The captain of the musical professions in Egypt, Mostafa Kamel, commented on the controversy surrounding the cancellation of the permit for rapper Travis Scott’s concert, which was scheduled for July 28 in the ancient pyramids area.
In a video he posted on his Facebook account, Kamel said: “The statement issued by the union clarified everything, and since I took over the matter in the union, we decided that we are against banning the young before the old, and against the final ban, but we set controls and standards to manage this matter.” We decided this on the singers of our country, and all people give concerts, and we did not refuse a concert at all.
Kamel added: “I received a call that there is a company that is used to licenses from within the union, and the Labor and Legal Regulations Committee told me there is no problem and our licenses, and the license has already been issued, and I did not know at the time Travis Scott nor his rituals or anything, and there are many people who do not know him And the media too.
And he continued: “After knowing the opinions of the masses and the fears of the people, and after we met, we watched the videos and felt the fears of these people,” according to the Egyptian newspaper “Al-Ahram”.
And Kamel went on: “The Syndicate of Musical Professions entrusted with licensing in the event of any foreign concert, I and the Egyptian Ministry of Culture and Manpower, we are three parties that issue licenses in the event of concerts. We had to unanimously assess the situation, and I know that the company will secure its concert like any other company, but Security approvals must be adhered to. As an authority specialized in obtaining permits only, I do not have protection and security tools for the party from any riot, and I do not have organizing tools. I am only an artistic license granting authority, and it is necessary to respect people’s opinions and feelings.
He concluded by saying, “If God forbid something happens, we will be the cause of that. We asked for security considerations in terms of implementation. If the license exists with the company and the security approvals come, and all of us, as a union, will strike a salutation of peace from the party entrusted with protecting this ceremony.”
And the Syndicate of Musical Professions had announced, on Tuesday, the cancellation of Scott’s concert, noting in a statement that its decision came after: “an extrapolation and survey of the opinions of the pioneers of social networking sites, and after the news of the Syndicate of Musical Professions, its general captain, and its board of directors was reported to the search engines and means of communication, including pictures and information.” Documented strange rituals for the star of this concert, Travis Scott, which he presents during his performance, and harnessing his tools in order to establish rituals that are inconsistent with our authentic societal values and traditions.
