Vacío (rapper)

Vacío
Born
Nikolai Mikhailovich Vasilyev

(1998-02-13) February 13, 1998
GenresTrap
Occupationrapper

Nikolai Mikhailovich Vasilyev (Russian: Николай Михайлович Васильев; born 13 February 1998), better known as his stage name Vacío (Russian: Васио), is a Russian rapper.[1][2][3][4]

Biography

Vasilyev was born on 13 February 1998 in Yekaterinburg.[5][6][7] In his early years he obtained musical education through classes on piano, and later, guitar.[8][9]

Later, he began to get involved in rap[10][11][12] and create compositions in this genre.[13][14]

"Naked" Party of Nastya Ivleeva

On 21 December 2023, Vasilyev attended Nastya Ivleeva's "almost naked" party wearing only a sock to cover his genitals.[15][16] The event sparked widespread public outrage in Russia and beyond. On 22 December, Vasilyev released a public apology video, stating that he does not support LGBT movements, did not intend to promote any agenda, and condemns the movement's supporters.[17]

Vasilyev commented the idea for the sock came from a friend of his who suggested it to him[18] and that he did not imagine that there would be such a huge and resonant response from the public.[18]

Male attendees at the party were seen in a video licking the sock,[19][20] which led the Lefortovo District Court in Moscow on 27 December to declare the event as "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations". A video was also posted online of the sock being quickly taken off Vacio's penis by another attendee at the party,[21][22] and Vacio commented that while "...he regretted his first act,[wearing the sock] ...the second arrest was completely incomprehensible to him."[22] as the sock was taken off by other people at the party who posted a video of it online.[22][21]

Vasilyev was found guilty of petty hooliganism and spreading “gay propaganda”[16] and the court ruled that the "almost naked" party had spread “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations.”[16] Vasilyev was imprisoned for 15 days and fined 200,000 rubles.[16][15][23] At the end of the 15 day sentence, Vasilyev's detention was extended for another ten days again due to petty hooliganism[16] and he was taken to the military conscription office and handed a military summons.[16][15] Authorities discussed sending him to serve in the military orchestra.[24][25] At first it was not clear why Vacio was summoned to the military recruitment center as he was legally unfit to serve in the armed forces due to an unspecified medical condition[26] and it was also commented that "...Vasilyev, 'doesn’t face the threat of serving in the army because he had allegedly failed the military-medical commission in his native Yekaterinburg for health reasons.'"[27][28]

On the 14 May 2024, Vasilyev's representative announced that the rapper had left Russia for the United States.[29] This came after he failed to appear at the military conscription office the previous day. Singer Yana Djalu, a friend of Vasilyev, confirmed his departure, stating that Vasilyev felt "pressured" and "not free" in Russia.[30][31] Vasilyev then later confirmed that he had travelled to Yerevan, Armenia and not the United States and that he had been telling his friends that he had moved to the United States as he was concerned of there being any possibility that he could be extradited from Armenia and he wanted to keep a low profile.[32] Reports also suggested Vasilyev considered renouncing his Russian citizenship, although no official confirmation has been made regarding his emigration or citizenship status.[33]

On 7 January, the St. Petersburg club MOD hosted a concert by the rock group Schenki, during which the group's lead singer Maxim Tesli (real name Maxim Moiseev) went on stage wearing a sock on his penis during the performance.[34] The sock fell to the floor and the singer appeared completely naked in front of the audience for a short moment, but then went backstage and got dressed. A video of the incident ended up on the Internet and outraged Ekaterina Mizulina, who considered the singer's actions to be an imitation of Vacío. On the night of 9 January, the singer was arrested at Pulkovo Airport - he intended to fly to Yekaterinburg, and from there to Kazakhstan.[35][34]

As noted in the media, Maxim Tesli appeared in public in a similar form back in 2016,[36][37] and a number of foreign performers even earlier.[37][38] It was unclear whether Tesli’s concert appearance was intended as a gesture of support for Vacio.[34]

Discography

Studio albums

  • 2019 — "88"[39]
  • 2020 — "Неожиданно глубоко"[4]
  • 2020 — "Индепендент"[40]
  • 2022 — "Отец"[1]

