Putin: Let's Crack Down on Rap

Alarmed by the growing popularity of rap among Russian youth, President Vladimir Putin wants cultural leaders to devise a means of controlling, rather than banning, the popular music, the AP reports. Putin says "if it is impossible to stop, then we must lead it and direct it." But Putin said at a St. Petersburg meeting with cultural advisers Saturday that attempts to ban artists from performing will have an adverse effect and bolster their popularity. Putin noted that "rap is based on three pillars: sex, drugs, and protest." But he is particularly concerned with drug themes prevalent in rap, saying "this is a path to the degradation of the nation." He said "drug propaganda" is worse than cursing.

Putin's comments come amid a crackdown on contemporary music that evoked Soviet-era censorship of the arts. Last month, a rapper known as Husky, whose videos have garnered more than 6 million views on YouTube, was arrested after he staged an impromptu performance when his show was shut down in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar. On Nov. 30, rapper Gone.Fludd announced two concert cancellations, citing pressure from "every police agency you can imagine," while the popular hip hop artist Allj cancelled his show in the Arctic city of Yakutsk after receiving threats of violence. Other artists have been affected as well—pop sensation Monetochka and punk band Friendzona were among those who had their concerts shut down by the authorities last month.

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