The Public Enemy member rages as he slams 'White Corporate Music Biz' for 'cashing in on Black Pain, Trauma and Death' following the fatal tragedy at Astroworld Festival.
- Nov 20, 2021
AceShowbiz - Rapper Chuck D has defended Travis Scott following the deaths of 10 people in the Astroworld festival crowd crush, and is blaming concert promoters for the chaos.
The Public Enemy hitmaker has written an open letter on behalf of the "Sicko Mode" rapper, insisting responsibility for the 5 November (21) tragedy lies with officials at Live Nation.
"Travis Scott is a performer, an act, not a concert promoter," he writes in the letter, which was sent to Variety.
"He doesn't run the sound or venues or festivals or their staff. He doesn't build stages or coordinate logistics, he's not an expert in crowd control or security or emergency medical services. But he does trust Live Nation and all the other concert promoters who are supposed to do all of this. And yet here we are, 10 deaths and counting. 10 broken families."
"I'm tired of these corporations shucking their most crucial responsibility. These folks simply say Rest In Peace and move on. This negligence can't continue. Folks want answers. I'm not buying the Young Black Man did it. He's being blamed for a crime while the old white men running the corps that Travis and his fans trusted with their lives stay quiet in the shadows, counting their money and watching their stock prices go up and up."
He points out Live Nation executives seemingly ignored the rapper's conviction on two previous occasions, for inciting the crowd to engage in reckless behaviour, and therefore should shoulder the blame for booking the "Escape Plan" star.
"If his act had a history of that behavior why promote him to bigger venues, why partner with him in the first place and let him headline a bigger audience?" he added. "Live Nation controlled this show. They control almost all of the concert venues. Artists ain't speaking out because these same cats are already bought by these corporations. No one can say a word against them unless they want to be Blacklisted and hurt their careers."
Chuck, real name Carlton Douglas Ridenhour, did not mention that Scott personally founded the Astroworld festival and personally designed the stage.
According to Variety, Scott headlined two other festivals promoted by Live Nation that went off without any major incidents.
The "Fight the Power" hitmaker ended his letter with the message, "Live Nation, your stock is up. The White Corporate Music Biz keeps cashing in on Black Pain, Trauma and Death. This has to stop yesterday. You're part of the problem. Grow the f**k up, fix this and let us all LIVE in PEACE (sic)."
