UPDATE: Spoken with the P&L President and Jeff’s manager. Here’s a link to a new letter to the P&L President about rectifying the problems mentioned in this letter: Power & Light District President Jon Stephens.
“HOW DID THEY KICK ME OFF STAGE IN KANSAS CITY FOR PLAYIN HIP HOP…I’M A 25YR LEGEND…THIS IS SOME BULLSHIT.” ~ from DJ Jazzy Jeff’s Twitter this Sunday morning (@djjazzyjeff215)
Dear DJ Jazzy Jeff, The Power & White District, Cordish Co. & The Idiots Who Run KC Live:
I must start this letter by first apologizing to DJ Jazzy Jeff. You apologized to us, but you owe us nothing. Kansas City should have and would have shown you better on Saturday night. You said you had something special planned for us. Trust, we had every intention of soaking up each moment.
It’s just too bad the clowns who run KC Live and The Power & White District decided to suit up as Uncle Phillip Banks Bozo and friends last night, and boot you out of his house off the stage. They shut you down for playing hip hop 30 minutes into your set. When you first left the stage, I thought it was a joke — until I saw the laptop and turntables leave as well. Then it hit us: You were done and chucking Kansas City the deuces.
No, they didn’t ask you to stop playing hip hop because the crowd was rowdy. It wasn’t. The melting pot-like crowd was having a great time.
DJ Jazzy Jeff, a lot calmer than he was when he left the stage on Saturday night.
I’ve asked it and heard it asked 100 times in the past several hours: Why would you bring a hip hop DJ legend of 25 years to Kansas City and ask himto stop playing hip hop?
(Seriously, the man won the first Hip Hop Grammy.)
That’s like telling Jay-Z he has to sing The Beatles’ White Album 30 minutes into his set or else … If you gave Jay a vocoder, I’m sure he could do it. But we clearly know that’s not about to happen now, don’t we?
I digress.
There are some who might try to refute what happened. But last night was just a microcosm of the foolishness that’s been going on since Kansas City’s Power & White District first opened. The dress code issues and how it covertly discriminates against some blacks has been played out in the media and city council meetings like a “Just A Friend” cassette tape from 1989 (best song of your 30-minute set, Jeff. SMH).
Now, I’m not one to play the race card (see: Letters No. 23 and 53). But this Sunday morning I’m about to make a substantial debit: The Power & White District & The Cordish Co. do not want black people in their establishments. The companies do not want hip hop music — an original and popular form of American entertainment — to be played in KC Live … the same area they hired DJ Jazzy Jeff to deejay in for the night.
The entertainment district has a dueling piano bar, an Italian wine lounge, two Irish pubs, an upscale bowling alley, a posh Las Vegas-wannabe techno lounge, a place called Rock Bar and a Mexican cantina among other things within the KC Live block.
But there is no hip hop club. There is no jazz or blues lounge. Kansas City is the home of the American Jazz Museum. And, as mentioned above, the dress code is set up to keep blacks out. An article in the dress code clearly states: “No jerseys.” But I personally — on at least three occasions — have seen non-blacks walking around the aforementioned establishments in their favorite team’s gear (and I’m not talking about on game days, either).
Here’s the kicker: This Power & White District was funded by Kansas City taxpayer money. Over 30 percent of Kansas City’s population is black. The Cordish Co. built an entire entertainment district on the citizens’ money, but it doesn’t want to entertain the majority of black citizens at all?
A squirrel could read between these shady lines.
The KC Live area of Kansas City's Power & White District. Yes, it was this packed last night including more black people than the P&L will likely see for a long time.
No worries, though. By kicking DJ Jazzy Jeff off the stage for playing hip hop, the Power & Light District & Cordish Co. just refueled its own public relations nightmare. (Google: Cordish, racism and/or Louisville, Baltimore or Kansas City for starters). Yes, it’s happened before in other cities with the same company. But not like this.
Hip Hop & Black America will wake up today and laugh at Kansas City. And we — the young black professionals and the KC hip hop heads — are hanging our heads, embarrassed by the Power & Light, The Cordish Co. and KC Live.
I pray that word of this ignorance spreads throughout this country much like the Swine Flu in Mexico. I hope that Cordish is forced to see itself for what it is: a company that doesn’t care to cater to black people in America, and we have a black president. Make that make sense. Someone, please.
Bringing Jeff Townes to KC to deejay a free set, letting him spin for 30 minutes and then kicking him out for playing hip hop is like asking him to jump off a bridge while the entire world watches. He wouldn’t do it. Jeff packed up his turntables, laptop and other belongings … and left.
Who can blame him?
Once my 20 or so friends and I found out what happened, we followed him out. A crowd — which included B-boys, educated blacks (some of whom were in the District for the first time ever because DJ Jazzy Jeff was spinning), whites, Hispanics and every other race & ethnicity — that brimmed at capacity, dwindled and dispersed.
Can you blame us?
No, we blame you — the Cordish Co., The Power & White and the idiots who run KC Live. Your company and its establishments lost in a major way last night. You already paid Townes, you lost most of your clientele for the evening and have lifelong Kansas Citians swearing off your establishments forever. As one of my good friends — another lifelong Kansas Citian — told a valet as we left, “my money’s no good here.”
Now, boycotting may not be the answer. I mean, that’s what you want — black people to stay away from your establishments. Then again, it might be the answer. Seriously, why would I go where I’m not wanted? Hmm? Maybe because we helped pay for the place to be built with our tax dollars. This is black life in America. Four hundred-plus years in, and in some places, separate but equal still abides.
I’m proud of where I’m from and love my city. But today is the first day of my 28-plus years that I can truly say that I’m embarrassed for Kansas City.
Again, we apologize Jeff. I guess the Power & White just don’t understand.
Sincerely,
Damon, Monica, Kansas City Hip Hop & the Upwardly Mobile Young Blacks of KC
P.S. The one song I wanted to hear Jeff spin: DJ Jazzy Jeff & J-Live’s “Practice.”
P.P.S. Please, share this ignorance on Facebook by clicking this link … or feel free to e-mail it along to anyone who should be in the know on this.
Note: If you were there, feel free to add your story from this debacle to the comments. I’m sending this letter and all of the comments to The Cordish Co., The Power & Light District, the idiots who run KC Live and DJ Jazzy Jeff on Tuesday morning.
This May Concern You 
you could also add that z-trip (white dude) played before him and had no problems. love z-trip, seen him a few times….guessing he played hip hop tonight since he always does?
shame this had to go down….jeff is a legend.
@rickandeverybodyelsewhowasthere: If you have a piece of the story to tell, do so … I will print the entire thing out and send it … not just the letter.
I agree, Z-Trip was on point as well.
http://digg.com/music/DJ_Jazzy_Jeff_kicked_off_of_K_C_stage_for_playing_Hip_Hop
Digg and lets get this story out there
Is there footage of this? No wonder this is the place Whitlock gets to do his thing. Figures.
This is disgusting. I’ll write something as well after Sunday Swerve on TSF.
Good work brothaman. Power to the people!
@mizzo: J-Dub was there tonight. Trust it was disgusting. I thought Jeff was doing some ridiculous early encore or something … not bouncing for real …
Dude’s tweets say it all … smh.
The philosophy of the Cordish group “We would rather pay for the few lawsuits than have our billion dollar investment closed in months.” Like you mention this is not the first city they have done this. They did not stop then and they won’t stop now.
The tax paying hip hop citizens should file a lawsuit asking for their tax dollars back. That will raise awareness. If I voted to raise my taxes so I can have entertainment, but I ‘m not benefitting from the entertainment. The city can’t afford to lose tax money and that will ssend a message.
Thank you for this post. Believe me when I tell you it won’t just be black people boycotting P&L, I will never enter that district again until some major changes are made… first one: getting rid of Cordish Co. in KC. This is so embarrassing to us, all the residents of the Kansas City metro area.
Your right a racist is a racist. Now turn around and go look in the mirror. Tell me what you see. Since you are able to judge so well make sure you judge yourself just as hard.
Secondly I have read that it was not because of the style of music but rather that he would not bring his output levels down.
Judge thyself as you judge others and you will become a better person.
You are justas bad as them when you say the power & white district. ETC ETC ETC.
@ignoranceisbliss: You should go ahead and read the other letters on this blog. You might learn something about judging yourself and others.
Try Letter No. 9 … It’s a great place to start.
Trust me, you weren’t there. I was. They could have figure it out, and saved the show. That man wouldn’t have walked off that stage like that had they not offended him. Read his twitter account of it, and wait for a few more firsthand accounts before being so quick to judge. Oh yeah, judging again … that’s how all this mess started in the first place. *smh*
FYI, I was there.
Second being a proud BLACK man I do not think that I am owed anything by anyone. I pisses me off everytime we as black people have to make it a racist thing.
I will not even atempt to read this crap any further.
Once again JUDGE yourself before passing judgement on anything.
And for one, I have no problem with the dress code. I dress sharp and to impress. DO YOU?
@ignoranceisbliss:
Glad you were there. Wonder if you actually talked to any of the security detail who actually were in on or close to the exchange?
Guess who did? *DING DING DING*
Do we want to talk about ignorance being bliss? Does the title fit your moniker to a tee? Shall I stop asking questions now?
OK, again … go read letter No. 9 before you comment/judge me again. You’ll learn quickly that I know a thing or two about introspection. And yes, I read through the comments on the Pitch’s blog. I know about the supposed output level issues … if you noticed, I linked to that specific comment before posting. smh.
Thank you! I don’t want to add fuel to the fire but I was there and it sounded like crap. My friend told me that DJ Jazzy Jeff was on stage and as I was walking in it sounded like the speakers blew. I’m pissed off that he stopped. I agree that it’s DJ Jazzy Jeff and if they were racost then why would they even have DJ Jazzy Jeff? I will say that I agree with the dress code. Sorry, but it’s a nice (new) club and just like church on Sunday morning I think you should dress your best. The news has attempted to catch them allowing one race in but not the other and they all get denied (check out youtube). p.s. The place was still packed way after everyone cheered “bullshit.” Later on that night they had another DJ that was playing and it sounded 100 times better because of the sound. I don’t know what was said other then what the guy on the mic said and the cop that was working off duty (DJ Jazzy Jeff yanked all the cords out causing lots of damage) but I bet it wasn’t said that you guys need to stop. DJ Jazzy Jeff just left after they pissed him off. I think that is why they do sound check to prevent this. I’m guessing no sound check was done because you can’t sit there and tell me that it sounded good the last ten minutes he was on stage.
@ IGNORANCE IS BLISS. Your handle more effectively refutes the position yer pushin’ than any words of mine could. Bliss out, buddy, but keep your ignorance to yourself.
C’mon – Jeff is lucky they even allowed him in, let alone allowed him to perform. The whole point of the P&L and their bogus “dress code” is keeping out the “undesirables” a.k.a. African Americans.
Kansas City has always been just as racist as Selma or Birmingham or Little Rock. It’s just been a little more discreet about it. In many ways, that makes things worse because KC has never been forced to confront its own racism the way those other places have. KC has always been allowed to get away with bullshit lines like “the dress code helps keep you safe” and that sort of crap.
The hilarious part is they think it’s working and nobody’s noticing that they’re essentially a bunch of KKKers in three-piece suits instead of sheets.
Damon I am truly speechless! That is crazy that they would do that! That action would have never flown without a riot here in Atlanta!!
A riot really is that how you solve things.
After reading the Pitch’s Plog and the comments below it, maybe it wasn’t all P&L’s fault – more thoughts on this here: http://kylerohde.com/2009/06/07/power-light-a-real-marketing-problem/
@kylerohde: Again, I went through the Pitch’s comments before posting. It doesn’t change my position.
These people, The Cordish Co., have a notorious history for mishandling affars concerning “urban” crowds and black people.
Read through the breakdown I gave of what’s in P&L’s KC Live District.
That DJ would not have stormed the hell off the way he did had they not done something/said something to him to seriously make him want to leave.
He wouldn’t have posted that they kicked him out on Twitter. I’m sorry. If you look at the history of the two parties …. *shrugs*
Damon – I definitely can’t disagree with that. I wasn’t there so I don’t have that perspective either. All I know is there’s a lot of people spending part of their Sunday morning talking about this when P&L could have already put this fire out by explaining what happened. Really dumb on their part. Thanks for the comment.
@kyleohde: I’m totally with that. But their negligence tells you what exactly?
