Taco Hemingway facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Taco Hemingway
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Hemingway performing in Warsaw in 2018
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Filip Tadeusz Szcześniak |
| Also known as | Taco, FoodVillain, Fifi, Pan Śmierć |
| Born | 29 July 1990 Cairo, Egypt |
| Origin | Warsaw, Poland |
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| Years active | 2011–present |
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Filip Tadeusz Szcześniak (born 29 July 1990), known as Taco Hemingway, is a popular Polish rapper. He started making music in 2011. At first, he used the name Foodvillain and released an English mixtape called Who Killed JFK. A year later, he changed his name to Taco Hemingway. Under this name, he released an English EP called Young Hems.
In 2014, he released his first Polish EP, Trójkąt warszawski. This album helped him become well-known. He then joined the record label Asfalt Records. With this label, he re-released Trójkąt warszawski and put out a new EP called Umowa o dzieło. These albums, and others he released, made him very famous. He quickly became one of the most popular musicians in Poland.
Taco Hemingway has sold over 400,000 albums in Poland. This makes him one of the best-selling rappers there. Many of his albums can be downloaded for free from his website. His most successful album was Soma 0.5 mg, made with Quebonafide. It sold over 150,000 copies. Other popular albums include Szprycer, Marmur, and Pocztówka z WWA, lato '19. He has received many awards for his album sales, like platinum, gold, and diamond records. He created hit songs such as "6 zer", "Następna stacja", "Deszcz na betonie", "Polskie Tango", "Tamagotchi", and "Nostalgia". These songs quickly became very popular on YouTube, getting millions of views.
He has been nominated for the Fryderyk Awards (important Polish music awards) many times. He won four times for Hip-Hop Album of the Year. He is the only artist to win this award three times in a row. He was also nominated for the MTV Europe Music Awards and Empik's Bestsellers. However, he does not focus much on awards and has not collected any of them. In 2019, he was ranked 10th on the list of Most Influential Poles by Wprost magazine. He is also the first Polish artist whose songs have been played over a billion times on Spotify, a music streaming platform. Even with his huge popularity, he rarely gives interviews or appears in advertisements.
His Early Life
Filip Szcześniak was born in Cairo, Egypt, in 1990. When he was two years old, his family moved from Egypt to Guangzhou, China. He went to an English preschool first, then a Chinese one. There, he found it hard to communicate because of language and cultural differences. In 1996, his family moved to Warsaw, Poland. He had no problems in school there. He also became fluent in both English and Polish. He spoke English with his mother and sister, and Polish with his father. He listened to different rap artists with his father, which helped him love rap music.
Filip went to Prywatne Gimnazjum nr 1 and Copernicus Bilingual High School in Warsaw. There, he met Maciej Ruszecki, who would later become his producer. He also studied cultural studies at the University of Warsaw. In 2012, he started studying anthropology for his master's degree at University College London.
His Music Career
Starting Out: Young Hems and Trójkąt warszawski
While studying in London, Filip wrote songs for his mixtape, Who Killed JFK. He started putting his first songs on YouTube under the name Foodvillain. He tried to make music but it was difficult. He rapped in English over beats he found. This first project did not get much attention. On 26 December 2013, he released his English EP, Young Hems, on Bandcamp. He started using the name Taco Hemingway, which he got from the football game FIFA. This album was recorded in Brussels. It also did not get much attention.
Taco Hemingway first worked in advertising. Then he became an English translator. While doing this, he wrote his second EP. On 19 December 2014, his second EP, Trójkąt warszawski, was released. You could listen to it for free on his YouTube channel and download it from his website. The day after the album came out, he played his first concert in Warsaw. In January, he released the song "Tunarzywo", which he recorded in 2013. On 27 March 2015, he played another concert, which was the official release party for the album.
On 6 June 2015, he released his first single, "6 zeros", with a music video. This song became his first big success and helped him become popular in Poland. On 27 June 2015, his third EP, Umowa o dzieło, was released. This album was also available for free on YouTube and his website.
Taco first sent his music to other record labels, but they did not respond. Then he sent them to Marcin "Tytus" Grabski, who owns Asfalt Records. Grabski liked the music, and Taco signed a contract with them.
