RAM Essentials

RAM, the masked cynic spitting a torrent of ferociously fatalistic rap, is the alter ego of Sergei Zhelnov. He found hip-hop as a child in the oil hub of Nizhnevartovsk and began writing his own bars aged 12. Taking the alias Dirty Ramirez, Zhelnov linked up with Sidodzhi Duboshit in 2014 to form SIDxRAM, an anarchic duo that exploded online when rap legend Oxxxymiron repped one of their videos. RAM has since honed his nihilistic flow—from the relentless energy of "Magnitude" to the echoing ennui of "Space Bus"—to forge an avid following and carve out a distinctive place in Russian rap.