NUR-D skips Rochester visit amid social media controversy
Jun. 12—NUR-D's Olmsted County Fair concert has been canceled after a series of recent social media controversies.
On Friday afternoon, Twin Cities-based rapper Matt Allen, also known as NUR-D, announced that he would not appear in Rochester on Thursday, July 29, "due to the actions of those who booked me towards members of the community."
"It is very important to me that Nur-D shows are an environment where everyone feels safe," he wrote in a Facebook post. "As concerns from fans and friends alike were brought to my attention, I made the decision that this show wouldn't be held to that standard. If you're a Rochester fan that was looking forward to seeing me perform, I am very sorry that I am unable to do so in this way; know that I am bummed also."
The cancellation follows criticism of the booking of Twin Cities hip-hop musician Prof for a show at the fairgrounds Friday, July 23, three days before the start of the Olmsted County Fair. NUR-D was set to perform a week later.
Several community members from Southeast Minnesota and the Twin Cities, including Rochester promoter Rosei Skipper, questioned Prof's sexist lyrics and past tweets. In response, Stationary Astronauts promoter Nikolai Zeppa (also known as Nicholas McLaughlin), posted a 10-minute Facebook video rant deriding Skipper and others, which has since been deleted.
Rochester for Justice co-founder Heidi Wilkins said she was among those who contacted NUR-D earlier this week, through mutual friends, about ongoing harassment from Zeppa.
"I'd assumed that he'd heard something, because everybody has heard about Stationary Astronauts and Prof, and the controversy that was going around with that," Wilkins said. "(I said) because he was a social activist, perhaps that was not someone he wanted to put his name down with."
Wilkins said she sent NUR-D Zeppa's video, which had been saved before he deleted it.
"He said he had heard about the Prof situation, but hearing this ... he was pretty, you know, disgusted, and I sent him some screenshots where Nikolai Zeppa was harassing other women in town, and I believe that was enough to make him believe he wanted nothing to do with this guy," she added. "I said, 'Many of us in town would love to come and see you, but we're not putting money in the pockets of people who do this,' and he agreed that that made sense."
On Friday evening, Stationary Astronauts, the promoter, said the concert cancellation was because of "radius clause issues" with the contract, a form of non-compete which asks that musicians refrain from performing within the area of previous concerts for a given time, in order to ensure adequate ticket sales for all shows.
"We spoke yesterday briefly and then overnight we decided on our end to pull the plug on the event," Zeppa said. "It wasn't easy to do but made the most sense financially."
Zeppa provided a text conversation to the Post Bulletin, in which Stationary Astronauts cited concerns about NUR-D's upcoming Twin Cities shows, while NUR-D agreed that the show should be canceled based on differing values.
In an email, Allen confirmed that he had chosen to leave the show "because of what I had learned about how he, Nik (Zeppa), had treated people in the wake of criticism over another show he booked. Which is unfortunate."