On 19 August 2015, re-releases of Trójkąt warszawski and Umowa o dzieło went on sale. They became very popular, reaching high spots on the Polish music charts. Both albums sold over 10,000 copies on their release day. Listeners and critics loved them. By 2017, Umowa o dzieło became a gold album. The song "Następna stacja" from Umowa o dzieło reached number one on a Polish radio chart and stayed there for weeks. That same year, he went on his first concert tour in Poland. He also performed at the Open'er Festival for the first time. In 2016, he won the Fryderyk award for Umowa o dzieło as Hip-Hop Album of the Year. On 5 July 2016, he released the single "Deszcz na betonie", which announced his album Marmur. This song became a hit on many radio stations.
Wosk, Marmur, and Szprycer
In February 2016, he started writing songs for his first studio album. In 2016, his fourth mini-album, Wosk, was released without warning for free download. Music critics liked the album. The song "Wiatr" became the biggest hit from the album, with almost 10 million views on YouTube.
On 2 November, he released his first studio album, Marmur. It went on sale on 2 December, along with his previous album, Wosk. The albums reached number 3 and number 14 on the Polish music charts. Critics gave positive reviews, though slightly less strong than for his earlier albums. By February 2017, over 15,000 copies of Marmur were sold, making it a gold album. A song from Marmur, "Święcące prostokąty", reached number 23 on a Polish radio chart. That same year, he went on his second concert tour, the Marmur Tour. Rapper Sokół praised Taco Hemingway's work. In 2017, Taco was nominated for a Fryderyk Award again for Marmur, but he did not win. In 2017, he performed at the Open'er Festival for the second time, this time on the main stage. During his last song, "Następna stacja", rain damaged the equipment, so he had to finish the song without music.
In July 2017, he announced a new EP. On 30 July 2017, he released the single "Nostalgia" with a music video. The full mini-album, Szprycer, was released digitally on the same day. The physical version came out on 25 August. The album reached number 1 on the Polish charts. Taco changed his music style on this album, which got mixed reactions from fans and critics. "Nostalgia" became a radio hit. Like his other albums, Szprycer was available for free download. After the album's release, he went on his 2017 Tour, playing concerts in 13 cities and selling over 23,000 tickets. The tour ended with a big show in Warsaw, where he filled a hall with over 6,000 people. Around the same time, he recorded a song with Otsochodzi called "Nowy Kolor" with a music video. This song became a huge hit, with over 25 million views on YouTube in a few months. It was also named "single of the year" by several music websites. The song was nominated for a Fryderyk Award in 2019 and achieved diamond album status. In October, Taco released limited edition clothing based on his albums. On 6 March 2018, Szprycer won the Fryderyk Award for Hip-Hop Album of the Year. Taco did not attend the awards show. By March 2018, the album had sold over 30,000 copies, earning platinum status.
Taconafide and New Albums
In March 2018, Taco Hemingway announced he would record an album with Quebonafide. On 16 March 2018, their duo, Taconafide, released their first single, "Art-B". They also announced a tour to promote the album. In two weeks, they sold out tickets for their concert in Torwar and quickly sold out other shows in major Polish cities. This was the biggest concert success in Polish rap history.
On 22 March 2018, they released their second single, "Tamagotchi", with a music video. This song was a huge success, reaching number 22 on the best-selling singles list in Poland. It broke Ed Sheeran's record for the most listened-to song on Spotify in Poland. The song was number 1 on YouTube for a week, getting over 10 million views in ten days, and eventually over 90 million views. It was also a big radio hit. On 1 April 2018, Taconafide announced the full list of songs for their album, Soma 0.5 mg, and a bonus album, 0.25 mg. Other artists like Bedoes and Dawid Podsiadło were featured on the bonus album. "Tamagotchi" set another Spotify record with 1,797,617 listens in one week. On 4 April 2018, "Metallica 808" was released. On 9 April 2018, "Kryptowaluty" came out. On 13 April 2018, the full Soma 0.5 mg album was released on YouTube and streaming services. The album received mixed reviews, with some critics saying it was too focused on commercial success. It debuted at number 1 on the Polish charts, selling over 30,000 copies and becoming a platinum album. It was the best-selling album in Poland in April and May 2018. On 4 July 2018, the album earned double platinum status for selling 60,000 copies. It was also the best-selling album of the first half of the year in Poland. On July 6, Taco performed at the Open'er Festival for the third time, this time with Quebonafide as Taconafide. They had announced this would be their last concert as a duo. They drew a huge crowd, similar to major international stars.
