The Kasta group is the most influential musical group in the rap culture of the CIS. Thanks to meaningful and thoughtful creativity, the team enjoyed great popularity not only in Russia, but also in other countries.
The members of the Kasta group demonstrate devotion to their country, although they could have built a musical career abroad for a long time.
In the tracks "Russians and Americans", as well as "An order of magnitude higher", there are notes of patriotism that did not leave any listener indifferent.
The history of the creation of a musical group
Rap in Russia is a separate issue. It all started in 1997 in one of the most criminal cities in Russia - Rostov-on-Don. The founder of the Kasta group was rapper Vladi. He has been into rap since he was a teenager. And since this genre of music was underdeveloped in his homeland, Vladi took up foreign hip-hop.
The guy was so carried away by music that he even entered a music school, which he graduated with honors. Vladi wrote lyrics in English. He was not upset that he recorded his compositions on a cassette recorder. Soon, his tracks were already playing on local radio. And a good prospect opened up for him to “break through” a little further than the city of Rostov.
Under the leadership of Vladi and with the participation of Tidan, the guys created the first group "Psycholyric". After some time, another rapper named Shym joined the guys. A year has passed, and in 1997 a new musical group "Casta" was created.
The well-known Vasily Vakulenko also entered the musical group. It was he who motivated the guys to rename the group from "Psycholyric" to the "Casta" team.
Stages of creativity of the rap group "Casta"
The guys began to give the first serious performances in local clubs. In 1999, the Casta group took part in the recording of the United Caste album. By that time, another member, Hamil, had joined their line-up. Since 2000, the guys began touring the Russian Federation.
Some time later, the group's first debut album, Louder than Water, Lower than Grass, was released. The members of the group tried to bring domestic rap out of the underground, and they succeeded. In support of the debut album, the guys released the video "An order of magnitude higher", which for about a year held a leading position in local radio charts.
The members of the musical group did not forget about their solo career either. After the release of his debut album, Vlady unexpectedly released a solo album, "What should we do in Greece?".
Khamil was also not at a loss, delighting his fans with the Phoenix collection. These records cannot be called solo, since all members of the Kasta group took part in the recording. Other people were engaged in further producing and "promotion".
New member of the Kasta group
In 2008, the team was replenished with a new member - Anton Mishenin, nicknamed the Serpent. Rappers released their second album "Byl' v glaz".
According to music critics, this is one of the brightest and most high-quality albums of rappers. A year after the release of their second album, the Kasta group received the title of MTV Legends.
At that time they became one of the founders of Russian hip-hop. Their work motivated other participants to develop rap culture on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Until 2008, the leaders of the Casta group in their texts touched on acute social problems. Their work has become more lyrical and "soft". They wrote artistic and philosophical tracks that were filled with thoughts about loneliness, the meaning of life and love.
A little more time passed, and the Casta group was invited to cooperate by the organizers of the film Vysotsky. Thank you for being alive". They recorded the track, and then the video clip "Compose Dreams". The track literally “blew up” the music charts.
The clip and the song were played on all radio stations and TV channels in Russia, Ukraine and the CIS countries. The video "Compose Dreams" has become an incentive for many teenagers and young people to dream, create and make their wildest desires come true. The popularity of the team then went far beyond the borders of the Russian Federation.
In 2010, Hamil and the Serpent released a joint album "KhZ". In the same year, the leaders of the group recorded the soundtrack for the film "Inadequate People". The lyrical soundtrack occupied the 1st position in the music charts for a long time and became the hallmark of the rap group.
Solo album by Vladi
In early 2012, Vlady, the founder and leader of the Kasta group, released his next solo album, Clear! 13 bright and juicy compositions were warmly received by the "fans" of the musical group. The guys decided to shoot clips for the top songs.
At the end of 2012, viewers were able to see clips for the tracks: “Let it come in handy”, “It's fun for you” and “Compose dreams”.
Several years passed, and the Kasta group went on their first tour to the United States of America. The musicians decided not to waste precious time, and in the United States they shot several video clips.
