Junior H and Natanael Cano will no longer perform at Rolling Loud California this weekend, Rolling Stone has learned.
In an Instagram post Monday, Jimmy Humilde, the owner and CEO of the artists’ record label, claimed that the festival had “canceled us last minute,” describing Rolling Loud as “racist.” However, Rolling Loud told Rolling Stone that the two artists were removed from the lineup because Cano had issues with his visa and Junior breached his contract.
“Unfortunately, Natanael Cano and Junior H will not be performing at Rolling Loud California 2024,” a rep for Rolling Loud said. “Natanael Cano did not obtain the necessary work permits or visas to enable him to perform at the festival. Junior H will not be performing due to several breaches of contract, including the festival’s radius terms.”
Reps for Rancho Humilde and Cano did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In his original post, Humilde claimed that the música Mexicana artists were used as a ploy for “ticket sales.” He also referenced Mexican American ticket-buyers, writing, “What’s crazy is that majority ticket buyers are Raza!!!!”
“They stopped answering my calls and told me no tickets [were] sold lol,” he added in a comment.
Later that night, Humilde threatened to sue the festival and called out the organizers for turning off the comments on their post about the cancelation. “Ain’t no one scared here. Ain’t no one money hungry either. You ain’t gonna disrespect me or my team!” Humilde wrote on Instagram.
Cano and Junior were two of three música Mexicana acts designated in “special guest” slots at the hip-hop-focused festival. A rep for Fuerza Régida, the third act, confirmed to Rolling Stone that their set scheduled for Saturday will go as planned.
The event’s lineup also features Rancho Humilde artist Chino Pacas in a second-lining slot for Friday’s festival. Rolling Loud later shared a statement on its Instagram that fans with single-day tickets for Friday and Sunday (the nights when Junior and Cano were scheduled to perform) can change their tickets to Saturday’s event to see Fuerza Regida.
This year’s festival is currently being headlined by Nicki Minaj, Post Malone, and a co-headlining slot featuring Future and Metro Boomin, both of whom replaced Lil Uzi Vert after they said “I never said I was doing rolling loud … Don’t understand why my name is on here” back in November.
Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign, performing as duo ¥$, were also added to the festival for a special headlining slot on Thursday exclusive to ticketholders.
This situation involving Cano and Junior isn’t the first time that Rolling Loud has run into issues with performers. Last year’s New York City iteration was called off due to “logistical factors beyond our control.”
Rolling Loud New York had also been the site of some not-so-memorable moments. Days before the first Rolling Loud New York in 2019, the festival dropped five rappers — including Brooklyn’s then-burgeoning drill hero Pop Smoke — following a request from the NYPD.
Humilde, who deemed Rolling Loud as “racist” in his post, has made incendiary comments in the past. After none of his artists were nominated for a Latin Grammy last year, he said the Latin Recording Academy was “full of shit.”
This story was updated at 2:15 a.m. ET to include new comments from Jimmy Humilde and Rolling Loud.