News cycles are an interesting thing because we were once flooded with information regarding Travis Scott but now, it seems the public has moved on to new controversies. Still, Scott, Drake, Live Nation, and Apple are facing heavy lawsuits—some together and separately—including news of $750 million and $2 billion lawsuits against the Astroworld icon.
Since the festival’s tragedy, artists have been filmed checking on their fans in audiences across the globe. Scott’s partnerships have been canceled, magazine features have been pulled, and think-pieces have been written about how and why he should be held responsible for the deaths of the 10 people who attended Astroworld.
There haven’t been many of Scott’s Rap peers who have stepped forward to publicly defend him, but Public Enemy icon Chuck D did just that earlier today (November 19). Chuck D penned a lengthy letter where he reminded people that Scott is a rapper, not a festival coordinator.
“I cannot believe we’re at the point where I gotta say this out loud: Travis Scott is a performer, an act, not a concert promoter,” he wrote. “He doesn’t run the sound or venues or festivals or their staff. He doesn’t build stages or coordinate logistics, he’s not an expert in crowd control or security or emergency medical services. But he does trust Live Nation and all the other concert promoters who are supposed to do all of this. And yet here we are, 10 deaths and counting. 10 broken families.”
I’m tired of these corporations shucking their most crucial responsibility. These folks simply say Rest In Peace and move on. This negligence can’t continue. Folks want answers. I’m not buying the Young Black Man did it. He’s being blamed for a crime while the old white men running the corps that Travis and his fans trusted with their lives stay quiet in the shadows, counting their money and watching their stock prices go up and up. The excuse of Scott’s irresponsible actions don’t wash – if his act had a history of that behavior why promote him to bigger venues, why partner with him in the first place and let him headline a bigger audience? Live Nation controlled this show. They control almost all of the concert venues. Artists ain’t speaking out because these same cats are already bought by these corporations. No one can say a word against them unless they want to be Blacklisted and hurt their careers.
Chuck D challenged Live Nation to come forward and “do the right thing” so that a “Young Black Man” won’t “take the blame, the hate, the fall.” Check it out below.