Kaliber 44

Kaliber 44
Polish music group "Kaliber 44" in London (2008). Polish music group "Kaliber 44" in London (2008).
Background information
Also known as	K44
Origin	Poland, Katowice
Genres	Rap Hip hop Horrorcore Psychedelic
Years active	1994 – 2003 (suspended)
Labels	S.P. Records
Associated acts	Paktofonika
Members
Abra dAb Ś.P. Brat Joka DJ Feel-X

Kaliber 44 is a hip hop band formed at the end of 1993 in Katowice, Silesia, Poland by Piotr Łuszcz ("Magik"), Marcin Marten ("Dab") and Michał Marten ("Joka"). The group is dubbed the most influential Polish hip hop band, while their so-called Hardcore Psycho Rap style is the most prominent. It was originally thought that the name of the group came from a gun, but later members revealed that it should be explained differently: first part of the name comes from the calibre of problems the group sings about. The number 44 is a reference to a prophetic poem Dziady written by Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz.

Nad ludy i nad króle podniesiony;

Na trzech stoi koronach, a sam bez korony;

A życie jego - trud trudów,

A tytuł jego - lud ludów;

Z matki obcej, krew jego dawne bohatery,

A imię jego czterdzieści i cztery.

Elevated above peoples and kings;

He stands on three crowns, but himself is without a crown;

And his life - the hardest of hardships,

And his title - the people above other peoples;

From a foreign mother, his blood is of ancient heroes;

And his name forty and four.

"Księga Tajemnicza. Prolog", released in 1996 was the first Polish hardcore psychorap album and the second one where live-scratching technique was used. Their two other albums - "W 63 minuty dookoła świata" (released in 1998) and "3:44" (released in 2000) were completely devoid of psychorap style.

Piotr Łuszcz

Soon after release of the second album "W 63 minuty dookoła świata" Magik retired from Kaliber 44 and together with Sebastian Salbert (Rahim) and Wojciech Alszer (Fokus) he formed new band called "Paktofonika". On December 26, 2000, at around 6:15, "Magik" committed suicide by jumping out of the window of his apartment situated on the ninth floor of the building, in Katowice. At around 6:45, he was pronounced dead in a local hospital, leaving his wife Justyna, and a 3-year old son, Filip.

Discography

Underground albums

• Usłysz Nasze Demo (Hear our demo) (1994)

Studio albums

• Księga Tajemnicza. Prolog (The Mysterious Book. Prologue) (1996)
• W 63 minuty dookoła świata (Around the World in 63 Minutes) (1998) POL: Gold
• 3:44 (2000) POL #49

Singles

• "Magia i miecz" (The Magic and the Sword) (1996)
• "Film" (1998)
• "Konfrontacje" (Confrontations) (2000)