Chalga; Working Backward to America (Azis, DJ Suat, Chris Brown)

Okay, enjoy this short post about how Balkan pop music influenced by American pop and then also how they influence each other.

Watch this first video, it should sound somewhat familar:
Azis - Dai Me Led (Give Me Ice)



DJ Suat - Gimme That - Tallava Remix (Albanian Style)


Ummmm, that form of dancing is called Kuchek or Cocek which is common throughout the Balkans. And I'm going to talk about that another time. Just listen to the music. It's DJ Saut's original video that he/she posted.


Chris Brown featuring Lil' Wayne - Gimme That Remix featuring Lil' Wayne


So, now do you recognize the song and the original Western influence? This is an excellent example of Chalga and how it works. Chris Brown creates a relatively popular song, a DJ remixes it in some form to Balkanize its sound (notice the drums, tupani, in the second video) and then a famous Chalga singer "collaborates" with the DJ and/or original artist and rewrites the lyrics into Bulgarian keeping the same sound (Azis saying "Give me Ice" in Bulgarian not "Gimme That" in English). Its like a microcosm of globalization right there. Except a decent portion of Bulgarians never realize that the song Azis made is lifted from a DJ (Balkanized Sound) and an original western artist.

But its not like western artists don't make remixes either. Current remixes of the Chris Brown song:

• "Gimme Dat" Remix The Game Ft. Chris Brown
• Chris Brown - Video Remix