Singles

  • 2019 — "Любовь" (with OG Buda)
  • 2020 — "Punk" (with OFFMi)
  • 2020 — "Спокойствие"
  • 2020 — "Франция" (with AP)
  • 2021 — "Soda"[41][42][43] (with Eldzhey)
  • 2021 — "Soda (Remixes)" (with Eldzhey)
  • 2021 — "Трейнспоттинг" (with Rravingriot)
  • 2021 — "Осень"
  • 2022 — "Project X"
  • 2022 — "Skate"[44] (with "ЛСП")
  • 2022 — "Я / Мы животные"
  • 2022 — "Уу-хуу"[45][46] (with "Пошлой Молли")
  • 2022 — "Притон"[47][48] (with Morgenshtern)
  • 2022 — "Когда…"
  • 2022 — "Фотик"[49]
  • 2022 — "XXX"
  • 2022 — "Дурочка" (with Mipunga)
  • 2023 — "11111" (with Mipunga)
  • 2023 — "Знакомство" (with Nxn)
  • 2023 — "Папа"[50]
  • 2023 — "Песня двух романтиков" (with Dima Bilan)[51]
  • 2023 — "Уроды боятся красоты"
  • 2023 — "Внутривенно"
  • 2023 — "Утки 2" (with Mipunga)

Guest appearances

Year Track Singers Album Ref.
2018  "Танцы на костях" ВесЪ feat. Vacío Y
"Caramba!" ВесЪ feat. Vacío
2019 "Почему не падает небо" Boris Grebenshchikov & "Счастливые люди" feat. Vacío
"Uan" Maib feat. Vacío Sugar Nugan
2020 "Биг дерьмо" Мезза feat. Vacío "Ванхана"
"Друзья" Feduk feat. Vacío "Останься" [52]
"Надеюсь что ты ждёшь так же как я" Enique & Vacío "Доброе утро"
"Не плачь" Maib feat. Vacío Epilogue
"Они говорили" Tenderlybae feat. Vacío "Юность"
"Опиум" Enique & Vacío "Доброе утро"
"Свали" Мезза feat. Vacío "Ванхана"
"Смех (Remix)" OFFMi feat. Vacío, Hugo Loud & Suroknablokk "КПД 100"
"Ты меня ранишь" «Мальбэк» feat. Vacío [53]
"Яд" Zavet feat. Vacío
2021 "А о и и э и а" Alizade feat. Vacío Molly Mo Music
"ВПНП" Anikv feat. Vacío
"Воины (Freestyle)" Pretty Scream feat. Vacío & AP Leave Your Bones
"Запомню" White Punk feat. Vacío "Сириус"
"Красный закат" Лауд feat. Vacío "Красный закат" [54]
2022 "План" Lizer feat. Vacío "Оттенки"
2023  "Антидепрессанты" «Мальбэк» feat. Vacío
"Невыносимо" Pinq feat. Vacío "Луна сегодня красивая, правда?"
"Останься" White Punk feat. Vacío Wockstar!
"Танцуй со мной" GeeGun feat. Vacío & Mayot Bang [55][56]
"Bbbitch!" Saluki feat. Vacío & Bato Wild East

