American rapper, Lil Wayne, is set to perform in the UK for the first time in 14 years.
The 39-year-old musician, who has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide and won five Grammy awards, was forced to cancel a UK tour in 2011 after his visa application was reportedly rejected by UK border authorities due to prior convictions.
Now, Wayne is set to make his comeback at the ‘Strawberries Creem’ festival, which will take place between June 17 and 19, 2022, in Cambridge.
It is worth mentioning that Lil Wayne’s performance at the Cambridge event will be his only European show in 2022, festival organizers disclosed.
Meanwhile, ‘Strawberries and Creem’, which has been running since 2014, continued its pledge from last year to feature more female artists. Singers such as Mabel, Ella Mai, and Nigerian star, Tems, will be part of the line-up. The festival organizers are committed to further working to achieve gender equality in crowds as well as on stage.
The festival co-founder, Preye Crooks, said: “This year, as we scale up to a full three days, we wanted to ensure our musical offering matched that level of ambition – as well as reflecting our incredibly diverse crowd.
“As a team, we also wanted to shine a light on some amazing genres and artists that aren’t always celebrated in full at other festivals”.
Preye
The weekend will include drum and base acts as well as dance music, reggae, R&B, and DJ sets from an all-female collective.
That notwithstanding, measures to tackle sexual harassment and abuse will be strengthened during the three-day event to ensure women’s safety, the festival organizers disclosed.
Lil Wayne Embattled in Several Police cases
Lil Wayne, who is a chart-topping music star, is a convicted felon, following a gun charge, back in 2007. He faced the possibility of a 10-year sentence in prison. However, he made bail for the sum of $250,000.
In June last year, Wayne was also accused of pulling a gun on one of his bodyguards. The 39-year-old rapper reportedly got into an argument with one of his security men at his Hidden Hills home and when things got physical, he allegedly aimed an assault rifle at the man.
In December 2020, Wayne pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm, which was loaded with six rounds of ammunition, after authorities searched his private plane in December 2019. However, the then-US President, Donald Trump, pardoned the ‘Lonely’ rapper on his last full day in the office before he could be sentenced. Wayne received a pardon from Trump because he previously endorsed the former world leader for reelection, several reports suggested.
“Just had a great meeting with @realdonaldtrump @potus besides what he’s done so far with criminal reform, the platinum plan is going to give the community real ownership. He listened to what we had to say today and assured us he will and can get it done”, Wayne wrote in a Twitter post.
Wayne’s tweet included a picture of the two of them together and prompted a backlash from some of his followers.
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