I got fired for playing Hip-Hop in Oakland, CA!

13

  Comments


  • Dude I can smell the sandalwood coming a mile away

    "There goes that girl named Dawnie"


    "Look at what the cat drug in....."


  • "Oh come come now/Why y'all so dumb now"

    Enjoying Lucy Pearl and "mos def with token white friend" picture isn't mutually exclusive.




  • "Oh come come now/Why y'all so dumb now"

    Enjoying Lucy Pearl and "mos def with token white friend" picture isn't mutually exclusive.


    White girl catnip status revoked

    That is no "token white friend", that is Chris Martin of Coldplay




  • "Oh come come now/Why y'all so dumb now"

    Enjoying Lucy Pearl and "mos def with token white friend" picture isn't mutually exclusive.


    White girl catnip status revoked

    That is no "token white friend", that is Chris Martin of Coldplay


    The fact that you know dudes name is/and his "band" is

    What has he been wearing on the red carpet this season?





  • "Oh come come now/Why y'all so dumb now"

    Enjoying Lucy Pearl and "mos def with token white friend" picture isn't mutually exclusive.


    White girl catnip status revoked

    That is no "token white friend", that is Chris Martin of Coldplay


    The fact that you know dudes name is/and his "band" is




    Yeah man, probably the biggest band out for the last five years, I find it a little more suspect that you don't know who it is.

    File under: I only shop in the hip-hop/R&B section






  • "Oh come come now/Why y'all so dumb now"

    Enjoying Lucy Pearl and "mos def with token white friend" picture isn't mutually exclusive.


    White girl catnip status revoked

    That is no "token white friend", that is Chris Martin of Coldplay


    The fact that you know dudes name is/and his "band" is




    Yeah man, probably the biggest band out for the last five years, I find it a little more suspect that you don't know who it is.

    File under: I only shop in the hip-hop/R&B section.


    Does GOOD Records have a "Coldplay" divider in the bins?

    I think Coldplay being the biggest band in the past 5 years has more do with the circles you in. Yo! Drez, after work let's go cop some CD's at Starbucks..

    I knew who he was but coudn't name the dude to save my life.

    You think Mos, Chris, Gwenneth, and Medina Green hang out together?

  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts

    You think Mos, Chris, Gwenneth, and Medina Green hang out together?

    Actually, yes.

  • DeeRockDeeRock 1,836 Posts
    "Fuck that place". Yes it is YOUR job but club owners need to realize why they hire a dj. If they want to have a certain music or NO hip hop a juke box or an ipod could do fine. It's nothing at all like a regualr job or working at Walmart. For starters you make in a few hours what those workers make in a week! Then who gets to get drunk at work? It's nothing like a regular job at all. Don't get it twisted.

    A dj's job is to make the PAYING customers happy which in turn pays the club and the dj and keeps the business going. The bar isn't really paying you to work there the customers are. It is also, up to the dj which is damn near impossible to make the club owner/mgr happy and assure no violence. The violence issue should be up to security but seems to fall back on the dj when something jumps off!






  • "Oh come come now/Why y'all so dumb now"

    Enjoying Lucy Pearl and "mos def with token white friend" picture isn't mutually exclusive.


    White girl catnip status revoked

    That is no "token white friend", that is Chris Martin of Coldplay


    The fact that you know dudes name is/and his "band" is




    Yeah man, probably the biggest band out for the last five years, I find it a little more suspect that you don't know who it is.

    File under: I only shop in the hip-hop/R&B section.


    I knew who he was but coudn't name the dude to save my life.


    Step up your whitegirlcatnip game

  • emyndemynd 830 Posts

    3. Race does not seem to be an issue and I think its pretty ridiculous that it keeps coming up in arguments on soulstrut. It really cheapens the value of the accusation and starts turning those who constantly use it into the boys who cried wolf.

    This is idiotic. Anybody who can be convinced that "racism" isn't important because its prevalence is being pointed out frequently is obviously an idiot and is probably "racist" himself.

