Hulvey cancels Amsterdam show due to graphic content at venue 

Christian rapper Hulvey canceled his sold-out show in Amsterdam over the weekend because of pornographic images and objects decorating the concert venue.

“On the walls of this venue were extremely, extremely graphic images to the point that I cannot say what they were,” Hulvey, whose Could Be Tonight album won Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year at the Dove Awards earlier this month, explained in a video on social media.

The concert’s location changed to Club Annie, a club and music venue run by Melkweg, after the show sold more tickets than expected. Hulvey and his team weren’t warned about the graphic content inside the building before arriving, he clarified.

Hulvey asked the venue to cover the pornographic decor, but it refused, so he decided to cancel his performance just one hour before he was scheduled to take the stage. He apologized to fans waiting outside the venue and explained why he had to cancel.

“I stand for Jesus only, and if that costs me a show, who cares,” Hulvey said.

Hulvey, a husband and father of two, said he didn’t feel comfortable with his concert being the reason his fans – especially children – were exposed to such graphic material.

“I was meeting 7-year-old fans at the meet and greet, and there are tons of kids outside,” Hulvey said. “I am not OK with people seeing what were on those walls.

“There is one that I answer to and that’s Jesus. I answer to God, and I have to do what He convicts me to do, and I have to make sure I take care of the little ones.”

Club Annie is less than a mile from Amsterdam’s Red Light District, also known as De Wallen, where sex workers, sex shops, erotic shows and cannabis products line the streets.

Hulvey’s brother, who lives in Amsterdam, said the canceled show has had a ripple effect, encouraging Christians in Amsterdam and the Netherlands.

“To my family in Amsterdam, please, please, please take this and run with it,” Hulvey said. “Bring people to Christ. Show them who Jesus is.”

Hulvey said he still plans to perform in Amsterdam and is working to reschedule the show. Several churches and venues have reached out to his team, he said, giving them a lot of flexibility.

“God took a cancelled show and ended up making it way more than I could have imagined,” the rapper said. “Can this just be an encouragement that our decisions go way further than what we think?”

(Photo credit: Screenshot/Instagram/Hulvey)