Russia - ACTING UP - Noize MC

ACTING UP - RUSSIA’S CIVIL SOCIETY - Photographs by Platon for Human Rights Watch - Noize MC, 26, is a superstar Russian rapper whose breakaway hit, “Restore Justice (Mercedes S-666)“ stoked public outrage over a corrupt official responsible for a fatal hit-and-run accident. “A good rapper, I think, should know about the world,“ he says, “to read books and to know something about humanistic ideals.“ His political lyrics have landed Noize in administrative detention before -- a brush with the police that only enhanced his popularity. “Advanced technology, rich culture/ And now only red sand, steep mountains and craters,“ he raps in “It’s Awesome on Mars.“ “...To die was just as scary for them as for you or me.“