Back in June 2018, Azerbaijani rap duo Alexander Aliev and Navai Bakirov — known by their aliases HammAli & Navai — held a rare rap concert in Dagestan. The event, which took place in the republic’s capital, Makhachkala, caused UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov to express his discontent with the way Dagestani youth behave.
The fighter posted a video of the event on his Instagram account, which showed a large crowd of young men dancing and singing along with the rappers. Beneath it lay the caption: “Modern Dagestan. Is this what was bequeathed to us by righteous predecessors?