B.U.G. Mafia

B.U.G. Mafia
From left to right: Cadillac, Uzzi, Tataee
From left to right:
Cadillac, Uzzi, Tataee
Background information
OriginPantelimon, Bucharest, Romania
Genres
Years active1993–present
Labels
  • AMMA Record
  • Cat Music
  • Media Services
  • Casa Productions
Members
Past members
  • D.D.
  • Mr.Nobody
  • DJ Swamp
Websitebugmafiaoficial.ro

B.U.G. Mafia (an abbreviation for "Bucharest Underground Mafia"), is a Romanian hip hop group from Pantelimon, Bucharest, widely regarded as one of the seminal acts of gangsta rap in Romania. Founded in 1993 as Black Underground, its original lineup consisted of Vlad "Tataee" Irimia, Dragoș "Caddy" (short for Cadillac) Vlad-Neagu and two other members, D.D. and Mr.Nobody, who, by the end of the year, had already departed from the group.[1] Irimia and Vlad-Neagu, who were still teenage high school students at the time, had been working on amateur solo recordings and had little professional prospects on their own prior to their encounter.[2] The group initially performed as a duo throughout Bucharest at local highschool proms and parties while considering their options for professional careers in music and, following a string of relatively unsuccessful attempts at promoting their music in English, they recruited Alin "Uzzi" Demeter in 1995 and eventually transitioned to writing in Romanian.[3][4]

Throughout the years, the group endured a long-standing controversy due to the explicit and confrontational nature of their lyrics. Focusing on subjects such as the post-communist Romanian political class, poverty and crime in Romania's communist-built housing projects or their recurring hostility towards Romanian Police, they were subsequently banned from many mainstream T.V. and radio stations in Romania and even at times prevented from touring, spending a night in police custody after their first concert in Drobeta-Turnu Severin in 1997.[5][6] Although controversial in their incipient years, their lyricism has been praised by a number of literary figures, such as Emil Brumaru and Mircea Cărtărescu.[7][8]

Despite being independently produced on a modest budget over just a few months in 1995, their debut album Mafia signified the birth of Romanian gangsta rap and established them on the fledgling hip hop scene emerging at the time in Romania.[9] They have been estimated to have sold over 1,150,000 records.[10][11]

  1. ^ Paraschiv, Paul (October 26, 1994). "Right here in the House: Black Underground". TL Exclusiv (in Romanian). Tineretul Liber. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  2. ^ Ghiță, Oana (April 23, 2016). "INTERVIU Vlad Irimia (Tataee): B.U.G. Mafia a părut o gașcă de golani; în spatele camerei suntem opusul" (in Romanian). Agerpres. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  3. ^ "Secretele BUG Mafia: Cum a decurs prima lor intalnire si ce meserii ar fi avut Tataee, Uzzi si Caddy daca nu se apucau de rap". Știrile ProTV (in Romanian). 1 December 2015. 10:56 minutes in. Pro TV. Pro TV. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  4. ^ "Trupa BUG Mafia a implinit 19 ani de la infiintare". Entertainment (in Romanian). Bucharest: Pro TV. October 12, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  5. ^ Axinescu, Ionuț (September 10, 2016). "Toate locurile din țară unde s-a lăsat cu haos și scandal la concertele BUG Mafia" (in Romanian). Vice. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  6. ^ Săvulescu, Alexandru (February 14, 1997). "Scandalul "limbajului obscen" din cântecele rap românești ia amploare" (in Romanian). Bucharest: Libertatea. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  7. ^ Constanda, Alexandra (October 13, 2013). "Fenomenul B.U.G. Mafia: de la poeţi ai străzii la istoria poeziei". Entertainment/ Muzică (in Romanian). Bucharest: Adevărul. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  8. ^ Cărtărescu, Mircea (August 16, 2005). "Ne stă în caracter" (in Romanian). Bucharest: Jurnalul Național. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  9. ^ Moisă, Raluca (October 11, 2013). "Interviu-eveniment (partea I). B.U.G. Mafia, la 20 de ani de carieră: "Nu avem averi, dar nu avem nici şefi. Foarte mulţi români nu-şi permit asta"". Entertainment/ Muzică (in Romanian). Bucharest: Adevărul. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  10. ^ Matei, Cristian (February 28, 2017). "Romanie, fa galagie!". Concert B.U.G. Mafia la Arenele Romane - cu Grasu XXL, C.T.C. si Killa Fonic in deschidere". Entertainment (in Romanian). Bucharest: Pro TV. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  11. ^ (in Romanian)"Group member Tataee detailing the group's sales numbers". Facebook.com. 2016-03-19. Archived from the original on 2022-02-26. Retrieved 2016-05-20.