay Blahzay<\/strong> – “We got people all the way in Croatia listening to Blahzay? That’s sick, homie!”<\/em> Time dolazimo do Valida<\/strong>, ameri\u010dkog repera srpskih korijena koji je savr\u0161en primjer internacionalne povezanosti u vidu glazbe. Iako ro\u0111en u Detroitu, njegovi roditelji su srpski imigranti te je kao takav oduvijek po\u0161tovao svoje naslje\u0111e. Nakon vi\u0161e projekata kroz godine, u suradnji s Blackoutom <\/strong>i Valternativom<\/strong>, Valid <\/strong>je 2020. izbacio konceptualan projekt simboli\u010dnog imena “The Plum Brandy EP”<\/a><\/em> kojim, generalno re\u010deno, slavi kulturu isto\u010dne Europe. Takav projekt nije mogao biti polovi\u010dno odra\u0111en, pa je za tu svrhu okupljen broj balkanskih producenata koji su regionalnim semplovima EP-u dali taj yugo \u0161mek, dok je suradnja sa Strukom <\/strong>i Smoke Mardeljanom<\/strong> na singlu “Paper”<\/a><\/em> ono \u0161to je Valida <\/strong>primarno pribli\u017eila doma\u0107oj hip-hop raji.<\/p>\n Prvenstveno zbog poznanstva i suradnje s hip-hop legendom DJ Head<\/strong>-om, Valid <\/strong>je, ukratko re\u010deno, stupio u kontakt s Ma Dukes<\/strong>, majkom pokojnog J Dille<\/strong>, koja je u stalnom kontaktu s na\u0161im Vladom Stojanovi\u0107em<\/strong>. Povezivaju\u0107i njih dvojicu, stvoreno prijateljstvo je uklju\u010dilo i Phat Phillie<\/strong>-a \u0161to je naposljetku, nakon poprili\u010dnog hajpa oko Validovog <\/strong>albuma “Mihajlo”<\/a><\/em> iz 2019-e, dovelo do ideje i same realizacije “The Plum Brandy EP-a<\/em>“. Nakon uspje\u0161ne objave tog projekta, Valid <\/strong>se odlu\u010dio za daljnji pothvat a to je uraditi konceptualan album u istom rangu \u0161to je upravo ovaj, “Peach Brandy”<\/em>, koji je danas glavna tema. Ka\u017eem ti, rakija connecting people, buraz.<\/p>\n Iako svi mi na razne na\u010dine ve\u0107 godinama do\u017eivljavamo ‘amerikanizaciju’, prije svega kroz glazbu i kinematografiju, isto tako smo svjesni da su ameri\u010dka kultura i stil \u017eivota dosta druga\u010diji od na\u0161e svakodnevnice. Upravo zato je zanimljivo analizirati stavove Amerikanca na njegove balkanske korijene, a sam album pru\u017ea osvrt na obje strane. Bivaju\u0107i odgajan na ulicama Detroita kreiralo se bezbroj pri\u010da i anegdota, pogotovo kao potomak imigranata koji se svojski trudi probiti u ovoj hip-hop igri, a opet zadr\u017eati originalnost u procesu. Analiziraju\u0107i njegovu karijeru i rast, slobodno se mo\u017ee re\u0107i da Valid <\/strong>posjeduje ono ne\u0161to druga\u010dije.<\/p>\n Usprkos tome da je sva produkcija ura\u0111ena sa strane beat makera s ex-Yu prostora, cijeli album ima ba\u0161 ‘ameri\u010dki’ prizvuk. Naravno, kako sam ve\u0107 spomenuo, svi instrumentali se baziraju na semplovima doma\u0107ih filmova i glazbe \u0161to je na momente vrlo uo\u010dljivo, ali ipak, da na prvo slu\u0161anje ne zna\u0161 pozadinu nastanka albuma rekao bi da je ovo stopostotno ameri\u010dki album. E sad, nekome \u0107e se to svidjeti dok nekome ne\u0107e, ali ono \u0161to je mene, ustvari, fasciniralo jest \u010dinjenica da sam zvu\u010dno o\u010dekivao, da ka\u017eem, ‘balkanskiju’ produkciju kojoj \u0107e se Valid <\/strong>prilagoditi, a u stvarnosti produkcija je pribli\u017eena Validu <\/strong>i njegovom biotopu.<\/p>\n To sve ima smisla jer, iako je album inspiriran na\u0161om regijom, \u0161to je lijepo iskazano singlom “May 6th”<\/a><\/em> koji pri\u010da o \u0110ur\u0111evdanu i generalno na\u0161im podru\u010djima, s druge strane, pjesmom “Nine To Five”<\/a><\/em> bavi se temom njegove svakodnevnice odlaska na posao u SAD-u, istovremeno nalaze\u0107i dovoljno energije i volje baviti se muzikom, dok gostuju\u0107i Stretch Money<\/strong> pri\u010da pri\u010du s druge strane medalje a to je prisje\u0107anje na njegovu pro\u0161lost ilegalnih radnji kako bi pre\u017eivio. Tu je jo\u0161 nedavni single kao ljubavni duet “Never Question”<\/a><\/em> na kojoj gostuje detroitska pjeva\u010dica Neisha Nashe<\/strong>, pa i reprezent traka “Stara \u0160kola”<\/a><\/em> koja je okupila sjajne MC-eve iz svake od republika biv\u0161e dr\u017eave. Dakle, samo