Things aren't looking too good for just about all of the Underground Rap Event scheduled to happen this Saturday at The Domino Room.
We reported yesterday that Power94 representative Bart Platt had confirmed to us Kanye West would be appearing in Bend to judge the rap battle portion of the event. That information was obtained by him talking directly with rapper Young Sam who was on the bill as a performer and also supposedly responsible for West's appearance because of their close relationship. Power94 also confirmed Kanye West as the surprise guest they'd been hinting at by announcing it on air shortly after our post on BENT.
The problem with that is, today, Young Sam posted on his Facebook page that he didn't even know about the event and definitely won't be coming.
I think we've all been duped.
Kanye West is NOT coming to Bend. Young Sam is not coming to Bend. HBK is not coming to Bend.
So just what will your $100 backstage + meet-and-greet ticket get you? You're guess is as good as any.
Was this a lame attempt at creating hype for a failing rap battle project? Was Power94 taken in by a hoax and convinced to sponsor the event by dishonest people? Or was this an attempt to get better ratings during an Arbitron Radio Ratings survey period? Could it be the result of flakey rap artists making commitments and then trying to cover their asses after deciding not to uphold them?
Here's what we know...
Platt confirmed to the Source today that he has spoken with Young Sam multiple times. According to him they even have a 30 minute interview with the rapper all edited and ready to air on Thursday. BUT Platt says it appears the promoters of the event do not have a signed contract with the artsit and that is why Young Sam has flipped and is now denying his involvement. Legally Young Sam can't say he will appear without a contract.
If that is true, Young Sam definitely went overboard by indicating he knew nothing of the event and was basically just trying to cover his ass. Still that seems a big lie to tell given that according to Platt he has provided so much recorded proof to the contrary. But, he also may not care one bit about that proof. After all, are fans of Young Sam going to burn his CDs if they find out he lied about appearing at The Domino Room in Bend? Probably not.
And as far as his claim to Platt that he was delivering Kanye to Bend... let's just marinate on that one for a bit.
So who knew what? When? Where? and Why? are questions we may never have complete answers to. There appears to be plenty of lying, misinformation, and deception to go around.
Platt says that because of these developments, the radio station is now distancing themselves from the event and referring all questions to the promoters QueenPin Clothing and Real Individuals Ent. We don't blame them.
Honestly, we feel like distancing ourselves from everyone involved.