It shows that they didn’t think it was a huge deal, and they didn’t see this as a potential PR nightmare… *shrugs*
People in the hip hop industry got word of this mess as soon as it happened — via Jeff, via the DJsphere, via Twitter ……
They have to know now that they’re in for it. And I doubt that there’s going to be anything that Cordish & The P&L can do to repair its image with a lot of people — black and non-black — in Kansas City after this debacle.
This is truly disgusting and I feel embarrassed FOR Kansas City.
If this ever happened in DC (and I doubt it ever will), I’d cry my eyes out.
I am an old white guy and I think this is absurd. What could P&L be thinking? Cordish cotinues to ask KC to bail them out and yet they want to polarize and reject a major portion of the population who are not recieving P&L tax revenues that could be used to improve their neighborhoods. When will we quit being a “Cowtown”?
@dlp: Thanks for commenting. We’ll stop being a cowtown when “some” Kansas City people decide that they don’t want to live in fear and JUDGE people based on their appearances (read: hue).
And by “some,” I do mean some blacks, Latinos and Asians as well as whites. We all do it. But we have to continue to work to get better as a community.
It’s just unfortunate that we have setbacks like this …
More embarrassment for our city. I’ve been down there just twice, but won’t be going back.
When I first moved to the South, I was worried about the racism. After living here for 5 years, I’ve become painfully aware that Southerners deal with their issues while Northerners just pretend nothing is wrong. This episode is just sad.
Slow clap!!
It used to piss me off to no end when my friends from the North would comment on how much better it is there than in the South.
False.
A) Racism exists everywhere
B) At least the racist folks down South will spit on your shoe rather than call you a n*gger after you walked away.
As a disclaimer for those of you who (and there are some who will) want to point out all the qualifications to what I just said: I realize that there are plenty of racist people, of all shades, who would never admit to it publicly, who live in the South. I also realize there are plenty of people who live not-in-the-South who are racist and will let you know… but generally speaking, the differences in how racism is shown down South vs elsewhere (specifically the North) are not as cut and dry as some non-Southerners would like to make it…
Missouri is a southern state. P&L is in Kansas City Missouri. Anyone who considers Kansas City northern needs both a geography and a history lesson.
Anyone that thinks KC is a southern town needs a geography lesson. Maybe you can give one to each other.
Morning, y’all.
@damon: This is crazy. It’s crazy how so much can happen in such a short amount of time. Just 14 hours ago, you tweeted that you were going out to hear DJ Jazzy Jeff & I replied to you that I was envious but to have fun. I wake up this morning for church, check my phone & see the tweets that came in while I was sleeping and couldn’t believe it. I was fully expecting tweets about how great the event was & how DJ Jazzy Jeff rocked the house.
Along with reading this post, I Googled “Kansas City & DJ Jazzy Jeff” to find links to many other blog posts and the comments & lots of tweets about this – most of which I read. I even looked online at the Kansas City online newspaper sites. Unless I missed it, so far nothing official has been released in regards to this event. I agree with @kylerohde; why hasn’t P&L (or their spin doctors/spokespersons) released a statement? They had to know last night when DJ Jazzy Jeff left that everyone would immediately be on their phones tweeting about it and that it wouldn’t be much longer before it hit blogs.
By all accounts (from what I’ve read) – DJ Jazzy Jeff was not inciting any chaos from the audience, he was not behaving inappropriately onstage, no fights had broken out – all things that might warrant a stop (or pause) in the show. Most people seemed to be having a great time. I
I love that opinions & commentary about this incident has hit the web so fast, especially the posts & comments from people that were actually there. There’s nothing like getting first hand accounts from various people who are at the same event witnessing the same incident.
I have a feeling that this isn’t something that will just lose energy and die down. If we’re lucky, it will most likely be discussed for at least a couple more days (maybe longer) and shed light on KC Live, Cordish Co. and The Power & Light District demanding an official response and holding them accountable for their actions and the decision they made during last night’s event.
D,
I went to P&W twice while I was there last year, and since I moved back to SC, I’ve been wondering if the city council, Cordish, etc., actually starting making any headway.
As a white dude, I felt it was hard to actually convince people of how racist the BS there really was. But it wasn’t even covert.
Apparently, it’s still pretty much the same.
I no longer live in KC, but know this: When friends of mine are asking me about what they should do during a trip to KC, I give them tons of suggestions. Usually at the top of the list is “Avoid the P&W.”
Glad to see another city absolutely screwing up what could be a huge money maker during shitty economic times.
Sadly, there will always be some Blacks that will continue to go there because they want to make the statement that they are not “those kind of Black people”.
I was not there last night but this is strike 3 for the P &L in my eyes. If the people at Westport were wise, they would get their PR people together, swoop in and make P&L’s loss their gain.
Good point — and it’s fine if you’re black and you don’t see the racism here… but you don’t have to be extra, this is the internet, the white people won’t be able to know it was you…
Swin flu in Mexico? For real? Man, how sick was that line? Do you really think you could compare deaths in a country to something like ignorance?? The deaths in Mexico didnt came from ignorance dude. All the other things in your writing went great, except for this.
@2shy: Certainly no intention of offending Didn’t mean to offend. Sorry.
Club owners in cities i’ve Dj’d in like Boston, Tampa, and LA have asked me to not play certain types of music because they didn’t want to be associated with a particular scene. And sure enough, it’s to keep people of color out of their establishment.
Peace Regend,
My hometown are of Hampton Roads, VA is famous for this same bullsh*t. Whites don’t really like to patronize establishments that have “too many” blacks so the owners try to do whatever they can to keep blacks away. That includes caging the deejay and/or imposing unfair dress codes that just apply to blacks.
Unfortunately, it is culture where I come from and not of isolated incidents. *SMH*
If there’s anything I can’t stand it’s “no brothers allowed” dress codes. They’re applied in the most weasely way. You’ll see white hipsters inside spots dressed exactly the same way as (if not sloppier than) turned away black folks.
I could see it now at some of them joints where a brother will be dressed like a corporate lawyer and will be blocked by a “no pimp suits” rule…foulest thing going.
NEWSFLASH:
WE DON’T WANT THE NIGGERS IN WESTPORT EITHER.
GO BACK TO ALABAMA.
BTW, MONDAY NIGHT AT THE RIOT ROOM:
Anomaly, Zoya, Plague Of Sinai
21+
Doors @ 8:00 PM
Starts @ 10:00 PM
First they fire Metal Mark and now this racist bullshit?! I’m NEVER going to that bar again.
Nice, you just got a lot of people to NOT go to that show, or that bar.
Ummm yeah this obviously isn’t robbie or anyone who has anything to do with The Riot Room.
Sounds like someone who was asked not to come back still has issues with Robbie.
Anyone who has been to TRR or who knows Robbie, Timmy or Dallas respect them and know those comments are nothing like what they think.
It’s a shame people say/talk shit like this. Pussies hide behind computer monitors. If you have a problem with the bar say shit to people face not in a forum.
Siiigh.
Just so most of you know this post was not posted by someone that works at the riot or even affiliated with the Riot Room. this is someone posting under our name being a fucking idiot. We are not racist people. Ask the National Hip Hop artists that have performed at our establishement. Whoever posted these remarks is truely a child that has nothing else better to do than to drag other people to their level. Unfortunatley they have the freedom to do things like this… Not Cool. BTW… Dj Jazzy Jeff is fuckign awesome! He can DJ at riot anytime!
lol, I have a lot of friends that go to the Riot Room. Guess who just lost a fair amount of business?
This does not sound Robbie. It is fake.
I meant to say This does not sound like Robbie. It is a fake.
Mark, we all know you posted that shit to begin with.
Actually i did not post that. i have better shit to do with my time than to flame blog spots. If i have something to say i will post my name on it. unlike you who post as DUHHH. Grow the fuck up. Maybe you guys should focus more on the matter at hand which was originally posted. Seems like a bigger issue to me.
Hey this is the REAL Robbie form the Riot Room. Anybody who knows me knows I would never post anything like this. We at The Riot Room are proud of the diverse acts that we book. And the includes many local and national hip hop acts. And to the person that did post this: Karma is a bitch!!
FUCK YOU, NIGGER LOVER.
last night i was thoroughly disgusted by what took place at power & white. it was in the same category as being followed around a store by security just because of your skin tone. you know something that is racially motivated to you but somehow you know they will rationalize the action. it cut me deep to see a melting pot of hip-hop enthusiast robbed of a great evening. something must be done to show that actions like this will not be tolerated. i refuse to allow this to be swept under the rug as many racially motivated actions do in our era. the crazy part is i have been at power & white when the killers were performing and last nights turnout was considerable larger but instead of enjoying the heavy traffic, revenue, and great word of mouth we went from listening to grammy award winning act back to listening to “pour some sugar on me”. this isn’t a black or white thing, a hip-hop or rock & roll thing, this is a right & a wrong thing. whatever it takes a message will be sent. THIS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED!
Quit crying and remember to actually vote in local elections. Had you morons been paying attention, this never would have happened.
seriously, how are you going to kick one of the greatest djs alive off stage and not feel the repercussions. i don’t live in KC, but i know one thing, i’m never going there. ever. i’m not sure it’s a race thing, but FU KC. others, be easy
http://www.waakao.com
This is Krazy, I don’t know where this is going to go, but we need to take some sort of action, that benefits the youth in Kansas City. I have been having a few meetings with P&L with their management and PR team. Trying to throw a very big event there.,!? Good Job Guys reporting this serious matter!
Don’t boycott Live! Fill that spot up and request hip hop until they have no choice.
Isn’t the Negro League Hall of Fame/museum in KC????
Yes, with the American Jazz Museum …18th & Vine District …
I’m still in shock that he was ASKED to come and play…. Did they not know this guy built hip hop??? Who did they think he was???
I like to give the benefit of the doubt, but P&L has had way too much of that.
This screams intentional. It screams racist.
I feel totally justified by my family’s choice to not patronize that area….. That story just sealed it for me.
this is so blatant, it’s disgusting. i was ready to boycott it when i heard about its stupid dress code last year … too bad i’m not in kc to continue boycotting it.
sucks for all the kids that came out to see a HIP HOP DJ….
this is total bullshit, this is what makes me proud to be british sometimes, as here everyone is welcomed. fuck the kc state, the goveners there shud be terrorised. it shouldnt matter how you dress or what colour your skin is or what your ethnic backgroun is, we all eat drink piss bleed and die in the same way. kc need to sort its act out.
big shout to j.jeff, big legend mate, one of my main influences for me becoming a dj.
Racism is a major problem with power and light but there is also major blatant homophobia. I believe it’s the thing called Shark bar that has both male and female go-go dancers but then only always girl patrons up on the dance boxes and any guy is asked by security to step down.
Kansas City wants to be taken so seriously as a major metropolitan area but can’t ever back up the lights and smoke with actual cosmopolitan behavior and ideals
Regarding Shark Bar… that’s not homophobia, it’s just good business sense.
If your bar is overwhelmingly patronized by heterosexual males, it’s fair to reason that those straight men would prefer to look at a woman dancing in those cages, not other dudes. Have you considered that you may not part of their target audience?
Homosexuals in that crowd are dwarfed by heterosexuals, so it makes more sense to cater to the lowest common denominator.
Kansas City has a thriving gay scene and there’s no shortage of other bars willing to let anyone dance wherever they want. Try those instead.
Kansas City is not New York City or LA, no matter how many bars try to fake it with artificially long lines and ridiculous cover charges. Sadly, you will always butt heads with less progressive, “traditional” small town ideals here… even in gay bars.
As a side note, you strike me as the kind of person I often encountered in New York City. The kind who collected perceived injustices like merit badges. Get over yourself.
@realitycheck: Did you just explain why black people — even those dressed in business & business casual attire, as were about 10 of my people and I were at a local establishment on Friday for happy hour — consistently receive poor service ….
Because it makes more sense to cater to the lowest common denominator? Seriously?
Is that why there is no hip hop, soul or jazz venue in the Power & Light District?
Just real questions …
No, I explained to the previous poster why they shouldn’t expect to see male dancers in cages in Shark Bar.
Do you want to know why there aren’t any hip hop, soul or jazz venues in the Power & Light District? It’s because 64.5% of Kansas City’s population is white (according to American Community Survey Estimates). Most midwestern American white people don’t support those kinds of bars or restaurants.
If you want to see the types of venues you mentioned, support projects headed by likeminded developers. Cordish develops entertainment districts tailored to the tastes of most middle class whites. Had anyone bothered to research Cordish’s track record, they would have seen this coming.
