Zeus – can the god of thunder become a rap god?

Zeus is an incredibly experienced rapper. He’s released and participated in hundreds of songs in which he always sounds good or better than good. It’s been 26 years since he started his career – is he still in shape?

Zeus, or Kamil Rutkowski, was born in 1983 in Łódź. He’s been active in the music industry since 1998. His first group was RZTC, after that he joined ONC – a rap-graffiti crew. Then came WPS, BHZ 12 and, finally, Liryczna Kravmaga (Lyrical Krav Maga). In 2006 he started his own music group, together with Joteste. It was called Pierwszy Milion (First Million). They released two records: “Pierwszy Mixtape” (First Mixtape) and “Deep Cover Mixtape”.

In 2007 Zeus released his first solo project – a mixtape titled “Re-Mix-Tape – Volume 1”. It consisted of remixes of famous, even iconic, songs. Zeus was fully in charge of production, mixing, and the cover art.

Zeus as a rapper – works

Zeus officially debuted in 2008. His fans can hear him in over 200 songs released in various projects over the years. Rutkowski’s discography consists of 8 solo albums, 4 collaborative albums, 3 EPs, and 1 mixtape. Zeus is an extremely prolific artist, which is a huge asset. When you listen to his music it’s easy to see how much he’s grown as a rapper, how the quality of his music improved, and how Rutkowski himself became more mature.

• Albums

Although his newest album was released 16 years after his debut album, both are on a very similar level. Of course, you can hear the difference – the new songs are technically polished and Zeus himself is more experienced. However, both records are very good for the time they’ve been released in. “Co nie ma sobie równych” did not become a hit or a bestseller, but it’s a debut that one should be proud of. His newest album – “Czas na mnie” may not be the record of the year, but it’s a good album, containing songs of much better quality than a lot of recently released music. Actually, every album from Zeus can be described that way. He’s an excellent and consistent artist, although not the best when it comes to charts and numbers.

• Best album

Since Zeus is such a consistent artist, it’s difficult to choose his best album and his fans are unable to agree on that topic. Some choose the record “Zeus. Jak mogłeś?”, which is his third official album, released in April 2011. But many listeners adore his debut album – “Co nie ma sobie równych”. It has a distinctive, extraordinary vibe and style, typical for a young Zeus.

Zeus – Hipotermia. MV was recorded in 2012

Another album worth this title would be “Zeus. Jest super”. It’s his most commercially successful album, with the most online views, and thus, it’s Zeus’ most popular album. Songs from this album have a total of 95 million views on YouTube. His second most-popular album is titled “Zeus. Nie żyje”, and it has 68 million views. “Zeus. Jest super”, however, received many negative reviews and it’s both Zeus’ most popular and most criticized album. Personally, I’d say that “Zeus. Nie żyje” is his best record, fans of rap love it and listen to it often.

• Zeus – most popular songs

Listing his most popular songs is a much easier task – we can focus on the numbers. To make things more interesting, I’ll present the results on a podium. Drumroll, please…

3. 3rd place goes to “Siewca” from “Zeus. Jest super”. It has 28 million views on YouTube and over 5 million on Spotify. It’s a song with a positive message, which encourages listeners to help others and be a good person. In the music video Zeus films himself visiting various beautiful places, it was probably made when the rapper was on vacation.

2. 2nd place goes to “Hipotermia” from “Zeus. Nie żyje”. It has 30 million views on YouTube and 9 million on Spotify. It’s one of Zeus’ most emotional songs, in which the rapper honestly talks about mental health. It’s an important song for many, which they admit in the comments. If I were to choose his best song, I’d choose “Hipotermia”, even though it’s not the most popular one – it’s the same situation as choosing his best album…

1. 1st place goes to “Będziemy dziećmi”. The song from “Zeus. Jest super” wins the competition by a landslide with 38 million views on YouTube and almost 11 million on Spotify. The numbers clearly show which of Zeus’ songs gained the most listeners. Our winner is a bit of a phenomenon, because it’s quite different from other songs by Rutkowski. It’s very cheerful, and, in a way, family oriented. The song talks about the fact that, although every person is different, they will always be their parents’ child.

Zeus – “Będziemy dziećmi” (2015) has 38 million views

• Zeus – his own label
  

In 2012 Zeus and Joteste started their label Pierwszy Milion. “Zeus. Nie żyje” was the first album released under that label and all his later projects were also released under Pierwszy Million. Zeus’ label worked with Joteste, Justyna Kuśmierczyk, and Hary. Not many musicians have their own record label, and it’s definitely a huge achievement for the rapper.

• Zeus – today

The 40-year-old rapper released his latest album on 19^th of April 2024. “Czas na mnie” is a very solid project, which consists of two CDs – dark and light. The former contains darker, wilder songs, and the latter is gentler and more optimistic. It’s a concept album. Rutkowski worked on it for 4 years, which can be heard – it’s well-thought-out and polished. Many fans believe that it’s his best album when it comes to the technical side of music.

Musical fun facts

• Zeus nominated Andrzej Duda – the president of Poland, to participate in the charity trend hot 16. The head of the country thanked him for the nomination and joined the challenge, rapping about the infamous “sharp shadow of the fog”.
• In one interview Zeus talked about writing lyrics when he was in high school. He remembered one verse in particular, because of how funny it was: “My style is getting hotter / it emerges like an otter”.
• Rutkowski used to be interested in graffiti.
• His pseudonym comes from graffiti. A friend told him that a good nickname starts with a Z and ends with an S.
• Zeus has a large collection of cassette tapes. A tape by Liroy largely influenced the rapper and had a part in shaping his taste and ear for music.
• He has a tattoo on his chest which says “Whatever, nevermind” – a reference to the band Nirvana, and the concept of temporality and the transience of life.

Zeus raper – albums

• Co nie ma sobie równych – 2008 rok
• Album Zeusa – 2009 rok
• Zeus, jak mogłeś? – 2011 rok
• Nie żyje – 2012 rok
• Jest super – 2015 rok
• To pomyłka – 2018 rok
• W poszukiwaniu siebie – 2020 rok
• Czas na mnie – 2024 rok

Article: Paweł Skarzyński
Fot. Artist’s FB profile
Translation: Matylda Widawska

Read also: Wojciech Gąssowski – musician who played at all parties
Read also: Tola Szlagowska – what happens when a thirteen-year-old reaches international success?
Read also: Dr Misio: The unknown side of Arkadiusz Jakubik
Read also: Why Do We Love Harry Potter?
Read also: TOP 10 Polish women writers you have to know!