From street fights to millions of views: how the Ufa rapper FACE woke up famous overnight. Rapper Morgenstern explained why he ran away from fans in Ufa

We go to meetings together
We take the counter plan by the throat,
We make noise during long meetings
On the topic: “Is Bashkortostan alive?”

DDT, “We are from Ufa”

Ufa, built just to the west of the Ural Mountains (“already Europe!”) was conceived by Ivan the Terrible as a defensive fortress. It was supposed to become a haven for numerous Bashkir tribes who wished to voluntarily become part of the Russian state. The name “Ufa” most likely comes from the Bashkir “uba” (hill, elevation), since for reasons of defense the fortress was built on a mountain.

Echoes of bygone eras can be traced here in many ways. For example, wooden houses with carved frames that were miraculously not demolished are reminiscent of former times. Being adjacent to expensive new buildings, they even slightly highlight their grandeur. Moreover, life still glimmers in them in the person of little Bashkir grandparents. The contrast between the blocks of elite buildings and these favelas is so striking that it is difficult to say what you will stumble upon if you decide to take a shortcut through the old Ufa courtyards.

Due to the national status in Ufa, there are not one, but two main languages ​​- Russian and Bashkir (English is also added to them on house number plates and signs). And despite the fact that there are few indigenous people left here and Bashkir speech can only be heard from the lips of representatives of the older generation, at the insistence of the authorities, the language continues to be taught in schools. True, it is not always effective.

For most schoolchildren, the Bashkir vocabulary is limited to the words “azik-tulek” (groceries) and “daryukhana” (pharmacy).

The speech of Ufa residents can be distinguished from any other by the specific words that periodically slip into it like “ayda” (“let’s go”). Illegitimate children of the Russian and Bashkir languages ​​have become so deeply ingrained in the subcortex of local residents that some of them are sincerely surprised when their words are incomprehensible to their interlocutors from other regions of Russia.

The most controversial reason for pride among Ufa residents can rightfully be considered one of the closest associates of the notorious Emelyan Pugachev - Salavat Yulaev. According to the official version, the main goal of Yulaev, who joined the Pugachev uprising, was the well-being of the Bashkir people. Nevertheless, many Ufa residents still consider the national hero a robber and categorically disagree with the cult of his personality. This outrage was the reason for repeated acts of vandalism against the monumental monument to Yulaev, which is considered perhaps the main symbol of modern Ufa.

The heart of the Bashkir capital, which every visitor should definitely visit, is the so-called Old Ufa, located in the south of the city. It is notable primarily for the large number of truly beautiful architectural monuments of pre-revolutionary and Soviet times, which to this day retain their noble appearance. Fortunately, in this area of ​​the city there are almost no new buildings that are uncomfortable and eyesores. But there are several theaters for the most sophisticated tastes (Youth, Opera and Ballet, Bashkir Drama), the House-Museum of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and that very colossal monument to Salavat Yulaev. In a word, the esthete will have something to look at. But not him alone.

Ufa is not as boring and toothless as it might seem at first glance. Over the past few years, the local infrastructure has leapt far ahead, not least thanks to the SCO and BRICS summits that took place in 2015 (more precisely, the preparation for them).

On the huge open lawns near the Congress Hall building, where these summits were held, Ufa residents sunbathe and picnic all day long. And the first floors of five-story buildings on the central streets of the city are often dotted with coffee shops, bars, burger joints, barbershops and lounge areas, so it’s impossible to get bored here, if only you had the money.

The apotheosis of the entertainment sphere can be considered the Square of Two Fountains, which appeared several years ago near the Youth Theater (Kirova St., 27). This place delights city residents with a variety of street food from various cuisines of the world, daily events like the “Open Microphone” and the music restaurant “Music Hall 27”, where artists from the pyromaniac poet Husky to the noir romantics from “Affinage” perform concerts. And on the square, oddly enough, there are two fountains, several steampunk installations and a sculpture in the form of a huge bilingual inscription “I LOVE ӨФӨ”.

Due to the fact that the name of Ufa is written this way in Bashkir, people sometimes call it “the city of three screws.”

