The Russian Hip-Hop underground is one of myth and legend, at least to those who lie outside it. And as someone who is studying and hopes to thoroughly understand the fabric of the Russian rap scene in Russia from its inception in the late 80s to now, it's vital to get familiar with the first decade of the 21st-century because it was during this time when Russian rap really developed as its own cultural movement. In fact, the Russian 'Old School' didn't really begin in the 90s (in my opinion) but the 2000s because it was then when the capitalist marketplace was sparring against the subcultural one, while artists and groups were forced to navigate a highly saturated and complex environment, FULL of Hip-Hop everything, striving to create their own image amidst the desire for professional status. So, after having found out about this group only days ago, let me introduce you to one of the many groups during the 2000s, a group who chose to distance themselves from the seedy, aggressive, and confrontational style which was Russian rap in the 90s, and instead be a youthful, high energy, and well-spoken group: "Район Моей Мечты" (District of my Dreams).
Beginnings
The group formed as a result of two individual groups colliding during the 2000 "Coffee grinder" Rap Festival, a two-day event held in Chuvashia in Eastern Russia, home to a state opera house whose architecture is a wonderful example of Soviet brutalism. Anyhow, the groups "Nizhny Novgorod Substandard" and "Party from Cheboksary" (see photo), although they didn't win anything, saw each other's potential and decided to come together. This type of competitor-turned-colleague is not uncommon, and is how rap groups come into being, then and certainly now. Having recorded a track to see how they would sound together, the group decided to try their joint hand at the Rap Music 2000 Festival in December of that year. The fact that this competition was televised onto Russian MTV speaks a lot about the presence of Hip-Hop culture on post-Soviet public broadcasting and the instrumental role it had in shaping youth culture during this seminal period in Russian history. In any case, they succeeded in placing fourth, Grand Prix going to Ikambi Gwa Gwa (a long forgotten, St. Petersburg-based group) and first going to the group "Южный Централ 54", a lesser-known but equally important group from Donbass whose discography shows a release in 2015 so they must still be active somewhat. However, their performance earned them a label deal with Mix Media Records, and soon after they would begin officially working together as the group we know today.
First Album
New Era
Ending and Reunion
Sources
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