Asake Slammed Following 'Insincere' Tribute for 2022 Brixton Crowd Crush Victims

Asake suffered condemnation over his "insincere" tribute to the victims of his show's 2022 crowd crush.

For the first time since the fatal O2 Academy Brixton in 2022, Asake headlined his latest show at the venue where he remembered the two people who died in the 2022 incident. However, Sunday's opening also attracted criticism from the public, especially the bereaved families of the victims.

Asake Slammed Over Insincere Tribute

During the August 20 show, the Nigerian Afrobeats artist looked back at the 2022 tragedy and honored Gaby Hutchinson and Rebecca Ikumelo. He also offered a poem accompanied by a video montage from his 2022 concert and personal photos and videos of the Hutchinson and Ikumelo.

"Fifteenth of December, 2022/Observe, respect, where respect is due," said the poet, per Rolling Stone. "I don't know what you've been through, but/Let's hold space for something true/A Brixon night took place we cannot forget/I know some feel loss and some regret/Some came out that night and ain't returned/We need to hold this moment."

Asake then entered the arena by descending on a helicopter while his song "Olorun" played in the background. He performed "Organise" as soon as he made a safe landing.

After seeing the tribute, Ikumelo's sister, Rachel, took to X (formerly Twitter) to call out Asake's "insincere" tribute. She added that she should not have to be appreciative of the honor as it included footage of the stampede that killed her sister.

"My sister lost her life at your show and you haven't spoken to a single member of my family since," she wrote in another tweet directly at Asake. "But you can hold another concert in London less than 9 months later and play her videos as a 'tribute'?"

The probe into the incident continues, with the authorities trying to seek relevant information to determine who was responsible for the tragedy and to find out how it happened.

Asake's Concert in 2022 Left Fans Dead, Injured

Multiple news outlets, including Billboard, noted in 2022 that the Metropolitan Police launched a probe into the incident that left people with critical injuries.

According to initial reports, eight people were rushed to a hospital after sustaining injuries during the crowd stampede. Four of them were treated for critical injuries, while the other three were in critical condition.

A few days later, Ikumelo died at the age of 33 while Hutchin, 23, died on December 19 due to the injuries they sustained.