VPD 'looking into' violent incident at Rick Ross rap show
The Vancouver Police Department says it is "looking into" a violent incident caught on camera after a rap show in the city Sunday.
American rapper Rick Ross, 48, was headlining the Ignite Music Festival at the Plaza of Nations that night. Following his performance, he was involved in an altercation that was caught on camera and surfaced on social media early Monday.
The video shows the rapper outside in a crowd near the concert venue when he is punched in the face by a man. A melee involving multiple individuals then breaks out, with another video appearing to show an unconscious man being dragged away.
It is unclear if Ross was injured.
A VPD spokesperson said in a statement Thursday that the force did not receive any reports about the brawl but became aware of a video circulating online and is now looking into the matter.
Lindsay Sparrow, the CFO of event organizer Canadian Events Agency, said she was backstage at the time of the fight.
Sparrow told CBC News Monday that the "short altercation," which came after Ross closed his set by playing Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us, a diss track that targets Toronto rapper, Drake, was quickly resolved by security.
She said the event tried its best to work with law enforcement and have security in place, given the sometimes volatile nature of hip-hop performances.
"Security did a great job and ... everyone exited safely, which is always our primary concern for everyone attending the festivals," said Sparrow.
Ross, whose real name is William Leonard Roberts II, has topped the charts numerous times over a nearly three-decade-long career.
He is involved in an ongoing feud with Drake, whose war of words with Lamar lit up social media earlier this year as the two artists released a number of songs taunting each other.
Drake's song Push Ups, while directly targeting Lamar, also takes shots at other artists, including Ross, Future, Metro Boomin and The Weeknd.
While Ross did not address the apparent attack afterwards, he issued a farewell post to Vancouver on his Instagram.
"Vancouver, it was fun, till next time," the artist wrote in a post next to a picture of a branded private jet.