Focusing your services on the lowest common denominator does not mean providing poor service to those who fall outside of your target audience. That is an altogether different practice.
@realitycheck: Your point is well stated. But it’s still flawed to think that you should only have to cater to just whites OR just blacks OR just Hispanics when this much taxpayer money is involved.
Kansas City is regretting bringing Cordish in … The company has about as much swagger as Spectacular (no, I haven’t watch that sick vid …), and that’s not saying much.
You’re killing me here. I said “focus”, as in making that demographic the center of your attention. I never said these enterprises should ignore others.
This is why buffet restaurants and fast food dominate the midwestern states while sushi remains a (growing) niche. Businesses know that the lowest common denominator are their bread and butter.
Actually, reality check, I see your point… and I even agree with it for the most part…
Except that part of business is PR, and you could lose a good portion of that 64.5% if they get wind that you want them to come down, but they can’t bring their black and hispanic friends with them…
And what since does it make to hire a DJ who will play music that brings a crowd you don’t want to cater to, in?
Agreed, but I was talking about Shark Bar in this context, not the event KC Live put on. See the context of the thread.
But…white people buy and listen to more rap music than any other race so your theory is flawed. You are trying to insinuate white people won’t come because they dislike Top 40 rap, which is simply FACTUALLY INACCURATE and completely disingenuous.
But…some of those SAME white people won’t come if that same rap music is attracting black people to the bar.
THAT…is the issue here.
What a shame. He was down in San Diego, CA about 2 weeks ago and he killed it like he always does. Once we had Nas come in the city, then at the door, the bouncer of the venue was giving him a hard time and didn’t let him in so he just bounced. It’s ridiculous sometimes.
I’m a KC native living in Philly now…I won’t be able to show my friggin face out the door. *sigh*
Cordish is going to build a similar project at the stadium complex in Philadelphia. Make sure your friends in Philadelphia know what is going down.
I’m an old white guy but when I lived in the Philadelphia area DJ Jazzy Jeff was like the Perry Como of rap (and I mean that in a positive way). He was never offensive or smutty.
Jazzy Jeff is a hero here…but I will pass the word that Cordish and gang are on their way to Philly…smh
what a disgrace the most bankable genre and it gets treated like trash. We will take our money else where
I know that the power and light district was funded with tax payer money. 90% of black people probalbly dont pay taxes so why should they cater to them?
Wow, so 90% of black people either don’t work or don’t have taxes withheld from their paychecks??? That’s just ignorant, whoever posted that.
I did not just post that response!
@D-mils: don’t worry I caught it …
This doesn’t surprise me one bit. I’ve worked in the power of white district, and seen first hand the way minorities, especially African American MEN are treated, and it’s disgusting to me. I mean, this shit is rediculous. That’s part of why I don’t work there anymore. The other part is that I hate the fact that part of every single minute that I was there went to cordish and their grand wizards back in Cinci.
Personally, I think that other white men (such as my self) should enter PoW and troll the shit out of them. Walk out on tabs, harrass waitstaff, make messes, anything to make that place less appealing. I’d love to see it fail, just so that Kansas City (as a Metro area) can see the folly in trying to buy a downtown from out of town, rather than grass roots development. Look at Crossroads, westport, waldo, brookside, the west side, shit, any other neighborhood in the metro that HASN’T been ‘bought’. Shit even look at the grassroots development along Troost. It sure as hell isn’t as flashy as PoW, but in my mind it actually represents KC.
You can paint Charlie Parker on however many walls you want, PoW still hates black people.
Right, because harassing the wait staff, walking out on tabs and making messes will solve all these problems.
Let it fail on its own without making an ass of yourself, Elliot.
1. Who the fuck is Elliot?
2. If you make a place unappealing to work, it’s going to be unappealing to patrons.
3. I’m gonna go post this on /b/, and see what happens.
We’re already here…
Woot Personal army.
Can we please get down on this? PoW is the cancer that’s killing /kc/.
OMG, guys! Thanks to Elbow, all the fat, neckbearded, pedophilic, anime addicted faggots from 4chan are on their way to save Kansas City from bigotry… just like they kicked out Scientology.
Oh wait…
YES! We got a basement dweller from some other shitty chan in on this.
Sorry for trying to get a group other than this blog’s readers and facebook users involved.
Remember, trolling is a art.
Elbow,
You said, “Walk out on tabs, harrass waitstaff, make messes, anything to make that place less appealing. I’d love to see it fail…”
Why would you want to waste your time in an establishment you don’t like? Why not take your time and money elsewhere and enjoy yourself while the establishment (P+L) fails on its own because it receives no business? P+L has done enough to dig its own grave; no one needs to help them.
And to think about it from a different angle, why would you want to make yourself look like a poor example and give them the reason they want to kick you out? Trashing a place doesn’t make a point, it just makes you look like an ignorant fool. Why not, rather, be an upstanding citizen and rise above and forget the P+L and enjoy yourself in the part of KC that really wants you (meaning anywhere but P+L)?
If you really want to make a stand at P+L, let it be peaceful and silent. Go in, take a seat, and don’t order anything. If you get a huge group of friends and colleagues to do this, peacefully, without ruckus, I can promise you, that kind of act does not go unnoticed, and the message will not be confused. But if you chose to make a fool of yourself, they will see you for a fool, and not for the meaning behind the act. Sometimes, the best action is inaction.
Yeah, this kind of stuff is all over the place. Damn shame that they cut DJ Jazzy Jeff off. The promoters should have known what they were getting in to. IT’S CALLED RESEARCH!!! If that’s not what they wanted, they should have hired one of the euro-techno DJ’s instead!
These actions are deplorable and truly shameful.
By the way, I work for a sound company and have worked with DJ’s before. If you tell them their signal is too ‘hot’ and to cut it back. Guess what? THEY CUT IT BACK! Any PRO (stress PRO) DJ knows that a signal that’s too hot will also be distorting and a distorted signal from a DJ will make all the music sound like crap!
Saying that he walked off because of a technical issue and then blaming him does not fly with me.
Brilliant observation WillC, now if you’d kindly provide us with the empirical data that claim rests upon. Don’t worry, we’ll wait…
Honestly, that had nothing to do with levels. As a dj, volume can be turned down from the racks. This is def shady business. And the funny thing is that jeff’s sets are not always hip hop based because he touches so much ground. Real shame…….. I’m sure he was going to do his thing.
Wow this is a recurring issue and unfortunate. Like they say music has no color. What I fear is situations like this cause the children of this world to feel discouraged and limited because of the color of their skin which is obviously not the case. Think about it how many hardworking DJ’s in that area are now going to feel completely intimidated to walk in to club and negotiate for gigs because of the color of their skin.
**You got to big up Jazzy Jeff after this he just did the biggest Racial Unity Set for everyone**
No offense to anyone, but once I heard Jeff was coming to that part of town, I knew somwething like this wld happen…I’ve never spent a dime in the area & never will…as far as I’m concerned if they don’t want me & my hip hop culture there, cool cuz I don’t wanna be there so it works out perfectly…yes, it was uncalled for what happened but not unexpected…when u think about it, what’s so impressive about the Power & Light district? I knew from jump they weren’t gonna do hip hop so there’s never been any appeal for me, period.
Oh geez, here we go. It’s always gotta be “because we’re black”, doesn’t it?
Maybe if we as a people could learn to pull up our damned pants and turn our hats forward we’d advance a little further as a race.
As cursed and stupid as the P&L is (and who the hell wants to go down there, anyway??), they wouldn’t book an event just to publicly shut it down for following through on it’s expected entertainment quality. The show got shut down because of other, legitimate, issues. (Although playing hip hop is reason enough to shut it down. Stop listening to that garbage, you’ll be better off for it.)
Quit playing the race card, it’s tired.
amen brother! white pride worldwide!
No, it’s not about white pride OR black pride. We’re all just people, some ignorant, some not.
It’s about taking any situation you can find and attempting to use it to serve your agenda.
Everyone knows the P&L District has a racial slant, this is nothing new. The place isn’t fit for anyone, black or white. I went there ONCE, and never went back because of the people that go there. It’s like a douche bag circus.
But they are NOT going to book an event just to cancel it when they knew damned well what the event represented.
Ha, I didn’t post that.
We know, it sounded articulate and smart.
REAL TALK MAN AS A DJ TO ANOTHER TRUST ME I KNOW HOW HE FELT.. WHAT THEY DID WAS VERY DISRESPECTFUL..
PEACE
Islam
when will my people learn ? the power and light disrict was not, is not and will not be for you to come to. to hurt them you got to stop spending your money with them patronize your own. they dont want you down there
and all of you sitting here trying to play like this is not a racial isuue need to wake up ! everything they have done has been geared towards race dress code, music, they type od crowd they are trying to attract, but they are not stupid they know that Blacks spend alot of money and are more likely to frequent the area, and as long as you do what master wants it’s cool but the minute you act yourself then what ? they don’t want you down there and thats that party in your own neighborhood patronize your own just that simple
Funny that they hated on Jeff. He is one of the most mainstream hip hop DJ’s. That’s weak!!! KC shot callers should wake up and stop hating. I laugh at racist people because your not only wack but weak. Get ya fuckin mind right or maybe you should learn about life. Either way shut the fuck up!!!!!!!
Mainstream? Have y0u heard Jeff’s albums this decade? There hasn’t been anything “mainstream” about his products since he and Will split up. He’s been throwing the kind of heat that 106 & Park runs away screaming from.
We as people who are against racial discrimination (white, black, asian, hispanic, whatever you are) need to definitely join together and do something about this outrage! I’m not only pissed at Cordish for it’s blatent racist actions but the city of Kansas City has a lot more explaining to do to its tax payers. The fact that they put a bandaid on that piece of crap dress code does not fix the fact that the power&white was designed explicitly for the taste of NON AFRICAN AMERICAN citizens! I am a young professional and have absolutely no problem dressing presentably, but what I do have a problem with is getting excited about the new hot spot in Kansas City – a place with mutiple clubs, restuarants, lounges, bowling alley, etc… – and when I get there to my dismay I find out there’s not ONE establishment for me or my people! I was totally bored and had a flashback from my college days in a small white town where the white people had a BLAST, and well black people had to create their own fun. This is exactly this disappointment I experienced when the P&L first opened, and because of this I can count on one hand the # of times I’ve been down there since, and after reading about this DJ Jazzy Jeff outrage why I will NEVER go back! I agree with a previous post that said we deserve a tax refund since we clearly are not benefiting from this attraction. We need to boycott the city and Cordish and let them know that racism in 2009 is not okay. The city needs to stop whatever funding that goes to P&L or force them to provide entertainment that is enjoyable to all people. WE need to join forces and take action – this nonsense has gone on for far too long and I’m sick of it!
Love the passion in your argument but its tough to agree. The reason P&L does not have any hip hop clubs is because those type of clubs have a lot of recent history of attracting violence in Kansas City – look at America’s Pub, Kabal (and whatever it was before then), Seven, NV, Grand Emporium, etc. I am not saying this is because of any race of people; its just a poor track record.
All that said, we will probably never know what actually caused the problem last night. I can see DJ Jazzy Jeff’s story being true but its hard to believe P&L wouldn’t know what kind of music he’d play when they booked him 6 or more months ago. I can see Cordish’s story about overloading the system being true also, but they have a history of racial problems so that makes believing them tough.
This has been a fun story to follow all day and its amazing that it took the Kansas City Star until 4:30 to cover what the Pitch was covering at 12:37 AM. Another example of traditional media not getting it done. I’ll give them credit, however, for getting a phone interview with Jeff: http://www.kansascity.com/700/story/1238519.html
Isn’t it kind of racist that you think black people only like hip hop?
“Your people” are not banned from P&L, just some clothing. White people can’t wear those clothes either. Try wearing something else…
Actally, the point yoiu are missing is that whites who ARE wearing these clothes in the P+L district are allowed to patronize.
Thank you, Nicole. I’ve seen it first hand myself. Finally someone else has eyes.
first of all, from what i’ve been hearing they have a policy of playing a clean set when you play in the courtyard,meaning no cuss words, i wasn’t there when he was on so i dont know if he broke this rule or not. those who were there please let us know what he played. secondly, the sound guys were trying to get the levels and eq’s right, and there might have been something wrong with his serato system, and jeff was getting pissed about that, and his mc was as well. it’s looking to me like he bounced for these reasons, but seeing as z trip was playing hiphop as well, i can only surmise that it was not that factor that started the drama. so everyone is so quick to call out racist instead of trying to get to the real story. and no one knows for sure yet.
ah, well i just read the article at kansascity.com . that is a real shame then, and whoever this guy was that tried to censor him is an ass. but like jeff said, it’s not kc’s fault, it’s this guy at the P&L. so it kind of pisses me off when people are writing things like FU KC, that’s not fair at all.
