Gulyayev Dmitry Igorevich (born January 22, 1986), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Dimal /dɪmʌl/ ( Russian: Димал), is a half-Russian, half-Ukrainian rapper, singer and songwriter based in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. He is also the founder and (

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

) of Russian Muziq Mafia Records in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Early life

Dimal was born and raised in

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

in the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

in the eastern part of the Crimean Peninsula, where half of the population are

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

. He was born in a mixed family, with a Russian mother, Svitlana Agius, and

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

father, Igor Gulyayev. His father left the family when he was just five years old. Dimal had a passion for arts such as

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

, singing, break dancing and

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

such as

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

and taekwondo. At the age of six he attended music school, where he studied the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

. He began rapping at age of 15 and was a part of the rap group Zapadnya ( Russian: Западня; lit. "Trap") and was also a member of the Key Clan, or just Keys. He left the

Tavrida National V.I. Vernadsky University V.I. Vernadsky Taurida National University (TNU) ( uk, Таврійський національний університет імені В.І. Вернадського (ТНУ)) is a public, coeducational university currently located in Kyi ...

at his third grade, where he studied economics. At the age of 19 he moved to

2010: "Shake it" and Malta Music Awards

In 2010 Dimal released his first major single – featuring vocals from Maddee, a singer-songwriter from the UK – which received major air play in

. The song became very popular on Myspace and in a short time it reached over 3 million plays Later on that year, he was nominated for "Best Hip-Hop/R'n'B Artist" at the

Malta Music Awards Malta Music Awards (MMA) is an annual music awards ceremony held since October 20, 1995 and organised by Mega Music Malta in collaboration with Public Broadcasting Services and Magic Malta. The aims of the Malta Music Awards include promotion of l ...

with such artists like

Muxu Matthew "Matt" Mercieca (born 19 July 1990), known professionally as Muxu, is a Maltese singer and songwriter. Having multiple number one singles, and winning local awards, he is one of Malta's leading R&B artists. Career Mercieca started his ...

, Kristina Casolani and Thea Saliba, and won. the award which was presented by CEO of MOBO Awards

Kanya King Kanya King, (born in Kilburn, London) is a British entrepreneur who is the founder of the MOBO Awards. Biography King was born in Kilburn, London, to an Irish mother and a Ghanaian father, being the youngest of their nine children. Her father ...

. Also that year, Dimal had played in support of two international acts, Ja Rule and

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), better known by his stage name Flo Rida (, ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 breakout single " Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital dow ...

2011: "Go Low" and Eurovision

The single "Go Low", which also was featured Maddee, was released on 17 August 2011 and hit Malta's Top 10 Charts but only for few weeks. In October Dimal worked on a

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

song with Deborah C, and together they flew in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

to record a song which was produced by

Ralph Siegel Ralph Siegel (born 30 September 1945) is a German record producer and songwriter. Siegel is one of the most notable figures at the Eurovision Song Contest, in which he has participated with 24 songs so far, among them the 1982 winner song Ein bi ...

– but they did not make it to the finals of the contest. Dimal at Bay Music Awards 2012

2012: "Lets Make It Happen" and Bay Music Awards

During the summer of 2012, Dimal teamed up with Maltese singer-songwriter Lyndsay Pace to release their song " Let's Make It Happen", which blends Dimal's rapping skills and Lyndsay's melodic vocals. The song did well on local and international radio charts including Malta's Top 10 Charts, PRS Top 40 Charts, Urban Top 20 Charts, among others. Most of the local DJ's picked up the song and put in their play lists. This led to the Bay Music Awards, where Dimal was nominated for "Best Newcomer". The song was also nominated for an award for "Top SIngle" in the MMI Listeners Picks Poll which is run by Toni Sant.

2013-present: IPMA

In January 2013 Dimal was nominated for the International Portuguese Music Awards in two categories, Best Dance Song1st Annual International Portuguese Music Awards (IPMA) – Nominees
/ref> and People's Choice Award. The show will be held on February 2, 2013, at the Zeiterion Theatre in

New Bedford New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...

Awards and honors

Singles

References

Notes {{Reflist

External links

Dimal
on Myspace Songs written by Dimal Russian rappers Living people 1986 births Russian hip hop English-language singers from Russia People from Sevastopol Eurodance musicians Tavrida National V.I. Vernadsky University alumni