    -e

  • djannadjanna 1,543 Posts
    I remember back in the early nineties when no SF venue would hold a hip-hop show. Then they let Notorious BIG in and one of his boys shot a gun in the place (supposedly). A lot of the rap paranoia may be left over from those days. It is Oakland after all. A very rough town.

    What is it then when hip-hop can be played in SF venues with white/asian people but if Black people attend then there has to be a silly dress code and no hip-hop? I could go to Milk in a Dickies suit with rags hanging out of my ears and listen to "TOWN SHIT" and "SUPERHYPHY" but in Oakland I can't wear my fitted.

    But Johnny! In Oakland, shit is real, and in Frisco it's all IRONIC! get it?


  • 3. Race does not seem to be an issue and I think its pretty ridiculous that it keeps coming up in arguments on soulstrut. It really cheapens the value of the accusation and starts turning those who constantly use it into the boys who cried wolf.

    This is idiotic. Anybody who can be convinced that "racism" isn't important because its prevalence is being pointed out frequently is obviously an idiot and is probably "racist" himself.

    -e


    WORD UP! Take it from a dude from Philly who's never been in the bar to tell you how it is! FALLBACK DUDE!


    I guess when I said he had Black Employees, a black clientel (I saw more blacks there than 90% of any gigs in SF) let his deejays play reggae and soul music that wasn't good enough.



  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts

    3. Race does not seem to be an issue and I think its pretty ridiculous that it keeps coming up in arguments on soulstrut. It really cheapens the value of the accusation and starts turning those who constantly use it into the boys who cried wolf.

    This is idiotic. Anybody who can be convinced that "racism" isn't important because its prevalence is being pointed out frequently is obviously an idiot and is probably "racist" himself.

    -e


    WORD UP! Take it from a dude from Philly who's never been in the bar to tell you how it is! FALLBACK DUDE!


    I guess when I said he had Black Employees, a black clientel (I saw more blacks there than 90% of any gigs in SF) let his deejays play reggae and soul music that wasn't good enough.



    I think he was more addressing Adam's point--such as it was--that "its pretty ridiculous that it [race] keeps coming up in arguments on soulstrut"


  • 3. Race does not seem to be an issue and I think its pretty ridiculous that it keeps coming up in arguments on soulstrut. It really cheapens the value of the accusation and starts turning those who constantly use it into the boys who cried wolf.

    This is idiotic. Anybody who can be convinced that "racism" isn't important because its prevalence is being pointed out frequently is obviously an idiot and is probably "racist" himself.

    -e


  • alieNDNalieNDN 2,181 Posts
    didnt read the whole thread, but did anyone comment on the LYRICAL content of hypnotize vs if the dude played "bust a move"? maybe that's what the club owner's beef with a song being played was. but to be fair, he did say no hip hop. i dont know, if it was a hip hop club and the owner said "no death metal" then id expect you wouldnt play any death metal...unless you're Ice T. He hosted rap city once (the canadian one) and the first song be played was like Slayer "reign in blood" or something. funniest sheit i've ever seen in my life.

  • GuzzoGuzzo 8,611 Posts


    3. Race does not seem to be an issue and I think its pretty ridiculous that it keeps coming up in arguments on soulstrut. It really cheapens the value of the accusation and starts turning those who constantly use it into the boys who cried wolf.




    This is idiotic. Anybody who can be convinced that "racism" isn't important because its prevalence is being pointed out frequently is obviously an idiot and is probably "racist" himself.



    -e



    Youre totally right, this was a racist action. So clear a blind man can see it. Hell you were there right? I mean you saw what went on and you know how that owner is. Shit is cut and dry.



    I understand that Gnat calling this a non-racist move and all the other people that know the club agreeing with Gnats words were just showing their supremeicist faces, They can't help it though, its how they were raised. Lets just hope they raise their children to shout out racism at the drop of a hat. This generation is lost, but the next generation can really make a difference.



