Young MC, the rapper known for “Bust a Move” and his 1990s stardom, claimed in a new interview he had “no clue” The Great American State Fair in Washington D.C., where he had been booked before backing out, was a politically driven event put together by Donald Trump’s organization.
In an interview published Thursday, May 28th, the hip-hop star told Vibe the fair, part of Trump’s Freedom 250 celebrations, was misrepresented to him from the start and was a “bait-and-switch.”
“I had no clue it was considered a ‘Trump-backed’ event, so that was new to me,” Young MC said. “My whole thing was, ‘Tell me what the event is, what it’s about, who you are, and then give me the choice of whether I want to do the event or not.’ I was never given that choice. I was told one thing and then it was a bait-and-switch. All the comments I’ve seen from the artists that have dropped out thought it was supposed to be a regular show in D.C.”
Young MC was given the option by his agent to fill a slot on The Great American State Fair concert left open after the May 22nd death of rapper Rob Base, a close friend of Young MC, and the “Bust a Move” rapper accepted, according to the interview.
Backlash came after the lineup was announced Wednesday, May 27th. Fans and critics shamed Young MC online. He was called a “MAGA douchebag.” Other artists received similar criticisms and started distancing themselves from the event.
Morris Day, who had been announced with The Time, put out a statement declaring, “Contrary to rumor,” he and his band weren’t performing the event. The Commodores and Martina McBride also backed out, while singers of Milli Vanilli said they weren’t involved with the fair despite the group being promoted as one of the acts on the event. Fab Morvan, one of the two faces of Milli Vanilli who was not actually responsible for singing their hits, said he is performing at the event.
Young MC had released a statement on social media that said, “I have informed my agent I will not be performing at the Freedom 250 event. The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event. And despite the claims by the organizers that the event is nonpartisan, SPIN magazine describes it as ‘Trump-backed.’ I hope to perform in D.C. in the near future at an event that is not so politically charged.”
Despite calling his booking a bait-and-switch and saying he wasn’t informed the event was backed by Trump, Young MC supported his booking agent. He didn’t think the agent misled him and wasn’t trying to sabotage him, he said.
The artists distancing themselves from The Great American State Fair hadn’t coordinated their actions, Young MC told Vibe.
“Have you ever seen something where all the artists involved are saying the exact same thing?” he said. “It’s not like we got together and said, ‘Let’s craft this story.’ No, everybody’s saying the same thing. We did not know. To us, it was a regular show in D.C. I’m at the point where that’s really the bigger point rather than like, ‘Oh, you bowed to the pressure.’ It really isn’t that. I don’t see how anything positive could come out of that show, so I reacted accordingly.”
The lineup for the Freedom 250 event includes Vanilla Ice, Bret Michaels, Flo Rida, and C+C Music Factory.
Vanilla Ice, Young MC, Milli Vanilli, and C+C Music Factory are part of the “I Love the 90s Tour.”
