Marika (singer)

Marika (born Marta Kosakowska on 14 December 1980) is a Polish vocalist, songwriter and radio DJ. Currently performing avant-pop, she was previously known for her Caribbean-inspired repertoire which incorporated reggae, dancehall, as well as funk and soul music. She was hailed "the First Lady of Polish dancehall" and was noted for energetic shows and conscious lyrics.[1] She also had a short-lived but successful career as a prime time TV host in Poland.

Marika
Marika performing at the 20th Woodstock Festival Poland, 2014
Background information
Birth nameMarta Kosakowska
Also known asMarika, Lady Marika
Born (1980-12-14) 14 December 1980
Białystok, Poland
GenresAvant-pop, reggae, dancehall, soul, funk
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, radio DJ
Years active2002–present
LabelsEMI Music Poland, Karrot Kommando, Warner Music Poland
Associated actsBass Medium Trinity, Breakbeat Propaganda, Spokoarmia
Websitemarika.art.pl

Career

Marika was born in Białystok, but grew up in the nearby Łomża.[2] She studied Polonistics at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.

She debuted in 2002 as the vocalist of the sound system Bass Medium Trinity. The group released the album Mówisz i masz (Polish for You Say and You Have) in 2004, which was the first Polish-language album recorded on original Jamaican riddims.[3] At the same time, Marika was a member of the band Breakbeat Propaganda.[4] In 2005, she was performing as a soloist in a theatre project 12 ławek (12 Benches) in Gdynia, and supported Macy Gray during her concert in Warsaw's Congress Hall.[5] In 2006, Marika participated in a Polish-German musical project Polski ogień (Polish Fire), for which she recorded two songs: "Siła ognia" (on "Doctor's Darling" riddim) and "What's Ya Flava" (on "Curefix" riddim).[6]

In 2007, Marika released her debut solo single, "Moje serce" ("My Heart"), through Karrot Kommando. She then signed with Pomaton EMI and released her first solo album, Plenty, on 22 August 2008. It reached the top 20 in the Polish albums chart and met with favorable reviews. In October, she started hosting her own radio show called Nie tylko reggae (Not Only Reggae) on Radio Euro. The following year, Plenty was nominated for the Polish music award Fryderyk in the Hip-Hop/R&B Album of the Year category, and Marika received a nomination in the New Face of Phonography category.[7] In the summer of 2009, the English-language track "So Sure" was released as the final single from Plenty, followed by an EP titled So Remixed, which featured a selection of remixes. In September 2009, Marika started another radio show, Towary kolonialne, on Roxy FM.

Marika live in 2013

On 8 June 2010, Marika released her second studio album titled Put Your Shoes On/Off. It consisted of two CDs: one with new material and another one with remixes. The first single from the album was "Uplifter". The album was another top 20 success and received positive reviews. On 4 July 2010, she performed in the same line-up with Nas and Damian Marley at the Open'er Festival in Gdynia.[8] Put Your Shoes On/Off was nominated for the Fryderyk award in the Album of the Year - Hip-Hop/R&B/Reggae category.[9] In mid-2011, Marika released a music video for the multilingual song "Esta Festa" (Portuguese for "It's a Party") in which she sings in Polish, English and Portuguese.

In 2012, she appeared on the compilation Morowe panny which was released to commemorate the Warsaw Uprising. In October 2012, Marika released her third album, Momenty, recorded with the band Spokoarmia. It spawned the popular songs "Baqaa" and "Widok". In May 2013, she released Chilli Zet Live Sessions, an album consisting of acoustic versions of songs from her previous CDs. From 2013 to mid-2014, she co-hosted three seasons of The Voice of Poland broadcast on TVP2, the Polish edition of the singing talent show The Voice.[10][11] In autumn 2014, she so-hosted the show SuperSTARcie also on TVP2.[12] In the meantime, she took part in two more historical projects, Panny wyklęte and Panny wyklęte: wygnane vol. 1.

On her next album, titled simply Marta Kosakowska, the singer shifted from reggae and dancehall towards electronic avant-pop. Released in October 2015, the album was preceded by the singles "Tabletki" and "A jeśli to ja", and was accompanied by Marika's radical change of image. It received positive reviews and charted within the top 40 in Poland. In 2016, she released the book Antydepresanty which consisted of lyrics, stories and black-and-white illustrations. She began recording the new album in 2017,[13] and the following year released a remix of "Moje serce" to mark the 10th anniversary of the release of her debut album. The singer then focused on family life, but continued to perform regularly, and returned with the single "Jak na moje oko" in May 2020.