    I gotta go, there is a white guy walking down the street right now, and I just know he's...well...you know how they are

  • faux_rillzfaux_rillz 14,343 Posts

    3. Race does not seem to be an issue and I think its pretty ridiculous that it keeps coming up in arguments on soulstrut. It really cheapens the value of the accusation and starts turning those who constantly use it into the boys who cried wolf.

    This is idiotic. Anybody who can be convinced that "racism" isn't important because its prevalence is being pointed out frequently is obviously an idiot and is probably "racist" himself.

    -e

    Youre totally right, this was a racist action. So clear a blind man can see it. Hell you were there right? I mean you saw what went on and you know how that owner is. Shit is cut and dry.

    I understand that Gnat calling this a non-racist move and all the other people that know the club agreeing with Gnats words were just showing their supremeicist faces, They can't help it though, its how they were raised. Lets just hope they raise their children to shout out racism at the drop of a hat. This generation is lost, but the next generation can really make a difference.

    I gotta go, there is a white guy walking down the street right now, and I just know he's...well...you know how they are

    Are you completely incapable of abstract thought?

    He wasn't talking about this incident--he was talking about the sentiment that you expressed.

  • thats flippin weak man..its good you did what you did..props

  • GnatGnat 1,183 Posts
    gNAT:
    ...and I never said he was racist--but why wouldn't you play what people want if that keeps them happy and drinking and making him PHAT change? He's scared of something so read between the lines...

    To be fair, I might have implied the race thing in the aforementioned quotation...HOWEVER...

    I don't know what dude's problem is, but I do know that when this race thing gets thrown around too much it gets old...especially since I can't prove anything outright and this horse has been beat to death with a BILLION Soulstrutting sticks...

    Guzzo:
    I understand that Gnat calling this a non-racist move and all the other people that know the club agreeing with Gnats words were just showing their supremeicist faces, They can't help it though, its how they were raised. Lets just hope they raise their children to shout out racism at the drop of a hat.

    Seriously, Guzzos words ring true with me right now...to call someone racist, or even imply it, (as I may have) is a SERIOUS accusation...shit is complicated...even more complicated than CRASH(corny statement, but true)...I'm gonna chalk it up to experience and play gigs where I'm ALLOWED to play hip-hop...

    I just really just enjoyed standing up to someone who didn't want me playing hip-hop...that was fun--no matter what his distored thinking involved...

    that's a wrap...put a fork in this post...it's done...

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    to call someone racist, or even imply it, (as I may have) is a SERIOUS accusation...shit is complicated...even more complicated than CRASH(corny statement, but true)

    nope, just corny.

  • GnatGnat 1,183 Posts
    nope, just corny.
    go smoke some nutmeg bassie!

    Seriously though, it's ugly in people's heads, that's all I'm saying...most of the time I don't like to open up people's real view on race because it comes out all convoluted and is difficult to discern...serious contradictions...

    This internet piece allows us to impulsively call one another racist without knowing what is really up...that's why I'm agreeing with Guzzo right now...

    I ain't scared of black people walking down the street...I'm just scared of people...hella stress and mess going on in their heads and they might pull a "Falling Down" on me...don't wanna get caught up in all that...

    anyway...y'all have a good day and be nice to one another...

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    nope, just corny.
    go smoke some nutmeg bassie!



    you're funny - good memory.

  • emyndemynd 830 Posts
    I was certainly jumping the gun by assuming this dude's motives were "racist." I apologize for that. Briefly in my defense, every DJ has experienced the club-owner who is on some "Don't play too much rap... we don't want those kind of people to come" with winks and nudges. I admit that I was hasty to assume that this was the BS that this dude was on (although I'm not convinced that he wasn't on this schitt), but I was just trying to support Mr. Gnat on some "Don't worry about it" schitt. The point of my second post wasn't to stick up for my hasty accusation, but only to point out that anybody who thinks that "racism" is something you can be de-sensitized to is either (a) an idiot or (b) a racist. That is a point I still feel strongly about. It's become clear to me that I should've apologized for my hastiness in that second post because it made it look like my first post that briefly accused dude of being "racist" was still something I agreed with. So, I wilfully apologize for my hastiness and my subsequent failure to apologize for my hastiness immediately. I still feel strongly about Guzzo's ridiculous "don't cry wolf" analogy.



