Sarkis Levoni Balasanyan (; born August 17, 1978), better known as Super Sako (), is an Armenian-American rapper, singer, DJ and record producer based in Los Angeles. He is best known for his hit single "Mi Gna," which ranked at #4 in France and #2 in Romania music charts in 2018.
Early life
Balasanyan was born on 17 August 1978 in
Yerevan, Armenian SSR,
Soviet Union. He moved to
Los Angeles,
California, alongside his family at a young age and grew up in Hollywood.
Career
As early as 1994, he started rapping under the name Sad Eyez. At the time he collaborated with the “Twinz” and AC now known as A.chilla, who were also Armenian rappers. Later becoming more involved with Armenian singers such as Suro,
Tatul Avoyan and releasing an Armenian Rabiz/hip-hop mix with Samvel Sahakyan, “Mots Ari”.
Later in 2008, Super Sako would release his first official album known as Saint Sarkis.
His 2016 single "Mi Gna" taken from his album Love Crimes, and featuring rabiz singer Spitakci Hayko, became a hit in Armenia, the Armenian diaspora, Turkey,
In 2020, he released a new track with the Egyptian singer and actor and Mohamed Ramadan called "Tik Tok" which resulted in 2 million downloads in its first 24 hours of release.
In May 2022, his hand prints were cemented in front of the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
Also in May 2022, he released a new track called "Cake" with Offset (member of the rap group Migos).
In 2024, he released a new album called Saint Sarkis 5 and in October 2024 performed a concert at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Style
Super Sako blends traditional Armenian urban folk music with American rap. He is the first and best known Armenian artist do so. He is the originator of the genre “rap-biz” (a combination of rap and rabiz music).
Personal life
He has two kids.
Discography
Albums
-
Voch 1-in Chases (with Emmy) (2007)
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Saint Sarkis (2008)
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Saint Sarkis 2 (2009)
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Saint Sarkis 3 (2010)
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Saint Sarkis 4 (2012)
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Sako and Friends (2012)
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Love Crimes (2016)
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Saint Sarkis 5 (2024)
Charted singles
Other singles
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1994: "Big Time Criminals"
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1994: "Armenian Power" (feat. Ghost Daddy (Twinz))
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1995: “Mots Ari” (feat. Samvel Sahakyan)
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1996: "Sippin on Cognac" (feat. AC)
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2000-2001: "RIP Silent" (feat. Unknown Armenian Singer)
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2016: "Mi Gna" () (feat. Spitakci Hayko)
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2017: "Amena Lavnes" () (feat. Harout Balyan)
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2017: "She's Mine" () (feat. Armenchik)
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2018: "Mi Gna" (feat. Spitakci Hayko & Maître Gims)
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2019: "Gna Gna/La Tghibi" (, ) (feat. Eyad Tannous & Suro)
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2019: "Señorita" (feat. Fadi Kod)
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2019: "Amenur es" () (feat. Saro Tovmasyan)
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2019։ "Samo tvoia" (feat. Andrea)
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2020: "Tik Tok" (feat. Mohamed Ramadan)
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2021: "Sunshine & Rain" (feat. Kan)
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2021: "Amor Mio" (feat. Gipsy Kings)
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2022: "Cake" (feat Offset of Migos)
Featured in
-
2019: "Yes" (Karl Wolf feat. Super Sako, Deena, Fito Blanko)
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2021: "Sirts Patrasta" () (OFI feat. Hak & Super Sako)
External links
