макулатура (makulatura)

Makulatura is a Russian rap duo formed in January 2003 in Kemerovo by then-18-year-old philology students Evgeny Alyokhin and Konstantin Speransky. The project takes its name from Charles Bukowski's novel Pulp (Makulatura in Russian), signaling from the outset an ambition to fuse rap with literary sensibility rather than street bravado. The duo describes their genre as socially conscious rap, using recitation-heavy verses to interrogate the relationship between the individual and society, civic responsibility, and moral and ethical accountability.

Musically, Makulatura built a reputation on caustic, text-driven tracks aimed at bureaucracy, corporate cynicism, and what they call organized chaos in Russian society. Their sound leans on sparse, rock- and electronic-inflected beats that foreground the lyrics rather than compete with them, placing them closer to spoken-word and art-rap traditions than mainstream hip-hop. Tracks such as «нейт диаз (nate diaz)», «пляж (beach)» and «ножевое (stab)» exemplify this blend of confessional, often bleak storytelling with sharp social commentary.

Over two decades of activity, Alyokhin and Speransky have also pursued literary and solo projects alongside the group, reflecting the same word-first ethos that defines Makulatura. The duo remains an influential, if niche, voice within Russian underground rap, valued for treating rap as a vehicle for prose-like reflection on alienation, morality, and everyday life rather than genre convention.