It's Time To Talk About Hip-Hop Cancel Culture
What it means when artists do the cancelling themselves. +reviews of new albums from Curren$y and TOP HOOTER
Earlier this month, I was hit with a distinct kind of letdown familiar principally to mid-to-large scale concertgoers.
Just as I'd begun meticulously prepping a pre-game playlist of millennial New Orleans rap classics in anticipation for the Elmont, NY stop of the Cash Money Millionaires tour, I received some unfortunate news: the date was officially postponed, by some two months. The e-tickets had been in my virtual possession since April, purchased the very day the tour went on sale off the strength of a lineup that included turn-of-the-century members Birdman, Mannie Fresh, B.G., and Juvenile alongside a surprisingly Northern set of opening acts, namely The LOX and State Property. Some might've bristled at the bill's seeming incongruity, but it read like a dream for someone who was of college age when 400 Degreez, Baller Blockin', Chopper City In The Ghetto, Money, Power & Respect, and The Truth dropped.
Given that CABBAGES' independent artist remit often skews towards smaller live events and club shows within the five boros, this ongoing phenomenon of high profile concert cancellation or postponement in sporting arenas affects me far less than it does others. (I did struggle with a 2023 DJ Paul x Styles P gig planned for midtown Manhattan's classy Sony Hall, subsequently attached to no fewer than three different dates before finally calling it after ten months of punting.) Still, being firmly in a demographic on the receiving end of plentiful legacy artist marketing, in hip-hop and otherwise, it finally happened to me.
Worst of all, absolutely no explanation was provided, just boilerplate on a templated Ticketmaster missive assuring me that my tickets would be valid for the rescheduled show unless I asked for a refund. Adding insult to injury, the updated Cash Money Millionaires date is now set for October 17, which puts it in conflict with Gucci Mane's planned NYC birthday concert at Brooklyn Bowl, another event I'd considered. And despite the fact that there wasn't a show, Juvenile still managed to make it to the city just fine, judging by his Instagram posts from Yankee Stadium and a Queens cannabis hotspot.
Notably, mine isn't just only locale the Big Tymers and their cohorts missed this summer. Despite a July 31 stop in Detroit, it seems multiple nights were cancelled outright, including two South Carolina from June and ones in Biloxi, MS, Jacksonville, FL, and Sunrise, FL all meant for this coming weekend, respectively. Similarly, an entire co-headlining tour by Three 6 Mafia and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (all 5 members, purportedly) originally set to kick off next week got unceremoniously pushed to April of 2026. It's enough to make an aging rap fan want to give up on live music altogether.
Music journalists have pondered and probed the subject of big name rap concert cancellations quite a bit in recent years. The consensus seems to be that insufficient advance ticket sales and compounding financial hurdles compel a plurality of hip-hop headliners, their teams, and promoters to nix or indefinitely defer shows. Some cite a powerful professional need to finish their overdue album, or the suppressive presence of existential ailments like exhaustion and fatigue, or, in cases where only select dates get cut, something as nebulously granular as an "unforeseen illness." Life happens, of course, but regardless of the reasons, obfuscation is the name of the game when backtracking on a tour.
Many of these multi-city runs abruptly end, sometimes weeks or even mere days before they were to begin, usually with hardly any explanation as to why. The excuses aren't new, but with the price of these tickets on the rise, it insults the fans to get that email from AXS/Live Nation/Ticketmaster that offers, at best, an eventual refund for a formally cancelled date or, at worst, an interminable postponement to some future date that is immediately in doubt. Meanwhile, artist Instagrams tend to go suspiciously mute on the subject, ignoring questions and comments from disappointed and disillusioned fans.
As a cultural correspondent, that gives me cause for concern. In the shadow of 2023's auspicious marking of hip-hop's 50th anniversary, a year-long reminder of the preceding five decades worth of artistry, older acts got the chance to get back on stage at various events, including several backed by corporate sponsors or other funding sources beyond ticket sales. Fans came out for these celebrations and showed love, proving that there was at least some market for live legacy rap. But now, scarcely two years later, tours like the Cash Money Millionaires and Thuggish-Ruggish-Mafia ones either can't make the numbers work or keep it together long enough to honor their commitments.