se po singlovima mo\u017ee zaklju\u010diti da “Peach Brandy”<\/em> pru\u017ea zbilja veliku lepezu raznih tema u koje je potrebno samo uroniti, a album definitivno nije plitak, \u0161to ga \u010dini odli\u010dnim nastavkom na “The Plum Brandy EP”<\/em> projekt. Valid <\/strong>to i dodatno obja\u0161njava:<\/p>\n “[…] Ovaj put je to malo druga\u010dije. To nije EP – to je album. I tu je mnogo op\u0107enitih poruka. Mnogo pjesama sadr\u017ee suptilne poruke o tome da ne mo\u017ee\u0161 kontrolirati \u0161to se doga\u0111a oko tebe, ali mo\u017ee\u0161 kontrolirati kako \u0107e\u0161 reagirati na stvari te da mo\u017ee\u0161 samo odlu\u010diti cijeniti taj trenutak i prihvatiti \u017eivot kakav jest.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Vra\u0107aju\u0107i se na sam po\u010detak ovog teksta – muzika spaja ljude, a zahvaljuju\u0107i modernim tehnologijama i glazbenim entuzijastima, povezati na\u0161e ljude s onima preko bare je mnogo lak\u0161e nego ikada. Radi toga, dobili smo sjajan album i odu na\u0161im rodnim zavi\u010dajima koji su mali raj na zemlji iako, usprkos raznim neda\u0107ama, toga \u010desto nismo ni svjesni. Mo\u017eemo se pohvaliti prelijepom prirodom, bogatom povije\u0161\u0107u i kulturom, znanstvenim i sportskim uspjesima, kao i socijalizacijom na dugosatnim kavama kakvu svijet nije vidio. Uz sve to, posjedujemo enorman broj kvalitetnih umjetnika u raznim sferama, pa tako i glazbenim, a zahvaljuju\u0107i Validu<\/strong>, Blackoutu <\/strong>i Valternativi <\/strong>ujedinili smo se jo\u0161 jednom i pokazali svijetu da ovaj komad Europe mo\u017ee parirati svakome.<\/p>\n No, Balkanci k’o Balkanci, te\u0161ka smo publika tako da vjerujem da \u0107e se na\u0107i pokoja zamjerka na album, ali objektivno ovo je odli\u010dan projekt i definitivno treba mu dati \u0161ansu. Valid<\/strong>, kao produkt detroitskih ulica, uz mentorstvo DJ Head<\/strong>-a, uzdigao se pri sam vrh ameri\u010dkog Srednjeg Zapada, a Detroit Metro Times ga opisuje kao ne\u0161to “najbolje od modernog hip-hopa \u0161to je ovaj grad imao prilike \u010duti”<\/em>. Liri\u010dki skill je neosporiv, a i osjetno je da je Valid <\/strong>u ovaj projekt stavio komad svog balkanskog duha. Stoga se nadam da \u0107e doma\u0107a publika prihvatiti album jer to zaslu\u017euje, te da \u0107e na\u0161u scenu pribli\u017eiti Amerima jer mi to zaslu\u017eujemo.<\/p>\n Album \u0107e premijerno biti dostupan za preslu\u0161avanje od petka, 26.07., u 6 ujutro po Srednjoeuropskom vremenu \u0161to \u0107emo vas, naravno, na vrijeme i obavijestiti. Tako\u0111er, Valid <\/strong>\u0107e uz DJ Head<\/strong>-a nastupati na ovogodi\u0161njoj ediciji Preach The Ri\u010d festivala<\/a><\/strong> u Martinskoj, tako da \u0107ete imati priliku \u010duti album i u\u017eivo, so don’t miss out!<\/p>\n Breskova\u010da. Aj uzdravlje!<\/p>\n —————————— It’s amazing how much music brings people together and how far it can travel. I remember as a kid when I came into contact with hip-hop for the first time, getting information, let alone getting something new and fresh, was almost impossible. The Internet didn’t exist yet, at least not here, and a small town being a small town, what it had to offer was heavy minimalism. Suddenly, the world so far away seemed so close to us and everything became very accessible, and people were even sometimes able to get in direct contact with artists, like me, who in the most random way got into the conversation with the New York rapper Outloud <\/strong>from the group Blahzay Blahzay<\/strong> – “We got people all the way in Croatia listening to Blahzay? That’s sick, homie!”<\/em> This brings us to Valid<\/strong>, an American rapper with Serbian roots who is a perfect example of international connection in the form of music. Although born in Detroit, his parents are Serbian immigrants, and as such, he has always respected his heritage. After several projects over the years, in collaboration with Blackout <\/strong>and Valternativa<\/strong>, in 2020 Valid <\/strong>released a conceptual project with the symbolic name “The Plum Brandy EP”<\/a><\/em>, celebrating the culture of Eastern Europe, generally speaking. Such a project couldn’t be done half-way, so for this purpose a number of Balkan producers were gathered who used regional samples and gave the EP that Yugo touch, while the collaboration with Struka <\/strong>and Smoke Mardeljano<\/strong> on the single “Paper”<\/a><\/em> is what primarily brought Valid closer to the domestic hip-hop audience.