Russian rappers remove ode to Moscow after over 1mn dislikes on YouTube

A rap video that heaped praise on Moscow and its mayor has been removed from YouTube after becoming one of the most-disliked Russian videos on the platform. Netizens accused the rappers of selling out to authority.

Rappers Timati and Guf wanted to congratulate Moscow on its 872th birthday, but their patriotic tribute to the Russian capital backfired spectacularly.

Featuring stunning drone footage of the city, ‘Москва’ (Moscow) became a viral sensation due to its authority-worshiping lyrics – not the usual fare expected from the super-cool rappers.

In the song, Timati describes Moscow as “a city of contrast” and “a state within a state,” for some reason singling out the fact that it doesn’t host gay pride events as one of its major advantages.

He boasts of being a fifth-generation Muscovite, who never takes part in street rallies and “doesn’t talk trash.” The rapper also wishes good health to Mayor Sergey Sobyanin and promised to eat a burger in his honor.

Timati’s establishment-friendly lyrics were met with widespread disgust, and netizens immediately mobilized to make their displeasure known.

The rap duo were trashed in the comments section for becoming complete “sellouts.” The musicians were accused of being paid by the Moscow authorities to produce the video – a claim they strenuously denied.

Before it was pulled from YouTube, the clip racked up a staggering 1.4 million dislikes – making it one of the most disliked Russian videos on the platform. Tellingly, the video received 5.5 million views, but just 89,000 likes.

Announcing his decision to remove the video, Timati said that he simply wanted to express love for his hometown and thank those who had made the city better. In an Instagram post, the rapper said he was deleting the video in order to stop the “wave of negativity” that it had created.

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