Yesterday, organizers of the Mempho Music Fest alerted ticketholders that De La Soul, the hotly anticipated hip-hop pioneers featured in a Memphis Flyer cover story, had canceled their appearance scheduled for Saturday, October 10th. By way of explanation, Mempho reposted words from the rap group’s social media:
“We hate that we won’t be able to be there with you! Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances we won’t be able to join you on October 10th. Anybody who knows De La knows how much being on that stage and sharing that energy with the people means to us. We never take the love, the time, or the support for granted, so having to miss this one is not something we take lightly either. We will find our way back to Memphis soon.
Thank you for all the love and support.” — De La Soul
The disappointment among local fans was palpable. “Twice?! This some bullshit. I love De La but fool me twice… smh,” wrote one commenter. “Just be real and say you have no intentions coming to Memphis. This is the second time you have canceled,” wrote another. The group’s silence on what exactly had prompted their decision seemed especially galling to many, as when 5_claws wrote, “Damn. Even on the front page of the Flyer and no reason mentioned.”
On the other hand, some took it in stride, like the commenter who wrote, “Who cares, this is Widespread Panicfest; give their slot to Panic. Give *ALL* the slots to Panic.”
Well, such Panic superfans will at least get more jam band joy, as De La Soul’s 5:30 p.m. slot on the Bud Light Stage Saturday will now be filled by Dumpstaphunk. That group, founded by Ivan Neville, Ian Neville, Tony Hall, and the late Nick Daniels III in 2003, actually goes beyond any pat genre tag with the indubitably New Orleans-rooted funk that undergirds their sound. Maybe that’s why they were selected as the opening band when The Rolling Stones played their hometown.
In any case, the best possible scenario for die hard De La fans is that both Posdnuos and Maseo are in good health and will rise to rap another day, hopefully in Memphis. And, given the wide reach and hip-hop-savvy propensities of Mempho Presents, the group behind both RiverBeat, Mempho, and other stand-alone concerts, that’s not an entirely unreasonable assumption to make.
