Bad Balance
Also known as	Bad B.
Origin	Russia
Genres	Hip hop, Jazz Rap (earlier), 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)
Former 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 1990's.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Formation 1.2 Classic era 1.3 Bad B. Alliance era 1.4 Later period 2 Style and reception 3 Discography 4 References 5 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Formation

Bad Balance was formed as a breakdance crew in 1980's 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.

[edit] Classic era

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.

[edit] Bad B. Alliance era

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.

[edit] Later period

Bad B. Alliance disbanded following Ligalize's departure and conflicts with investors (Tolmatskiy). Mikhey dies of heart failture. 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.

[edit] Style and reception

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 1990's, but with added influences from jazz and rock.^[1] 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.^[2]

[edit] Discography

• Выше Закона (1990)
• Налётчики Bad B. (1994)
• Чисто PRO... (1996)
• Город Джунглей (1998)
• Каменный Лес (2001)
• Мало-По-Малу (2003)
• Легенды Гангстеров (2007)
• Семеро одного не ждут (2009)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website (Russian)

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