Public Enemy’s Chuck D chided rapper Nelly this week for canceling tour dates in the UK over terrorism fears — because, he says, police in Ferguson, Missouri, near Nelly’s hometown of St. Louis are just as scary as ISIS.
Nelly was scheduled to perform four dates in Birmingham and Manchester in Great Britain this month but canceled at the last minute due to security concerns in the wake of the Paris terror attacks, according to TMZ. During the multiple coordinated attacks, gunmen stormed the Bataclan theater and murdered scores of rock fans at an Eagles of Death Metal concert.
The celebrity outlet asked Public Enemy’s Chuck D what he thought of Nelly’s overseas tour cancelation, given that the rap group had just returned from performing in Sheffield, England.
The rapper told TMZ that if Nelly was concerned about terrorism, he should think twice about performing in his home country.
“There’s terrorism in the United States with police brutality,” he told the outlet.
“Nelly’s from St. Louis, man, sometimes the streets are wilder,” Chuck added. “Ferguson is wilder… Ferguson is wilder, bro.”
Last month, Chuck said he hadn’t visited Ferguson in the wake of the unrest that erupted when teenager Michael Brown was killed, but expressed solidarity with those who did.
“You have to pay attention to their energy and concern,” the rapper told the Guardian of the Black Lives Matter movement. “Black Lives Matter are responding to a gaping need and they’re being vocal about it the best way they can. I didn’t go to Ferguson but don’t be talking about how that sh*t ain’t good. I salute everyone who went to Ferguson.”
Public Enemy dropped its thirteenth studio album, Man Plans God Laughs, earlier this year.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.