VPD 'looking into' violent incident at Rick Ross rap show - Action News
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British Columbia

VPD 'looking into' violent incident at Rick Ross rap show

A spokesperson for the Vancouver Police Department says the force is looking into a violent incident following a music festival in the city Sunday that was caught on camera and shared on social media.

Someone appeared to throw a punch at the U.S. rapper in video shared on social media

A middle-aged Black man stands on a stage wearing a blue and yellow striped jacket and black sunglasses.
Rapper Rick Ross, seen here performing in April, played the Ignite Music Festival in Vancouver on Sunday. Ross and his entourage were involved in an altercation during which multiple punches were thrown after a concert in Vancouver over the weekend. (The Canadian Press/AP/Reed Hoffmann)

The Vancouver Police Department says it is "looking into" a violent incident caught on camera after a rap show in the city Sunday.

American rapper Rick Ross, 48, was headlining the Ignite Music Festival at the Plaza of Nations that night. Following his performance, he was involved in an altercation that was caught on camera and surfaced on social media early Monday.

The video shows therapper outside in a crowd near the concert venuewhen he is punched in the face by a man.A melee involving multiple individuals then breaks out, with another video appearing to show an unconscious man being dragged away.

It is unclear if Ross was injured.

A VPD spokesperson said in a statement Thursday that the force did not receive any reports about the brawl but became aware of a video circulating online and is now looking into the matter.

Lindsay Sparrow, the CFO of event organizer Canadian Events Agency, said she was backstage at the time of the fight.

Sparrow told CBCNews Monday that the "short altercation," which came after Ross closed his set by playingKendrick Lamar's Not Like Us, a diss track that targets Toronto rapper, Drake, was quickly resolved by security.

She said the event tried its best to work with law enforcement and have security in place, given the sometimes volatile nature of hip-hop performances.

"Security did a great job and ... everyone exited safely, which is always our primary concern for everyone attending the festivals," said Sparrow.

Ross, whose real name is William Leonard Roberts II, has topped the charts numerous times over a nearly three-decade-long career.

A man poses next to a private jet marked 'Rick Ross', with a caption reading 'Vancouver it was fun, till next time'.
In an Instagram post shortly after the concert, Ross thanked the city of Vancouver without mentioning the attack. (Rick Ross/Instagram)

He is involved in an ongoing feud with Drake, whose war of words with Lamar lit up social media earlier this year as the two artists released a number of songs tauntingeach other.

Drake's song Push Ups, while directly targeting Lamar, also takes shots at other artists, including Ross, Future, Metro Boomin and The Weeknd.

While Ross did not address the apparent attack afterwards, he issued a farewell post to Vancouver on his Instagram.

"Vancouver, it was fun, till next time," the artist wrote in a post next to a picture of a branded private jet.

With files from the Canadian Press