    Fact is, "Racism" is bad and if people talking about "racism" frequently is going to somehow make it suddenly seem like less of a bad thing, you probably don't think it's too bad in the first place.



    So, again, excuse me for my hastiness but if my hastiness desensitizes you to "racism" on some "Don't cry wolf" schitt, that's on YOU, not me.



    To clarify my position on "racism" and "racists," I certainly don't have any automatic beef with white people like you might like to believe. I do have automatic beef with white folks who are completely unwilling to look at their privileges with a critical and skeptical eye. It seems that too many of us simply accept our privileged position as a "natural" one instead of a fabricated and, more importantly, oppressive one. My insistence to constantly bring up "race" in so many threads on this board isn't an attempt to chastise anyone, but simply an attempt to bring to light the many ways that racism continues to function and perpetuate itself, even in those amongst us who clearly aren't "racist." I wouldn't classify anyone on here as a full-on "racist" or anything, but that doesn't mean non-"racist" folks still can't perform utterly "racist" actions and say reprehensibly "racist" things. I don't think any of you folks hate black people or anything (quite the opposite, in fact), but your intentions don't absolve you and ignorance is no defense.



    Unfortunately, it seems like a lot of folks on this board are of the fairly conservative view that "racism" isn't that serious of a problem or isn't worth talking about that mcuh. Take for example the thread about that "Don't mess with a brother" video. I am deeply saddened by the response to that thread, as if the fact that it was genuinely funny video excuses the other fact that the title of the video was indeed "racist." There is nothing anyone can say to convince me that that dude's blackness had anything to do with his response and, thus, whoever linked that dude's blackness to his response is doing so on completely "racist" grounds. End of story. Do I think that the "racism" displayed in the naming of that video is that big of a deal? Of course not. But, I felt compelled to call it out given this board's relative refusal to aknowledge anything potentially "racist."



    And that's another thing. Most folks on this board seem to think there's this oppressive amount of threads that deteriorate into "race" threads when i reality there's less than 5 or 6 of us on this board who consistently bring up the issue of "race." That's really not THAT many so why is there this ridiculous feeling that "race" dominates discussions on this board? It absolutely doesn't.



    And, lest we forget, this is a fucking messageboard where people talk about records of which a good 65%-75% are either created by black artists [or come directly out of a tradition of black music(s)]. I don't think it's ridiculous to discuss issues of "race" and "racism" frequently when this schitt is primarly just a bunch of white folks talking about black art. By the way, please spare me the "art transcends race" and "art isn't owned by any one culture" BS that only privileged white folks have the effing gall to utter.



    A lot of folks on here would rather brush this schitt off because they don't want to have to come to terms with the fact we all have to think hard about race if we want to make any progress. But, fuck thinkin' about race, lemme get a Price Czech on this Dorothy Ashby... or lemme get pissed about these "lil dudes" downloading albums they'll never find (because they're not great collectros). That's so "not a good look"!



    It's quite telling that you guys would rather spend energy bitching about "lil dudes" downloading your precious raers than talking about something like "race."



    Blah.



    -e

  • dayday 9,611 Posts
    Emynd,



    To answer your PM - Even though I understood your point in the "Never Scare a Brother" thread, I still think you took it kind of way out.

    I'm not going to get into the specifics in a whole other thread, but my opinion is, it's best to choose what and when you call things 'racist' because to me, saying something like the title of a video clip found on the internet - that NO ONE KNOWS WHO ORIGINALLY TITLED (could be an Asian lady, could be a Black man etc.) only takes away from bigger issues of race.

    And don't you find it kind of funny that the Black man who posted it in the first place didn't find it offensive?

    I'm just saying dude, while racism is all around us, it's almost detrimental to scream and shout about things of such insignificance when there's real deal shit we should be dealing with.

