Mirko Pajčin (Serbian Cyrillic: Мирко Пајчин; born 13 October 1966), known by his stage name Baja Mali Knindža (Serbian Cyrillic: Баја Мали Книнџа, lit. 'Baja Little Kninja'), is a 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.
Baja Mali Knindža | |
|---|---|
Баја Мали Книнџа | |
| Born | Mirko Pajčin 13 October 1966 |
| Occupation | singer |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Children | 6 |
| Relatives | Ksenija Pajčin (cousin) |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Labels |
|
Pajčin is not to be mistaken with Nedeljko Bajić Baja, who is another Serbian Ortodox folk singer.
Early life
editPajčin[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
editBaja 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".[citation needed]
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 "Ja ne volim ljude te", 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".[citation needed] He is banned from performing in Croatia, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Switzerland due to his nationalist music.[11][12]
Personal life
editPajčin 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
editSolo
edit- 1991 — Ne dam Krajine (I won't give Krajina)
- 1992 — Stan'te paše i Ustaše (Stand back, Pashas and Ustašas)
- 1993 — Živeće ovaj narod (This nation will live on)
- 1993 — Sve za srpstvo, srpstvo nizašta (All for Serbdom, Serbdom for nothing)
- 1993 — Još se ništa ne zna (Nothing is yet known)
- 1993 — Rat i mir (War and peace)
- 1993 — Kockar bez sreće (Gambler without luck)
- 1994 — Pobediće istina (The truth will win)
- 1995 — Igraju se delije (The Delije are dancing)
- 1995 — Idemo dalje (Let's keep on going)
- 1995 — Zbogom oružje (Goodbye, weapons)
- 1997 — Ne dirajte njega (Don't touch him)
- 1998 — Povratak u budućnost (Back to the future)
- 1998 — Srpskim radikalima (To the Serbian radicals)
- 1999 — Biti il ne biti (To be or not to be)
- 2000 — Zaljubljen i mlad (In love and young)
- 2001 — Đe si legendo (Where are you, legend)
- 2002 — Zbogom pameti (Goodbye, reason)
- 2003 — Baja Mali Knindža: uživo (Baja Mali Knindža: live)
- 2003 — Luda Žurka - uživo (Crazy Party - live)
- 2006 — Za kim zvona zvone (For whom the bell rings)
- 2007 — Gluvi barut (Deaf gunpowder)
- 2011 — Idemo malena (Lets go, baby)
- 2012 — Lesi se vraća kući (Lassie is coming home)
- 2014 — Govor duše (Speech of the soul)
With Braća sa Dinare band
edit- 1994 — Braća sa Dinare (Brothers from the Dinara)
- 1995 — Bila jednom jedna zemlja (Once there was a land)
- 1996 — Plači voljena zemljo (Cry, beloved land)
- 1997 — Ja se svoga, ne odričem do groba (I won't give up what's mine until the grave)
- 1998 — Idemo do kraja (We are going till the end)
References
edit- ^ "Istinski identitet poznatih ličnosti rijetko poznat javnosti". Nezavisne. 20 July 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ "Biografija Baje Malog Kninže (Mirko Pajčin)". Archived from the original on 2018-04-26. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
- ^ "Dvostruka mjerila: 'Mali Knindža' slavi četnike u Švicarskoj". Slobodna Dalmacija. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ "Thompsona protjerali, a Malom Knindži daju da propagira četnike". Jutarnji. 7 October 2009. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ Baja Mali Knindza - Topic (2024-06-27). Vrati se Vojvodo. Retrieved 2024-07-13 – via YouTube.
- ^ Superton Official (2018-09-22). Braca sa Dinare - Posle oluje - (Audio 1996)HD. Retrieved 2024-07-14 – via YouTube.
- ^ Radano, Ronald Michael; Bohlman, Philip Vilas (2000). Music and the racial imagination. University of Chicago Press. p. 639. ISBN 978-0-226-70200-1. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
- ^ Yugoslav Archives (2021-09-29). Baja Mali Knindža - Ne volim te Alija Uživo. Retrieved 2024-07-13 – via YouTube.
- ^ Superton Official (2015-05-09). Baja Mali Knindza - Cuti, cuti ujko - (Official video). Retrieved 2024-07-13 – via YouTube.
- ^ Baja Mali Knindza - Ja ne volim ljude te. 2007-02-25. Retrieved 2024-07-12 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Baja Mali Knindza - Nikada vise necu zapevati u Hrvatskoj, iako mi se tamo sjajno prodaju kaset". 7 June 2011. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ Bader, Nora (2016-07-29). "Aarburg - Gemeinderat erteilt serbischem Sänger Konzertverbot – seine Lieder sind ein Sicherheitsrisiko". Aargauer Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2024-07-15.
- ^ ""Zezali su me jer sam imao tri ćerke": Baja Mali Knindža otkrio koliko je bio ponosan kad je dobio sina". Telegraf.rs (in Serbian). 2024-01-03. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
- ^ "Od Danice Grujičić do Baje Malog Knindže: Koga je sve Dodik odlikovao za Dan Republike Srpske? - Region - Dnevni list Danas" (in Serbian). 2024-01-09. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
- ^ Mazierska, Ewa; Gregory, Georgina, eds. (2015). Relocating popular music. Pop music, culture and identity. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-137-46337-1.
- ^ "Plačem za sestrom Ksenijom". Kurir. 27 December 2010. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ "Baja Mali Knindža posvetio pesmu Kseniji Pajčin". Svet. 27 December 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ "Baja Mali Knindža posvetio pesmu svojoj pokojnoj sestri Kseniji Pajčin". Press. 16 March 2014. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2015.