Blueberry) released by Russian rapper Rem Digga [ru] in 2012 is called to be a precursor of hookah rap.
[1] These tracks were characterised by hedonistic Drake-like lyrics and with a distinctive melodic immersive production style.
[1] A few years later, the artist released major hits in the genre such as "Leyla", "Medina", "Sozvezdiye angela" and others.
[1] But the term itself was popularized by Bahh Tee [ru], the head of the Atlantic Records Russia (then known as Zhara Music).
"In 2020, Bahh Tee has argued that hookah rap eventually homogenized into mainstream music, and now is undetectable as anything stylistically different.