Andrey Vladimirovich Menshikov, known professionally as Лигалайз (Legalize), was born on June 30, 1977, in Moscow, Russia. He began his career in hip-hop in 1993 when he and Ladjack organized the project "Slingshot", initially rapping in English. In 1998, Menshikov participated in D.O.B.'s recording Rushun Roolet, an underground album with a hard sound. He later completed work on his first Russian-language album, Мастера слова. Legalize formed the group Легальный Бизне$$ with N'Pans and DJ Ton1k in 1998, releasing their debut album Рифмомафия. After leaving Moscow in 2001, he collaborated with P-13 on the album Провокация, considered one of Russia's first battle rap albums. Legalize returned to Moscow in 2002 and took over leadership of D & D Music. His solo debut album, XL, was released in 2006. Subsequent notable releases include Живой (2016), Молодой Король (2018), and ALI (2020).
