Most often, individual rap artists have popularity. In the history of domestic and foreign hip-hop there are many groups that still managed to become popular and recognizable. Rap groups in Russian show business occupy a special position. Often, performers first perform in a collective, and later create their own solo projects.
"Bachelor Party"
The first and therefore the most iconic rap group in Russia was the bachelor party trio: Dolphin, Dan and Mutabor. Young people read texts that had long been a taboo subject. The main theme of their texts was sex. They became known throughout the country in just a few weeks. Their texts were read out in almost every yard; on the tour, the "Bachelor Party" gathered whole stadiums. On radio and television, most of the texts did not miss censorship, which only fueled interest in the team. Few rap groups of the 90s boast such success.
At the same time, the whole team did not last long. First, Dan quarreled with the producer, then a new member of the Deer team (Oleg Bashkatov) died from an overdose of heroin, and later Dolphin began his solo project.
Before the breakup, the trio managed to take part in the election campaign of Boris Yeltsin (they wrote the song “Vote or lose”). From remixes to the tracks of the band's first album, “The Bachelor Party”, DJ Groove began his career in 1995.
Groups of the nineties
After the appearance of "The Bachelor Party" with its hard lyrics in the domestic show business, new individual performers and rap groups began to appear. In 1991, for the first time in Russia, the RapPik festival was held, which was able to spark many stars. His headliners were Bogdan Titomir and The Bachelor Party.
In the second half of the nineties, new Russian rap groups began to appear. Great popularity was gained by Bad Balance, “Mikhey and Jumanji” (despite the fact that this collective released only one album, they still do not forget about it), “Casta”, “Yu.G.” and Legalize. At this moment, hip hop gained overwhelming popularity.
Many groups united under a common brand, while others split up. Depending on the compositions released, a wave of popularity covered one or the other group. We will tell you about the most famous and popular rap groups.
Bad balance
The roots of this rap group go back to the eighties. However, the peak of popularity came when the “golden squad” was assembled: beatmaker DJ LA, Schaeff and Micah. At first, the group worked with live, not electronic music, but in 1997 it was decided to turn to classical hip-hop. Later, Micah secretly from all begins his solo work, because of which he began a scandal with SheFF. The musicians were finally reconciled only at the beginning of the two thousandth, but they did not have time to record a joint album in the old composition - Mikhey died of a stroke. By that time, SheFF became a producer - he started promoting his own solo project, as well as Decl, Alkofank, Legal Business and White Chocolate.
Extensive connections and profits from other projects enabled Bad Balance to record Stone Forest in New York. They went to work there: Director of Malaya, SheFF, bass guitarist Mr. Bruce, Legalize and Beatmaker DJ LA. After this album, the members of the group were distracted from creativity, since SheFF had a conflict with Decl's father, Alexander Tolmatsky, and with Legalize (he wanted to release his solo album).
Centr
The era of Bad Balance on the domestic stage at the beginning of the two thousandths was replaced by new names. The most popular were rap groups Kasta, Krec, Basta, Ellipsis and Centr. The latter gained popularity thanks to the album "Swing". The group was founded by two Moscow rappers Guf and Princip. Later they were joined by Ptah and Slim. Later, the Principle goes to jail, and three MCs remain in the group.
From 2006 to 2008, Ptaha, Slim and Guf recorded the band’s most hit songs, including the soundtrack to the movie “Heat”. Then other rap music performers became interested in their work, thanks to which they managed to create their own brand - CAO Records. In 2009, Guf leaves the team, and the police who have returned the Principle again delayed. Guf and Slim quarreled among themselves, but in 2015 they began to communicate again. They participated in the recording of the album of the Caspian Cargo group. In 2016, the group finally ceased to exist.
Top rap groups: list of the most popular today
We have described many groups that fans can and should listen to, but it will not be complete without a short list of the most popular bands of our time. Now the most popular are the teams:
• DeadDynasty (and its leader rapper PHARAOH);
• "Caspian Cargo";
• Kavabanga & Depo & Kolibri;
• "Caste";
• "AK-47";
• "The rhythm of roads."
From this list, everyone can find for themselves a team with a suitable theme of texts. The most votes users on websites for rap lovers gave to the Caspian Cargo group. They significantly overtook all their competitors. In terms of audience reach, this project is reminiscent of the early Bachelor Party, and from the point of view of texts, this group attracts listeners with a wide variety of topics.