A surprise hologram performance at Hammond, Indiana's Craze Fest by Chief Keef became even more of a surprise when police officers shut down the performance, stating that the city banned the rapper from performing in any form, including virtual appearances.
Chicago had previously deemed the controversial rapper as "an unacceptable role model" with music that "promotes violence." Even though the rapper did not appear in person, but performed via hologram from a location in California, officials called his appearance at Craze Fest "a significant public safety risk." The rapper already faces a ban in Chicago, which lies just next to Hammond.
"It's not like we're anti-rap," said Hammond Mayor Thomas M. McDermott Jr. to the New York Times. "It's just this specific case. Gang violence in Chicago is the reality right now, and I'm not going to invite someone that might be a threat to public safety."
The performance by Chief Keef was intended to support another rapper and a child who were killed in a shooting incident earlier this month, in what was being billed as a "Stop the Killing" benefit concert. The good intentions proved nevertheless to be controversial.
After his Chief Keef's first venue in Chicago, Pilsen's Redmoon Theater, canceled his show, he arranged to perform remotely at Craze Fest. Chief Keef's hologram was only a few minutes into his hit single "I Don't Like" when police took to the stage and demanded that the festival shut down both the music and the show. Police then ordered festival attendees to leave.
Hologram USA, the company partnering with Chief Keef on the performance, found the official actions and response to be grossly inappropriate.
"Shame on the mayor and police chief of Hammond for shutting down a voice that can create positive change in a community in desperate need..." said Hologram USA CEO Alki David in a statement. "This was a legal event and there was no justification to shut it down besides your glaring disregard for the first amendment right to free speech. Mark my words if you censor us you only make us stronger."
Hologram USA is no stranger to controversy: the company recently requested an injunction to keep a Michael Jackson performance from a Billboard event: a court eventually denied their request. The company also claims that its technology laid the groundwork for the infamous hologram Coachella performance of Tupac in 2013, 17 years after the rapper's death.
