Radek Banga is a renaissance man on the Czech music scene. He is a respected rapper, a songwriter for some of the most popular Czech singers and an activist. He began his career in 1994 in a rap duo with his twin brother, Patrik. Radek eventually joined n Syndrom Snopp, a group of some renown among Czech and Slovak hip-hop fans.
Banga gained an even wider appeal beginning in 2005, when he founded the band Gipsy.cz (a provocative reclaiming of the exonym) with the excellent violinist Vojtěch Lavička and the Surmaj brothers. The group combined devices from contemporary popular music with hip-hop and elements drawing on traditional Romani music.
The band has since changed its line-up several times, releasing four albums along the way. Their 2017 single Je to tak (‘That’s How It Is’) leaves hip-hop behind, addressing pop music audiences directly.
Gipsy.cz has earned a number of Czech and international awards. The group represented the Czech Republic in the Eurovision contest and was the first Czech band to perform at the Glastonbury Festival.