Basta's father was an army officer who had served in Belarus during the 1980s.[2] He studied at the local musical college, but did not graduate.
Basta first began to write rap songs between the ages of 15–16. In 1997, he joined the rap group Psycholyric, which he later renamed Kasta. In 1998, he recorded his first solo single "Моя Игра" (Moya Igra/My Game). Subsequently, Vakulenko assembled his own band, "Уличные Звуки" (Ulichnye Zvuki/Street Sounds). In 2004, he was noticed by Bogdan Titomir, who invited him to accompany him to Moscow. In Moscow, Basta met other performers Smoky Mo and Guf (future founder of the Centr). Later on, he participated in recording Guf's album "Город дорог" (Gorod Dorog/City of roads) and collaborated with him on the cover of his first single "Моя Игра" (Moya Igra/My Game).
In 2008, Basta adopted the stage name "Noggano", an allusion to the Nagant M1895 revolver. He recorded two albums "Ноггано первый" (Noggano: The First) and "Ноггано теплый" (Noggano Warm). After his "Noggano" project, he rebranded himself as a Gangsta rapper, calling "Noggano" his alter ego.
Since 2006, Basta and his business partner Yevgeny Antimoniy have owned the Gazgolder company. The company has a multi-brand strategy and under their ownership acts as a music record label, night club, production company, management agency, and talent agency. Under Gazgolder, they also own multiple stores which include clothes shops, pubs, restaurants, vape shops, and a jewellery retailer.
In October 2019, he became the owner of the FC SKA Rostov-on-Don.[3][4] Together with the company "Rostec" they participated in the restoration of the club[5][6][7]
