7 Controversial Performers of the Polish Music Scene
There is a certain type of musician who uses scandal to get attention. Some people, quite a few of whom are involved in music, simply believe that there’s no such thing as bad press. If you’re interested in finding out what music scandals look like in Poland, read these controversial stories linked to 7 Polish musicians, who are listed below.
Popek Monster
This rapper, who calls himself the King of Albania and doesn’t avoid using vulgar language, had his eyeballs tattooed with dark ink. A film showing the process of the said bodily alteration has 1.4 million hits on Youtube. He also had his face scarified – the film showing this event has almost a million views. Additionally Popek Monster declared that his golden teeth would be pulled out with a pair of pliers and given to homeless people. In Poland he’s currently a very recognizable Internet personality.
Nergal
He is the leader of the internationally successful death metal band Behemoth. In 2007 Nergal ropped the Bible on stage during one of the band’s concerts in Poland. For this deed he was charged with insulting religious feelings. The resulting court case, which was widely commented on, went on for 7 years. In the end Nergal was found not guilty of the mentioned charge. Behemoth’s unholy image stirs controversy also abroad – a number of concerts during the band’s 2014 tour of Russia provoked protests from local religious activists.
Maria Peszek
In 2008 she released her second album entitled Maria Awaria, which, as she herself put it, is about “the body, hedonism and sensuality (…)”. The poetical, erotic lyrics of the songs from this record came as a shock to some people in Poland. One of the tabloids wrote about a record “filled with vulgar references to sex”. Just after the album’s premiere Peszek was accused by one of the dailies of “holding traditional values in contempt”. Peszek’s fans weren’t too concerned with such opinions - in Poland Maria Awaria became a platinum album.
Maciej Maleńczuk
Last year this singer and poet released the album Tęczowa swasta / Rainbow Swastika together with the band Psychodancing. Later he let himself get photographed wearing a necklace with a right-facing, rainbow swastika in public. The photographs shocked many; one tabloid even inquired whether the musician was “propagating fascist content”. By wearing a swastika in public Maciej Maleńczuk followed in the footsteps of Mick Jagger, the Rolling Stones frontman who wore a swastika t-shirt during a concert that band gave on 18 July 1978 in Texas.
Doda
She’s a famous pop singer known for her sexually charged image. In 2009 in an interview, when asked about the Bible, she said that it’s hard for her “to believe in something that was written by someone who was drunk with wine and smoked some herbs”. For these words Doda was charged with insulting religious feelings and sentenced to a fine. In the course of the court case, which attracted much attention from the media, the author of the said interview said that Doda formed the opinion in question in order to “make a scandal, make a buzz about herself”
Paweł Kukiz
He’s a musician-slash-politician who is equally shocking in both of these capacities. Kukiz sang and wrote the lyrics of the 1992 song ZCHN zbliża się, which is based on a church melody and tells about a priest with a predilection towards alcohol. This number was seen by many as anti-clerical and brought Kukiz a lot of criticism from conservative circles. Lately Kukiz ran for President in Poland and received 20% of the votes in the first round. As a politician he raised controversy when he compared Polish immigration to “extermination”.
Kora
This noted rock and roll vocalist who started her career when Poland was still under the communist regime was the lead singer of the immensely popular band Maanam. Lately Kora’s musical career has slowed down a bit but she still constitutes an interesting topic for the media as a public figure: She strongly supports the legalization of marijuana. In an article about her a popular Polish Internet portal wrote the following: “For 30 years Kora was a symbol of Polish rock music. Will she now become a symbol of fighting for legalization?”
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