Alleged divorce from Nastya Kamenskykh, Monaco battalion and calls from the President's Office: everything Potap said to Russian journalist Dud in his first interview in three years

Ukrainian rapper Potap (Oleksiy Potapenko), who fled his homeland after the outbreak of the large-scale invasion and is now building a career abroad under the pseudonym Slavic Balagan, gave an interview for the first time in three years. He spoke to Russian blogger Yury Dud, to whom he told about his personal life, art, how he joined Territorial Defense Forces "remotely" and other interesting details.

The corresponding video, which lasts more than three hours, appeared on the Russian journalist's YouTube channel. It is interesting that the performer gave his first interview since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in Russian, although he says he does not want to promote the language of the aggressor country.

Monaco battalion*

*an established name for those who illegally left Ukraine during martial law

During the conversation with Potap, Yury Dud recalled how, at the beginning of the war, the rapper said that he was able to join the Terrorial Defense Forces in absentia. The artist explained that at the time, many people decided to enroll in the TDF, so there were long lines. To avoid them, the performer asked his father to "take his place" so that he could later join a group in Kyiv.

"Lomachenko signed up, Usyk, and other businessmen, so I did too. There were huge lines, so I asked my father to take my place. I signed up. It was a time when weapons were being distributed, streets were patrolled, photos were taken of those in military uniforms. All that," the artist said.

In addition, according to Potap, during his time in the TDF, he managed to "do everything." Namely, to patrol, ride in military vehicles and hold weapons. The rapper did all this in the summer of 2022, when he came to Ukraine from abroad for a few weeks.

Calls from the Office of the President

Potap met the first day of the full-scale war while outside Ukraine. According to the artist, he and his wife were in Spain at the time, where they went to solve some work issues. The producer noted that when he learned about the outbreak of the war, he immediately turned his efforts to volunteering and tried to do everything possible to make people around the world aware of the bloody events taking place in our country.

"An endless stream of military and humanitarian aid, I did not stop. I also traveled around the world, talking about the war together with Nastya behind the scenes, shouting because people did not know what is happening," the artist said.

According to Potap, at the time he received many calls from "different people" from his homeland, urging him to continue his charitable work. Dud asked who exactly contacted the producer, and he replied, "From the leadership of our country. They said, 'Please, you know how to do this, continue.' So basically the President's Office called me."

Alleged divorce from Nastya Kamenskykh

Potap also mentioned his personal life. For a long time, rumors have been circulating online that the marriage of singer Nastya Kamenskykh and Potap faced problems. The couple does not share content on social media and does not attend public events together, which only fuels speculation about the stars' divorce. However, according to the performer, there are absolutely no problems in their relationship, and moreover, after February 24, 2022, it has only become stronger.

"People see us as characters from comic books. They expect some dramatic events from us. Reality show. But the war has shown that personal relationships are catalyzed either in one direction or the other: either couples break up or vice versa - they become stronger. For us, it worked in a positive way. We've been together for a long time, we're looking in the same direction, so everything is fine," the rapper said.

Attitude toward Russian language

During an interview with a Russian journalist, Potap said that he absolutely does not want to promote the language of the aggressor country, and moreover, he will never write his songs in it. However, the artist sees no problem in switching to Russian in order to "convey a pro-Ukrainian position." Moreover, the rapper said, many famous people in Ukraine often use the language of the enemy in everyday life.

"Let's be honest and say that Ukrainian politicians and artists often do not hesitate to speak Russian, do not hesitate to use it in everyday life, in daily communication, in work. I know Ukrainian, I am fluent in it because I am Ukrainian. I do not promote Russian, but when it is necessary to convey a pro-Ukrainian position in another language, I do so," the performer explained.

However, with regard to the language of the aggressor country in his work, the performer has a much more clear position, "I don't write in Russian. I can give you an interview in Russian so that your audience understands me, to show the Ukrainian position, which is 'Glory to Ukraine'. But I don't write in Russian, I do not allow myself to do so, this is my position."

Hate from Ukrainians

Over the past three years, Potap was a target of hate among Ukrainians. Because of this, the artist has often faced criticism from fellow citizens and colleagues. The producer admitted that over the years of his public career, he has learned to calmly accept negativity. The artist distinguishes between two types of criticism: constructive and non-constructive. According to the performer, he analyzes the first type of hate, draws conclusions and changes something in himself. Interestingly, Potap is convinced that talking about him is currently fashionable.

"I mean, I make people popular here too. I'm a good producer. If you use the word 'Potap', then people will definitely watch something. It just happened. I'm not showing off now, please don't think that," the artist said.

Why Potap took off his pants in Moscow after Crimea occupation

During the interview, Dud recalled an incident involving the Ukrainian producer that took place in 2014 after Russia occupied Ukrainian Crimea and held an illegal referendum. At that time, he took part in a music award in Moscow, during which he took off his pants in front of Russians and addressed them, thanking them for their warm welcome.

"It's 2014. We, like all artists, performed in Moscow. But that year we had a world tour, we traveled endlessly with Nastya abroad: in America, Germany, wherever we could. The situation in Crimea was just developing, the Ukrainian authorities were not commenting on anything, we didn't understand what it is, but we knew that something was happening. We listened to Ukrainian news, and they didn't comment on it," the rapper explained.

It is worth noting that Potap's words are not true, as the aforementioned music award took place on May 31, 2014, while Russia annexed Crimea in February of that year, so the occupation of the peninsula had been known for several months. In addition, the Ukrainian government openly commented on the actions of the Russians. For example, Oleksandr Turchynov, who was acting president of Ukraine at the time, said, "Vladimir Putin considers Crimea to be part of Russia, but Crimea was, is and will be Ukrainian land. Mr. Putin's fantasies are useless. All civilized countries do not recognize the occupation of Crimea."

Moreover, the start of the anti-terrorist operation to liberate the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine captured by Russian militants was announced on April 14, 2014. At that time, Turchynov signed a decree on the implementation of the decision "On urgent measures to overcome the terrorist threat and preserve the territorial integrity of Ukraine" adopted at the NSDC meeting. So at the time of the rapper's appearance in Moscow, it was clear what was happening between the two countries.

According to Potap, he made this scandalous gesture to address the traitors of Ukraine who were at the event (Ani Lorak, Taisiia Povaliy, and Lolita were present there). The artist's excuse sounds rather strange, since he clearly addressed the citizens of Russia, "Officially, from all Ukrainian artists: Russia, thank you for hosting us."

"There were Ukrainian artists sitting in the audience of RU.TV awards ceremony who have long ago taken off their pants in front of the Putin regime, and this joke was directed at them. Ani Lorak and Taisiia Povaliy were sitting there. I did it toward them," Potap said.

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