Basta

Vasily Mikhailovich Vakulenko (b. 1980) - Russian rap artist, composer, beatmaker, TV and radio host, actor, screenwriter, film director and music producer. Since 2007 he is a co-owner of the Gazgolder label.

Known by pseudonyms and projects Basta, Noggano, N1NT3ND0; once - Basta Oink, Basta Bastilio. Ex-member of the groups "Street Sounds", "Psycholyric", "United Caste", "Free Zone" and "Bratia Stereo".

There are many interesting facts in the biography of Basta, which we will talk about in this article.

So, before you is a short biography of Basta.

Biography of Basta

Vasily Vakulenko, better known as Basta, was born on April 20, 1980 in Rostov-on-Don. He grew up in a military family, as a result of which he was accustomed to discipline from an early age.

As a schoolboy, Basta attended music school. An interesting fact is that the young man first began to write rap at the age of 15.

After receiving a certificate, the guy entered the local school at the conducting department. Later, the student was expelled from the educational institution due to academic failure.

At that time in his biography, Bast was fond of hip-hop, while listening to many other musical genres.

Music

When Baste turned 17, he became a member of the hip-hop group "Psycholyric", later renamed "Kastu". At the time, he was popular in his underground under the nickname Basta Oink.

The first song of the young musician was the composition "City". Every year he became more and more famous in the city, taking part in various rap movements.

At the age of 18, Basta wrote his famous hit "My Game", which brought him to a new level of popularity. He began performing not only in Rostov, but also in other Russian cities.

At that time, Basta worked closely with rapper Igor Zhelezka. The musicians created programs together and toured the country.

After that, there was a lull in the artist's musical biography. He did not appear on stage for several years, until in 2002 one of his acquaintances suggested that he create a music studio at home.

Vasily Vakulenko was glad of this proposal, as a result of which he soon re-recorded old songs and recorded new ones.

Later, Basta went to Moscow to present his work there. One of his albums fell into the hands of Bogdan Titomir, who appreciated the compositions of the Rostov performer.

Titomir introduced the rapper and his friends to the representatives of the Gazgolder label. Since that time, Basta's musical career has gone sharply uphill.

The musicians recorded albums one after another, gaining an ever-growing army of fans.

In 2006 the debut album of the performer "Basta 1" was released. During that period of his biography, he met with rappers such as Guf and Smokey Mo.

Especially famous for Baste came after he starred in the video clip of the Centr group "City of Roads".

In 2007, the singer's second solo album was released under the name "Basta 2". At the same time, clips were shot for some songs, which were often shown on TV.

Later, American manufacturers of computer games drew attention to Basta's work. As a result, his song "Mama" was featured in Grand Theft Auto IV.

It is curious that Basta quite often recorded songs in duets with various artists, including Polina Gagarina, Guf, Paulina Andreeva and others.

In 2007, Vakulenko began to release albums under the pseudonym Noggano. Under this name, he presented 3 discs: "First", "Warm" and "Unpublished".

In 2008, another turn took place in Basta's creative biography. He tried himself as a film director, screenwriter, actor, and producer. As a result, the musician starred in dozens of films, and also became a producer of several tapes.

Later, Basta recorded a new album "Nintendo", performed in the genre of "cyber gang".

In the period 2010-2013. the rapper released 2 more solo discs - "Basta-3" and "Basta-4". Singer Tati, musicians Smoky Mo and Rem Digga, Ukrainian bands Nerves and Green Gray and the Adeli choir took part in the recording of the last disc.

In 2016, Basta became the mentor of the fourth season of the TV show "The Voice". In the same year he announced the release of his fifth solo album "Basta-5". It was in two parts, and its presentation took place within the walls of the State Kremlin Palace, accompanied by a symphony orchestra.

That year, Forbes magazine estimated Basta's income at $ 1.8 million, as a result of which he was in the TOP-20 of the richest Russian artists.

Soon there was a serious conflict between Basta and another rapper Decl. The latter complained about too loud music coming from the capital's Gazgolder club, which was owned by Vakulenko.

Basta reacted on social networks by publishing an offensive post against Decl. As a result, Decl filed a lawsuit against him, demanding a public apology and 1 million rubles in compensation for moral damage.

The court partially satisfied the plaintiff's claims, obliging Basta to pay an amount of 50,000 rubles.

A year later, Decl again criticized the "Gazgolder", to which Basta called the musician "hermaphrodite". Decl again filed a lawsuit against his abuser, demanding that he reimburse 4 million rubles already.

After considering the case, the judges ordered Bast to pay the plaintiff 350,000 rubles.

Personal life

In the summer of 2009, Basta married his girlfriend Elena, who was a fan of his work. It is worth noting that Elena is the daughter of the famous journalist Tatyana Pinskaya and a wealthy entrepreneur.

Later, the couple had 2 girls - Maria and Vasilisa.

In his spare time, Basta enjoys ice skating and snowboarding. In addition, he is keenly interested in curling.

Basta today

In 2017, Basta was awarded the GQ magazine prize in the Musician of the Year nomination. He is still actively touring different cities and countries.

In 2018, the musician managed to earn $ 3.3 million. In the same year, he accepted an offer to become a mentor for the fifth season of Voice. Children". His ward Sofia Fedorova took the honorable 2nd place in the final.

At the same time, Basta played himself in the Russian documentary film by Roma Zhigan "BEEF: Russian Hip-Hop".

In 2019, the rapper's second studio album, "Dad at a Rave," was released under the pseudonym N1NT3ND0.

Basta has an Instagram account, where he regularly uploads photos and videos. Today, over 3.5 million people have subscribed to his page.