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. Taco Hemingway is the first Polish artist to be streamed a billion times on Spotify. His fifth studio album, Jarmark, is his most political work to date. Previously described as the voice of a generation with nothing to say, Hemingway’s shift towards political themes can be seen as an intervention, especially as Jarmark’s lead single ‘Polskie Tango’ was released just two days before the 2020 presidential election. As such, this book examines the album as a response to a crisis point in Polish society, with the country divided about its future, both politically and socially. It also explores the album’s textual and musical characteristics while situating Hemingway’s career within the broader context of Polish rap history as well as Polish migration. Additionally, the book discusses the album’s impact through its critical reception, sales, awards, and social media commentary.

Table 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

Biographical Note:

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).