In a magazine included with the album, Taco announced he would release two more solo projects that year. By mid-2018, he had partly moved back to London to be with his girlfriend. His second studio album, Café Belga, was released without warning on 13 July 2018. The second project was an EP called Flagey, included with the album. Café Belga also debuted at number 1 on the Polish charts. It became a gold record two weeks after its release. The album received mostly positive reviews. The song "Fiji" from Café Belga became a radio hit. At the end of 2018, Taco went on his Café Belga Tour. He also launched a limited edition clothing collection. In October 2018, Taconafide was nominated for the MTV Europe Music Awards for Best Polish Performer. By the end of October, Soma 0.5 mg had sold over 90,000 copies, earning triple platinum status. Café Belga had sold over 30,000 copies, earning platinum status. By the end of 2018, Soma 0.5 mg had sold about 100,000 copies. In 2019, it received diamond status for selling over 150,000 copies. In 2019, Taco received seven nominations for the Fryderyk Awards. Soma 0.5 mg won in the hip-hop album of the year category.
Recent Works: Pocztówka z WWA, lato '19, Jarmark, and Europa
Even though he hinted at taking a break from music in 2019, a photo of him recording in the studio appeared online on 7 February. On 9 February 2019, a small part of his new song was leaked. On 12 February, he was a guest on Bedoes' single "Chłopaki nie płaczą". In April, a post from his recording studio confirmed a new album was being made. In May 2019, Taco and Dawid Podsiadło announced a concert at the National Stadium in Warsaw. Taco said this would be his only concert that year. The event was very popular, and all 73,000 tickets sold out in almost three hours. This broke a Polish record, selling more tickets than Metallica or Coldplay.
On 16 July 2019, Taco announced his new album, Pocztówka z WWA, lato '19, would be released on 9 August. Pre-orders began. He wrote on Instagram that he could not help but release a new album in the summer, as he usually does. For the first time, he invited other musicians to be guests on the album, including Pezet, Dawid Podsiadło, schafter, Kizo, Ras, and Rosalie. On 23 July 2019, the album was unexpectedly released electronically on YouTube and streaming services like Spotify. As always, he also made the entire album available for free MP3 download on his website. The album debuted at number one on the Polish sales list for the fourth time in a row and stayed there for three weeks. It sold 15,000 copies in pre-sales and was certified gold by ZPAV on 21 August 2019. Critics generally liked the album. Songs like "W piątki leżę w wannie" and "Sanatorium" became popular on Polish radio. On 15 August, he was a guest on Kizo's single "Niebieski Bentley". He also appeared on Pezet's album, Muzyka Współczesna, in the song "2K30". On 30 October 2019, the album achieved platinum status for selling over 30,000 copies. In October, he was ranked 10th on the list of Most Influential Poles 2019 by Wprost. On 6 November 2019, he was a guest on schafter's single "Bigos", which also had a music video. This song reached number 1 on YouTube and Spotify. In November, he also appeared on two songs on Bedoes' album, Opowieści z doliny smoków.
At the beginning of 2020, he started his sixth tour, the Pocztówka z Polski Tour. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tour was postponed. The album Pocztówka z WWA received nominations for many awards, including the 2020 Fryderyk Awards and Empik Bestsellers 2019. It was the tenth highest-selling album in Poland. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he took part in the #hot16challenge, a campaign to raise money for medical workers. He donated PLN 100,000 himself. In his song for the challenge, he hinted that he might release a few albums in July. On 25 June 2020, a photo of him from the studio appeared, showing a new album was being made. On 3 July, he was a guest on Artur Rojek's single "A miało być jak we śnie", which also had a video. In July 2020, Taco and the group PRO8L3M started a music publishing company called 2020. On 10 July 2020, a single called "Polskie Tango" was released. This song talks about Polish culture and expresses concern about the state of the country. The single was a preview of the album Jarmark. "Polskie Tango" broke the daily playback record in Poland on Spotify, getting over 560,000 plays. On YouTube, it got over 2.5 million views in 24 hours, also breaking a record. On July 28, he announced that the albums would be released in late August or early September instead of July. On 29 July 2020, his birthday, the single "Michael Essien Birthday Party" came out. This announced a new album called Europa, which, along with Jarmark, would be released on 4 September 2020. Pre-orders for both albums started that day. On 28 August 2020, he unexpectedly released the album Jarmark, making it available on streaming services and for free download. On 4 September 2020, the physical version of Europa went on sale with Jarmark. Both were also available on streaming services and for free download. Taco debuted at number one on the OLiS chart for the fifth year in a row with Jarmark, and Europa came in second. Seven of his albums were on the list at the same time, matching Czesław Niemen's record. The albums became gold on 24 September 2020. Critics had mixed reviews for Jarmark, saying that while it covered important topics, it sometimes became too simple. However, some praised him for addressing such topics in popular music. Europa received average reviews, with critics calling it uneven. In the same year, he received two nominations for the Fryderyk Awards 2021 for Jarmark and "Polskie Tango". In 2020, he gave an interview where he said he now wants to focus on publishing and helping new young artists with his new label.
