In a career spanning more than 30 years, Nick Hexum has seen a lot of things. Among them, a crowd of his fans mercilessly booing one of the biggest pop stars in the world: Justin Timberlake.
The incident took place in 2002 when Hexum’s band, 311, was part of the Liquid Mix tour. The lineup brought together an eclectic collection of acts from the rock and hip-hop worlds.
“That was an interesting thing to have rock and rap just right next to each other, going back and forth,” Hexum recalled in an exclusive conversation with SNSMix. “I don’t see a lot of tours like that lately. I think things are a little bit more segregated for lack of a better word. That was a cool time.”
Other artists on the Liquid Mix lineup included Jay-Z, Hoobastank and Pharrell Williams’ band, N.E.R.D. During a Southern California stop, the latter group welcomed Timberlake onstage for a surprise appearance. Fans were not impressed.
“Justin Timberlake came out and joined Pharrell and N.E.R.D. for a song in Irvine Meadows and everybody started booing him,” Hexum recounted. “And so I felt really bad for him, but you know, it was very soon after NSYNC.”
Hexum went on to note that it was “probably a lot of 311 fans” doing the booing, suggesting that the rock-loving crowd was unwilling to embrace the pop singer.
“I like Justin Timberlake,” Hexum contended, “and I met him that day and he was very nice. So I felt really bad. I think he was really stoned too. So like, to be really stoned and have people boo you was just [tough].”
Hexum sympathized with Timberlake, especially considering the singer was just 21 at the time.
“He felt like a little, very young to me at that moment,” Hexum admitted. “And I was like, ‘Oh dude, that’s not nice.’”
311 will tour throughout the summer with dates stretching through the end of August. Hexum will then hit the road for a run of intimate solo dates in support of his recent three-EP trilogy.