Ufa is saturated with fashionable trends, which, intertwined with the dashing mentality of the steppe Bashkirs, ultimately flow into something original. This is reflected in a special love for hobbies such as roofing and stalking - walking on rooftops and abandoned buildings. For better or worse, the unfinished 11-story building “Under” (from the word “underground”) plays the role of a free anti-cafe, and even with texts of the Glory of the CPSU and Pepe the frogs on the walls. True, recently this place has become so popular that even small children 5–9 years old do not hesitate to play hide and seek there. Apparently, this is how the soul of a Ufa resident works - he cannot live without adventures.

If we abstract from a certain cultural heritage, the capital of Bashkiria corresponds to the style that is set by the tracks of the Ufa association DOPECLVB. Modern Ufa is a city of the generation of the zeros, or at least the nineties: both in the center and on the outskirts, there are a lot of young people here, often informal.

Every fourth schoolchild in Ufa, if not rapping, then at least writes beats for it.

At the House of Trade Unions, also known as Prof, guys who call themselves riders ride skateboards and BMX day and night. You can’t walk into the backyard of McDonald’s on Gostiny Dvor without meeting several Hilfiger-clad vapers discussing popular memes in narrow circles about seventh-graders from the 39th gymnasium. Finally, even in the most cozy courtyard, it’s easy to stumble upon an inconspicuous hookah bar, where you will be allowed in, regardless of your tender age (administrations of elite schools seriously organize raids in more popular places). Ufa residents were “rummaging” long before it became mainstream.

Don't scold me, mom

Let me say:

All I need in life is

Drink beer and ride!

MMD Crew, “Beer and Skateboard”

An undeservedly forgotten pearl of the underground in Ufa are the vast territories in the north of the city. Kalininsky and Ordzhonikidze districts intertwine with each other, forming a space called Chernikovka. Once these places were the small industrial town of Chernikovsky, but then it was swallowed up by the rapidly growing Ufa.

After the unexpected collapse of the USSR, Chernikovka turned into a place of concentration of not the best subjects. Life here was reminiscent of the tracks of the Krovostok group: drug trafficking, punks, the gypsy mafia and other delights of the nineties haunted the Chernikovites at every step.

Fortunately, since then the situation has changed radically, but residents of other areas are still wary of accepting offers to take a walk in Chernyaga.

Chernikovka is worth visiting if only for its surreal atmosphere. Here there is a clear confrontation between times: the Red Banner Soviet and our hopelessly capitalist. And the spirit of the first, ingrained into Chernikov’s Khrushchev buildings like dust into a grandmother’s carpet, seems to never fade away. However, it does not at all prevent the children of the second from riding through the streets on hoverboards, lighting a fashionable “Bond” with a button. In addition, due to the local Petroleum University, the area is very multinational, which only adds points to the treasury of Chernikov contrasts.

Judge for yourself, where else can you meet a South African student drinking kumiss among Russian concrete alleys?

It just so happens that the city of three screws is the birthplace of many famous musicians. Lumen, 43ai, FACE, DDT, Thomas Mraz, Boulevard Depo, Zemfira, Basic Boy and many others - all these artists come from the capital of Bashkortostan.

Because of such an abundance of cloud rappers, Ufa is even called the new Atlanta. Interestingly, the performers’ environment often significantly influenced their creativity. In the tracks of rapper Glebasta Spal, the author of the cult song “Ufa Boyz,” one can hear stylish motifs of the nightlife of Ufa, while the work of the same Zemfira is thoroughly imbued with the lyrics of the cramped Chernikov slums.

Ufa is a hodgepodge of eras, cultures and mentalities. Ufa is an old woman whose youth unexpectedly returned. Ufa is a city that really wants to become the third or at least fourth capital of Russia. He is genuinely offended if his attempts are not taken seriously. But does he really need this title?

In 2013, in the fall, the first issue of “Versus” was uploaded online, and then the craze for offline battles began. In Ufa, around the same time, the first offline “Rhymes battle” opened, organized by Yarik MKM, they held several meetings. Then in December 2013, we got confused, contacted the owners of the Slovo franchise, and bought it to launch a site in Ufa.

- Do many artists perform at battles now?

There are very few performing artists in our city. And in fact, we did this whole topic for them.

- Did the Ufa “Slovo” enjoy commercial success and popularity among viewers?

