Early morning
yesterday, the State of New Jersey suddenly cancelled the Literacy Concert, because they didn’t have the approval for the concert to take place, according to RZA of Wu Tang. He also said the government didn’t want to be associated with rap music. “At the last minute, the secretary of state pulled out,” RZA told AllHipHop.com. “The secretary claimed the state didn’t want to align themselves with hip-hop.”
In the process of planning the concert, RZA said he spoke with the Secretary of the State of New Jersey and explained that the young children who listen to hip-hop music today need to be educated on the benefits of reading. Initially, he said the secretary was very receptive to the idea, but pulled out the day of the show.
Portions of the proceeds from the show were to be donated to various literacy programs throughout New Jersey. For reduced fees, Carl Thomas, Fat Joe, Mobb Deep, Redman and Method Man and Wu-Tang were all scheduled to perform at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, New Jersey.
RZA, who said he invested considerable funds to the project, acknowledged the concert wasn’t his idea, but, because of the worthiness of the cause, he brought together some friends to perform. “They basically used us to build up their relations with the school children. Once they achieved their agenda, they flipped,” he said.
RZA said that, although the concert has been postponed, he plans to host another event without the support of the State. “Even if the government don’t want to support literacy, hip-hop will,” RZA said.
