Noize MC is the stage name of Russian rapper Ivan Aleksandrovich Alekseev (Иван Александрович Алексеев). Aside from his music, Noize MC has become known in recent years as a vocal critic of the Russian authorities and particularly of Russia’s 2014 intervention in Ukraine, which has resulted in many of his shows being cancelled or raided […]
Guf (Гуф) is the stage name of Russian rapper Aleksei Sergeevich Dolmatov (Алексей Сергеевич Долматов) . Guf was a founding member of the seminal hip hop group Centr (Центр), has had an extremely prolific solo career, and founded the labels ZM Nation and Tsao (Цао) Records. Guf entered the rap world in 2000 as part […]
Gradusy (Градусы; “degrees”) is a Russian pop band from Stavropol, founded in 2008. It consists of Dmitry Bakhtinov (Дмитрий Бахтинов, bass guitar), who organized the group, Roman Pashkov (Роман Пашков, vocals, guitar), Ruslan Tagiev (Руслан Тагиев, vocals, DJ), and Viktor Golovanov (Виктор Голованов, percussion). Their first hit was the 2009 single “Director” (“Режиссёр”), which was […]
Diskoteka Avariya (Дискотека Авария; “Disco Accident” or “‘Disco Crash’”) is a Russian rock group formed in 1988 in Ivanovo, an economically depressed city near Moscow. The original members of Diskoteka Avariya were Aleksey Ryzhov and Nikolai Timofeev, who met while studying at a local engineering university. They were joined several years later by Oleg Zhukov. […]
Seryoga (Серёга) is the stage name of Syargei Parkhomenka (Сяргей Васільевіч Пархоменка), a Belorussian rapper who performs in Russian. He is known as the creator of his own hybrid genre— “Sport Ditties” (“спортивные частушки”)—which combines hip-hop with Russian folk rhymes. Hailing from Gomel in the Republic of Belarus, Seryoga spent five years as a student […]
Pavel Volya (Павел Воля) entered showbusiness as a DJ for the Russian radio station Hit-FM and a VJ on the music channel МУЗ-ТВ (MUZ-TV). In 2003 he became well-known as a regular on the Russian sketch-comedy show Comedy Club, before landing numerous smaller acting roles in movies and TV, most notably the 2009 comedy A […]
Egor Kreed (Егор Крид) is a Russian rap and hip hop artist. Until 2014, he was known as “KReeD” and has also gone by just “Kreed” in the past as well. Egor Kreed knew he wanted to be a musician from the age of 11, when he first heard 50 Cent’s song “Candy Shop”. Born […]
Kasta (Каста) is a Russian rap group originally from Rostov-on-Don, whose core members are the MCs Vladi (Влади), Shym (Шым), Khamil (Хамиль), and Snake (Змей). Exposure to New York’s Wu-Tang Clan in the early nineties prompted them to purchase as many American rap cassettes as they could get their hands on, and to study English […]
Centr (Центр) is a Moscow rap group originally formed in 2004 by MCs Guf (Гуф) and Princip (Принцип), and later joined by Slim (Слим), Little Bird (Птаха), and others. The group’s debut album, Gift (Подарок) was self produced and recorded. Only thirteen copies were made – and were given as New Year’s gifts to friends. […]