It was not a commercial success. We spent two seasons in Ufa, and paid for these two seasons completely out of our own pocket. The money that was raised from the sale of tickets at the entrance went to pay for the rent, the presenter, the cameraman, the team that did the editing - this is in the second season. In the first season, we did the editing ourselves, everything was completely hand-made; My friend and I have been doing this all season. The second season was more popular, and accordingly, a little more people came, but again the amounts were ridiculous. That is, all this was based on sheer enthusiasm; there was no such platform of ours where the few fans of battles could meet, hang out, and discuss something new. There was a small influx of new people who joined this topic, but not much. All this was done for a narrow layer of people.

- Why don’t we hear about you now?

Now you don’t hear about “Slovo Ufa”, because Ufa is such a unique city where they love the modern rap party in terms of music and concerts. We have bright representatives of the new wave of hip-hop, young guys from DOPECLVD, JEEMBO, who make very modern music. They have significantly more fans.

“Slovo Ufa” simply couldn’t withstand the competition, and we weren’t able to launch the third season. As a platform, it did not become interesting for young fashionistas. We thought that we were too old for all this, there was no benefit, it took a lot of effort. We tried to recruit the guys so that they would work on “Slovo” besides us, and we would simply manage it, show what and how, and then completely give them the entire franchise. They were excited about it at first, but then changed their minds.

Reference

Rap battle- a competition between two performers in the genre of rap, hip-hop, the essence of which is to humiliate the opponent using a special rhyme.

Freestyle- from English free style.

Oksimiron(OXXXYMIRON, real name - Miron Fedorov) - Russian-speaking artist, freestyle, hip-hop and grime performer, executive director of the booking agency Booking Machine, graduate of Oxford University.

Purulent(Glory to the CPSU, Valentin Dyadka, Sonya Marmeladova, Buter Brodsky, real name - Vyacheslav Mashnov), - participant in all-Russian rap battles, hip-hop artist, distinguished by sharp and satirical performances.

“The girls rocked our minibus, not letting it move”

Roman Efimov (Spectrum), popular Ufa rap artist,repeated participant in Ufa rap festivals. Author of solo songs. One of the best freestylers in the city. MS. Tours throughout the republic and abroad.

- Tell us about the history of the development of rap in Ufa.

Perhaps it’s worth starting with the very peak of popularity of the concert rap industry in Ufa. Since 2008, the festivals “Double Impact”, “Heat” and many others began to take place. More people came to the clubs than they could accommodate. The trick was that all participants sold a certain number of tickets - this was a kind of rule of participation. Nowadays, not every concert of a rap star in Ufa will attract one and a half thousand people. Usually about 15 teams participated in the festival and the concert was crowned with a performance by the headliner; at different times there were Basta, Ak-47, Triad, ST. For many teams, participation in such events gave a powerful creative impulse for further development.

- Nowadays the battle format is popular on the SLOVO and Versus platforms. How was everything before?

At that time, the battle format was a little different. Nowadays there are a lot of Internet battles where you have to record a song on a given topic within a certain period of time. Previously, this was quoted at “gatherings” and in various parties. The progress of the Americans in this matter came to us later. But at each festival, freestyle was presented more as a competition for various prizes, rather than a separate phenomenon. The battle also resolved difficulties in identifying the winner.

- Were there any unofficial meetings?

At the Rodina cinema, at first there were meetings between the organizers of “Double Impact” and the performers to resolve financial issues: who sold how many tickets, distributed posters. But over time, other organizers began to use this location. Arriving there at any time, you could meet someone you knew, and as a result, this place became a platform for unofficial rap gatherings for several years. We fought, rapped, and had fun. Here you cannot ignore the “Drama”, a square with a fountain near the Russian Drama Theater. Then it was a place for hanging out with completely different subcultures, everything that was there... And whoever was there, even future stars, now of an all-Russian scale, for example, Sergei Pizza, a former member of Via Chappa, often visited here.

- Did Ufa rap have its own peculiarity?

At one time there was a group called Ike Yuz, which performed in the Bashkir language and their concert was accompanied by live instrumental music. And despite the fact that I am not a big fan of Bashkir music, I liked their performances and remembered them for a long time. It is impossible not to mention such a performer as MC Baga. He was originally from Tagil, but then lived in Raevka and was a frequent participant in hip-hop festivals. Thanks to him, many performers began to travel to perform in the cities of the republic and beyond. Over time, a strong team came together: Baga and INFO, Vysotsky, Spectrum Roma, and, in fact, me. Once there was a case when they didn’t want to let us leave the town - the girls after the concert were rocking the minibus in a crowd, not allowing the driver to move.

