Rap.ru
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alexander Romodin,
Stanislav Galitsky,
Miroslava Karpovich[4]
 | |
| Available in | Russian |
|---|---|
| Founded | June 11, 2004[1] |
| Headquarters | 5A, 1-y Magistralny Tupik, Moscow, Russia, 123290[2], |
| Owner | Grigory Zorin,[3] Alexander Romodin, Stanislav Galitsky, Miroslava Karpovich[4] |
| Founder | Respect Production[5] |
| URL | http://www.rap.ru/ |
Content license | El No. FS 77 - 52084 dated December 7, 2012[2] |
Rap.ru is a Russian portal dedicated to hip-hop culture, founded in 2004.[1]
At the end of 2002, the owners of the Respect Production label, Arkady Slutskovsky and Viktor Abramov, who were involved in promoting the group Kasta, decided to create a media outlet with the goal of covering everything of interest in hip-hop culture.[5] The label acquired the domain rap.ru, which was owned by Sergey Pimenov from Rostov-on-Don, a member of the electronic group PPK. The label then began assembling a team of writers, led by Aleksey Sogomonov, the editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian magazine X3M.[6] The site launched in the summer of 2004. Initially, it partially used materials from X3M, wrote its own reviews, translated articles from the Western press, and conducted interviews with local artists. Around that time, the first scandal occurred: in response to a review of an album by the group Bratya Nalichnye, its member N'Pans wrote a diss track about Rap.ru.[7]
In 2005, editor-in-chief Sogomonov left the site after being appointed deputy editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian edition of FHM in Kyiv, and also became involved in producing the band BoomBox. After the departure of the only professional journalist, the site was managed by a team of three: Andrey Nikitin, who was already working there, along with new additions Ruslan Munnibayev and Sergey Kovalyov. Nikitin became the editor-in-chief.[6] For some time, the site operated under a policy of publishing "two articles a day". Due to a lack of activity from well-known rap artists, the site began featuring translations of interviews with Jazze Pha, Petey Pablo, and other rappers who were relatively unknown. Later, Rap.ru added "audio" and "video" sections where users could download tracks and music videos provided by the artists themselves.[7]
In 2004, Respect Production released the first compilation in the "Rap.ru" series, labeled "Collection of the Best Russian Rap". It included 18 tracks, featuring new songs by groups such as Krestnaya Semya, Grani, as well as Khamil, Smoky Mo, Karandash, and others.[8] In 2005, the second and third compilations were released.[9][10]
In an interview for the website The Flow, development director Viktor Abramov explained the purpose behind launching Rap.ru:[11]
Our own media outlet. And from the very beginning, we understood perfectly well that if we only wrote about our own artists, it would be a dead end. So it was important to create a platform that everyone could access... We were always open to everyone, it's just that some were so lazy they couldn't even send us a simple news tip. Rap.ru was the most open resource you could imagine in show business.
Arkady Slutskovsky managed the site throughout this period, essentially serving as its producer and contributing to the resource's success, which grew alongside the genre and built a substantial audience over the years. This was largely due to the lack of any alternative source of information about rap.[7]
In 2008, Arkady Slutskovsky and Viktor Abramov left Respect Production. Management of the label passed to Vladi, Ruslan Munnibayev, and executive producer Alexander Mirzayev. The Rap.ru website ceased to be a project of the label.[11]
Rap.ru organized several major festivals featuring American hip-hop artists. In 2009, at an event celebrating the site's fifth anniversary, Ghostface Killah performed.[12][13] In 2010, the Rap.Ru All Stars festival took place, featuring popular Russian rappers such as Noize MC, Basta, Guf, Khamil and Zmey from Kasta, Ligalize, Smoky Mo, and Krec. In 2011, Rap.ru organized the Moscow International Rap Festival (M.I.R.), which featured headliners Ice Cube, B.o.B, and Eve.[14] In 2011, the Rap.Ru TV internet channel was launched, broadcasting popular music videos by Russian and foreign rappers.[15] In 2012, the site hosted the first Stadium RUMA (Russian Urban Music Awards) ceremony, with headliners DJ Premier and Busta Rhymes.
In 2014, a change in the publication's leadership occurred: editor-in-chief Andrey Nikitin and four staff members left the publication to launch their own project, The Flow.[3][16][17][18] According to one of the authors, Lyosha Gorbash, the main conflict was with Andrey Nikitin regarding the site owners' stance on certain artists, a perspective he did not share.[19] Later, the new editorial team of Rap.ru responded to their former authors at The Flow.[20]
Notable incidents
On January 8, 2015, Rap.ru published an interview with Detsl in which he criticized Basta's label, Gazgolder:[21]
Everything is decided by the shadowy top of the label, who set their protégés, their "serfs", against others. For example, I don't please the main sponsor of Gazgolder because, you see, I have long hair. He doesn't understand that and asks me every time: "When are you getting a haircut?" He's still stuck in the 90s. How can I go to their establishment, communicate with his artists, when he shows me such disrespect?
In response to these remarks, on January 11, 2015, Vakulenko (Basta) commented on social media with the words "Detsl the hairy scumbag". On August 27, 2016, Tolmatsky (Detsl) posted a tweet complaining about noise at the Gazgolder club. The following day, The Flow portal posted a link on Twitter to an article about it. Vakulenko reacted to the news by writing: "Detsl the hairy scumbag 2".[22] On September 28, 2016, Detsl filed a lawsuit seeking one million rubles from Basta for calling him a "hairy scumbag". The TV channel "360" clarified that the performer was specifically offended by the second insult.
Awards
In 2005, the "Rap.ru" compilation took first place in the "Best Hip-Hop Compilation of 2004" category at the second annual "Hip-Hop.Ru Awards 2004", based on user voting on the Hip-Hop.Ru website.[23]
In 2006, the compilations "Rap.ru No. 2" and "Rap.ru No. 3" placed fourth and second, respectively, in the "Best Hip-Hop Compilation of 2005" category at the third annual "Hip-Hop.Ru Awards 2005", based on user voting on the Hip-Hop.Ru website.[24]
On April 21, 2010, the Rap.ru internet portal won in the category "For Contribution to the Promotion of Hip-Hop in Russia" at the inaugural annual Russian Street Awards ceremony for hip-hop culture.[25]
Management and staff
The site was launched in 2004 by the owners of the Respect Production label, Arkady Slutskovsky and Viktor Abramov.[6] In 2008, they left the label, and the site's owners changed. The general directors were:
- Anton Aleksandrovich Kholendro (from 2010 to 2011)[26]
- Alexander Sergeyevich Romodin (since 2011)[4]
The founders/owners included:
- Vladimir Dolganovsky (2010–2011)
- Stanislav Galitsky (since 2010)
- Alexander Romodin (since 2010)
- Oleg Karpovich (2010–2011)[26]
- Miroslava Karpovich (since 2011)[4]
- Grigory Zorin (since 2011)[4]
Editors-in-chief:
Editors included:[16]