Ice-T has brought attention to the longevity of Hip Hop’s veterans and how they continue to have a strong presence in the music space decades after their prime.
On Saturday (August 19), the Los Angeles legend took to Twitter to shout-out his peers for their perseverance and cross-generational influence.
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He wrote: “From what I’ve noticed.. Classic HipHop is selling out Arenas world wide! NAS, WuTang, 50cent, LL, Snoop, IceCube.. Our fans are showing up and having a blast!! It’s a great feeling. Respect to the OGs! We’re not done… [four explosion emojis].”
The Law & Order actor was referring to the colossal gigs that have been going recently and coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop. This includes 50 Cent’s global Final Lap tour, Wu Tang Clan and Nas’ North American NY State of Mind dates, LL COOL J’s star-studded F.O.R.C.E. trek and Ice Cube’s upcoming UK and Ireland shows, among countless others.
On the flipside, younger artists have been struggling to fill venues and follow through on their promises to show up for their fans. Moneybagg Yo became the latest artist to cancel a string of upcoming shows, some of which were allegedly due to low ticket sales.
In early August, ticketholders in Orlando and Philadelphia were notified that the Memphis rapper had called off his shows in their respective cities. Floridian fans were particularly upset considering the Larger Than Life Tour performance was scheduled to take place the same day they received the news of its cancellation.
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Similarly, Lil Baby cancelled a slew of tour dates in mid-July for his It’s Only Us Tour and fans didn’t take the unexpected news too well. The Atlanta artist cancelled shows in Phoenix, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Denver, Indianapolis, Louisville and Pittsburgh, even though fans reportedly spent $200 on tickets to see him perform.
Identical to Moneybagg’s email, Ticketmaster said in a statement: “Unfortunately, the Event Organizer has had to cancel your event.”
Contrarily, Snoop Dogg recently gave a tough-to-argue-with reason for pulling out of pair of Hollywood Bowl shows slated for October as he stands in solidarity with those on the front lines of the writers and actors’ strikes.
The Long Beach MC took to social media to make the cancellations official with an announcement. The two Hollywood Bowl dates were set to feature Dr. Dre on the bill and were originally slated for June before being pushed to October with hopes of the strikes being over, which now seems unlikely.
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“We regret to inform you that due to the ongoing strike and the uncertainty when this will be over, we need to cancel the Hollywood Bowl show,” Snoop wrote. “We stand in solidarity with all of our brothers and sisters in the WGA and SAG-AFTRA during this difficult time and remain hopeful that the AMPTP will come back to the negotiating table with a REAL proposal and we can all get back to work.”
