Early years Adil Kulmagambetov was born on 3 June 1990 in the village of Leninsky (now
Atameken),
Pavlodar Region, northeastern
Kazakhstan. He is the son of Oralbek Zhalelovich Kulmagambetov (born 1 September 1953). Zhälelov developed an interest in music during his teenage years, citing
rap as a primary influence by age 11. By 15, he had begun composing his own music. He later reportedly changed his surname from Kulmagambetov to Zhälelov (a patronymic derived from his father’s first name, Oralbek), though official records, including the Kazakh
State Revenue Committee registry, continue to list him under his birth name. A pivotal moment came in 2013 with the release of the music video for «VBVVCTND» (stands for "
Vybor
bez
variantov —
vse
chto
ty
nam
dal") (Russian: «Выбор без вариантов — всё что ты нам дал»; ), a collaboration with Niman. The track’s success attracted attention from Gazgolder, which signed Skryptonite on 27 February 2014. He later cited 2014 as the defining year of his career. Concurrently, his music videos for «Ice» and «Slumdog Millionaire» amassed millions of
YouTube views, with the latter securing #2 in
Rap.ru’s Best Russian Clips of 2015. By October 2015, Skryptonite was shortlisted for the Hip-Hop Award at the
Jägermeister Indie Awards. In 2016, he was nominated for Discovery of the Year by
GQ Russia.
2015: House with Normal Phenomena and critical acclaim Skryptonite released his debut studio album,
House with Normal Phenomena (Russian: Дом с нормальными явлениями; stylized as an
allusion to the film "
House with Paranormal Phenomena") on 24 November 2015. The album debuted at number two on the
iTunes album chart in Russia, surpassing rapper
Oxxxymiron’s
Gorgorod and trailing only British singer
Adele's then-
new release.
Gazeta.Ru columnist Yaroslav Zabaluev praised the album’s conceptual depth and genre diversity, noting: "In an hour and a half, [Skryptonite] delivers not just atmospheric work but a stylistic mosaic—from trap and
New York hip-hop to near-
gospel." The album became one of the most acclaimed Russian-language rap releases of 2015, earning Skryptonite Rapper of the Year honors from
Colta.ru. It ranked among the year’s best albums in multiple publications: • #6 in
Afisha's 30 Best Albums of 2015 • #1 in
Rap.ru’s and The Flow’s respective rankings of top Russian-language albums • Included in
Gazeta.Ru's 20 Best Albums of 2015 Three tracks from the album garnered significant attention: • «Style»: Its music video ranked #5 in
Rap.ru’s Best Russian Videos of 2015, while the song placed 15th in The Flow’s Top 50 Tracks of 2015. • «Dance by Yourself»: Ranked #3 in the same Top 50 Tracks list. • «Priton»: Its video was included in Afisha’s 100 Greatest Clips of 2015.
2016: Delayed albums and accolades Skryptonite initially planned to release his second studio album concurrently with his 2015 debut,
House with Normal Phenomena. However, the project was delayed indefinitely and later retitled
Hotel Everest. In September 2016, Skryptonite was named Discovery of the Year by the Russian edition of
GQ magazine. Skryptonite contributed vocals and production to half of the album’s tracks. Skryptonite’s second studio album,
A Celebration on 36th Street (Russian: Праздник на улице 36), was released on 24 May 2017. Hours prior, he dropped the single «Outro» and a dual music video for «Party» (as Skryptonite) and «Bar "2 Lesbuchi"» (as Jillzay). At the album’s launch event on 26 May 2017 at
Saint Petersburg's Club A2, Skryptonite announced plans for another album—initially titled
Street 36—to be released later that year. In an interview with ''
L'Officiel editor-in-chief Ksenia Sobchak, he described Street 36'' as a double album diverging stylistically from his earlier work and addressing personal struggles. Following the dissolution of Jillzay, Skryptonite founded the music label Zorski, signing artists 104 (Yuri Drobitko), Truwer (Sayan Zhimbaev), and Benz (Altynbek Merkanov). In September 2017, 104 and Truwer released their collaborative album
Safari, co-produced by Skryptonite. On 16 December 2017, Skryptonite unveiled his third studio album, the double concept work , comprising
Uroboros: Street 36 and
Uroboros: Mirrors. The title references the
uroboros, a mythical serpent symbolizing cyclicality. Explaining the choice to
Gazeta.Ru he stated: "...I realized this image resonates with me, tied to the number 36. The ouroboros—a snake devouring itself—embodies self-improvement through self-destruction, which mirrors my journey." The album premiered at Club A2 in Saint Petersburg. During an Instagram Live broadcast that day, Skryptonite declared rap "outdated" and announced a 2–3 year hiatus from solo projects.
2018–present: Gruppa Skryptonite, Musica36, and 2004 On 9 August 2018, Skryptonite released «Glupye i Nenuzhnye» (transl. Stupid and Unnecessary), the first single from his new collective Gruppa Skryptonite. Notably, its music video premiered on the group’s official YouTube channel instead of
Gazgolder's. On 24 October 2018, Skryptonite collaborated with
T-Fest, 104, and Niman on the single «Multi-Brand». The same day, he appeared on the premiere episode of GazLive’s second season, announcing his return to rap and work on an EP featuring unreleased material from the Ouroboros sessions. The label released five singles between February and March: • «It’s Hot in Hell Today» (104 featuring Dose and Skryptonite) • «Podruga» (Gruppa Skryptonite; accompanied by a music video) • «Sinsemilla» (104 with Skryptonite, Vander Phil, and Rigos) • «Danced» (Dose featuring Andy Panda) Gruppa Skryptonite performed «Podruga» live on 31 March 2019, followed by reworked versions of «Priton» and «Suka tashit nas na dno» (originally from
House with Normal Phenomena) on 1 April. On 5 April 2019, the collective released their debut EP,
Solitude, featuring six tracks including earlier singles. On 28 June 2019, Skryptonite dropped the maxi-single
Frozen, containing collaborations with Andy Panda and solo tracks. His fourth studio album,
2004, followed on 24 December 2019, featuring guest appearances by Andy Panda, 104, Truwer, MDee, and Ryda. Reflecting on the album for
Apple Music, Skryptonite stated: "I started writing this album a little over a year ago. I wasn't going to write a rap album, but nevertheless new songs were written and for some reason quite easily. This is the first album that I wrote all the music on myself, even though on the other records most of the music was mine too. It doesn't have any narrative concept or storyline stretching from beginning to end, but it sounds solid and very special to me personally. Probably because it's almost all done with all sorts of analog synths and drum machines and sounds warm, like the 2000s. For me, it's the first album that I can listen to in the background and not think about it being my record." On 20 February 2020, 104 released the album
Cinema Without Cigarettes, with Skryptonite contributing to three tracks: «Not Sorry» (with ), «Snow», and «Pipes» (with
Saluki). On 13 November 2020, Skryptonite and Niman unveiled the collaborative EP
PVL Is Back, featuring four tracks addressing themes of excess, relationships, and legal struggles. Scryptonite left Russia after the
Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and closed his label and media in Russia. == Musical style and reviews ==