Excitement fades quickly after headliner a no-show at Perrysburg hip hop concert

Tommy "T-jaks" Jackson raps during the festival.

It was a case of disappearing acts at Saturday‘‍s OG Hip Hop Concert and BBQ at the Perrysburg Community Center, where headliners didn’‍t show and local acts pulled out at the last minute. 

Headliner Coolio was said to have suffered an asthma attack hours before he was scheduled to perform. Jason Craig, director of operations for the center, said he didn't expect the rapper, famous for his 1995 hit “Gangsta’‍s Paradise,” to go on.

The show, which ran from noon to 11 p.m. was carried by more than two dozen local acts, including rappers and singers, who performed across four stages.

The festival went dark around 8 p.m. when a transformer burned out, shutting down three of the stages and several vendors.

“The building is done. It‘‍s out for the night,” said a volunteer electrician who declined to give his name. “We’‍ve relocated one of the main stages to try to keep this thing going.”

PHOTO GALLERY: Click here for more photos from the event

The Toledo Edison power outage map revealed no system-wide outages in the area, and Toledo Edison spokesman Hans Rosebrock said any loss of power was not because of the utility.

The concert, which was part of the two-day Mexican American Festival, became plagued with controversy after advertised performers, including Treach and Kaygee of Naughty By Nature said they were never contracted for the event.  

Mr. Craig said he met with rappers Layzie Bone of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Bone Crusher, who were also promoted as performers, and said both were still planning to perform.

“Layzie Bone is here. I met with him. Bone Crusher is here. I met with him. Stu D and Caine are here,” Mr. Craig said. “Anybody else, I don‘‍t know until I see them.”

It was unclear if the entertainers would still take the stage after the power outage. Murmurs of cancellations floated throughout the evening, leaving some concert-goers disappointed.

“I came to see Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Coolio. I wanted to see everybody,” said Amanda Bennett, 25 of Toledo. “We should have known before we came here if the people we paid to see were coming or not.”

Others took the news in stride.

“I‘‍m having a good time. I’‍m enjoying the local groups,” said Deborah Vasquez, 33 of Toledo. “I grew up on these groups, so I was excited about seeing them. It‘‍s a little disappointing.”

Police presence was heavy and increased throughout the night and earlier in the day when crowds showed up demanding refunds.

Before the power outage, there were several hundred people at the festival, and the numbers dwindled after the lights went out. A firm number on crowd size and anticipated revenue was not available later in the evening from Mr. Craig, as the organizer was being treated for a medical emergency at the festival by emergency medical technicians. 

The Wood County Sherriff‘‍s office set up a command station at the venue and officers from Lake Township were also on site, along with paramedics and the fire department. Police said there were no incidents to report as of late Saturday.

Contact RoNeisha Mullen at: rmullen@theblade.com or 419-724-6133.