Yeah, the entire Power & Light District has a ban on "oversized white t-shirts" precisely because they "attract the thug element" ... bullshit. I know a dude who was there when all this went down and said that the volume was completely average and that the club owners only flipped when Jeff started spinning hip-hop tracks.
EDIT: I should mention as well that, as a Kansas Citian, it's been pathetic to watch the levels of barely-coded racism on the rise in the parts of the metro area that they're trying to "rehabilitate," which of course, as anyone who's lived in this country for 15 minutes knows, means "gentrify the shit out of everything, open stores/bars/restaurants that only upper-middle-class White people in massive amounts of credit card debt can afford to patronize, and move all the Blacks/Hispanics/elderly people to a different part of town, which will then subsequently be the next area we 'rehabilitate.'" F*ck that shit--this city, like most major American 'burgs, has been shuffling around its poor and minorities in order to simulate an appearance of "progress" and "economic growth" as long as I've been alive.
I should add, few club owners will come out and say this blatantly (since, well, it's not only racist but illegal to institute a color-based policy) but I've heard it stated in all kinds of different, coded ways.
My favorite is: "we don't want too much hip-hop here because it attracts the thug element."
For the record, I think it's absolutely fine if nightclubs want to control what kind of music gets played but be upfront about that shit (i.e. don't book Jazzy Jeff) and don't act like a bunch of kneejerk assholes about it either (i.e. don't kick out Jazzy Jeff).
I gotta laugh at the notion that Jeff attracts a thug element!
(not suggesting that this is what you were saying; your poast just made me think of it).
hahaha; carry on.
actually though now that I think of it, what about a policy that aims to keep thugs out, but is otherwise color-neutral? (I am thinking for example the famed "no hyphy policy" incident at Milk...)
The "white power" thing is as ignorant as telling Jeff not to play hip hop so drop it.
They told Z-Trip not to play hip hop and he went along with it. Booking Jeff and thinking they could tell him at the last minute not to to play "rap" is just a dumb owner not racism. This is a large public square so they wanted lame top 40 pop/rock big deal. I hate to burst your bubble but the general public still could care less about DJ's doing there thing. You think with all the "Becky" posts this would have been realized by now. The owner of that place is just another Becky not a Klan leader.
i dont know if you're from the area, but the (white)Power & Light District line has been around since way before this jazzy jeff shit. as others have stated, the general theme of the P&L has been, darkies bad, whities good. affliction shirts good, white t's bad. etc etc. so, i'm gonna keep referring to it as the (white)Power & Light District.
Raeding all the post, apart from being a crap attitude/racist mentality etc. Wouldn't it also open up the opportunity to cater to the crowd of black and latinos who are not getting allowe dinto these places and/or are not getting the music they want?
What's the situation as far as indy promoters putting on a gig with the Jeffs and Ztrips of the hip hop world playing what these P&L district clubs aren't playing? Or is the access to venues and fees asssociated with it limiting the ppl who can promote gigs etc?
End of the day, if these places are only letting white middle class kids (or thoses who assimilate to that style) and catering the music to them, it will result in boring/cliche/wack clubs that will eventually be redundant and lame IMO...
And those providing an alternative on the fringes of that would probably find their gigs more and more appealing (you know the fact these clubs WONT let you hear Jeff play what he wants would make me more willing to go to a club that DID allow Jeff to spin at will...)
But if its anything like Sydney, I imagine they got a tight grip on venues!
I hope all these head-up-their-ass clubs end up going broke and losing the crowds....
Raeding all the post, apart from being a crap attitude/racist mentality etc. Wouldn't it also open up the opportunity to cater to the crowd of black and latinos who are not getting allowe dinto these places and/or are not getting the music they want?
What's the situation as far as indy promoters putting on a gig with the Jeffs and Ztrips of the hip hop world playing what these P&L district clubs aren't playing? Or is the access to venues and fees asssociated with it limiting the ppl who can promote gigs etc?
