Baja Mali Knindža

(; born 13 October 1966), better known by his stage name (), is a Bosnian Serb folk singer-songwriter. He is often described as part of the turbo-folk scene and is well known for his pro-Serbian nationalist and pro-Chetnik songs.

Early life was born on 13 October 1966 to Bosnian Serb parents and in the village of , near , SR Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was raised by his grandmother, a widow to his grandfather, also named , whilst his father worked in Germany and Austria. In 1972, he had issues in his right kidney, which eventually had to be removed; according to , his life was "practically saved" by a "famous Jewish doctor" in Sarajevo.

He gained a passion for reading Russian literature whilst attending primary school; he also took an interest in languages and poetry in his schooling, the latter being something he continued to enjoy writing during his adult life.

moved to Belgrade in 1980, and studied there in 1981. In 1984, he began singing in the Belgradian municipality of .

Name was initially nicknamed by his grandfather in his childhood. One of his grandmothers, who lived in , also called him (), in reference to his small stature at the time and the Serb paramilitary unit known as the Kninjas. He combined the two nicknames on the advice of his manager at the start of his career.

He is sometimes known by his initials BMK (), such as on his official YouTube channel. His stage name has also sometimes been hyphenated as Baja – Mali Knindža ().

Career won a 1989 competition for amateur singers in and released his first album in 1991. His career began just as Yugoslavia began to break up. Throughout the 1990s, he was known for his strong Serbian nationalism and Serbian nationalist songs during the Yugoslav Wars.

His first professional success was the song "" ("Come Back, Voivode"), in which he appealed to Chetnik commander to come back to the areas of the Republic of Serbian Krajina and help lift the spirits of the Croatian Serbs. He said that he would never consider going to Croatia as he claimed that Croat soldiers "burned down his house and desecrated his ancestors' graves".

His most popular albums were (Stand Back, Pashas and Ustašas) and (This Nation Will Live on), the latter selling 700,000 copies.

performs at 's Assembly in near in mid-August every year, typically attracting tens of thousands of people. Since Operation Storm, has written many songs about his dream of the Serbs returning to live in territories now inhabited by Croats following the Croatian War of Independence. The songs "" ("After the Storm") and "" ("4 August") detail the aftermath of Operation Storm in 1995.

Controversies is controversial due to his Serbian nationalism and anti-Croat and anti-Bosniak sentiments in his song lyrics. Many of his songs are condemned in non-Serb parts of Bosnia and Croatia because of their lyrics, which often reference war leaders during the Yugoslav Wars, even being banned from performing in Croatia, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Switzerland due to his nationalist music. For example, his song "" describes his intense dislike for Bosnian wartime president , and the song "" from the 1993 album includes the provocative line "My dad is a war criminal". One song titled "" (featuring Serbian rock singer ) contains the lyrics "Shut up, shut up, Ujko, I will kill you" as well as "Shut up, shut up, Mujo, I will kill you". He has also sung "", which includes the lyrics "Fuck their checkerboard".

He has been criticised for performing concerts at gatherings of the Serbian Progressive Party.

Musical style and lyrics 's music is usually described as () and turbo-folk. His songs typically follow a ABAB rhyme scheme.

Early on in his career, 's albums focused on the nationalistic and chauvinistic themes of protecting Serbdom, Eastern Orthodoxy and Croatian Serbs, protecting them from "" and Bosnian Muslims. After the signing of the Dayton Accords, his music would switch in focus to non-war topics, ranging from gambling to love to alcohol. In the late 2010s and 2020s, 's singles would again shift to patriotic themes, such as in the songs "" ("Serbian Athens", 2020), "" ("I Love My Country", 2020), and "" ("Republic of Srpska", 2024).

Personal life

Family has six children: three daughters, , , and , and one son, , conceived with his first wife, , and two twin boys with his second wife, , whom he entered a relationship with in 2014 and married in 2017. He lives in Zemun with his second wife and two twin sons, and . His parents live in .

His cousin , a pop-folk recording artist, was murdered by her ex-boyfriend on 16 March 2010. Later that same year, released the song "" ("Sleep, Queen") in her memory, stating that he was very "shaken" by her death. He is also the cousin of , a fellow singer-songwriter and composer.

Religion is a Serbian Orthodox Christian, and has made numerous references to his faith and God in his songs, such as "" ("It's Christmas"), "" (" Is Calling Me"), and "" ("Orthodox Christian"). He has sung the ethnophyletist phrase "God is a Serb" in two songs: "" ("This Nation Will Live on") and "" ("There Will Be No Border on the Drina").

Politics During the 1990s, supported the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) and even sang at the party's conventions. He also released an album in 1998 titled (To the Serbian Radicals), which glorifies the party and its leader, . In 2004, he described himself as apolitical, yet also described his favourite politicians as SRS members and in the same source.

Since at least 2017, he has performed concerts at gatherings sponsored or otherwise involved with the Serbian Progressive Party, although he has never directly described himself as a party supporter. He expressed his condolences for the Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse victims and postponed his concert two weeks after the collapse.

In a 2025 interview, he stated he is "far from politics".

Interests enjoys buying carpets, TV antennas, sneakers, and tracksuits. He also enjoys vacuuming. He is a smoker and enjoys drinking alcohol, even to the point of drunkenness, having also met his first wife during a drunken stint.

He is a supporter of Red Star Belgrade. He is a fan of the Serbian rock band , its frontman , as well as the singers and .

Besides his native Serbian, he can speak English and Russian fluently.

Honours

Order of Njegoš, Republika Srpska, First Class (2024)

Discography

Solo

1992 — (I Won't Give Krajina) 1992 — (Stand Back, Pashas and Ustashas) 1993 — (This Nation Will Live On) 1993 — (Everything for Serbdom, Serbdom for Nothing) 1993 — (Nothing Is Known Yet) 1993 — (War and Peace) 1993 — (Gambler without Luck) 1994 — (The Truth Shall Prevail) 1995 — (The Delije Are Dancing) 1995 — (Let's Move On) 1995 — (A Farewell to Arms) 1997 — (Do Not Touch Him) 1998 — (Back to the Future) 1998 — (To the Serbian Radicals) 1999 — (To Be or Not to Be) 2000 — (In Love and Young) 2001 — (What's Up, Legend) 2002 — (Farewell, Reason) 2003 — (Baja Mali Knindža: Live) 2003 — (Crazy Party - Live) 2006 — (For Whom the Bells Ring) 2007 — (Deaf Gunpowder) 2011 — (Let's Go, Babygirl) 2012 — (Lassie Is Coming Home) 2014 — (Speech of the Soul)

With

1994 — (Brothers from the Dinara) 1995 — (Once There Was a Land) 1996 — (Cry, the Beloved Country) 1997 — (I Won't Give up What's Mine until the Grave) 1998 — (We're Going till the End)

Baja Mali Knindža

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