Rasta (singer)

Stefan Đurić was born on November 16, 1989 in Priština to parents Slađana and Drago Đurić, who worked as professors at the University of Belgrade.[2] When the Kosovo War began he relocated to Srebrnica, where he lived with his parental grandmother.[2] Đurić eventually settled in Belgrade after several years, where he was reunited with his parents.[2]

Rasta began his career as a teenager hosting a show about reggae on the Radio Belgrade. He later focused on creating music and released his first mixtape Sensemilia Mixtape featuring LMR in 2009.[3] The following year, Rasta released his succeeding bodies of work, R&B-influenced One i lova (Them and Money) in collaboration with Cvija and crunk-influenced Kaseta (The Cassette) featuring hip-hop collective Unija.[3] Same year in April, he also served as the opening act for 50 Cent in Belgrade.[4]

In December 2011, Rasta released his first album, titled Superstar, through Mascom Records.[3] The album, produced by Coby, was also created in collaboration with Serbian hip-hop label Bassivity Music, whom he continued working with afterwards. In July 2014, Rasta broke through mainstream with his viral hit "Kavasaki" (Kawasaki), collecting over 60 million views on YouTube.[3] It was followed by even more successful "Cavali" in June the following year.[5] Also in 2015, he established a record label in partnership with Bassivity, called Balkaton. With singles "Euforija" (Euphoria) and "Hotel", released during the summer of 2016, he became one of the most popular regional artists and also saw significant popularity in Serbian diaspora.[3] In February 2017, Rasta released album Indigo, which was divided into two parts. Same year, Đurić alongside his then wife Ana Nikolić served as a judge on the fifth season of Serbian version of Got Talent.[6] Then in 2018, he released Don Reggaeton, which was followed by a concert at the Belgrade Arena on September 4, making him the second Serbian rap act to achieve so.[7][8]

Đurić and singer Ana Nikolić married on July 28, 2016, after dating in secret for several months during their collaboration on the album Labilna.[9][10] On August 7, 2017, Nikolić gave birth to daughter Tara.[11] The couple eventually separated a year later.[12][13]

In April 2017, Đurić was accused of assaulting the owner of the label Mascom, Slobodan Nešović, due to unpaid wages of his 2012 release.[14] In May, Rasta denied the accusation at court and was eventually released of charge two years later in March.[15][16]

On October 2, 2020, he was also arrested on a charge of possessing illegal substances.[17] After spending close to four months in jail, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year of house arrest.[18]