Mafia is the debut studio album

Studio album

A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

 by Romanian hip hop

Romanian hip hop

Romanian hip hop is the hip hop music style that was developed in Romania around 1992. Most notable Romanian hip hop artists come from Bucharest, Romania's capital and largest city. The genre is currently growing in popularity in Europe...

 group B.U.G. Mafia

B.U.G. Mafia

B.U.G. Mafia is a Romanian hip hop group from Pantelimon, Bucharest, widely regarded as one of the seminal acts of gangsta rap in Romania. Founded in 1993, it was among the first Romanian hip hop acts.The original line-up consisted of Vlad "Tataee" Irimia, Dragoş "Caddillac" Vlad-Neagu and two...

, released September 20, 1995 on local Bucharest

Bucharest

Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....

-based label Amma Sound. Production for the album was handled by group member and founder Tataee

Tataee

Vlad Irimia , primarily known by his stage name Tataee, is a Romanian record producer, rapper, record executive, and music manager. He is one of the founders and the main producer of the well-known Romanian hip hop trio B.U.G...

, with various composers and keyboardists giving co-production. Heavily influenced by N.W.A.

N.W.A.

N.W.A was an American hip hop group from Compton, California, widely considered one of the seminal acts of the gangsta rap sub-genre....

 and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony is an American Hip-Hop/R'n'B band from Cleveland, Ohio formed in 1991. It originally consisted of rappers Layzie Bone, Flesh-n-Bone, Bizzy Bone, Krayzie Bone, and Wish Bone. Rapper Eazy-E of the group N.W.A signed Bone Thugs-N-Harmony to Ruthless Records in 1994, when Bone...

, the album has been viewed as the pioneering record of gangsta rap

Gangsta rap

Gangsta Rap is a subgenre of hip hop music that evolved from hardcore hip hop and purports to reflect urban crime and the violent lifestyles of inner-city youths. Lyrics in gangsta rap have varied from accurate reflections to fictionalized accounts. Gangsta is a non-rhotic pronunciation of the word...

 in Romania. With its ever-present profanity and violent lyrics, it helped to give birth to this then-new genre of music in Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

. As hip hop

Hip hop

Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...

 music was quite new in Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

 at the time, the album attracted many rock fans, who appreciated the group's aggressive approach towards music.

In spite of poor sound quality and practically no professional promotion, Mafia achieved moderate success and quite favorable reviews. The album is still known for being the third hip hop

Hip hop

Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...

 album to be released in Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

 by a record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

. It had 15 tracks and featured guest performances from M&G, Marijuana, Coco, Vlad "Ben" Blându and actress Rona Hartner.

Track listing

1. "A fost odata ..."
2. "Copiii focului"
3. "La 2 metri in pamant"
4. "Aaaah!... Ooooh!..." (skit) (feat. Rona Hartner)
5. "Bairam de cartier" (feat. M&G)
6. "Viata de borfas"
7. "C.O.D."
8. "Psihopatu'"
9. "B.U.G. Mafia"
10. "Raid mafiot"
11. "O noapte grea"
12. "Ucigas
13. "Inc'o cruce'n cimitir" (feat. Marijuana)
14. "Respect"
15. "1 Numar, 2 Numere, 3 Numere... Gata!?"

External links

• Mafia at Discogs
  Discogs
  Discogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...