Three people dressed in black crept up to the second-floor facade of Market Hotel in Bushwick last week and spray-painted the words racist and f–k you across the building, according to security footage cited by the New York Post. The tagging came after promoter Noahh accused the venue of canceling his New York Fashion Week-tied hip-hop showcase, In Tha Fest, for racist reasons — a claim Market Hotel firmly denies.
The dispute started when Market Hotel called off In Tha Fest, which had been set to feature Black rappers Percaso and EA TJ, citing low ticket sales, according to the New York Post. The 500-capacity room had sold just 40 tickets, and the venue's general manager, Maleek Brown, who is Black, told the Post the event simply wasn't financially justified. Noahh, who is white, posted on Instagram claiming Brown had made racist statements during a call about the show's ticket sales, though he later said he judged Brown by his words rather than his race, calling the whole thing a he-say-she-say dispute.
Money was also part of the friction. In Tha Fest co-organizer Bryce claimed on Instagram Stories that Market Hotel hit the team with an unexpected $3,000 fee weeks before the show, while Noahh told Resident Advisor the venue tripled its original rental price before pulling the plug. Noahh also said this wasn't the first run-in with the venue — he claimed Market Hotel had tried to cancel an August show over low ticket sales before agreeing to proceed only after doubling the rental price.
Market Hotel Pushes Back on Racism Claim
Market Hotel has rejected the racism accusation outright. In a public statement, the venue said race was never part of the cancellation conversation and that it refunded all advance ticket sales revenue to the promoter within an hour of calling off the show. The statement, reported by Resident Advisor, also pointed to Market Hotel's history of booking underground rap acts including TisaKorean, POLO PERKS, FearDorian, Christ Dilinger, and Yhapojj as evidence against claims of bias.
Brown called the discrimination allegations crazy and told the Post that accusing someone of racism is a serious allegation. He also said he personally cleaned up the graffiti accusing him of racism after it appeared on the building. Both Noahh and Market Hotel referred the Post to their respective social media posts for further comment.
Noahh apologized for setting off the vandals but maintained that Brown made racist statements toward him. The dueling accounts — a promoter alleging bias and a venue insisting the call was purely financial — remain unresolved, with each side pointing to its own version of events.
Canceled Twice in One Week
After Market Hotel scrapped the show, Noahh relocated In Tha Fest to Hello Meadow in Bushwick, where it was canceled a second time last Monday after a fight broke out during performances and security shut the venue down, according to Stereogum. The show ended up happening informally on the street after the second venue shut its doors, the outlet reported.
A 140-Year-Old Building With Deep DIY Roots
Market Hotel sits on the second floor of a 140-year-old building at 1140 Myrtle Avenue, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the elevated J/M/Z line at the Myrtle-Broadway station, directly above the Mr. Kiwi grocery store, according to the venue's own account of its history. The property was built in the late 1870s as a Corn Bank branch. It reopened as the DIY venue Market Hotel in January 2008 under promoter Todd Patrick, after sitting vacant for nearly two decades. That stretch of Myrtle Avenue has since become one of Bushwick's better-known live music addresses, its second-floor dance floor easily spotted by subway riders passing overhead.
New York Penal Law § 145.60 addresses making graffiti.
Hoodline previously reported that heavy-metal venue Saint Vitus was planning a fall 2026 reopening at a new Bushwick location after its Greenpoint space was shut down by city inspectors in February 2024 over missing or incorrect occupancy paperwork.
