SHEFF (founder and main member of Bad Balance) is often considered as original creator of hip-hop culture in Russia, and for years the leader of Russian old school hip hop.
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).
Mikhey left the band to push solo career as a reggae/soul singer, while SHEFF formed "Bad B.
During recording of album in New York City, band repeatedly gave performances and also participated in various programs on national radio stations.
"Kamenniy les" (Stone Wood) marked beginning of promotion Russian hip-hop in the world music industry.
In 2009 Bad Balance released album "Semero Odnogo Ne Jhdut" (Seven Dont Wait For One), it talks about the birth of hip-hop culture in Russia.
The music on the album includes a lot of ethnic motifs, and all the songs are dedicated to the ancient history of Russia.
Bad Balance becomes the only voice in the entire Russian musical culture, who is not afraid to talk openly about politics.
The group was viewed as Russia’s hip-hop pioneers (Cocks, 2002) and their popularity exploded after the fall of the USSR.
[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.
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.