"Slaves of the Lamp" is a rap group that was formed in the mid-90s of the last century in Moscow. Grundik was the permanent leader of the group. He composed the lion's share of the lyrics for Slaves of the Lamp. The musicians worked in the genres of alternative rap, abstract hip-hop and hardcore rap.
At that time, the work of rappers was original and unique for several reasons. Firstly, in the territory of the Russian Federation, hip-hop culture has just begun to take root. Secondly, the performers "made" cool tracks that were "seasoned" with psychedelic themes.
The team released only one longplay, which was warmly welcomed by fans of "heavy" music. They were predicted a great musical future. Everything broke off at the beginning of the "zero". After the tragic death of Grundik, the group simply could not develop further.
The history of the creation and composition of the Slaves of the Lamp team
For the appearance of Slaves of the Lamp, fans should thank Andrey Menshikov, who is known to fans as the rap artist Legalize. But, initially, the artist wanted to create a solo project, which would be led by Lyosha Perminov (Grundik). For the first time, the guys started talking about creating a project in 1994.
Legalize turned out to be so kind that he took up the compositions of the debut composition for Lyosha Perminov. Around this period of time, Menshikov miraculously met Max Gololobov (Jeep). After talking, Andrey comes to the conclusion that it is more logical to create a duet than a solo project.
He invited Lyosha and Max to his house to discuss plans for the future. Then the musicians decided that they would perform under the creative pseudonym "Slaves of the Lamp". Jeep took the place of the second vocalist. Grundik worked on songwriting. He also did not deny himself the pleasure of rapping.
“Liga introduced me to Grundik. He remained in my memory forever positive. It seemed to me that behind his smile was an incomprehensible, and perhaps lonely person. I consider him a genius. What he wrote is still interesting to listen to. Sometimes he called me at night and read poems that he just composed .. It was nice to hear it first hand, now I'm just proud of it. We didn't get to do a lot. Although the plans were grandiose…” Jeep recalls his impression of Grundik.
The creative path of the Slaves of the Lamp team
Menshikov chose a sample for the guys, from which it was necessary to make music for the tracks. Legalize did not have time to take part in the recording of musical novelties, as he went abroad.
In 1996, the duo recorded several tracks on their own. The works were warmly received by admirers of "street music". The warm reception motivated rap artists to start recording fresh tracks. The musicians recorded new works at another studio. Several tracks the leader of the Slaves of the Lamp sent Legalize to the Congo.
When the League returned to his homeland, the first thing he did was to listen to the duet's new tracks. Then the musical works “For Three” (feat. Sir-J) and “PKKZhS” “flew” into his ears. Legalize shared with the musicians his experience of recitative in the Congo. Then Lyosha decided that Andrei would write the text for the three verses of the work “Slaves of Rhyme”.
A year later, Alexey took up producing songs. Lyosha simply “threw” music into the recording studio, from which the sample was “deleted”. The guys caught frantic pleasure from the work done.
But, soon Grundik's partner began to appear less and less at work. He had an affair with a girl. Due to Max's absenteeism, Lyosha had to record the song "To each his own" on his own. The last compositions that were included in one single full-length longplay - rap artists also recorded separately.
Debut album presentation
In the spring of 98, the musicians finally presented their debut LP to the fans. The record was called "It Doesn't Hurt". The album was topped by 13 tracks.
Most of the tracks were composed by Lyosha Grundik. The track list of the album includes compositions that are saturated with not the simplest themes. Rap artists touched on the topics of suicide, drugs and the eternal theme of the meaning of life. I will cover the plate with the image of a drug addict who injects drugs into his vein. In the first track, Alexey spoke about his own addiction to drugs.
At the end of the 90s, Alexey took part in the project of Vitya Shevtsov - T.Bird. Some time later, they recorded the track "Entry Fee". A year later, Grundik and Simon Jori were pleased with the launch of the Serpent and Rainbow project. At the same time, the presentation of the track "Summer" took place.
Departure from the life of Grundik
On June 12, 2000, Slaves of the Lamp fans received not the most joyful news. It turned out that Alexey Perminov died from a drug overdose. A colleague of the rapper said the following about the last meeting with the artist:
“I rested souls with him, although there were also conflicts. The last time we drank beer was in Kitay-Gorod. Lyosha said that he wrote a verse for the track "We". I promised to jump in to discuss. After that we parted ways. Alas, but this was the last meeting ... ".
Already after the death of Alexei Perminov, they started talking about him as one of the most influential representatives of Russian hip-hop culture.
“Grundik for us is like Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison of Russian hip-hop rolled into one. Alexei's musical compositions ideally reflected the realities of the 90s. Suicidal themes, raising the issue of drug addiction, loneliness, the existence of human life - here everyone could find themselves on the same wavelength with the performer. Grundik managed to leave behind only one studio album, a book and a dozen collaborations. If it weren’t for drugs, I think that we could continue to enjoy meaningful music ... ”, the journalists of a major portal about hip-hop and rap shared their opinion.
A year later, the debut album was re-released. The collection was released under the changed name "This is not b.". The album contained an interview with the deceased Alexei, as well as bonus tracks.
After the death of Lyosha, the Jeep tried to stay afloat. He even tried to record a second studio album. But, things didn’t go beyond recording 4 tracks. In addition, Max said that Lyosha wanted to create an electronic project from Slaves of the Lamp. Some time later, he released the song "Gashyard".
"Slaves of the Lamp": our days
In 2014, the reissue of the debut LP became available for the first time on digital platforms. In 2016, a documentary film was released, which was dedicated to Grundik. He was remembered by fellow members of the association and other representatives of Russian rap.
