Kanye West's planned Oct. 10-11 concerts at St. Petersburg's 80,000-capacity Gazprom Arena have been abruptly canceled, with the venue saying no rental contract was ever signed.

Promoter Say Agency disputes that account, saying it was acting on an approved official letter and that the signing deadline hadn't even passed. Russian outlet Fontanka reported the cancellation followed a "call from above" in Moscow, according to Euronews. Had the shows gone forward, West would have been the first major rap star to perform in Russia since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Neither West's team nor Russian officials have publicly detailed exactly why the deal fell apart, per Billboard.