Zlatko

Zlatko is the stage name of Zlatan Čordić, a Slovenian rapper and actor born on 7 January 1983 in Ljubljana. He was born into a working-class family of Bosniak immigrants and grew up in the Ljubljana neighbourhood of Fužine. Before music became his work he was a watchmaker.

His first album, Svet je lep, came out in 2007 on Street13, followed by Svet je lepši and Zlatko in prijatelji in 2008. Early songs included "Ti pa razmisl", "Oprosti, madam" and "Ena na ena", and "Gospod je prezaseden" was chosen for Val 202's compilation Val 08. In 2009 he and his band Optimisti played an unplugged set for Val 202's Izštekani, released as Izštekani 585 teorija. He was also an ambassador of the European Year 2010.

More albums followed on Reflektor Music: Zlato ti daje sijaj, ne pa sreče (2010), Moj pogled (2011), Plečnikova roža (2012) and Živim lajf (2014), then Žive naj vsi narodi (2016) and Julijan Mak. (2020) on his own label Svet je lep. He likes to work with singers: "Mi je žal" and "Moja pesem" feature Tina Marinšek of Tabu, "V iskanju sreče" and "Ti to lahko" Nina Pušlar, who also invited him onto "Svet je tvoj!" on her 2013 album Nekje vmes. Another "Moja pesem" was recorded with Anika Horvat, "Samo potnik" with Oto Pestner, "Karavana gre naprej" with Severa Gjurin. He added vocals to Trkaj's Rapostol (2007).

His lyrics are known for their defiance; he often presents himself as a fighter for freedom. His newer songs include "Lepe barve", "Niansa" and "Črna". Zlatko has also acted, playing Zoki in the film Utrip ljubezni (2015) and appearing in Vloga za Emo (2014), voiced Dr. Calico in the Slovenian dub of Bolt, took part in Big Brother Slavnih on POP TV in 2010, and in 2019 the writer Jurij Hudolin published a book about him, O smehu Zlatka Čordića.