Kasta is Russian rap band from Rostov-on-Don

Rostov-on-Don

-History:The mouth of the Don River has been of great commercial and cultural importance since the ancient times. It was the site of the Greek colony Tanais, of the Genoese fort Tana, and of the Turkish fortress Azak...

. Group is led by MC and beatmaker Vlady. Other members include MC's Shim, Hamil and Zmey, as well as DJ Hobot. Although Kasta is notably influenced by New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 rap tradition, especially Wu-Tang Clan

Wu-Tang Clan

The Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...

, they have always written in Russian.

History

Vlady, Shim and Hamil met rap music at a very young age. Vladi created his first song when he was just 13 years old. In 1995 he and his friend Tidan (Тидан) made a group Psycholyric . One year after that Shim connected to Psycholyric. In 1997, Psycholyric and other rappers from Rostov-on-Don

Rostov-on-Don

-History:The mouth of the Don River has been of great commercial and cultural importance since the ancient times. It was the site of the Greek colony Tanais, of the Genoese fort Tana, and of the Turkish fortress Azak...

 made a group with name Kasta, which was successor of Psycholyric. After that Tidan left the group. In 1999, Hamil connected to Kasta, then Kasta created a group Объединенная Каста (Obiedenennaya Kasta) which means United Kasta, they did this because there were too many members in Kasta.
Their first show was in Rostov's

Rostov-on-Don

-History:The mouth of the Don River has been of great commercial and cultural importance since the ancient times. It was the site of the Greek colony Tanais, of the Genoese fort Tana, and of the Turkish fortress Azak...

 famous rap club Duncan and Comanchero.

Formation

• Влади (Vlady) — Лешкевич Владислав Валерьевич (Leshkevich Vladislav Valerievich, born December 17, 1978 in Rostov-on-Don)
• Шым (Shim) — Епифанов Михаил Олегович (Epifanov Mikhail Olegovich, born January 25, 1979 in Rostov-on-Don)
• Хамиль (Hamil) — Пасечный Андрей Леонидович (Pacechny Andrey Leonidovich, born October 19, 1979 in Rostov-on-Don)
• Змей (Zmey) — Антон Мишенин (Anton Mishenin, born 21 January 1982 in Rostov-on-Don
  Rostov-on-Don
  -History:The mouth of the Don River has been of great commercial and cultural importance since the ancient times. It was the site of the Greek colony Tanais, of the Genoese fort Tana, and of the Turkish fortress Azak...
  
  ). In 2005, he left group Grani after release the album Kipesh and connected to Kasta.

Западный Сектор (Zapadny Sektor, West Sector)

• Кактус (Kaktus)
• Дигер (Diger)
• Майор (Maior)

Бледнолицые Нигга'дяи (Blednolitsyie Niggadyai, Pale-Faced Rascals)

• Панама (Panama)
• Кальян (Kalian)
• Ситар (Sitar)

Песочные Люди (Pesochnyie Liudi, Sand People)

• Джин (Jin)
• Псих (Psych)
• Дас (Das)
• Жара (Zhara)

Discography

• 2002: Громче воды, выше травы ("Gromche vody, vyshe travy", "Louder than Water, Higher than Herbs")
• 2002: Что нам делать в Греции? ("Chto nam delat v Greciee?", "What do we do in Greece?")
• 2004: Феникс ("Phoenix")
• 2008: Быль в глаза ("Byl v glaza", "Facts in the Eyes")
• 2010: ХЗ ("H.Z.")

Объединенная Каста

• 1997: Первый удар ("Pervy udar", "First Strike")
• 1999: Трехмерные рифмы ("Trekhmernye rifmy", "3D Rhymes")
• 2000: В полном действии ("V polnom deistvie", "In Full Force")

Music videos

• Мы Берём Это На Улицах ("Mi Berem Eto Na Ulitsakh" / "We got it from the streets") (2000)
• На Порядок Выше ("Na Poryadok Vyshe" / "Vastly beyond") (2001)
• Про Макса ("Pro Maxa" / "About Max") (2002)
• Горячее Время ("Goryachee Vremya" / "Hectic times") (OST Антикиллер (Antikiller)) (2002)
• Ревность ("Revnost'" / "Jealousy") (Влади/Vladi) (2003)
• Наши Люди ("Nashi Lyudi" / "Our People") (Live at "Наши Люди '03") (2003)
• Сестра ("Sestra" / "Sister") (2005)
• Черви Ненависти ("Chervi Nenavisti" / "Worms of Hate") (feat. Песочные Люди (Sand Men)) (2005)
• Капсулы Скорости ("Kapsuly Skorosti" / "Capsules of speed") (2006)
• Глупо, Но Класс ("Glupo, No Class" / "Stupid, But Classy") (feat. Gustavo) (2007)
• Встреча ("Vstrecha" / "Meeting") (2008)
• Радиосигналы ("Radiosignaly" / "Radio signals") (2008)
• Вокруг Шум ("Vokrug Shum" / "Noise around us") (2009)
• Номерок ("Nomerok" / "Number") (feat. Крестная Семья (Godmother's family)) (2009)
• Можно Всё ("Mozhno Vsyo" / "Everything's allowed") (Vladi feat. Animal Jazz) (2009)
• Встретимся У Холодильника ("Vstretimsya U Holodil'nika" / "Meet me at the Fridge") (DJ Hobot, Hamil, Iskra) (2009)
• Закрытый Космос ("Zakrytyi Kosmos" / "Closed Space") (Hamil) (2010)
• Метла ("Metla" / "Broom") (Hamil & Zmey) (2011)
• Cамый счастливый человек на Земле ("Samyi schastlivyi chelovek na Zemle" / "The happiest man on Earth") (Zmey) (2011)
• Миллиард Лет ("Milliard Let" / "Billion Years") (2011)
• Выше к небу("Vyshe k nebu" / "Higher to the sky") (Vladi feat. Песочные Люди (SandMan)) (2011)
• Это Прёт ("Eto Pryot" / "It shakes") (Hamil & Zmey) (2011)
• Такое чувство ("Takoe Chuvstvo" / "Such a feeling") (Hamil & Zmey) (2011)

Awards

• Grand Prix "Rap Music 99"
• Russian Music Awards 2004 MTV - Best hip-hop, rap project.
• Muz-TV Awards 2006 - Best hip-hop, rap project.
• RAMP 2009 - Urbana.
• Russian Street Awards 2010 - Best Acoustic ("Vokrug Shum" / "Noise around us")
• "Legend of MTV" 2010 - A decisive influence on the formation and development of modern musical culture in Russia

Interesting facts

• There are more than 20 people in Объединенная Каста(United Kasta)
• Initially, the band they called Fu-Blood-Kasta, which is essentially a "rubber stamp" with the name of hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, but in connection with the harmonies of English "Fu-Blood" from the Russian "Фу, блядь" ("Fie, shit"), was decided to name just a group Kasta.
• Two tracks of the group, namely the "Duplicator" and "Hot Time" became the soundtrack for "Antikiller".
• Track "Speed Capsules" became the soundtrack to the game Lada Racing Club.
• For Michael "Shym" Epifanov entrenched pseudonym Valery Shymanovsky who invented a journalist, based on photos or alias actor.
• Michael "Shym" Epifanov conducts a program dedicated to permaculture (a new way of agriculture)