- Did you imitate someone?

All rappers naturally tried to imitate American gangsters, so accidents often occurred at concerts.

- Why has the time of the festival and concert rap industry in our city come to naught?

This is how it happens, time has passed, a generation has grown up, who rewound Decl, Ellipsis, Casta on cassettes with a pencil. Everyone has work and family. Nowadays, the rap theme has mostly gone to the Internet, and only famous rap artists promote concert activities.

Famous MC and hip-hop artist VIS KID,winner of the All-Russian hip-hop festival KFC Battle. Performed with L"one and other winners of the battle in Moscow. A sought-after MC in Ufa.

- How did you get into hip-hop?

I came to the topic like most players of that time: I painted graffiti, break danced and eventually came to recitative. If we look at recent achievements, then these are rather not achievements, but rather stages that should be on the path of development.

Well, you’re being modest, I know about your joint performance with the famous Russian rapper L’one and you are on tour throughout the country!

Yes, Leva and I performed in Moscow at the finals of one of the Russian festivals and recorded a joint long mix there. We first met and performed with him at a local festival back in 2008, when L’one was part of Phlatline. In general, I crossed paths with a lot of people on stage during my creative path, but again I don’t consider this the highest achievement.

Let us note that Ufa artists are currently popular in domestic hip-hop. Among the most famous performers - grouping "DOPECLVB" - a musical association of young performers from Ufa, which includes i61, GLEBASTA SPAL and Basic Boy. The artists of this group do not limit themselves to genre boundaries and play in the so-called “cloud rap” style (a genre of rap music characterized by slow beats, wordless vocal samples in which singers harmonize or draw long notes to create a majestic effect). The guys have already worked with such artists as: PHARAOH, Jeembo, Yung Trappa, Boulevard Depo. Killah TVETH.

Thomas MRAZ, real name Almas Gataullin. Thomas's creativity is ideal for creating EDM compositions (Electronic Dance Music - electronic dance music). The sound of his magical music creates the effect of complete distraction from the meaning of the text. Performs on Oksimiron's Booking Machine label.

Ivan Dremin, who took the stage name Face, became famous in 2015 after the video for the song “Gosha Rubchinsky” from his first album “Cursed Seal”. The video was shot for 200 rubles. The main goal that the guy set - to “hype” the big name of a famous fashion designer - was achieved.

Several more albums followed. But real popularity came in August 2017, when he presented his first professional video, “Burger.” The video literally broke YouTube - today it has 25 million views. It is not possible to quote the lyrics of the song, because there is not a single line without profanity. Result: interviews in famous media, a busy concert schedule and crowds of fans.

On April 8, Ivan celebrates his birthday. How a guy from Ufa, by the age of 21, was able to become one of the youngest heroes of Russian rap and the voice of a generation - in the material of the site.

Poverty and loneliness

Lyceum No. 5 in the city of Ufa, where Vanya Dremin studied, is considered a good educational institution.

Lyceum No. 5, where Ivan Dremin studied. Photo: AiF / Aigul Musina

“Here, in the foyer, he sometimes sat during lessons,” the teachers show the schoolboy Vanya’s usual habitat.

It really didn’t matter whether he studied, as he admitted more than once in interviews, he could skip classes, but almost never skip school.

“He loved school, no matter what they said. Moreover, in primary school I studied very well, no C grades. But in high school I fell sharply. Vanya is a capable guy and could study much better. Personally, I treated him well; Ivan always responded to requests about school,” says Director of Lyceum No. 5 Almira Zaripova.

At school he didn’t have conflicts with anyone, teachers say, but he didn’t have close friends either.

“Such a lone wolf. It seems like he’s with everyone, but at the same time he’s on his own, closed,” recalls head teacher Olga Tcherezova.

Teachers suggest that he tried to remain aloof because he was embarrassed by poverty. “I dressed very modestly. What he wears to school on September 1st is how he will finish the school year,” they say.

The family was truly in poverty. Her parents divorced, Vanya’s mother became seriously ill. The boy lived with his grandparents and mother in a small apartment, on his grandmother’s pension. The older brother Bogdan lived with another grandmother.

