{"id":846667,"date":"2026-09-13T19:12:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T19:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/846667\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T19:12:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T19:12:11","slug":"chief-keefs-1st-headlining-show-in-chicago-in-14-years-postponed-due-to-racist-pilot-rapper-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/846667\/","title":{"rendered":"Chief Keef’s 1st Headlining Show In Chicago In 14 Years Postponed Due To ‘Racist Pilot,’ Rapper Says"},"content":{"rendered":"

SOUTH LOOP \u2014 Chief Keef\u2019s highly anticipated homecoming concert was cancelled abruptly Saturday and rescheduled for a later date due to travel delays, according to the rapper and the concert venue. <\/p>\n

The Chicago-born rapper\u2019s show at the Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island Saturday night was right before its start time. It has been rescheduled to Sept. 23. <\/p>\n

In a post on Instagram, Chief Keef said his team or the city of Chicago was not to blame. He instead cited a \u201cpilot who got very racist at the clear port\u201d as the issue that caused the travel delays. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe pilot decided to cancel my plane,\u201d Chief Keef said. \u201cWhich had us scattering to find new jets. And by the time we found an option it would be too late to land and do a full show.\u201d <\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s show was set to be Chief Keef\u2019s first headlining performance in Chicago proper in over a decade. Fans who traveled from as far as Toronto and St. Louis to see the rapper perform in his hometown were met with disappointment.<\/p>\n

Cris and Fabian flew from Toronto to Chicago a day early to make sure they wouldn\u2019t miss the show. For Cris, the trip was supposed to mark his first time seeing Chief Keef perform live.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeef was my GOAT in high school, and I was going to get to see him perform in his hometown,\u201d Cris said, using an acronym for \u201cgreatest of all time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Chief Keef fans pose beneath a sign announcing the postponement of his concert at Huntington Bank Pavilion on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. Credit: Kenn Cook Jr.\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

\"\"Wendy Villegas, her brother Mario Villegas and their friend Briana Avila stand outside Huntington Bank Pavilion after Chief Keef\u2019s concert was postponed Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. The trio drove five hours from St. Louis to Chicago for the show. Credit: Kenn Cook Jr.\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

Wendy Villegas, her brother Mario Villegas and their friend Briana Avila made a similar pilgrimage, driving five hours from St. Louis for the concert only to discover it had been postponed when they arrived.<\/p>\n

The concert was set to begin at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, but an email announcing the postponement went out at 7:14 p.m. without initially providing a reason or a new date. Some concertgoers didn\u2019t learn the show was off until they arrived at the venue, where signs announcing the postponement were posted and security guards blocked the entrances.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sincerely sorry this happened trust me,\u201d Chief Keef wrote on Instagram. \u201cBut we back on for the 23rd mark my words.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chief Keef, a native of Washington Park, last performed a solo set in Chicago at Lollapalooza in 2012 at the age of 16. He made a cameo at Kanye West\u2019s concert at Soldier Field last weekend. <\/p>\n

The rapper, whose real name is Keith Cozart, was essentially blacklisted<\/a> from performing locally as he was engulfed in legal trouble and a longstanding battle with former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who in 2015 called the rapper an \u201cunacceptable role model\u201d whose music \u201cpromotes violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2015, Chief Keef held his infamous show in Hammond, Indiana, where he appeared via hologram. The performance only lasted one song<\/a> before being shut down by Hammond police because of warnings from the mayor\u2019s office that the show posed a public safety risk, the Tribune reported<\/a> at the time.<\/p>\n

Chief Keef, who left Chicago to live in Los Angeles in 2014, finally made his return to a local stage when he headlined Lyrical Lemonade\u2019s Summer Smash Festival<\/a> in suburban Bridgeview in June 2024. He also headlined the festival in June.<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s Chicago show was the first night of his nationwide tour behind the rapper\u2019s latest mixtape, \u201cSkeletor.\u201d He is schedule to perform Sunday in Minneapolis. <\/p>\n

______________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

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Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SOUTH LOOP \u2014 Chief Keef\u2019s highly anticipated homecoming concert was cancelled abruptly Saturday and rescheduled for a later…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":846668,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[88,216],"class_list":["post-846667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=846667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/846668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=846667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=846667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=846667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}