Skryptonite (RU)

About

Skryptonite is a Kazakh rapper, singer and producer who became one of the most streamed artists in the entire Commonwealth of Independent States. What made him stand out early on was a commitment to authentic trap at a time when the CIS rap scene was still finding its footing. His 2015 debut album House with Normal Phenomena landed at number two on the Russian iTunes chart, beat out Oxxxymiron's Gorgorod, and topped both Rap.ru and The Flow's rankings of the year's best Russian language releases. Critics pointed to its range, covering everything from trap and New York hip hop to something close to gospel. In 2018 he split his output into two distinct projects. The solo Skryptonite shows keep a rapper and DJ format, while Gruppa Skryptonite is a full eight piece band that reworks the material into live arrangements. The group has put out a string of tracks including Latinskaya Muzyka, Podruga and the collaborative Beregom, showing the band format has plenty of room to stretch out.