Rolling Loud, one of the largest hip hop-only music festivals will be holding their 2022 New York installment from September 23 to September 25 at the Citi Field in Queens. The festival was all set to run smoothly, until one roadblock occurred: the New York Police Department requested that Rolling Loud pull three rappers associated with New York drill music from the lineup.
The NYPD’s request ended up seeing the Bronx-based rappers Sha Ek and Ron Suno, along with the Brooklyn-based rapper 22Gz, pulled from the festival, Pitchfork reports. The request came on September 22, a day before the festival was set to kick off.
This request from the NYPD is not the first time that the department has attempted to pull drill rappers from major music festivals. In 2019, the NYPD removed Casanova, Pop Smoke, Sheff G, and 22Gz from Rolling Loud New York, citing risk of violence as a reason. Pitchfork quotes the Department’s assistant chief’s explanation of the removal: “The New York City Police Department believes if these individuals are allowed to perform, there will be a higher risk of violence.”
Neither Rolling Loud nor the artists involved have responded to requests to comment on the matter.
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