Czech Republic: New song "Hater" by Gipsy.cz draws attention to those who use online social networks to spread hate

Hating others is a phenomenon of our times that has now become the subject of a music video designed and scripted by Radek Banga, the leader of the Gipsy.cz band. The entire concept of the song and video is based on actual experiences.

Banga has drawn not only on his own personal experience, but also on the experiences of the actors Marie Doležalová and Lukáš Pavlásek, who perform in the clip. “When I wrote the lyrics for ‘Hater’, I used actual quotes from the commentaries posted online by typical haters,” the singer says.

“While the final product is comical, it also attempts to show that hating is a dangerous phenomenon of our times,” Banga adds. The video is set at the Bohnice Pyschiatric Hospital in Prague.

“We wanted the environment to be authentic. I appear in the clip as the therapist Dalibor Šťastný and Lukáš Pavlásek performs the role of the hater Evžen Báječný, who has just decided to undergo therapy,” Banga describes.

“It’s logical that we filmed directly at Bohnice,” he says with a laugh. The aim of the video is to draw attention to the very current issue of hating others through the Internet, which of course is not just something that actors, athletes, politicians or singers are targeted by.

This is a problem that anybody can encounter online, including children and teenagers. “For that reason we have decided to conceive of this topic even more broadly in collaboration with the nonprofit organization Zkušenost, z.s., which is also implementing Radek’s prevention program in the schools,” the manager of Gipsy.cz says.

You can too (www.itymuzes.cz)

According to the band’s manager, the aim of the new website www.itymuzes.cz  is to contribute to reducing tensions in society and to de-escalating its hateful atmosphere and hate speech, both offline and online. “Unfortunately, what can seem like apparently harmless hating can inflict serious harm on many people. We want to dedicate ourselves to the root causes of hating and provide support to all who have been ‘infected’ by hating, as well as those who are forced to face haters’ assaults. For that purpose, the website www.itymuzes.cz has been created,” the band’s manager says.

The new song contains exactly what Gipsy.cz are famous for – humor, hyperbole, and parody. The video shows how absurd hateful behavior can appear from the outside, because to a healthy person, hating is grotesque.

However, once “birds of a feather flock together”, haters can gain unheard-of strength. The band wants to use hyperbole in their art while also providing support about this issue through the www.itymuzes.cz website in an absolutely serious way, as well as positively inspiring all who feel dissatisfaction, fear, frustration and other negative emotions.

Such people frequently vent hate speech against groups or individuals that can result in extremist approaches and violence, including offline. The website will include a description of this phenomenon and easy tips for more positive opportunities to deal with negative feelings (such as anger, danger, fear, lack of recognition, powerlessness, etc.).

Such emotions are the ones we must frequently grapple with as a consequence of demanding life situations (problems with finances, health, relationships, society-wide tensions or work). Topics will also be included such as how to deal with haters’ attacks and tips about organizations that provide people aid and support in such situations.

The project will gradually map the experiences of peple who have dealt with haters’ assaults and negative emotions in a healthy, positive way. The website will naturally be usable not just by actual haters and their “victims”, but by anybody in need of inspiration who has ended up in a more demanding life situation or is grappling with negative emotions themselves.

The band Gipsy.cz is successful abroad as well as in the Czech Republic. It is the only band from the Czech Republic to have made it more than once into the TOP 10 World Music Chart in Europe.

One of the band’s songs is even being used by the Baskin-Robbins ice cream company for its advertising in South Korea. The band’s single “Romano Hip-Hop” made it into the European edition of MTV’s World Chart Express.

In addition to many appearances around the Czech Republic, the band plays at the biggest music festivals in the world, including the legendary Glastonbury Festival. They have performed with stars such as the Boban Marković Orkestar and Gogol Bordello.

Gipsy.cz has traveled to almost 40 countries worldwide performing their unique music, including countries such as Algeria, China and Tasmania. Lead singer Radek Banga has been famous for many years on the Czech music scene as a songwriter as well.

Banga has written songs performed by Czech stars such as Lucie Bílá, Hana Zagorová, Aneta Langerová, Marpo and Karel Gott, for whom he was a guest performer on tour. In 2015 he participated in the much-loved television dance competition StarDance, where he made it to the semi-final.

Now Gipsy.cz has issued this new single, “Hater”. Banga is not just a singer/songwriter, but has also been running the “If You Want It, You Can Do It” (Když chceš, tak to dokážeš) program for seven years, which motivates youth all over the Czech Republic.

Every week Banga is in direct contact with young people between 10 and 19 years old. Through music and his personal story, he motivates students to live active, meaningful lives without engaging in aggression, crime, drug consumption, intolerance, violence, racism, xenophobia or other risky behaviors.

From the feedback his program receives from children and teachers, it has proven to be a deep experience for many people, and Banga is a very inspiring figure. Part of that program will now be his new song, “Hater”.