References

  1. ^ a b "VACÍO выпустил альбом "Отец"". The-Flow.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  2. ^ ""Nikolay Vasilev" — новый мини-альбом Vacio". The-Flow.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  3. ^ "VACÍO выпустил альбом "Индепендент"". The-Flow.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  4. ^ a b "Vacio "Неожиданно глубоко"". The-Flow.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  5. ^ ""Делаю настолько простые вещи, что их понимают только самые модные": интервью Vacio". The-Flow.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  6. ^ "Мальбэк и VACÍO выпустили клип «Антидепрессанты»". The-Flow.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  7. ^ "Vacio и Morgenshtern* выпустили трек "Притон"". The-Flow.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2022-11-18. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  8. ^ "VACÍO "Я/Мы животные"". The-Flow.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  9. ^ ""А о и и э и а" — так называется новый трек Alizade и VACÍO". The-Flow.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2023-12-22. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  10. ^ "VACÍO называет 10 любимых треков прямо сейчас". The-Flow.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  11. ^ "Психодел-R&B в клипе Vacio "Спокойствие"". The-Flow.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  12. ^ "Выходец из тусовки Екатеринбурга спел с Элджеем про расставание". momenty.org (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  13. ^ ""Уу-хуу" — новый клип Vacio и Пошлой Молли". The-Flow.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  14. ^ "Vacio и Элджей выпустили трек "Soda"". The-Flow.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  15. ^ a b c "'Keep your socks on your feet' What to know about Russian rapper Vacio, who was jailed and then drafted into the military after attending the 'almost naked' party in nothing but a sock". Meduza. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2025. At first, he was jailed for 15 days and fined 200,000 rubles (around $2,250) for "LGBT propaganda." Then, as he was leaving the police station, he was stopped and thrown back in jail for another 10 days — this time, allegedly, for swearing. That same day, the rapper was taken to a military recruitment center and handed a military summons, according to social media
  16. ^ a b c d e f "Russian Rapper Who Attended 'Nearly Naked' Party Handed Military Summons Reports". The Moscow times. 8 January 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025. Russian authorities handed military summons to a rapper who attended a 'nearly naked' party last month wearing only a sock on his penis... ...A Moscow court fined and jailed rapper Vacio (real name Nikolai Vasilyev) for 15 days in late December after finding him guilty of petty hooliganism and spreading 'gay propaganda.' The court ruled that the party, the public backlash to which triggered show cancellations and on-camera apologies from artists who were filmed at the private event on Dec. 21, had spread 'propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations'.
  17. ^ "Rapper VACÍO apologizes for participating in Ivleeva's scandalous party". Izvestia. 2023-12-22. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  18. ^ a b "A detailed conversation about Ivleeva's party and its consequences ; vDud". Youtube. vDud. 26 June 2025. Event occurs at 4:20. Archived from the original on 25 August 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025. So the dress code party. Eh, the less clothes, the better. How do you start? Come up with a costume? From a friend I came up with this idea. He just threw it in. This is what he said, like "ha-ha, this is can be funny". And it infected me. And whats the idea? And the idea is put a sock on your genitals and thats it. ...I couldnt even imagine that it would be so big. I knew that they would discuss what would happen, it's strange, but i didn't plan to do it there was a huge resonance from this.
  19. ^ "Rapper who wore sock for blogger's naked party arrested and fined". Pravda. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2025. The rapper was also fined ₽200,000 ($2,200) under Article 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation for promoting non-traditional sexual relations in a video from the party in which another man was licking Vacio's genitals through his Balenciaga sock.
  20. ^ "The party's over in Moscow as Putin punishes naked revellers". Financial Times. 27 January 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  21. ^ a b "A detailed conversation about Ivleeva's party and its consequences ; vDud". Youtube. vDud. 26 June 2025. Event occurs at 17:43. Archived from the original on 25 August 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025. Well, as for why it happened, it was like one guy just pulled my sock off. Well, like, it's on the video too. I think everyone was drunk, and he just pulled it off, and there was a girl grabbing me. Well, in short, there were people there, but it wasn't like it was in the news, some kind of fucked up situation. It was just a normal party with a bit of a row. But people made it seem like as if it were Sodom and Gomorrah. It definitely wasn't Sodom, there was no Sodom there... ...Well and like they drop this video where they rip off my sock.
