Roman Alekseev (Cooper) is the pioneer of hip-hop in Russia. He worked not only as a solo singer. At one time, Cooper was part of such bands as "DA-108", "Bad B. Alliance" and Bad balance.
Cooper's life ended in May 2020. Fans and music lovers still remember the artist. For many, Roman Alekseev has remained a prominent representative of the hip-hop underground.
Cooper - childhood and youth
Roman Alekseev was born on September 4, 1976 in Leningrad. Cooper's love for music was instilled in him by his father. Dad often turned on the rock of foreign singers to his son. Roman was fascinated by the sound of the band's tracks Led Zeppelin, Queen, Nazareth и Uriah Heep. As a child, the guy dreamed of a career as a drummer.
As a teenager, Roman Alekseev signed up for judo. One day he looked into the next room. What he saw there changed his plans for life forever. In 1985, the guy first saw how they dance break dance. Then he realized how neat, technical and acrobatic dance combines sport, rhythm and music.
Cooper's creative path
A year later, Roman began to try himself as a dancer. A little more time passed, and he took the place of the frontman of the New Cool Boys. The band's rehearsals took place at the venue of the Krasnoye Znamya Palace of Culture. The guys were inspired by the abilities of their foreign colleagues. They took part in various competitions, which helped to hone their skills and at the same time gave the guys the right reference point.
In parallel with choreography, Roman was fond of rap. Cooper attended discos and summer camps with his band. There he tried to read texts in English and really liked the audience. The music of the time was inspired by African American hip hop musicians. Soon the guys created the SMD team and began to record the first demos.
Roman devoted his free time to dancing, music and recording. He didn't have enough time for school. Therefore, for poor progress, he was left for the second year. One day the boy was kicked out of school. All the fault - a fight and hooligan behavior.
Roman tried to find a job. He wanted to invest in the development of his projects. Mom had other plans for a creative son. She insisted that he enter the vocational school. In the educational institution, too, everything was not going smoothly. Alekseev was involved in constant fights, and he also abused alcohol.
A year after entering the vocational school, Roman dropped out of school and went to work as an electrician. This work was far from what the young man wanted to do. Soon he got a job as a salesman in a music store. Cooper very quickly met like-minded people who united in the so-called "Gorky party".
Cooper also had sad moments. Often he sat without work, living on the modest salary of his elderly mother. Roman Alekseev, as a creative person, was vulnerable and often fell into depression. Music always pulled him out of the very bottom, "forcing" him to live and fight.
Cooper's singing career
In the late 1990s, Cooper, along with Pasha 108, became part of the DA-1999 Flava group. With the presented team, the rappers recorded four albums. The first LP "Road to the East" was released in XNUMX. Cooper enjoyed immense popularity and respect in the local rap scene.
By that time there were Rap Music'96 Grand Prix. At the festival, Roman met Vlad Valov, a Russian producer who at one time helped such artists as Decl, Timati and Yolka to "unwind".
Vlad Valov is known to the public under the pseudonym Master Sheff. After the end of the festival, Vladislav offered Cooper cooperation. As a result of the combination of two talents, the immortal hit "Peter, I'm yours" came out. After the presentation of the presented track, Roman woke up famous. A video clip was also filmed for the song, which was filmed on the territory of St. Petersburg.
Vladislav Valov was pleasantly surprised by Cooper's vocal abilities. Soon he invited the rapper to join the Bad Balance group and unite the hip-hop musicians of the Bad B. Alliance group. Together, the artists recorded five worthy albums.
Valov and Cooper worked together for almost 20 years. Productive work was interrupted only from 2016 to 2018. At the time of the forced break, Roman Alekseev tried to fight the addiction that had haunted him for a long time. He started drinking alcohol. At the time of drinking, he did not like and could not communicate with people.
Addiction prevented Cooper from working with Bad Balance musicians. The novel appeared less and less at rehearsals and concerts. Colleagues in the music department "braked" the musician, but he resisted.
Cooper also did not want to develop solo work. The first solo album was the record "Ya", recorded in 2006. In 2012, the discography was replenished with the LP Second Solo.
Cooper's personal life
Rapper Cooper has not spoken about his personal life. During wushu classes, he was actively engaged in the study of Eastern religions, and was also interested in the philosophy of Buddhism. Alekseev devoted several years to meditation and completely forgot about his old passion for music. Around the same period of time, the artist began to use "weed". He was given the first criminal term.
Death of Cooper
On May 23, 2020, a fire broke out in one of St. Petersburg's residential buildings. On May 24, a post appeared on Vlad Valov's page stating that his friend and colleague Cooper had died as a result of a fire. Master Sheff called Alekseev the most technical rap artist and the voice of the St. Petersburg underground. As a result of the fire, not only Cooper died, but also his mother Lyudmila.
Neighbors of the artist, who were interviewed by journalists, said that Lyudmila and Alexei abused alcoholic beverages. In addition, they had a significant debt on utility bills.
