After accepting a seven-year sentence as part of a plea deal related to drug and weapons charges in 2016, Bobby Shmurda was released from prison but found his career momentum stalled by his years in the criminal justice system. The Shmoney Dance inventor's new music hasn't moved the needle like his 2014 hit "Hot N****" did, and now it looks like he's having some trouble on the touring front.
Shmurda recently canceled his Still Alive Tour, which was set to launch next week and run through mid-June. Tuesday on Instagram, Shmurda posted screenshots of some hostile text messages with his manager, Big Gwop (aka Sergio Patillo), and his booking agent, Philip Stengel. "Hey bitch lmk if you need the book mailing address to sue me," Stengel wrote. "And anytime we can run the fade ain't no bitch here you ain't gonna talk to me like you have been." Gwop's response seems to be an attempt to mediate a conflict between Shmurda and Stengel; he alludes to harsh words exchanged by both sides and encourages both parties to make up and move on. The next slide shows Shmurda and Stengel apologizing to each other and a return to the subject of ads for the tour that aren't being properly distributed on social media. It ends with a slide that reads, "DON'T BLAME A CLOWN FOR ACTING LIKE A CLOWN. ASK YOURSELF WHY YOU KEEP GOING TO THE CIRCUS." Shmurda captioned the post with an apology to fans for his canceled tour and a threat to sue Stengel:
Hey to all my fans I apologize for the tour being canceled I take full responsibility I have to go through lawsuits with these guys @philipstengel works at @halotouring @igetgwop that I knew better to do business with let this be a life lesson to all business owners and affiliate .Don’t leave nothing in no one hands don’t matter how much you gotta work. Nobody’s gonna treat your work like it’s you except if you got a top pause, done expert,, but that happens once in a blue moon because you have money does not make you a boss anyways I apologize again to all of my fans I might have to go through some lawsuits and lawyer fee money a.k.a. The industry most wanted ain’t nothing new I been fighting
Stengel responded with an Instagram post of his own, in which he says the tour was canceled because Shmurda was averaging 10 tickets sold per show:
Let's be clear: the tour was canceled because average ticket sales across markets were 10 per city. That's not viable under any circumstances-no matter the artist or budget.
Bobby Shmurda chose to publicly vent rather than acknowledge performance metrics. His frustration is understood, but the numbers don't lie. The problem wasn't promotion-it was demand.
This industry isn't about emotion; it's about execution. If 10 people are buying tickets, there's no show. Period.
This post was a distraction. The facts are the facts.
In the caption, Stengel adds, "We ran ads, we have receipts," and concludes, "We wish @itsbobbyshmurda best of luck on the club circuit."
