Fans have been sharing their frustrations after Black Star arrived late to their London gig, and played for just half an hour.
The hip-hop duo, composed of Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) and Talib Kweli, took to the stage last night (Tuesday November 11) for the first of their UK shows, celebrating three decades of music and performing hits from their debut album ‘Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star’ and sophomore album ‘No Fear Of Time’.
However, the two were late to the stage, beginning the set at 10:20pm, when there was an 11pm curfew. In footage from the night, boos are heard coming from the crowd, and Mos Def is seen addressing the frustrations and saying that there will be “no refunds” issued.
“What the fuck was all that about? There are no prisoners here, there is also a no-refund policy,” he is heard saying in one video shared on Reddit. “The doors work both ways… if you’re not having a good time, there are other options. You don’t have to put up with these shenanigans.”
Mos Def response to booing at London show
byu/RahMaarvi inMosDef
Unsurprisingly, fans have expressed frustration after the gig, highlighting the hype around the shows and the cost of tickets.
“Mos Def shows up 1.5hrs late for gig in London and tells fans ‘you’ve got other options’ and ‘no refunds’ for £55 ticket Black Star performance,” one person shared on Reddit, calling it “appallingly disrespectful to fans”.
“Several staff came on stage to show text updates to him whilst everybody was expecting Mos Def to come on stage any second. But no later than 1hr 25 mins did he show up to the audience boo’ing and unhappy,” they continued. “He then proceeded to disrespect them further by not apologising – saying he’d just had a long flight from Boston, and that the audience has other options if they were unhappy and there would be no refunds. Disrespectful and embarrassing”.
Tone Deaf – Mos Def shows up 1.5hrs late for gig in London and tells fans “you’ve got other options” and “no refunds” for £55 ticket Black Star performance
byu/Ok_Anybody_3490 inhiphopheads
Another responded to the video of Yasiin Bey speaking to the audience, and wrote: “His attitude fucked me off big time. Saying this as a long time fan. Personally, paid over £100 tonight to be there, and I know others would have paid much more.
“Come out and apologise and show sincerity, not be defensive/rude when people have been waiting near on two hours since the (great) opener finished […] I’ve seen him a couple times and this was the worst. I hate to say it. I won’t see him again.”
On X/Twitter, one described the show as the “most disappointing gig I’ve ever been to”, while another said that, after realising they are unlikely to issue refunds, “well, I’ll never pay to go and see any of them (individually or together) ever again”.
A third person on X said that the whole night felt like “a joke”, and told those thinking of buying tickets to other Black Star shows “DON’T”. Find more fan responses below.
Most disappointing gig I’ve ever been too tonight @O2AcademyBrix doors 7pm Black Star come on stage 10.35pm curfew at 11 to an obviously sour crowd.
— Bloody Bishop (@bloodybishop) November 12, 2025
I never thought I would see the day people would be booing Black Star at O2 Brixton, but here we are. They brought out Common, which was cool. pic.twitter.com/9pdytW5Lhs
— Mr Salami (@MrSalami_) November 11, 2025
I waited 3.5 hours to see Black Star at @O2AcademyBrix tonight and left at 10:30 pm. Supposedly, they came on just after and performed for 30 minutes. I WANT A REFUND.
— Kinetik (@IAmKinetik) November 11, 2025
Okay, well, I’ll never pay to go and see any of them (individually or together) ever again.
— Kinetik (@IAmKinetik) November 12, 2025
Black Star at @O2AcademyBrix are a joke. They showed up late didnt apologise and will do at most a 25 minute set for £60 !! If you haven’t bought a ticket for the Birmingham show DON’T pic.twitter.com/kYd5YVPopH
— Felix (@Felixuwillbe) November 11, 2025
Been at @O2AcademyBrix for hours, Jo sign of @blackstar people booing now. Poor DJ filling in and getting booed pic.twitter.com/Ggr28C6A5v
— Alex Charlton (@acharlton300) November 11, 2025
30 mins of Black Star more like. Absolute joke of a show.
— Michael Collins (@m1kecollins) November 11, 2025
Absolute joke. Coming on stage 10.30 is a farce
— amir (@ajirbandey) November 11, 2025
This Blackstar show at Brixton kinda sucks. Looks like we got scammed.
— Mr Salami (@MrSalami_) November 11, 2025
This was so upsetting, they were meant to come on at 9. They didn’t come on till 10.30 which left half an hour for a rushed set. This was a waste of money
— Nihal Vora (@nix217) November 12, 2025
Poor. They didn’t even come out until 10.25 and no communication from the venue. Waste of money.
— Alistair Hendrie (@AlistairHendrie) November 12, 2025
NME has reached out to both the venue and a spokesperson for Black Star for explanation why this happened, and comment about if refunds will be offered to those who attended the Brixton gig.
Black Star are scheduled to play two more shows in the UK this weekend: a gig at Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse on Saturday (November 15), and at Birmingham’s O2 Academy on Sunday (16).
Earlier this year Yasiin Bey joined forces with Damon Albarn and the London Arab Orchestra for a performance at the Together For Palestine show in London, organised by Brian Eno.
Before then, he performed alongside Sault, Cleo Sol and Chronixx live at All Points East 2025, and also teamed up with actor and activist Khalid Abdalla to make a surprise appearance at Massive Attack’s powerful headline set at London’s LIDO Festival.
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