1980s and 1990s Hip-hop culture, or
rapping as a vocal component of hip-hop, has been developing in
Czechoslovakia since the 1980s, mainly in large cities such as
Prague,
Brno, and
Plzeň. The first instance of what can be called hip-hop in the country is attributed to
Lesík Hajdovský and his band Manželé, with their 1985 hit song "Jižák". Following the 1989
Velvet Revolution, the Prague-based award-winning group
J.A.R. performed a blend of hip-hop, rock, and
funk, remaining active to the present day. The trio
Rapmasters, active for a decade starting in 1989, fused hip-hop with
dance, releasing five studio albums during their career. The group
WWW issued their first demo in 1993, and they have remained active to this day. One of the most popular groups of the genre are
Chaozz, active from 1995 until 2002 and again since 2017, who spun off the duo
Prago Union in 2002. The group
Syndrom Snopp formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2006. The duo
Indy & Wich formed in 1998 and remained active until 2006, putting out two studio albums. 1998 also saw the creation of
Pio Squad, a hip-hop group based in the city of
Jihlava.
Naše Věc, a group based in
Brno, released two studio albums between 1997 and 2006. The eastern city of
Zlín saw the birth of
DeFuckTo, active from 1999 to 2016.
2000s–present The Prague-based hip-hop duo
Supercrooo formed in 2004 and released several albums before disbanding in 2007. 2004 witnessed the formation of the
Romani hip-hop group
Gipsy.cz, active to the present, as well as initial activity by the rapper
Řezník. ==Festivals==