The concert stage is supposed to be a place of musical communion, a refuge from the outside world where fans and artists celebrate art. But for NBA YoungBoy’s massive 2025 “The Mass Tour,” the stage has become merely a temporary truce line—and the streets outside, a volatile battlefield.

New, chilling footage of the rapper’s inner circle engaged in a full-scale brawl with Lil Durk supporters just after the Newark show has confirmed the music industry’s worst fears: a high-stakes, real-world rap feud is violently exploding into the public square, turning a major concert series into a magnet for chaos and an unprecedented security nightmare.

The Newark incident is not an isolated event; it is the climax of a tour plagued by violent assaults, chaotic brawls, and, ultimately, the unprecedented cancellation of major city dates, all tied back to a years-long vendetta that stretches from Baton Rouge to Chicago. This is the story of how a hip-hop tour became a shadow war.

The Newark Eruption: When Street Politics Met Market Street

The chaos in Newark, New Jersey, began simmering inside the Prudential Center and boiled over onto Market Street shortly after NBA YoungBoy (YB) wrapped his set. This was not a random fight; it was a calculated confrontation rooted in the blood feud with Durk’s Only The Family (OTF) collective.

According to viral footage, four to five Durk supporters rolled up on YB’s larger crew, which included his right-hand man, Lou Tim, near a set of blacked-out Escalades. The agitators immediately started “talking reckless,” screaming “Free Smirkio” (a reference to a figure connected to Durk) and loudly claiming “YB washed.” The tension, which had been building all night—including fans disrupting Lou Tim’s opening set by yelling for Durk—finally snapped.

YB’s crew responded with shouts of “slat slat y’all ops get ghosted,” before the confrontation turned physical. When one of Durk’s fans allegedly shoved a member of the YB entourage and hollered, “Tell Dirk we said what’s up,” all hell broke loose.

The ensuing 20-second brawl was pure, unadulterated mayhem. Lou Tim was reportedly seen ducking a wild punch and delivering a swift right hook that sent one individual staggering into a car hood. YB’s squad then swarmed, piling on the Durk supporters with kicks and grabs, yelling, “That’s for smirk talk.” Fists and chains flew in the tangled mass of bodies until the sound of Newark PD sirens blaring in the distance caused an immediate scramble into vehicles.

Perhaps the most compelling detail is the speculation surrounding YB’s direct involvement. A figure matching his profile in a camouflage jacket was seen standing approximately ten feet from the action, gesturing and mouth moving. Fan edits with subtitles claim the rapper gave a subtle, chilling command: “Handle that slime stuff.” While nobody was arrested on the spot, and the injuries were minor—mostly bruises and one bloody lip—the message was clear: the rivalry is being fought on the streets as much as on social media. The fan who caught the fade later posted a defiant, blurry selfie showing a swollen eye, captioned, “Wops tried it free the real one,” before quickly deleting it.

The Mass Tour’s Trail of Chaos: A Catalogue of Violence

The Newark eruption was just the latest point of ignition in a tour that has been characterized by shocking levels of fan violence, raising serious questions about security and liability. Live Nation was forced to issue a statement regretting the post-event incidents and promising to work with local authorities to enhance safety protocols. By the time the tour reached Philadelphia, venues were already adding metal detectors and putting up signs stating, “No rival chants allowed.”

The trail of violence began in Austin, Texas, when a full pit brawl broke out during the performance of YB’s emotional track, “Lonely Child.” Five or six fans began trading punches like they were in an MMA octagon, forcing security to pause the show.

The chaos escalated in Los Angeles, where the Crypto.com Arena saw two major disruptions. First, a fight between two women in the front row broke out over a spilled drink, involving hair pulling and purse swinging as YB tried to perform “Feel Good.” Later that night, a fan threw a hoodie onto the stage, disrespecting YB, who jumped to the edge and verbally confronted the individual.

However, the incident that truly shocked the nation and raised the stakes for the entire tour occurred in Kansas City. The victim wasn’t a rival fan but a 66-year-old usher named Thomas Schlanga, who was brutally assaulted by a 14-year-old kid over a seating dispute. Disturbing footage showed the minor shoving the elderly man downstairs, slamming him into seats, and delivering over ten punches to his face and torso. Schlanga suffered a concussion and bruises, forcing him to miss work. The shocking irony? That very same night, NBA YoungBoy received a city proclamation for his “stop the violence initiative.”

The chaotic cycle continued in Miami, where a 23-year-old was tased and arrested at the Kaseya Center after dancing against a female Miami PD sergeant and resisting ejection. The arrest report noted that the confrontation led to a chaotic tumble, with all four individuals—the suspect and two officers—falling 15 rows down the arena stairs in a heap of flailing limbs. Security had to deploy a taser twice to the suspect’s chest before he was finally subdued and charged with battery on a law enforcement officer.

