KALUSH

Ukrainian hip-hop outfit KALUSH crafts tracks driven by crisp vocal cadences, streamlined beats, and sporadic melodic vocals that reflect the weight of ordinary existence. Their debut full-length HOTIN arrived in early 2021, after which the act secured the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 title with “Stefania” under the expanded KALUSH Orchestra banner, a configuration that weaves folk and traditional Ukrainian elements into the core sound.

The collective takes its name from founder and rapper Oleg Psiuk’s hometown and unites him with multi-instrumentalist Ihor Didenchuk of Go_A plus MC Kilimmen. Their inaugural single “Ne Marynui” received a video treatment filmed on location in Kalush in October 2019; the follow-up “Ty Honysh” and its clip emerged the next month, securing a contract with Def Jam Recordings.

HOTIN served as both their first album and their introduction on the Def Jam roster when it surfaced in February 2021. Months later, in July, they issued the joint project ЙО-ЙО (also known as YO-YO) alongside rapper Skofka. Around the same period they established the KALUSH Orchestra side project to merge contemporary hip-hop with folk stylings and traditional Ukrainian music, adding multi-instrumentalists Tymofii Muzychuk and Vitalii Duzhyk along with backing vocalist Johnny Dyvnyi.

KALUSH Orchestra placed second behind Alina Pash in the February 2022 national selection for Ukraine’s Eurovision entry. That month Russia initiated its invasion of Ukraine. After Pash stepped aside, the Orchestra took her place with “Stefania,” an energetic, uptempo ode to Psiuk’s mother. The group then triumphed at the May 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, earning the highest televote percentage recorded up to that time—93.8 percent.