July 30--Just days after his show was shut down by police in northwest Indiana, Chief Keef announced Thursday he will hold a benefit concert by hologram simultaneously in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles in mid-September but it appears his plans for venues have already fallen through.
The Chicago rapper said in a statement that he has partnered with producer Detail, who has collaborated with Beyonce and Wiz Khalifa, to recruit an "all-star hip-hop lineup" to perform via hologram at Madison Square Garden Co. venues, including the Chicago Theatre, but a Madison Square Garden representative denied involvement in the concert, saying "We are not involved in this in any way."
This is the third time Chief Keef has tried to hold a concert to benefit the family of his friend Marvin "Capo" Carr, a Chicago rapper who was killed in a South Side shooting July 11, and the family of Dillan Harris, 13 months, who was killed in the aftermath of that shooting.
Each time, the rapper has run into difficulties finding venues to host his shows as officials raised concerns that Chief Keef promotes violence.
Indiana police shut down Chief Keef's hologram performance Saturday at Craze Fest in Hammond minutes after the show started. The city's mayor said the rapper was not authorized to perform there.
Chief Keef had announced an earlier show at Redmoon Theater, but the show was canceled shortly after Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office contacted the East Pilsen theater to say the concert posed public safety concerns.
Despite the setbacks, event host Hologram USA is confident a concert will happen in September, but no firm date has been set. The lineup has not been announced, but a spokesman for Hologram USA said Chief Keef, whose real name is Keith Cozart, will perform.
"The Madison Square Garden Co. is a powerful partner in this event. Plus we have the time, the means and the community support to fight back if Rahm is foolish enough to try to censor us again," Hologram USA CEO Alki David said in a statement via his spokesman.
At Saturday's show, Chief Keef rapped on a soundstage in Beverly Hills, Calif., and the performance was beamed to a stage at Craze Fest. David's other company, FilmOn Networks, live streamed the show and encouraged voluntary donations of $50 that are supposed to go to the Carr and Harris families.
Concert organizers say Chief Keef can't appear in person at the concerts because of outstanding warrants against him in Illinois.
Chief Keef's avoidance of the state may make it difficult for him to run for mayor of Chicago. Earlier this week, Chief Keef announced on social media he's running for mayor and encouraged his Twitter followers to call Emanuel and tell him to "stay the (expletive) off the people's music."
"[City officials] just be hating. They don't want to see a young black man be successful and try to do something good. It's crazy," Chief Keef told Billboard in an interview posted online Thursday.
