R&B singer Ari Lennox kicked off the year by addressing her recent experience during Rod Wave’s Nostalgia Tour.
The chart-topping vocalist revealed that her time as an opening act for the rapper marked two of the most difficult months of her life, claiming she endured incidents of assault, burglary from her wardrobe being stolen, and overall disrespect from fans who would at times hold up “NEXT” on their cellphone screens during her performances.
The tour kicked off last October and ended in early December. But this was documented in November 2023 when Lennox lost it onstage after a concertgoer threw a bottle of water at her from the seemingly sold-out arena Los Angeles audience.
In a rant on Instagram Live, she said she understands that she might not be the type of artist that the “Love For A Thug” rapper’s fans are accustomed to. However, she could not comprehend why there was a concerted effort to “plot on ways to attack or antagonize or disrespect” her while she was performing onstage.
When describing the tour, Lenox said, “It was a very hard two and a half … months. Very, very, very hard and very lonely, too.”
As she talked to her 2 million Instagram followers, she acknowledged she is not the first entertainer to experience violence or disrespect from the public, but still struggled to process why she might be the target, including having someone steal her wardrobe during the tour.
“I mean, I was on that stage, and somebody people would have you know s—t on their screens saying ‘NEXT,’” noting that she couldn’t deal with this type of behavior.
“I’ll flick you off. I’ll curse you out,” Lennox added. “I don’t play that because I would never do that to you. I would never let anyone do that to you.”
Ari Lennox got heated 😡 after someone in the audience threw a water bottle on stage as she was performing. 🎤🎶pic.twitter.com/sWiHFbjQi8
— The Crowd Updater (@TheCrowdUpdater) November 30, 2023
According to the “Shea Butter Baby” singer, her agents told her that being on tour with acts that are outside of her musical genre was a risky deal. With this experience, she learned firsthand.
“I thought it would be a good idea,” she said. “I asked my agents, ‘Can I open up for Red Hot Chili Peppers? Can I open up for Little Dragon?’ and I remember my agent telling me, ‘You know all these things have to make sense?’”
When the Rod Wave opportunity came about, she thought — while it was different — it would make sense.
“I was wrong, and now I get why, no, it does not make sense to open up for anybody,” she said. “I don’t care who you are.”
Lennox then mentioned Rico Nasty’s experience on Playboi Carti’s King Vamp Tour in 2021.
Nasty also expressed that she felt targeted by fans, constantly getting booed and disrespected, when she was touring with the “Magnolia” rapper. She tweeted about her experience, saying. “Crazy how I wanted a tour bus my whole life, and now, I just be on the tour bus crying myself to sleep,” according to Vibe.
She added that she needed “at least two hours out of each day to just cry.”
Ari Lennox on this Rod Wave tour is giving me flashbacks to when Rico Nasty was on tour with PlayBoi Carti & how utterly obnoxious & disrespectful them fans was being. Black women in them spaces keep getting disrespected don’t sit well with me. + you headliners need to check them
— TJ!!! (@Itsjustteajay26) November 30, 2023
But the Rod Wave tour was not a complete waste for Lennox, who says two things came out of her experience.
The singer said she was able to get some money from the tour to handle her business and get caught up on “a lot of bills.” She also was able to walk away with the knowledge that every crowd is not for her.
