“I’m not buying the Young Black Man did it,” wrote the Public Enemy rapper in an impassioned open letter on the Astroworld tragedy.
With the amount of litigation currently underway on behalf of the victims of this year’s installment of Travis Scott‘s Astroworld Festival, it can be a little difficult to keep track of what happened, why it happened, who’s at fault, and what comes next.

So far, lawsuits have named nearly every marquee name involved, including Scott and surprise guest, Drake. But as one of rap’s most seasoned and celebrated touring performers, Chuck D is pleading with lawyers and the public to point their fingers are at the appropriate party. In an open letter on the Astroworld tragedy posted on Instagram, the Public Enemy co-founder and frontman defends Scott and insists it’s the concert promoters and organizers who should be held to account for a gross mishandling of already dangerous conditions that led to 10 people dying (as young as 9-years-old) and hundreds more being injured.

“I cannot believe we’re at the point where I gotta say this out loud: Travis Scott is a performer, an act, not a concert promoter. He doesn’t run the sound or venues or festivals or their staff. He doesn’t build stages or coordinate logistics, he’s not an expert in crowd control or security or emergency medical services,” Chuck D writes. The rapper goes on to call out Live Nation, specifically, for “shucking their most crucial responsibility” and keeping musicians quiet by owning most of the venues they would perform at. “I’m not buying the Young Black Man did it. He’s being blamed for a crime while the old white men running the corps that Travis and his fans trusted with their lives stay quiet in the shadows, counting their money and watching their stock prices go up and up,” Chuck continues.

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