Provocation (album)

At the end of 2001, Legalization came to Prague, one of the most iconic Russian rap people who participated in the Bad Balance , “Bad B. Alliance”, “Legal Business $$” , and was also a member of the underground group DOB

Young and Danny Be (Berezin) get acquainted with Legalize . As they say, their meeting was random, but fateful. Common interest, rap , was discovered at the first meeting. In the atmosphere of battle, the joint track “No Apologies” is born. And after some time, the League is impressed with the demo version of the song “Psycho” “I know people ...” and, having managed to distinguish “the brilliance of a new star”, he suggests coming up with a refrain to it. A lot of interesting material quickly accumulates in the computer, and a decision is made to record a full-fledged album. The new project receives a short and uncomplicated name - “P-13”. This is the thirteenth district of Prague , where the band members lived and creatively grew in the neighborhood.

Having prepared the material, the guys go to the studio in Moscow , where the League worked before leaving for Prague. The album is set to release a “freshly baked” record label “Intelligent Hooligan Productions” under the patronage of D&D Music. At the studio, DJ Shooroop finishes processing and mixing the thirteen songs that are on the album. He was called "Provocation" in honor of the eponymous track in which all words begin with the capital letter of the group name - "P".

At this time, concerts begin in Russia . One of the first performances is, oddly enough, on Friday the thirteenth, at the DownTown club. Also, on Friday the thirteenth, one of the most powerful songs comes down - “I know people ...”, which, after some time, is shot a clip.

By the end of 2002, the album was almost ready for release, but due to unresolved legal issues, it remained to gather dust on the shelf the whole next year. The group is not sitting idle. The first, truly large-scale performance of the new project “Legalization and P-13” in Moscow was a concert in front of a crowd of thousands at Streetball. Because of the riots, their performance was postponed to the second day of the festival, and the guys had to share the stage with the pseudo-Lesbian duo “Tatu” . Then there was a concert at the first festival, Our People. According to eyewitnesses, it was an unforgettable show, where the “legal psychos” broke the applause of the audience, and during the song “I Know People ...” the hall lit up with hundreds of lighters.

Numerous performances and the growth of popularity of the P-13 in the Czech Republic and Slovakia were preceded by the release on April 18, 2003 of the largest rap collection of Eastern and Central Europe, East Side Unia 3 . The most significant compilation of the region collects songs from the best bands from the Czech Republic , Slovakia , Poland , Croatia , Hungary .

The collection East Side Unia was released for the third time under the auspices of the same Orion, who in the 90s, having seen Psycho MC's performance, foresaw that these guys would conquer the Czech Republic . Faced with new tracks from the old "loonies", the leader of "PSH" decided for the first time to present Russian rap on the "Eastern Union". June 2, 2003 via the independent label Terrorist? Records released a vinyl version, which was sold in Russia . This event inscribed “P-13” in the history of Russian rap as the first group whose tracks were released on vinyl.

The rap assembly immediately included two tracks from "P-13", which are some of the best in the collection. We are talking about the most powerful hits, the hottest tracks “P-13” - “I know people ...” with the production of Molodoy and “Prague everyday life” / “Steam locomotives, wheels, roads” from a Russian veteran - DJ LA ^[1]

In September 2003, work was completed on the video "I Know People ...". Especially for the broadcast, a “clean” version of the song was made and in October 2003 the video clip began to rotate on MTV Russia .

At the end of 2003, the time came for the official release of the album “Provocation”. On December 13, the long-awaited disk was presented at the Arlekino entertainment complex with the participation of such guests as: Casta , Yu.G. ”, Decl and others. On December 17, Legalize and P-13 performed at the second festival, Our People. This time the concert was held in the huge hall of the Luzhniki sports complex, where the legendary American band Onyx was the highlight of the program.

A few months after summing up the Hip-Hop.Ru Awards 2003, official representatives said that the Legalize and P-13 project took first positions in two categories: “Best Album of the Year”, “Best Debut of the Year” and second place in nomination "Best clip of the year."

After a successful release in Russia, the group decides to publish the album "Provocation" in the Czech Republic. On March 21, World Poetry Day, a new CD booklet in Czech is released on Maddrum Records. In the work of "P-13" a new stage begins, the album is distributed in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Presentations are held in the largest cities of the Czech Republic: Prague , Brno and Pardubice .

He was recognized as one of the best albums of Russian rap according to the magazines Billboard Russia, Timeout Moscow and the portal RAP.Ru ^[2] :