Just one week before Grammy Award-winning rapper Kanye West was set to take the stage at Rolling Loud in Miami, Florida, news comes that his former pal and frequent musical collaborator Kid Cudi will now be providing tunes to thousands at the three-day hip-hop music festival launching Friday, July 22.
Organizers revealed over the weekend that West dropped out of the lineup as one of the show’s three headliners at the last minute “due to circumstances outside of our control.” The “Jail” emcee has yet to explain his decision publicly.
In a written statement, co-founders Tariq Cherif and Matt Zingler noted that they were “looking forward to Ye headlining Rolling Loud Miami 2022” before sharing, “We spent months working with him and his team on the performance.” The business partners who started the annual event in February 2015 said the incident marked a first in the event’s history.
“This is the first time a headliner has ever pulled off our show, and though we don’t take it lightly, we wish him the best. We look forward to welcoming Kid Cudi as a headliner in Miami, and we can’t wait to see what he has in store,” the memo continued.
The change comes amid another installment of the “Make Her Say” collaborators’ on-and-off-again feud. For those who may not have been following the saga that is West’s separation from reality star Kim Kardashian, the rapper has not sat well with the idea that his ex-wife has since kindled a relationship with “Saturday Night Live” alum Pete Davidson.
The “Donda 2” emcee was further agitated after Cudi continued his friendship with the 28-year-old star. The two have taken to social media, sharing their stories. Last April, the “Pursuit of Happiness” musician revealed that he and West were still “not cool.”
Cudi vowed never to work with West again, stating that “Rock N Roll” on Pusha T’s “It’s Almost Dry” would be their last musical effort.
Fans reacted to the news on social media, and many were not pleased. “Bro I’ve already invested over $2000 into my trip. I worked my a– off as an 18-year-old just to see my favorite artist of all time just for him to drop out days before,” shared one Twitter user. “I can’t describe how I’m feeling right now. All my merch says Kanye on it too.”
Some also weren’t moved, including one online user who wrote, “With open ARMS we welcome cudi.”
Rolling Loud Miami will run from July 22 through Sunday, July 24. Rapper Future will headline the festival on Saturday, with closer Kendrick Lamar on Sunday.
