MOSCOW, January 12. /TASS/. The Kremlin is not so familiar with the works of American rapper Kanye West to provide any evaluation, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday. He also stressed that the presidential administration is not the performer’s point of contact, when commenting on the plans of the rap artist, who announced his intention to meet with Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
"I do not think that the presidential administration is the performer’s point of contact. Neither in terms of spiritual matters nor in the organization of his trip," Peskov said. He was commenting on the reports about the rapper’s plans to visit Moscow with his gospel program called Sunday Service in the summer of 2022.
When asked how familiar President Putin and the Kremlin administration are with Kanye West’s works, Peskov replied that this knowledge "is not so deep to provide any assessments."
Earlier on Tuesday, Billboard reported that "the artist and entrepreneur, now known as Ye, is planning a trip to Moscow later this year to meet with President Vladimir Putin, hold Sunday Service performances as his first-ever shows in Russia and expand his business ventures into the country." The magazine referred to the artist’s associate Amir Sudan who also said that Ye plans to invite Putin to attend the gospel performance as a special guest.
Talking to Billboard, Sudan noted that "Russia is going to be "a second home" for Ye" and that "he will be spending a lot of time out there".