MoneyBagg Yo Arkansas Show Cancelled Over Safety Concerns

BYAron A.7.1K Views
Link Copied to Clipboard!
Paras Griffin/Getty Images
Rapper Moneybagg Yo attends the BET Hip Hop Awards 2017 at The Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater on October 6, 2017 in Miami Beach, Florida.

City officials in Little Rock raised concern over violence incidents at recent Moneybagg Yo shows.

MoneyBagg Yo's been having a great year so far. The rapper's career has catapulted to another level within the realm of hip hop and he's been continuing to push out dope music. Along with that, he's been getting his respect from many notable players in the game. He's yet to make a mark in the mainstream but his music continues to speak and relate to those who are living in a similar lifestyle he was once involved with. While it may seem that he's removed from the streets, it continues to follow him in some sense. Last night, elected officials in Little Rock, Arkansas reportedly cancelled a Moneybagg Yo show due to a string of violent incidents that have occurred at some of his recent appearances.

In an report from Arkansas Online, they say that numerous city officials voice their concern over the rapper's appearance in their city late Thursday night. Their concerns stem from a slew of violent incidents that have happened at Moneybagg's show in different states. Police Chief Kenton Buckner was one of the first people to bring this up a week a go. In a letter he sent to iHeart Media and Entertainment Inc. on October 5th, the officer detailed three shootings in separate states that occurred during Moneybagg Yo's appearances there.

They also site his connection to fellow Memphis rapper, Ricky Hampton, as another reason why they didn't want him performing in their city. Hampton was involved in a shooting in a club in Little Rock in July that left 25 people injured. 

Little Rock mayor, Mark Stodola as well as his city directors were only aware of the concert yesteday. During an interview with Arkansas Online, he said that nobody told him about the scenario.

"I'm trying to find out why I was not briefed earlier," Stodola said, "I thought it was a pretty dumb thing to book this concert, not because of the nature of the music but because of the individual performer's pattern of documented violence and the nature of our city in the aftermath of the shooting in July."

Moneybagg Yo was involved in a shooting on August 19th while he was on his way to a performance in Newark, New Jersey. While he remained unscathed, two people in his crew were in serious condition following the shooting.


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.