Incident at P&L District shocks DJ Jazzy Jeff

[Deberg_1990]

Wow......Unreal.



http://www.kansascity.com/226/story/1238798.html



Another day, another racial controversy at the Power & Light District.

For a year, the black community has been in arms about perceived racism at the entertainment district, a place their tax money helped fund. But it’s always rebutted. Everyone is welcome at the P&L, officials say.

Well, those who follow the hip-hop music scene have more to chew on since late Saturday night, when one of hip-hop’s icons, DJ Jazzy Jeff, cut short a set of music and left the stage in a dispute over the kind of music his show was spinning.

I walked in just as he was walking off the stage. He had performed less than 30 minutes.

The crowd booed and I heard people, both black and white, yell about how the Power & Light didn’t want him to play hip-hop. I wasn’t sure what happened, but I knew it was bad.

A conversation I had with him early Sunday confirmed it.

He might be best known as one half of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, but he is more than Will Smith’s old DJ and friend. The two won the first rap Grammy.

Jeff Townes, his given name, is legendary. He introduced “transforming,” the scratching technique turntablists use. This man has toured for 25 years. He’s an acclaimed producer.

So what exactly happened?

According to his tweets (twitter.com/djjazzyjeff215), he was kicked offstage for playing hip-hop. Jon Stephens, president of the Power & Light District, says it was about the sound levels.

“The issue that arose with the performance last night was completely about the sound levels,” he said Sunday. “His audio tech was maxing out the sound system to a point that risked damage to the speakers and sound system. His sound techs and management refused to bring the decibel level down. They were told to bring it down or cease performance. They refused to go on.”

Hours after he returned to his Philadelphia home, I spoke to Jazzy Jeff on the phone to hear his side.

His set started with sounds of hip-hop and pop favorites — Jay-Z, Biz Markie, Rihanna. His MC, Skillz, hyped up the crowd.

But after 15 minutes or so, in the middle of an R&B hit by Ne-Yo, “Miss Independent,” he was told to stop.

“My road manager walked up to me and said they were having problems with the music I was playing,” Jazzy Jeff told me. “I played three more songs and he comes back. I knew something was wrong. They said I had to kick Skillz off the stage, change the format of the music I was playing or quit. They said if I continued playing they had 30 cops ready to come escort me offstage. So I stopped.”

Jon Stephens says that isn’t so.

“Obviously we have a desire to book a diversity of acts,” he said. “We booked Jazzy Jeff on a Saturday night, the biggest night of the week in the district. We were excited to have him there. It’s unfortunate that his sound and management people had problems adhering to the sound and audio rules. We wanted him to play. That’s why we booked him.”

Jazzy Jeff was excited to play here too.

But it all went wrong. Venue officials said the set attracted the wrong kind of element, he says.

“They said they didn’t like Skillz’s posture,” Jeff said. “They said he made gang-like signs and grabbed at his genitals.”

So P&L officials wanted him offstage. But Jeff felt it was wrong because Skillz is no gang member. He is a father. His hand gestures were the kind of excited movements you make to get the crowd excited.

He wasn’t cursing or being offensive.

“I was playing Rihanna; she is Top 40,” he says. “If they would have let my set play, they would have known I play everything. I play rock, funk, soul, pop, hip-hop, reggae. I don’t play for a certain genre, race or gender. I play for music lovers.”

In his 25-year career, at 44 years old, Jeff has never been told to end a set because of hip-hop. He says he has never felt that kind of racism. The “element” that officials referred to felt like a reference to black people, a hip-hop crowd.

“I’m in shock,” he says. “I didn’t understand what element they were talking about. I looked out in the crowd and it was multicultural, but about 75 percent white. Everyone was having a great time. I wondered what was so offensive. I never had a race issue. I didn’t know how to feel. I was playing ‘Just a Friend.’ Is that offensive? What element? It’s uncomfortable when you feel unwanted.”

[Demonpenz]

someone's going to get a clip on tie and shoot up the joint then we will all go back to westport

[Brock]

Originally Posted by Dottefan

Please dont dodge the question ...What about the white guys in suits? should we ban them also.

I'm not dodging the question, I'm ignoring it because it's stupid and obtuse. It's like asking why laws in this country favor rich people. Can you do the math on that one?

[HonestChieffan]

Originally Posted by Micjones

And for the last time...
The policy will always affect those for whom it was not intended.
That hardly makes it proper or ethical.

They're receiving tax assistance.
Why should they be allowed to be discriminate?

I asked before if you can explain the tax assitance they get that impacts the person who does not go to Pand L? How does it cost me tax dollars?

I also asked for more info on this cuffed pants thing, can you give more deatil?

[Katipan]

Sounds like the dress code in my high school.

[gblowfish]

THE MAN wears suits.
So he is allowed in to pay $8 for a drink.
Get it?

[Dayze]

Originally Posted by Dottefan

No, they just robbed millions of people at once.

If I don’t like the way I’m treated at a business, I don’t give them my business/money.

The same goes for the crooks in suits (I agree; they’re crooks)
If you were robbed by them (join the club), then don’t give them your business.
Don’t use loans of any form; don’t use any form of credit w/ interest;
BUY all your stuff etc. Those dudes made all that money because of credit. Credit = the worst thing you can enter into.

I got jobbed on my 401k too from those dudes; which is why it’s my goal to keep all my money; no mortgage, no CC, no car payments. I will own all my sh*t outright so those dudes can’ take sh*t away from me.

[CoMoChief]

Originally Posted by Micjones

Sauto, you're smarter than this...
I said earlier that the code will always affect those for whom it was not intended.

But you're not going to tell me that if I owned an establishment that banned, say, cowboy hats/boots that I'm not sending a pretty obvious message.

That though wouldnt be twisted into a racial argument.

A lot of clubs dont allow any kind of hat, majority of the people just take the hat back to their car and then are allowed to come inside.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

I'm the first person to call someone out for racist behavior. That said, you guys are whining over this dress code shit. You don't like it? Go somewhere else.

[Dayze]

Originally Posted by Mr. Flopnuts

I'm the first person to call someone out for racist behavior. That said, you guys are whining over this dress code shit. You don't like it? Go somewhere else.

x2

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by Reaper16

For the record, I can never resist a Chappelle's Show reference. I wasn't attacking you or anything. Even with caps lock on you are a lot cooler than the pack of prejudiced simpletons in this thread.

You're such a suck up.

[Iowanian]

Originally Posted by Dottefan

Good post, but that was to simple for the Bill Oriely crowd..they will just blame Obama for this

You shouldn't be so quick to stereotype people.

[Demonpenz]

I think they eventually will go to shirts shoes and no ass crack showing. That is pretty much what it is now. If I recall correctly you can now wear white tshirts with no lettering and flat billed hats. I think the dress code was designed to weed out the skater/thrashers too because they were flat bill hats chaines, baggy pants too. It's just they wouldn't go to those bars

[Titty Meat]

The White Power Distrct. It wasn't built for Kansas Citians it was built for people from Iowa & Arkansas.

[Dottefan]

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

That though wouldnt be twisted into a racial argument.

A lot of clubs dont allow any kind of hat, majority of the people just take the hat back to their car and then are allowed to come inside.

You miss the point.. Any intelligent person could see that they are targeting black males with this dress code

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Originally Posted by Dottefan

You miss the point.. Any intelligent person could see that they are targeting black males with this dress code

Right. So the target market for hip hop is black males? Who are you kidding? If it wasn't for white, suburban, America, mainstream rap would've died years ago. That's just silly.