Hiljson Mandela

Hiljson Mandela, born Ivan Hilje in Zagreb on 15 September 1992, is a Croatian rapper, singer and songwriter, earlier styled Hilj$on Mandela. He is on Muzika-Balkan as a Zagreb-born artist and a member of the Zagreb trap trio KUKU$, which he founded in his home city with friends from childhood.

He is the son of opera singer Diana Hilje and was drawn to music from an early age. In 2008, at sixteen, he founded the alternative rock band Prazna Lepinja, in which he sang and played the saxophone; their first album, Danasutra, came out in 2013.

KUKU$ started in Zagreb in mid-2013, with Ivan Godina (Goca R.I.P.) and Mislav Kljenak (Iso Miki) and three former members of the group Đikola who later left, and they are counted among the first trap groups in Croatia. Their mixtape O kuku$ima se ne raspravlja (2015) had guests such as Žugi and Hladni of High5 and Oreb of Kiša metaka. Their albums are Anđeli i bomboni (2018), Glupi tejp (2019) and X (2023); in 2021 they came third at the 68th Zagreb Festival with "Nema pravila", and in 2025 they released "Bam Bam Bira" with Baby Lasagna.

His first solo album, Mandela Effect, made with producer Mihovil Šoštarić (Lockroom), came out in May 2022 and quickly became popular in Croatia and the region thanks to viral songs such as "Cura s kvarta", "Mbappé", "McLaren" with Serbian rapper and singer Rasta, "Lova" and a track with Grše.

Hiljson Mandela won his first Cesarica award for "Ova ljubav", recorded with Zsa Zsa, for 2020, and "NLO" with Miach brought him a second nomination in 2022. In February 2023 he received the Zlatni studio award as one of the best new names on the Croatian music scene. The playlist is his own channel, from "Cura s kvarta" and "McLaren" to "Sam u mraku" and "Papiri".