The Juneteenth celebrations scheduled for this weekend in downtown Burlington hit a snag after headliners Arrested Development were forced to cancel at the last minute.

In an email to event organizers, the hip-hop act revealed that frontperson Speech was hospitalized earlier in the week.

"Unfortunately, Speech has fallen ill and was admitted to the hospital," the email read. "The medical team has put Speech on bed rest until further notice."



Adding that Arrested Development hope to reschedule once Speech recovers, the group then bowed out of their scheduled performance at the Flynn Main Stage this Saturday, June 17.

Event organizer Luis Calderin wasted no time finding a replacement, however, booking hip-hop legend Slick Rick to close out the Queen City's third annual Juneteenth celebration.

"We are incredibly excited to announce that one of the most beloved storytellers in hip-hop, Slick Rick, was willing to reroute travel and come celebrate with us," Calderin wrote in a text to Seven Days. "This will be a show for the books, as he will be supported by Burlington's own hip-hop superstars."

The London-born rapper and former member of Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew was one of the first artists signed to Def Jam Recordings in 1986, before going on to score hits with tracks such as "Children's Story" and "La Di Da Di."
Burlington's Juneteenth celebrations start at 11 a.m. on Saturday, with concerts and activities planned downtown all day. Visit btvreib.com/juneteenth for the full lineup and more details.