Esma Redzepova

Esma Redžepova-Teodosievska was a Macedonian Romani vocalist, songwriter and humanitarian. She was nicknamed "the Queen of the Gypsies". She started to sing while she was a teenager in the 1950s, and her career spans over five decades, which she began with Stevo Teodosievski, who became her mentor and husband. Due to racism against Romani people in Socialist Republic of Macedonia, she and Teodosievski lived in Belgrade until the breakup of Yugoslavia. Her musical style was mostly inspired by traditional Romani and Macedonian music. Some other influences are also noticeable, such as pop music. She was noted for her powerful and emotional voice. Redžepova is listed among the 50 Great Voices in the world by NPR. Redžepova was also noted for her extravagant attires and her turbans, as well as the use she made of typical stereotypes about Romani women, such as sensuality and happiness. As part of her humanitarian engagement, she fostered 47 children with Teodosievski and supported various causes. She also involved in local politics in her hometown of Skopje as a member of VMRO-DPMNE. From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esma_Re...) under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...)