Pretty Loud
Pretty Loud is a Roma rap group based in Zemun, Serbia advocating for women's empowerment in the Romani community.[1] The group formed in 2014, when the all-female members started singing together as part of the NGO social program GRUBB (Gypsy Roma Urban Balkan Beats). GRUBB's goal is to help young Roma women take their futures into their own hands, get an education, avoid the child marriages that are the fate of many young Roma girls, and get the same rights as Roma men.[2][3] According to one of the group's members, "We want to stop the early marriages [...] we want the girls themselves, and not their parents, to decide whether they want to marry or not. We want every woman to have the right to be heard, to have her dreams and to be able to fulfil them, to be equal".[1] The group's music blends traditional Romani music with contemporary rap and they sing in Romani, Serbian and English.[4][5]
The group has done a collaborative unit with the London College of Fashion,[6] and in 2020 they participated in the Women of the World Festival in London.[7] During this festival they performed in the Royal Albert Hall.[4] Members of the group teach at music and dance workshops held by GRUBB.[1]
History
The group was started in 2014 in the Serbian town of Zemun as an offshoot of the GRUBB program and the members involved used the band in school appearances to educate children, along with holding workshops for children to teach them dance, music, and acting.[8] The idea for the band arose at artistic workshops held by GRUBB, where Pretty Loud members initially danced in an all-male band, but later decided to start their own group.[1] One of the first members was Zlata Marinkovic, who pushed the group toward using rap and hip hop as the best way to openly discuss the issues in their communities and to help fight discrimination and improve education levels within the Roma community.[9] Band member Silvia Sinani recalled the band's name arose from the notion that Roma women are not typically very loud.[1]
The members of Pretty Loud include a 19-year-old law student, a single mother forced into a child marriage but now raising her child on her own, a family of sisters whose father lives in Germany with his new family, and whose mother abandoned them (they now live happily with their grandparents, who "gave them the freedom to make their own life choices").[10][11]
Awards and recognition
In 2021 they won ‘Bring the Noize’ award from BeFem feminist cultural center in Belgrade for advancing struggle of Roma women.[12] In their interview for Croatian portal VoxFemiae they stated that their community recognition and street credibility is big, but they still experience occasional discrimination.[13] In the interview for Kosovo 2.0 they mention that learning English is important for them to expand their performance options internationally.[14] For Turkish national news agency that named them first Roma female band, they stated that they are hopefull their work will be followed up and make easier paths for next bands to come.[15]
References
- ^ a b c d e Gec, Jovana (June 22, 2021). "Serbian Roma girl band sings for women's empowerment". Associated Press. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ Kožul, Dejan (March 19, 2021). "Pretty Loud: We Don't Have A State, We Have The Whole World". Kosovo 2.0. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ "Mlade,Hrabre Žene Romkinje" [Young, Brave Roma Women]. Romaworld (in Serbian). February 26, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ a b Jovanovic, Dragana (April 9, 2021). "From Belgrade to London, Roma Girl Band Sings for Female Empowerment". Balkan Insight. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ Nesic, Milica (May 12, 2020). "Hrabre i samostalne: ženski romski bend Pretty Loud" [Brave and independent: female Roma band Pretty Loud]. Deutsche Welle (in Serbian). Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ "Collaborative Unit Project with Pretty Loud". arts.ac.uk. London College of Fashion. 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ Kostic, Milica Milojevic (April 8, 2021). "Ženski romski bend "Pretty loud" se muzikom bori za obrazovanje Roma i protiv dečijih brakova" [The Roma women's band "Pretty loud" fights with music for Roma education and against child marriages]. Južne Vesti (in Serbian). Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ Dejanović, Marija (February 23, 2021). "Nova.rs u romskoj mahali s bendom Pretty loud" [Nova.rs in the Roma neighborhood with the band Pretty loud]. Nova.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ Milićević, Violeta (March 27, 2021). "PRETTY LOUD, PRVI ŽENSKI ROMSKI BEND IZ SRBIJE : One se muzikom bore za ženska prava i protiv diskriminacije" [PRETTY LOUD, THE FIRST WOMEN'S ROMA BAND FROM SERBIA: They fight for women's rights and discrimination with music]. Niške Vesti (in Serbian). Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ "Roma band in Serbia raps for women's rights". Deutsche Welle. February 18, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ Petkovic, Milana (February 5, 2021). "Prvi ženski romski bend u svetu i to iz Srbije: Želimo da devojke prestanu da misle kako moraju da ćute pred muškarcima" [The first female Roma band in the world from Serbia: We want girls to stop thinking they have to keep quiet in front of men]. Noizz Magazine (in Serbian). Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ "Bring the Noize 2021". Befem - Kultura i akcija (in Serbian). Retrieved 2021-07-05.
- ^ "Ženska romska grupa 'Pretty Loud' glasno u borbi za ravnopravnost – VoxFeminae". voxfeminae.net. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
- ^ "Pretty Loud: We don't have a state, we have the whole world - Kosovo 2.0Kosovo 2.0". Kosovo 2.0. 2021-03-19. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
- ^ "Prvi ženski romski bend na svetu "Pretty Loud": Muzikom za ravnopravnost i bolje sutra". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 2021-07-05.