Kanye West is going to Russia. The rapper is reportedly planning a trip to Moscow to meet with President Vladimir Putin and host his popular “Sunday Service” show.
The “All Falls Down” rapper will head to Russia “later this year,” with travel plans currently scheduled for spring or summer. Per Billboard, Ameer Sudan, West’s strategic advisor and confidant, revealed that the rapper plans on making Russia “his second home.” Sudan added, “he will be spending a lot of time out there.”
Taking his “Sunday Service” abroad isn’t the only reason West has his sights set on Russia. West also has some new business deals with Aras Agalarov, a close associate of Putin’s. Per Billboard, Agalarov is “president of the Crocus Group, one of Russia’s leading developers and is sometimes referred to as the ‘Trump of Russia’ because of how he often self-brands his buildings.”
The Agalarovs also “helped coordinate” the 2016 Trump Tower meeting, when the former president’s campaign officials met with a Russian lawyer in attempts to dig up dirt on Hillary Clinton. West’s deals with the Agalarovs are set to increase the rapper’s wealth to more than $10 billion. As theGrio reported in March 2021, the rapper was estimated to be worth about $1.8 billion by Forbes at the time.
Billboard also reports the rapper’s plans to collaborate on music with Emin Agalarov “in effort to raise Emin’s profile in the U.S.” His Sunday Service performance, to be held at the Crocus City Hall theater, will mark the first time West ever performs in the country.
As of right now, U.S. citizens can travel to the country, but only under specific conditions. As Billboard reports, “The U.S. Department of State currently lists Russia with a level 4 ‘do not travel’ advisory, due to terrorism, harassment by Russian government security officials, the embassy’s limited ability to assist U.S. citizens in Russia and the arbitrary enforcement of local law.”
In a statement obtained by Billboard, Sudan said, “This is Ye, Ye is going to get there regardless. What are they going to say? He’s going to be a special guest of the Agalarovs. Kanye knows what’s going on more than the average human being, he’s well aware of things. And it’s nothing against the United States or to cause conflicts, but Ye is Ye — he can’t be controlled.”
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