The rapper Offset has announced an arena concert in Moscow despite a boycott from his label.
The former member of Migos, whose hits included Bad and Boujee, shared an Instagram story to reveal the news. He will play at the MTS Live Hall on 18 April after completing a solo tour last year in the US.
The site calls him “one of the most influential, Grammy-nominated rap icons to emerge from the Southern United States”.
The rapper is signed to Motown Records, which is owned by Universal Music Group. The parent company had previously announced a boycott of Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It was one of many labels suspending operations in the area.
“We urge an end to the violence in Ukraine as soon as possible,” a statement read in 2022. “We are adhering to international sanctions and, along with our employees and artists, have been working with groups from a range of countries to support humanitarian relief efforts to bring urgent aid to refugees in the region.”
No official statement has been made by UMG yet on the concert.
DaBaby, another rapper who is signed to a label existing within the Universal umbrella, also recently performed in Russia. He has previously shown his support for Donald Trump, referring to him as “a gangster”.
Offset, who had been married to Cardi B until their divorce in 2024, has experienced a number of legal troubles in his career. Charges include burglary, theft, battery and possession of a concealed weapon.
In 2020, he was detained near a Donald Trump rally yet his publicist later said there had been an “attack by aggressive Trump supporters”.
The statement added: “Offset’s current focus is encouraging younger voters to get to the polls in order to keep incidents like this from continuously happening.”
Offset’s former Migos group member Takeoff was shot dead in 2022.
Last year, Offset endorsed Kamala Harris for president and this week also called Elon Musk a “racist bitch” on social media after the South African tech mogul promoted a pardon of Derek Chauvin who killed George Floyd in 2020.
Cardi B has also previously spoken out about the war in Ukraine on social media in 2022. “Wish these world leaders stop tripping about power and really think about whose really getting affected (citizens) besides the whole world is in a crisis,” she tweeted. “War, sanctions, invasions should be the last thing these leaders worry about.”
The announcement follows news that the White House is steering toward lifting sanctions on Russia.
