New York’s Market Hotel denies accusations of racism following show cancellation · News ⟋ RA

New York’s Market Hotel denies accusations of racism following show cancellation · News ⟋ RA

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Wed, Sep 16, 2026, 17:45The 500-capacity venue claimed it cancelled an underground rap show due to low ticket sales.New York venue Market Hotel has released a statement denying accusations of racism after cancelling a show last Sunday, September 13th.

The 500-capacity space in Brooklyn had been scheduled to hold a New York Fashion Week event hosted by In Tha Fest, a North Carolina music festival, featuring underground rappers like Percaso and EA TJ. According to a statement released by the venue, the show had only sold 40 tickets, which didn’t justify the cost of holding the event.

“Our general manger, who is a Black man, had a straightforward conversation with the promoter about the reality of the show,” the venue wrote on Instagram. “The promoter then took that conversation online, falsely labeled our general manager ‘racist,’ and fabricated a disgusting quote that was never said, in an attempt to make the situation look like something it wasn’t.”

In Tha Fest founder NOAHH told Resident Advisor the venue had first charged them three times the original rate before cancelling the gig entirely. According to the In Tha Fest, Market Hotel told them the previous night’s show, a similar underground rap event, went awry and it was no longer willing to hold the event. The venue claims the decision was unrelated to the previous night’s show.

“[Market Hotel] just called me and said they had a show last night with ‘ignorant Black people’ and don’t want anymore there for the time being,” NOAHH wrote on Instagram Stories. “Never dealt with such racism.”

The venue strongly denied accusations of racism, writing it was one of the few clubs in the city that hosts underground rap shows. In the past months, the venue has hosted underground rappers like TisaKorean, POLO PERKS <3 <3 <3, FearDorian, Christ Dilinger, Yhapojj and more.

“It’s crazy to me for white people to weaponise the actually serious problem of racism in the music industry against me,” Market Hotel’s general manager Maleek Brown wrote in a statement via Instagram. “We had to make a tough decision to cancel an event. It just didn’t make sense for the venue. It’s a decision that venues and promoters make all the time.”

Read all of the statements in full.