The Chicago Shutdown: The Legacy of a Blood Feud

While the brawls and arrests painted a picture of a volatile tour, the cancellation of the Chicago concert—scheduled at the United Center—signaled a major escalation in the seriousness of the situation. Just one day before YB was supposed to perform in front of over 20,000 fans, the venue pulled the plug without warning or explanation.

The timing was suspect. Chicago is “Durk City,” the territory of Lil Durk and the late King Von. The show would have been YB’s first Chicago performance since King Von’s fatal shooting in November 2020. The United Center had already implemented a dramatically strict “no bag policy” days before, a clear sign they were expecting trouble and attempting to prevent dangerous items from entering the venue. Ultimately, even that was deemed insufficient.

YB’s team reacted with fury. His manager, Alex Junnier, posted on Instagram, publicly calling out the venue and blaming an unidentified staffer for being “scared.” His booking agent, Andrew Liieber, tweeted, expressing disappointment and claiming the United Center got “cold feet” and made a unilateral decision.

However, the underlying reason for the cancellation is widely believed to be the power of the Lil Durk feud and the local gangs affiliated with the deceased King Von. Fear was rampant that Durk’s movement, who treat the currently incarcerated rapper as a martyr, could mobilize. King Von’s sister, Kayla B, posted on X celebrating the cancellation, stating, “Anybody risking their life to do some crash out dumb stuff like that is insane y’all got to be smarter,” essentially endorsing the venue’s decision out of fear of real-world violence.

There were reports of 30 to 40 Durk affiliates spam-calling the United Center with threats until they had no choice but to cancel. Rumors even suggested that YB had coordinated with Southside Chicago gang affiliates for security, which would have put Chicago PD in a position where they would be forced to shut down any event that could potentially facilitate gang activity.

The cancellation only intensified the beef’s notoriety, paradoxically boosting YB’s album streams by eight percent that week. Controversy, in hip-hop, clearly sells. The Chicago cancellation was soon followed by YB’s Detroit show at Little Caesar’s Arena being pulled, suggesting a coordinated, multi-city concern across the Midwest about hosting the artist during this volatile period.

The DNA of a Hip-Hop War: From Genesis to Legal Fallout

The root of this chaos is one of modern hip-hop’s most enduring and deadly feuds. The YB vs. Durk rivalry is not mere “Twitter fingers” beef; it is a blood feud that traces back to the fatal shooting of King Von in 2020, outside an Atlanta hookah lounge.

Von was killed during a confrontation with the cousin of Quando Rondo, an artist signed to YB’s Never Broke Again label. Though YB wasn’t physically present, Durk and OTF immediately drew a direct line connecting YB to the incident, fueled by previous subtle tensions and Von’s own diss lines against YB prior to his death. Durk vowed loyalty to Von’s memory, setting the rivalry into motion.

The feud was brutally fought in the music. YB dropped “Turbulence” in 2021, referencing Von’s death with devastating lines like, “van ain’t get his Lil behind out the way this that squid game oblock get wrapped up,” a direct provocation. Durk responded, but the “nuclear moment” came in 2022 when YB released “I Hate Young Boy,” a seven-minute diss track with devastating lines like, “Dirk dead that guy won’t miss me Polo Block shooting like we miss him.” Both tracks debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, proving that beef sells records, but critics lamented the toxicity.

The rivalry reached a point of no return when it intersected with the legal system. Durk was arrested for allegedly plotting a murder-for-hire scheme against Quando Rondo as revenge for Von’s death. His trial is set for January 2026, and he remains in federal custody. This puts the entire feud under an unforgiving spotlight, showing its real-world consequences extend to an artist’s freedom.

Despite failed attempts at a truce, the fans and the street politics have repeatedly refused to let the fire die out. YB’s willingness to continue teasing a full performance of his diss track, “I Hate Young Boy,” even while on tour, is seen as throwing gasoline on a blaze that never fully went out.

The “Mass Tour” has inadvertently become a cultural flashpoint, raising massive questions for the music industry: Should venues be allowed to cancel shows based on the potential for violence connected to a rap beef? Is it fair to punish a touring artist for the actions of affiliates or rival fans? This ongoing saga demonstrates that for some artists, the stakes of hip-hop stardom are not measured in Billboard charts, but in the distance between the stage and the street where the conflict continues to rage. The tour will continue, but the real question is how much more damage this unstoppable feud will inflict before it finally burns out.