DMX has reached out to fans after he failed to perform at a concert on Saturday, insisting promoters kept him off-stage because they couldn't pay the fee they promised him.
DMX, real name Earl Simmons, was scheduled to take the stage in Colorado Springs, Colorado at around 9pm local time - but his attempt to get onstage around 11pm descended into chaos after he was refused entrance.
Fan footage posted online shows the hip-hop star and his entourage attempting to muscle past security, who threatened to have him arrested, sparking a riot between fans and guards.
But J. Baldrick, the head of Dirty Limelight/Hustle Hard record label, has taken to the internet to blame concert organisers Soulclay Entertainment for making DMX late in a bid to get out of having to pay the star the booking fee.
Baldrick writes, "For those there, you may have noticed that DMX did in fact show up and more importantly, was eager to get on stage to the point where he had to get aggressive with security to get on stage. Sadly, he couldn't even get on the mic to tell the people what in fact did happen, because the sound was already cut. Why was security trying to keep DMX off stage? Why was the sound cut? Why didn't he perform? Plain and simple, he wasn't paid his remaining balance by Soulclay Entertainment.
"You may hear rumours that DMX was late and he breached the contract, but the fact is, he was not paid what he was owed to be there. Brian 'Sir Tony' of Crushing Game Car Club even confirmed that John of Soulclay Ent. told him to have DMX wait till 11pm! The promoter stalled DMX to make it look like it was DMX's fault he was late, when in fact it was Soulclay Ent's fault because they didn't have his money!"
Baldrick maintains DMX is not at fault, adding, "What X wants people to know is he did his part. He fought to get on stage to do his part. Soulclay instructed the sound guy to pack up. Soulclay instructed security to keep DMX off stage! On top of that, the security hired by Soulclay got extremely aggressive with fans and DMX supporters including us!"
AllHipHop.com reports the star was tackled to the ground in the melee, while his publicist Pam Pinnock is said to have suffered a minor concussion and facial laceration in the riot.
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