Skova

Skova is the stage name of Vasja Vipotnik, a Slovenian rapper born on 23 January 1992 in Ljubljana. A rapper, lyricist, freestyler and poet, he has been into rap since childhood, and his socially critical lyrics draw on everyday life. Rap is the heart of his music, but with his band it reaches into jazz, rock and funk as well.

He first drew attention in 2016, when he won his duel in the first Slovenian a cappella rap battle; the video is now one of the most watched Slovenian rap battles. That same year he recorded the rap compilation Okus metropole with many Slovenian musicians, among them Eva Beus, the singer of Tabu. He also organised charity concerts and led a creative writing workshop at a youth centre in Ljubljana.

In 2020 his song "Rap Michelangelo" was voted song of the week on Radio Val 202, and on 13 December 2020 he released his debut album, Theatrum. It sums up five years of his life within a theatrical frame. The beats came from the Slovenian hip hop producers Edich, Eleven Eleven, Beat by Dauc and Anže Petrač and from members of Moveknowledgement, and 24ur called it the best Slovenian rap album of the decade.

Soon afterwards he formed Skovani, a seven-piece backing band of young musicians from very different backgrounds that mixes hip hop with jazz, rock and funk. Skova in Skovani first played together on stage on 22 April 2021 in an online concert from Kino Šiška. In December 2023 they were part of Izštekanih 10, Radio Val 202's tribute concert to Vlado Kreslin at Kino Šiška for his 70th birthday, where they played their own arrangement of "Tista črna kitara".

In 2024 Skova in Skovani released the song "Mestne luči" with a short-film style video directed by Miran Bratuš, and "Mene je sram" followed. The playlist gathers Skova's songs, from Theatrum to the band's newer work.