Russian culture minister claims Soviet poet was the world’s first rapper
Russian culture minister Vladimir Medinsky says Soviet poet Vladimir Mayakovsky was the world’s first rapper Getty
Forget everything you know about rap music – apparently a Russian poet was the OG rapper.
Well, that’s according to Russia’s culture minister, anyway.
Vladimir Medinsky has fired figurative shots at a Valdai Discussion Club session on Tuesday, saying that famed Soviet poet Vladimir Mayakovsky was the grandfather of rap.
He told journalists he was talking with his son about the youngster’s music tastes and recommended he read the poet’s work.
“Mayakovsky was the first rapper,” he told his son.
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His comments were reported in Russian masthead Interfax, before being published in English by The Moscow Times.
“The modern urban youth’s fascination with rap has long gotten on my nerves,” the Russian minister said.
“We’ll soon be saying that rap is a Russian form of art.
“It may have originated in America, but it developed further here.”
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Mayakovsky was born in 1893 and joined the Social Democratic Labour Party as a 15-year-old.
He was jailed several times because of his involvement with the party and began writing poetry in solitary confinement.
His work grew in popularity and he eventually became a spokesman of the Soviet nation.
