Had things gone as planned, the Empire Mates Entertainment acts, Banky W, Wizkid and Skales, would, by now, have concluded their American tour and be comparing notes on how they turned the country by its ears and made it their oyster. The Empire World Order tour, billed to kick off at the Washington DC Lincoln Theatre on June 24, would have had a climactic finale at the San Jose, California Theatre July 23rd. But that never happened.

Different sources allege that the cancellation of the much-publicised tour was due to, among other things, the denial of Wizkid a visa by the American Embassy. However, the label’s lead act, Banky W, while apologising to fans via twitter for the cancellation of the tour, cleverly refused to state the real reasons for the action.

“As far as the EME tour goes, it hurts me to say we tried our very best to pull it off. We did everything we were supposed to. Truth is, there were some issues that are beyond our control, and we kept pushing, trying to resolve ‘em. We worked hard and spent a sh*t load of money in the process, but it wasn’t under our control. In any case, we’re still working on resolving (the) said issues. As soon as they are resolved, we’ll launch a couple of make-up dates immediately. I’ll be the first to let you know when that’s happening, I promise.”

Continuing, he says,“If you bought tickets already, you are entitled to a full refund. Trust me, we’d rather be rocking with you than losing money. So, please understand. And lastly, we will resolve these issues we’re having.We’ve learnt too many painful lessons from this whole experience.”