$30,000 price tag, reluctantly accepted his deposit back – minus a $500 commission. “They kept the commission for a show that never happened!” he laughs bitterly. “They held my money for six months! They had $10,000 just sitting there. Plus I had [paid for] commercials and flyers. I lost the potential to make money; I could have made more [money] off the show than I spent.” Around the time of Gucci’s release from prison in March 2009, So Icey/ Mizay handed over the booking responsibilities to Cabbell and Hitt Afta Hitt. Due to a combination of factors (including OJ’s buzz, a slew of Gucci Mane mixtape material floating around, and an overall slump in the music business) the street demand for Gucci Mane had risen during his incarceration. According to simple economic theory, a combination of high demand and low supply (because of his unavailability) equals an increase in price. So during the span of his 6-month incarceration, Gucci’s asking price magically rose from $15,000 to over $40,000. And instead of honoring the previous contracts that had never been satisfied, So Icey/Mizay allowed Johnnie to double or even triple the original prices. “There’s no way I would have charged [the promoters] more,” says Coach. “For their inconvenience, they should be charged the same price [as their initial contract] or even given a discount. When an artist fails to show, not only is the [promoter’s] name and character at risk, but [the promoter] has incurred a lot of advertising expenses. The radio money, the flyer money, the street team, the venue rental…he’s not gonna get any of that money back. So there’s no way he should have to pay more, because he already lost [money] the first time the artist didn’t show. The booking agent’s responsibility is to get all the money that was sent [for the deposit] returned.” Beyond that, Coach says, the promoter would have to sue the artist directly for breach of contract to attempt to recover funds lost on promotional expenses. “Some [promoters] have won [additional fees in a lawsuit] for damages when the artist couldn’t give a legitimate excuse for not being there.”
CHICAGO, IL Less than a hundred miles away, promoters Godfatha (right) and John Mosley (below right) experienced similar drama when they teamed up to bring Gucci Mane to Chicago, IL in the fall of 2008. Their contract was for $15,000. Since Gucci Mane was incarcerated on the date of the scheduled show, So Icey/Mizay promised to reschedule. Mosley estimates that he had to call So Icey at least 200 times before they finally confirmed a make-up date. After the make-up date was confirmed and they had been advertising for four weeks, Godfatha says, Cabbell suddenly tripled the price. “[Johnnie] called and said someone else wanted the date [for a higher price],” Godfatha recalls. “I don’t care that his stock went up. That’s why you invest. I lost over $15,000 [on the deposit and promotions] and they held my deposit for a whole year!” Johnnie threatened to book a show with another promoter in the same city if they didn’t agree to match the offer. “We were only supposed to owe $8,000 [on the back-end to So Icey/Mizay],” confirms Mosley. “But Johnnie got involved and said he was getting thousands of calls [for shows in Chicago] from promoters who want to give him $40,000, and we’re gonna have to match those offers, even though we already had a contract!” Cabbell refused to honor the $15,000 contract, saying that Gucci was hot in the market and deserved more. Laughs Mosley, “Right! I made him hot in the market! They played his records on the radio because we spent so much money [promoting his show] with the station.” To avoid losing the date to another promoter, Godfatha and Mosley ultimately agreed to pay Cabbell $42,500 for Gucci Mane, plus a $10,000 travel fee – a total of $52,500, plus the money already gone down the drain on advertising and venue rental fees. Why did they continue spending money rather than demanding their deposit back? “I’ve been promoting shows for 20 years and in this market I have a reputation to uphold,” explains Godfatha. “My name means more to me [than money].” Almost a year after sending their initial deposit, the show finally happened
in May 2009 and 5,000 people showed up. According to Godfatha, it was the biggest show Gucci Mane has ever done (right) [as the headliner] to this day. Mosley says there was plenty of bad blood in the city from his previous no-show. “People were threatening [Gucci’s] life,” he recalls. “The things we went through even getting him into [Chicago] and on stage alive were ridiculous.” The promoters were able to recoup their previous losses (and, one would assume, turned a hefty profit). Several days later, Johnnie called Godfatha and offered him a date on the upcoming So Icey Tour. “He told me, ‘I apologize. Let’s do another date to make it right.’ He tricked [us]. He told us he had a tour coming and he was gonna show me some love,” recalls Godfatha. In retrospect, he snaps, “If this is ‘love,’ I don’t want nooooo love from him ever again.” Godfatha and Mosley agreed to book a date on the So Icey Tour for $55,000, which was scheduled to take place on July 24th, 2009. They sent a $35,000 deposit for the artists, a $5,000 booking fee which went directly to Cabbell (“Johnnie thought I was trying to go around him [by dealing with Ujaama] and said I couldn’t do another show unless I sent him $5,000 cash,” alleges Mosley), and $10,000 for travel. But after wiring over $50,000, the promoters learned that all three of the artists on the So Icey Tour were booked on their date in various other cities – so they were forced to push the date back a week, to August 1st. “Johnnie just completely lied [to me],” says Godfatha. “On top of that, he knew Gucci was scheduled to take a drug test three weeks before my show and he was high as a kite.” “I found out Gucci was in jail on Twitter,” laughs Godfatha. “Johnnie never called, management never called [to tell me he wasn’t gonna make my show]. Soulja Boy said on Twitter [on July 19th] that Gucci Mane was in jail, and I know him personally, so I was asking him not to say that because he was killing my ticket sales in Chicago.” Nicki Minaj, Godfatha adds, was also posting “free Gucci Mane” on her Myspace and Twitter pages less than two weeks before their scheduled event. Meanwhile, Johnnie reassured Godfatha, “Gucci is straight. He’ll be at the show,” but never sent the promised drop. Shannon stopped returning calls altogether. Less than a week before the show, Godfatha says, they suddenly changed their tune. “Johnnie is like, ‘Aw, man, I don’t know [if Gucci will be able to come].’ Then he says, ‘We’ve got a bunch of deposits. How do we know we have your [money]’? I’m like, ‘What?! We’ve been talking for months! I’ve got all kinds of contracts! So now you’re trying to say you don’t have my money?’ Deb plays like she doesn’t know what’s going on and hangs up.” So Godfatha retraced the paper trail: Ujaama received the initial deposits. Ujaama in turn wired money to Shannon, who then deposited the money with Deb. “I have definite confirmation that Johnnie and Deb have my money,” says Godfatha. Having spent over $50,000 plus promotional expenses, with less than week before the show, he says, Deb or Johnnie didn’t answer the phone for three days. Finally, he reached them by calling threeway through one of Gucci Mane’s bodyguards and sent copies of all the contracts, paperwork, and receipts proving that the money was transferred to Deb’s account. According to Godfatha, at that point Deb finally admitted, “I don’t know if Gucci can make that date.” “This is four days before the event!” exclaims Mosley. “When we advertise an event in Chicago, we blow it up. No one has it on lock like we do. We’ve been promoting for six weeks. 100,000 flyers, [SMS] text blasts, Facebook [invites]. Gucci Gucci Gucci! Gucci’s coming! And four days before the event, they’re telling me he’s got legal problems. Are you kidding me?” The next day, just three days before the show, Deb demanded an additional $3,500 “security fee” that was never previously discussed and was not included in the contract or rider. They threatened a no-show if the fee was not paid. “Johnnie said my show wouldn’t happen unless I [paid for] more security. He threatened me and my business partner!” Godfatha says, incredulous. “At that point, I told him, ‘Fuck you. I don’t care if any of y’all come. It’s embarrassing now.’” “[Calling a promoter at the last minute with additional charges] is not standard practice for a booking agent,” says Coach. “Everything should be OZONE MAG // 41