End of the day, if these places are only letting white middle class kids (or thoses who assimilate to that style) and catering the music to them, it will result in boring/cliche/wack clubs that will eventually be redundant and lame IMO...
And those providing an alternative on the fringes of that would probably find their gigs more and more appealing (you know the fact these clubs WONT let you hear Jeff play what he wants would make me more willing to go to a club that DID allow Jeff to spin at will...)
But if its anything like Sydney, I imagine they got a tight grip on venues!
I hope all these head-up-their-ass clubs end up going broke and losing the crowds....
Kansas City's always been kind of a weird town for clubs/bars in that there are musicians everywhere doing a much wider variety of stuff than you'll find in yr average non-LA or New York American city but the city government is, and has been for decades, just an utter clusterfuck. Every club owner/promoter/whatever around the Power & Light District is toeing the bullshit line sooper hard right now as part of an "urban revitalization project" going on in downtown/midtown KC that also included building a useless new arena (in the hope that it would attract an NBA or NHL franchise, which it hasn't) and razing a grip of high-rises/project-type tenements to make room for glossy yuppie bullshit.
A friend & I used to have a recording studio on 20th St & Grand Avenue, right where midtown begins to become downtown, and for years and years we were absolutely the only people around there late at night--not even cops/junkies/hobos spent any time there, not because it was particularly dangerous but because there was just not a damn thing happening there. Hit that same intersection tonight and you'll see high-heeled Beckys and their middle-management boyfriends paying raer cheddar for mixed drinks and 'secure' parking ... but the fad can only last so long, and once the current wave of enthusiasm for it dies out (stick-up kids start mapping out the majeur yuppie spots, I'm guessing), this Power & Light shit will blow over and be reincarnated in some other racist pleasure-ghetto slammed down in the middle of former projects and cheap restaurants so all the gabacho locals can go minority sight-seeing on weekends ...
Jason Whitlock is ordinarily a sports columnist for the KC Star. He took time out to write a commentary piece on the power and white district. He's not very sympathetic to Jazzy Jeff, which strikes me as an odd posture to take, but he's even less sympathetic to the racism that is inherent in the P&L district dress code policy. As he puts it, "the dress code policy destroys its credibility when it comes to race." (Of course, old boy is a little too proud of his "custom-made short sets," but there's no accounting for taste.)
Here's the full article if you're interested:
Dress code ??? not Jazzy Jeff ??? is P&L District's real problem By JASON WHITLOCK The Kansas City Star[/b]
Forget about DJ Jazzy Jeff and loud music and the latest controversy at the Power & Light District. At most, they are symptoms of a larger problem at the P&L. More than likely, they???re a prime example of just how out of control celebrity egos can get.
But don???t get distracted by the opportunistic whining of a spoiled out-of-towner.
The problem at P&L is still the racist and inconsistent enforcement of a dress-code policy intended primarily to limit the number of black and brown men that frequent the entertainment district financed by all of our tax dollars.
Until the Cordish Co., city officials and P&L nightclub owners figure out a fair and colorblind way to deter troublemakers from turning the high-priced downtown experiment into Westport Central, Power & Light will remain vulnerable to the types of misguided and exaggerated claims of racism we witnessed with Jazzy Jeff.
I just happened to be in the district Saturday night when Jazzy Jeff cut his performance short and set off another P&L public-relations crisis.
I don???t believe Jazzy Jeff???s story about P&L officials demanding that he stop playing hip-hop music, and here???s why:
Around 10 p.m. I was standing on the balcony outside of Lucky Strike watching hundreds of young people dance to the hip-hop music being played by the DJ who performed before Jazzy Jeff took the stage. Also, it???s impossible for me to believe P&L executives would have hired Jeff without realizing he would play hip-hop music.
It would be the equivalent of barbecue baron Ollie Gates inviting me to his home and kicking me out when I asked for a second helping of ribs and coleslaw.
