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R Kelly Tour Dogged By Lineup Shifts, Poor Ticket Sales
R Kelly's rap and R&B tour package, which had hoped to pick up some of the momentum of the hot-selling Hard Knock Life tour, was dealt a pair of setbacks this week as Busta Rhymes abruptly left the tour citing production issues and several planned shows were cancelled due to poor ticket sales.
The tour will continue with a lineup that inclues Nas, Foxy Brown, Deborah Cox, Kelly Price and Sparkle.
In a brief press statement issued Wednesdy (5/5), Busta Rhymes said, ''I apologize to my fans, but I promise that I'll be coming through this summer. No doubt.''
The statement indicated that Rhymes' management and R Kelly tour organizers could not come to terms on production issues, saying in part, ''...the concert promoter made it impossible to mount a production that would be compatible with the kind of show Rhymes' fans have come to expect from the star.''
Additionally, MTV notes that shows in Albany, Indianapolis, Boise, Toronto, Seattle, Portland, Sacramento and Vancouver have been cut from the tour route due to anticipated ticket sales problems in those markets. The tour will add shows in the South, where many of the acts on the bill have sold well on past tours.
Here is the latest itinerary for R Kelly's ''Get Up On A Room'' tour: