Controversial Sydney rapper Kerser has issued a response to Come Together festival organiser Gary Grant, after the promoter cited his booking of the polarising Aussie hip-hop figure as a “mistake” that ultimately led to the cancellation of last year’s Come Together event.
“Last year I made the mistake of putting Kerser on the bill with other acts and I didn’t realise – as much as I like what Kerser does – how polarised it caused the fans to be,” Grant told theMusic. “Kerser’s fans hate everyone, and all the other fans hate Kerser – it was oil and water.”
“When he plays he has a big following, but they’re only into him and nothing else it seems and so it was just the mix of that and other artists, which was a shame because I thought it was a great line-up, but it was just the fans saying ‘I don’t like him’ and ‘we don’t like them’.”
In a statement provided to theMusic, Kerser’s management have responded directly to Grant’s claims, writing, “Firstly, it’s with great disappointment that promoter Gary Grant chose to isolate a single artist, Kerser, in relation to the cancellation of Come Together 2014.”
“In our experience, there were many contributing factors to the early closure of this event including lack of top tier support acts. Kerser (and Funkoars) were seemingly holding up the line-up while 2013 boasted the likes of Drapth, Illy, The Herd, Dialectrix, Spit Syndicate and Allday.”
Marketing was also an issue, they claim. While there was “a general assumption” that ticket sales would be driven by Kerser’s social media presence, promoters were instructed to adjust their own campaigns to target the younger, digital-savvy fan base. “It fell on deaf ears,” write management.
“Thirdly, ‘Kerser fans hate everyone and all the other fans hate Kerser’ is a gross generalisation and misrepresentation of Kerser’s fan base,” the statement continues. “Not only is it ignorant but also inaccurate… a large portion of Kerser’s fan base freely expresses their adoration toward other MC’s.”
“Fourthly, during this same period Kerser performed nationally to huge crowds at Big Day Out, Good Life Festival as well as his own sold out national tour, sharing the stage with revered Australian MC’s and international acts including Macklemore and Rudimental.”
“At Breath of Life Festival, Kerser shared the (same) stage with 360, Illy, Seth Sentry, Bliss N Eso and there were no issues with crowd attendance, fan rivalry or any other such matter. The feedback from all promoters in regards to Kerser’s participation at these events was nothing short of positive.”
“It goes without saying that to blame the artist/s for the demise of a festival or event is unprofessional and lazy and while we understand that in the past Kerser has been an easy target, it is disappointing to see it happen again (and an entire year after the event was cancelled no less).”
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“We wish Gary Grant and his team nothing but the best for their future endeavours and the resurrection of Come Together. Given the current music climate and the overall demise of music festivals, we believe that in times such as these, there should only be mutual support; not scapegoating,” the statement concludes.
Come Together will make its return this June, with a lineup that will be split over two days. One day will be dedicated to hip-hop and the other to indie rock, with Seth Sentry, Thundamentals, Horrorshow, Ball Park Music, and The Jungle Giants set to perform.
Kerser, meanwhile, acknowledged his beefs with members of the Australian hip-hop community in a 2014 Fairfax interview. However, he insisted, “There are a lot of rappers I get along with. But there’s a lot who, to our face, they’re nice and then you’ll see a nasty status update.”
