Ye to meet with Putin in Russia, associate says

Ye is heading to Moscow later this year and will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to an adviser to the performer.

The "Yeezus" rapper formerly known as Kanye West is poised to travel to Russia in the coming months for one of his church-style Sunday Service events there, Ameer Sudan, who's described as a confidant of the performer, told Billboard in a Tuesday story.

Part of Ye's visit - which would mark his first time performing in Russia - will allegedly include the Putin face-to-face.

"He will be spending a lot of time out there," Sudan said.

Ye, 44, is also said to be involved in business dealings with Emin Agalarov, a Russian businessman and friend of former President Trump. Agalarov's publicist allegedly helped arrange a Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer ahead of the 2016 election to get campaign dirt on then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

The rapper, who launched an unsuccessful 2020 White House bid under the Birthday Party and has been a vocal supporter of Trump, isn't likely to be discouraged by criticism for meeting with Putin, Sudan told Billboard.

"Kanye knows what's going on more than the average human being, he's well aware of things. And it's nothing against the United States or to cause conflicts, but Ye is Ye - he can't be controlled," Sudan said.

"This is Ye, Ye is going to get there regardless. What are they going to say?"