  22. ^ a b c "Rapper Vacio was given a summons to the military registration and enlistment office". mk.ru. 7 January 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2025. I was walking with a friend through a club, and several people approached me. I didn't immediately realise that two of them were young men dressed as women. And one of them brazenly pulled my sock off. According to my plan, the women at the event were wearing mini knickers, and I had the same kind of thong, but homemade — elastic bands were attached to the sock. I scolded them for this act. And the video was later posted online (according to preliminary data, by a guest, the ex-soloist of the group "Brilliant"). ...Nikolay Vasilyev could not stop in his monologue and assured the members of the POC that he regretted his first act, but the second arrest was completely incomprehensible to him. The rapper's defense position is as follows: according to him, after he served 15 days, he was taken to the military registration and enlistment office near the Belorusskaya metro station, where he was handed a summons for January 9, and then taken to the police, supposedly for a professional talk. But there, all the conversations ultimately boiled down to the fact that Vacio was set up by those who pulled off his homemade thong.
  23. ^ "Court declares Ivleeva's "naked" party as LGBT propaganda". Business Online. 2023-12-27. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  24. ^ "Participant of Ivleeva's "naked" party, rapper Vacio, to serve in military orchestral units". Argumenty Nedeli. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  25. ^ "Yekaterinburg designers release sock collection named after rapper Vacio". momenty.org. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  26. ^ "Jailed Russian Rapper Summoned To Recruitment Center". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 8 January 2024. After serving his first term, 15 days, last week, Vacio said he was taken to a military recruitment center, where he was handed a written order to show up on January 9. However, after bringing him to the recruitment center, police took him to a local station for "a preventive talk," and a Moscow court again sentenced Vacio to 10 days in jail for hooliganism. It is not clear why Vacio was summoned to the military recruitment center. He is legally unfit to serve in the armed forces due to an unspecified medical condition.
  27. ^ "Russian Rapper Who Attended 'Nearly Naked' Party Handed Military Summons Reports". The Moscow times. 8 January 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025. Russian authorities handed military summons to a rapper who attended a 'nearly naked' party last month wearing only a sock on his penis... ...A Moscow court fined and jailed rapper Vacio (real name Nikolai Vasilyev) for 15 days in late December after finding him guilty of petty hooliganism and spreading 'gay propaganda.' The court ruled that the party, the public backlash to which triggered show cancellations and on-camera apologies from artists who were filmed at the private event on Dec. 21, had spread 'propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations'. "...Vasilyev 'doesn't face the threat of serving in the army because he had allegedly failed the military-medical commission in his native Yekaterinburg for health reasons.'"
  28. ^ "Рэперу Vacio, дважды арестованному за участие в вечеринке Анастасии Ивлеевой, вручили повестку в военкомат" [Rapper Vacio, twice arrested for participating in Anastasia Ivleeva's party, was given a summons to the military registration and enlistment office]. Current Time TV (in Russian). 2024-01-08. Archived from the original on 2024-01-08. Retrieved 2024-05-17. As for the summons, on the day of his appearance, it turns out that the artist will be in a special detention center, and military service is not a threat to him, 'in his native Yekaterinburg, he allegedly failed the VVK for health reasons', the publication says. In a comment to the TASS agency, Lobarev said that Vasiliev had allegedly already passed a medical examination for military registration, although the artist 'has a disease that prevents him from serving in the Russian Armed Forces.'
  29. ^ "Rapper Who Attended Scandalous 'Almost Naked' Party Flees Russia". Radio Free Europe Radio Libery. 14 May 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2025. Russian rapper Nikolai Vasilyev, who served 25 days in jail for attending the controversial "Almost Naked" party in Moscow wearing only a sock on his genitalia, has fled Russia, his colleague Yana Dzhalyu said on May 14.
  30. ^ ""There was a summons for May 13": rapper Vacio, who was supposed to go to the army after a naked party, fled Russia". Starhit. 14 May 2025. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  31. ^ "Rapper Vacio receives summons and leaves Russia". Gazeta.ru. 2024-05-14.
  32. ^ "A detailed conversation about Ivleeva's party and its consequences ; vDud". Youtube. vDud. 26 June 2025. Event occurs at 1:29:00. Archived from the original on 25 August 2025. Retrieved 4 September 2025. They wrote that you were in the United States. Yes, I ended up in Yerevan. And in Yerevan, since I was concerned about my safety, I learned that there was some kind of document, I don't remember the exact name of it, which was signed in the nineties, I think. It said that if, roughly speaking, there was a political enemy or something else, then there was a possibility of extradition, yes, that there was a possibility of extradition. Therefore, [ __ ] I was sitting there on high alert and decided to lie low, not to use my social media. And to all my friends who asked where I was, I told them that I left only after I found myself in Yerevan. I remember how [ __ ] happy I was and how I was the first one there. It was 8:00 in the morning, and I got out of the taxi at the first hotel or motel I found. I looked around and noticed something. The sun was shining, it was beautiful, warm. I noticed how strange and exotic the buildings looked. As it turned out, they were made of a different kind of stone. I looked at them and it seemed to me that it was just paradise... ...I had one foot out of this problem. That's it. And, in fact, all my friends who ask me where I am, for my own safety, I started just telling them that I was in America. Somehow, someone ended up leaking that information. So you weren't in America at all? No, I just said that for my own safety.