Private life

Marika divorced her first husband around the beginning of her solo career. She married her second husband in March 2016[14] and gave birth to their twin boys in early 2018.[15]

At the turn of 2014 and 2015, Marika went through a spiritual awakening and started practicing Catholicism.[16][17] She does, however, define herself as a "person of faith" rather than "religious".[18]

She is a vegetarian.[19]

Marika advocates the legalization of cannabis.[20]

Discography

Studio albums
Title Album details Peak chart positions
POL[21]
Plenty 19
Put Your Shoes On/Off
  • Released: 8 June 2010
  • Label: EMI Music Poland
 18
Momenty (with Spokoarmia)
  • Released: 20 October 2012
  • Label: Karrot Kommando
 41
Chilli Zet Live Sessions
  • Released: 13 May 2013
  • Label: Karrot Kommando
 41
Marta Kosakowska 32

Singles
Title Year Album
"Moje serce" 2007 Plenty
"Masz to" 2008
"So Sure" 2009
"Uplifter" 2010 Put Your Shoes On/Off
"Girlzz in Trance" (with Lukasz Borowiecki)
"Nieważne ile" 2011
"Esta Festa"
"Someday" (Mothashipp feat. Marika and Lutan Fyah) Momenty
"Baqaa" (with Spokoarmia) 2012
"Widok" (with Spokoarmia)
"Risk Risk" (with Spokoarmia) 2013
"Tabletki" (with Xxanaxx) 2015 Marta Kosakowska
"A jeśli to ja" (with Gooral)
"Niebieski ptak" (with Grubson)
"1000 lamp"
"Idę" 2016
"Moje serce 2k18" 2018 N/A
"Jak na moje oko" 2020 TBA
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References
  1. "Marika - Polish first lady of Dancehall and Reggae music". dancehallreggaeworld.com. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
  2. "Marika w Radiu Nadzieja (Spotkanie autorskie) 6.11.2017" (in Polish). www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  3. "Marika – Oficjalna Strona Artystki » zespół" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2013-07-31. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
  4. "Marta "Marika" Kosakowska: dostałam więcej niż odważyłam się zapragnąć" (in Polish). kobieta.onet.pl. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  5. "Marika przed Macy Gray" (in Polish). wiadomosci.onet.pl. 2005-11-16. Retrieved 2005-11-20.
  6. "Review: Various - Polski Ogién ~ 20 Polish Reggae & Dancehall Tunes". www.reggae-vibes.com. Archived from the original on 2006-10-30. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
  7. "Nagroda muzyczna Fryderyk – Nominowani i laureaci 2009" (in Polish). zpav.pl. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  8. "Marika: Dużo, szybko i już!" (in Polish). muzyka.interia.pl. 2010-07-09. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  9. "Fryderyk 2011 Nominacje" (PDF) (in Polish). zpav.pl. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
  10. "The Voice Of Poland: 3. edycja. Nowi jurorzy, nowe głosy" (in Polish). dziennikzachodni.pl. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
  11. "Marika odchodzi z „The Voice of Poland"" (in Polish). www.wirtualnemedia.pl. 2014-07-25. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  12. Patryk Pallus (2014-09-23). "Marika i Antek Królikowski poprowadzą "SuperSTARcie". 10 gwiazd zaśpiewa na żywo" (in Polish). www.wirtualnemedia.pl. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  13. "Marika na temat nowej płyty i swoich planów [WIDEO]" (in Polish). muzyka.dlastudenta.pl. 2017-03-30. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  14. "Marika wzięła ślub! Zdjęcia mamy dzięki... Maffashion! Kim jest mąż Mariki?" (in Polish). www.eska.pl. 2016-03-29. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  15. "Marika urodziła bliźniaki. Wokalistka długo to ukrywała" (in Polish). www.edziecko.pl. 2020-05-29. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  16. "Bóg zawsze za moimi plecami" (in Polish). bogwwielkimmiescie.pl. 2015-10-17. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  17. "Marta, niegdyś Marika: Burzę wam porządek" (in Polish). www.styl.pl. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  18. "NIEZWYKŁA PRZEMIANA MARIKI" (in Polish). pytanienasniadanie.tvp.pl. 2016-03-18. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
  19. "The Voice of Marika" (in Polish). kobieta.onet.pl. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  20. "Marika w klubie Scena | wywiad dla my3miasto.pl" (in Polish). www.youtube.com. 2013-10-21. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  21. "Marika - Music Charts". acharts.co. Retrieved 2019-04-20.
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