Solange Knowles will no longer be headlining Afropunk on New Year's Eve due to an illness, Channel24 reported. On Wednesday night, the 30-year-old posted on her Instagram page that she had been battling with "an autonomic disorder" for the past five months, and doctors had not cleared her for travelling.
"Wrote, deleted and rewrote this like 5 times... Still not sure what exactly or how much I want to share... However it's so important to me for the people in South Africa, a place that has tremendous meaning to me and that has given me SO SO MUCH, to know why I won't be performing at Afro Punk this NYE," Solange wrote.
Afropunk organisers said they were "deeply sorry" that Knowles would not be performing, but that the show will go on.
"We would like to thank Solange for her ongoing support, and for sharing this year with us at AFROPUNK festivals around the world. It is incredibly important to those of us at AFROPUNK that she recovers and remains in good health. Her music and spirit has been a place of great comfort and inspiration to us as a community," Afropunk said on Facebook.
Knowles promised to return to South Africa.
"I give you my ABSOLUTE WORD I will come back with AfroPunk and deliver this performance.....as it is so extremely important to me to connect with the people who have so closely inspired me in so many ways. I can't thank Afro Punk enough for their support, and to all of the other festivals this past summer/fall who have known about my health, kept it confidential, and gone out of their way to make me feel supported while doing these shows. As a part of the self care that I've tried to encourage this past year, it needs to start with myself, and I'm looking forward to doing a better job of this 2018. This past year has been one of the most fulfilling of my life... Performing this record and experiencing the energy exchange with you guys has been astounding, and I'm so excited about continuing to do the work I feel so absolutely humbled and appreciative to be doing next year. It gives me life," she said.
Fans took to social media to express their disappointment.