  33. ^ "Shot: Vacio leaves for the USA and wants to renounce Russian citizenship". The-Flow.ru. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  34. ^ a b c "Second Russian performer detained for sock-on-penis stunt". The Guardian. 9 January 2025. Archived from the original on 31 August 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  35. ^ "Солиста группы "Щенки" задержали в Пулково после выступления в одном носке" [The lead singer of the group Schenki was detained in Pulkovo after performing in one sock]. Kommersant (in Russian). 2024-01-09. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  36. ^ "Номер с носком на пенисе был в программе "Щенков" задолго до "голой" вечеринки" [The sock-on-penis number was on the Puppy show long before the "naked" party]. Fontanka.ru (in Russian). 2024-01-09. Archived from the original on 2024-01-11. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  37. ^ a b "Голые и не первые. Кто пел в носке до того, как это стало мейнстримом" [Naked and not the first. Who sang in a sock before it became mainstream]. Fontanka.ru (in Russian). 9 January 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-01-11. Retrieved 2024-05-17. However, Fontanka found out that the frontman of Shchenki performed in a sock back in 2016. And the idea itself is not new and belongs to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They played and sang with hosiery back in 1983.Other foreign artists who stripped naked on stage included Courtney Love and the bassist of Queens of the Stone Age, while members of the group Blink 182 bared their butts for a video.
  38. ^ Brannigan, Paul (14 March 2024). ""We realised the power and beauty of nudity": the naked truth about why Red Hot Chili Peppers used to wear socks, and absolutely nothing else, onstage". Louder. Retrieved 1 September 2025. Most famously, the LA quartet used to delight in taking the stage naked but for tube socks covering their genitalia, earning them a reputation as 'that socks on cocks band' which persisted for years longer than they anticipated. ... ..."Some time in the middle of July 1983 we played what would be a legendary Chili Pepper gig headlining the Kit Kat Club, which was a strip club that had been putting on rock shows," he continued. "Since we were playing at a strip club and the girls would be dancing on stage with us, we decided to come out naked, except for long athletic socks that we'd wear over our stuff.
  39. ^ "88 by VACÍO on Apple Music". 2019-12-13. Archived from the original on 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  40. ^ "Рэпер Vacío выпустил новый альбом «Индепендент»". daily.afisha.ru. Archived from the original on 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  41. ^ "Музыкальные чарты за 27 неделю: лидируют Джарахов & Markul, 10AGE, BTS и другие". www.intermedia.ru (in Russian). 2021-07-15. Archived from the original on 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  42. ^ "Элджей и VACÍO записали фит «Soda» со строчками об Ивлеевой • ТНТ MUSIC — Здесь твоя музыка". tntmusic.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2023-12-31. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  43. ^ "У Элджея и Vacio вышел трек Soda. Музыку написал Антон Беляев |". srsly.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2021-11-26. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  44. ^ "ЛСП фитанул с VACÍO в песне «Skate» • ТНТ MUSIC — Здесь твоя музыка". tntmusic.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2023-12-31. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  45. ^ "«Пошлая Молли» и VACÍO выпустили совместное видео «Уу-хуу» • ТНТ MUSIC — Здесь твоя музыка". tntmusic.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2023-12-31. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  46. ^ "Новое в музыке за месяц: J.I.D, «ФЕСТИК», Kenny Beats, VACÍO и «Сестры» | Музыка". srsly.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  47. ^ "Музыкальные чарты за 38 неделю: лидируют Anna Asti, Оксимирон, Markul, Тося Чайкина и другие". www.intermedia.ru (in Russian). 2022-09-22. Archived from the original on 2022-09-29. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  48. ^ "Музыкальные чарты за 36 неделю: лидируют Anna Asti, Егор Крид, Михаил Шуфутинский и другие". www.intermedia.ru (in Russian). 2022-09-08. Archived from the original on 2023-05-01. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  49. ^ "Главное — выбрать ракурс: VACÍO выпустил новый трек «Фотик»". go.zvuk.com (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2023-05-01. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  50. ^ RTWeek, редакция (2023-05-15). ""Где же ты был папа?" Вышел релиз первого клипа VACIO из проекта "Гараж" от SLAVA MARLOW". «Русская Теленеделя» (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  51. ^ RTWeek, редакция (2023-06-02). "Ночной хулиган Билан и рэпер VACIO записали "Песню двух романтиков"". «Русская Теленеделя» (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2024-01-05. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  52. ^ "У Feduk новый EP. Там две версии трека «Останься» и фит с Vacio |". srsly.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2021-11-20. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  53. ^ "Новое в музыке за неделю: Масло чёрного тмина, Мальбэк & VACIO, Chance the Rapper и Truwer | Музыка". srsly.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2022-05-12. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  54. ^ "«Красный закат»: криминальная короткометражка от «Лауд» и VACÍO • ТНТ MUSIC — Здесь твоя музыка". tntmusic.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2023-12-31. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  55. ^ "Джиган объединился с MAYOT и VACIO на лиричном треке «Танцуй со мной» • ТНТ MUSIC — Здесь твоя музыка". tntmusic.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2023-12-31. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  56. ^ "Джиган открыл новый альбом синглом «Танцуй со мной»". www.intermedia.ru (in Russian). 2023-01-13. Archived from the original on 2023-05-01. Retrieved 2023-12-31.