Under the creative pseudonym D. Masta, the name of Dmitry Nikitin, the founder of the Def Joint association, is hidden. Nikitin is one of the most scandalous participants in the project.
Modern MCs try not to touch on the topics of corrupt women, money and the fall of moral values in people. But Dmitry Nikitin believes that this is just the topic that should be discussed through songs. D. Masta albums are a provocation.
The childhood of Dmitry Nikitin
Dmitry Nikitin spent his childhood listening to tracks by such rock legends as Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, The Beatles and Yuri Antonov in his father's car.
When Dima gained his first popularity, he said that he believes that listening to rock songs did not affect the formation of musical taste.
Almost nothing is known about Nikitin's childhood and youth. He carefully tries to cover up the traces of his past. It is only known that study was given to him with difficulty. Yes, and you can’t call Dmitry a calm student either.
Dima has always been in the spotlight. The young man, endowed with an excellent sense of humor, gathered classmates around him. And everyone knew that high-quality music sounds in Nikitin's headphones.
The key moment in Dima's life was the purchase of a gift for a friend, where the whole yard stood at a crossroads, whether they should be metalheads, having bought a Metallica CD, or rappers, having chosen C-BLOCK: General Population.
And, probably, it is not necessary to voice that Nikitin and his "gang" chose the second option. Hip-hop during Nikitin's adolescence was a very popular musical direction. In fact, time has passed, and nothing has changed since then.
Creative way of D. Masta
Then Dmitry Nikitin got into the rap scene, quoting the compositions of the East Coast of New York, where the "mastodons" of gangsta rap were operating: Wu-Tangclan and Onyx.
In the 2000s, D. Masta wanted to become part of musical groups. At one time, Nikitin was part of the First Crew after Pif-Paf Family and Creative Community. Previously, the singer's work is still on the open spaces of social networks.
The pre-launch feature of the hype was participation in the Captivating Product team. The "promotion" of the St. Petersburg group was the sound engineer Tengiz, well-known in wide circles.
Tengiz at one time managed to work with such "fathers" of Russian hip-hop as "Legal Business" and Bad Balance. At this time, D. Masta declared himself as a very promising performer, which could not but cause a corresponding reaction.
Useful acquaintances for D.Masta
The young man became more and more famous. But most importantly, he made such useful acquaintances as: Rena, Gunmakaz, Lil' Kong and the titan Smokey Mo.
“Like today, I remember meeting Smokey Mo. To this day, Smokey remains my idol and mentor. He taught me a lot. We can say that it was thanks to him that I became who you see me today.
Smokey Mo gave the opportunity to develop all the creative potential of D. Masta. The rapper took him under his wing as a backing MC. After this event, great changes took place in the entire hip-hop of the CIS countries.
Together, the rap label Def Joint was created. The label brought together young and promising rappers who began to delight music lovers with powerful tracks with excellent sound.
However, D. Masta noted that he has a rather snobbish attitude towards new trends in rap. Nikitin also shocked the audience with a statement that he does not consider rap a musical genre and, accordingly, himself a musician.
In 2007, Def Joint released the rap label's first compilation album. In 2008, the singer presented his Star Boy mixtape (2008) to his many fans. In the compositions, he appeared before the audience in the form of a hasler.
The mixtape did not gain huge popularity among rap fans, but formed the basis for the formation of a gangster halo. The formation of the "shell" was influenced by American rap.
In the same 2008, the second Def Joint disc was released with a bright and at the same time symbolic title "Dangerous Joint" (2008).
The entire "gang" of St. Petersburg rap showed the possibilities of the team in the disc - excellent sound, style and technique.
D. Masta also fully revealed his vocal abilities. Immediately after the presentation of the label's collection, Nikitin released the first release - the White Star album (2008).
Participation of D. Masta in the show "Battle for Respect"
In the same period of time, one of the most striking hip-hop shows in the country, Battle for Respect, started. In this show, D. Masta almost reached the final, but lost to rapper ST. After leaving the show, Nikitin said that he did not consider himself a loser.
