BIO

Genocide, Real name Jusuf is a New Zealand based Bosnian Rapper. Born in 1984 in Zvornik, Bosnia which was then known as “Yugoslavia”. In 1992 Yugoslavia began to fall apart as the different provinces declared independence, This resulted in a brutal war which lasted from 1992-1995 and claimed over 100,000 Lives. At the age of 8 Jusuf’s Home town of Zvornik was one of the first places to get attacked and ethnically cleansed by Serbian Paramilitary forces.

Zvornik – View From Genocide’s House

He witnessed the shelling and bombardment of his town but managed to escape with his family. After numerous attempts they finally reached “Belgrade” which was then the capital of the Former Yugoslavia. Along with his mother and brother and with no Money they got onto a train bound for Austria. Inside one of the cubicles on the train they met a Serbian man who helped them in their escape. When the conductor came looking for tickets, the Serbian man told him that Jusuf’s mother was his sister and that they had misplaced their tickets, He then paid for the Family’s travel to Austria.

In Austria, they found out that Jusuf’s father was at a Refugee center and the family was once again reunited. While at the refugee centre the Irish Government was looking for refugees to take to Ireland and Jusuf’s family was selected.

In Ireland his family began a new life and assimilated to the Irish lifestyle. This is where Jusuf learned English and discovered his passion for Hip Hop. Life as a refugee was never easy and to add to the struggle Jusuf was involved in a serious hit and run at the age of 10 while crossing a traffic light on his bike. While in High school he started writing his own music under the name of “Genocide” and formed a group with some of his friends. After finishing high school and at the age of 18 he went to New Zealand on a working holiday and decided to stay after falling in love.

While in New Zealand, Jusuf still worked on his music and released a mixtape in 2005 called “Rhymes Against Humanity” and followed it up in 2007 with “Tales From The Asylum”. He began to get noticed by Bosnian people living overseas due to the content of the songs and this became his core Fan base.

In 2008 he released “The Psy-op Mixtape” which featured songs with Bosnian rapper “Frenkie”, Palestinian rapper “Mahmood” from the group DAM and an array of respected MC’s from New Zealand and beyond. This album also featured the classic Genocide song “Srebrenica [Never Again].

In 2009 He released “The Sacred Doctrine” and worked with various Rappers and producers on it.

In 2010 Jusuf became a member of a group called “Debt Collectors” along with NZ based MC’s Tyson Tyler, GodMode and Sammy Gallows, The group went on to release their mixtape “Escape from Arkham Asylum”.

Around this time he also released “The Dirty Bombs vol.1 Mixtape” with long time collaborator DJ Trickalome. In 2011 Genocide and French Producer “Junior Makhno” began working on a joint project called “Classified Intelligence” using all their connections they managed to acquire features from Vinnie Paz [Jedi Mind Tricks], Mareko [Deceptikonz], Frenkie, Cyphanetik, King David [Vendetta Kingz] & Sick since. With DJ Trickalome doing all the scratches they released the highly acclaimed album in July 2011.

That album was followed up in 2012 with “The Dirty Bombs vol.2 Mixtape”.

On April 2012 Genocide along with his group “Debt Collectors” opened up for KRS-One to a sold out 1,200 people strong crowed in Auckland. In 2013 Genocide went on an Australian Tour with Edo Maajka, Frenkie and DJ Soul, they performed in Sydney, Melbourne and Gold Coast. He then began working on his new album entitled “The Burial Ground” which was released in January 2015.

Since 2008 Genocide has appeared in various magazines and news papers and has featured on numerous internationally released albums. He also appeared on the TVNZ show “Neighborhood” sharing his life story and how he channels it through his music.

In 2016 Genocide is currently working on his new album “Death Before Dishonor” scheduled for release in 2017.