I haven’t had a chance to read through all the comments but I wanted to add my thoughts before I run to a meeting.
This is just SAD but I can’t say that I am shocked that something like this would or could happen. It is just another example (one of too many) that racism most certainly is not dead and that just because things are changing, they aren’t changing fast enough.
I know how you (Damon) feel about boycotts and I feel pretty much the same way, they are no longer a way to make changes because they are almost alway unsucessful. I hope that something positive can come from this negativity.
When boycotts are unsuccessful it means most folks disagree with you. Think about that.
Or are uninformed, or can’t follow through, or… I mean we can go on with this.
There is no one reason why boycotts fail…
They disagree with you at the moment they decide to spend their money. Whether or not they are informed is your concern, as a party interested in a boycott.
I mean, if someone wants to boycott an establishment, they need an awareness campaign to inform consumers before they reach for their wallets. I have yet to see this in KC… but I want to. 🙂
Well, that’s sorta true, but…
Someone could say you’re good looking. I’ve never seen you so I can’t disagree or agree… I’m uninformed…
Thank you, I am terribly attractive… but I wasn’t clear in my previous statement. 🙂
To the business, the person spending money disagrees with you. This is assuming the business even knows about the boycott movement.
That’s my point. You are trying to convince the business that its practices don’t fit with your community’s ideals. The business sees profits as an indicator of success and acceptance in the community. When people stop reaching for their wallets, they notice and enact some form of change.
That is da worse…I know he got his check before he set up,if not id be back in KC with my attorneys. Im a very versatile DJ and even parties i do for white folks end up with them askin me to play Jay Z or someother well known Negro. Its sad to say that racism exists almost as much as it did in the 50’s and 60’s only its disguised as political rhetoric. Support Hip Hop Grows up and hiphopgrowsup.com NOVEMBER is HIP HOP HISTORY MONTH Sign the petition now
First off, I have to say this, I was down there, and before this show, I honestly don’t go down to P&L much because for me, it really can be a bit of a douchefarm, but given the caliber of show that I was to see, I sucked it up and went to see 4 incredible artists do what they do. Z-Trip was great, very smooth and on point, Jeff was VERY clean in his mixes and juggles, and poor MASTRKRFT had to bring the crowd back after they insult Jeff the way they did. P&L have in their mind that there is only one way to run a lucrative business model, keep out the rif-raff.. and I don’t argue that, but in what business handbook does it read that only black people are rif-raff? Now before anybody thinks I’m touting this because I am an offended black man, I’m not, I’m an offended white man. Telling Jeff to not play Hip-Hop is like telling a stripper to keep her clothes on. it’s 7 layers of rediculous. Me personally, I think we as Kansas Citians owe it to Jeff to do right by him, because he certainly did nothing wrong. I am going to use what resources I can, and quietly do my part to bring Jeff back to KC in different venue. And show him how much this city really loves him and wants to see him do what he does best. It makes me sick to my stomach to think that even in 2009, companies as big as Cordish still think money allows them to be the immorale jackasses that they are. I’m not going to boycott them, they will self destruct on their own. My energy is going to go to a better cause.. the F.U.P.A.L. concert staring Jazzy Jeff (Got my fingers crossed)
You’re an idiot. There’s no sign at the door saying “NO COLOREDS ALLOWED.”
You just can’t wear certain clothes on their property. Do you think you can walk into McDonald’s in your underwear? Follow the rules like everyone else and enjoy the douchefarm. Otherwise, shut the fuck up and save your pennies until you can open your own venue, dumbass.
There doesn’t have to be a sign for someone to tell you they don’t want you there. And, maybe you didn’t notice, but the issue being discussed is about music and bad PR on Cordish’s part. If you’re going to bash someone and use language that makes you sound uneducated then you may want to do a bit of research before hand.
Like I said, it’s 2009 who says colored anymore, you sir have just proved my point.
I’ll have to come back to read all the comments, but this is disturbing.
I’ve been saying this for about a month now, and I guess I’ll have to keep saying it: It BOTHERS me that in this day and time of a black president, white folks feel SUPER liberated to be extra and overtly racist.
Not only that, but our country doesn’t even bat an eye at it. People, well-meaning people, sit by in their EXTREME AND UTTER ignorance and berate those of us who know what this is (I followed that link, I read those comments). If I hear “everything’s not about race” one more effin’ time I’m gonna have a conniption. Those people, those well-meaning people are exactly why we have these problems. They don’t just turn their heads (because you know when a person turns their head it’s still an acknowledgement of wrongdoing, it’s just also a way to say “I won’t be involved…”) they want to EXPLAIN THE EFFED UP MESS AWAY. No sir and no ma’am, I cannot, will not with a fork.
Kansas City doesn’t like black people.
That’s the long and short of that.
They can join the list with New York City (they let their own cops kill the black folks in public, no less!), San Francisco (go check out how there are hardly ANY black people in San Fran — and I love that city so it pains me to say as much), the entire state of South Carolina (not only do they refuse to teach black kids, but I just read that their black people have higher rates of cancer than the REST OF THE NATION) and most southern cities circa 196effin2. GTFOH with all that.
Simply put, Obama’s win has agitated some white folks beyond repair and they are, RIGHT NOW, rebelling.
I’ve never seen so much outward hatred, cries of “reverse racism”, etc. as I have the past 8 months…the ‘white power structure’ is slipping away and these people can feel it. It makes them immensely nervous and angry.
okay well that last post and video was just retarted. first of all, the lord of the rings is based off of people in the middle ages in europe. sorry, but there werent any black people around, that’s just the way it is, so calling it racist is just plain ignorant. secondly, alot of those orcs were black guys, lol. and no shit you arent slaves anymore. we had a little thing called the civil war to free your asses, and in the process suffered thousands of men to do it.
This kid ^^^ he’s funny.
Thanks white people. I’d hate to think where we’d be if you hadn’t stepped in and saved us from…. the other white people.
GTFOH with that, too.
@asmith: Just keep your calm … Let these people do them. lol.
It’s part of the plan.
I was there last night and it was a real embarassment to say I call KC home. My audio comment is posted on KPRS.com. I have just one thing to say. STAY AWAY FROM THE POWER & WHITE DISTRICT!!!!
So, when exactly did this turn from a discussion about the poor treatment of Dj, to a battle of the retarded insults through blog posts. None of you are even talking about the point at hand, and none of you are even spelling you’re words correctly. Ass for That Guy.. I personally know that people in Cordish and the people who enjoy being racist are on here attacking those who feel that this was race related. And as for calling me names, if you’re trying to upset me, you’ll have to try harder for 2 reasons, I don’t find what your saying to make any sense, and 2, I don’t speak dipshit. You say that you can’t walk into McDonald’s in you’re underwear, and in that, you are correct. But on the other side of this, where you are defending the policy that you can’t wear certain types of clothing based on the assumption that every body who wears a basketball jersey id carrying a gun or is coming down to P&L to start a brawl. Judging people by their clothing in one of the oldest AND dumbest mistakes we’ve made, and apparently continue to make. Because if you think that people in suits don’t carry guns, perhaps you should brush up on your 1930’s American History. Pinstripes and Tommy Guns went together like “That Guy” and spouted ignorance. All I’m saying is Cordish has given itself a media nightmare before, both in Kansas City and other locations, and they did it again last night. The suits are a little blinded by money, and their moral compasses are so fucked up that I would be shocked if these guys could find the parking lot. Indeed they can afford the lawsuit if one comes up.. Which I suppose proves that it’s better to be rich that to be morally upstanding..
I never said people in jerseys carried guns, dumbass. Any fool can carry a gun.
I said it’s their property and their rule. If you don’t like it, change your clothes or fuck off and spend your hard earned dollars somewhere else… and you should. It’s really that simple, but you’d rather see it as a race issue. It’s clearly not.
It clearly is.
NOT AT ALL SURPRISED IN…SOME ONE POSTED EARLIER THAT KANSAS CITY IS TRYING TO PROVE ITSELF AS BEING A THRIVING MAJOR METROPOLIS….ITS NOT WORKING, ESPECIALLY WITH STORIES LIKE THIS ONE AND MANY OTHER STORIES THAT HAVE COME BEFORE THIS ONE…I HAVE FRIENDS IN OTHER MAJOR CITIES AND THEY LAUGH AT THE IDEA OF COMING TO K.C. TO BE ENTERTAINED FOR A WEEKEND
FACE IT WE’RE IN A FLY- OVER CITY IN A FLY -OVER STATE THAT REFUSES TO MOVE FOWARD TO CATCH UP TO OTHER CITIES…EVEN IN SOME OF THE MOST SIMPLE THINGS(TRANSPORTATION,ENTERTAINMENT, I COULD GO ON.)
Damon,
Great letter. I can’t even believe this went down like this. These people want us away from there so bad that they’re willing to risk this kind of PR nightmare. Pathetic.
I have wrestled with whether or not I want to be bothered with P&L (though Power and White IS a more apt description). I feel that I deserve to go where ever I please, Jim Crow being over and all. Hell, my money is just a green as the next persons. But then I get down there and I’m treated like crap or something like this happens, and it makes me wish something drastic would happen to shake Cordish up for real. I’ve considered boycotting, but that would just give them what they want: one less Black person. Not to mention the fact that when P&L fails the City will have to pay the loans from OUR tax dollars. We’ll get screwed twice.
I’ve emailed the national news media about this, as I hope to embarrass Cordish, the City Council, the Mayor, P&L and every Kansas Citian who continues to ignore the discrimination taking place in P&L, the way that music fans were embarrassed last night.
These are the times that I’m sorry I ever left NYC. What a hometown this is we have.
At the risk of being attacked…
What’s with people (and there’s only been what I’d think is a smattering of evidence here) who always discount ignorance/racism as a reason.
I mean they will come up with some off the wall, ridiculous stuff to prove why it wasn’t racism.
Do we all, and I do mean all, realize that we’ll NEVER truly be post-racial until we can TALK ABOUT IT. We don’t talk about it, minorities have a bad rep for whipping out the race card too much and white folks got a bad rep for ignoring it too much. The fact of the matter is, it has to be discussed and when it’s a viable explanation it REALLY has to be discussed.
I’m willing to entertain the thought that it’s not racism at play down at P&L (I’m not from KC, so I can only go by what I’ve read and what I’ve read is making me feel like race DOES have a role in this story, but for the sake argument…) but I only think that’s fair if we can also consider racism/racial ignorance.
Denying it, trying to prove why everytime it’s brought up it’s about people making too big of a deal, calling people names… all that… pushes us further from getting to a place where this type of stuff doesn’t happen.
It’s 2009 and DJ Jazzy Jeff is too wild for “mainstream” (white) KC culture. The bottom line is that the KCP&L is a racist institution and its patrons are guilty by association. As a white person, I would never think of spending a night out there because of its racist connotations. Anyone who overlooks or ignores that fact so that they can have a fun, all-white night out on the town is reaping the “benefits” of RACISM, which should not be tolerated, let alone overlooked.
This is unfortunate, but not surprising. Remember last year when you took me down there and I got a bad taste in my mouth AT THE DOOR before we even got in there? I can just see how some stuff is managed and get an idea of what the experience might be like. It’s unfortunate that DJ Jazzy Jeff had to experience this, he’s a legend and should be treated as such. SMH….I’ll remember to never recommend this place to anyone ever again…St. Louis isn’t any better though. Missouri is still a very conservative state and the progression just isn’t comparable to many other coastal cities. It is what it is…
What I don’t get is…. How could someone possibly misunderstand ‘turn down the music’ and walk away hearing ‘stop playing hip hop’….
Why would DJJF just IMMEDIATELY come up with something sooooo crazy AND tweet about it?
It had to have just an ounce of truth to it…..Because it’s so ridiculous of a reason to stop a concert…..
I think Cordish needs to own their actions – at the very least.
when a white dj gets asked to not play something that the owners wants , it’s just the way it is. but when a black dj gets asked the same thing, suddenly it’s racist. and that’s the double truth , ruth. think about it.
