Sajsi MC

Sajsi MC
Sajsi MC (left) and Tijara (right) performing at the 2021 Belgrade Pride
Background information
Birth nameIvana Rašić
Born (1981-10-12) 12 October 1981 (age 43)
Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Genres
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2002-present
Labels
  • Multimedia Music
  • IDJTunes

Ivana Rašić Trmčić (Serbian Cyrillic: Ивана Рашић Трмчић, born on 12 October 1981), better known as Sajsi MC, is a Serbian rapper, singer and songwriter. Recognized as one of the most prominent female rappers in Serbia, her lyrics explore sexuality, feminism and other socio-political subjects.[1]

Early life

Rašić was born in Belgrade on 12 October 1981 and grew up in Zajecar, provincial city in Eastern Serbia where she lived till the age of nineteen. Her father, Jovan Rašić, is a dentist who was also the founder and lead singer of the popular Yugoslavian jazz rock band Generacija 5.[2] Her mother is from Obrenovac. She has a younger sister Tijana, professionally known as Tijara, who often collaborates with Sajsi.[2]

Sajsi MC stated that unlike her sister she did not show interest in music during childhood, but only during her university years that she started writing lyrics.[3][4]

Career

Rašić debuted at a rap festival in the Belgrade night club Barutana in 2002.[3] Initially, Sajsi MC was a collective, which existed between 2005 and 2009. The name of their act is Šatrovački for oral sex.[4] In 2010, Sajsi pursued a solo career under the same stage name by releasing her album Daleko je Dizni under Multimedia Music.[5] The following year, she saw widespread mainstream attention after she had released the song "Mama" featuring Damjan Eltech in May 2011. The made-up character of a "shallow and materialistic" high school girl named Tiffany, which was portrayed by Sajsi in the song, was negatively commented by musical critics on Radio Television of Serbia, failing to recognize the satire behind it.[6]

Sajsi MC has released three solo albums - Daleko je Dizni (2010), Rad, rad i samo bleja (2018) and Kardinalna (2022), and three EPs - KNVK (2012), Pokvarenica (2014) and IVANARASHIC (2023). Some of her best-known songs include: "Antifa kučke" (2012), "Nadrkano hodanje" (2014), "Došla sam da dam" (2015), "Lokal beogradizam" (2016) and "Redaljka" (2017).[2] She also collaborated with Croatian singer Severina on their duet "Silikoni", released in July 2016.[7]

Over the years, Sajsi MC has performed at larger regional music festivals such as EXIT, Sea Dance Festival, Belgrade Beer Fest, Arsenal Fest and Guča Trumpet Festival.[8][9][10][11]

Public image

Recognized as an ally to the LGBT+ community in Serbia,[12][13] she was announced as the "godmother" of the 2022 Belgrade Pride, which was also the host of that year's EuroPride event.[14]

In October 2022, she was also featured in an UN Women campaign against gender-based violence in Serbia.[15]

Personal life

In 2017, she graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade with a bachelor's degree in international relations.[16] In August 2021, Rašić married punk musician Marko Trmčić.[17] On 25 January 2023, during the Music Awards Ceremony, she revealed her pregnancy.[18] On March 12, Rašić gave birth to a daughter named Nataša.[19]

Discography

Studio albums
  • Misi nači naaš (2009); as Sajsi MC band
  • Daleko je Dizni (2010)
  • Od dvanaest do šest (2012); feat. Damjan Eltech
  • Rad, rad i samo bleja (2018)
  • Kardinalna (2022)
  • Mater (2024)
EPs
  • KNVK (2012)
  • Pokvarenica (2014)
  • IVANARASHIC (2023)

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee/work Result Ref.
2020 Music Awards Ceremony Alternative Pop Song of the Year "Meni se ne udaje" Nominated [20]
2021 Adria Muzzik Video Awards Hip-hop Music Video of the Year "Yugo dete" Won [21]
2023 Music Awards Ceremony Rap/Hip Hop Song of the Year "Ringe jaja" Won [22]
Album of the Year Kardinalna Nominated

References

  1. ^ Jovović, P. (21 July 2020). "Kako se srpske reperke bore za ženska prava u Srbiji". Nova.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Životna priča Sajsi MC". Stil.kurir.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b Pavlović, I. (24 April 2012). "Ivana Rašić a.k.a Sajsi MC". trablmejker.com (in Serbian). Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Veče sa Ivanom Ivanovićem: Gošća Sajsi MC". Nova.rs (in Serbian). 17 October 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  5. ^ Milovanović, U. (28 May 2010). "Sajsi MC: Autsajder? Nema šanse..." B92.net (in Serbian). Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  6. ^ Jovanović, A. (24 February 2012). "Dizni je bliže: Intervju sa Sajsi MC". Iserbia.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Lokal beogradizam: Sajsi MC konačno ispričala sve o Jeleni Karleuši i Severini". Tracara.rs (in Serbian). 23 June 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  8. ^ Đorđević, V. (8 July 2022). ""Nekih tema ne mogu da se otarasim": Sajsi MC za Telegraf.rs otkrila šta je inspiriše za pisanje pesama". Telegraf.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  9. ^ "BEER FEST, FINALE: Sjajni Masimo Savić i žurka uz Sajsi MC!". Telegraf.rs (in Serbian). August 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  10. ^ Jovović, P. (19 June 2021). "Pričali smo sa Sajsi MC pred nastup na Arsenal festu". Nova.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  11. ^ "SEVERINA NAPRAVILA LUDNICU U GUČI: Trema, sado-mazo kombinacija, "Silikoni" i na kraju - Keba!". Telegraf.rs (in Serbian). 15 August 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  12. ^ Jovović, P. (16 September 2021). "Bekvalac, Sara Jo, Sajsi MC: Ko sve nastupa na Beograd Prajdu". Nova.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  13. ^ Jovović, P. "Estrada u borbi za LGBT prava: Oni su podržali Prajd". Nova.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  14. ^ Jovović, P. "EKSKLUZIVNO Sajsi MC je kuma ovogodišnjeg EuroPrajda i Beograd Prajda". Nova.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  15. ^ Jovović, P. "Sajsi MC zaštitno lice kampanje Ujedinjenih nacija protiv nasilja nad ženama". Nova.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  16. ^ Jovović, P. "Sajsi MC: Fakultet je fenomenalan, idite ljudi na fakultet". Nova.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  17. ^ Jovović, P. "Sajsi MC: Ja se udala, ali za sada nema ništa od medenog meseca". Nova.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  18. ^ Vasiljević, N. (25 January 2023). "Sajsi MC trudna: Pojavila se na MAC-u sa stomakom do zuba, pa progovorila o polu bebe". Nova.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  19. ^ Madžarević, N. "Sajsi MC nakon porođaja iznenadila potezom: "Obaveštenje za sve"". Blic.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  20. ^ "GLASANJE" (in Serbian). Music Awards Ceremony. December 2019. Archived from the original on 26 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  21. ^ "Sajsi MC: Život mi se nepovratno promenio". Nova.rs (in Serbian). 27 April 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  22. ^ Savić, M. (25 January 2023). "Music Awards Ceremony nagradila najbolje: Ovi muzičari su dobili specijalna priznanja". Nova.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 26 January 2023.