Esma Redžepova (Macedonian: Есма Реџепова trl Esma Red̂epova, pronounced [ˈɛsma rɛˈdʒɛpɔva]) (born 8 August 1943 in Skopje) is a Macedonian-Romani vocalist, songwriter, and humanitarian. By her own account, she has created more than 500 works of art. These include 108 singles, 20 albums, and six movies. She has performed in more than 9,000 concerts in 30 countries. She is nicknamed Queen of the Gypsies.
She started to sing while she was a teenager in the 1950s, and her career spans over six decades. Her musical success is closely linked to her marriage with Stevo Teodosievski, who was a composer, arranger and director of a musical ensemble, the Ansambl Teodosievski. He wrote many of her songs and fully managed her career until his death in 1997. Her musical style is mostly inspired by traditional Roma and Macedonian music, with a strong Oriental touch. Some other influences are also noticeable, such as pop music. Esma Redžepova started her career at a period when Romani music was very denigrated in Yugoslavia and Roma people considered it shameful for women to sing in public. Redžepova was one of the first singers to sing in Romani language.