Public Enemy is coming to Shanghai...NOT !

                                              
Two days ago we received an enthusiastic email from a promoting agency informing us that Public Enemy was going to perform in Shanghai on September 11th.
First of all, we had no idea who the hell Public Enemy was, but apparently they seemed to be pretty important. "If you don't know who they are, you need to re-evaluate your knowledge of Hip Hop", threatened the email. But then again, we never claimed we were a Hip Hop Encyclopedia...
To those of you who are as ignorant as I am, Public Enemy is, according to Wikipedia, "a hip hop group from Long Island, New York, known for their politically charged lyrics, criticism of the media, and active interest in the concerns of the African American community". The group was created in 1982. So, it seemed that they were going to tour Beijing and Shanghai, among other destinations, to promote their latest album, "How you sell soul to a soulless people who sold their soul?". The party was going to be at The Paramount, with 1000 tickets on sale (250RMB in advance, 350RMB at the door)...
However, yesterday we received another email from that same promoting agency, claiming that "due to an internal fight in the band", the Public Enemy event had been canceled.
It was no surprise to us. It seems that every time there is an interesting or slightly controversial band coming to Shanghai, it is canceled. But stay tuned, there will certainly be some changes and who knows, Public Enemy might eventually show up.

 Oh well, at least 50 Cent is coming this November...

Photo from gilles.suignard

Article cross-posted on Shanghaiist.