Talib Kweli Cancels Show Because the Venue Also Booked Taake
The fallout from the most recent round of accusations that Taake support hate groups continues.
In case you need a refresher: Taake have been repeatedly accused of bigotry over the past decade as the result of both an incident in which their frontman, Hoest, performed with a swastika painted on his chest, and lyrics which are perceived as being anti-Muslim. Antifa protests led to at least one of the shows on Taake’s upcoming North American trek to be cancelled; the tour’s support act, King Dude, subsequently dropped off the bill.
Now another artist — one who was never part of this tour or even this genre — has made it clear that he won’t in any way support Taake: Billboard reports that rapper “Talib Kweli has pulled out of his upcoming tour stop at Kansas City’s Riot Room after the venue booked controversial black metal band Taake, amid allegations of racism and discrimination.”
A statement from Kweli reads:
“My position is that the venue should not want to host that band whether the band cancelled or not, and should issue an apology for even booking the band. The response I received was that the venue did not want to choose sides between a band that sympathizes with racism and bigotry and me. I think it’s time to choose a side.
“I find it appalling that The Riot Room refuses to apologize for booking this band. I wouldn’t feel safe bringing my team, family, and fans into a venue that is sympathetic to white nationalism, so I’ve cancelled the show. It’s a shame because I was really looking forward to performing in Kansas City.”
Kweli also took to Twitter to further defend his decision from angry fans and argue that even if Hoest wore a swastika just for “shock value,” his decision is inexcusable:
https://twitter.com/TalibKweli/status/966202317698752512
https://twitter.com/TalibKweli/status/966201684732055553
https://twitter.com/TalibKweli/status/965756705140346880
https://twitter.com/TalibKweli/status/966141801588494336
https://twitter.com/TalibKweli/status/966128538930810881
Kweli’s form of protest could end being the one that’s most damaging to Taake: the rapper is wwwwaaaayyyy bigger than the black metal band. For him to refuse to help this venue make money based on them booking Taake is like ten online Antifa protests all at once. No venue is gonna book Taake if they think it will alienate artists who are far more likely to sell tickets. That Kweli generates so much mainstream media attention is also bad news for Taake, because a few million people who didn’t know who they were yesterday will now read that Talib Kweli says they’re Nazis. There actually is such a thing as bad publicity, and this is it.
As I said after King Dude jumped ship, I’d be surprised if this whole tour wasn’t cancelled. I also think if Taake want to try and salvage their reputation, they’re going to have to do more than just deny the accusations — a 7″ with the proceeds going to the ACLU (yes I know they’re not even American), direct outreach to the communities they’ve offended, whatever. Otherwise these allegations are going to continue to follow them like a black cloud for the rest of their career.
[via The PRP]