In 2014, Vlady released another solo album, Unbelievable, which included 12 songs. And in 2017, the guys filmed a video parody for the band's song "Mushrooms". The video clip of "Macarena" gained more than 5 million views.
The third album was released in 2017, and it received a very strange name "Four-Headed Oryot". The album contains 17 tracks.
The fans were pleased with the joint composition with the famous rapper Rem Digga. The lyrical composition "Hello" became the most downloaded track.
The release of the new album was followed by a restructuring of Respect Production.
And when all the working moments were settled, the leaders of the musical group began recording video clips: “Around the noise”, “Radio signals”, “Meeting”. In support of the album "Four-Headed Oryot", the group "Casta" went on a tour.
Creative break of the Kasta group
In 2017, the guys took part in the Evening Urgant program, on the Big Russian Boss YouTube channel and with Yuri Dud.
The musicians decided to take a creative break starting in 2017. They tried to give fans and journalists information about themselves.
In 2018, the rap group delighted fans with a video for the new track "At the Other End". In addition to the Kasta group, Yolka, Shnur, Dzhigan and other show business stars took part in the filming of the video.
The video has received more than 10 million views, and most of the reviews were positive. In 2018, a concert of the band took place, which the musicians decided to hold in Muzeon Park.
Vladi's Instagram (the leader of the Kasta group) has information that the group's new album will be released in 2019. Fans and lovers of rap can only wait.
The members of the musical group promised to release a joint composition towards the end of 2019. The guys managed to please the “fans” with the release of the video clip “About sex”, which was released on July 5, 2019.
20th anniversary of the Kasta group
In 2020, the Kasta group celebrated its 20th anniversary. In honor of this event, the rappers presented the album “I understand the flaw” to the fans. In total, the collection includes 13 tracks that demonstrate the maturation of the team.
The presentation of the album took place in the St. Petersburg club "Morse" on January 24. And also at the Stadium in Moscow on January 25, 2020. The musicians released video clips for the tracks “Passed through” and “Bells over the hookah bar”. Almost all of 2020, the Kasta group spent on a big tour.
On December 11, 2020, the Kasta group, unexpectedly for fans, replenished their discography with a new LP. The record was called "Octopus Ink". The rappers noted that they were inspired to write the album by "a non-concert year 2020".
The collection includes 16 tracks. The musicians said that listeners will get acquainted with the struggle for the truth and the revelations of the adult life of rappers. It became known that in the spring of 2021 the Kasta group will perform in the capital of Russia and St. Petersburg.
Group "Casta" now
On February 19, 2021, a presentation of a disc of remixes for the top songs of the Russian rap group took place. Drop 1 Remixes is available on streaming platforms.
The rap collective released a deluxe version of the LP "Octopus Ink". The recording was attended by Vasily Vakulenko, Monetochka, Dorn, Brutto, Vadyara Blues, Anacondaz, Ukrainian rapper Alyona Alyona and Noize MC.
The novelties from rappers did not end there. At the same time, the presentation of the video for the track "We'll hang out under the sun" took place.
In 2021, the release of a new LP by the Kasta team took place. "Album" - recorded in a new format for fans. 16 tracks on the most relevant topics for children were warmly received by the "fans", including the smallest ones. As conceived by the rappers, the track list included compositions that would be understandable for children from 3 to 16 years old.
“The guys and I listened to the tracks that our children listen to. Turns out we didn't like it all. We decided to record songs that children will surely like and rock their parents. Teasers, noisemakers, screamers. The new album is a real nostalgia…”, commented the members of “Casta” on the release of the album.
In 2022, the guys will go on tour. At the performances, the rappers will celebrate the 20th anniversary of two LPs at once - “Louder than water, higher than grass” and “What should we do in Greece”.
At the end of January 2022, Vlady, with the participation of the Committee against Torture, presented a video for the track “The Article that Doesn’t Exist”. The work draws attention to the problem of torture in law enforcement agencies. Victims of torture took part in the filming of the video.
