Baja Mali Knindža Explained

Baja Mali Knindža
Native Name:Баја Мали Книнџа
Native Name Lang:sr-Cyrl
Birth Name:Mirko Pajčin
Birth Date:13 October 1966
Birth Place:Gubin, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia
Height:1.76 m
Occupation:singer
Years Active:1989–present
Relatives:Ksenija Pajčin (cousin)
Children:6
Module:
Embed:yes
Instrument:Vocals

Mirko Pajčin (Serbian: Мирко Пајчин; born 13 October 1966), known by his stage name Baja Mali Knindža (Serbian: Баја Мали Книнџа|lit=Baja Little [[Kninjas|Kninja]]), is a Bosnian Serb folk singer and songwriter. He is often described as part of the turbo-folk scene, and is known for his Serbian nationalist songs. His cousin was the pop-folk recording artist Ksenija Pajčin.

Pajčin is not to be mistaken with Nedeljko Bajić Baja, who is another Bosnian Serb folk singer.

Early life

Pajčin[1] was born on 13 October 1966 into a Bosnian Serb family in the village of Gubin, near Livno, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Pajčin moved to SR Serbia in 1980, and began singing in 1984 in Surčin.[2]

Career

Baja won a 1989 competition for amateur singers in Livno and released his first album in 1991. His career began just as Yugoslavia was breaking up. Throughout the 1990s, he was known for his strong Serbian nationalism and nationalist songs supporting the Serbs during the Yugoslav wars; during the Croatian War of Independence he was dubbed Baja Mali-Knindža (literally meaning "Baja little Kninja" in reference to the de facto capital, Knin, of the Serbian ethnic breakaway state of the Republic of Serbian Krajina within Croatia and Serb paramilitary unit, Kninjas).[3] [4]

His first professional success was the song "Врати се Војводо" (Come Back, Voivode), in which he appealed to Serbian World War II Chetnik commander Momčilo Đujić to come back to the areas of the Republic of Serbian Krajina and help lift the spirits of the Croatian Serbs.[5] He said that he would never consider going to Croatia as he claimed that Croatian soldiers "burned down his house and desecrated his ancestors' graves".

Baja performs at "Кочићев збор" (Kočić's Assembly) in Zmijanje near Banja Luka in mid-August every year, and he usually attracts tens of thousands of people. Since Operation Storm, Pajčin has written many songs about his dream of the Serb people returning to live in territories now inhabited by Croats following the Croatian War for Independence. The song "После Олује" (After the Storm) details the aftermath of Operation Storm in 1995.[6]

Pajčin is controversial due to his Serbian nationalism, far-right views and bias in lyrics.[7] Most of his songs are condemned in non-Serb parts of Bosnia and Croatia because of their xenophobic lyrics, which often reference war leaders during the Yugoslav Wars. For example, his song "Ne volim te Alija" describes his strong dislike for the Bosnian wartime president Alija Izetbegović.[8]

One song titled "Ćuti, Ćuti Ujko!" (featuring Serbian rock singer Bora Đorđević) contains the lyrics "Shut up, shut up, Ujko, I will kill you" as well as "Shut up, shut up, Mujo, I will kill you".[9] He has also sung "I don't like people who like the HDZ", which included the lyrics "Fuck their šahovnica".[10]

Despite many of his songs having a nationalistic lyrical theme, he is also known for his often humorous non-political songs such as "Umri Baba" and "Poker Aparat". He is banned from performing in Croatia, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Switzerland due to his nationalist music.[11] [12]

Personal life

Pajčin lives with his wife, three daughters and three sons in Zemun.[13] Besides his native language, he also speaks English and Russian. His mother and father live in a newly built house in Surčin. On the day of Republika Srpska in 2024, he was awarded the Order of Njegoš.[14]

He is a supporter of the Serbian Radical Party, and has sung at the party's conventions. He also released an album in 1998 titled Српским радикалима (Serbian Radicals), which glorifies the party and its leader Vojislav Šešelj.[15]

His cousin Ksenija Pajčin, pop-folk recording artist, was murdered by her ex-boyfriend on March 16, 2010.[16] [17] Later that same year, Baja released the song "Spavaj, kraljice" (Sleep, Queen) in her memory,[18] stating that he was very "shaken" by her death.

