Kanye West wanted $5 million for Moscow concert – agent

A performance by the American rapper was set to take place in the Russian capital on his birthday, but no deal was reached

Grammy Award-winning American rapper Kanye West, known as Ye, reportedly planned to celebrate his 47th birthday with a concert in Moscow next month but failed to reach an agreement with event organizers, the Russian Telegram channel Mash reported on Wednesday.

Citing the potential host, Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, the outlet claimed that the performance had been intended for June 8 and that Ye had planned to visit the country with his wife, model Bianca Censori.

However, shortly after Mash’s post, TCI concert agency fonuder Eduard Ratnikov told Izvestia that rumors of the summer concert were “fake.” He confirmed, however, that negotiations with the American artist indeed took place one month ago but fell through after Ye asked for a whopping $5 million for the performance.

Producer Yana Rudkovskaya, who claims to have personally participated in negotiations with Ye, also confirmed in a Telegram post that event organizers and the musician were unable to agree on the fee. However, she suggested that a Ye performance in Moscow was still not completely off the table and could take place sometime later, possibly as early as fall 2024.

Neither Ye nor his representatives have yet commented on the potential Russian concert. 

The Moscow venue is set to host a rap event titled “Atlanta Summer Festival” on June 8, the tentative date allegedly discussed with Ye.  Aside from featuring several popular Russian rappers, promotional material for the event promises two “secret guests.”