This weekend’s Art of Rap shows in Austin and at Dallas’ Gexa Energy Pavilion have apparently been cancelled.
The touring festival, which boasts a throwback hip-hop lineup featuring Ice-T and Public Enemy, among others, hasn’t offered an official reason for the cancellation. Austin360 speculates that the Texas heat may have something to do with it, and GuideLive points out that some of Ice-T and Public Enemy’s most notorious songs (“Cop Killer” and “911 Is A Joke,” respectively) may have generated controversy around the concert so soon after last week’s shooting of police in downtown Dallas.
AllHipHop goes a step further and blames Texas authorities for indirectly causing the show’s cancellation. Former Public Enemy member Professor Griff was in the news recently when Dallas police mentioned Griff by name after finding him in a social media photo with Micah Xavier Johnson, the shooter in last week’s attack on officers. Griff denied knowing the shooter, and stressed publicly that he does not advocate violence against police.
If that’s why the show was cancelled, what a shame — socially conscious hip-hop in the vein of Public Enemy is especially vital in today’s political climate. Blaming rap music for violence is an old, and still groundless, phenomenon. That kind of censorship wouldn’t benefit anyone.
Whatever the reason, the Texas tour dates have been removed from the festival’s Facebook page. The local promoter in Austin is offering refunds to ticket holders. No word yet on refunds for Dallas tickets, but we’ll update this post when we know differently.
