Travis Scott‘s Utopia concert set for the Pyramids of Giza is at risk of being canned; so the Houston rapper has written a letter to local authorities in an effort to hopefully prevent this.
Varying reports about the status of the show have been coming out throughout the week. Per the Egypt Independent, the Egyptian General Syndicate for Musical Professions made the call to revoke the rapper’s permit on Tuesday (July 18), saying that the highly-anticipated performance on July 28 will no longer happen due to safety concerns and Scott’s “strange rituals.”
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However, the same day, Live Nation released a brief statement confirming the performance will still take place. But on Thursday (July 20), Travis Scott’s open letter to authorities in the country confirmed that there are indeed issues that could prevent the show from going on.
“I am writing to you to address the blatant inaccurate reports that have apparently lead to permits being paused for my concert scheduled for July 28, 2023 at the Giza Pyramids,” Scott began his letter, which was addressed to “whom it may concern.”
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“My understanding is that the Egyptians Musicians Syndicate took this action in response to bot generated fake information regarding my concerts and character. (All anyone with a grasp for modern technology and social media has to do is click on the user profile of these accounts to see that these are not real people.) Specifically, they referred to ‘strange rituals’ that ‘contradict the cultural identity of the Egyptian people.’
“Nothing could be further from the truth. My only intent with live performances is to unite people around the world over a shared bond in music. As a matter of fact, I just successfully played in an incredibly conservative Saudi Arabia in April for a crowd of 70,000 fans and there was no issue, hiccup or complication whatsoever. (Ask their Minister of Culture Prince Bader bin Farhan Al-Saud or see the positive press reviews here).”
Travis Scott continued: “My music brings together all cultures and spreads positive messages of empowerment and creative freedom. There is not a single lyric I have written or recording I have made that advocates or endorses anything derogatory to any people, much less the Egyptian people. Nothing in my music lends itself to any kind of ‘strange ritual.’ My performances are celebrations. I only want to lift people up. My new album is entitled Utopia, which is emblematic of my desire to accomplish that goal.”
“I am a great admirer of Egyptian culture and history. That is why I selected the iconic Pyramids of Giza to perform and preview my first album release in five years. It means that much to me. If you would really like to know my character and heart please do me the courtesy and favor of speaking with me before taking this drastic step that would unravel months of planning and for which I was previously granted permission.
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“I am from Houston, Texas. I grew up in a family that respects people, loves God, respects Allah and attends church regularly. We have all seen the spread of false information online over the last few years. It is a divisive problem in the United States and certainly all over the world, Egypt included.”
“Finally, I have also seen mention of security concerns related to my concerts and the extremely unfortunate tragedy of ‘AstroWorld’ in 2021. Please know that I have performed hundreds of concerts before that event, and many concerts since, without a single incident. Live Nation and myself are hyper-vigilant when it comes to concert security. As you may have seen recently a grand jury declined to pursue any criminal charges related to the festival. I assure you that the concert at Giza has been planned meticulously and will have state of the art fan security in place.”
He concluded: “Unfortunately, I am hearing that unless Live Nation is permitted to access the site by 5pm Cairo time on July 20 we will not be able to make the targeted July 28 show date. Please don’t let the online spread of false information and hatred derail this event which will bring positive and international attention to Egypt, its economy and it’s amazing treasures. I implore you to do everything in your power to allow the show to proceed as planned. Thank you for your time and consideration.”
Travis Scott first announced the concert earlier this month, revealing he will be unveiling his eagerly anticipated Utopia album in front of the Pyramids of Giza. The project will mark his first full-length offering in five years following 2018’s Astroworld.
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Tickets for the event have since sold out, although fans will still be able to watch it via a livestream. “Utopia is wherever you are,” a poster for the concert read on the rapper’s Instagram page at the time.
Utopia is available to pre-order on Scott’s website and comes in various bundles that include T-shirts, hoodies and hats. There are also five different cover art variants to accompany the packages.
