Kalush Orchestra: The “Conscious” Folk-Rap That Brought Ukraine to Eurovision Victory

The first rap that Oleh Psiuk ever wrote was a diss on his school teacher, much to the joy of his fellow classmates. He was only 15 years old, on track to become an engineer like his father. He loved music and was an avid listener of artists like Eminem, NWA, Eazy E, and Ice […]

Alina Pash: Ukrainian and Rusyn Experimental-Folk Music From the Heart

When asked to describe herself, Alina Pash proudly declares that she is “100% Bitanga” (a word from the Rusyn language meaning “Hooligan”). True to that characterization, she often pushes boundaries through both her personal style and the content of her music. Not wanting to conform to anyone else’s agenda, she even created her own music […]

Go_A: Ukrainian Folk Group

While studying abroad in Ukraine, I grew accustomed to watching a TV show called Vidbir on Sunday evenings. The name, Vidbir, refers to “selection” in Ukrainian, which is appropriate as the show itself selects who will represent Ukraine at Eurovision, an annual Europe-wide pop-music contest. This year, the 2020 season of Vidbir featured many good […]