Kasta is a legendary Russian rap group that stood at the very origins of hip-hop on the domestic music platform. They were among the first to popularize the genre of rap that came from the West. The band members united the same recitative fans around them, created their own label, and began to help other artists. But their main achievement is that they gave us dozens of immortal hits that the second generation has been listening to.
History of creation
Vladislav Leshkevich (Vladi) is considered to be the founder of the group. Since early childhood, he gravitated towards music: from the age of 12 he became seriously interested in rap, studied at a music school, composed songs himself, recorded them on an old cassette recorder. By the age of 16, his mixes were already playing on a local radio station.
With Denis Torikashvili (By Tidan) They met when they were still teenagers. Their passion for rap strengthened their friendship and prompted the idea of creating their own band. So, in 1995, the group "Psycholyrica" appeared. A year later, their team was joined by a new member — Mikhail Epifanov (Shym). And then the first replacement of the composition took place: Vasily Vakulenko took the place of Tidan (Basta Hryu, and later simply "Basta"). With it came big changes.
By the end of 1997, Psycholyrica was a member of the Rostov association "Caste", which included many rap artists and MC of the city ("Sand People", "Edges", "Western Sector", etc.). Basta insisted that Vladi and Shym revise the name, changing it to "Caste". After receiving approval from their rap crowd, they appropriated a new name for themselves. And their common rap company became known as the United Caste.
Membership in this conglomerate left a significant imprint on their creative activities — they constantly participated in recording songs by other rap artists. Similarly, in their compositions (and even albums), you can very often hear the voices of "comrades in the music workshop." This is one of the features of the team: they are free to choose, freely pursue a solo career, publish their own records and tracks.
Line-up replacements have not happened so often in the band's history. In 1999, Andrey Pasechny (Hamil) joined them, in 2008 — Anton Mishenin (Snake). Vladi and Shym remain permanent participants.
The creative path of rappers
The fascination with the popular American band Wu-Tang Clan at that time played a big role in the biography of the band. Firstly, they instilled in Rostov musicians a love of rap. And secondly, the name "Caste" originated from the Clan. From the very first days, the guys began to compose scathing texts about life problems that are familiar to almost everyone. They colorfully described all the realities that provincial residents of Russia encountered. Their songs are deep, honest and performed with a special energy.
While still in the "Psycholirika", the musicians released their debut album "The First Blow". Their labors did not give any result. The second attempt was to participate in the recording of the records of the "United Caste" — "Three-dimensional rhymes" and "In full action".
Since 1999, "Casta" has been starting concert activities. At first they performed in small clubs and festivals. But one day they were lucky enough to get to Rap Music Fest, one of the largest genre events. There they "hit the jackpot" - they won the Grand Prix. This victory not only brought them wide popularity and recognition from Russian listeners, but also quickly spread the fame of young talented rappers to neighboring countries. That's when the first tour happened in their lives. And although they were not on a global scale, the whole of Russia was talking about them.
In 2000, a new label Respect Production was created specifically for them. Already in collaboration with this company, the debut video "We take it on the streets" was released, a year later — "An order of magnitude higher". The audience of fans has increased significantly after the release on the wide screen.
2002 was marked by an important event: the first independent album of "Caste" was completed — "Louder than water, higher than grass". The success was stunning, in less than a year they sold about 100 thousand copies. They began to be invited to concerts not only in Russia, but also in foreign countries. In order to reinforce the success, the musicians release solo records. Although it is difficult to call them such, since the whole band participates in the recording, and the "soloist of the album" is engaged in producing independently.
The soundtracks performed by the "Caste" for the legendary film "Antikiller" also added popularity.
The following years were very busy in the life of the team. In 2006, "Casta" won the prize of the Muz TV award in the nomination "Best Project of the Year". They go on tour a lot, perform at different venues, and bask in the glory. Stadiums and full houses are being assembled, and the audience knows the songs by heart.
In parallel with their active concert activities, they worked on the creation of a second album. They released it in 2008, calling it "True to the Eyes". 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 (rap, hip-hop) nomination.
Since 2010, their work has acquired a slightly different shade. Acute social issues have receded into the background. They began to produce artistic and philosophical compositions in which they reflected on the meaning of life, love, and loneliness.
In 2014, "Caste" finally sounded at concert venues in America. A big tour of major cities in the United States opened up a real world for them, in which their favorite culture and musical genre were formed.
In the following years, they worked a lot on solo projects. And only in 2017 their third album "Four-headed Yells" was released. He was distinguished from the others by the sharp taste of satire in the texts. The musicians themselves say that you should not take everything literally.
Last year, they released the last album in their discography, "About the flaw is Clear," which was timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the group. Today, the "Caste" has a busy tour schedule, many invitations to festivals and concerts, and shooting music videos. They often appear on television and radio as star guests, give interviews, and participate in various projects. Read about how their creative path will develop further in the catalog of artists on the website kontramarka.de .
Discography:
2002 — "Louder than water, higher than grass"
2008 — "True to the eyes"
2017 — "Four-headed yells"
2019 — "It's clear about the flaw"
