Group "Casta": creativity, composition, albums

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

"There are things much higher…"

The Kasta group originates from the glorious Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, reputed to be the criminal capital of the Russian Federation.

History of Creation

The nineties are considered a kind of heyday of Russian hip-hop culture. In response to a turning point in the life of Russian society, hip-hop musical groups begin to appear, which describe in their lyrics the life that surrounded them without a hint of any exaggeration, in general, ordinary provincial life. And the Psycholyric group, founded in 1995 by two friends Vladi and Tidan, is no exception. It is with the creation of this group that "Casta" begins. The then provincial guys are beginning to try to compose their first texts, which were truly backyard. Soon Shimon joins them.

"Caste" (group). Members

1997-1999 were marked for the collective by the birth of the so-called conglomerate of the hip-hop movement of that time. It consisted of such groups as "Psycho Lyric", "Basta Khryu", "Western Sector", "Sand People". As a result, a more or less permanent composition of the rap association is formed and the cult album "Three-Dimensional Rhymes" is born. Surely everyone remembers the song "Wetake it on the streets", which becomes the band's hallmark. If we characterize this album in more detail, we can say that it still absorbs echoes of youthful maximalism under the style of New York hip-hop of that time. By mid-1999, three people came to the fore from a kind of conglomerate called "Casta", who later became the basis of the group - Shimon, Khamil and Vladi.

United "Caste"

In 2000, the group gradually gains momentum, shooting the first video for the already sensational song "We take it on the streets." In 2001, the group's single "An order of magnitude higher" was released, and later listeners can also watch a video for this composition, which already then occupied first places in the MTV charts. The next work is the album "Louder than water, higher than grass" (2002), with the release of which the group went on a tour of the Russian Federation. One of the main achievements is the powerful concert of the Kasta group on the same stage together with the Bomfunk MC's group.

The formation of musical style. Chronology of events

The music of the group "Casta" of this period is already becoming clearly expressed. In their texts, the guys talk not only about their position in life, but, perhaps, of the entire "Pepsi generation", speaking with cool rhymes from the outback, the lyrics of which are permeated with the spirit of Russian rap. During this period, Vladi and Hamil pursue solo careers. In November 2002, Vladi's album "What should we do in Greece" was released.

After listeningalbum, it's safe to say that Vladi is a master of his craft: excellent reading technique, smooth transitions, and most importantly, the meaning in the lyrics. He wrote the songs for the album. There is a little about love, a little about Moscow through the eyes of a person from the hinterland, and there is also a fine line of politics and thoughts about the modern structure of Russia.

In 2004 Khamil's solo album "Phoenix" was released. Andrey said about his brainchild that it is imbued with the spirit of "Casta" in rhythms, in the style of the texts it turned out to be quite tough and harsh, but with lyrical digressions in several places. When listening, you will be able to cry in the truest sense of the word, and laugh.

In 2006, fans can see a new creation - the album "For fun", in which the group "Casta" will talk about rap in a different way. After listening to the album, in which there are only six tracks, one can talk about the emerging new style. This is judged by such songs as "Trap", "For fun" (the second version of this song sounds brighter and cooler thanks to the live sound). The presence of electric guitar, piano, drums is a good addition to this story.

In 2007 the group "Casta" decides to continue experimenting with live sound, and the first DVD with the band's concert together with the symphony orchestra is released. Yes, the guys decided on this, which no one had done before them. The "Kasta" group, whose songs had not previously been arranged, gave them a lively sound thanks to the bass guitar, keyboards and wind instruments.

New line-up"Casta"

A year later, the group includes the Serpent, ex-participant of the "Faces". The updated line-up of the Kasta group releases a full-length album "Byl v glaz", songs from which sounded on the air of the most promoted radio stations. After some time, clips are released for everyone's favorite tracks from the album “Noise Around”, “Radio Signals”. This album is very different from the old Kasta. As the guys say, there is no main idea in it, it identifies the very essence of the reality that they themselves create, moreover, expressing all the pros and cons. It intertwines a lot of ideas, thematic sketches, these are the relationships between parents and children, thoughts about human masks, about the quality of pop music of that period, about female psychology. This album is even older than the previous one. You will no longer find texts about the youth of Rostov courtyards in it, street motives are completely absent. "Byl in the Eye" is considered the peak of the creative activity of the team. By the way, it was released on the Respect Production label, which was led by the guys, and was awarded the Muz TV Award for Best Album.

The band's 10th anniversary

In 2009, the guys decided to sum up their ten years of work by releasing a disc of their best compositions called Best hits. The clip on the well-known theme "Around the Noise" takes second place in the "Best Domestic Clip" award according to the results of the rap.ru music portal. Hamil and the Serpent begin to work on recording their album, which will later be called "XZ". This album couldto please the listener with excellent sound quality, melodic rhythm and meaningful content.

In 2012, after Khamil and the Serpent, the third member of the group - Vladi - publishes his solo album called "Clearly!". "And again he declared himself," said music critics, generally thanking him for the new quality of music, for the complete rejection of street "kid rap". The proof of this is the track “Compose Dreams”, which has a lot of lyrics and experiences of the author, a comparison of the past life and this one, hope for a better future (“…compose dreams, there are millions of chances that everything will come true soon…”).

Modern "Casta"

2013-2015 were marked by a number of performances of the group in neighboring countries and not only, many releases were released, the participants try themselves in cinematography, work on solo activities, their label is actively developing. This year Vladi's third solo album "Unreal" was released, plans are to shoot several clips. By the way, if we talk about the cover of this album, it is very symbolic. It depicts the author himself in the guise of a monk holding a luminous ball in his hand. And it's not just that. The very filling of the album is permeated with kindness, spiritual peace and a feeling of that happiness that Vladi himself has long been striving for.

Conclusion

"YU. G", Dolphin. And they can't even be compared, because the creative association "Casta" is a group whose members have their own special style, their fans, their soul and, finally, their rap … They are the founders of Rostov hip-hop. Now the guys are collecting whole stadiums. When you come to their concert, you will hear not only new compositions, but also dearly loved old ones. Many people smile when their songs are heard and people involuntarily begin to remember their childhood and the songs of "Casta", on which they grew up.