Taki Tsan |
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 Taki Tsan performing at AN Club (Athens, Greece) on 30/06/08 |
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| Birth name | Panagiotis Stravalexis |
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| Also known as | Timvorihos, Pedi Thavma, Litrotis |
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| Born | (1979-09-28) 28 September 1979 (age 44)
San Diego, California, U.S. |
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| Origin | Nea Ionia, Athens, Greece |
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| Occupation(s) | Rapper
producer |
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| Years active | 1997–present |
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| Labels | Ihokratoria |
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| Website | myspace.com/takitsan |
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Musical artist
Panagiotis Stravalexis (Greek: Παναγιώτης Στραβαλέξης, born September 28, 1979), also known by his stage names Waze-Taki-Tsan (short for Westley) Timvorihos, Pedi Thavma and Taki Tsan, is a Greek music producer, tattoo artist and rapper.[1] He is a founding member of the group Zontanoi Nekroi and a member of the rap duet Tigre Sporakia (Greek: Τιγρέ Σποράκια).
In 1999, he released his solo debut album under the name Pedi Thavma (Greek: Παιδί Θαύμα, English: The Child Prodigy), named Rima Gia Chrima (Greek: Ρίμα Για Χρήμα, English: Rhyme For Money). Taki Tsan was also a founding member of the rap group Tigre Sporakia (Greek: Τιγρέ Σποράκια), which consisted of him and Isvoleas (Greek: Εισβολέας, English: Invader).
Several albums followed, some of them being solo ones, like Sto Mialo Tou Panagioti Stravaleksi (Greek: Στο Μυαλό Του Παναγιώτη Στραβαλέξη, English: Inside Panagiotis Stravalexis' Mind), released in 2006. Another one was To Scholeio (Greek: Το Σχολείο, English: The School), where he collaborated with another Zontanoi Nekroi member, Harmanis (Greek: Χαρμάνης). In 2009, Tsan released Rima gia Chrima 2, his new double LP.
Biography
1997–1998: Zontanoi Nekroi
In 1997, he formed his group, "Zontanoi Nekroi", and started recording tracks with them. They released an EP in 1997, named "ZN Entoles/Stin Chora Ton Kaliteron MCs". In 1998, they released their first and only album, O Protos Tomos, which at the time was considered offensive by a lot of people because in that album the group was dealing with subjects like drugs and violence.
1999: Rima gia Hrima
He continued with Rima gia Hrima (English: Rhyme for Money), his solo debut, which was well received. This album's style was very different from his previous ZN albums' raw style and had a more personal feeling. It is considered to be one of the best Greek hip-hop albums.
2000: Projects that were never released
In 2000, ZN started recording "Kata.R.Ypo", a duet album by Ypochthonios and Katachthonios, but never released it. In 2001, they were about to release Harmanis' debut solo, Sisihaha, but that project never made it either due to unknown reasons. So, having collected several unreleased songs, they released a compilation album named Thammena Ksechasmena which contained songs from "Kata.R.Ypo", a song that did not fit into Rima gia Chrima, the first track that was recorded for Megalos Iroas, Midenistis' first solo album, and some alternate editions of old songs from "O Protos Tomos".
As for a second ZN release, many fans wanted to see a new release from their favorite group, but as it seems that can't happen because every member has its own projects and want to do different things in music. The highly anticipated album is called O Deuteros Tomos and will be the sequel of O Protos Tomos.
2003–2004: Tigre Sporakia and Harmanis / Taki Tsan
In 2003, Taki Tsan formed a new group with Isvoleas (a member of the group "Agnostoi Gnostoi" a.k.a "Alfa Gama") named Tigre Sporakia. They released their first album named Theoria kai Praksi, which was well received by the fans. Taki returned to his raw style and one of the main themes of the album was drugs and money.
In 2004, Taki Tsan and Harmanis collaborated to release an album named To Sholio (English: The School). The album was ready in about 11 days and the main producer was DJ ALX.
2005–2006: 3 mixtapes and one solo album
In 2005, Taki Tsan released 2 mixtapes: Underground Mixtape and Mixtape vol. 1 from IxoSpira. In 2006, he released his last mix tape to date named Misa Lefta/Dipli Magkia, which was more like a compilation, containing old and unreleased songs. In the same year, he released his 2nd solo album, Sto Mialo tou Panagioti Stravalexi. It was a major change to his style, containing social and political tracks, as well as things he wanted to share with his fans.
2007–2009: lives and new album
He has done many lives, 3 with all of the ZN members. He has also released several tracks on the internet, to give us a taste of his upcoming project, named Rima gia Chrima 2009 (sequel to his debut), which was released in December 2009 under the final name "Rima gia Chrima 2", a double album that sold about 5,000 copies.
2009–2012: Rima gia Chrima Tour, TOMAHOK, 2 more mixtapes and Tigre Sporakia the Band
After the release of Rima gia Chrima 2, Taki Tsan and many of his affiliates began his "Rima gia Chrima Tour" all over Greece, with more than 20 live performances. After the end of the tour, he and Isvoleas started to work on their second project as Tigre Sporakia, but this time with a live band. The group was renamed Tigre Sporakia the Band and changed their logo. Also at that time, Taki's official website, [takitsan.com] opened for the fans and in order to celebrate the opening, Taki Tsan released a new mixtape, called "Exclusive Mixtape" or "The Lost Mixtape" which was composed of 8 tracks.
In 2011, Taki joined TOMAHOK, a new crew which was created by Isvoleas. On February 25th of the same year, the group's new album, "Onoma kai Pragma" was released through No Label Records and received mixed criticism from the fans, because of their changed style. His next mixtape, "Athens' Finest" was available for free download via his site, and was produced by an American beatmaker called Hamma. Taki Tsan now continues to work with Isvoleas on their third album which is to be released in 2012.
2018: Rebetiko
Taki Tsan learned to play baglama and embraced the Greek underground music genre called rebetiko and from now on he is known as Takaros on Youtube. His YouTube channel is named TSANNEL.
