“Being on Nevsky, you will suddenly see that the avenue has become a home for friends and girlfriends. Than you just listen to our story, better try to visit us again” - these lines from the song “Leningrad” belong to the cult rap group Bad Balance.
Bad Balance is one of the first musical groups that began to "make" rap in the USSR. These are the real fathers of domestic hip-hop. But today their star has faded.
The soloists of the group continue to write music, release albums and even tour. True, there can be no talk of large scale.
The history of the creation of the musical group Bad Balance goes back to 1985. Then young and provocative dancers were strongly carried away by western break-dance. They not only learned this dance themselves, but also taught others.
The composition of the Bad Balance group was constantly changing, but some things never changed. Yes, we are talking about quality music.
The history of the creation of the Bad Balance group and the composition
The idea of creating a musical group came to Vlad Valov, who is called Sheff in wide circles, as well as Sergey Manyakin, known as Monya.
Having moved from Kyiv to Moscow, the guys immediately attracted the attention of foreign tourists, even without much knowledge of languages.
Then the guys made acquaintance with Alexander Nuzhdin. And it was this acquaintance that prompted them to return to their homeland.
The guys returned to Donetsk. In the city, they created "outlines" of the future Bad Balance group. True, then the musical group of Vlad and Sergey was called Crew-Synchron.
The guys had the honor to visit the All-Russian festival of breakdance, which was held back in 1986.
However, then the team did not manage to perform, since no one knew about them yet. But in their native Donetsk, the glory of the guys has grown tenfold.
Young and ambitious Vlad and Sergey were very punchy. Everyone had their own taste in music.
This is what led to the fact that the musical group broke up. SHEF entered a higher educational institution in St. Petersburg in 1988, met Gleb Matveev, known as DJ LA, and formed a new group, Bad Balance.
But for contrast, the musicians lacked more participants. So their team was replenished with such persons as Laga and Swan.
The musical group debuted with the musical composition "Cossacks". Interestingly, the guys also prepared a dance number for the song.
Bad Balance successfully debuted in Nizhny Novgorod, Siauliai and Vitebsk.
The peak of the musical career of Bad Balance
In the late 80s, the soloists of the Bad Balance musical group met with one of the first DJs in Moscow, DJ Wolf. Experiments with rap music and remixes began.
The group began to improve. So the first tracks of the band appeared.
In 1990, the soloists of the Bad Balance group presented their debut album "Seven do not wait for one."
Censorship did not allow the record to mass sales.
It took 19 whole years for fans of the rap team to see the efforts of the group and be able to listen to the tracks that the first album collected. The record was re-released in 2009.
At the beginning of the 90s, the team was replenished with a new member, whose name sounds like Micah.
It was a very fruitful union. With the arrival of Micah, Bad Balance tracks began to sound completely different. In autumn, the first concert with the participation of Micah took place.
In the 1990s, the musical group began to give concerts. They performed not only in Russia, but also visited Western countries.
There was a period when they lived in the territory of the United States of America.
In the US, Bad Balance's work was in demand, but the guys still didn't have enough for a normal existence, so they had to take additional part-time jobs.
In the period 1993-1994, the performers performed in collaboration with Bogdan Titomir at venues in Moscow. The release of the first recognizable album came in 1996.
Then rap admirers got acquainted with the songs of the Pure PRO disc. According to music critics, he was considered the top one, as he brought fame to the team in his native country.
Bad Balance receives the title of popular rap artists in Russia. The popularity of the guys was also added by the fact that they began to collaborate with other performers.
Interesting work at Bad Balance turned out with the group Bachelor Party. At that moment, among its participants was the artist Dolphin.
In 1996-1997, the soloists of the musical group worked on the album "City of the Jungle". In 1997, the musicians presented the disc.
The album was warmly received not only by fans of Bad Balance, but also by music critics. A year later, another member joined the team - Ligalize.
In the same period of time, Micah announces to the musicians that he wants to build a solo career.
He leaves the musical group and goes on a free voyage. For Bad Balanst, this was a big loss, because in some way everything rested on this particular singer.
2000 was the most difficult year for the musical group Bad Balance. Participants one by one began to leave the project. Each of them wanted to go into free swimming, taking up a solo career.
SHEF, Ligalize, Cooper and DJ LA created a new composition of Bad Balance and were in collaboration until 2002. The guys even managed to release a new album, which was called "Stone Forest".
And then Ligalize went to study in the Czech Republic. There was a real split in the group and Bad Balance ceased to exist as something whole.
Bad Balance could have ceased to exist altogether. But in the same period, it was decided to “launch” a new member into the group. They became Al Solo.
The first musical compositions in collaboration with him were recorded on behalf of the group “SHEFF feat. Cooper, Al Solo".
Only by the end of 2003 was the composition of the group finally approved. At the same time, the musicians presented their fresh album "Little by Little". The trio of rappers subsequently expanded their discography with the albums Gangster Legends and World Wide and re-released Seven Don't Wait for One.
The Bad Balance star is gradually fading away. Many attribute this to the fact that it was during this period of time that the first serious competitors began to appear in a musical group originally from the USSR - Basta, Guf, Smokey Mo, etc.
The old tracks of Bad Balance still sound. The younger generation is also interested in them.
The seasoned clips of the musical group deserve special attention. Literally from the first seconds, they “smell” with high-quality music.
Bad Balance continues to exist as a musical group today.
Until 2019, the guys have replenished their discography with over a dozen albums. The records "Northern Mysticism" and "Politics", which were recorded by the soloists of Bad Balance in the period 2013-2016, are made in a manner characteristic of the performers.
In these discs, the guys managed to raise acute socio-political topics.
There are also ballads in the songs. In support of each album, the soloists of the group arrange concerts that are held on the territory of the CIS countries.
Interesting facts about the Bad Balance group
Since the Bad Balance musical group is practically at the origins of hip-hop, it will be very interesting for rap fans to know about some facts.
In Russia, rap appeared only in the late eighties - late nineties, so Bad Balance literally carried hip-hop on its "shoulders" to the CIS countries.
- The first musical compositions of the pure water collective underground.
- In 1998, SheFF and Micah toured Asia, where the Thai authorities unexpectedly offered the guys to stay in the country in order to develop youth culture. But the musicians returned to Russia.
- Vlad Valov has repeatedly said that the goal of creating a musical group is to create "pure" rap, and not to monetize.
- Mikhey, who left the band and pursued a solo career, died of heart failure in 2002. Many say that he abused drugs.
- In 2016, the musicians released the video clip "State". The purpose of the clip is to harshly criticize the political situation that has developed in Russia.
The soloists of the musical group in the song "State" urged people to think carefully about whom they vote for in the elections.
Musical collective Bad Balance now
It was already mentioned above that the rap alliance is still making music. True, it is worth recognizing that the guys have a hard time.
The competition has become so fierce that against the background of the new school of rap, Bad Balance looks a little out of harmony.
The soloists of the musical group continue to record songs and shoot videos. In 2019, a video called “Stay Reel!” saw the light of day.
At the moment, Bad Balance is actively engaged in touring activities. Fans of the musical group are happy to buy tickets for their concerts.
The soloists of the group themselves admit that old hits of the group are popular at their performances.
Fans happily sing along to the singers of the musical group.
The social pages of Bad Balance will help you to be more imbued with the work of the group or learn about the latest news.
In addition, the guys have an official website, which contains information regarding the organization of concerts, a poster and some facts from the biography of Bad Balance.
