Stefan Đurić, better known as Rasta, is a Serbian recording artist and record producer. He is best known for using and popularizing the Auto-Tunepitch correction effect on the regional music scene and is noted for promoting marijuana throughout his career. Rasta is also the founder of the record label imprint Balkaton, established in 2015.
Life and career
Stefan Đurić was born on November 16, 1989 in Priština, Kosovo, SFR Yugoslavia to university professors Slađana and Drago Đurić. At sixteen years of age he started performing as an MC, and later worked as a radio presenter on a national frequency. Rasta initially gained acclaim as an underground performer for promoting cannabis in his songs and released his debut mixtape, titled Sensemilia Mixtape, in 2009. The following year served as an opening act for 50 Cent at his Belgrade concert. In 2011, Djurić released his electro-infused studio albumSuperstar under Mascom Records. In June 2014, Rasta had a viral hit with "Kavasaki", which became his breakout single to mainstream success. Same year he also collaborated with Serbian rapper Gru on the song "Dugme po dugme". Following further singles, such as "Cavali", "Habibi" ; "Euforija" and "Hotel", he rose to become one of the most popular club performers on the west Balkans. In 2015, Rasta established record label Balkaton in partnership with Serbian rapper and producer Oneya and Bassivity Music. In February 2017, he released an EP titled Indigo. Later that year, Rasta and his then wife Ana Nikolić became judges on the Serbian version of Got Talent. From June to November, he was releasing songs from the other part of his Indigobody of work, which had a more commercial style than the previous one. Between April and May 2018, Rasta was releasing tracks, alongside accompanying visuals, from his forthcoming project Don Reggaeton. On 15 September, Rasta held a concert in the Belgrade Arena, making him the second Serbian hip-hop artist to do so. At the beginning of 2019, he performed at the regional Music Awards Ceremony and earned Modern DanceSong of the Year award for "Adio Amore".
Personal life
In July 2016, Đurić married Serbian pop singer Ana Nikolić after a few months of dating in secret. She gave birth to their daughter Tara in August the following year. However, after several months of media speculation, the couple eventually divorced in 2018. In April 2017, owner of the record label Mascom, Slobodan Nešović accused Đurić of physically assaulting him alongside four men, due to unpaid wages of his 2012 digital release. The case went to court, followed with much media attention. In March 2019, Đurić was declared free of charge.
