culture, subculture and counterculture - Facultatea de Litere

DANIELA ŞORCARU
Their next album, in 2001, Categoria grea (“Heavyweight”), probably has
the best Romanian hip-hop video to date, produced by a team of U.S.
professionals and inspired from the movie Fight Club, for the track Categoria
grea, which is (obviously) rapidly censored by C.N.A. In September, Paraziţii
launch their first major campaign, against the habit of playback on stage,
through their song Shoot Yourself. Despite the mocking lyrics, the message is
dead serious and the initiative rapidly gains adepts and fans across the country.
The next single of the group, În focuri (“Heated Up”, a semantic pun with
sexual, angry and / or emotional connotations), is released in 2002, and has a
shocking video, as it features no music at all. In November, Paraziţii released
their best-selling album to date, Irefutabil (“Undisputable”), sold so far in
140,000 copies (a huge number for the Romanian hip-hop scene), and which
won several MTV and various other awards across the country. Their videos
being censored by C.N.A. is already a well-known habit, and the video for Bad
Joke makes no exception. The reaction of the group is the video for Necomercial
(“Un-commercial”), which, despite the cynical remarks and the social criticism,
features an amateur-like video, filmed by the group members themselves, during
trips between shows in various towns.
In 2002 and 2003 the group performed in tours in Germany, Austria and
the Netherlands. Due to the September 11, 2001 attacks, the group lost the
opportunity to perform in a Canada-USA tour. The most important event
remains the act at the Wuppertal Rap-Attack festival (2004) when Paraziţii were
the only group to perform before the well known rap/hip-hop artist Grandmaster
Flash.
The next two years feature solo albums from Cheloo (Sindromul Tourette,
2003, “The Tourette Syndrom”) and Ombladon (Condoleanţe, 2004,
“Condolences”), each depicting their personal style. Cheloo’s album has a
visible underground tendency, with a heavy, enclosed rhythm, while
Ombladon’s is governed by a morbid-humoristic tone, with a solid and
proficient hip-hop technique.
In 2004, Paraziţii launch their first major counterattack (and the deadly
blow) against Romanian censorship. In May, the group made the final step
towards becoming the spearhead of the assault against censorship abuse, with
the release of their single Jos cenzura! (“Down with censorship!”). Since then,
this track has become the hymn for many forms of protests, from student strikes
across the country, to official protests and manifestations in various fields. The
video for the track features an impressive number of Romanian personalities
voicing the jos cenzura! slogan, from important names in Romanian hip-hop,
and breaking through boundaries, with TV, radio or press important names,
people who have fought the Communist regime, as well as new and heavy
present-day personalities. Halfway into the song, the video is suddenly
interrupted by a videotaped declaration by the famous Larry Flynt, the owner of
Hustler magazine, and perhaps the most important name worldwide in the fight
against censorship.
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