Those who are fans of Russian rap know of Timati's infamous 2015 song, "My Best Friend" [1], a sycophantic dance-rap track dedicated to V. V. Putin featuring artists from Black Star. Having been released just one year after the start of the Ukraine-Russian conflict [2], the music video had quickly become the most disliked Russian-language video on YouTube in just three days, and became a symbol of the state mobilization (and exploitation) of the genre. The internet split into two over the matter, with many supporting Timati's gesture, while many others reviled the artist's choice for "selling out" to the government [3]. However, what if I told you that this wasn't the only track of its kind to be released that year? In fact, there was another, equally as "slavish" track colored within the stream of "Russian rap", one that many (especially in the Academic world) have forgotten or don't even know about. That track was the young rapper ВладиМир and his 2016 track (and music video), "Letter to the President", an auto-biographical track talking of his life and thankfulness for Putin's place in Russia. The chorus of the track reads as an appeasement rather than genuine respect:
"Comrade President, me and all my friends, and even my girlfriend doesn't need any changes at all. My dear president, having lived with you for 15 years, I sing this rap to you." [4]
Aesthetically, the track reads as similar to those from the early 2000s, especially Detsl and his debut album Кто Ты? This is to say, boom-bap focused with a disco-funk style coolness, and a rhythmic flavoring to the rap flow. Even the visuals from the video indicate this as true. Using a "Ben Day process" filter, commonly used in comic books, first developed in 1879 and then popularized in retro comic books from the 1940s to the 1970s [5], Vladimir appears as the central protagonist of the video. There's a tension between the video, the music, and the text, as turntablism, film-noire jazz saxophone, boom bap, and 80s funk-groove aesthetics are mashed together, yet the narrative is one of Russian exceptionalism. The various elements I just mentioned do not come from Russia but abroad. How do we grapple with the fact that the song's very ontology couldn't have existed with Western intervention? Yes, once the 1970s came and turntablism became saturated within Soviet disco culture, Russia had its own breed of the DJing style.
And yes, once this track was released, "Russian rap" was a domesticated reality. However, the track is more than overtly referencing, however unknowingly, the American 1970s-1980s and disco-rap ethoi of The Fatback band (King Tim III), Newcleus (Jam on It), and The Real Roxanne [6], just to name a few examples. In the Russian rap world, the track pays strong homages to the "Russian Old School" of the 90s via artists like Bad Balance, Black and White, Sheff, Popovi4, Dolphin, and many others [7]. However, the most prominent reference is Detsl for sure [8].
Being the son of Vladimir Kiselov, Russian businessman, musician and member of the rock groups "Earthlings" and "Russians", and having close ties to Putin both legally and politically (his creation of a factory for domestic music stars entitled "Russian Media Group" resulted in the company being bought by IFD Capital), I am sure there is immense pressure on him to toy the "party line". An article from 2021 notes how Kiselov's other son won a prestigious state prize for his patriotic songs around the annexation of Crimea [9]. Thus, it makes sense that the entire family is producing various types of patriotic-inspired musical content. Since this release, I haven't heard of this "rapper", although a singular bio on the artist shows himself a sought-after artist within the confines of the Russian state [10].
If this curious music video shows you anything, it's the unwillingness of the Russian rap world to fully engage with or endorse state sycophancy, despite some having fairly state-centered views (i.e., Timati and Husky to name a few). Russian rap, by its historical constitution, is not generally conservative in view. But as it develops, the alignment with conservatism bodes well for those looking for career success. So, in a way, to profess allegiance with Putin is a rather shrewd business decision. Adorno would fall to the floor at this.....music as the politics of business.
What do you think?
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