Photo courtesy of Rolling Loud / Mickey Pierre-Louis
Kanye West has pulled out of a headlining festival slot for the second time this year.
Months after dropping out of Coachella stemming from his public divorce with Kim Kardashian, Rolling Loud shook fans on Sunday (July 17) with news of Ye’s abrupt departure. “Due to circumstances out of our control, Ye will no longer be performing at Rolling Loud Miami 2022,” RL wrote via Twitter, bringing in adjacent superstar and former–friend Kid Cudi to replace him.
Cudi will now take Kanye’s place on Friday (July 22) at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Festival co-founders Tariq Cherif and Matt Zingle made a statement about Ye’s leave, noting that “this is the first time a headliner has ever pulled off our show.”
However, Ye and Rolling Loud’s relationship was undeterred prior to the announcement. Following his surprise appearance alongside Future at Rolling Loud California 2021, Cherif and Ye have maintained a close relationship despite his decision to drop out of this year’s lineup.
“We were looking forward to Ye headlining Rolling Loud Miami 2022. We spent months working with him and his team on the performance. Unfortunately, Ye has decided that he will no longer be performing. 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.”
Tariq Cherif & Matt Zingle via release
Amid Ye’s cancellation, Cherif said in the comments of the fest’s announcement that he “tried to convince Ye to stay on the lineup but he wasn’t having it.” The Donda mastermind was enthused about his performance at Rolling Loud Miami, posting the lineup on his social media ahead of the festival. Rolling Loud was also instrumental in promoting Ye’s Donda 2 experience at LoanDepot Park in Miami (Feb. 22), sending out a release to notify fans of the event.
Cudi’s new headlining gig comes after the release of his revered debut mixtape A Kid Named Cudi on streaming platforms (July 15). Along with his forthcoming “To The Moon World Tour” and Entergalactic Netflix series-album, Cudi also shared the first volume of a new greatest hits compilation titled The Boy Who Flew To The Moon.
Ye’s resurgence back into the public eye has been more business than pleasure. Appointing Steven Smith as the head of Donda Design, the YZY mogul also made surprise appearances at The Game’s recent Los Angeles show and introduced Diddy for his BET Lifetime Achievement Award.
While Kanye may be missing out on Rolling Loud Miami, it seems likely he will make a return to the festival in the near future.
More Kanye & Cudi below!
