Pawel Milkołajuw, well known as Popek or Gang Albanii, is a 45 year old Polish Rapper and professional MMA fighter who is extremely well recognized in Poland. He continues to rise internationally for his ability in showing distinctive styles and genres in his music. 

MMA Career

Born on December 2nd of 1978, Popek was born and raised in Legnica, Poland. There is little no information about his family background nor his childhood life. Although, in interviews he’s spoken of how he got little to no proper education as he dropped out of school at the age of 14 to leave his family home. It is unknown why he left his family home.

Popek began his mixed martial arts career in February of 2008, where he won during the second round via TKO in England at Cage Rage. After two more fights, he signed with Poland’s largest MMA organization: KSW. He would later make his debut in May of 2017, where he fought and won via first-round TKO against Robert Burneika. His next two appearances allowed stadiums to sell out, although they both resulted in losses. Three years later in 2020, Popek would return and win under the Frame MMA banner in Poland. His professional careers were known to be complex, as during the making of his MMA career, he was also rising in the music industry. 

Music Career

Popek’s career in music began in the 2000s where he along with a few other rappers such as, Bosski Roman, Tadek, Pomidor, and Kali founded the group Firma. Although Popek is currently known as a solo artist, the group continues to release albums till this day. Popek began solo activities in the year 2007, in which he’d use his stage name “Popek Monster ”. He went on to release three albums, one being Monster (2013), which was certified Gold in Poland and the Czech Republic. He became known internationally when appearing in the music video for the song “PAIN BE MY GUEST” (2013) where listeners noticed his eyeballs being tattooed black. In interviews, Popek states that he got the idea from a TV Program and was inspired right away to get the scleral tattooing done. “I knew I had to do it–a tattooing procedure for the eyes and I knew immediately what my next move would be” (Popek, 2021).

In 2016, Popek released Król Albanii which would earn him the title “King of Albania.” The top song of the album is named “Wodospady” Ft. Matheo (Waterfalls) which gained over 26 million listens on Spotify, and has been known as his most popular song since. He would go on to release more albums in the years following and gained extreme popularity, mainly in Poland where he was said to be a phenomenon creator within the Polish music scene and extremely understanding of pop culture. His most recently released album is Złoty Byk (Gold Bull), with the song “Tuptanie ” (Stomping) reaching over 2 million listens on Spotify.

Top Songs

“Wodospady”

Featuring Matheo and released off of the album, Krol Albanii, “Wodospady” is number one and has been continuously rising on Polish and European charts since its release. The song itself is translated as “Waterfalls”, whereas the lyrics tell a story of a young boy who wants to conquer the world through his music. The boy goes on to become successful and gain recognition, which pushes out the meaning that listeners should rise above flaws and obstacles and simply believe in themselves. 

“Popek Pakistanskie Disco”

The song “Bollywodzka produkcja – Pakistanskie Disco” (Popek Pakistani Disco) was released in 2017, and features Danny. The song itself explores themes of interracial romance and cultural differences. The lyrics speak of a young Polish girl falling in love with a Pakistani guy named Abdul. Even with worries of people judging them, the couple ends up planning to get married despite their differences. The song overall shows that you can love someone regardless of who you are and where your origins are from.

“LUSTRO”

Released in 2023,  the song “LUSTRO” (Mirror) features Popek along with DJ Omen and Obywatel G.C. The song’s lyrics speak on the story of a person waking up hungover on the daily and always repeating the same routine. They go on to constantly look into the mirror, where the chorus then recites along the lines of “Yes, unfortunately that’s me in the mirror. Yes, it’s always the same” (Popek, 2023). The theme of the song is to stop being selfish and take responsibility for yourself, as you and the people around you constantly wear a mask to hide the painful truth. The song has reached over 6.5K streams on Spotify. 

Popek has constantly been releasing music and collaborating with many other famous Polish artists. From his oldest to newest songs, each continues to rise and gain popularity throughout Poland. Although his MMA career seems to still be active, there is no new information whether or not he will keep on fighting. Regardless, Popek seems to be dominating the music industry and rising to fame. 

Works Cited

Bricker, M. (2021, January 11). Inside the KSW vault: Popek Monster. MMA Sucka. https://mmasucka.com/2021/01/06/inside-the-ksw-vault-popek-monster/

Iwiñska, Z. (n.d.). Popek. Nie Slyszeliscie? Dziwne, bo mówia o nim wszyscy. król albanii, skaryfikacje… to Tylko Poczatek historii Najpopularniejszego Polskiego rapera. plotek.pl. https://www.plotek.pl/plotek/56,78649,18004716,popek-nie-slyszeliscie-dziwne-bo-mowia-o-nim-wszyscy-krol.html