Taco Hemingway

Taco Hemingway
Taco Hemingway performing in Warsaw in 2018.
Background information
Birth name	Filip Tadeusz Szcześniak
Born	(1990-07-29) July 29, 1990 Cairo, Egypt
Origin	Warsaw, Poland
Genres	Hip hop alternative hip hop trap
Occupation(s)	Rapper songwriter
Years active	2011–present
Labels	Asfalt Taco Corp Warner Music Poland
Associated acts	Male Miasta, Ras, Sokol, Otsochodzi, Holak, O.S.T.R., Rasmentalism, Rosalie.
Website	tacohemingway.com

Filip Tadeusz Szcześniak (born 29 July 1990), better known by the stage name Taco Hemingway (earlier FV), is a Polish rapper, songwriter, and musician who has worked solo and as a part of the Taconafide duo^[1] together with the rapper Quebonafide.

Early life

Filip Szcześniak was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1990.^[2][3][4] At the age of 2, he moved with his parents from Egypt to China. Initially, he attended an English preschool before transferring to a Chinese preschool, where he experienced communication problems due to differences in culture and language. Upon finishing preschool, Szcześniak and his family moved to Warsaw in 1996,^[5] where he experienced little to no difficulties in school while simultaneously developing his bilingualism from his early years. In an interview with Metro Warszawa, Szcześniak stated that he spoke English with his mother and sister and that he spoke in Polish with his father.^[6] He listened to various rap artists with his father, developing his passion for the rap genre.^[6] His parents divorced in 2004.^[6]

Szcześniak completed his studies at Prywatne Gimnazjum nr 1 and Copernicus Bilingual High School in Warsaw, where he met his future producer, Maciej Ruszecki. He is also a graduate of cultural studies at the University of Warsaw.^[7] In 2012, he began studying for a master's degree in anthropology in University College London.^[8]

Career

Szcześniak began his career in 2011, when he released a mixtape in English titled Who killed JFK under the pseudonym "Foodvillain".^[9] A year later, he changed his stage name to Taco Hemingway and released an EP in English titled Young Hems.^[10] In 2014, he released a second EP, Trójkąt warszawski, this time recorded in his native language, Polish, which has since continued to be the main language in all of his records.^[11] The EP's success brought him publicity and granted him the opportunity to sign under Asfalt Records, where he released a new edition of Trójkąt Warszawski along with a new EP, Umowa o dzieło.^[12] Taco Hemingway's albums appeared on the second and third spots of the OLiS chart, selling 15,000 and 10,000 copies respectively, awarding Umowa o dzieło gold status.^[13][14]

In 2016, Taco's third EP, Wosk, as well as a studio album, Marmur, were released.^[15] The two releases debuted on the third and 14th spots on OLiS. Marmur sold 15,000 copies and received gold status.^[13][14] In 2017, his fifth EP, Szprycer was released,^[16] and became a commercial success, debuting on the 1st spot on OLiS and receiving platinum record status, selling 30,000 copies.^[13][17] On 3 April 2018, Taco cooperated with Polish rapper Quebonafide in recording and releasing Soma 0,5 mg,^[18] which debuted on 1st spot of OLiS and received platinum status.^[19] A single named Tamagotchi got first place in most radio stations in Poland and reached spot number 23 on one of the charts of best-selling singles in Poland, AirPlay.^{[20][21][22][23]}

Taco Hemingway has been nominated three times for the hip hop/R&B album of the year category in the Fryderyk music awards in 2016, 2017, and 2018 for his albums Umowa o dzieło, Marmur, and Szprycer respectively,^[24][25][26] winning single awards for Umowa o dzieło and Szprycer.^[27][24]

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

- Marmur (2016) Asfalt Records, Warner Music Poland

- Cafe Belga (2018) Asfalt Record, Taco Corp

Albums in collaboration with other artist

- Soma 0,5 Mg (with Quebonafide as Taconafide) (2018) Taconafidex

- 0,25 Mg (with Quebonafide as Taconafide) (2018) Taconafidex

Extended plays

- Young Hems (2013) Asfalt Records, Taco Corp, Warner Music Poland

- Trojkat Warszawski (2014) Asfalt Records, Taco Corp, Warner Music Poland

- Umowa O Dzielo (2015) Asfalt Records, Taco Corp, Warner Music Poland

- Wosk (2016) Asfalt Records, Taco Corp, Warner Music Poland

- Szprycer (2017) Asfalt Records, Taco Corp

- Flagey (2018) Asfalt Records, Taco Corp

Mixtapes

- Who Killed JFK? (as FV) (2011)

Singles

- 6 Zer (2015)

- Deszcz Na Betonie (2016)

- Nostalgia (2017)

- Art-B (with Quebonafide as Taconafide) (2018)

- Tamagotchi (with Quebonafide as Taconafide) (2018)

- Metallica 808 (with Quebonafide as Taconafide) (2018)

- Kryptowaluty (with Quebonafide as Taconafide (2018)

Guest performances

- Postaranie (Album Kon) (Male Miasta ft. Taco Hemingway) (2015)

- Lek Przeciwbolowy (Album Prosto Mixtape IV) (Ras & Sokol & Taco Hemingway) (2015)

- SumieNIE (Album Nowy Kolor) (Otsochodzi ft. Holak & O.S.T.R. & Taco Hemingway) (2017)

- Nowy Kolor (Album Nowy Kolor) (Otsochodzi ft. Taco Hemingway) (2017)

- Fast Food (Album Tango) (Rasmentalism ft. Rosalie. & Taco Hemingway) (2018)

- SumieNIE (Album Asfalt 20) (Otsochodzi ft. O.S.T.R. & Ras & Taco Hemingway) (2018)

References