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Mos Def...

DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
edited January 2012 in Strut Central
...and the story of how he pretty much bankrupted an Aussie hip-hop promoter.

  Comments

  • rootlesscosmorootlesscosmo 12,848 Posts
    I only went to see him once.

    He showed up about 1.5 hrs late and trashtalked the crowd throughout the show for not being enthused enough about his horrible guitar-feedback-laden-30-seconds-of-every-song-off-his-shit-new-album set.
  • BrianBrian 7,618 Posts
    dexter got to his head
  • TheKindCromangTheKindCromang 1,463 Posts
    rootlesscosmo said:
    I only went to see him once.

    He showed up about 1.5 hrs late and trashtalked the crowd throughout the show for not being enthused enough about his horrible guitar-feedback-laden-30-seconds-of-every-song-off-his-shit-new-album set.

    I think I was at this show too
  • jjfad027jjfad027 1,594 Posts
    If one is too religious to take legal action against someone that effs them over that bad, maybe they shouldn't be a concert promoter.



    Not defending Mos Def's shitheadedness, just sayin.
  • TheKindCromangTheKindCromang 1,463 Posts
    W W Y B D ?
    (What Would Yasiin Bey Do?)
  • DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
    jjfad027 said:
    If one is too religious to take legal action against someone that effs them over that bad, maybe they shouldn't be a concert promoter.



    Not defending Mos Def's shitheadedness, just sayin.

    He makes it fairly clear that the main reason he hasn't taken legal action is that he can't afford to - his philosophy has just helped him avoid being consumed by bitterness over the whole thing.
  • parallaxparallax no-style-having mf'er 1,266 Posts
    My apologies if I sound like a dick in saying this, or if this sounds so naively simplistic, but it's on the promoter to take care of due diligence. It sounds like the promoter cut corners and tried to do this on his own, without legal help.

    Airing out your dirty laundry publicly the way this promoter has is just a bad look and actually demonstrates a lack of professionalism on his part. I get that he's been fucked over, and Mos Def is a dick, but in the end it's on him for not covering all his bases.

    Kindly,
    parallax
  • rootlesscosmorootlesscosmo 12,848 Posts
    Big difference between (a) not taking the proper steps to protect yourself b/w suffering the consequences for failure to do so (as dude apparently has) and (b) quiet acceptance of being screwed over by a dickhead "artist."

    Dude got got and is paying the cost financially. but there's no reason he can't air it out on the interwebs. If anything he's doing other promoters a service. He's not doing it in a particularly "unprofessional" way IMO. He's not attacking Mos Def ad homimen.; he's describing what happened. Since when are club promoters supposed to not talk about their relationships with artists? pretty standard.

    Fuck Mos Def's "feelings" or whatever.
  • volumenvolumen 2,532 Posts
    All I want is this guys address so I can clean out his possessions while he tells his girl friend this is suppose to happen due to his Buddhist leanings and they won't be prosecuting.
  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts
    The comments section, per usual, is illuminating, but does it hold water? Was homie, not so much zen-style leaving it all behind and moving to London but fleeing ahead of even more Mos Def-related Rap Promoter fallout? Hard to say.

    What hasn't been told here is what happened after and before all this, like why he fled to London. Which by the way was to get away from paying any of the Australian promoters he owed money to for Mos Def and other shows and tours. With figures ranging from $3,000 to over $30,000 per promoter. Don't have any feelings for this bloke because he deserved it, unfortunately people such as myself are now out of pocket because of this dodgy asshole not paying what he owes from before and after this tour.
  • DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
    I'm concluding from many of the responses thus far that SS-sanctioned poster-boys of "conscious" rap like Mos can get a pass for behaving like complete dickbags (and Mos has impressive form in this regard). Woe betide the people who suffer directly (or indirectly) as a result of that dickbaggery, on the other hand, because that's just their own stupid fault, what did they expect, "she was asking for it", etc.

