Chingy's Newcastle show cancelled due to passport trouble

Chingy is the latest hip-hop star to disappoint Hunter music fans after his Warners Bay Hotel show on Thursday was cancelled due to passport issues.

Customs officials prevented the 37-year-old from boarding a flight bound for Australia at Los Angeles Airport on Wednesday because he did not possess the correct travel documentation.

Chingy, who enjoyed massive success in the mid-2000s with singles like Right Thurr, Pullin’ Me Back and Holidae Inn, has been relatively inactive since 2010, but is reportedly set to release a new album later this year.

The Warners Bay Hotel subsequently released a statement on social media and offered refunds to all ticket-holders.

“It is with a heavy heart that we announce that Chingy has encountered issues in relation to his passport/travel documents and has been refused entry to the plane at LAX airport this morning (Australian EST),” the statement read. 

“While his team is working hard to organise emergency replacement travel documentation, it is clear that he won’t make it to Australia in time for his gig tomorrow [Thursday] night at Warners Bay Hotel.”

No announcement has been made regarding Chingy’s other four Australian shows. The next is scheduled for next Friday at Rock Lily in Sydney.

Thursday night’s show was an opportunity for Chingy to win back Newcastle fans after his shambolic 2014 gig at Finnegans, which lasted three songs before he exited the stage bound for a VIP after party.

Chingy isn’t alone in “dissing” Newcastle. In 2011 rapper Flo Rida failed to perform at Fat As Butter after he slept in. Promotions company Mothership Music sued Flo Rida for $400,000 in damages for breach of contract, but the US rapper eventually won on appeal.

Then in 2015 Childish Gambino, also known as 30 Rock ​writer and Community actor Donald Glover, was booed off the stage at the Cambridge Hotel when his support band performed the majority of the set while he hung at the back of the stage.