Name a “white hip-hop dj” that was shut down?
*looks at watch*
What is it true? Black folks money and culture is no good there? You know, the Jim Crow era was voted out in the 60’s… Are we gonna have to get Martin Luther minded on ya’ll too… Don’t think we won’t!
lol, you should google martin luther, that was actually a very different historical figure. but seriously, they ask every dj to not play certain tracks, that’s NOT racist, that’s just a pain in the ass for the dj. now im not saying that their dress codes are wack, but this was not a case of racism, and it is wrong to be calling it as such.
Man That Is Some Bullshit, many have said it and i’ll say it again. If U Hire A Plumber to fix ya sink, he aint gonna re-tile ya roof. DJ Jazzy Jeff, from JJ+FP, Hip-Hop/Turntablist Legend Since 1986…Is Gonna Spin Maddd Old School Ta New School Hip-Hop. I Wouldn’t Expect ANYTHING Else. Dumb Ass Mutha F*ckers Tellin Him To Get Off Stage, What Did They Expect, If They Wanted Cheezy Ass, Corn Ball POP Sh*t, Get Some $30 per hour wanna be CD Playing DJ to spin That Sh*t. Im From Adelaide In South Australia. I’m WHITE. I Saw DJ Jazzy Jeff LIVE in 2004 (Here in Adelaide) with a predomenantly “WHITE” Crowd. Mannnn, We Showed Him Sooooo Much Love, Im Sure The Promoter Didn’t Say Play This & Play That. He’s A LEGEND. U Hire Cats Like Jazzy To DO WHAT THEY DO. The 3 Greatest DJ Sets I Ever Witnessed Were Jeff’s Set, Grand Master Flash in 2002 & DJ Cash Money’s First Set In My City.
RACISM Has GOT 2 STOP.
People have to learn to live better and not judge people for whatever reason. Make new friends from around the world, from different religions, cultures and different walks of life.
Life is exciting that way, who wants to experience new languages, foods, people, fun etc? THEN MAKE NEW FRIENDS from all over the planet. SPICE up ur lives.
i thrive on all the above and it pisses me off when i hear that people who look like me treat other human beings who may look, dress or talk a lil’ diferent in a bad way.
It pisses me off so much that most of my friends are from around the world, i barely chill with peeps who look like me in fear that i will hear them say some dumb ass racist ish.
all i know is that ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL. lets try and all get along.
yeah, and we should talk REAL talk about race, and the fact that when you let too many black people up in a typically white place, the white people dont come around anymore. that’s the truth and yall know it. like chris rock said, every town got’s 2 malls, the white mall, and the mall the white people used to go to. and now you think im racist because i said that. well i dont care what you think of me, but people want to ignore the truth, and that’s bs. i’ve been beaten up and mugged by black people my whole life. so all you black people, how many times has a white guy beaten or mugged you?oh never? yeah, that’s what i thought.
I have worked in the power and light since day one. When Mcfaddens was the only bar open. I can stand up and say it was the volume issue and its not the first time someone has been asked to turn it down. The first one was a rock band. Put yourself in his shoes…. your a hip hop legend of 25yrs they shut you down because your levels are too high… your embaressed… so naturally having the celeb ego you feel as though you know better than them what the speakers can handle so you take it as a direct insult them shutting you down so to handle the embarassment you turn it to anger and lash out on your twitter page with what you know will work because you have heard the rumors of discrimination….I worked at shark bar a couple times and I was coming in late and the security wouldn’t let me in cause I was wearing surf shorts… dont tell me that its a black thing…I’m white….OH and I was there it was louder than I’d ever heard it before
Dude…I’ve been touring for 10 years…the DJ is not in charge of ouput…the sound tech is, that is a complete COP OUT.
Loud shows should be at Sandstone. You can crank to hearts content and not have to worry about waking the entire city up.
It’s sad to say but the P & L is not for the black community. That place has been a problem since day one. We have a biracial president for crying out loud and the ignorance is still as up front as ever. We love you Jeff and respect what you’ve done in the hip-hop community. I wasn’t there, but I am so absolutely embarrased for their actions.
kcsr responds …
“P&L kicks off DJ jazzy jeff for not playing top 40 ”
http://www.kcsr.org/showthread.php?t=22377
I wanted to put my 2-cents in. I firmly agree that Power & White is racist, but I also think they exclude people based on perceived socioeconomic status.
I was there with a group of friends for a bachelorette party on Saturday night. It was my first trip into KC Live, and also my last. I thought it was fun that DJ Jazzy Jeff was there, and it made me proud that someone cool would want to come to KC.
All my pride ended when a friend couldn’t get in the door because he was wearing a grey v-neck t-shirt. We were told he could enter if he purchased a t-shirt from McFadden’s Saloon. Why is a plan grey tee not okay, but a tee bought from one of their businesses would solve the problem?
They pick and choose the rules to suit their desire for money.
How many folks came to see Jeff, dropped lots of money on drinks and such, only to be disappointed?
Trust that it was still a profitable night for Power and White, and that’s all that matters to them.
tells it all http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6i8Km8FHpc
I woke up this morning and checked my facebook page to see what I missed last night. Obviously while I was asleep we traveled back in time to the 1950’s where it was ok for blacks to serve and cater to whites but not sit at the same table. I have read every one of these posts and some people do bring up good points. I hate to play the race card BUT this is so ridiculously racist. Especially since its coming from a place that since its conception, has tried its hardest to keep blacks out. Two points I wanted to comment on:
1. Who decides what is racist and what isn’t? This fortunately, isn’t the Jim Crow era where racism is so prevalent. its an art to hide racism in plain sight. No there is no sign to say “no blacks allowed” but the dress code says everything but that. I personally believe that Power and light does not want black people around, and in 2009 that is not acceptable. Our past generations, both black and white, had to endure so much so that we could be where we are today. Power and light’s racist ways should not be accepted. Plain and simple. It is not ok to just say I won’t go there, and spend my money elsewhere. I have already spent my hard earned dollars on that place and should be able to go.
2. Saying that having a lot of blacks in an establishment will increase violence. Seriously get your head out of your ass if you believe that. Everytime I have been to power and light at any bar I have seen at least one fight. Last time it was between two groups of white girls in line for the bathrooms at Sharkbar. Every race has its own set of short comings. That does not make it accpetable for people to say if we invite blacks more violence will ensue.
This whole situation screams racism. I have not seen a vaild point that could tell me otherwise. Its like people are trying to forget that 400 years of slavery and racism did not occur in this country, hell in this city. No one is screaming racism because we think its fun. Racism is hurtful and dredges up painful memories of people being burned and hung for fun, of being scared that the only way my kids will have a better future is if i pay for it with my life. People had to fight for what was right in the past just like it is time to fight for what is right now.
P.S. Did I just see you on Fox 4?
niggers fuck shit up anyway they should have lynched him
Wow. How intelligent and original.
**taste my sarchasm**
@nicki: Let the blatant ignorance ride … I want Cordish and the P&L to see what they foster & harbor …
This makes my brain hurt. It’s Jazzy Jeff for crying out loud! A guy who has made positive and inclusive hip-hop music for 25 years. Terrible.
I heard about Will Smith in 1997, made background checks and discovered Jazzy. During my teen years in then late 90s I listened not so much to Smith as to the JJFP of the late 80s and early 90s. Jazzy is a legend and does not deserve to be treated like this!
By the way, Jazzy Jeff linked to this blog psot himself from his twitter… did he comment anywhere? Can’t see…
I agree with you.. it doesn’t make sense. What did they EXPECT him to play?
Further proof that Power and Light is a total fuck up the ass to all Kansas City residents. It’s totally a place built and designed for white folks from the Northland and Johnson County to go “downtown” and drink in a nice and secure area where baggy pants and other clothing styles often worn by black folks are strictly forbidden.
Is it any surprise that when a prominent black man starts playing sets of old hip hop he is made to leave?
Kansas City is like a thirty-something slightly overweight woman who is just looking for a date. She wants attention. She craves attention. No one really cares.
Then this guy comes along. He has a little money. He shows her a little attention. Then she does just about anything for him.
Then she realizes he was just after some easy booty.
Kansas City is that woman. Power and Light is that guy. Our tax dollars are the booty.
The unique bits of downtown were leveled and made way for a cookie cutter set of bars that aren’t locally owned and operated and then the bullshit like this started.
I’ve personally boycotted P&L after one visit and seeing it for myself. This is just one more reason to keep that up.
DJ Jazzy Jeff…. I’m sorry. But if you would have asked me if you should do a set there I would have pleaded with you not to.
If things dont change at P&L. There will be a race riot. All it takes is enough pissed of cats to start it. I for one, am pretty pissed off.
I haven’t read any of the comments, so forgive me if someone already pointed this out. The name of the district is POWER & WHITE. Seriously?!! Like, it’s not even a clever play on words. They really should have been completely blunt & named it White Power. How can anyone not see that? Why would anyone Black even go there? Like I won’t even go to a restaurant called The Plantation House. No thank you.
I thought this was very wrong. I’ve been to the P&L district a couple of times and this is terrible. I have seen and heard how they are racial profiling. Did they forget that African American’s pay taxes too. I think we should all have a march down there…this is some straight bullcrap.
Crazy. Maybe some good will come out this in the long run. ‘Course it never should have shook out this way in the first place. smh.
I make fun of my friends that want to go hang out at the P&L. Manufactured McSame crap they’ve built all over the country and people seem to love it. I really don’t see the attraction.
@travis: I think one of the commenters pointed it out yesterday: It’s clearly geared toward attracting white people.
And plenty of establishments do that, but they do it with their own money. Not the city’s. People can, and do, complain about other places in town and how they seem biased. But they can let in who they want and who they don’t.
That this is taxpayer funded makes it a major issue. I know you know it. I just wish that we could have seen this coming beforehand. There’s no way the people of this city would have let Cordish build here if they knew what they know now … no way.
@damon…I don’t disagree with a single point you’ve made but, it hasn’t and will never attract myself. I’m at a loss for words (not that I’m particularly gifted in expressing myself in the first place).
@travis: We’d go in there from time to time. I actually went back for a gospel concert on Sunday, but only because it was something I had committed to attending prior to Saturday night. But idk about now … it’s just questionable to give money to an establishment like that. And I’m talking about the KC Live block, not the surrounding restaurants.
hey, 30% of kc is black, and they let about 30% ob blacks in. so quit your whining black people. WAAAAAAAH!!
I was there Saturday night waiting in a line for Mosaic(nightclub in PL) for about 2 hrs because my friend decided to have her bday get together there , but unfortunately none of us got in! But there was some type of lists that were at the two entrances that allowed everyone in but our group of 10! The funny part about it all is, we were gonna pay to get in, all the people they let in were going in free. Another funny thing is the club on the inside wasnt even full. So why are we outside waiting for 2 hrs in the first place. During this time we also watched the entire Power and Light have a great time listening to DJ JJ! Regardless of anything a Dj’s job is to play to th crowd and that exactly what he was doing! Everyone was enjoying themselves! Maybe it racism maybe not, but I want to focus on professionalism! Mosaic need to promote better about how they do buisness! If there is RSVP only they need to let that be known through promotion! Where do you RSVP at, is there a website, hotline number? I dont know!!! Are you only a RSVP establishment? I dont know!!! But it needs to be promoted and not a word of mouth, poor mans promotion execution! Power and Light should have handled this situation with more professionalism and thats the main point! Racism maybe but Professionalism was definitely lacking in this situation!
I can not believe that the race card is pulled out every time something doesn’t go your way. They said he wouldn’t turn down the music and left because he basically threw a temper tantrum. To see P&L called Power & White is so horrible. Anyone and everyone is allowed to attend, you just have to dress nice and not like a thug. Get over this whole race issue because it is the ignorant people who post on here that keeps the “race” and issue.
Grow up and look at the facts.
The fact is a DJ doesn’t control the sound output in a venue, the house sound tech does…so its complete fabrication.
KC is a cowtown full of rednecks plain and simple. There has to be some sort of retribution for the many acts of blatant racism displayed on a daily basis. Many of those that have commented to the contrary obviously are part of that majority who see nothing wrong. Sometimes non-violence is NOT the way to go. Sometimes things get done when ish gets burned up or turned over. Sometimes things have to get ugly before they get better. Maybe that sometime is now.
