Esma Redzepova

Esma Redžepova-Teodosievska (Macedonian: Есма Реџепова-Теодосиевска, pronounced [ˈɛsma rɛˈd͡ʒɛpɔva tɛɔdɔˈsiɛfska]; 8 August 1943 – 11 December 2016) was a Macedonian Romani vocalist, songwriter and humanitarian. She was nicknamed "the Queen of the Gypsies" per her contribution to Romani culture and music. She started to sing while she was a teenager in the 1950s, and her career spans over five decades. Her musical success was closely linked to her marriage with Stevo Teodosievski, who was a composer, arranger and director of a musical ensemble Ansambl Teodosievski. He wrote many of her songs and fully managed her career until his death in 1997. Her musical style was mostly inspired by traditional Romani and Macedonian music. Some other influences are also noticeable, such as pop music. Esma Redžepova started her career at a period when Romani music was very denigrated in Yugoslavia and Romani people considered it shameful for women to sing in public. Redžepova was one of the first singers to sing in Romani language on radio and television. Redžepova was particularly noted for her powerful and emotional voice. In 2010, she was cited among the 50 Great Voices in the world by NPR. Redžepova was also noted for her extravagant attires and her turbans, as well as the use she made of typical stereotypes about Romani women, such as sensuality and happiness. In 2010, she was awarded the Macedonian Order of Merit; and in 2013, she was named National Artist of the Republic of Macedonia by President of Macedonia Gjorge Ivanov. With her husband Stevo Teodosievski, she fostered 47 children and received numerous accolades for her humanitarian work. She supported Roma and women rights and was also involved in local politics in her hometown of Skopje. Together with Vlatko Lozanoski, she represented Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden. Initially, they were supposed to sing the song "Imperija"; however, that song caused controversy, so a new song, "Pred da se razdeni", was chosen, with which they participated in Sweden. They participated in the second semi-final of the competition on 16 May 2013, placing 16th in the field of 17 songs, scoring 28 points and thus failing to qualify to the final on 18 May. She died on 11 December 2016 after a short illness.

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