In the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, many American companies initiated boycotts and refused to do business in Russia, including Universal Music Group. However, that apparently hasn’t stopped one of the label’s artists from announcing a concert in Moscow.
According to Rolling Stone, Atlanta rapper Offset posted a link to a Russian ticketing website for an arena show in Moscow, apparently breaking UMG’s boycott. Offset is signed to Motown, a subsidiary of UMG, after leaving his group deal with Quality Control Music as part of Migos to sign directly with QC’s direct parent.
Offset is currently promoting his upcoming album, Kiari, having released two singles so far this year, “Swing My Way” and “Ten.” Both songs seemingly address his recent high-profile breakup with Cardi B, which came just as Cardi announced the impending birth of the couple’s third child together.
Unlike his ex, the Atlanta rapper has rarely addressed political issues or current events in his music or his public timelines, preferring to stick to the usual “rapperly” topics of money, street life, and women. As far as what this means for his current label situation, perhaps there were behind-the-scenes changes that were not previously revealed. For now, neither Offset nor UMG have made any statements regarding the announcement.