Missoula Shafted Again, Why Hip Hop Shows Often Cancel

The real truth about the Wiz Khalifa show being canceled? Let's just say it goes far deeper than just a "scheduling conflict" that we reported earlier. This is just one of many rap concerts in Missoula than had been promoted to the fullest extent only to be cancelled because of a lack of true ownership and organization in this particular musical genre. Wiz cancelled. What's next? It's started to get a little frustrating, isn't it?

Remember Kanye West in Billings? Good show. If it ever actually happened, which it didn't. Some "promoter" convinced us that Ye was coming to Billings. He ran off with the ticket money never to be seen again, allegedly. How about Fat Joe? Young Buck? Yeah, we would have loved to have seen them too. Are you starting to see a pattern like we are?

Here is the inside story on the Wiz Khalifa concert that was supposed to happen..

Wiz wasn't represented by his true agent or manager. Some local buyers put up a TON of money to bring them into town for you and gave it to the wrong person. I can't blame the unnamed buyers of the show because I truly respect their privacy as they investigate this case further and I know full well that their intentions were good. I hope they get their money back, and at least you didn't put up any money yet for the show as well. Thankfully Zoo FM was able to research this and call the shows bluff just in the nick of time before our listeners ran to Rockin Rudy's to buy a ticket.

Maybe it's just because I'm a little closer to this side of the Missoula music scene to notice that this pattern is running quite rampant, and a lot more so in the local hip hop culture.  What's really terrible is not only does it upset you as a fan of these artists but it also tarnishes Zoo FM's reliability. For this, we are sorry. What this has shown us over the long run is that we need to be more mindful of the source of the concert and the reputation of the shows promoter. It also taught us how to protect you in the case of if someone attempts to run away with your hard earned ticket money.

Our advice for you: DON'T BUY PRE-SALE UNLESS YOU KNOW THE REPUTATION OF THE PROMOTER. If it feels shady, it will be shady and often times those kind of shows never sell out so you really don't have to buy pre-sale in the first place. Plus, by you not buying a ticket in advance, that action in itself truly does help weed out the legitimate show promoters from the unprofessionals that claim to have the upfront money to afford the artist and yet use your money to put down a booking deposit. If you ever have any questions on the validity of any local show, email me. I will personally research it for you.

But you know what the real issue here is with this scene and the handful of it's local promoters? It's not just about the ticket sales. It's ego. It really seems to be more about who can promise the biggest names to their friends. See, I think the whole glitz and glam of the hip hop culture is what causes Missoula's hip hop scene to have to act boisterous and play out the role of a big time hustler when the real truth of the matter is A.) This is Montana B.) Artists like Wiz Khalifa and Kanye West are simply too big of artists for our small population. And C.) This is Montana. These promoters need to stop pretending that they are so big time, for your sake. If they ARE big time, we will all know by their prior achievements and only then should we all go and support their shows.