I think the other thing that gets me is how in many instances these days racism is hidden and subliminal. That makes it hard to prove and even harder to fight, but everyone knows it’s there. It’s kind of like proving that MJ is a pedophile. Sure, we see all the evidence: the little boys, the odd toys and statues, the amusement park, animals, candy, etc., the many cases brought forth with kids going on the record with their many innappropriate encounters, the footage of MJ saying that it’s the greatest gift in the world to share his bed with a little boy….I could go on….but proving that it actually went down has been like trying to find Jimmy Hoffa. It hasn’t happened and likely won’t but we all see it right in front of our eyes. Disclaimer: not trying to implicate MJ but I have to put it plain and simple. And mysteriously these kids and their families have disappeared and Mike is flat broke (things that make you go hmmmmm)
Bottom line: things like this cannot be proven and can always be explained away. How do we fight something that is like that boogie man in the closet that only you see but when the parents come in is gone and can be shaken off as a bad dream?????
@jlbd: Good questions. Racism can be covert and hard to describe and prove, just like sexism or someone being discriminated against for his or her sexual orientation. I think everyone knows it exists, whether they choose to admit it or not, but some people don’t care to acknowledge it or do anything about it unless & until it directly involves them.
@Shawnta’
Exactly. Everything in this country must be proven in order to be brought forth as an issue, but how do you prove something that is covered up with the rich man’s money? How do you prove something that can be covered up and fluffed up with roses in front of it but smells like boo boo whenever someone decides to take off the glasses with the rose colored tint? Sure you can contact your local lawmakers and draw up petitions, but how do you make that effective when those very lawmakers are likely getting some kickback under the table or are being controlled like a marionette by all the strings effecting their re-election? Most of the time those strings being financial?? And, lastly how do you prove something that can be shirked off as ‘oh, we are just trying to keep down the riff raff by not allowing jerseys’ (while another person with less melanin in their skin happily walks in with a KC Chiefs jersey on); or, ‘oh we’re just trying to keep the noise level lower’…(while the other DJs spinning a less urban genre of music are blowing the 808s out the wall); it’s very subtle for a reason and it’s covered up very strategically. All I know how to do is shake my head because all other attempts to fight it seem ineffective…
I’m familiar with hip hop. I actually think there’s more talent that goes into writing hip-hop songs than what goes into country songs three-fold.
I simply like the fact that Cordish keeps power & light conservative. I wish they didn’t play the heavy-metal rock. I wish they would play more jazz & big band.
That’s a personal preference though. You didn’t solely fund the district’s existence. Every tax payer in KC did. So, every group should be represented and welcomed and undiscriminated against.
This is interesting.
I mentioned on Facebook that something like this happened to Nelly in St. Louis. He attempted to walk up in Union Station with a doo rag on and I believe he was told to leave.
This place being funded through taxpayer dollars is the REAL issue. But on the other hand, I don’t necessarily disagree with dress code regulations and things of that nature. Even in college, parties sponsored by black folks started enforcing “no jerseys, no timbs” rules and charging people more money if they showed up wearing it anyway. Methinks they wouldn’t have enacted those rules if they didn’t notice that folks in said attire were the ones more likely to start some mess.
I even see parties in DC emphasizing dress codes, although the black professional crowd here is awesome and they don’t need the reminder that these clown costumes are not appropriate everywhere. I guess some of our cousins need the reminder.
Black folks and the classism within our community…ooohwee! That’s hotbutton right there. That’s a whole other blog though.
@skyh: there’s a reason I haven’t been too vocal concerning the dress code. But everything else surrounding it …
They’re not even giving the young black professional crowd a chance. We were out there on Saturday night.
In the crew we had assembled, there were about 30 people — mostly graduates from our school and our friends — kicking it. We were about to have a great night together … and then … the plug gets pulled.
That’s the problem in these medium-sized markets like KC, STL, Indy, Denver, Columbus, etc.
No one wants to cater to an urban professional or “true” hip hop. If they did, they’d learn that there is a thirst for it in this city and others like it … Jeff brought an opportunity for us to quench for a while. But we ended up with a sip.
“That’s the problem in these medium-sized markets like KC, STL, Indy, Denver, Columbus, etc. No one wants to cater to an urban professional or “true” hip hop. If they did, they’d learn that there is a thirst for it in this city and others like it … ”
That’s definitely true, Damon.
DC’s young professional crowd is truly spoiled. There is stuff everyday of the week to go to that caters to the YUP crowd. I can’t even begin to explain why it’s so successful here, but not in other cities. I KNOW folks are dying for it, but it seems like people don’t wanna take the chance that some hood folks will show up and tear the joint down.
all i know is, z trip’s set sounded great, and when jj got on it sounded terrible, and the speakers sounded blown.
You’re a liar.
As a frequent patron of Power and Light I am glad they are not playing hip-hop.
About me:
I am a 26 year old white male who lives within walking distance. I prefer country music. I make more than $45,000 per year and I’m not married. I grew up in the Northland. I visit the power and light district Every Thursday for their country concert and a handful of Friday’s, Saturdays depending on the event. On average I buy two drinks. Sometimes more sometimes less. I typically take either my girlfriend or I’m with a group of about 5. Two or three times a month I’ll also grab dinner there. At the end of the day, I’m a reasonable contributor to their bottom line, and I bring friends who also contribute. They need more customers who frequent the power and light district like I do. They are a business, that’s how they make money.
About the issue:
Now that you understand my background, let me go on to say I have nothing but the upmost respect for hip-hop artists. I certainly don’t have that much talent! I admire them. However hip-hop and their entire culture just isn’t my taste, just as country music might not be your taste. This doesn’t mean I hate blacks, or have anything to do with racism but I prefer to associate with people who are similar to me and enjoy the same activities and interests I enjoy.
White I understand a lot of talent and hard work goes into hip-hop music, I don’t enjoy listening to it. Therefore I decided not to visit power and light district for the music this weekend.
In addition people in the hip-hop culture, in a social atmosphere, make me uncomfortable. Probably because I’m not use to being around people in their culture. I have no desire to have their culture thrust upon me. Does that make me racist? No. It just means I prefer to keep to people more similar to me. There’s nothing wrong with that.
About Cordish
I thank Cordish for recognizing my preferences. They have decided demographics of people like me are their target audience is who they want as their customers and they work to accommodate us. Because of this I feel safe. The minute this changes I won’t be going to Power and Light. Keep in mind I bring friends with me so that’s their business they’re loosing as well.
Most people in the same demographic as I am, – Power & Light’s core customer base- is in the same boat.
Now as a business Power
& Light has a couple choices.
1) Which demographic provides more traffic
2) What is the average income per person
3) What are the average expenses per person
4) Which demographic contributes higher to the bottom line.
5) What competitors cater to which demographic type.
Now they get to choose who would make a better customer. They can’t have everyone because by opening up to everyone people like me wont feel safe and will quit coming.
I don’t go to westport, I don’t feel safe there.
Bottom line:
Power and light district is simply trying to box their program to programming so they can have clients in my demographic. It fits their vision. It’s good for business. They ask that everyone wear clothing that doesn’t make other’s feel uncomfortable or endangered (Yes, chains scare me, they can be used to strangle me). If you want to visit power and light district, wear nice clothes and start acting like a businessman. Then you’re welcome to enjoy it too. If they don’t play your favorite music, get over it because most places, don’t play my favorite music. It’s my turn to have one place I can go an enjoy.
You have Westport (complete with quarterly shootings), NV (Oh wait that’s closed because of violence), and countless others. Go enjoy Hip-hop there.
Dan,
Your haven of a place you call KC Live was funded by public money from good tax paying citizens who also like Hip Hop. THUS, they as well as you ARE the demographic, and should be recognized. This is about equality, not preference. Get over yourself and quit being so ignorant of Hip Hop culture, then maybe you wouldn’t be so afraid of it.
Dan, I actually appreciate (the vast majority of) what you said — I want to make that clear.
But, if you’re attempting to defend P&L for systematically excluding individuals who helped fund their existence then that’s not cool because there is no excuse for it.
For the record, I’m not anti-dress code. I think it’s sorta lame to require someone to wear something specific during their own time and as they patronize a place, but you know what — a dress code is fine, within reason. Asking an individual to wear clothes that are clean and presentable is fair. I’ll even go so far as to say prohibiting chains is also ok… Prohibiting a jersey is awkward, at best and has to make a person stop and ask why. And if the example someone provided of seeing whtie people at P&L with a jersey on is true, well the question has been answered.
It’s fair for you to want somewhere to go that plays the type of music you want, and it’s even fair you’d like a place like that to play this music all the time, but why can’t mature adults who enjoy hip-hop have the same opportunities in the SAME area?
Your bottom line is right on point and THAT is the problem. P&L only wants people in your demographic because it’s good for business (so they think) which simultaneously means that having anyone outside of your demographic is not in the vision and is bad for business. That’s so uncool it’s painful.
Dan, you also didn’t have to take that cheap shot at the end — maligning hip-hop to places that have violence. Hip hop is enjoyed plenty of places, sans violence and Hip hop is ALSO not the only genre of music that seems to beget violence in some. You mention you wish they didn’t play heavy-metal rock and I’ve known some heavy-metal rock concerts to get out of hand. Clearly this isn’t about the reputation a genre has as far as violence, this is about the unfair reputation an entire RACE of people have because of a genre of music.
For the record, not all black people like hip-hop
Thank you, A. Smith for that. Exactly what needs to be said. Amen.
Right?
TAX MONEY went into this place. It isn’t some private bar.
@Dan
Your explanation is very much appreciated and everything you have said is very much in line with the reasons why things like this are an issue. I believe you pointed out your social and demographic stats for a reason and I’d like to point some things out to you. I’m a 27 year old black woman. I’m a yuppie who’s engaged to be married and my fiance’ and I, as well as me and my girlfriends like to go out occasionally and have a drink or two as well. I make a little over $55K a year and I am college educated with an MBA to boot. With all that said, it should be pretty clear to you that I don’t enjoy the presence of riff raff, ignorance, or violent atmosphere’s because typically someone who has worked as hard as I have to be where I am did not get there with wreckless outlooks. Also, with that being stated, I enjoy hip hop/rap music very much as well as other genre’s of music such as pop, rock, jazz and r&b. If I go to a place that is being run by the contribution of my tax dollars, it would be nice to be able to enjoy the genre’s of music that I like and not feel like it’s a sweet and short treat that will come and go. I have green money just like you do and I enjoy having a nice time when I go out, just like you do. Someone mentioned earlier that all blacks don’t necessarily like hip hop, well I need to point out an error in your previous bullet points. All white people aren’t non-violent with an above $40K income, and all white people aren’t listening to music that has a subdued reaction to it. Everything you pointed out is very much the idea that many businesses have, the point that TCMY is trying to point out is that these ideas are old, dead, and wrong. ‘Outdated’ would probably be a better word. It’s time for the stereotyping and redlining to end because the ideas that support it are slowly fizzling out. Once this is understood by the masses the better off we’ll be. Regards.
(slow clap)
I meant ‘quickly’ fizzling out 🙂
LOL @Dan is this guy serious smh at the ignorance…
I had the pleasure of experiencing the talents of DJ Jazzy Jeff a few years ago when he kept the party going @ Priest Holmes Season Kick-Off party back in ’05. So, I was pretty excited to get a chance to see him on a beautiful summer night in my city’s P&L District. Along with my fab KC friends, and my wonderful Mizzou Alum, we partied in the District like never before when Jazzy Jeff hit the stage. Song after song we laughed, performed for each other, sang out of harmony alongside each other, and danced a jig or two…having a blast. Then it was cut short. Not because a riot broke out, not because a fight broke out. Not because the crowd started booing. Not because the language was too vulgar. But, because the hip-hop sounds were too much for the speakers to handle. Isn’t that what rehearsals are for? The fact that I got a chance to vibe to the spinning of a hip hop legend – although for only a premature moment – is the only thing that makes me feel like I wasn’t totally robbed.
Thank you to the TMCY team for making some serious noise about this incident – it’s been a buzz around the city, and in certain parts of the country. Hopefully the noise will make a difference, and the folks across the street from my wonderful place of employment will make some changes.
One.
Dan is one of those rednecks I was speaking of.