Personal Life
Taco Hemingway is in a relationship with Iga Lis. She is the daughter of Polish journalist Tomasz Lis. In a 2016 interview, he said he is a fan of the football team Tottenham Hotspur. He identifies as an atheist.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications |
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| POL |
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| Marmur |
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3 |
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| Soma 0,5 mg (with Quebonafide as Taconafide) |
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1 |
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| Café Belga |
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1 |
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| Pocztówka z WWA, lato '19 |
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1 |
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| Jarmark |
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1 |
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| Europa |
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2 |
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| 1-800-Oświecenie |
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1 |
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Extended plays
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications |
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| POL |
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| Young Hems |
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| Trójkąt Warszawski |
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3 |
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| Umowa o Dzieło |
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2 |
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| Wosk |
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14 |
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| Szprycer |
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1 |
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| Flagey |
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— | ||
| "—" denotes a title that did not chart. | ||||
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
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| POL |
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| "6 zer" | 2015 | — | Umowa o Dzieło |
| "Deszcz na betonie" | 2016 | — | Marmur |
| "Nostalgia" | 2017 | — | Szprycer |
| "Art-B" (with Quebonafide as Taconafide) |
2018 | — | Soma 0,5 mg |
| "Tamagotchi" (with Quebonafide as Taconafide) |
22 | ||
| "Metallica 808" (with Quebonafide as Taconafide) |
— | ||
| "Kryptowaluty" (with Quebonafide as Taconafide) |
— | ||
| "Polskie tango" | 2020 | — | Jarmark |
| "Michael Essien Birthday Party" | — | Europa | |
| "—" denotes a title that did not chart. | |||
Other charted songs
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
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| POL |
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| "Fiji" | 2018 | 26 | Café Belga |
| "W piątki leże w wannie" (with Dawid Podsiadło) |
2019 | 63 | Pocztówka z WWA, lato '19 |
| "—" denotes a title that did not chart. | |||
Guest appearances
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
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| "Postaranie" | 2015 | Małe Miasta | Koń |
| "Lek Przeciwbólowy" | Rasmentalism, Sokół | Prosto Mixtape IV | |
| "SumieNIE" | 2017 | Otsochodzi, Holak, O.S.T.R. | Nowy Kolor |
| "Nowy Kolor" | Otsochodzi | ||
| "Fast Food" | 2018 | Rasmentalism, Rosalie | Tango |
| "Chłopaki nie płaczą" | Bedoes | Kwiat Polskiej Młodzieży | |
| "Napad na bankiet" | 2019 | Sokół, PRO8L3M | Wojtek Sokół |
| "Haute Couture" | 2020 | TUZZA Globale | Giardino |
| "Patrol" | 2021 | CatchUp, Kacperczyk | Perypetie |
| "Kurtz" | 2021 | Mata | Młody Matczak |
| "ADHD" | 2022 | Oki | PRODUKT47 |
Tours
- Następna stacja Tour (2015)
- Marmur Tour (2016)
- 2017 Tour (2017)
- Ekodiesel Tour (as Taconafide) (2018)
- Café Belga Tour (2018)
- Pocztówka z Polski Tour (2020)
- 2022 Tour (2022)
- 1-800-TOUR (2024)
See also
In Spanish: Taco Hemingway para niños
