UPDATED 1/11, 5:40 p.m. ET: Kanye West’s PR rep, Pierre Rougier, told Rolling Stone that the story is “entirely fabricated.” He called it a “work of fiction or wishful thinking from these Russian people.”
Publicist Rob Goldstone, who reps Emin Agalarov, confirmed to the outlet that “there are talks going on,” but did not provide further comment.
See original story below.
The Donda era took a somewhat surprising turn on Tuesday, with Ye now claimed to be planning a trip to Russia during which he’s aiming to meet with Vladimir Putin.
Additionally, per Billboard, Ye is planning to stage multiple Sunday Service experiences while in the country. Citing comments from “confidant and strategic advisor” Ameer Sudan (pictured below), the artist formerly known as Kanye West will also be working on business-related matters while in the region.
In the future, at least according to Sudan, Ye will be spending “a lot of time” in Russia. The country, he added, will become a “second home” for the artist. Sudan is reportedly working with attorney Scott Balber (managing partner of Herbert Smith Freehills’ New York office) on travel arrangements. The two, as further claimed in Tuesday’s Billboard report, are said to be “acting as liaisons” between the Yeezy founder and so-called “Trump of Russia” Aras Agalarov and his son Emin.
Aras is a real estate developer with ties to Trump, namely in connection with a Miss Universe competition in Moscow back in 2013. In more recent years, that pageant has become an oft-mentioned aspect of speculations surrounding Trump’s relationship with Putin.
“I had a great weekend with you and your family,” Trump said in an Associated Press-cited November 2013 tweet directed at Aras. “You have done a FANTASTIC job. TRUMP TOWER-MOSCOW is next. EMIN was WOW!” The former POTUS, however, is no longer on the platform due to being permanently suspended following last year’s fatal Capitol riot.
For the full report, including word on Ye planning to “musically” collab with Emin and currently-in-progress deals that are claimed to have the potential to boost his wealth to “more than $10 billion,” click here.
Last November, notably, Ye referred to himself as “Young Putin” during a widely excerpted interview with Drink Champs.
Complex has reached out to a Ye rep for comment and will update this post accordingly.
Also on Tuesday, per the Associated Press, the Kremlin said talks with U.S. officials regarding heightened Ukraine tensions had not provided those involved with much progress toward a more optimistic outcome. “So far, let’s say we see no significant reason for optimism,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying to reporters.
As of November of last year, the U.S. Department of State categorized Russia as a Level 4: Do Not Travel region. Reasons given by the department included the embassy’s limited capacity to offer help to U.S. citizens in the country, the ongoing pandemic, harassment, terrorism, and “arbitrary enforcement of local law.”
