Baja Mali Knindža: Difference between revisions

'''Mirko Pajčin''' ([[Learn Cyrillic|Serbian Cyrillic]]: Мирко Пајчин; born 13 October 1966), best known by his stage name '''Baja Mali Knindža''' ([[Learn Cyrillic|Serbian Cyrillic]]: Баја Мали Книнџа), is a Serb folk singer, songwriter and poet. He is most known for his wartime music and remains to be one of the most popular artists in Serbia.

In 1989, he contributed to writing the [[Tromeđa]] album [[Izvorne pjesme Dalmacije, Like i Krajine|''Izvorne pjesme Dalmacije, Like i Krajine'']], which included one of their biggest hits, "[[Nema raja bez rodnoga kraja]]". Later in the year, Baja tried to participate in the music competition "Prvi glas Livna", but was denied when the judges found out that Baja was a professional musician and the song, "[[Nema raja bez rodnoga kraja]]" was already on an album. He was permitted to perform the song along with another song "[[Nemoj me lagati mila]]", but could not compete.<ref>[https://archive.vn/Q2pRm "Baja Mali Knindža Biography"]. ''Biografija.org.'' 2 October 2021. Archived from [https://www.biografija.org/muzika/baja-mali-knindza/ the original] on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.</ref><ref>[https://archive.vn/J0KnL "Ispovijest Mirka Pajčina"]. ''Medium.com.'' 13 January 2019.  Archived from [https://medium.com/@manjacainsajder/ispovijest-mirka-pajčina-bio-sam-jako-nemiran-đed-me-nazvao-baja-7d8db475ed07 the original] on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.</ref>

==== Ne dam Krajine and mainstream success (1992-1993) ====

Production issues occurred when for unknown reasons, Jugodisk was unable to publish this new album. With the help of Željko Grujić, they were in talks of having the Zagreb-based Jugoton publish the album, though the deal fell through.<ref name=":1">[https://web.archive.org/web/20070819110329/http://baja-mali-knindza.com/intervju2.html "У Босни нас слушају и Хрвати и Муслимани!"] baja-mali-knindza.com. Archived from [http://www.baja-mali-knindza.com/intervju2.html the original] on 25 March 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2024,</ref> In mid-1992, he would record with Grujić's label, [[Nina Trade]] and release a second album called [[Stan'te paše i ustaše|''Stan'te paše i ustaše'']], which would ended up selling 300,000 copies and even received a Platinum award at Hala Borik Banja Luka in 1997. Despite his mainstream success, Baja had a strained relationship with the media. His 1992 [[Poselo]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z95oRMym94A performance of "Pevaj Srbijo"] was cut from TV broadcasting and only ever had a few select appearances on radio and TV.<ref>[https://archive.is/fSQqQ 13.01.2021 Interview]. ''Informer.rs.'' 13 January 2021. Archived from [https://informer.rs/dzet-set/estrada/578438/baja-mali-knindza-ispovest-hit-dodatak the original] on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.</ref> Milovan Filipović, the event's organizer would subsequently be fired for the song's inclusion.<ref name=":1" />

==== Još se ništa ne zna and career at SuperTon (1993-1995) ====

In early 1995, Baja would release three more albums: [[Igraju se delije|''Igraju se delije'']], [[Idemo dalje|''Idemo dalje'']], and ''[[Zbogom oružje]]''. ''Igraju se delije'' would be the last time Goran would accompany Baja on his own albums and would also be the first collaboration with Željko Jovanović. ''Idemo dalje'' was released in August of that year, shortly before Krajina fell. Shortly after the war officially ended, [[Zbogom oružje]] released in late 1995, critical of the war and the political climate at the time.

==== Post-war (1996-1998) ====

==== Career at Renome and subsequent hiatus (1999-2002) ====

In 2000, Baja released [[Povratak u budućnost|''Povratak u budućnost'']], which featured another popular track, "[[Samo je moj stari znao]]". Baja would also return to Nina Trejd one last time and release [[Zaljubljen i mlad]] which featured reimagined versions of songs from ''Kockar bez sreć''e as well as some new material. Around this time, Renome's sublabel, [[Patriot]] would release the compilation ''[[Moje najljepše, one naše ?! Vaš Baja Mali]],'' but it's unknown if Baja had any involvement in its release.

In 2001, he released [[Đe si legendo]] which showed a change in musical direction for Baja. Rather than be solely folk, its songs would mix elements of rock and roll and pop, and no samples from the [[wikipedia:Roland_Sound_Canvas|Roland Sound Canvas]], which he used heavily in some of his most well known works. It would also feature a rock version of the song "[[Kuća časti]]" from a previous album Baja, ''Igraju se delije''. Renome would later release the compilation, ''Hitovi'', although it only contained Baja songs that were released by Renome themselves.