However, I don???t blame disappointed P&L partygoers for believing Jazzy Jeff???s complaints on Twitter and subsequent interviews.
P&L???s dress-code policy destroys its credibility when it comes to race.
I was a water-drinking designated driver at the P&L from 9 p.m. until 1:30 a.m. Saturday night/Sunday morning. For the most part, two friends and I had a great time. The bartenders at Lucky Strike were friendly and funny. The staff at Mosaic defused a juvenile confrontation between one of my friends and a drunken patron in an extremely professional manner.
We had one problem all night: The security staff at Shark Bar initially denied us entrance on the basis that I was inappropriately dressed.
It was a ridiculous contention. I had on custom-made, black linen, crepe-weave shorts with a matching Tommy Bahama-style button-up shirt, black dress sandals and a black Kangol hat. (EDITOR: I wouldn't let Jason Whitlock into my club wearing such an outfit)I???ve worn the exact outfit or one similar to the best restaurants and clubs in Vegas, New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Kansas City.
I never spoke one word to the bouncer or club manager who stopped us at the door. It???s not in my nature to demand that a business accept my money. But my friends were upset and insulted.
I was out with Russ Stewart, a manager of a popular Kansas City nightclub, and Troy McSwain, a Los Angeles-based custom-wardrobe designer.
Like me, Russ and Troy are black and in their 40s.
Russ grew up in Kansas City, is a homeowner in my Johnson County neighborhood and, because of his job, he is friends with most of the nightclub managers and workers in Kansas City. Through his connections, we were on the invited guests list at Mosaic and Shark Bar.
Troy is a world traveler. He designs clothes for some of America???s most famous athletes and entertainers. He was educated at the Naval Academy. He, his wife and two kids own a home in a California suburb.
My point is we represent black, professional middle-aged America. We???re not looking for trouble. We might pathetically try to recapture our college days and flirt with a 25-year-old nursing student. But that???s as wild and crazy as we get.
We shouldn???t be on the P&L???s 10 most wanted list.
Russ and Troy politely bickered with the Shark Bar security and manager for about 10 minutes. They were told my shorts were ???sagging??? below my knees. Troy explained that he made the shorts to hang below the knees and the shorts were no longer than the Old Navy shorts worn by the club???s bouncer. Then they were told that my shirt being untucked was a problem and that it was against club policy for my 23-inch white gold chain to hang outside my shirt.
Eventually the manager relented and allowed us to go in if I would tuck my necklace inside my shirt.
Once inside, we discovered all three of us were inappropriately dressed. We looked far too professional and classy. Seriously. That is not arrogance. The young, mostly white people inside the club dressed the way we did when we were young and financially strapped.
We left, feeling insulted and unwanted. Given our age, life experience and multiple options, we didn???t leave angry. We left knowing exactly why many young black and brown men and women have contempt for the clubs at Power & Light.
The city hypes this great, hip place to party and then hangs an invisible sign that says ???Blacks and Browns are reluctantly welcomed.???
Monday afternoon I called Strange Music CEO Travis O???Guin, who runs the No. 1 independent hip-hop music label in the country out of Lee???s Summit, to gossip about the Jazzy Jeff controversy and my experience at Shark Bar. O???Guin???s rapper Tech N9ne wrote a song, ???Let Me In,??? about his problems at P&L.
???The problem is there were too many of ya???ll at once,??? said O???Guin, who is a white conservative Republican. ???A brother is cool as long as he???s by himself. But once there???s three or more blacks or Mexicans going at once, then there???s a problem. That???s when you???ll get stopped. I???ve seen it happen with my artists.???
Power & Light president John Stephens disagreed with O???Guin.
???There???s no truth to that at all,??? Stephens told me Monday. ???I???m going to personally call the manager at Shark Bar and find out what happened to you and your group Saturday night.???
Stephens promised to call me with an explanation.
