President Putin and His Distaste of Rap Music

The Russian President has been a controversial figure in America for a long time, but this time he has crossed the line. President Putin announced that he wants his government to “take charge” of the rap industry in his country. This comes after multiple cancellations from different Russian rappers due to authorities not allowing them to perform. Most of the rap in Russia promotes protest to the government, and this is not a good sign for Putin as the popularity of the music increases every year. He has said in statements to media that “it is impossible to ban rap,” but that his government needs to start controlling it. These comments on rap music in his country came shortly after the arrest of a popular Russian rapper, Husky, who was jailed for 12 days because even though he was told not to perform, he stood on top of a car and performed anyway.

To many, this is a suppression of freedom of speech, which is common in Russia, but from Putin’s perspective this is merely to cut down on the talk about drugs. In comments made to reporters last week, Putin talked about the cursing and drugs that was featured in many rap songs. He then said that the cursing is not what bothered him and that the drugs were his main problem. Putin does not think that a country should be promoting drug use amongst its citizens as this can lead to an unstable nation.

Husky was not the first rapper to cancel all of his shows. Along with Husky, at least three other Russian rap artists were “persuaded” to cancel their shows after heavy pressure from “every police agency you can imagine.” This is a serious problem for many rap stars as this is their only source of income and having to cancel shows because of their “extremism” seems ridiculous to these artists.

This is not the first time that Russian artists have been frowned upon. During the ages of the Soviet Union, many artists were suppressed. In 1985, a list containing more than 35 bands was released to the public denouncing their music and saying it was “not recommended” to listen to the certain bands because they were “violent”, “racist”, and “anticommunist.” These bands and artists included names like Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, and Pink Floyd, all of which loved by American people.

Putin’s suppression of speech is his country is indisputable, and it is just a matter of time before he tries to ban music altogether. Russia’s track record with “offensive” music in it’s country has not been good after multiple groups have claimed the government has attempted to assassinate some of these rebellious bands. Not only is this depriving artists of their wellbeing, but it undermines the basic human right to speak one's mind.

By Adam Smith