==== Official Youtube channel and self-published work (2014- present) ====

On June 14, 2018, the official YouTube channel for Baja Mali Knindža would be created<ref>"[https://www.youtube.com/@BMKOfficialChannel/about BMK Official Channel About]". 17 June 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2023.</ref> and it would become the main place where Baja<nowiki>'s current work would be released. Currently he only publishes singles and some live performances, and has not published any of his old work or music videos from the 90's. His most recent single would be Najčistija beretka ''CIGO''</nowiki>, released April 20, 2021. While Baja continues to perform patriotic music and love songs live, their contents are not nearly as chauvinistic.  

===== Career start (1985-1990) =====

While Baja's debut album was released in 1992, his start in the music industry would be in 1985 where he was primarily a lyricist at Jugodisk under the name "M. Pajčin Baja". His first songwriting credit would be on the [[Borislav Ličanin]] song "Oko mene lepe žene" from the album of the same name. He would also write the song "Jasna je meni donijela sreću" for the 1986 album ''A oj Liko zavičajna sliko'' and "Kad se slože ravnice i brda" for the 1987 album of the same name. The 1990 album, ''Sve što imam, to mi je u lici'' would be the first album to feature the song "Nemoj me lagati, mila", predating its appearance in ''[[Kockar bez sreće]]'' by three years. In 1989, Baja would contribute to one of Tromeđe's biggest hits, "Nema raja" as he was the primary lyricist for Tromeđa's ''[[Pjesme Dalmacije, Like i Krajine]]''. The song has since been covered by artists such as [[Bora Drljača]], [[Minđušari]], and [[Žare i Goci]]. He would contribute to the title track of the 1991 Milivoje Đurišić album ''Crnogorsko Srce'' before releasing his debut album.

==== Songwriting during the break-up of Yugoslavia (1993-1995) ====

In 1993, Baja began to add the "Knindža" to his moniker and wrote songs for artists in PGP RTS, the label that two years prior refused to publish his debut album. He would write the song "Rastanak" with the music being composed and performed by Rođa Raičević in ''Tako Je Suđeno''. It would also be covered by Cakana in the same year, although Baja would not be credited. He would also write the lyrics for "Đetić bez mane" for the 1993 Miloje Bubanja album, ''[[Život teče dalje]]''. He would also write and compose "Čujem da me tražiš" and "Dosta je bilo lutanja" for Jane Kačar's ''Smiluj se, Bože'', published by Produkcija "Južni Vetar". While at Nina Trejd, he would compose and produce Goran Krajišnik's debut album, ''Koridor slobode'' as well as contribute an early version of "Dražo" (titled "Ustani čiča Dražo") to the Boro Srbin album ''Ja sam Srbin''. At SuperTon, he wrote the song "Prvi put" for Nina Nikolić's ''[[Azbuka ljubavi]]''. Baja would also compose for Boban Zemunac's debut album, ''[[Ne daj se Srbijo moja]]'' and would feature an early version of "[[Neće biti granica na Drini]]". Its title track would use the tune of "Nemoj me lagati mila" and some elements in the instrumentals throughout the album would appear in later Baja albums albeit slightly altered.

While Baja only released one album in 1994, he would contribute to many albums that year. He would write the song "Princeza" for the album ''Maximalan'' by Srećko Ćosić (who would later guest star in Zbogom oružje and Plači voljena zemljo). He would write the song "Kapetan Dragan" for Bora Drljača on the album ''[[Nedam Krajine]]'' (whose title track is a cover of "[[Ne dam Krajine (song)|Ne dam Krajine]]") and "Pismo" for the Mile Delije album, ''[[Siromah bez rodnog kraja]],'' both released by Master Music (though the former was also released by [[Melos]]). He was the primary songwriter in the Gordan Krajišnik album, ''[[Život damo Krajine ne damo]]'' with the formerly live-only "Nikad više zajedno" having an official studio release. The song "Prsti sudbine" would appear again the next year in the Nina Kay album, ''Nisi Taj''. He would write for Rade Tešić's and Braća sa Dinare's debut albums both published by SuperTon.

In 1995, Baja wouldn't contribute as much as the previous year as he would write the lyrics to "Stara kalja a momak u duši" for the Bora Draljača album ''Nema raja bez svog zavičaja'' (whose title track is a cover of "Nema raja") and wrote the song "Nestao si kao dim" for the Simona album of the same name, both being published by PGP RTS. Baja would also be the primary songwriter for Gordan Krajišnik's ''Nema laži, nema prevare'' with a disco version of "Nema raja" (renamed to "Nema raja, bez rodnog kraja"). He would also be the primary songwriter for ''[[Bila jednom jedna zemlja]]'' and ''Seobe''.