Just because he has an opinion doesn’t mean he’s a redneck. (And just because I’m saying this doesn’t mean I agree with him.)
whew! damon, u have me in my cubicle chugging water in my coffee cup from all these posts! nothin’ like some color to shake up some folks, huh?
dan, let me 1st say i commend you for being respectable to damon’s blog/comment section while still voicing your stance. and up front i wasn’t in KC (and to be honest it took me a while to figure out all these characters yall are mentioning–cordish, P&L, KC live, etc.)
so mr. dan, i see where you are coming from regarding preference. just b/c you prefer one thing over another does not make you racist. i was born & bred in the south w/country music third in line behind God and SEC football so I understand and am friends while folks who share your opinion.
what i want to share with you though is that this situation with DJ JJ is not a matter of “black folks that dress like thugs need to stay on their side of town” but that Jazzy Jeff is deejay of HIP HOP! What other music/genre did the event organizers expect to have played? And that’s why there’s such offense and disappointment. Event-goers paid to see a HIP HOP legend perform and instead were blindsided with a whack excuse, AFTER they paid their hard-earned money!
So to me it’s the cloak of disception that so many leaving comments seem to be blinded by. Yes the majority of blacks were offended, but trust it’s not just only blacks, it’s the crowd that paid for a show and were let down because the event mgmt showed their true colors.
and damon i am actually a little saddened that you don’t believe in boycotting when african americans are #1 with purchasing power in america (latinos and asians are fastest growing demographic). to think that patronining places/events that respect us and our money as a dead-end is exactly what blacks play into and get suckerered.
i live in NY and me and my friends are quick to go out of our way to patron black-owned businesses, as well as refuse to step foot in places that have consistent records of disrespecting our brothers.
trust me, you may think backing down and never going back is giving them what they want, but what they want is your money. don’t ever underestimate the power of your dollar. there’s a reason all cash is green.
Good post Damon…
@stevie: thanks, bro. I just want you to know that you left a comment on here before your sister ever did. smh. And she reads it every day, and comments to me verbally. smh.
Damon,
You make valid points but try to write at a level that is well above your skill set. Bad similes and metaphors, poor syntax, etc. It makes it difficult to read.
@rico: I know, my skill set is subpar. I’m sorry that I can’t appease you with what I write at 3 a.m. Maybe you should try a different letter.
Maybe Letter No. 27 will suit you better. It’s very simple. OK, I kid, I kid. lol.
So, this whole thing started off extremely interesting and the more I read the sadder I got. Although the DJ Jeff situation is unfortunate and the harassment of the black population that would like to attend the P&L district… it’s a big waste of time and money! I’m white. And am not a fan of Hip Hop (though I respect it), but the P&L district gave me the creeps! It was like one big scary frat party and I wanted nothing to do with it. I will avoid it like the plague. I have little to no desire to go there ever again! Even if they pay me to play a show… wait… ok if they pay me! But I swear to walk out half way through my set just to make a point! OK???
Black people have white friends, right? If they tell two friends and they tell two friends… and so on… and so on… the word is spreading trust me. I already hear it from family and friends back home. It’s a joke of a place. Let it go.
Not fully sure what happened, but by reading this two things went wrong. Kicking him off for playing Hip-Hop (which is what he is known for!), and you saying they are trying to keep blacks out with the dress code.
Umm no jersey’s is not a racist thing to say, it’s a proper way of dressing if anything. So what you can’t wear your Cavs jersey, put on a regular shirt and grow up. The Jeff thing is a bit weird, and not sure how to explain that… but your not helping by labeling whoever is in charge a racist because of certain things that can be labeled as simple rules.
@whengiantsmeet: If this is what you take from it, this entire post went over your head.
I have a suggestion for you: Jump.
WTF is going on out there in KC? I wish I lived there just to boycott that joint LOUDLY!
Aliens are coming! They are landing right now! Man, you guys will believe anything won’t you? If it’s in print, it must be legit! Obviously, if a venue brings in a hip hop artist, they know that they will play hip hop, so why do you guys (ie’ some form of reporters/bloggers) keep spreading this hate? (ie; race card?) Use some sense, add up the logic and recognize that it is highly unlikely that a hip hop artist was removed for playing hip hop. There must be some other reason (ie; too loud?). Hummm…that would make a little more sense, but then again, it’s not quite as newsworthy at racisim.
Yeah, and I’m sure DJ Jazzy Jeff just tweeted those comments for fun. I mean since we’re talking about dilusions here….
I don’t think DJJJ tweeted for fun, he’s obviously frustrated. Heck, he may not even have gotten fully paid, who knows. I’d be frustrated at the situation too, I’d probably be so frustrated that I didn’t listen to the rules that I’d found something else to shift the blame too. Let’s look at simply human psychology. When a child is told not to do something or he will be disciplined and yet he continues to do what he knows not to do, when the child does get caught again, he often does some sort of blame shift to take the heat off his own shoulders and conscience. We do it as adults too….DJJJ has effectively taken the heat off of himself so he hasn’t made any fans mad and has found a very core issue that will rally people like nothing else and they are all blindly w/ absolutely NO EVIDENCE standing behind him shouting, “yeah! What he said!” and yet they have no clue what really went on. Again, think about the basic precepts of the issue; a venue is not going to pay a hip hop artist to perform and then boot them for playing hip hop. There must be a different issue. Listen to the other side before being led blindly. Then again, that’s the problem w/ most of America…we just continue to be led by emotions rather than logical rationale.
@Iceman
Read my previous comments. Your post just justified that. Sure, there’s ALWAYS an explanation……ALWAYS. (note the sarcasm); but until you are the man that booked and booted him, you don’t know what went on behind the scenes either. And, I don’t think notable news sources would be reporting something that didn’t have some truth to it. It’s simple, an event planner books a hip-hop artist to spice things up a bit at P&L, then, once he actually starts playing hip hop and the crowd gets going, it’s all of a sudden too loud; said event planner then realizes that this may be a little too urban of a feel for this prestigious district and asks DJJJ to mix it up a bit and tone it down. I smell bulls@$t, and I’m not buying the EXPLANATION of it all. DJJJ has performed at a plethora of venues…why all of a sudden would he arbitrarily make up a story to justify is ‘frustration’ as you put it????? I wasn’t there, but from what I have heard many people in the crowd were not happy and did not understand the abrupt dismissal of his set. Think about it.
Again, soundmen control sound levels in a venue, not a DJ…so this bullshit excuse is just that, BULLSHIT.
And anyone telling me DJ Jazzy Jeff, a 25 year veteran of DJing, doesn’t know how to keep a mixer from clipping is full of shit.
by turning every thing into a racial thing (which this is not) then everyone will have less respect for black people. which has the lowest respect of all races in the first place. and this is one of the reasons why. always trying to play the race card and shout racism when it’s not validated. jj’s set sounded like crap. they tried to get him to turn it down. the mc’s mic was too hot. they all got pissed and left. wake up people. obama’s in office now. it’s time be more than you have been.
**chuckle**
@jlbd: please explain that your chuckle is sarcastic … lol *chuckles*
@Damon
But of course it is, anyone that says something that ignorant deserves a subtle ‘chuckle’ and nothing more.
DJ Jazzy Jeff pulled off the biggest PR gig of his life. If you hadn’t heard of him yesterday, you sure have heard of him today. He knows how to use the system to enhance his career. You are a brilliant showman DJJJ! I have to hand it to you. You add years to your career through this. “There is no such thing as bad publicity”.
@PR Man: If you’re over 18 and you haven’t seen DJ Jazzy Jeff get thrown out of a Bel Air mansion in syndication ……. you’re either Amish or lost….
People know who he is …period.
@PR Man
I’m sure DJJJ is not concerned about becoming more ‘well known’. He has been around for the last 25 years in hip hop and even with his MC, the Fresh Prince b.k.a. Will Smith’s mainstream success DJJJ has been critically instrumental in producing many of our neo-soul hip hop artists of today. He’s ok with being a ‘behind the scenes guy’ who spins the 1’s and 2’s and people respect his art. He doesn’t need nor do I think he wants more publicity.
PR Man,
You obviously know nothing about DJ Jazzy Jeff and his career. This man is a producer/DJ. DJing is his profession. He travels the world DJing. He is a celebrity, not for getting tossed out of Uncle Phil’s mansion, but for his skills behind the turntables. This isn’t PR because I am pretty sure he doesn’t want to ruin his relationships with people. It’s about integrity.
And all 128 posts above are the reason I say “who cares” about Power and Light. The MO side of KC has never been able to get anything entertainment-wise done right. I still see zero reason to cross the state line and spend my money. Why don’t all you party goers (white or black) stop worrying about which idiot entertainer can get you to come out, dance like an idiot, drink and generally waste your life away and instead get jobs, make money and deal with real life? “our tax dollars” you say? I doubt 90% of the crowd at that place actually PAYS taxes. You whine about how the KS side has all the rich people. Well, all the rich people live here because we care more about our jobs than whining about some offended has-been 1980’s entertainer.
I wasn’t there. The news reported that it was a volume/decible issue and fear of damaging the equipment. I “assume” that there are measurements of all venues(?) was it extreemly loud?
You cannot damage equipment in 2009 with clipping levels on a Serato mixer.
THE HOUSE CONTROLS THE VOLUME!
ITS A LIE!
@ Damon
Nah I don’t wanna jump. No diving allowed in the pool. I think I’ll stick around, and enjoy the scene.
@whengiantsmeet: I just want to you “jump, jump” like “Kris Kross” so that your head will run into the relevance of the post/topic/debate.
Trust, I don’t want you to jump into a pool littered about with “No Diving” signs.
We have a place for all the thugs in KC thats westport, whats wrong with wanting to keep Power and Light a nice safe environment? Jazzy Jeff just played the race card i expect no less.
JJ never mentioned race, you did.
To DJ Jazzy Jeff, that was some BULLSHIT the POWER & LIGHT DISTICT officials pulled last night!!! I was told by an employee of the P&L that Hip-Hop music can not be played in the OUTSIDE (the courtyard) area. We want you to know, Kansas City LOVES YOU!!! You are a GREAT DJ! If they’d let you do yo thang, they would have heard your progression. I love how you tie THE MUSIC into 1 another. Diversity is Keen !!! Unfortunately like many other Kansas Citians, we paid for a luxury WE CAN”T ENJOY!!! That was just one of many slaps in the face to our DIVERSE CULTURE by the POWER & LIGHT DIST.!!! I am VERY ANGERY with the officials over the P&L!!! We can’t be silent we must/will do what it takes for EQUALITY!!!
For every reason / explanation given, I would like to think it would be a matter of public record. This establishment was built for the people, by the people. SHOW ME where it is written!!! P&L officials knew what they were doing. An employee @ the exit sated, “they (power & light officials) don’t allow hip hop music to be played in the courtyard, only inside the clubs?”
I am so tired of racist people hiding behind MASK!!! It is so past the time of hiding. I guess it’s easier to be who you truly are, when no one knows exactly who you are. I saw his face (Jazzy & Skills), I seen the police officers, I heard the music & it was no louder than the artist b4 his set. Personally I was surprised I was even ABLE to sit so close and enjoy the music. I have the worst allergies that cause me to have a crackling, ringing noise in my ear; especially when it’s too loud. On Saturday that was not the case, SYSTEM LIMITATIONS MY ASS! What about a sensitive ear limitation?
Employees
I am originally from KC and moved to the east coast 6 years ago. I visited a few months ago and went to the Power and Light for the first time. Worst experience of my life. Nothing but long lines waiting to get into sleezy bars with sweaty over-cologned men who can’t get over their frat boy years trying to grope every drunk chick they see. (we actually got a guy arrested for doing just that) Very poor representation of my home town and I would never ever go there again. This venue would never exist in NYC, I guess that is why I am here!
OK, to everybody who has commented or reads …
It’s time to move the discussion here: http://thismayconcernyou.com/2009/06/08/pldistrictprez/
It’s a letter based around a conversation I had with the Power & Light District President Jon Stephens earlier today.
I urge all Dj’s to Boycott any gigs they may have at The White Power & Light District.
As respect to DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Dj Hip-hop community.
This outrage should not go unpunished!
I was ironically removed from a Power and Light District show about 7 months ago. I was originally booked to open for a much larger, less hip-hop act, at a free show. I was going to get paid a very nice sum of corporate money too. They booked me because they had heard great things about me, and my radio show (which is on an alternative rock station).
Once they found out I was a rapper– they kicked me off the show, terminated all contracts, and absolutely refused to even consider me for any event ever again.
I’m white, fyi.
Mac Lethal…
I have one of your songs… Sun Storm… think I stumbled on it by accident. I love it.
Anyway, your experience suggests to (and confirms for) me that P&L seems to take issue with hip-hop because of it’s association with black people, even when the acts aren’t black… that’s a shame…
They didn’t even ask you, or consider explanations of how you’re on an Alt. Rock station but you rap… eh… guess that’s asking too much.
