Aliosha's Biography

Aliosha was born on February 25, 1987 in Moscow, Russia.  Aliosha was living in a tiny apartment with seven other people.  His parents had gotten divorced when he was three so he was living with his mother and her family.  His mother was working three jobs to support them.  In Russia, everyone received equal pay for their work, which meant you were paid very little.  In order to buy food you would get food stamps from the government but there wasnt any food to be eaten.  Crime became uncontrolled in the streets, skinheads were everywhere and safety almost became a legend. His grandmother headed up an organization that helped refugees coming over from Chechnya and was constantly receiving death threats and being interrogated by the police.  Aliosha was desperate to get away from all of these problems, and the only way he could do it was through music.  Although music was filtered in Russia, he couldn't stop listening to whatever he got his hands on.  He attended a music academy for five years where he studied violin and music theory. In 1999, he won a green card in a lottery and went to America.

At the age of 13, Aliosha was uprooted from Russia and moved to America.  There he lived in Maryland just outside of Washington D.C.  When they first moved to the United States, his parents didn't have jobs yet because they had to pass the doctor exams. Aliosha started working right away in order to support himself. When he started school in Maryland he was introduced to the hip hop culture.  He started to admire the works of many rap artists, in particular Tupac Amaru Shakur.  His interest quickly blossomed into a passion when he started writing his own lyrics. In Russia, access to alcohol and cigarettes was available to anyone as long as you can reach the counter. Aliosha started smoking and drinking at age 9.  When he came to America his behavior was less tolerated and started getting him into trouble.  At age 16, his parents moved to the suburbs to have another child and get him away from the people who they felt might be a bad influence.  Aliosha finished high school in Columbia, Maryland while working two jobs.


It was there that his neighbor helped him get in touch with a local recording studio where he laid his first tracks.  He lived with his mother and step father until the age of 18 when he moved to Brooklyn.  In New York he started networking and finding places to perform and record.  As he started performing at various clubs through the city he started drawing a fan base.  His ambitions for music are higher then just making money.  "I think that music touches people on a different level", comments Aliosha. "My ultimate dreams are to speak to as many people as I can through my songs, and hopefully influence a few."  Fortune and fame are just a benefit that comes along down the road, respect and true fans are what Aliosha has to achieve himself.

At 19, Aliosha took the name of White Russian; he recorded his first cd "One" under this alias. For a small period of time he was better known as Kaif, but this changed as he progressed in his journey to the top by becoming Shy where his talent started to become apparent. Now, as he nears the top, and the end of his journey is seen, Aliosha understands that the alias that best fits him is Aliosha.  

"My mission is to be more then just a rap musician, the elevation of todays generation if I can make em listen"