  • mandrewmandrew 2,720 Posts
    That place is so fucking corny. Used to live around there and hit it with some regularity, these are motherfuckers that will make you take off your hat and check your shoes... at a lounge.... in LAKE FUCKING MERRITT. God, sometimes I hate the bay.... I used to go across the street to the piano bar just so I didn't have to deal with the attitude.

    Fuck that place.


    i love the alley. bunch of drunks sitting around a piano, passing around a mic, and singing old folk and show tunes.
    kingman's is corny. i can understand why the owner didn't want you playing hip hop - while i didn't like being asked to check my hat at the door... if he's going for the grown n sexy atmosphere, you have to respect that. flat out. especially if he's emphasized this to you before.

  • GnatGnat 1,183 Posts
    A lot of folks on here would rather brush this schitt off because they don't want to have to come to terms with the fact we all have to think hard about race if we want to make any progress.

    It's quite telling that you guys would rather spend energy bitching about "lil dudes" downloading your precious raers than talking about something like "race."

    Yer right...to an extent...a contentious issue like covert racism is something I'd rather sweep under the carpet... wouldn't most people? Wouldn't it be nice if we ignored it and it just went away?

    Won't happen though will it? And yes, I realize many people don't have that luxury to sweep away the issue...

    I can related to Guzzo's comment,however, because I, like many Strutters (I think), get fatigued from a rehashing of the same old volatile topic of race. Our conversations inevtiably end in virtual beef between folks, especially when calling someone racist. That always ends badly.

    I ain't gonna resolve anything just now...I just kinda wish folks would have a little bit more of an even hand when discussing this shit and realize that there are REAL hands of flesh and blood typing the words that we're reading...

    gNAT


  • regardless of race, i think you were kind of an ass to the owner. i mean, i know he's "the man" or whatever you say, but i was playing all kinds of crap at "clubs" in the bay. and by crap i mean crap. like tiffany and willem breuker. but i minded my manners and put on my happy shig face, and believe me, this aint nothing easy for me.

    you can stick it to the man and pop off to dude and lose a job. or you can stick it to the man by being nice and get what you want cuz youre a sweetie.

  • luckluck 4,077 Posts
    if he's going for the grown n sexy atmosphere, you have to respect that. flat out. especially if he's emphasized this to you before.



    ...and that's the point. Not all DJ gigs are the same, and not all club owners are the same. It's your job to know the score and not waste your time in the process. Sure: once in a blue moon, some owners/booking agents will hire you on contacts/Your Good Name alone and will let you pick your shit out regardless of genre/taste/Club Atmosphere. I'm guessing that this was NOT your situation. As a strictly DJ-for-hire, it's not your job to improve the personal taste of the owner. It's not your job to "improve his business" over his head. Try to think about it from his perspective; the owner hired you to set a mood. That's IT. If you're an owner, trying to establish a "grown 'n' sexy night" and some fool kid you hired drops "Hypnotize," you'd can his ass, too.



    Here's what I'm seeing: the man hires you to play a Sound. You knew full well what his Sound was, and you transgressed nonetheless. Why? Certainly not to "improve his business." You wanted to play what you wanted to play when that strictly wasn't your business agreement. That's not, you know,



    Professional.





    Owners DO know each other, you know. Folks talk.

  • emyndemynd 830 Posts
    NO ONE KNOWS WHO ORIGINALLY TITLED (could be an Asian lady, could be a Black man etc.) only takes away from bigger issues of race.
    And don't you find it kind of funny that the Black man who posted it in the first place didn't find it offensive?

    I'm not gonna drag this on for much longer. Just wanna say that my point is that it doesn't matter who titled it. Believe it or not, it is possible for a black person to say or do "racist" things about black folks.

    And, yes, I do find it "funny" that both Phill and Stacks co-signed the humor of the video without commenting on the "racist" nature of it. I commented on that in my original post in that thread. However, that doesn't somehow "prove" that it is or isn't offensive. I was offended by it. Haven't we all seen "The Office"? Black people aren't the only people that can be offended by "racism."

    -e
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