Chief Keef Concert Goes On, Cut Short By Police in Hammond
By Selena Fragassi in News on Jul 26, 2015 4:15PM
Hammond, Indiana police were no fans of Chief Keef after shutting down the Chicago rapper’s controversial benefit concert minutes after he took the stage, by hologram, on Saturday night.
The show that aimed to raise money for the families of 13-month-old Dillan Harris and 22-year-old Keef associate Marvin Carr, the victims of a drive-by shooting in Woodlawn July 11, was originally planned for last weekend at Pilsen’s Redmoon Theatre until inflammatory comments from Father Pfleger and pressure from Mayor Emanuel’s office led the venue to cancel the event citing a “significant public safety risk.” In the following days, word leaked that Keef and Greek billionaire backer Alki David, whose companies FilmOn and Hologram USA were producing the event, were set to try again for this weekend at undisclosed location.
We at Chicagoist received a press release about the event that said the show would go on “despite Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s efforts to dictate what music his constituents can listen to” and praised the concert as a platform “to raise awareness about the out of control situation in Chicago and Keef’s message of peace and hope for the youth.” You might recall Keef himself has a long history of violence—in fact, several outstanding warrants in the state of Illinois prevented him from appearing at the show in person.
Though Keef had posted earlier in the day Saturday that the show would be held at Lincoln Hall (a claim the club owners quickly dismissed), the concert in fact took place at Craze Fest, an all-day hip-hop festival at Hammond’s Wolf Lake Pavilion attended by 2,000 people. Organizers asked for $50 donations with some “VIP seats” selling for $80.
Despite what you may have seen, Chief Keef will not be at Lincoln Hall.
— Lincoln Hall (@LincolnHall) July 26, 2015Keef appeared about 10:15 p.m., broadcast by hologram from a location in Beverly Hills and also streamed online at filmon.tv. He was able to perform one song, his hit “I Don’t Like,” before power was cut to the stage and Hammond police ordered concertgoers to vacate the premises, which was done without incident. Of course TMZ got the video scoop.
Chief Keef -- Cops Shut Down Concert ... He's a Bad Role Model (VIDEO) http://t.co/pNZsvVgeVi
— TMZ (@TMZ) July 26, 2015"There was no violence. It was the police who did this," 17-year-old Stefanae Coleman told the Chicago Tribune. "Everyone was happy. ... We went through the whole show without any problems.”
Police Commander Pat Vicari also told the paper he had previously warned Craze Fest organizers it would be shut down if Keef performed, but that didn’t stop Alki from threatening to sue the department in a statement he issued to the Tribune shortly after the show was abruptly halted.
"Shame on the mayor and police chief of Hammond for shutting down a voice that can create positive change in a community in desperate need. And for taking away money that could have gone to help the victims' families," David said. "This was a legal event and there was no justification to shut it down besides your glaring disregard for the first amendment right to free speech. …Mark my words if you censor us you only make us stronger.”