Things are getting ridiculous – Kanye West is coming to perform in Russia. In the past few months, it’s been hard to get rid of him. Photos with captions like, “We’re at a Kanye West concert in Türkiye!” (or Tbilisi! or Almaty!) are all over social media. It feels like no one attends other concerts anymore. No one raves, “We’re at a Muse concert!” (or a concert by ‘Metallica’, ‘Linkin Park’, or at least Marilyn Manson). Nope. It’s all about Kanye West.
To quote Ostap Bender from the novel ‘The Little Golden Calf’, “Who’s Studebaker – is Studebaker your dad?”. Who is Kanye West? Is that the rapper who was supposed to perform in Moscow? But lots of people were supposed to perform in Moscow. And then the hysteria hit St. Petersburg. Now, it’s reported that VIP boxes for West’s concert costing 2 million rubles each are sold out at St. Petersburg’s Gazprom Arena. No one knows for sure whether this is true, but there sure is a lot of hype around it. There were even fake websites selling Kanye West tickets, supposedly for his Moscow concerts, two years ago. By pop-business standards, two years feels like an eternity, but the belated love for West persists. And here we go again – Kanye West is coming to Russia… once again.
Local producers are fussing about, but no one can quite explain why there’s so much excitement around the figure of Kanye West. Perhaps it’s simply because a ‘real US rapper’ has fallen so deeply in love with Russia that he’s coming to make a fortune from ticket sales here? Oh yeah. In that case, we should definitely bow down before Mr. West.
Or maybe it’s because he loves to pick fights with the American establishment? Sounds like a double reason to love him.
No one would argue that West is a hard worker, and Grammys aren’t given out to just anyone. The song ‘Jesus Walks’ with its direct references to slavery and gospel music – how could it not earn him a Grammy in the era of ‘toxic old white men’? West won 21 Grammys in just eight years. About ten years ago, he worked so hard that he even ended up in a psychiatric hospital – well, it happens. Bipolar disorder won’t cure itself.
The diagnosis actually allows him to get away with alarming political statements and demonstrations. Once on the Alex Jones Show, he expressed a warm attitude toward Hitler; then he spoke about Jews in a way that Jewish organizations couldn’t possibly appreciate; and then he launched merchandise featuring a swastika.
Naturally, he got cancelled: advertising collaborations with Balenciaga and Adidas collapsed, and his Twitter (now X) and Instagram accounts were wiped. He is no longer signed to Def Jam, the label with which he won most of his Grammys. Once, he burst onstage and told the audience that Taylor Swift was nothing compared to Rihanna and that the awards had been given to the wrong girl. And even if he had a point, he went about expressing it in a most rude manner.
They say that following West’s outbursts, public figures began to be held more accountable for their statements. However, when singer Madonna said that she thought about blowing up the White House because Trump was there, no one even mentioned ‘responsibility’.
But all that is America’s problem. It’s got nothing to do with Russia. Just like all American rap – from underground rap to its luxury top-end version, represented by P. Diddy (who’s in jail for transporting prostitutes) and our new friend and idol, Kanye West. Go up to the person who bought that VIP box for 2 million rubles and ask them, “What’s your favorite line from ‘Watch the Throne?’”. They won’t be able to tell you, and won’t hum it either. Because no one in Russia really cares about West’s songs. But the scent of luxury and foreign culture – that’s definitely alluring.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.