And there you have it. Mac Lethal is a well known indie rapper, and this is straight from the horse’s mouth.
Sound tech controls volume…the “levels” crap is a lie. They kicked Jeff out for spinning rap music.
Correction, Mr. Lethal:
You’re not white. You’re a wigger.
This f*ckin’ town sux.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 8, 2009
Media Contact: Jon Stephens 816-547-7904 jstephens@cordish.com
STATEMENT REGARDING DJ JAZZY JEFF PERFORMANCE
On Saturday night Kansas City Live! was proud to feature a DJ performance by Jazzy Jeff. Jazzy Jeff is a tremendous artist with a long and successful history in the hip-hop/rap music genre and KC Live! was honored to have Jazzy Jeff play the venue. The event played by Jazzy Jeff was the second year of a similar promotion, last years featuring Mix Master Mike. We were delighted to feature the music that Jazzy Jeff is famous for. That is why he was scheduled to perform and his performance was excellent and exactly what we expected when he was scheduled.
The problem that occurred was solely technical in nature. KC Live! is not a traditional concert venue and thus the sound amplification and the type of sound waves compatible with the overall sound system are an issue with some production companies accustomed to concert venue shows. Whenever possible KC Live! handles the production of the shows however this artist supplied his own production staff. Thirty minutes into his performance the venue production engineers repeatedly informed the artists production staff that the system was being red-lined and that volume needed to be lowered to prevent damage to the system. The artists personnel ultimately refused and the artist terminated the concert for that reason. To characterize this incident in racial terms is absurd and illogical. We scheduled Jazzy Jeff proudly, knowing exactly his repertoire of music.
There was in fact extensive damage done to the system due to the performance. There are twelve high end drivers in the main cabinets of the sound system. Nine of the twelve high end drivers of the sound system were permanently damaged by the “square” sound wave being sent from the artists production which put the overall system is distress. Had the levels been adjusted in a quick manner the system would not have been damaged. Problems in aligning artist and venue production have occurred with other performers, for example the rock and roll band Lights and Siren stopped in mid concert to prevent damage to the sound system.
We would happily have Jazzy Jeff return as often as his schedule would accommodate and he is booked at another facility which is affiliated with Kansas City Live!
As someone who is an A/V tech I believe that this situation was COMPLETLEY and UTTERLY racially motivated. In this press release the Cordish Co. they say that DJ Jazzy Jeff (DJJJ) furnished his own A/V engineers, and that they were in control of the sound, ECT, ECT. The release goes on to say that DJJJ’s sound levels caused damage to speakers that are not used for a “traditional concert venue.” The Cordish Co. said they requested DJJJ to adjust his levels or he would have to end his show. And due to the fact of his levels not being readjusted he was asked to leave. I was not in attendance so I’m not sure as to how loud it was and what took place, but I can tell you that the Cordish Co is trying to save themselves more embarrassment from the many public outcries against the Power and Light District. As an A/V person I know that when you have a concert even if you provided you own A/V engineers the venue’s (The Power and Light District) AV engineers control your levels. We know how our system works and operates NOT YOU. Anyone who knows music and how concerts work can also attest to if his levels were too loud they were also too loud for DJ Z-Trip as well. It takes between an hour and two hours to redo, adjust, recalibrate sound levels. And I can almost guarantee that DJJJ did not adjust the levels from the previous DJ. Why would he? DJ-ing equipment is universal and if the levels were right form DJ- Z Trip they would also be adequate for him as well. Thank You Cordish Co for embarrassing Kansas City, and helping us stay in the stone-ages when it comes to entertainment. It really sucks that being an African-American tax payer in Kansas City I don’t have a single solitary place to enjoy , in an establishment that my tax dollars help build. The Power and Light District does not have to worry about me or any of my friends being patrons. I don’t shop at places that don’t acknowledge me as a customer and I most definitely won’t spend my money in a place that does not want as a customer. And unfortunately The Power and Light District is one of those places.
I’m glad we have DJs and A/V folks here to argue the point, because I’m waiting on some folks from the first thread to come back and scream “SEE, TOLD YA!”
Exactly!
This “volume” excuse is just that…a CROCK…because most regular people don’t know how sound tech works so they can easily shrug it off like “Oh, the DJ was too loud because Cordish said so”.
No such thing. Even if DJJJ had his own sound tech, the HOUSE still has a hand on the knob in ANY venue.
Speaking of which…
I heard this argument bubbling from “official” sources yesterday, but didn’t expect it to be THE official response (in that, I’m disappointed)
But from jump (and I have a basic understanding of A/V issues…) I was interested in this report that they had drivers damaged, but weren’t asking DJJJ to pay for repairs AND was asking him to come back if his schedule allowed it.
Wha?? I’ll tell you what: I’ve had people come into my place and damage my stuff; I never asked them to return. At the very least, I was asking them to pay for the damages.
They are not talking about the overall VOLUME. They are talking about HIS GAIN levels coming from his set-up.
Know the facts before you speak them.
Here is an idea call a local repair shop that repairs speakers and ask them who they get the most biz from. Also ask them what blows up speakers.
Since everyone on here is an expert, why not ask the experts that fix the stuff. Oh that would be too easy huh?
Ask a person that does speaker re-coning the same.
Why not call production companies across the country and ask them what shows cause the most sound system damage and why.
Prove that it is just this one venue.
Bet you will find out something you would not admit to here on this BLOG! I guarantee it!
FIND THE TRUTH!!!
Wonder if Damon will do this himself……..
Doubt it since it would shoot alot of holes in his theory.
I love how the race card gets played and then obviously it wasn’t that. Keep playing it and looking stupid.
You know, I have to listen to Hip Hop blasting out of cars with with words I would never let my childen hear but yet there it is balsting words like mother F his and mother F that! and useing the N word. Whats up with that? No wander kids of today are all screwed up! Racisum I think its laungue thing to. Good ol rock n roll music never put out crap like that! Rap is just Crap without the C.
ROCK ON!
I have ran FOH sound for nearly every major venue in KC. I am an artist supplied “sound guy”. I do not work for any establishment, every show I work with venue audio techs to get shows set up and running. It is a collaborative process between artist FOH men and the venue’s staff. Both side’s cooperation is needed to make a show. And I always work with the staff because frankly, they know their system better than I do. They often have negative experiences to relay about artist supplied sound engineers who are inexperienced with large systems and consoles, and are rude, do not cooperate and thus a show suffers.
I was not at this KC Live event but I can say all the talk of limiters and compression protection systems are irrelevant. In a system there are gain stages. It starts at the musician’s equipment (DJ mixer), goes to the sound board, then to the drive rack to the amps, then to the speakers. It is often the case with computer outputs that the sensitivity of house systems differ, and from show to show that output of the artist equipment must be adjusted to the gain structure and input sensitivity of the house sound board. If the artists equipment is so ‘hot’ that even if the input gain at the sound board is at minimum, sound waves sent to the speakers are no longer sin waves but square waves, which damage speakers no matter what level the system is playing at.
I don’t know if the venue did indeed have a problem with DJJJ’s content being played, or if they asked him to leave because of it. But I can say that the possibility of the attitude of an artist or his supplied sound engineer to not cooperate with venue audio engineers this situation could happen. They say “turn your inputs down” and maybe he refuses. there’s nothing the hosue sound staff can do except walk up to the DJ mixer and turn down his mixer output, which would be a drastic change in sound levels which to an audience is unacceptable.
so it’s possible that venue asked him to stop for music content reasons, or just in fear of their system being damaged. I have friends who work at Harvest (the sound system supplier) and will ask them if indeed KC Live’s system is being repaired. But it sounds like a crappy gig either way.
I might also add that I have been to KC Live three times and have not enjoyed the atmosphere, it seems very fake and yuppie. Just my opinion of the venue. So I am in no way defending them. I find it hard to believe that DJJJ gave the board a clipping signal given his legacy as a music producer, but by all accounts from the event his set sounded terrible compared to the other DJ’s.
Tonight Fox 4 news will show footage of the crew repairing the insides of at least six of the speakers that were blown out during the performance.
All the speakers worked during sound check.
@anonandfriends:
Never have I said anything about the speakers not being blown out. What I’ve maintained is that there’s no way that Jeff left that stage because of “output levels being too high” and his refusal to turn them down …
No World-renown DJ will leave a set for such reasoning.
Someone there said something inappropriate to Jeff’s manager and/or MC Skillz. If you don’t believe me, feel free to call the Power & Light officials and pose that question to them …
Guess what? I have. Guess what they didn’t do? Tell me that I was wrong.
How is “Just A Friend” by Biz Markie considered offensive?? It’s featured in a car commercial that is popular right now. But the audicity to invite a real DJ to perform and stop him during that song. Old school at it’s finest. Yet they let Z-Trip play whatever. Grammy, TV Show, Fame, it don’t matter because they still think of you as a……….you know and it’s sad.
We’re a buch of white guys that play hip hop covers and they wont let us play there either becuase they are afraid of the crowd we’ll attract. We almost had one show booked and they said we couldn’t wear our track suits on stage.
The funny thing is, that P&L put out a press release, stating that 9 of their 12 PA’s were blown by Jeff’s & Skill’s output levels.
Which begs the question, if that were true, then how was MSTRKRFT able to do a set not 20 min later and loud as they were. I was there, there didn’t seem to be an issue with sound. Sure you can say there we other PA’s, but I didn’t notice one difference in volume levels between the two acts. Look, I’m a dj, I own an entertainment company, I have 4 dj’s who work for me, 2 of which were with me that night, and we have roughly 30 grand worth of equipment. I know that sound techs can compensate for sound issues, they do it every night in concerts with equipment much older than the STATE-OF-THE-ART gear that P&L has. As much money as they have spent, and the fact that they employ sound tech’s for EVERY show, you’d think they would have a better handle on the audio, even on the fly. And if they don’t, perhaps they should think about flipping cheeseburgers instead.
Now, Can you blow STOA equipment, you sure can.. a number of ways, do I think Jeff did, not really.. I noticed a little distortion but nothing that sounded blown. Do I think it’s race related, maybe, maybe not. Do I think Cordish thinks that hip hop only has fans whom they consider trash? Absolutely. Am I in a position to change it? Dunno, but I know I already pulled my two Dj’s from their roster for next month even AFTER our set list was approved. I just don’t want my company associated with a group who are so flexible that even today, they can have their heads stuck that far up their own asses.
I’m trying not to take sides on this issue yet because I don’t know enough of the facts. However, this is a live recording of the concert. I don’t know about permanent damage to the speakers, but something is obviously wrong with the sound here.
http://videos.kansascity.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=4448644&f=mokas
This is bullcrap because Bishop Tolbert and Victorious Life Church held a gospel concert down there less than 24 hours after the DJJJ incident and I personally went down there to see for myself if there was a problem with the sound like Cordish lied and claimed it was. If Jeff blew out nine speakers the preveious night, they got some replacements awfully fast for Tolbert’s concert the very next day. Tolbert got put on the payroll during the dress code ordinance issue. They used Tolbert to make it look like they embrace diversity and he used them to get money to sponsor his gospel concert last Sunday and his Lifechangers conference at Bartle Hall next month.
He didnt blow any speakers the dj before he came up before him, music was just as loud or louder. his was so loud we up stairs .
There are 3 different versions of why the show was stopped: sound issues, content issues and now they claim Jeff’s hype man Skillz is to blame for everything. Skillz should sue Cordish for libel and slander and so should Jeff for trying to dragging his 25-year, clean-cut rap rep through the mud with this lie:
http://www.fox4kc.com/wdaf-story-dj-jazzy-jeff-cordish-060909,0,6344404.story
Local comedian Bobby J was on Hot 103 saying that he will protest at the Power and Light District Saturday at 5pm. Please come out and support this brother in opposition of the antics that has been going on at this place for the past two years. Power is in numbers and people of all races who disagree with the divisive and discriminatory practices of Cordish should come out and represent this weekend.
I say we have a blackout of all the businesses not just the power and light party area. You have to include those eating places thats the only way to hurt them is in the pockets. Not only black , they dont play spanish music either , if u get the hint. And all white people that have interracial kids should follow suit. Cause in 10 to 15 years your kids will be dealing with the same foolishness.
Power & Light, a hidden monikor for WHITE POWER…
wow, i can’t believe that this kind of thing still happens omg!
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