Kalush (rap group)

Kalush (Ukrainian pronunciation: [ˈkɑlʊʃ] ^ⓘ; stylised in all caps) is a Ukrainian rap group founded in 2019 by rapper Oleh Psiuk and music producer Vanyok Klymenko. In early 2021, the group launched the side project Kalush Orchestra. Unlike the original line-up, Kalush Orchestra focuses on hip hop blended with folk motifs and elements from Ukrainian traditional music. On 15 May 2022, Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with the song "Stefania".^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Kalush was formed in 2019 through the collaborative efforts of rapper Oleh Psiuk, also known as Psiuchyi Syn, and music producer Vanyok Klymenko. The band’s name was inspired by Oleh’s stories about his hometown of Kalush, which led to the choice. Oleh found multi-instrumentalist Ihor Didenchuk online after responding to his call on Facebook, among 20 sopilka players, and chose Ihor.^[6] The third member of the group was the mysterious MC Kylymmen ('Carpetman'), a virtual person, behind whose mask can be any person. Since the creation of the group, more than 70 people have taken on the role of MC Kylymmen, and in each song, a new person appears behind the mask of MC Kylymmen.^[1][2][6]

The group’s first music video for the song "Ne marynui" was released on their official YouTube channel on 17 October 2019. The video was filmed on the streets of the band’s hometown of Kalush. After releasing their second music video, "Ty honysh", in November 2019, Kalush signed a collaboration agreement with the American hip-hop label Def Jam, part of Universal Music Group. On 9 December the video for the song "Hory" was released, which the band performed together with Alyona Alyona. In 12 days, the video gained 1.2 million views on YouTube.^[3]

In 2021, according to TopHit, Kalush had 424,949 radio airplays on Ukrainian radio stations and garnered 37,318,425 views on YouTube.

In January 2021, Kalush, together with Skofka, released the joint track "Otaman".^[7] In May, another collaboration, "Dodomu", was released, which made it to the YouTube trends, Shazam charts, Spotify, and iTunes top charts. With this song, the artists decided to support the "Oko za Oko" project by the OKKO gas station network and the "Povernysʹ zhyvym" foundation. The project's goal was to raise funds for purchasing 25 Shark drone systems.^[8]

On 19 February 2021 the band released their debut album Hotin.^[9][10] On 23 July 2021, Kalush and Skofka released a joint mini-album "Yo-Yo" and a new track, "Ne naprygaysya".^[11] On 22 March 2024, Kalush and Kola released two songs, "Pamyatai" and "Upiimai moie sertse", along with their music videos. One of the videos was released on Kalush's YouTube channel, and the other on Kola's YouTube channel simultaneously.^[12]

On 14 June 2024, Kalush released their third album, Dlia dushi.^[13]

The leader and founder of the band Kalush, Oleh Psiuk, has long been known for wearing a pink bucket hat. The singer bought his first bucket hat at a second-hand store for the filming of the music video for the song "Ne marynui". Since then, the pink bucket hat has become not only Oleh Psiuk's trademark but also a symbol of the entire Kalush band, and later the Kalush Orchestra, which is a spinoff of the original project.^[14] It has also become a significant symbol, as it is actively sold at auctions worldwide, raising funds to support Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War.^[14]

• Oleh Psiuk (2019–present) – rap
• MC Kylymmen (2022–present) – breakdance

• Ihor Didenchuk [uk] (2019–2023) – instrumentals