Photo: WENN
Reading and Leeds promoter, Melvin Benn believes hip hop and rap music has always been an important part of the festival despite rappers running into crowd trouble in the past.
American rapper 50 Cent was famously bottled off stage in 2004 as the crowd reacted angrily to his performance. With Eminem set to headline this year's Reading and Leeds weekend, Benn has insisted the bottling wasn't an attack on rap music.
He told NME: "He suffered the same plight at Leeds the day before he did at Reading. It was a reflection of how he approached and perceived and addressed the Reading and Leeds audience.
"They didn't appreciate it. It was that straightforward, they didn't appreciate it. They reacted to that. They didn't react to the genre, they reacted to the artist."
Watch 50 Cent ft. Kendrick Lamar - 'We Up' below:
With the likes of Angle Haze, Wreth 32, Devlin, Ms Dynamite and Action Bronson set to hit the 1Xtra Stage, Benn was quick to dismiss fears that the festival was moving into a different direction.
He added: "I think they'll go down really well. There was a little bit of nervousness when I announced them, and I think that was a nervousness that somehow we're going to become a different festival.
"I never had that intention at all, but what was really clear to me was that there's an absolute passion for festivals and the big bands, but there's an increasing interested in non-guitar music."
This year's festival kicks-off on August 23 and will be headlined Green Day, Eminem and Biffy Clyro.
Photos: 13 photos of Eminem live in New York City
