Wipe 'Em Out: Lil Boosie And Webbie Slapped With $1 Million Suit For No-ShowsA Baltimore concert promoter has filed suit against a pair of Louisiana rappers and their labels, alleging they defaulted on contracts to perform two concerts at city venues.
Tracye Stafford, president and chief executive officer of IKON Entertainment, claims Webster ?Webbie? Gradney Jr. and Torrance ?Lil Boosie? Hatch were the scheduled headliners at a Dec. 9 show at Sonar and a Jan. 20 show at Club Mate but did not perform on either occasion.
In addition to the rappers, Stafford is suing their local management companies, Baton Rouge-based Trill Entertainment and Trill Management; and Asylum Records, the division of Warner Music Group that has a joint venture production and distribution deal with Trill Entertainment.
She seeks $1 million for ?direct and consequential damages, un-reimbursed expenses, and attorneys fees,? the suit states.
?They just didn?t show up, twice,? said Stafford?s attorney, Paul W. Gardner II. ?That really depletes the well of confidence that the public or your consumers have for your product. And that?s a problem.?
A representative for Asylum Records referred questions to Trill Entertainment, where phone and e-mail messages were not returned Monday.
Gardner, of The Gardner Law Group in Baltimore, would not say how much the contracts were worth, but said promoting a concert generally involves organizing the venue and attracting the audience through flyers, radio spots and other media. Stafford also covered transportation fees for the January concert, the suit states.
According to the complaint filed last week in Baltimore City Circuit Court, Stafford has requested payment and been rebuffed.
Webbie?s 2005 album Savage Life included the popular radio single ?Give Me That,? and Lil Boosie?s ?Wipe Me Down? peaked at Number 4 on Billboard?s Hot Rap Tracks. The two are featured together on Gangsta Musik, a June 2005 DVD.
Stafford said Monday that her promotion companies ? she also runs One Luv Entertainment ? have promoted Baltimore-area concerts for rapper T.I. as well as R&B singer Keyshia Cole.
IKON also handled Lil Wayne?s controversial August concert at the Clarence H. ?Du? Burns Arena in Southeast Baltimore that was shut down mid-performance by the city liquor board.
Donald J. Dewar III, a then-candidate for City Council from that district, had criticized the city in the days leading up to the concert for allowing the rapper, whose lyrics condone violence, to perform in the venue named after Baltimore?s former mayor.
Source: Maryland's The Daily Record
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http://www.sixshot.com/articles/7982/
October 14, 2007, 01:30:06 AM
