Get professional, Nas tells promoters after failed St. John's gig
Last Updated: Monday, June 1, 2009 | 12:40 PM NT
CBC News
U.S. rap superstar Nas laid the blame for his no-show at a St. John's-area gig on the Canadian promoters, who left him unpaid hours before the start of a St. John's-area gig.
Nas refused to take the stage Thursday night at an arena in Torbay, just north of St. John's, after promoters informed him they did not have enough money to pay his $47,000 fee.
Fans rebelled when local promoter ODC — which is blaming a Halifax company for failing to come up with its share of Nas's payment — told them Nas would not perform, with the police arresting several rowdy fans.
In a message posted this weekend to the hip-hop site Global Grind, the New York rapper fired back at the promoters who lured him to make the trip.
"Bad business is bad business," Nas wrote. "Now, I don't usually leave my crib unless all the business is handled first. But I love my fans in Canada so I said cool. But of course it wasn't cool."
Nas cooled his heels at the bar at St. John's International Airport after he was informed there wasn't enough money to pay him. He wrote that the promoters also cancelled the hotel rooms for his party.
"So we what we had to do and did was get up out of there. But to all of Canada make sure u know I roll with ya hard!" Nas wrote. "It's all love."
Craig Cantwell of ODC Productions told CBC News that the company paid Nas about half of his fee, and thought that Lux Entertainment of Halifax had paid the rest. Instead, he learned that the money was not available. As well, Cantwell said that Lux even failed to procure return air tickets for the show's opening act, Canadian hip-hop star Kardinal Offishall.
Nas said he had little time for what happened.
"My advice to wannabe promoters anywhere they are [is to] take business serious," he wrote.
"Learn about being professional. Always. It's very important to be real with people. Don't continue to pull these 1950-style ways of doin' business. It's wack."
