Баста

Vasia Vakoulenko, known professionally as Basta, and born on April 20, 1980, in Rostov-on-Don, is a Russian singer and rapper. He began his music career at 15, writing rap lyrics. In 1998, he released his first solo single "Моя Игра" (Moja Igra) and formed the band Уличные Звуки (Ulitschnyje Swuki). Basta moved to Moscow in 2004 after being discovered by Bogdan Titomir. He collaborated with artists like Smoky Mo and Guf, contributing to the latter's album Gorod Dorog. In 2006, he released his debut album Basta 1, followed by several other albums including Basta 3 (2010) and TVA (2014). Basta also adopted the pseudonym Noggano, releasing two albums under this name in 2008. He is also a prominent figure on Russian television, serving as a mentor on The Voice (2015, 2018) and hosting shows like Gazgolder Live.