“This is an extraordinary person”

Due to behavior problems in middle school, Vanya was under the supervision of a social teacher at the lyceum.

“This is a very gifted boy,” says the social teacher Natalia Kovaleva. - I haven’t listened to his songs, but I know that he could achieve great success if he decided to become a writer. He has an amazing sense of style and absolute literacy. He was good at both Russian and mathematics, but his favorite subject was literature - he had his own point of view on everything, and he could justify it.”

Biology class where Vanya studied. Today's students, of course, know and listen to the rapper. Photo: AiF / Aigul Musina

“Pronounced depression” developed in Vanya, according to the teacher, after primary school.

“It was just a bundle of nerves. It’s a pity that we couldn’t help him in any way, because everything came from the family. And the family did not let people from outside, from school, into their lives, although both the class teacher and I went home and tried to talk,” she says. “It wasn’t just the general state of poverty. The boy was very drawn to his father, but he had to live in a cramped apartment with the elderly and with his sick mother, even though they loved him very much. Dad did not raise him, although he promised a lot of things. This depression is the result of the grudge he harbored against his father.”

Vanya Dremin himself in interviews often mentions his participation in the “dark” affairs of a bad company and repeated visits to police departments. In fact, he never ended up with the police, at least not during his school years, and he was also not registered with the juvenile affairs department, the teacher says.

“I am very ashamed and sad that our graduate is now known as a guy who sings obscene songs,” says Natalya Sergeevna. - This extraordinary person could achieve success in any field if he wanted. But he chose this path."

They beat me on the street

Vanya lived not far from the lyceum, in a nine-story gray “panel”.

“Vanya hasn’t been here for two years, he’s in Moscow,” comes a voice over the intercom. Having learned the purpose of the visit, the owner of the voice hesitates for a long time, but still opens the door. Grandmother Svetlana and grandfather Victor they go out to talk in the vestibule, they don’t invite you into the apartment. Vanya’s mother never looked out.

Photo of Vanya from her graduation album. Photo: AiF / Aigul Musina

He was raised primarily by his grandmother. She recalls that she and little Vanya wrote poetry together. She took the boy, who had a good sense of rhythm, to a music school, but Vanya quit studying in the sixth grade. And went to boxing.

The grandfather says that his grandson was bullied and beaten on the street, so he decided to learn to fight back. He did well in boxing. But the laws of the streets were stronger than sports. The crowd attackers somehow beat me so badly that they damaged my spine.

After graduating from school, Vanya applied to three Ufa universities, but did not pass the scores in any of them. I looked for a job, but I couldn’t find one; without education they wouldn’t hire me anywhere.

“But he’s smart here, he found a way, he started doing rap,” says the grandfather.

“If I don’t curse, I’ll be left without a penny”

When asked about their attitude towards their grandson’s work, the grandparents look at each other with embarrassment.

“His songs are not very good. It's bad that he sings obscenities. And these tattoos, too,” says the grandmother. “I scold him when he calls, I tell him not to sing like that.”

The album Hatelove has a composition named after the girl Lisa. In an interview with FastFoodMusic, the musician said that the song is dedicated to Elizaveta Syomina, a girl from a parallel class with whom he had been in love since elementary school. Vanya’s grandmother confirmed that he was in love with someone, but does not know the girl’s name.

At home, she said, he never allowed himself to use foul language; at school it was the same. Once, however, he “sent” one of the teachers.

“Just let him come, we’ll have a serious conversation with him,” the grandfather threatens. - I tell him - just not with obscenities. Otherwise, somehow your parents will catch you after the concert. He remains silent. Once he just said: “What should I do? If I don’t do this, I’ll be left without a penny.” I think if he had another opportunity, he wouldn’t sing these swear songs. Why did he become so popular? Because young people like such songs, and he adapts to them. Yes, it’s bad that he started with tattoos and swearing, but we believe that he will switch to cultural songs.”

The old people, as best they can, follow the creativity and movement of their grandchildren around the country (older brother Bogdan together with Vanya in one project - editor's note). They worry when they read the news that fans almost tore Vanya into pieces during the next concert.

“They took his sneaker off, and then he threw the second one at them. It was a new, expensive sneaker,” the grandmother laments.

And they really expect Vanya to come to them with his girlfriend Maryana, they really want to see her.

