[EDITED:
To remove Photoshopped photo of Drake because BMI’s Catherine Brewton sicced her attorneys on me for Photoshopping Drake’s photo to illustrate my post as if there is some kind of law against Photoshopping somebody else’s photo. If you don’t want your picture published on blogs, how about you don’t let photographers from one of the largest photo services take your picture and post it online?]
Yesterday, Twitter was all abuzz with rumors that rapper Drake would not be showing up for his much-publicized party that he was booked to host at the Gold Room in Atlanta last night.
The false rumor was started by @MissHoneyB, one of the alluring hosts of local BeeHiveFM.com radio, who tweeted (and I’m paraphrasing), “I Just got off the phone with Drake, and he’s not coming to the Gold Room tonight.”
Her misinformed tweets set off a whirlwind of controversy in Atlanta that pulled in power hitters like Jermaine Dupri, Cortez (Lil Wayne and Drake’s manager), Mike Johnson (who owns BeeHive radio) and Catherine Brewton, who runs BMI’s Atlanta office.
And to complicate matters further, word is that Ms. Brewton, who has past beef with local promoter Alex Gidewon (and anyone who is successful), allegedly put intense pressure on Drake not to show up to the Gold Room last night because she previously booked him for her party tonight at the Havana Club.
Phones were ringing off the hook all day yesterday as Alex Gidewon, Drake, Ms. Brewton, JD and all the power players fielded calls from other promoters, radio people and even the public.
Ms. Brewton, who reportedly paid Drake $100,000 for his appearance tonight at the BMI party at Havana Club, put the most pressure on Drake and his management not to do the party at the Gold Room.
[Note to aspiring party promoters: when you book an artist for your event, make sure to insert a non-compete clause into your contract to prevent him from doing other parties in your area.]
Anyway, Brewton’s endless phone calls to Drake and his management yesterday even had a befuddled and bewildered Jermaine Dupri calling around town asking what was really going on.
Finally, BeeHive radio and Groundrush owner Mike Johnson ordered MissHoneyB to delete the tweets that started the mess in the first place. Then Drake, being the stand up guy that he is, dismissed Ms. Brewton’s demands and showed up at the Gold Room anyway last night.
Drake didn’t get his (substantial) fee for his appearance until he showed up at the Gold Room, which means he didn’t have to come. That makes Drake alright in my book. I’ll post the pics in a minute to prove that he was there!
Photos: Getty Images
