But before he was seen hanging out in graffiti-covered stairwells of Soviet-era apartment buildings, Syava (born Vyacheslav Khakhalkin) was a minimal electro DJ by the name of Slava Mook. Now, with his ubiquitous tweed cap, leather jacket and cigarette fixed to his lips, Syava delivers expletive-laden tributes to the everyday patsan (dude) on the street, making Sergei Shnurov's poetic use of Russian swear words come across like a schoolteacher. Along with Ekaterinburg's Vitya AK-47 (with whom he recorded another song, "Ne Blatui," that has also become popular on YouTube ), Syava represents a face of Russian hip-hop that appeals a bit more to common people than the money-hungry, Bentley-driving facades of Timati and his ilk. This, his first concert in Moscow, promises to be Friday's hottest ticket in town, if not one of the strangest.
Syava plays Friday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m. at Plan B. 7 Ulitsa Sovetskoi Armii. Metro Novoslobodskaya. 903 755-9493.
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