S. Samuel
Rap veteran Nas is reportedly going to have to call up his best legal team to help clear his name after getting hit with a $10 million lawsuit for failing to show up at a New Year's Eve show last year.
Details of the hefty legal dispute surfaced across the Internet early Saturday (December 22).
A New Jersey father-and-son team of promoters held in Angola for 49 days after Nas failed to appear for a concert there last New Year’s Eve are suing the rapper for $10 million in Manhattan federal court. Nas later returned his $300,000 fee, but the blame fell on Patrick Allocco, 52, and Patrick Jr., 22, of Morris Plains, whose company eventually went bankrupt. (New York Post)
Although Nas repaid the money back, the plaintiff wants to get compensated for time he spent as a kidnap victim.
At the time, Allocco told reporters that he was stuck in Angola and being held at gunpoint by a local “concert impresario” who put up the money for the concerts. Nas got a $300,000 advance and budding rapper Jamiah Jai, who was supposed to be the opening act, got $15,000. The court papers say Nas was in Miami to attend a New Year’s Eve engagement party at the home of hoops star LeBron James. The lawsuit says after the shows were canceled, Allocco and his son were taken into custody by Angolan authorities who refused to let them leave the country until the money was returned. Nas and Jai did eventually repay the money. (New York Daily News)
Last March, the New York hip-hop vet spoke on his no-show and the kidnapping.
“I didn’t want to touch on it because it seemed like he was in grave danger out there,” Nas said in an interview. “Basically he was a promoter that I never worked with, and he wanted me to come to Africa for New Year’s, which, for me, I thought, would be the best way to spend New Year’s. … The business wasn’t handled. There was nothing sent to me, and there were no flights. … By the time he did send money — he did eventually send money to me — but it was too late to go. I didn’t even have a visa to get in the country. So that’s canceled, the show’s canceled.” (RapFix)
After two months of being held against his will, the promoter finally got released.
A rep for Patrick Allocco tells us, “An order was entered today by Angolan authorities lifting the travel ban which prevented [Patrick] and his son from leaving the country for 49 days after [Nas] failed to show for a New Year’s Eve concert.” According to the rep, Patrick and his son, Patrick, were immediately escorted by U.S. Embassy Officials on a flight to Lisbon. The two men are expected to arrive in Newark, NJ Saturday afternoon. Patrick’s rep adds, “We are relieved that this nightmare is over and are looking forward to coming home to our family and friends who have supported us with their prayers and optimism during this ordeal.” (TMZ)
Check out some recent Nas footage:
