Ninety One

Ninety One
Background information
Origin	Almaty, Kazakhstan
Genres	Pop, Q-pop
Years active	2014 – present
Labels	JUZ Entertainment
Members	Azamat Zenkayev Batyrkhan Malikov Azamat Ashmakyn Dulat Muhametkaliev Daniyar Kulumshin

Ninety One or 91 (Kazakh: Тоқсан бір, transliteration: Toqsan bir) is a Kazakhstan Q-pop boy band formed by JUZ Entertainment in 2014.^[1] The band consists of five members: A.Z. (Azamat Zenkayev), ALEM (Batyrkhan Malikov), ACE (Azamat Ashmakyn), ZaQ (Dulat Muhametkaliev), BALA (Daniyar Kulumshin). Ninety One is the founder of a new musical genre called Q-POP (Qazaq-pop, Kazakh pop), which originates from the Western Pop & K-pop.^[2] The band producer is Erbolat Bedelhan, who is also a member of the Kazakh musical group "ORDA".^[3]

History

2015: Debute with Ayiptama

The group was founded in 2014, based on the "K-Top Idols" project, the main goal of which, was creating idol groups . A.Z. and ZaQ were the winners of this project. BALA and ALEM joined the group through a casting. ACE joined the group after training for 2.5 years at S.M. Entertainment agency (Korean: SM엔터테인먼트) in South Korea. Initially, the band was called KTI-boys, but after a year and a half of preparation, they changed the group name to Ninety One and released their debut single, Aiyptama! (English: Don't judge!), on September 1, 2015. The music video for this song was released on October 8, 2015 , which was leading the charts of Kazakhstan's music channels for 20 weeks.^[4] On December 1, 2015, they released their first EP, Aiyptama. This mini album consists of 6 songs.^[5]

2016: Kaitadan (Again)

On June 2, 2016 they released a new music video for the song "Kaytadan" (English: Again), which is currently the leader in the chart on the local channel Gakku TV. At the moment, the group is working on their next album, but this time it is going to be a full one. Moreover, they want to rewrite the song «Lady», from the repertoire of the group ORDA and shoot a music video for one more song.

Members

Alias	Real name		Date of birth	Place of birth	The position in the band
	English	Kazakh
A.Z.	Azamat Baybolatuly Zenkaev	Азамат Байболатұлы Зенкаев	28 September 1993	Kazakhstan, Atyrau	The group's leader, rapper
ALEM	Batyrkhan Abayuly Malik	Батырхан Абайұлы Мәлік	18 February 1993	Uzbekistan, Uchkuduk	The leading singer
ACE	Azamat Kayratuly Ashmakyn	Азамат Қайратұлы Ашмақын	29 August 1993	Kazakhstan, Almaty	Singer, dancer
ZaQ	Dulat Bolatuly Muhametkali	Дулат Болатұлы Мұхаметқали	8 February 1996	Kazakhstan, Semey	Choreographer, rapper
BALA	Daniyar Kulumshin	Данияр Кулумшин	15 October 1998	Kazakhstan, Almaty	Leading vocalist, maknae

A.Z

Azamat Baybulatuly Zenkaev — is the leader of the group, one of the rappers. He was born on September 28, 1993 in Atyrau, Kazakhstan. He has a sister and a younger brother. Since 2004, Azamat has been interested in rap and began to participate in freestyle battles. Since 2006, he has been professionally engaged in underground rap. The winner of the «K-TOP IDOLS» project.

ALEM

Batyrkhan Abayuly Malik — is the leading vocalist, born February 18, 1993, in Uchkuduk, Uzbekistan. He has an older brother and a younger sister. He graduated from the "Academy of Culture and Fine Art" in Chelyabinsk, Russia. Finalist of vocal TV show "Voice of Kazakhstan", Kazakh adaptation of the original format «The Voice». Semifinalist of X Factor Project. Laureate of International Music Competitions, which were held in cities such as Barcelona (Spain), Berlin (Germany) and several Russian cities.

ACE

Azamat Kayratuly Ashmakyn — is a singer, the leading dancer and vocalist, born August 29, 1993, in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He has a younger brother (Aset Ashmakyn). A graduate of Kazakh National Academy of Arts named after T.K. Zhurgenov, majoring professional acting. From 2012 to 2015, he was an intern at S.M. Entertainment (Korean: SM 엔터테인먼트) in South Korea. Therefore, in addition to Kazakh and Russian languages Azamat knows the Korean language. At the moment ACE is studying at the Kazakh Ablai Khan University of International Relations and World Languages in Almaty. He loves reading mystical and esoteric books.

ZaQ

Dulat Bolatuly Muhametkali — is a choreographer, rapper, born February 8, 1996 in Semey, Kazakhstan. He has a younger brother and a younger sister. Second-year student of the Kazakh Ablai Khan University of International Relations and World Languages. The winner of the international Olympiad on the Russian language. The winner of the «K-TOP IDOLS» project.

BALA

Daniyar Kulumshin — is the leading vocalist, born October 15, 1998 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He has a younger brother and a younger sister. First-year student of the Republican variety-circus college named after Zh. Elebekov. Former member of the vocal-instrumental group «Brotherhood».

Discography

Singles

Albums

Videography

External links

• Ninety One on Instagram
• Ninety One on Periscope
• Ninety One on YouTube

References