Bad Balance
| Bad Balance | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Bad B. |
| Origin | Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Genres |
Hip hop Funk Jazz-rap (earlier) Old School Hip-Hop (earlier) Underground Rap (later) Mafioso rap (later) |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | Gala Records, Mixmedia, 100PRO |
| Associated acts | Bad B. Alliance, Mikhey and Jumanji |
| Website | www.badb.ru |
| Members | Master SheFF (MC) Mr. Bruce (bass guitar) Kuper (MC) Al Solo (MC & beatmaking) |
| Past members | DJ LA (DJ & beatmaking) Mikhey (MC & vocals, deceased) Ligalize (MC) |
Bad Balance is a Russian rap group considered to be one of the first rap acts in USSR. The group maintained a devoted underground following during the 1990s.
Bad Balance was formed as a breakdance crew in the 1980s in Saint-Petersburg by students from Donetsk named Vlad Valov (SheFF) and Sergey Krutikov (Mikhey). Group switched to rapping and recorded the debut album Vishe Zakona in 1989 for Gala Records.
The band toured France and US. Classic Bad Balance albums Naletchiki Bad B. (1994), Chisto Pro (1996) and Gorod Jungley (1998) were released by Gala Records during this period.
Mikhey left the band to push solo career as a reggae/soul singer, while SheFF formed Bad B. Alliance. Both gained huge mainstream popularity Bad Balance itself has never seen. Ligalize joins Bad Balance. Long-awaited Kamenniy les released by Mixmedia in 2001.
Bad B. Alliance disbanded following Ligalize's departure and conflicts with investors (Tolmatskiy). Mikhey dies of heart failure. Kuper (DA-108) and Al Solo (Beliye Bratya) join Bad Balance. Popularity declines. Malo-po-malu (2003) and Legendi gangsterov (2008) released by Valov's own record label 100PRO.
The group was viewed as Russia’s hip-hop pioneers (Cocks, 2002) and their popularity exploded after the fall of the USSR. They are now seen as mimicking American hip-hop and their music does sound much like typical American hip-hop from the 1990s, but with added influences from jazz and rock. While the group is now considered antiquated, at the time the government believed Bad Balance was politically subversive and accused them of spreading dangerous ideas and messages. This is because the group was not afraid to discuss political and social issues, like the increase in street violence, issues they felt were important in their lives and in the lives of their listeners. The discussion of these issues presented negative images of the USSR to the Russian people and the world in general and thereby set the government further against hip-hop. Despite this, the group survived the fall of the communist government and began releasing albums and videos soon after.
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