I never heard back from him, either Monday or Tuesday. No worries. I know what happened. And I know why we eventually got let in. The manager figured out or Russ told him that I have a column in The Kansas City Star. While they were bickering about the appropriateness of my $500 outfit, I stood at the door shaking hands, chitchatting and posing for pictures with the other patrons waiting to enter.
It just isn???t fair. The overwhelming majority of Kansas Citians, especially young Kansas Citians, don???t have a similar platform to air their complaints.
I understand and agree with the P&L District???s desire to prevent the area from being overrun by the loiterers who damaged the perception of Westport. I used to work concert security when I was in college and I have an affinity for rap music, so I also comprehen
d the difficulty of playing hip-hop music and avoiding the gangsta, parking-lot-pimping crowd.
And finally, I love and socialize with all races and economic classes of people. I???m highly in tune with the challenges social diversity presents.
The well-intentioned people running P&L have a difficult task in that regard. They???re failing.
Until they figure out how to treat everyone fairly, I???ll spend my money where it, my custom-made short sets and black skin are welcomed.
I fully realize that top 40 is full of rap. But do you really think most people follow the charts? When the general public says top 40 they are taking about pop and rock. When they want rap they say rap. Have you ever played a gig at a normal bar? I've done a lot of them and when they say top 40 they don't want rap.
I think this says more about the places you're playing and the people that inhabit them than it does about the definition of "top 40".
Monday afternoon I called Strange Music CEO Travis O???Guin, who runs the No. 1 independent hip-hop music label in the country out of Lee???s Summit, to gossip about the Jazzy Jeff controversy and my experience at Shark Bar. O???Guin???s rapper Tech N9ne wrote a song, ???Let Me In,??? about his problems at P&L.
???The problem is there were too many of ya???ll at once,??? said O???Guin, who is a white conservative Republican.[/b]
I suppose it takes all kinds. Strange Music is the number one indie hip-hop label? Guess I'm disconnected from the skreetz.
if you dont want black people to be somewhere, play cutting crew. if you want black people to be somewhere, play hip hop. but z-trip still might show up.
I had on custom-made, black linen, crepe-weave shorts with a matching Tommy Bahama-style button-up shirt, black dress sandals and a black Kangol hat.
btw, jason whitlock is the michael steele of black sports columnists.
Whitlock's terrible, but if even he can't get in ...
b/w
Strange Music's gotta be up there strictly numbers-wise--TechN9ne broke the million-mark with his last record, though I don't know who the hell else on that label is selling anything ...
Because that isn't a million hip hop sales, that's icp heads who arentbuying other indie rap releases. And that's sad to anyone trying to make a career in hip hop.
I'm not mad at them - it's just a statement on how low Indy hip hop is right now.
This neighborhood has been mentioned a few times as an example of what Power & Light might become if hip hop was played there.
Hey locals whats the deal?
My good friend grew up there in a large family. Most of her siblings live with in a few blocks of the family home. That famous record shop that went out of business was there. My friends dad was sometimes called the mayor of Westport (unofficially). He started a yearly gatherings of Westports around the world. Every year people in Westport KC MO invites a delegation from another Westport or travels to another. My friends mom still does this every year. I visited once, and found Westport very pleasant.
Comments
EDIT: I should mention as well that, as a Kansas Citian, it's been pathetic to watch the levels of barely-coded racism on the rise in the parts of the metro area that they're trying to "rehabilitate," which of course, as anyone who's lived in this country for 15 minutes knows, means "gentrify the shit out of everything, open stores/bars/restaurants that only upper-middle-class White people in massive amounts of credit card debt can afford to patronize, and move all the Blacks/Hispanics/elderly people to a different part of town, which will then subsequently be the next area we 'rehabilitate.'" F*ck that shit--this city, like most major American 'burgs, has been shuffling around its poor and minorities in order to simulate an appearance of "progress" and "economic growth" as long as I've been alive.
I gotta laugh at the notion that Jeff attracts a thug element!
