Kanye West is planning a trip to Russia. Billboard reported that the Donda rapper will be visiting Moscow later this year to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, hold Sunday Services performances and expand his business ventures.
Second Home
Kanye‘s rep Ameer Sudan confirmed the travel plans, noting that the trip would likely take place in the spring or summer depending on his schedule.
Ameer is working with attorney Scott Balber, the managing partner of Herbert Smith Freehills’ New York office and the law firm’s U.S. head of investigations and financial services litigation, to make the arrangements. He explained that they would be acting as liaisons between the rapper and Scott‘s clients, Azerbaijani-Russian billionaire real estate developer Aras Agalarov and his son Emin Agalarov.
He added that Russia would be a “second home” for Kanye, telling the outlet: “He will be spending a lot of time out there.”
Aras Agalarov is a close friend of Vladimir Putin and Billboard writes he’s sometimes referred to as the “[Donald] Trump of Russia” due to the way he self-brands his buildings. Kanye will also be collaborating musically with his son Emin in order to raise his profile in the U.S.
First Time Performing in Russia
While Ameer would not disclose the deals Kanye was working on with the Agalarov family, he did say that they would increase the musician’s wealth to more than $10 billion.
While in Russia, Kanye will also be putting on one of his Sunday Service events, which he plans to invite Vladimir Putin to personally. This will mark his first time performing in Russia in his 25-year career.
When asked whether new U.S. sanctions against Russia would impact his ability to travel there, Ameer replied:
“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.”
Kanye has recently released a new music video for his song “Heaven and Hell” from the Donda album. He also dropped a trailer for his new documentary earlier this month.
