US Rapper Ye's Russian Concert Canceled Amid Pro-Nazi Controversy

US rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has been blocked from performing in Russia following a series of European concert cancellations due to controversy over his praise of Nazis.

The Washington Post reported on the 29th, local time, that Ye's concert scheduled to be held in St. Petersburg, Russia, in October has been canceled.

Ye's concert had drawn significant attention as the first performance by a major Western musician in Russia since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, selling out both scheduled shows. However, The Washington Post noted that his history of controversial pro-Nazi remarks presented a dilemma for Russian authorities.

Hosting Ye's concert in Russia, which has faced four years of isolation due to Western sanctions over the Ukraine war, would have aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin's efforts to project that the country is not an international outcast.

At the same time, however, there was considerable public aversion to holding a concert by someone who has praised Nazis in St. Petersburg, a city that suffered hundreds of thousands of deaths during the 872-day Nazi German siege in World War II.

The backlash is also believed to have been influenced by President Putin's repeated characterization of the war in Ukraine as a fight against Nazism.

Furthermore, the lyrics to his 2023 song "Vultures" include a line where the protagonist mistreats a drug-addicted Russian woman for Ukraine.

Consequently, domestic opinion in Russia was sharply divided between those arguing that authorities should not intervene in the concert and those contending that his past behavior meant the performance should not be permitted.

According to The Washington Post, Russian media outlets suggest the concert may have been forcibly canceled at the demand of authorities.

Since 2022, Ye has continuously posted messages on social media that could be interpreted as antisemitic, leading to concert bans across numerous European countries starting in 2023.

On May 8, 2025, marking 80 years since Germany's defeat in World War II, he even released a new song titled "Heil Hitler."

Ahead of the release of his third album last January, he issued a public apology and explained that he developed bipolar disorder following a past car accident, but many European countries still refuse to grant permits for his tour performances.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.