<\/p>\n Primarily due to his acquaintance and cooperation with the hip-hop legend DJ Head<\/strong>, Valid <\/strong>came into contact with Ma Dukes<\/strong>, mother of the late J Dilla<\/strong>, who is in constant contact with our Vlada Stojanovi\u0107<\/strong>. Connecting the two, the friendship created included Phat Phillie<\/strong>, which ultimately, after considerable hype around Valid<\/strong>‘s album “Mihajlo”<\/a><\/em> from 2019, led to the idea and the realization of “The Plum Brandy EP”<\/em>. After the successful publication of that project, Valid <\/strong>decided on a further venture, which is to make a conceptual album in the same rank as this one, “Peach Brandy”<\/em>, which is the main topic today. I’m telling you, rakija connecting people, bro’.<\/p>\n Although we’ve all been experiencing ‘Americanization’ in various ways for years, primarily through music and cinematography, we are also aware that the American culture and lifestyle are quite different from our everyday lives. That is precisely why it is interesting to analyze the American’s views on his Balkan roots, and the album itself provides an overview on both sides. Being raised on the streets of Detroit has created countless stories and anecdotes, especially as a descendant of immigrants trying to make it in this hip-hop game in his own way, while still maintaining originality in the process. Analyzing his career and growth, it’s safe to say that Valid <\/strong>possesses something different.<\/p>\n Despite the fact that all the production was done by beatmakers from the ex-Yu area, the whole album has a very ‘American’ undertone. Of course, as I already mentioned, all the instrumentals are based on samples of domestic films and music, which is very noticeable at times, but still, if you didn’t know the background of the album’s creation at first, you would say that this is a 100% American album. Now, some will like it while some won’t, but what really fascinated me was the fact that I was expecting with the sound, so to speak, a more ‘Balkan’ production to which Valid would adapt, but in reality the production is being brought closer to Valid <\/strong>and his biotope.<\/p>\n This all makes sense because, although the album is inspired by our region, which is beautifully expressed by the single “May 6th”<\/a><\/em>, which talks about \u0110ur\u0111evdan (St. George’s Day) and our regions in general, on the other hand, the song “Nine To Five”<\/a><\/em> deals with the theme of his everyday going to work in the USA while finding enough energy and will to do music, while the guest Stretch Money<\/strong> tells the story from the other side of the coin, which is the recollection of his past of illegal activities in order to survive. There is also a recent single as a love duet, “Never Question”<\/a><\/em>, which features the Detroit singer Neisha Nashe<\/strong>, as well as a represent-styled track, “Stara \u0160kola”<\/a><\/em>, which brought together great MCs from each of the republics of the former state. So, from the singles alone, it can be concluded that “Peach Brandy”<\/em> offers a really large variety of topics that you just need to dive into, and the album is definitely not shallow, which makes it an excellent follow-up to “The Plum Brandy EP”<\/em> project. Valid <\/strong>further explains:<\/p>\n “This time it is a bit different; it is not an EP – it’s a full album. And there’s a more general message throughout. Many of the songs have a subtle message that you can’t control what happens in the world around you, but you can control how you react to things, and you can choose to just appreciate that moment and take life as it comes.