Young hip-hop artists have been getting a lot of heat lately for their perceived lack of respect. On Saturday night, 23-year-old rapper Lil Uzi Vert did his part to keep the narrative alive when he unceremoniously bailed on his headlining set at New Orleans’ Buku Music + Art Project.
The Philadelphia native left festivalgoers hanging when he cancelled his appearance at the last minute, making it difficult for Buku’s promoters to find a replacement act. Thankfully, the people behind the popular EDM and hip-hop festival chose not to mince words about the fiasco. Not long before Lil Uzi Vert’s set was scheduled to begin, fans at Buku’s main stage were greeted to the most honest explanation the festival could offer.
“Lil Uzi is still in Philadelphia and decided not to come at the last minute. There is no reason,” read a message displayed on the stage’s backdrop. Among other things, the (spelling error-filled) notice added, “Support artists who support their fans.”
Unfortunately, Lil Uzi Vert wasn’t the only artist to ignore his obligations to Buku. Florida rapper Ski Mask The Slump God and Chicago rapper Famous Dex both bailed on the festival as well. On top of that, Friday night headliners Migos showed half an hour late and proceeded to play a 25-minute set on the main stage. Rising R&B star SZA was also forced to cut her main stage set a bit short, though that was due to an ankle injury rather than a lack of respect for her fans.
Nevertheless, most of the Buku Festival went off with out a hitch, including a Saturday night headlining set from DJ and producer extraordinaire Bassnectar, who drew the largest crowd of the weekend to his set (and generated plenty of noise complaints from local New Orleanians in the process). Psych-pop rockers MGMT also took to the main stage, while Porter Robinson played one of his first shows under his new Virtual Self moniker. There were some of the bigger names on a lineup that featured Sylvan Esso, Illenium, Isaiah Rashad, Alison Wonderland, Rezz, and many more.