==== Post-war career (1996-1999) ====

In 1996, Baja would contribute to six more albums from SuperTon: ''Svrati posle snegova'' with Obrad Vukovljak, ''[[Plači voljena zemljo]]'', the songs "Pesma za ostavljene" and "Zorica" on Vojo Terzić's ''[[Kraljica bez krune]]'', the title track and "Hey nevero" on Sveto Jovanović's ''[[Boem]]'', the song "Ranjeni lav" on Sveto Tulić's ''[[Prokleta žena]]'', and "Što me gledaš kad mi nedaš" for Dar - Mar's [[Dar - Mar (Album)|self-titled album]]. At Diskos, he wrote "Imala je oči" and the title track for Jane Kačar in ''I bogati plaču'', "Čekala me majka" on Božo Vorotivić's debut album, ''Nedam te!'', and "Ženama sam dušu dao" in Svemir Serdar's debut album ''Momak najbolji''. He would return to Nina Trejd and would work with Ličanin again in ''Će s'tobom biti'' where he would write "Jedna jela sa ličkoga prela" and "Otrov sam za žene" as well as write "Danijela" for [[Jadrino Jato]]'s [[Oj Krajino suzo moja|''Oj Krajino suzo moja'']].

In 1997, he was the primary songwriter in ''[[Ja se svoga, ne odričem do groba]]''. He would contribute to two Lazarević Produktion albums with the first being the primary songwriter of Jovan Perišić's debut album, ''Zbogom lažne ljubavi'' and the second being Marko Đuronović's ''Momačko veče'' where he would write the songs "Dajte nešto veselo" and "Da li ti suza krene".

In 1998, Baja would contribute to a few more more Lazarević Produktion albums: he was the lyricist of the title track and "Morao sam poći" on Lepi Mića's ''Svaka me zima na tebe sjeća,'' the title track, "Kesteni", "Nije život sto godina", and "Žena bogataša" for Božo Vorotović's ''Ko će da te čuva'' along with a reworked version of "Prvi put", and the songs "Idi, idi, drugoj", "Bila sam u zabludi", and "Duša ranjena" on Gordana Filipović's debut album, ''Ogledalo devojačko''. He would work on Miroslav Marić's ''Srce Skitnice'' as he wrote the songs "Ove noći si moja" and "Daleko u svetu". He would work again with Bora Drljača on the song "Plači mala plači" for his self-titled album as well as "Neka piju, nek' se biju" on Biljana Jevtić's ''Bogataš'', both released by ZaM. He would also work on three Nina Trejd albums: ''Vratiće se [[Danijela]], [[Idemo do kraja]],'' and ''[[Ličanin bez Like]]'' by Jadrino Jato, [[Braća sa Dinare]], and Borislav Ličanin respectively. He would write three songs for the former; "Vratiće se Danijela", "Lutalica" and "Ništa nije kao prije", and was the primary songwriter for the latter. He would write songs for Jadrino Jato again in the Renome album ''Stigla danijela'' in which he was the primary songwriter. He would write the title track, "Volim te ludo", "Talasa se, talasa", and "Prokleta Bila" for Rade Lukić's ''Moj brat je daleko,'' also published by Renome. Baja would write for Boban Zemunac one more time for the album ''Lutalica'' (published by Getex). He would write the song "Pevaj mala, pevaj" for the group Srpska Tromeđa on [[Mala pevaj, mala|the album of the same name]] and would be the last documented SuperTon album Baja would work on. Baja would not part with SuperTon until 2000, however.

==== Departure from SuperTon (2000-2009) ====

In 2005, although Lazo would be the primary lyricist for Savo Radović's ''Nema dalje'', Baja would write the last track, "Čaša s vinom". This would mark the last year Baja was involved with Nina Trejd before its rebranding to Nidžo Music. In 2006, Baja would write "Lane" and "Bečke bauštele" for the Sinovi Manjače album ''10 godina sa vama''. The album also contains a cover of "Nema raja". In 2007, he would work together with his cousin again on the Plavi Anđeli album, ''Selo moje kraj Manjače'' and Grupa Jezero's ''Zavičaj je moje blago''. In 2008, he wrote "Nemam više ni druga ni tebe" for the Momo i Dodir album ''Ima dana...'' and worked with his cousin on another Grupa Jezero album: ''Nikad nije dosta''. In 2009, he would reunite with Gordan Krajišnik and wrote "Daljine plave" for the album ''Samo tako postaje se neko''. This would be the last time Baja would write for Nina Trejd (at the time rebranded to Nidžo Music Company).  

==== Slowdown and subsequent hiatus (2010-present day) ====

*''[[Biti 'il ne biti]] (1999)

*''Ja nisam želeo kraj (2021)}}

{{Div col|colwidth=30em|content=*''[[Život damo Krajine ne damo (Album)|Život damo Krajine ne damo]] (1994)

*''[[Život damo Krajine ne damo (Album)|Samotnjak]] (1994)

*''[[Seobe (Album)|Seobe]] (1995)

*''[[Svrati posle snegova (Album)|Svrati posle snegova]] (1996)}}