A rap concert that was scheduled for November 7th in Detroit has been cancelled after a large portion of hip hop fans protested vaccine mandate.
The concert scene was hit really hard when the year 2020 rolled around due to quarantine and lockdown measures by governments around the world. By the end of the year, the first set of vaccines were released in a bid to get things back to “normal”. This rollout of medication was not received with open arms from everybody. Some people had various reasons to balk at the idea and it has led to mandates being placed almost a year later to increase the population’s vaccination volume.
This of course has been an issue for promoters such as AEG and LiveNation who have implemented regulations that concert attendees must provide proof of their full vaccination or present negative COVID test results within 72 hours of the event.
Popular Detroit venue, Masonic Temple, was set to host the “Move The Crowd” concert featuring Slick Rick, Rakim, and KRS-One. However, the event—initially scheduled for Nov. 7—has been cancelled.
The venue announced its vaccine regulations on Aug. 12.
J99 News reports that event promoter Derrick Kearney of 2D Productions & Entertainment said via email, “We have received hundreds of texts, voicemails, and comments on social media about the Masonic Temple’s vaccination mandate. We have also found that the majority of concertgoers in that hip-hop demographic are not vaccinated. So the vaccination mandate with the Masonic Temple is the reason [for the event’s cancellation.]”
Kearney also shared his intent to move the concert to a different location on a different date.
According to the news outlet, Detroit has a low vaccination rate with only 46.56% of the eligible population vaccinated, compared to 71.94% of Wayne County’s eligible population.
Neither Slick Rick, KRS-One nor Rakim have addressed the concert’s cancelation on social media.
