Street Music has long been a leader among the preferences of the lion's share of the country's young population.
Why do we love rap? Perhaps because from time immemorial in us love for verses is inherent. And perhaps the whole thing is the inescapable hatred of glamor. Who knows the true reason! But today there are so many popular performers in this genre that it’s just right to hold a separate parade of leaders. Who is the best rapper in Russia and can one definitely choose a leader?
What is Russian rap?
In our country, rap is still relatively young, as a musical genre it appeared only in the early 1990s. It is worth recalling the first releases of the group "Bachelor Party", promoting "Sex without a break." For the group, it was just a gold mine, since only a few decided to talk about sex. It is not surprising that an album with a similar name became hit and sold out faster than hot cakes. In 1994, a certain Mr. Malaya appeared with hits on all radio stations. And then the time came for the legendary Bogdan Titomir, who is now better known for his winged phrases, such as "people hawala", and not songs. In 1996, at the helm of Russian rap was the group Bad Balance. At about the same time, the best benchmark in Russia loudly declared itself, if poetry is the criterion - Dolphin. His album "Out of Focus" greatly raised the level of quality. A year later, Micah released his only solo album, “Bitch Love,” and this is perhaps the only time that the songs have remained relevant for centuries.
Quality criteria
Calling Dolphin the best in poetry, we do not at all belittle the merits of other rappers. It so happened that the list of the best rappers in Russia began to be compiled quite a long time ago, and the criteria for getting there are very variable. It would be strange if all the leaders were identical in sound, manner of reading and rhyming. The first Russian rap festival took place in 1991.
Then he bore a funny name - "REPPIC". Three years later, the Rap Music Festival appeared. It was the first rap festivals that gave the best performers to date. The Rostov
group Kasta confidently holds the championship
mark. Previously, it was much more numerous. In fact, “Yu.G.”, MaryJane, Noggano, Basta and others came out of the “Caste”.
On the wave of showbiz
Big money is beckoning today's rappers. Alas, most often the songs are written not for the sake of art, but for the sake of ringing despicable metal. Like mushrooms after the rain, Russian hip-hop labels are growing, new artists are appearing. The pioneer in this area was the unforgettable "Legal Business $$" led by Vlad Valov, who himself quite successfully performed in the past. By the way, it was Valov who became the producer of Decl, whose success in the commercial plan has not yet been surpassed by anyone. Political hip-hop has become a fertile topic. Performers described and continue to describe their vision of the situation in the country and the world.
The best of the best
It will be more correct to voice the top five according to the majority. So, despite the large number of negative responses, an army of opponents, Guf can be called the most successful performer for the last three years. Is he really the best rapper in Russia?
This question can still be left open, because when summing up the statistics, the total number of requests on the network was taken into account, and not just the percentage of songs listening. Guf became a good project due to just a confrontation of interests. This artist has good commercial support, his label and an active team. The social network "VKontakte" offers the user the most videos of the artist and the most rated personal page.
In second place in popularity is Basta. According to many, this is really the best benchmark in Russia, the feedback about it is mostly positive. Basta communicates with the “right” people, releases truly “hit” songs and grabs vital topics. Guf is 7% behind, and by the number of tracks leaves him far behind.
Third place at Noise MC. He is really a poet of his time and a master of speed reading. Noise masterly rhymes and improvises. His main "trick" is personal pain, fear and rage. The main audience is teenagers, which, meanwhile, does not prevent him from staying in confident favorites in the country.
Unexpected lag
Fourth and fifth place among the leaders are Timati and “Casta”. Frankly speaking, this is an amazing result, because in general, performers have the most responses and fans. "Caste" represents the founders of Russian rap, has not lost its relevance for many years. Affects the lack of activity in the media. “Casta” is mainly popularized by loyal fans, who from year to year make a “box office” to their favorite group.
With Timati, things are even more interesting, because he not only enters the TOP of the best Russian benchmarks, but also gradually paves the way to the West. Timati managed to sing with some pretty famous US performers . He created his own label and spins young performers. Why is he not the first? The artist’s team’s omissions, cool attitude to its own Internet resources, are also affected, although the artist’s “Twitter” breaks all records.
Even Guf is two times behind. Timati has more than half a billion subscribers.
Promising guys
Do not despair and “youngsters”, because rappers give way to beginners. To do this, for example, you can take part in the InDaBattle online competition, which has been leading the history since 2009.
In fact, this is a tournament for
Russian rappers. Here and the task, and topics for improvisation. The project was supported by many popular rappers. Among them, there were also those who wanted to test their strength, because the best rapper of Russia is a title that must be regularly justified. Among promising performers, it is worth noting Dzhigan, who loudly announced himself in 2009 and since then managed to get a couple of awards.
Belarusian performer Max Korzh is more suitable for a lyrical character. Oddly enough, the British guy Oxxxymiron, who began performing since 2009 when he graduated from Oxford, is in the TOP of the best Russian rappers. His music is aggressive and gloomy, but bewitching. Well, for a decade now Slim has remained on the wave of glory. He is a veteran of Russian rap, who began his career as a member of the Centr group. Corporate identity, philosophical meaning of texts and quality albums - these criteria should be followed by the best frame of Russia.