Russian media went wild Wednesday with claims Kanye West was on his way to the Russian capital for a massive concert next month.
The concert plans were first announced by the Kremlin-friendly Mash Telegram channel, which declared that the “genius” and “rap icon” would be performing on his birthday “IN RUSSIA!” of all places. Citing unnamed organizers, Mash said a contract had already been signed for a June 8 concert at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium.
Representatives of Luzhniki Stadium quickly shot down that claim, however, as did the general director of a company helping to organize performances by international stars.
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Eduard Ratnikov told Russia’s TASS that he’d personally been in touch with West a couple months back after the American expressed an interest in having a concert in Russia.
“But it ended with nothing, because it is an absolutely empty story. When I saw this fake news today, I checked with the management of Luzhniki just in case, and there, naturally, they denied this news,” Ratnikov was quoted as saying.
REN-TV reported that plans for the concert fell apart because West wanted at least $5 million for the concert, and no one was able to pay that. Reps for West did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast.
It was not clear if the rapper was still considering a concert in Russia, where rap and hip-hop are extremely popular. Some Russian news reports claimed talks are still underway with West. While he is not performing at Luzhniki on June 8, the stadium is hosting a rap festival that day called “Atlanta Summer Festival,” according to promotional materials. Two Russian rappers, Alblak 52 and Friendly Thug 52, are scheduled to headline. Neither of them is from Atlanta.
But promotional materials also promise two “secret guests.”
