 |
|
|
NEWS :
STORIES
First, Smokin' Grooves proudly announced that a reunited Public Enemy was on the bill to headline their summer festival. Then, Chuck D and the boys insisted they most certainly weren't. But as of last week, Smokin' Grooves was not ready to
Now, a deal currently being negotiated between Smokin' Grooves organizers and the pioneering rap group seems to have placed the band back on top of the hip-hop festival's summer bill, the group's publicist acknowledged Monday. According to Public Enemy publicist Kymberlee Norsworthy, up until Friday, the group had decidedly passed on the third-annual, hip-hopcentric festival. "I talked to [lead rapper] Chuck [D] every day last week and he continually told me it wasn't happening," she said. However, Norsworthy said an agreement reached over the weekend could restore Public Enemy as the tour's headliner. "Nothing is confirmed yet," Norsworthy said, "but there is a deal on the table." Kara Lewis, Public Enemy's booking agent, confirmed that the group is tentatively scheduled to join ganja-rappers Cypress Hill, Caribbean carnival hip-hoppers Wyclef Jean and the Refugee All-Stars, clown prince Busta Rhymes, underground legends Gang Starr and up-and-comers Canibus, Cam'Ron and Charlie B. on their 41-date journey through the United States and Canada this summer. A source at the House of Blues who asked not to be named also confirmed that the group was tentatively set to join the lineup. On April 17, House of Blues publicist Sharon Liveten told SonicNet Music News that while the ink was still drying on contracts, Public Enemy would top the festival's bill. Last Tuesday, however, Norsworthy confirmed that the hip-hop pioneers had been speaking with concert organizers but had elected not to headline Smokin' Grooves. "I talked to Chuck about it on Friday, and he basically said [Smokin' Grooves] was a dead issue. They just are not yet thinking about performing." The group at that time had elected to work on other projects instead of summer touring, Norsworthy said. In the wake of this news, however, she said the group would continue with other efforts, including Bring the Noise 2000 (the first release of the Public Enemy Archive Series, currently slated for release in August). "It wasn't these other projects which precluded them from performing on the tour," Norsworthy explained. "It was that they had decided they would rather work on them than tour." A decision to join the Smokin' Grooves lineup would be a radical change of heart for the group, whose soundtrack to the Spike Lee film "He Got Game" debuted this week at #26 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart. Chuck D, the group's "hard rhymer," had repeatedly stated that Public Enemy would never tour again after the group's opening slot on U2's 1992-93 Zoo TV tour. Asked in April if Public Enemy would be performing at the upcoming Tibetan Freedom Concert, held to raise awareness about the oppressed Tibetan people, Chuck D said, "Any performance this year is doubtful." A final, confirmed lineup and concert dates for Smokin' Grooves are scheduled for release in the coming weeks.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SPONSORS
AD:
MORE FROM MTV NETWORKS
- Music
- Adele
- Beyonce
- Brad Paisley
- Christina Aguilera
- Country Music Videos
- Free Music Videos
- Jamey Johnson
- Justin Bieber
- Lady Antebellum
- Michael Jackson
- Music
- Pink
- Sugarland
- Taylor Swift
- Entertainment
- Celebrity Gossip
- Free Online Games
- Games
- Travel
- Gay Video
- Kristen Stewart Photos
- Lady Gaga Outfits
- NextMovie
- Movies
- Gay Movies
- New Movies
©2012 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved.
VH1 and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.
VH1 and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.
