Tatarka

Irina Aleksandrovna Smelaya (; born 21 December 1991), better known by her stage name Tatarka , is a female hip-hop artist from Tatarstan, Russia. Her songs are written in Tatar and English.

Music and vlogging Smelaya was born in Naberezhnye Chelny. She currently lives in St. Petersburg and is a vlogger. Her YouTube blog named "Tatar Days" (, ) has almost a million subscribers.

"Altyn" ("gold" in Tatar) was her first song, which was released in 2016 and earned her recognition in the Russian music scene.

Smelaya released her debut album, Golden Flower, in October 2020.

Personal life Smelaya married Ilya Prusikin, the vocalist and frontman of the Russian pop-rave-band Little Big, on 6 July 2016.

She gave birth to her and Prusikin's son Dobrynya on 26 November 2017.

Smelaya and Prusikin publicly announced their separation on 21 August 2020.

Discography Albums +NameInformationGolden FlowerRelease: 29 October 2020 Label: Warner Music Russia

Format: Digital distribution Expanded Plays +NameInformationDemo LifeRelease: 5 July 2024 Label: self-released

Format: Digital distribution Singles

Video Clips Title Year NotesAltyn (Gold) 2016 At the end of 2016, Tatarka released her debut video for the song "Altyn", in which the singer dances in front of cars, wearing the clothes of the popular designer Gosha Rubchinsky. During the first week of its release, the video gathered over 3 million views, and was included in Afisha's "100 great clips of the year" of 2016. The genre of the song can be described as cloud-rap, as well as being primarily in Tatar language. The music video promoted Samsung's new phone at the time – the Galaxy S7 Edge, and the music video itself was shot completely with this phone.U Can Take (feat. Little Big) 2017 This song marks Tatarka's first collaboration with other music artists. The song is also written in Tatar, with the part of Ilya Prusikin, Irina's husband, being performed in English. The clip "U Can Take" was filmed in Thailand, while the artists were on vacation. On its first day of release, the video collected more than 2 million views.Pussy Power 2017 After recognizing her popularity among the foreign audience, Tatarka produced this song completely in English language. Tatarka has assured that her album will be in both English and Tatar language. Evident in the song's lyrics and music video's theme, Pussy Power presents a strong pro-feminist commentary.Au2019This song recorded in Tatar language. The clip was filmed in Uzbekistan, in Tashkent, Khiva, Chirchik and other cities. Kawaii 2020 From Golden Flower album.Boys & Girls (mood video)2021From Golden Flower albumLOLI BOYNon-album single

Participations

2014 – Little Big – "Public Enemy" 2016 – Little Big – "Big Dick" 2016 – Little Big – "Hateful Love" 2018 – Bread – "Shashlyndos" 2019 – Animal Jazz – "Feelings"