Jala Brat

Jasmin Fazlić, better known as Jala Brat, is a Bosnian rapper, singer-songwriter, and producer.  Jasmin Fazlić was born in Sarajevo. He took his first steps in the music career in early 2000 by recording his first demo songs. He soon realized that rap was the genre he wanted to pursue. He created his first original songs in his home studio, which he shared with a close group of friends, and adopted his nickname “Jala” as his stage name. Initially, Jala worked alone, but in 2011, he formed a group called Blunt Blyon, with whom he worked more seriously and released his first album “Replay.” After the album’s release, his music career as a rapper started to flourish. In 2012, Jala met Sarajevo rapper Amar Hodžić. That same year, Jala and Amar started collaborating together, not only in music but also in live performances. Jala began releasing his songs on the YouTube channel Imperia, which they jointly managed.

After the release of the album “Replay”, Jala worked on new material and collaborated with rappers such as Frenkie, Sajfer, Mayer, Klijent, and Buba Corelli. He recorded a total of 10 songs and released an album called “Riječ na riječ”, which came out on June 12, 2012. At the end of 2012, together with Buba and Kontro, he featured on the song “RMX” released on the album “Troyanac” by Tuzla rapper Frenkie, for which they also made a music video. The song received positive reviews, further launching Jala into the music scene. In the period from 2012 to 2013, he released two EP albums named “SA Sin City” in collaboration with Buba, and “Mahala” with rapper Shtela. In the same year, he met singer and producer Almir Ajanović, who decided to produce his music in his Tempo studio.

Jala and Buba worked on new songs between 2013 and 2014, and together they recorded a studio album called “Pakt s đavolom” (Devil’s Pact). The album featured collaborations with various rappers and singers, including Rasta, Juice, MCN, and Sedžida Matoruga. “Pakt s đavolom” was released in 2014 and received positive reviews from the audience. The album was released by Tempo Digital, in cooperation with the record label RedEye Vision.

In early 2015, Jala decided to change his stage name to Jala Brat, citing the fact that the nickname “Brat” (Brother) had started to appear frequently alongside his old name, Jala. He adopted it as his own and first introduced it in the music video for the song “Dom” (Home). Soon after, he recorded another joint album with Buba, titled “Stari radio” (Old Radio). The most popular songs from the album were “Skandal” and “Casino.” However, their collaboration with Buba was interrupted due to Buba being arrested. 

A significant turning point in Jala Brat’s career was his participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, where he co-wrote the song “Ljubav je” and performed it with singers Dalal Midhat-Talakić, Deen, and cellist Ana Rucner from Croatia. The Bosnian delegation did not qualify for the final of the competition after performing the song in the semi-final evening. The song was also recorded in English under the title “Love is all.”

 In November 2016, Jala Brat and Buba Corelli recorded an album titled “Kruna” (Crown). This was the first album released under the label of the Imperia publishing and media house. 

 During the commercial success of the album “Kruna,” Jala Brat established contacts with mainstream singers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Croatia. He recorded the song “Zvezde plaču za nama” (Stars Cry for Us, 2015) with rapper Vuk Mob, and the song “Dominantna” (Dominant, 2016) with folk singer Dado Polumenta. He collaborated with Elena Kitić again, this time on the song “Folira” (She’s Pretending, 2016), which he recorded in collaboration with Buba. Afterward, he continued to release singles collaborating with folk singer Maya Berović on the song “To me radi” (What She Does to Me, 2016), which he recorded together with Buba Corelli. In early 2017, he collaborated with Croatian pop singer Severina on the song “Otrove” (Poison), and with Serbian pop-folk singer Milan Stanković on the song “Ego.”

In 2016, Jala decided to become politically involved and ran for the Municipal Council in the Local Elections in the Municipality of Vogošća as a candidate of the Party of Democratic Action. He faced criticism, mainly from the public and audience, for his candidacy, but he remained on the list due to the insufficient number of votes. Afterward, he withdrew from the political scene.

The album “Alfa i Omega” (2016) was recorded in the Imperia studio and represents a continuation of Jala Brat’s collaboration with Buba Corelli. The highlight of the album was a concert tour, culminating in a sold-out concert at the Tašmajdan Arena in Belgrade, with an audience of over 15,000 people.

Album “99” (2019) After seven years since the release of Jala’s first album, “Riječ na riječ,” his second solo album, titled “99,” was released on September 9, 2019. Jala Brat announced the album on July 4 via his Instagram profile. The album features collaborations with Buba Corelli, Coby, and Raf Camora. Music videos were made for all the songs. 

After launching the Imperia YouTube channel, Jala decided to produce songs for prominent artists from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Croatia, together with Buba Corelli. He wrote lyrics and music for Milan Stanković, Dado Polumenta, Severina, Katarina Grujić, Aca Pejović, Dara Bubamara, and Selma Bajrami. However, his most significant collaboration was with pop-folk singer Maya Berović, for whom he and Buba produced several studio albums and most of the songs from 2017 onwards.