NJ Senator Demands Release of Stranded Concert Promoters in Angola After Canceled Nas Show

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez has demanded the release of two concert promoters who were seized in Angola when news spread that Nas and R&B singer Jemiah Jah weren’t going to perform. Patrick Allocco and son Patrick of Morristown, New Jersey have been held captive for 44 days and are hoping that the Queensbridge rapper will help bail them out.  Nas and Jemiah received $315,000 in advance to perform in Luanda for a New Year’s Eve concert but failed to appear.

According to the NY Post, the father and son duo fled in a taxi when they learned that the concert was nixed.  The Alloccos were en route to the American Embassy when their taxi was stopped by a group of thugs armed with AK-47 machine guns.  Patrick Jr. had his head rammed into a SUV when he and his father tried to grab their luggage out of the trunk.  The thugs are affiliates of Casa Blanca Entertainment, owned by local promoter Henrique Miguel, who was behind the wheel of the SUV at the time of the assault.

Patrick Sr. called the embassy from his cell phone and said, “We are being taken.  We are being abducted,” right before pulling up in front of the police station.  The men were detained and interrogated for more than six hours.  Their passports were taken away, and they were released but not allowed to leave the country.

In the interview, Alloco says his beef is with Nas. “He put us in real harm, in real possible danger,” he claims.  Senator Bob Menendez told Angolian President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, “I am personally willing to raise this issue directly with President Obama, if necessary.”

Nas has since returned his advance, while Jemiah has not.  Though the Alloccos are are innocent, Miguel has demanded an additional $75,000 while the U.S. Embassy refuses to get involved.  Both artists have not commented on the incident. —Chanel Clark