While many of you were eagerly awaiting Lil Wayne and DJ Drama's Dedication 5 mixtape last night, Kanye West was halfway across the world performing at a very expensive private party in Kazakhstan. The oil-rich Central Asian country is a former republic of the Soviet Union which some of you may recognize as the birthplace of Sacha Baron Cohen's "Borat" character.
As reported by TMZ, it seems Yeezy was flown out and reportedly paid $3 million by President Nursultan Nazarbayev to perform at his grandson's wedding reception, which took place at the prestigious Hotel Royal Tulip in Almaty. He was asked to perform "big hits" such as "Can't Tell Me Nothing", and did so.
The thing is, Nazarbayev is a controversial billionaire regarded by some as a dictator, who has been suspected of rigging elections in the past. Sting backed out of a similar gig in 2011 due to the alleged mistreatment of oil workers in the country. Whether or not Kanye is aware of this potential controversy is unknown at this point.
Thoughts on this?
Peep a brief, low-fi clip of the performance below:
