Read more
Examining the cultural significance of the rap album Jarmark (2020) as a reflection of Polish politics and history during the country''s populist turn and migration following EU enlargement. Jarmark is Taco Hemingway''s fifth album, and his most political to date, coming soon after he became the first Polish artist to be streamed a billion times on Spotify. Previously described as the voice of a generation with nothing to say, Hemingway''s political turn can be read as an intervention, not least because Jarmark was released two days before the presidential election in 2020, which had the potential to end PiS (Law and Justice)''s reign. As such, the book examines the album as a response to a crisis point in Polish society, with a country divided about its future, both politically and socially. It explores the textual and musical characteristics of the album within the context of the history of Polish rap and Hemingway''s career. It also discusses the impact of the album, by examining its reception by fans as reflected by comments on YouTube and social media, its critical reception, sales and awards.>
List of contents
Introduction: What is Polish Hip Hop?
Chapter 1: Poland's postsocialist history and the rise of Taco Hemingway
Chapter 2: The textual analysis of Jarmark
Chapter 3: Social remittances, the reception of the album and the failure of the 'Grand Narrative' of Polish migration
Bibliography
About the author
Kamila Rymajdo is a Manchester, UK based journalist and academic. As a journalist she predominantly writes about music and club culture for imprints such as Mixmag, DJ Mag, Vice and Dazed. Her academic writing, which focuses on hip hop, electronic music and the creative industries has been published in the Cambridge University Press Popular Music journal, the Equinox published Journal of World Popular Music and in edited collections including
Heading North (2017),
Made in Poland (2020) and
The Evolution of Electronic Dance Music (Bloomsbury, 2021).