They are also waiting for him in Ufa at the military registration and enlistment office. “We were bombarded with subpoenas,” says the grandfather.

“No more Eshkere”

In early January, Face made an unexpected statement on its page:

“No more Faceguccigang and Eshkere, please. It was a cool period of my life and creativity, but I outgrew it all. I am glad that I am the voice of youth, this is very important to me, and I feel my responsibility. Now that I have the opportunity to change the future of this country through the youth, it's time to lead you in the right direction, it's time to open your eyes."

He promised that he would give fans the opportunity at his concerts to speak out about the issues that concern them.

During the fall 2017 tour, Face’s concert in Belarus was canceled by the local Prosecutor General’s Office. After some time, information appeared that he was allowed to speak, but with the condition that profanity would not be used. However, the organizers did not take any chances and closed the site that day, citing technical faults.

“Drugs, depression, suicidal thoughts, searching for oneself in crime and a salary of 20 thousand rubles a month are not what we need,” he writes. - If I succeeded, it means you can do it too! Don’t forget that I was a simple boy from Ufa without a future, there are such boys and girls here all over the country, it would seem that we all have no future at all, why not build it together.”

Meanwhile, on January 17, 2018, the artist announced a new album PUBLIC ENEMY (translated from English as “public enemy” - editor’s note). Based on the title of the album, some fans began to doubt Ivan’s good impulse to change the direction of his work. But time will tell.

“The guy is just hype”

Musician, former member of the rap group Via Chappa, Bulat Aminov:

“When we were teenagers, our idols were Decl, Mister Small. Now they are grown men. I personally know the latter, and he is a completely sane person. The group “Bachelor Party” was the first to start singing about “sex without a break.” And for that time, in the eyes of adults it looked wild. Rapper Face is just hype. He's on a roll right now. Do you know why? Because he speaks the same language with children and teenagers. His work is unlikely to excite the offspring of intelligent families. But, excuse me, “proletarian” children, unfortunately, talk this way. I will not undertake to condemn the young man. Yes, from the point of view of creativity there is nothing there - he himself understands this perfectly well. As long as there is interest in him on social networks, he will still hold out. But if nothing serious follows this hype, they will simply forget about it.”

Is it dangerous for children to listen to such songs?

Chief medical psychologist of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus Irina Khokh:

“Mate is a variant of aggression, a replacement for physical force in the form of a blow. For younger teenagers and teenagers, aggression is the norm. The older children become, the less they resort to physical influence and the more they resort to indirect, verbal aggression, that is, they “beat with words.”

By joining the army of fans of such performers, children give themselves internal psychological permission: “here, our parents scold us, but such a popular person swears, he is allowed.” They seem to merge with the leader and allow themselves to behave in this way.

It is important for parents not to go into indiscriminate prohibition, as this can lead to losing contact with the child. In the end, he will outgrow such creativity, his interests will change. But it is still important to explain to a teenager the concepts of “Freedom of Speech” and “Freedom of Speech”. Freedom of speech is the right to your own opinion, interests, tastes. Yes, you have that right. But there is the concept of “freedom of speech” - this is the embodiment of our thoughts. How much do you respect yourself if you allow swear words to be kept inside you? Explain that swearing is a subculture of certain individuals who kill and steal. We need to provide such information and let the child make his own choice.”

Society

Alisher Morgenstern is a Ufa rapper and video blogger, whose popularity was brought by the project “Izirap” on the MORGENSHTERN YouTube channel. In his show, he taught subscribers to create music in the style of popular rappers in a matter of minutes. Now his channel has more than 1 million subscribers. As part of a charity event, Alisher gave a free concert in Ufa.

- How do you feel after the concert?

- Super. But they overestimated their capabilities a little. Let's just say that at the end all hell broke loose. I had to retreat and escape. Someone even sprayed pepper. They gathered peacefully to sing songs and do things. But, overall, it’s great. I didn't expect there to be so many people.

- Aren’t you upset by the behavior of your fans?

- This was to be expected.

This is not your first charity event. What prompted or motivated you to do charity work?

- Do you remember how you felt the first time you took part in a charity event?

