In the last 30 years, the world has changed tremendously. With the invention of the Internet and the introduction of affordable overseas flights, the world has become smaller. With the increase of global communications, countries are becoming more similar to one another as they influence each other.

In the last two years, I’ve witnessed firsthand the Westernization of Russia. It seems almost everything about Western culture – from shopping malls to foreign businesses – is being exported, implanted and accepted into Russian culture. Of course that trend has its beneficial and detrimental sides. However, one Western (and increasingly global) motif that hasn’t seemed to fit into Russian culture is hip hop, a movement which originated in the streets of New York 30 years ago and is now a billion dollar industry.

I decided to investigate hip hop in Russia a bit further. I explored the underground scenes of both Moscow and St. Petersburg and finally took my research to the face of Russian hip hop, Detsl. What I found out was both surprising and expected. Read more on Page 2.

And while my questions for Detsl centered on hip hop, my colleague, Rakh Zulumkhanov, asked the burning questions. Find out what Detsl wants the world to know on Page 4 and enjoy your spring!

Marissa Payne, Editor, editor@lifestyle.ru