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Going back to the beginning of this text – music brings people together, and thanks to modern technologies and music enthusiasts, connecting our people with those across the pond is much easier than ever. Thanks to that, we got a great album and a tribute to our homelands, which are a little heaven on Earth, although, despite various adversities, we’re often not even aware of it. We can boast of beautiful nature, rich history and culture, scientific and sporting accomplishments, as well as socializing over long hours of coffee sipping that the world has never seen. In addition to all that, we have an enormous number of quality artists in various spheres, including music, and thanks to Valid<\/strong>, Blackout<\/strong>, and Valternativa<\/strong>, we united once again and showed the world that this piece of Europe can rival anyone.<\/p>\n However, Balkans folk like Balkan fol, we’re a difficult audience, so I believe that there will be some criticism to the album, but objectively, this is a great project, and it should definitely be given a chance. Valid<\/strong>, as a product of the streets of Detroit, with the mentorship of DJ Head<\/strong>, rose to the very top of the American Midwest, and the Detroit Metro Times describes him as “the best modern hip-hop music this city has ever heard”<\/em>. The lyrical skill is indisputable, and it’s noticeable that Valid <\/strong>has put a piece of his Balkan spirit into this project. Therefore, I hope that the local audience will accept the album because it deserves it, and that it’ll bring our scene closer to the Americans because we deserve it.<\/p>\n
\nHrvatska, kao i cijela biv\u0161a Jugoslavija, oduvijek je bila iznimno glazbeno potkovana u gotovo svim pravcima; od funka i jazza, rocka i metala, elektronike pa i hip-hopa u gotovo njegovim najmla\u0111im danima, a zahvaljuju\u0107i Blackout Hip Hopu<\/strong> Hrvatska je u najve\u0107em rap hajpu i na doma\u0107em tlu imala prilike do\u017eivjeti nastupe neke od najve\u0107ih hip-hop zvijezda. Me\u0111u tim artistima trebao se na\u0107i i 2Pac <\/strong>jo\u0161 davne 1994. godine, ali to je ve\u0107 pri\u010da za sebe. Poanta jest, oduvijek smo bili glazbeno povezani sa svijetom, prije i nakon tehnolo\u0161kog \u010duda nazvanog internet, a na\u0161i su ljudi kvalitetom stekli respektabilnu reputaciju me\u0111u stranim kolegama. Muzika spaja ljude, kako ka\u017ee stara narodna, ba\u0161 kao i rakija.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Valid.jpg?resize=640%2C438&ssl=1\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/rsz_dj_head_valid.jpg?resize=640%2C474&ssl=1\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackouthiphop.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/rsz_peach_brandy_back_vinly_official.jpg?resize=640%2C640&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n
\nENG:<\/p>\n
\nBut still, pieces of music and information somehow found their way to me, so very quickly I realized that commercial music isn’t what works for me and that I should dig deeper into the underground, thus reaching phenomenal underrated boom bap and the most obscure experimental rap releases. Of course, with the arrival of the Internet, all of this was made much easier, but with the arrival of the ADSL connection, a whole new world opened up, which resulted in hip-hop cementing itself even more at the top of the music charts. Worldwide.<\/p>\n
\nCroatia, like the whole of former Yugoslavia, has always been exceptionally musical in almost all directions, from funk and jazz, rock and metal, electronic music, and even hip-hop in almost his youngest days, and thanks to Blackout Hip Hop<\/strong> Croatia had the opportunity to experience live performances of some of the largest hip-hop stars in the biggest rap hype on home soil. 2Pac <\/strong>should’ve been among those artists back in 1994, but that’s a story in itself. The point is, we have always been musically connected to the world, before and after the technological miracle called the Internet, and our people have gained a respectable reputation among foreign colleagues for their quality. Music brings people together, as the old saying goes, just like rakija.<\/p>\n