- Somewhere in the area of ​​the heart it became warm. It’s very nice to feel that you are making at least some contribution to society, that you are useful, that’s cool. Just like. It's a shame that some people can afford everything, but others cannot. After all, it’s not people’s fault that, for example, they don’t have parents. Therefore, why not? Making the world a better place is wonderful.

You are the creator of a section on your channel “Izirep”, where you proved that creating tracks in the “new school” style is easy. Then you released an album in the same style that you were criticized for. How do you feel about such criticism?

- I wrote this album in about 5 days. Making music is not difficult. Especially now. When everything is on the computer. There's nothing wrong with that. It used to be, of course, yes - studios, analogue devices, tapes, you had to worry a lot. No, now everyone, if they wish, can make an album for themselves at home, with a budget of a thousand rubles. This is wonderful.

- Don’t you think that you have become the person you criticized?

I never really criticized. Is it easy to make music? Easily. And it’s easy for me to do.

- You told your subscribers that “Izirep” will no longer exist. Why? Would you have to make a video about yourself?

- I just don’t want to. There is no desire. It was fun to do, a very cool project, we had a blast for a season and that’s enough. We need to move on. Don’t sit on the same format all your life.

- Do you remember the moment when you became famous? As I understand it, you can no longer walk around Ufa calmly.

- In general, it’s difficult to move around Russia. Actually, no, I don’t remember such a moment. We have been working with the guys for a long time, first we had the “MMD” project, there was already some kind of recognition, local. But there is no such thing as waking up famous; everything gradually accumulated.

- I don't think everything we have now is because of the diss. Partly, of course, yes. But I don’t see anything bad in this.

- At what stage is your conflict or is it settled?

- Yes, there is no conflict. I can tell you how this idea came to me. I flew often at that time, I am afraid of flying. And I usually smoked before the plane so that I could fly calmly. But then the grass ran out, and I decided to get drunk, and I hadn’t drunk for a long time. And so I got drunk and some kind of peasant bullishness woke up in me, like “I want, damn it, to write a diss on someone.” Who's pissing me off? And I remembered, this guy infuriates me. And that’s it, I wrote the text on the plane, flew home, and made some music.

- Your line from the diss track: “To hell with old people.” What don't you like about Russian?YouTube? What, in your opinion, is already a relic of the past?

- Russian YouTube... This is a terrible garbage dump. Especially now, when the state comes and settles there, propaganda has begun. YouTube is a very scary thing, in fact. Because many, so to speak, opinion leaders take advantage of this and, for a lot of money, rub such unpleasant things into their audience that you don’t want to be associated with bloggers.

- How do you position yourself? Musician?

- No, I'm human (laughs). I don't consider myself a blogger, a musician, or a rapper. I just want to be able to do what I like and live off of it. I wanted to make a video, I wanted to make a funny video, I wanted to sing a song, and tomorrow maybe I’ll want to draw a picture or tune cars, I don’t know.

- Your family moved to Spain. What prompted you to take such a step? For what purposes did you return to Ufa?

- I won’t say what motivated my family, but I’m in Ufa... we’re working, doing things. I don't want to live in Spain. I like living in Russia.

- You had a conflict with Kizaru, who lives in Barcelona. Will there be a meeting? Do you have anything to tell him?

- I would love to, but he doesn’t get me off the “black list”, I don’t know how to contact him. I’m interested to know whether in real life he is the way he positions himself on Instagram broadcasts or whether it’s just an image. I adore him, seriously. I would love to meet him

- What are your future creative plans? What do you plan to do: music or blogging?

- How do you now assess the musical potential of Ufa?

- Wonderful. From the point of view of education, our music education is disgusting. For example, I became a music teacher because the second profession there was a sound engineer. I came to my first lesson in sound engineering, and they were working on programs from the 2000s, they were already 20 years old, on terribly old equipment. I understand there is no money, but we are holding on. Music education in Ufa is terrible. But we have a lot of original talents. I don’t know what this is connected with, but Ufa is a concentration, Atlanta.

- You stated that your relationship interferes with your work. Have you changed your mind?

- No, I haven't changed it. I'm probably too young for this.

- One of your calling cards is dreadlocks. Aren't you going to shave?

- Yes, I'm actually thinking about it. I like long hair. I had curls, and they were so difficult. Dreadlocks are a cool thing. I wash it once a week, no need to comb it.

Dear readers! We invite you to join the discussion of the news in our groups on social networks -