MySpace: Rick Ross Cancels Tour Dates
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Rick Ross Cancels Tour Dates Over Reported Gang Threats – How Common Is This?
By Emily Zemler • 1 day ago
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Rick Ross canceled the remaining dates of his current Maybach Music Tour, including stops in New York and Nashville. The rapper’s rep cited the reason as an “apparent lack of organization and communication on the part of the tour promoter.” However; there are reports of gang threats in some locations. Ross initially only canceled two performances in North Carolina, where rumors that the shows were canceled due to threats from the Gangster Disciples street gang quickly arose. But is this why Ross canned the rest of his tour? And how common is it that a musician would cancel dates tour over gang threats?
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The Gangster Disciples beef with Ross apparently stems from his 2010 single “B.M.F. (Blowin’ Money Fast),” in which he raps, “I think I’m Big Meech … Larry Hoover.” Hoover is the founder of that gang and is currently imprisoned. SPIN also reports that adding to the issue is Ross’ recent mixtape The Black Bar Mitzvah, which features the Jewish Star of David – a symbol that the Gangster Disciples were already using as their emblem. But the issue is far more complicated than just this, as it seems many gangs have posted videos on YouTube threatening Ross. It’s unclear whether this is exactly why the tour has been called off, but we’d guess that there’s a direct correlation.
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Ross tweeted of the initial shows, which were also meant to include Wale and Meek Mill, “North Carolina I wuz so excited to perform tomorro wit #MMG. Promoters cancelled show but I’ll be Back ASAP.” In addition, Ross told Miami’s 99 Jamz that this cancelation is all about the promoter. Ross said on on air, “I canceled the rest of the tour due to the promoter, he wasn’t really handlin’ his business.” The rapper said that promoter Shawn Gee canceled three of his shows without notifying him so he pulled the plug on the rest of his dates, noting, “I just felt like that was some power that I needed to take away from homey, so I canceled the rest of the dates that I had arranged with him.”
Some media reports attest that it’s possible that the gang pressured the concert promoter into canceling rather than the other way around. In a YouTube video the Gangster Disciples say they want money from Ross, noting, “We pressing up on you, the whole Maybach. Everybody on your label is in trouble… Whatever city, whatever state… we letting your promoters know. If you wanna book Rick Ross, you need to talk to us, G… We ain’t going to release this pressure off you until you release this check… Maybach, Meek Mill, everybody, G. Nothing personal, but tell your boss man he got to get that check ’cause y’all in trouble.” If he doesn’t cut them a check, well, then he’s banned from Illinois, Colorado, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina.
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Ross says this also isn’t the case. The rapper said, “Once [the shows] began to unravel, I shut it down. Never was it due to any threats. Any dude can stand in a crowd with 30 or 40 dudes and everybody real, everybody trill, everybody ’bout that life, everybody gangsta. But when the choppers come out, everybody fold. So if you screamin’, ‘Cut a check, we need a check.’ Ain’t no checks gettin’ cut. Ain’t never no checks gettin’ cut. I don’t play those games. I consider that extortion, we don’t play like that.”
And while there have been instances where a rapper’s connection to a gang gets them banned, it doesn’t usually seem to be from a gang itself. Last year The Game was stopped from going into Canada to perform a show because of an alleged affiliation with the Bloods, but that was instituted by the Canadian government, who held the rapper at the border. Waka Flocka Flame, who claimed earlier this year that he was banned from the state of Virginia due to his supposed gang affiliation, has also been prevented by performing in Canada.
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What’s Ross’s next move? The rapper told Allhiphop.com, “I want to apologize to all of my fans who I missed performing for due to the cancellations and want to let them know that I will get back to their cities. I enjoyed my experience with my little bros Wale and Meek Mill and I’m ready to get back in the studio to make good music.” We’ll see if Ross addresses any of this in that new music.
