"Kasta" (Kasta) is a legendary Russian rap group that stood at the very origins of the birth of hip-hop on the domestic music platform. They were among the first to popularize the genre that came from the West - rap. The members of the collective united around themselves the same fans of recitative, created their own label, began to help other artists. But their main achievement is that they gave us dozens of immortal hits, which are listened to by the second generation.
History of creation
Vladislav Leshkevich (Vladi) is considered to be the founder of the group. He was attracted to music from early childhood: from the age of 12 he was seriously interested in rap, studied at music school, composed songs himself, recorded them on an old cassette recorder. By the age of 16 his mixes were already playing on the local radio station.
He and Denis Torikashvili (Tidan) met when they were still teenagers. Their fondness for rap strengthened their friendship and led them to the idea of creating their own collective. So, in 1995 the group "Psycholirika" appeared. A year later their team was replenished with a new member - Mikhail Epifanov (Shym). And then the first lineup change took place: Vasily Vakulenko (Basta Khryu, and later just "Basta") took Tidan's place. Together with him came big changes.
By the end of 1997 "Psycholirika" was a member of the Rostov association "Kasta", which included many rap singers and MCs of the city ("Sand People", "Grani", "Western Sector", etc.). Basta insisted that Vladi and Shym revise the name, changing it to "Kasta". After receiving approval from their rap crowd, they assigned themselves a new name. And their shared rap company became known as United Casta.
Membership in this conglomerate put a significant imprint on their creative activity - they constantly participated in the recording of songs of other rap performers. In the same way, in their compositions (and even albums) you can often hear the voices of "fellow musicians". This is one of the peculiarities of the group: they are free to choose, freely engage in solo career, publish their own records and tracks.
Replacements of the line-up in the history of the band did not happen so often. In 1999 they were joined by Andrey Pasechny (Hamil), in 2008 - by Anton Mishenin (Snake). Vladi and Shym remain permanent members.
Creative path of rappers
Fascination with the popular at the time American group Wu-Tang Clan played a big role in the biography of the collective. First, they instilled in Rostov musicians a love for rap. And secondly, the name "Kasta" arose precisely from Clan (clan). Guys from the first days began to compose whip lyrics about life problems that are familiar to almost everyone. They colorfully described all the realities that met provincial residents of Russia. Their songs are deep, honest and performed with special energy.
Being still in the composition of "Psycholirika", the musicians released their debut album "First Strike". The result of their labors did not give. The second attempt was participation in recording of "United Casta" records - "Three-Dimensional Rhymes" and "In Full Action".
Since 1999 "Kasta" started concert activity. At first they performed in small clubs and at festivals. But once they were lucky enough to get to Rap Music Fest, one of the biggest genre events. There they "hit the jackpot" - they won the Grand Prix. This victory not only brought them wide popularity and recognition of Russian listeners, but also quickly spread the fame of young talented rappers in the near abroad. That's when the first tour happened in their lives. And although they were not on a global scale, the whole of Russia talked about them.
In 2000 a new label Respect Production was created especially for them. Already in cooperation with this company was released debut clip "We take it on the streets", a year later - "On the order of magnitude higher". The audience of fans increased significantly after the release on the wide screen.
2002 was marked by an important event: the first independent album of "Casta" - "Louder than water, higher than grass" - was completed. The success was overwhelming, they sold about 100 thousand copies in less than a year. They began to be invited to concerts not only in Russia, but also in foreign countries. To reinforce the success, the musicians released solo records. Although it is difficult to call them such, because the whole group participates in recording, and the "soloist of the album" is producing it himself.
The soundtracks performed by "Kasta" for the legendary movie "Antikiller" also added to their popularity.
The following years were very intense in the life of the band. In 2006 "Kasta" won the prize of "Muz TV" award in the nomination "Best Project of the Year". They go on tour a lot, perform at different venues, bathe in the rays of glory. They gather stadiums and full houses, and the audience knows the songs by heart.
New Casta albums
In parallel with active concert activity, they worked on the creation of the second album. They released it in 2008, calling it "Bull in the Eye". The result was: 3rd place in the Billboard magazine chart, three new music videos, nominations "Artist of the Year", "Best Album", "Clip of the Year". The pinnacle of achievements was the prestigious RAMP award in the Urbana nomination (rap, hip-hop).
Since 2010 their creativity has acquired a slightly different shade. Sharp social themes moved to the background. They began to release artistic and philosophical compositions, in which they reflected on the meaning of life, love, loneliness.
In 2014, "Kasta" finally sounded on the concert stages of America. A large tour of major cities in the United States opened a real world for them, in which their favorite culture and musical genre was formed.
The following years they worked a lot on solo projects. It wasn't until 2017 that their third album, Four Headed Yells, was released. It differed from the rest with a sharp flavor of satire in the lyrics. The musicians themselves say that you should not take everything literally.
Last year they released the last album in the discography "About the flaw is clear", which was timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the group. Today "Kasta" has a busy touring schedule, many invitations to festivals and concerts, shooting music videos. They often appear on TV and radio as star guests, give interviews, participate in various projects. About how their creative path will further develop, read in the catalog of artists on the website kontramarka.de.
Discography:
2002 - "Louder than water, higher than grass".
2008 - "Bull's Eye"
2017 - "Four-Headed Yells"
2019 - "About the flaw is clear"
