Kaliber 44

Kaliber 44
Also known as	K44
Origin	Katowice, Poland
Genres	Rap, Hip hop, Horrorcore, Psychedelic
Years active	1994–2003, 2013–
Labels	S.P. Records
Associated acts	Paktofonika
Members	Abradab, Joka
Past members	Magik, DJ Feel-X

Kaliber 44 is a hip hop band formed at the end of 1993 in Katowice, Poland. 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 formed new band called "Paktofonika" together with Sebastian "Rahim" Salbert and Wojciech "Fokus" Alszer.

On 26 December 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

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions	Certifications
		POL [1]
Księga Tajemnicza. Prolog	Released: November 10, 1996 Label: S.P. Records	—
W 63 minuty dookoła świata	Released: March 2, 1998 Label: S.P. Records	50	ZPAV: Gold[2]
3:44	Released: September 2, 2000 Label: S.P. Records	49
Ułamek tarcia	Released: February 13, 2016 Label: Mystic Production	1	ZPAV: Gold[3]

Demo albums

Title	Album details
Usłysz nasze demo	Released: 1994 Label: Self-released

Singles

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

References

1. Peak chart positions in Poland:
   • W 63 minuty dookoła świata: "OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
   • 3:44: "OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
2. "Bestseller charts and awards :: Gold certification awards". Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
3. "ZPAV :: Bestsellery i wyróżnienia - Wyróżnienia - Złote płyty CD". ZPAV. Retrieved 23 March 2016.

External links

• Kaliber 44 at Culture.pl