Here’s a Painful History of Fans Throwing Items at Rappers During Performances
Over the past few years, rappers getting stuff thrown at them while they're on stage has become an increasingly popular yet baffling trend during hip-hop tours. With each new occurrence, the rap game's most notable figures who've experienced items like phones and bottles being hurled in their direction when they're trying to put on a show have had mixed reactions to it all.
The most recent examples find Drake as the target of projectiles from overzealous fans. In just the past week since the Toronto MC kicked off his highly anticipated It's All A Blur Tour, Drizzy has had phones, hats, bras and even an Air Jordan sneaker thrown onto his stage. While being hit with a cell phone in Chicago left Drake completely unphased, a 38DD-sized brassiere caused the excited Her Loss rhymer to stop dead in his tracks. When Drake took the stage for the It's All A Blur Tour's Detroit stop, Champagne Papi acknowledged the fact that a thrown special edition Air Jordan 4 Bred seemed out of place amid being showered with yet another barrage of female undergarments.
Kid Cudi, on the other hand, does not typically take too kindly to having things thrown his way while delivering upon his renowned stage sets. After agreeing to replace Kanye West as a headliner at Rolling Loud Miami in 2022, Cudder was hit in the face with what appeared to be a water bottle. After a stern warning to the crowd, Kid Cudi dropped the mic and exited the stage mid-performance as soon as another item was tossed onto the stage.
Other incidents listed below include Swae Lee being left bloodied in 2018 by a thrown cell phone in Dallas as well as GloRilla chastising a young woman who hit her with a flying jacket from within a crowded show in Denver.
Here, XXL takes a look at many times rappers have had random items thrown at them while performing on stage.
Drake Gets Hit With Cell Phone, Bras and an Air Jordan During It's All A Blur Tour Performances
On the opening night of the It's All A Blur Tour in July of 2022, a fan at Chicago's United Center hit Drake with a cell phone during a cover performance of Ginuwine's 1999 song, "So Anxious." In this instance, Drizzy didn't skip a beat and just kept on crooning.
@jordyntaylor28 He was like wtf lol #drake #chicago #itsallablurtour #unitedcenter #champagnepapi #fyp ♬ original sound - Jordyn That same night the Chi, Drake was so pleased to have a woman's bra thrown in his direction, Champagne Papi actually paused the show to reflect on the moment.
By the time Drake's It's All A Blur Tour made its way to Detroit on July 8, his rabid fan base had seemingly taken note of the growing trend. In the Motor City, Drizzy had to actually duck for cover amid a storm of flying bras that also included a rare Air Jordan sneaker.
Kid Cudi Walks Off Rolling Loud Stage After People Throw Objects at Him
Kid Cudi shut down his entire performance at 2022's Rolling Loud festival in Miami. After giving the crowd one more chance upon being struck with a plastic bottle, Mr. Rager stormed off stage once something else was thrown.
Kodak Black Hit With Water Bottle During Rolling Loud Performance
As Kodak Black was bringing his 2023 Rolling Loud California performance in March to an end with his smash hit "Super Gremlin," the South Florida rapper was hit with a water bottle. In response, Kodak jokingly declared he was going to "spank me a bih" with his studded belt.
GloRilla Hit With a Jacket During Her Performance
Back in February of 2023, GloRilla was struck with a fan's jacket that was thrown from the crowd in Denver. Glo stopped the show while performing the track "Blessed" to give the fan a piece of her mind.
@bananaz_ana_ #screammovie She still had an amazing performance. Lowkey was fs pressed but can you blame her? #Glorilla #concert #live #denvercolorado #viral ♬ original sound - Ana Banana ✨ Lil Nas X Gets a Sex Toy Hurled at Him During Performance
In an exceptionally unique occurrence, Lil Nas X was the victim of having a sex toy thrown at him while performing in Belgium in July of 2023. Even though the bedroom prop didn't strike the "Industry Baby" artist directly, Lil Nas X addressed the peculiar moment by asking the crowd, "Who threw their p***y on stage?"
Swae Lee Gets a Bloodied Lip After Fan Throws Phone at Him
When Rae Sremmurd served as an opening act in Dallas for Wiz Khalifa back in 2018, Swae Lee suffered a busted lip when a rowdy fan threw her phone at his face. In his response on Twitter following the show, Swae Lee told concertgoers they "gotta have more common sense than that."
Lil Wayne Kindly Threatens Concertgoers to Not Throw Water Bottles at Him
When Lil Wayne was subject to flying debris while performing at Sydney, Australia's Jumanji Festival in 2018, the New Orleans icon met the turnt-up crowd with a stern warning.
“OK, so let me let you know where I’m from," Lil Wayne told the Australian audience. "I think y’all know that’s the States. We don’t throw shit on stage because all my n****s got pistols and they don’t know who to shoot at. So if you throw something else, I'ma be more safe, and I'ma be the bigger person and just leave, ‘cause I don’t wanna kill everybody."
Sexyy Red Stops Performance After Crowd Throws Trash at Her
After warning a hostile crowd to stop throwing things at her during Lyrical Lemonade's 2023 Summer Smash festival in June of 2023, Sexyy Red walked off the stage completely when the audience refused to oblige. Just as she began performing her song "SkeeYee," Sexyy Red instantly ended the show saying, "Thanks for having me, but I'm done."
Lil Wayne Calls His "Goon Squad" After Getting Hit With a Bottle, Cancels Show
When Lil Wayne took notice of a bottle being thrown in his direction during a Garden City, Idaho stop on 2017's Kloser 2 U Tour, Weezy once again shut the show down but not before things got contentious. Lil Wayne brought what he refers to as his "Goon Squad" onto the stage to throw the bottle back into the crowd before abruptly ending the performance.
Rico Nasty Jumps Into the Crowd After Someone Throws Bottle At Her
Rico Nasty had a particularly lively run-in with an unruly crowd while on tour with Playboi Carti back in 2021. When someone threw a bottle at the Maryland rapper in Portland, Ore., Rico took matters into her own hands by jumping into the crowd to confront the audience member.
Sexyy Red Gets Mad After Money Is Thrown At Her During Performance
Less than one week after Sexyy Red stopped the previously mentioned show in Chicago for having things thrown at her, the "Pound Town" spitter had a similar experience while performing her music at a gentleman's club in Detroit. When Red was hit in the back of the head with a bundle of cash, she stopped mid-song to say, "Aye, b***h, stop hitting me with the money, b***h."
Megan Thee Stallion Twerks Over Phone Fan Throws on Stage
While most rappers become angry when things get hurled onto the stage during their sets, Megan Thee Stallion takes an entirely different approach. In August of 2022, Hot Girl Meg created a viral moment when she stood over a fan's phone that was thrown her way and twerked into the camera before throwing it back.
Lil Uzi Vert Throws Phone Into the Crowd, Injures Fan
In the case of Lil Uzi Vert, one instance of having something thrown onto the stage actually caused the Pink Tape rapper to face some heavy backlash. When Uzi chucked a phone back into the crowd at U.K.'s Wireless Festival in 2022, an innocent woman was hit in the head, leaving her bloodied.