  • KineticKinetic 3,739 Posts
    Read this the other day... gotta say, it makes me less of a fan of the artist when I read stuff like this.
  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,955 Posts
    Where I am, to wherever you are [ha ha ha ha]
    Sometimes I don't want to be bothered
    Sometimes I just want a quiet life, with
    Me and my babies, me and my lady
  • DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
    Where I am, to wherever you are [ha ha ha ha]
    Sometimes I don't want to be bothered
    Sometimes I just want a quiet life, with
    Me and my babies, me and my lady

    That'd be the lady he divorced a few years back, leaving his lawyers with an unpaid $60,000 bill. Unfortunately for Mos, they could afford to sue him. Like I said, impressive form.
  • jjfad027jjfad027 1,594 Posts
    Maybe he should just kidnap Mos Def. Angola style
  • DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
    jjfad027 said:
    Maybe he should just kidnap Mos Def. Angola style

    That could go down, too. I've seen Animal Kingdom and Chopper and Underbelly. Aussie thugs don't play.
  • parallaxparallax no-style-having mf'er 1,266 Posts
    DocMcCoy said:
    I'm concluding from many of the responses thus far that SS-sanctioned poster-boys of "conscious" rap like Mos can get a pass for behaving like complete dickbags (and Mos has impressive form in this regard). Woe betide the people who suffer directly (or indirectly) as a result of that dickbaggery, on the other hand, because that's just their own stupid fault, what did they expect, "she was asking for it", etc.


    Hi Doc,

    Mos Def absolutely DOES NOT get a pass, and he is (as you've described) a complete dickbag. My hope is that he gets corrected real hard for being a foot-wide asshole.

    The point I was trying to make in my previous post is that the promoter should have covered his ass through a legal firm in advance of signing anything. If he can't afford it, then he should continue working with smaller, local acts until he 'gets his weight up'. I'm not saying he deserved what he got, or that Mos gets a pass. I'm just saying he could have saved a good deal of stress by deferring to legal pros ahead of time. When it comes to money, there is no shortage of dickbags who will fleece you, so why not protect yourself?

    Kindly,
    parallax
  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,955 Posts
    How much is Mos worth? I don't think he could be made to pay for the financial damage his actions have brought about anyway, thus compounding the f*ck-not-given direction he seems to default to.
  • SpacechoSpacecho 176 Posts
    I'm concluding from many of the responses thus far that SS-sanctioned poster-boys of "conscious" rap like Mos can get a pass for behaving like complete dickbags (and Mos has impressive form in this regard). Woe betide the people who suffer directly (or indirectly) as a result of that dickbaggery, on the other hand, because that's just their own stupid fault, what did they expect, "she was asking for it", etc.]

    This is so true. The only way the promotor would get a pass would be if he "took it to the streets" to get his money back, like in so many hip hop songs.
  • djannadjanna 1,543 Posts
    Remember the Mos Def show at Justice League when we weren't allowed to drink alcohol?
  • sticky_dojahsticky_dojah New York City. 2,136 Posts
    Industry rule No 4081....
  • ostost Montreal 1,375 Posts
    Watch Mos Def's appearances on Real Time w/ Bill Maher for further evidence of his shortcomings.
  • covecove 1,567 Posts
    Get that free money!!!
  • rootlesscosmorootlesscosmo 12,848 Posts
    ost said:
    Watch Mos Def's appearances on Real Time w/ Bill Maher for further evidence of his shortcomings.

    someone posted one of those clips on here once.

    Mos showed himself to be a true mental midget.
  • kicks79kicks79 1,338 Posts
    Not defending Mos at all but the promoter in question has a slightly questionable rep here in Sydney with local support acts not getting paid ect. Also the Mos show was not the first Peace Music show that didn't happen.
    The Mos Def show was the final nail in the coffin but Peace music went out more through the fact that they were bad business people and had a shady rep than anything.
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