It's an especially embarrassing state of affairs when so many mid-tier legacy rock acts across generations continue to operate and, presumably profit, off playing fairgrounds, casinos, and theaters while aging rappers somehow can't or won't. And if they don't get it together soon, eventually more and more of their would-be supporters who got burned too many times will simply opt to sit things out, closing off a potential revenue stream for predominantly Black artists who, if their predecessors in the soul and blues scenes are any indication, may depend on that income sustaining them into retirement.
Complicating the spate of Cash Money Millionaires cancellations is the corresponding story of Turk (aka Hot Boy Turk) and his apparent removal from the tour. The Young & Thuggin' rapper claims that his refusal to take a requested pay cut from concert promotion company Dope Shows led to his being deemed a "security risk" and dropped from the bill. Some in rap media speculated that this may have had to do with a perceived rift with tour mate B.G., who called out his former Hot Boys associate for missing their 2024 reunion. But following public comments to TMZ made by Juvenile, who remains part of the lineup (for now), the promoter payout grievance appears to be legitimate. It also brings to light that concert cancellations aren't necessarily decisions made by the artists, even though it's their reputations on the line.
While Turk's departure feels fundamentally egregious, given that his name was prominently featured in the marketing and promotion of the tour as far back as this past April, it's hardly the most glaring Hot Boys absence. The group's fourth and most famous member, Lil Wayne, has embarked on his own solo headlining tour this summer, with fellow former Cash Money signee Tyga as an opener. Hopefully for the fans' sakes, they'll manage to complete this run without any further issues.
Curren$y, 7/30
Astute, attentive listeners to Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist's righteous reunion Alfredo 2 assuredly would've picked up on the proverbial shots fired at Curren$y on "Gas Station Sushi" even if the gossipy hip-hop media hadn't. Unveiled within mere days of that project, the eclectic 7/30 doesn't look to stretch this beef further, opting instead to let his luxurious lifestyle bars speak for themselves. Sure, one could hunt for subliminals and end up with a few probable false positives, be that amid the targeted and dismissive tones of "Tug Of War" or between the unapologetic lines of "Talkin Shit." Truth be told, negative energy doesn't really suit his brand as much as 420-friendly fare like "When Kush Clouds Rain" or the hedonistic drift of "One Sunday." His world remains copiously bedecked with brands like Ferrari, Moncler, and Rolex, and not a track goes by where he doesn't deploy some upmarket namedrop. Still, when he's pulling up to the laundromat in a Corvette on the Louisiana-centric "Bonus Cut" or watching Law & Order on a Lexus LX600 headrest on "Botched Robberies," he deliberately shares only the colorful highlights and concurrently keeps more incriminating details to himself.
TOP HOOTER, Handing Out Samples
Representing Boston's high caliber Feed The Family crew, TOP HOOTER regularly mixes gritty narco talk with copious pro-wrestling references. His second project of 2025, Handing Out Samples sticks to that script while giving incremental insight into his advanced skillset as a spitter. A resolute hustler, he frowns upon fraudulent practices and poor judgment from underworld wannabes on "From The Shadows," later shedding some light on his shrewder, more principled practices on "Dinner At The Palms." Building on the WWE themes behind the preceding Hooter Hyena, he metaphorically embraces a heel persona on "Paul Heyman," bringing bellicose energy to a track mostly in service of his status as a justified bad guy. That virtuous villainy echoes further on "ShapeShifter" and "Smart Fools," the latter featuring his co-conspirator Dun Dealy in a similar mode.
Three new tracks to snack on...
Wave Generators, "Beyond Beyond (feat. E L U C I D)"
BoriRock, BeenOfficialLord & Dun Dealy, "Wig Trauma"
Yoni Mayraz, "Ice Cold (feat. Fly Anakin)"
