Doechii was by no means booked for the AFRAM Festival regardless of a $187,500 deposit, in keeping with a brand new lawsuit towards a New Jersey reserving agent.

A $187,500 live performance deposit to e book rapper Doechii is on the middle of a lawsuit filed by an Atlanta-based occasion agency that claims it was duped by a pretend reserving scheme.

Blackout Management LLC says it wired the cash to New Jersey reserving agent Christopher Young in December 2024, trusting his promise to safe Doechii and SiR for Baltimore’s AFRAM Festival.

Young allegedly claimed he had direct entry to the artists by their label, Top Dawg Entertainment.

But in keeping with a federal criticism filed in Atlanta, the deal unraveled by March 2025 when Young all of the sudden instructed Blackout the performers have been now not obtainable attributable to tour commitments.

After months of delays and excuses, Blackout contacted TDE straight and discovered Young had by no means booked Doechii and had solely held temporary conversations about SiR.

The firm says it by no means obtained artist contracts, promotional supplies or any signed paperwork. The deposit, it claims, was by no means handed on to TDE.

Instead, Young and his firm, Sacrifice Management LLC, saved the funds.

Blackout demanded a refund. Young allegedly agreed—twice. He signed settlement agreements in May and July 2025 however didn’t pay both time, in keeping with the lawsuit.

Now, Blackout is suing for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, conversion, unjust enrichment and different claims. The firm is asking for not less than $187,500 in damages, plus curiosity, authorized charges and punitive damages.

The AFRAM Festival, held yearly in Baltimore, is among the largest cultural occasions on the East Coast and attracts over 150,000 attendees per day. It serves as the town’s official Juneteenth celebration.

Sadly, this isn’t the one current case of a live performance deal gone fallacious involving a serious Hip-Hop artist,

Esmail Entertainment filed a $2.5 million lawsuit towards Shaw Management Enterprises over a canceled GloRilla present scheduled for September 6, 2025, in Cleveland.

That suit alleges Shaw forged contracts for GloRilla, Moneybagg Yo and Skilla Baby and collected over $280,000 in deposits. GloRilla’s crew confirmed she by no means agreed to carry out and solely $20,000 has been returned to date.

Esmail’s lawsuit consists of six claims, together with fraud and civil theft. It additionally accuses Shaw of interfering with enterprise operations after abruptly halting occasion promotion simply two days after ticket gross sales started.

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