It’s been a while since a rapper as self-confident and distinctive has appeared in Poland. Taco consciously creates his mythologies: maps of now defunct clubs, recognizable figures like taxi drivers, waiters, and cashiers, as well as characteristic protagonists with whom listeners may easily identify. He serves it all with a large doze of coolness and grace modelling his voice on an exhausted, irritated, or surprised tone. As sensitive gentlemen and dreamers, his protagonists often reach for alcohol and constantly need money.
With a few exceptions, the musical side of his projects is arranged by his school friend Maciej Ruszecki (pseudonym Rumak). Together, they sent their recordings to fans before signing a contract with Asfalt. Free concerts on the banks of the River Wisła quickly turned into for big, profitable concerts.
In 2015 Taco Hemingway played at various Polish Festivals: starting from the great Open’er, which launched the period of his greatest popularity, through Live Music in Kraków and Up To Date in Białystok, up to Domoffon in Łódź. After summer performances, Taco managed to gather the whole public in Palladium (several hundred places) in September.
In mid-2016 his next mini-album Wosk (Wax, trans. MG) was released, followed by the rapper’s first studio album. The critically acclaimed Marmur (Marble, trans. MG) earned gold status and was nominated for the Fryderyk Award in the Hip-Hop Album of the Year category. His next work – 2017’s Szprycer (Spritzer, trans. MG) – won that award.
In the spring of 2018, Taco Hemingway and Quebonafide announced that they were collaborating on a joint album. Soma 0,5 mg was promoted with a single entitled Tamagotchi, which gained enormous popularity, while the album itself occupied the top of the sales rankings for a long time, finally going multiple-platinum (120,000 copies sold). The duo went on tour, performing as Taconafide. Their concert at the Open’er Festival was the culmination of the tour. According to estimates, it gathered an audience of tens of thousands.
Taco Hemingway’s latest album, Pocztówka z WWA, Lato ’19 (Postcard from WWA. Summer ’19, trans. MG), was released in the summer of 2019. This time, topics addressed by the rapper included current social and political issues, such as reluctance towards immigrants and LGBT circles. Hemingway also took part in the Olśnienie.eu social campaign aimed at encouraging people to vote in parliamentary elections.
The rapper’s collaboration with Dawid Podsiadło also proved to be a great success. In May 2019, the artists announced a joint concert at the National Stadium in Warsaw. All tickets for the event at the 73,000-seat stadium quickly sold out. Thus, Taco Hemingway and Dawid Podsiadło permanently entered the history of Polish music – no other Polish musicians have ever gathered such a large audience at a concert. The two young artists were placed tenth on a list of the 50 Most Influential Poles, published by Wprost weekly on 28th October 2019.
