MC Kresha

MC Kresha is a rapper and songwriter from Kosovo, one of the leading names of Albanian hip hop, who raps in both Albanian and English. He was born Kreshnik Fazliu on 5 September 1984 in Mitrovica, then in Yugoslavia and today in Kosovo, and that is why he is on Muzika-Balkan among the artists of Kosovo. His career has stayed rooted there: he was on the bill of the first Sunny Hill Festival in Pristina in 2018, and until October 2023 he was also general manager of the football club FC Phoenix Banjë.

Football came first. He kept goal for the youth team of KF Trepča, the Mitrovica club, but injuries ended his hopes of a professional career and he left the game at 18. He later earned a UEFA C coaching licence, and when he resigned from the club in 2023 it was to concentrate on music.

He has been releasing music since 2008. In 2011 he founded the label P.I.N.T, short for "Për Inati T'njoni Tjetrit", together with Lyrical Son, Strike Beatz, K-Master and Onufër Berisha, and it grew into one of the best-known labels of Albanian hip hop. His solo albums are Patikat e mia (2010), Air Force 1 (2012) and Emceeclopedy (2014), which reached number 46 on the Swiss album chart. The singles "Era" (2015) and "Hip Hop" (2016) both went to number one in Albania, as did "Menemadhe" and "Pasite" in 2019.

Lyrical Son, born in Pristina, is his closest partner. Together they made the albums Për Inati T'njoni Tjetrit (2011), Rapsodët n'Rap t'Sotit (2016), which reached number four in Switzerland, and Muzikë e Alltisë (2022), with "Stuhi mbi oqean", sung with Elvana Gjata, among its hits. Kresha has also worked with Capital T, with whom he reached number one in Albania with "Heku qafë" in 2021, and with Ledri Vula, Tayna, Dafina Zeqiri, Arta Bajrami and Elinel.

He is married to Erzina Shehu, and they have two children. The playlist is his album Emceeclopedy, from "Hall of Fame" and "Amsterdam" to "Plasticman".