“Despite the results, I consider myself a winner. Anyone who understands even a little about rap knows who was at the helm.
The rapper's lyrics cannot be called abstruse, and there was no deep meaning in them either. However, in terms of flow and technique, the rapper managed to "set a new bar".
In their tracks it was about women, cars, money and venality. The singer spoke so harshly that the words were remembered for a long time. In some way, the emergence of a new school of rap in Russia is due to Nikitin.
Dmitry continued to skillfully play with images. The next release of Bad Santa took place in 2009. Here Nikitin tried on the image of Beaty Bob Thornton's hero.
D. Masta kept up the good work. Over the next few years, he released several mixtapes. The rapper's instrumental experiments deserve considerable attention.
It's hard to say that D. Masta's work began to sound different. Music critics have often commented on the presence of electronic music. But it was precisely because of this that fans began to gradually lose interest in the rapper.
In 2010, the rapper found himself in a situation that did not quite fit the image that he had been working on for so long. In one of the brawls, Dmitry did not stand up for his friend and colleague, rapper Sila-A, and "accidentally" disappeared somewhere at the most crucial moment.
This event led to the rupture of friendly relations and the continuation of the "blowing" of the conflict by both sides in social networks. Fans were disappointed in Nikitin, many began to doubt his decency.
But the scandal only aroused interest in D. Masta. On this wave of popularity, Nikitin was invited to appear in an advertisement for Big Bon noodles.
In the video, he was entrusted to play the role of a student who battled with a professor. The rapper received a decent fee, but at the same time his rating decreased.
Decline in popularity and a new rise of the artist
The rapper continued to work on replenishing his repertoire. However, his work did not cause delight, and even interest among rap fans.
People even made bets that Nikitin had irrevocably retired from creativity. But in 2013 something like this happened… and this “like” made me remember D. Masta again.
At the concert of the “Sins of the Fathers” association, which included: Jubilee, Dima Gambit, Galat and other rappers, the performers decided to recall other singers with a “strong word”, D. Masta also fell under the “distribution” of affectionate words. Nikitin did not have to ask for an answer for a long time. Later, the association paid for its words.
The rapper brought strong guys with him to punish the offenders. The process of punishment was accompanied by filming. As a result, the offenders, on their knees, apologized to the rapper.
This event caused a storm of indignation among the audience. The majority was against D. Masta, because they believed that he did not act like a man. Go out against your offenders should be one on one.
The rapper was pleased with the result. They talked about him again. In the wake of this hype, D. Masta began to create his image. In social networks, he posted a photo from the gym and training.
Thus, fans and enemies again remembered the rapper. He completely "hyped" on the scandal, which allowed not only to excite society, but also to earn good money.
In 2014, D. Masta expanded his discography with a new album. We are talking about the collection "Rock and Roller". The poster for the collection deliberately duplicated the visual style of Guy Ritchie's film.
Nikitin is the face of the Defend Paris brand
Soon the Russian performer became the ambassador of the French clothing brand Defend Paris. From that moment on, at all festive events and festivals, Dmitry appeared in the clothes of the mentioned brand.
In the same period of time, D. Masta, together with the rapper CarAp, released a joint compilation Defend Saint-P (2016). Despite the fact that there is still gossip and a sea of indignation around Nikitin, the hip-hop fans warmly received the disc.
Interesting facts about the rapper
- Loves Amsterdam.
- The best album in Russian rap is "Kara-Te" Smokey Mo (2004).
- Nikitin lived for a long time in the Urals, then moved to St. Petersburg.
- Dimasta's parents live in "warm places".
- He loves sports and an active lifestyle.
D. Masta today
What a rapper can't exist without is battles. D. Masta is a regular guest of popular venues where rappers compete in the sharpness of their word. There were no battles in 2018 and 2019.
In 2019, the rapper's discography was replenished with the Life style album. The album contains 7 tracks. Fans have criticized the collection. Most user comments look like this: "Brother, what a bore."
