Irina Aleksandrovna Smelaya (Russian: Ири́на Алекса́ндровна Сме́лая; born 21 December 1991), better known by her stage name Tatarka (Russian: Татарка, lit.'Tatar woman'), is a female hip-hop artist from Tatarstan, Russia. Her songs are written in Tatar and English.[1]

Irina Aleksandrovna Smelaya
Ири́на Алекса́ндровна Сме́лая
Background information
Also known asTatarka
Born (1991-12-21) 21 December 1991 (age 32)
Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
OriginSaint Petersburg, Russia
GenresCloud rap
Occupations
Years active2015–present
LabelsLittle Big Family
Spouse
(m. 2016; div. 2020)

Music and vlogging

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Smelaya was born in Naberezhnye Chelny. She currently lives in St. Petersburg and is a vlogger. Her YouTube blog named "Tatar Days" (Татарские будни) has almost a million subscribers.[2]

"Altyn" ("gold" in Tatar) was her first song, which was launched in 2016 and praised her in the Russian music scene.[3]

Smelaya is currently[when?] working on recording her debut album. It is known that the album will be in two languages, Tatar and English.[4]

Personal life

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Smelaya married Ilya Prusikin, the vocalist and frontman of the Russian pop-rave-band Little Big, on 6 July 2016.[5]

She gave birth to her and Prusikin's son Dobrynya on 26 November 2017.[6]

Smelaya and Prusikin publicly announced their separation on 21 August 2020.[7][8]

Discography

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Singles
Year Name Album
2016 Altyn Non-album single
2017 U Can Take (feat. Little Big)
Pussy Power
2019 AU
Arriba (feat. Little Big & Clean Bandit)
2020 Vroom Golden Flower
Bubblegum
2021 Kawaii (Cream Soda Remix) Non-album single
Loli Boy (feat. Cream Soda) Loli Boy (feat. Cream Soda)
Loli Boy (feat. Cream Soda)

[Partiboi69 Remix]

2022 KAWAII - sped up KAWAII
KAWAII - slowed + reverb
KAWAII
Feel My Vibe Non-album single
Black Dress
ТУГАН ЯК
2023 Dance With Me Dance With Me
Dance With Me (speed up)
Dumb Dumb
Dumb - Sped Up
Dumb - Slowed
Albums
Name Information
Golden Flower Release: 29 October 2020

Label: Warner Music Russia

Format: Digital distribution

Video Clips

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Title Year Notes
Altyn (Gold) 2016 At the end of 2016, Tatarka released her debut video for the song "Altyn", in which the singer dances in front of cars, wearing the clothes of the popular designer Gosha Rubchinsky. During the first week of its release, the video gathered over 3 million views, and was included in Afisha's "100 great clips of the year" of 2016. The genre of the song can be described as cloud-rap, as well as being primarily in Tatar language. The music video promoted Samsung's new phone at the time – the Galaxy S7 Edge, and the music video itself was shot completely with this phone.
U Can Take (feat. Little Big) 2017 This song marks Tatarka's first collaboration with other music artists. The song is also written in Tatar, with the part of Ilya Prusikin, Irina's husband, being performed in English. The clip "U Can Take" was filmed in Thailand, while the artists were on vacation. On its first day of release, the video collected more than 2 million views.
Pussy Power 2017 After recognizing her popularity among the foreign audience, Tatarka produced this song completely in English language. Tatarka has assured that her album will be in both English and Tatar language. Evident in the song's lyrics and music video's theme, Pussy Power presents a strong pro-feminist commentary.
Au 2019 This song recorded in Tatar language. The clip was filmed in Uzbekistan, in Tashkent, Khiva, Chirchik and other cities.[9]
Kawaii 2020 From Golden Flower album.
Boys & Girls (mood video) 2021 From Golden Flower album
LOLI BOY Non-album single

Participations

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  • 2014 – Little Big – "Public Enemy"[10]
  • 2016 – Little Big – "Big Dick"[11]
  • 2016 – Little Big – "Hateful Love"[12]
  • 2018 – Bread – "Shashlyndos"[13]
  • 2019 – Animal Jazz – "Feelings"

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Tatarka – Tatar Hiphop". Way to Russia. 23 December 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  2. ^ "I'm a Beautiful Golden Flower". Blue Bardot. Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  3. ^ "8 Emerging Russian Rappers You Need To Know". highsnobiety. 7 November 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  4. ^ "Tatarka: "Мои конкуренты — Rihanna, Nicki Minaj и Beyonce"". The-Flow.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  5. ^ "Лидер Little Big Прусикин разводится". Российская газета. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Популярная видеоблогерша из Челнов назвала сына Добрыней (+видео)". vestikamaza.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  7. ^ "«Масса претензий»: лидер Little Big объявил о разводе". Газета.Ru (in Russian). Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Фронтмен группы Little Big Илья Прусикин разводится с Ириной Смелой после четырех лет брака". Вокруг.ТВ. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  9. ^ Узбекистана, Repost uz-срочные новости. "Little Big Family сняли клип для Tatarka в Узбекистане: как проходили съемки, для кого и почему у нас – эксклюзивно для Repost". repost.uz (in Russian). Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  10. ^ LITTLE BIG – PUBLIC ENEMY, 24 June 2014, retrieved 10 January 2022
  11. ^ LITTLE BIG – BIG DICK, 10 February 2016, retrieved 10 January 2022
  12. ^ LITTLE BIG – HATEFUL LOVE, 28 June 2016, retrieved 10 January 2022
  13. ^ ХЛЕБ – Шашлындос (official music video), 13 August 2018, retrieved 10 January 2022