Macedonian hip hop covers the Macedonian hip hop culture and the Macedonian language hip hop music primarily created in Macedonia, but also in the Macedonian diaspora. Overview Background The Macedonian hip hop started in the 1980s in the then Socialist Republic of Macedonia, but experienced considerable growth after the declaration of independence of the Republic of Macedonia. One of the first critically acclaimed acts was the rock band Super Nova from Skopje, which utilized rap music elements in some of its songs. The group recorded several rap music tracks for the music production branch of the Macedonian Radio-Television, including Hip-hop blues, Rap, Vero and others, some including pop, rock, funk, reggae or other elements. One of those songs was the anti-war themed Rapovanje. Its catchy rhyme, ("Better to rap, than to wage war") made it very popular across the country in 1989. In the same year, they performed at two prominent festivals in (Subotica and Zajecar). The most notable members of the group were: Vikto Mastoridis (guitar, vocals), Miki Kostadinov (drums), Vlatko Georgiev (keyboards) and Vlasto Janevik-Lucky (bass). Currently, one of the notable underground hip hop performers and producers in North Macedonia is Vladimir Agovski-Ago from Skopje. He became involved in the Macedonian hip-hop scene since childhood as a young b-boy in 1986. In the following year, he formed a juvenile rap act called The Masters of Rap and recorded his first studio track in 1988. In 1991, he joined the band Instant Beat, which performed around the country and made recordings in the Macedonian Radio-Television production, which were never officially released. Later, he formed another group, The Most Wanted, which in 1995, released the first Macedonian hardcore rap album, called "Judgment Day". After the group disbanded in 1996, he continued to work under the name Temnata strana (The Dark Side) and he founded the first Macedoninan hip-hop label, called "Dolina na senkite" abbreviated "DNS" (Valley of the Shadows) to promote his own works and other upcoming Macedonian hip hop acts as well. The group Čista okolina was formed in 1989 by joining several previously existing juvenile rap bands, and later it rose to one of the most prominent hip hop acts in the country. Čista okolina released the album "Noviot aspekt na starata škola" (The New Aspect of the Old School) in the spring of 1996. During its existence, it also released a song together with the prominent alternative