Alexander Timartsev (better known as Restaurateur) is a Russian hip-hop artist, presenter, organizer and co-founder of the famous project called Versus Battle. The Restaurateur project became the most successful first in Russia, and then in the world. The battle site was created as a competitor to such projects as King of the Dot (Canada) and Don’t Flop (England), and eventually overtook them by several dozen times in terms of views.
Versus battle records. Most Viewed Site in the World?
As of February 2018, "Versus" organized over 160 battles, passing through about 200 rappers. Now the channel has 3.8 million subscribers. The most viewed video is the battle between Oksimiron and Joniboy, which has received more than 42 million views. In second place is the confrontation between bloggers Khovansky and Larin - 35 million. The "bronze" video on the channel was the battle between Purulent and Oksimiron - 30 million views.
Biography
Alexander Timartsev was born on July 28, 1988 in the city of Murmansk. WithAt an early age, the guy became interested in hip-hop, preferring Western performers. He wanted to be like African-American rappers who wear wide pants, make cool beats and have excellent rapping skills. At school, Alexander studied poorly, there were problems with discipline too. He was a typical bully who never opened a school textbook and spent all his free time somewhere behind garages with friends of equal spirit. He was the first in the class to start smoking and drinking alcohol.
In 2008, Alexander Timartsev graduated from the Murmansk Trade College with a degree in catering technologist. In 2009 he was drafted into the army. Served in the Medical Special Forces. After demobilization, Sasha moved to St. Petersburg, where he began to build his life. This city became for him a permanent place to work and live. Perhaps it was the cultural capital that awakened the guy's creative abilities.
The beginning of the creative path of the Restaurateur
Alexander Timartsev began to make acquaintances with representatives of St. Petersburg rap parties. Influenced by the new hip-hop movement, he began to record his own tracks, signing with the nickname Tim51. Soon Alexander met the rapper Jubilee (who subsequently performed on his Versus battle site several times). He invited Timartsev to participate in a non-profit project - a street freestyle battle party where guys who can rhyme on the go compete with their skills. The project became the Russian prototype of the famous American project called Yo Momma.
For a long time Alexander Timartsev worked as a cook in a restaurant. After his shift, he met with his rapper friends to relax, listen to music and freestyle. They gave him the nickname Restaurateur, because they knew where he worked. Once, on his way to work in a minibus, Alexander was watching videos on his phone and came across the English battle Don’t Flop, the format of which he liked. At the same moment, Alexander Timartsev thought about creating a similar project in Russia, but the means and opportunities did not allow him to realize his plans. The opportunity to create your own site appeared after a couple of years.
Creating your own Versus Battle project
In September 2013, the Versus Battle project was launched on YouTube. The first battle was between Harry Ax and Billy Milligan (better known as Steam), who over time gained a crazy amount of views. The Restaurateur's site became well-known in Russia, the most talented and accomplished domestic rappers began to come here to fight their own kind in the fight.
The essence of "Versus" is that two hip-hop performers meet face to face with a small audience and, according to pre-written texts, begin to rap, pouring out insults, hatred and humiliation at each other. Alexander believes that it is the prepared text that sounds brighter, more expressive and of better quality than freestyle, that is, invented on the go.
Friendship with Miron Fedorov(Oxymiron)
In the creation of "Versus" Alexander Timartsev (Restaurateur) was helped in many ways by rapper Oksimiron, who is currently the flagship among Russian-speaking hip-hopers. Miron Fedor was already a we althy artist when he drew attention to young rappers. One day, the Restaurateur managed to sneak into Oxy's dressing room while at his concert. The guys talked warmly, one might even say they became friends. After that, they met several more times and, drinking light alcohol, discussed the possibility of creating a battle project in Russia. Friendship with Miron helped Alexander Timartsev a lot in the development of the project, because thanks to him, such national rap stars as Crip-A-Crip, Joniboy, ST, Noise MS and many others came to Versus.
The "Versus" battle has achieved such a reputation that now the most famous hip-hop artists are queuing up to take part in it. A lot of branches appeared inside the project - 140 BPM (fast rap to music), Fresh Blood (League of beginner rappers), Main Event (tour with the most popular rappers) and others.
