Drake sued by Chicago promoter over cancelled shows

Drake may soon discover that one of the downsides that comes with a meteoric rise in popularity is the need for better bookkeeping. A Chicago concert promoter is suing the rapper and his OVO Touring company, alleging that they made off with more than $200,000 without staging a show at all.

The incident begins during early 2012. Drake was an arena-worthy act at the time, but demanded a much smaller fee for performing than he does post-Nothing Was The Same. OVO allegedly agreed to a Chicago date with Status, a Chicago-area promoter, for a $100,000 fee. However, the rapper ended up playing a much larger venue during June instead, and Status was never refunded its funds. According to the lawsuit, OVO told the company that someone within Drake's group had spent the funds on another cause.

Status-apparently never having heard of "fool me once, shame on me"-attempted to book another gig with Drake at Allstate Arena during October 2012. The idea was that the larger venue would bring in a profit margin large enough for OVO to repay its debt from the first botched event. However Status was still required to forward another $100,000, but then OVO claimed the price had gone up due to increased demand (apparently having forgotten that they had screwed Status over earlier in the year). OVO eventually said they would refund the $200,000, which of course never happened.

Status is suing for breach of contract, among a slew of other charges. They are seeking a refund of the original $200,000, legal fees, and the cash equivalent to the profits they would have earned from the theoretical shows, as decided by the court.

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