Discography

Solo

With Braća sa Dinare band

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Istinski identitet poznatih ličnosti rijetko poznat javnosti. Nezavisne. 20 July 2011. 11 January 2015.
  2. Web site: Biografija Baje Malog Kninže (Mirko Pajčin). 2017-04-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20180426002501/http://bajamaliknindza.forumg.biz/t3-biografija-baje-malog-kninze-mirko-pajcin. 2018-04-26. dead.
  3. Web site: Dvostruka mjerila: 'Mali Knindža' slavi četnike u Švicarskoj. Slobodna Dalmacija. 7 October 2009. 11 January 2015.
  4. Web site: Thompsona protjerali, a Malom Knindži daju da propagira četnike . Jutarnji . 7 October 2009 . 11 January 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303212615/http://www.jutarnji.hr/thompsona-protjerali--a-malom-knindzi-daju-da-propagira-cetnike/311481/ . 3 March 2016 .
  5. Vrati se Vojvodo . 2024-06-27 . Baja Mali Knindza - Topic . 2024-07-13 . YouTube.
  6. Braca sa Dinare - Posle oluje - (Audio 1996)HD . 2018-09-22 . Superton Official . 2024-07-14 . YouTube.
  7. Book: Radano. Ronald Michael. Bohlman. Philip Vilas. Music and the racial imagination. 11 September 2010. 2000. University of Chicago Press. 978-0-226-70200-1. 639.
  8. Baja Mali Knindža - Ne volim te Alija Uživo . 2021-09-29 . Yugoslav Archives . 2024-07-13 . YouTube.
  9. Baja Mali Knindza - Cuti, cuti ujko - (Official video) . 2015-05-09 . Superton Official . 2024-07-13 . YouTube.
  10. Baja Mali Knindza - Ja ne volim ljude te . 2007-02-25 . 2024-07-12 . YouTube.
  11. Web site: 7 June 2011 . Baja Mali Knindza - Nikada vise necu zapevati u Hrvatskoj, iako mi se tamo sjajno prodaju kaset . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110607052400/http://www.balkanmedia.com/baja-mali-knindza-nikada-vise-necu-zapevati-u-hrvatskoj-iako-mi-se-tamo-sjajno-prodaju-kaset-cl1372.html . 7 June 2011 . 15 July 2024 .
  12. Web site: Bader . Nora . 2016-07-29 . Aarburg - Gemeinderat erteilt serbischem Sänger Konzertverbot – seine Lieder sind ein Sicherheitsrisiko . 2024-07-15 . Aargauer Zeitung . de.
  13. Web site: 2024-01-03 . "Zezali su me jer sam imao tri ćerke": Baja Mali Knindža otkrio koliko je bio ponosan kad je dobio sina . 2024-07-14 . Telegraf.rs . sr.
  14. Web site: 2024-01-09 . Od Danice Grujičić do Baje Malog Knindže: Koga je sve Dodik odlikovao za Dan Republike Srpske? - Region - Dnevni list Danas . 2024-07-14 . sr-RS.
  15. Book: Relocating popular music . 2015 . Palgrave Macmillan . 978-1-137-46337-1 . Mazierska . Ewa . Pop music, culture and identity . Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York, NY . 90 . Gregory . Georgina.
  16. Web site: Plačem za sestrom Ksenijom . Kurir . 27 December 2010 . 11 January 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150122222402/http://www.kurir.rs/baja-mali-knindza-placem-za-sestrom-ksenijom-clanak-65212 . 22 January 2015 .
  17. Web site: Baja Mali Knindža posvetio pesmu Kseniji Pajčin. Svet. 27 December 2010. 11 January 2015.
  18. Web site: Baja Mali Knindža posvetio pesmu svojoj pokojnoj sestri Kseniji Pajčin. Press. 16 March 2014. 11 January 2015. 22 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150122231222/http://www.pressonline.rs/zabava/dzet-set/304140/audio-poslusajte-baja-mali-knindza-posvetio-pesmu-svojoj-pokojnoj-sestri-kseniji-pajcin.html. dead.

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