Ludacris may love a bag, but not enough to alienate his loyal fanbase. The “Stand Up” rapper made a quick switcheroo to his plans to be part of the 2026 Rock The Country Tour after fans pointed out that it was, essentially, a MAGA-fest.
The lineup, which features the likes of Trump supporters Kid Rock and Jason Aldean, and also includes Country Grammar rapper Nelly, was announced on Jan. 13. And people were shocked to see Luda’s name appear among performers. Although the tour is not marketed as a political one, it definitely trended in that direction during its inaugural run in 2024. Donald Trump introduced Kid Rock’s set via a video that acted as a endorsement of his second presidential campaign, according to Rolling Stone.
Ludacris’ name was front and center across the heavily promoted event’s social media content. However, on Jan. 16, the festival announced that the Atlanta rapper would not be performing and directed all questions to his reps. Oop! Rolling Stone reports that, according to Luda’s team, it was all “a mix-up” and that he was never slated to be part of it to begin with.
“Lines got crossed, and he wasn’t supposed to be on there,” his reps said.
It’s unclear how that got all the way to press before anyone noticed he was being included in the festival. It looks like the festival goers in the sundown town tour stops for Rock The Country will have to see Luda another time. Thus far, he has not made a public statement about the whole debacle.
Nonetheless, Nelly is still slated to be part of the lineup. As we know, the St. Louis-born rapper has doubled down on being willing to go where the money is and being honored to perform for Trump. He infamously appeared for the head MAGA in charge’s inauguration in 2024 and didn’t care about the backlash associated with his performance.
“I was born in a military base in Austin. My father served, my grandfather served, my uncle served, my auntie served. I’ve been entertaining the troops all over this world,” he said at the time. “If these people can give their life for the office, Nelly can perform for it…. I love this country as well. It is an honor for me to perform for the president of the United States, regardless of who is in office.”
It’s clear that Nelly has decided all are welcome when it comes to his music and his bag. He’s slated to perform at E11Even Miami this weekend, and many former fans have taken to the comments of the promotional post to call him everything but a child of God.
“Let the Maga crowd fill his seats,” said one user.
“Remember that you support Trump,” said another.
Fans got even more creative with gifs in the comments, ranging from raccoons to boot lickers and trash cans. Although it doesn’t seem like Nelly cares about what’s said at this point. Ayyyyyee, must be the monaaayyy!
