With Spring Fest less than two weeks away, the Student Association is fighting to keep Jadakiss in the lineup. SA also announced the addition of rapper Cassidy on Friday to shore up the highly anticipated concert.
According to SA officials, Jadakiss is considering another, more lucrative offer to perform in Miami, Fla., rather than at UB on April 30 with Snoop Dogg, Elephant Man and now Cassidy.
SA had an agreement from Jadakiss to perform at Spring Fest, but the verbal bid went sour when Jadakiss failed to follow up in contract negotiations, according to SA Vice President Dela Yador, who added there were also problems with the booking agency.
Yador said he was not surprised by the possibility of Jadakiss dropping from the concert. One big-name rapper, The Game, already pulled out of Spring Fest earlier this semester.
"We're definitely still working on Jadakiss as we speak," Yador said.
In SA President Anthony Burgio's opinion, the juggling that has come with this year's Spring Fest is part of nature of the concert's hip-hop and rap genre.
"Unfortunately our experience and the industry-wide experience with hip-hop artists is unreliable," Burgio said.
Burgio said it's probably easier for rappers to make last second plans because they don't need as much equipment or other performers as full rock bands do.
"Plus, it's a little more volatile, for whatever reason," he said.
Yador said he attributes the shifting lineup to the number of artists. With a rock concert like Fall Fest, there are only so many bands SA can bring in with its budget.
"A lot of people like to blame it on hip-hop shows, but I don't think that's what it is," Yador said. "When it's rap, you're able to have more artists because it's not as expensive, and when you have more artists it's harder to keep tabs on them."
Burgio said he "can't stress how not unusual this is for a hip-hop show," but added it's out of the ordinary that Spring Fest has several shows to compete with on the same concert date.
"We ended up with that date mostly to accommodate Snoop Dogg, and that turned out to be a day when a lot of other shows are going on, which has never really happened before," Burgio said.
This is not the first time SA has had to deal with sudden performer replacement. For last year's Fall Fest, Nas was signed as a replacement a week before the show.
"It's frustrating, it's to be expected, and one of the benefits of SA Entertainment is that we can sit down right away and get another artist," Burgio said.
"It's a verbal contract," Burgio added. "If we were to treat them the way they treat us, we'd be liable for paying whatever we promised we were going to pay them."
SA, however, doesn't pay fest performers until the day of the show, and unless SA could prove a financial detriment, then there is no legal action to take to keep an artist like Jadakiss from pulling out.
"If they canceled two hours before the show, that's different," Burgio said.
With Snoop Dogg solidly set as the headliner, both Yador and Burgio said they don't think negotiations with Jadakiss will affect the quality of the show.
"I think Cassidy will do well to replace Jadakiss," Burgio said.
"Cassidy is a cool artist," Yador said. "I'm very big Jada fan, so if he doesn't show it'll be a little disappointing, but we'll bounce back."
Photo: Courtesy of SUNY
