Earlier this month, Houston rap group Geto Boys announced a reunion tour following member Bushwick Bill announcing his stage four pancreatic cancer diagnosis. Now, TMZ reports that the tour has been canceled.
According to TMZ, Bill felt the organizers were exploiting his illness. Reportedly, he was also upset with the title of the tour: “The Beginning of a Long Goodbye: The Final Farewell” because it “made it seem like he was on his deathbed.”
Initially, Bushwick Bill wanted to have a “Bushwick Bill & Friends” tour but claims that the promoters hijacked his idea and forced it to be a Geto Boys reunion tour after he revealed his cancer diagnosis.
“I figure keeping it myself is not really helping nobody, and I’m not really afraid of dying because if anyone knows anything about me from [his 1992 song] ‘Ever So Clear,’” he told TMZ after the diagnosis. “I died and came back already in June 1991, so I know what it’s like on the other side,” Bushwick Bill concluded.
The group briefly reunited earlier this year for a surprise performance on the Tom Joyner Fantastic Voyage cruise.
While the group hasn’t officially confirmed the cancelation of the tour, the previously announced dates in New York, Washington D.C., Ohio and Michigan have been listed as canceled or have completely been removed from the various venues’ websites.
TMZ also reported that Bushwick Bill is planning a solo tour without his Geto Boys groupmates Willie D. and Scarface. The tour will begin on June 8 in Dallas and is called “Phuck Cancer.” Bushwick Bill is expected to donate 10 percent of proceeds to pancreatic cancer patients in each city of the tour. Bill is also reportedly working on three new albums. A release dates for those projects haven’t been announced yet.