(not suggesting that this is what you were saying; your poast just made me think of it).
hahaha; carry on.
actually though now that I think of it, what about a policy that aims to keep thugs out, but is otherwise color-neutral? (I am thinking for example the famed "no hyphy policy" incident at Milk...)
i dont know if you're from the area, but the (white)Power & Light District line has been around since way before this jazzy jeff shit. as others have stated, the general theme of the P&L has been, darkies bad, whities good. affliction shirts good, white t's bad. etc etc. so, i'm gonna keep referring to it as the (white)Power & Light District.
What's the situation as far as indy promoters putting on a gig with the Jeffs and Ztrips of the hip hop world playing what these P&L district clubs aren't playing? Or is the access to venues and fees asssociated with it limiting the ppl who can promote gigs etc?
End of the day, if these places are only letting white middle class kids (or thoses who assimilate to that style) and catering the music to them, it will result in boring/cliche/wack clubs that will eventually be redundant and lame IMO...
And those providing an alternative on the fringes of that would probably find their gigs more and more appealing (you know the fact these clubs WONT let you hear Jeff play what he wants would make me more willing to go to a club that DID allow Jeff to spin at will...)
But if its anything like Sydney, I imagine they got a tight grip on venues!
I hope all these head-up-their-ass clubs end up going broke and losing the crowds....
Kansas City's always been kind of a weird town for clubs/bars in that there are musicians everywhere doing a much wider variety of stuff than you'll find in yr average non-LA or New York American city but the city government is, and has been for decades, just an utter clusterfuck. Every club owner/promoter/whatever around the Power & Light District is toeing the bullshit line sooper hard right now as part of an "urban revitalization project" going on in downtown/midtown KC that also included building a useless new arena (in the hope that it would attract an NBA or NHL franchise, which it hasn't) and razing a grip of high-rises/project-type tenements to make room for glossy yuppie bullshit.
A friend & I used to have a recording studio on 20th St & Grand Avenue, right where midtown begins to become downtown, and for years and years we were absolutely the only people around there late at night--not even cops/junkies/hobos spent any time there, not because it was particularly dangerous but because there was just not a damn thing happening there. Hit that same intersection tonight and you'll see high-heeled Beckys and their middle-management boyfriends paying raer cheddar for mixed drinks and 'secure' parking ... but the fad can only last so long, and once the current wave of enthusiasm for it dies out (stick-up kids start mapping out the majeur yuppie spots, I'm guessing), this Power & Light shit will blow over and be reincarnated in some other racist pleasure-ghetto slammed down in the middle of former projects and cheap restaurants so all the gabacho locals can go minority sight-seeing on weekends ...
Here's the full article if you're interested:
b/w
btw, jason whitlock is the michael steele of black sports columnists.
I think this says more about the places you're playing and the people that inhabit them than it does about the definition of "top 40".
I suppose it takes all kinds. Strange Music is the number one indie hip-hop label? Guess I'm disconnected from the skreetz.
N.EVER A. G.OOD L.OOK.
if you dont want black people to be somewhere, play cutting crew.
if you want black people to be somewhere, play hip hop. but z-trip still might show up.
I whoa my mandals to Bambouche's wedding.
Whitlock's terrible, but if even he can't get in ...
b/w
Strange Music's gotta be up there strictly numbers-wise--TechN9ne broke the million-mark with his last record, though I don't know who the hell else on that label is selling anything ...
Why is that sad to say?
I'm not mad at them - it's just a statement on how low Indy hip hop is right now.
I'm allergic to Faygo
my requested guest column for a KC paper -
http://wednesdaysun.com/200906171076/new...t-district.html
MY ROUNDUP OF videos and articles::
http://milesbonny.com/2009/06/07/miles-vid-blog-_-jazzy-jeff-fiasco/
peace - miles
This neighborhood has been mentioned a few times as an example of what Power & Light might become if hip hop was played there.
Hey locals whats the deal?
My good friend grew up there in a large family.
Most of her siblings live with in a few blocks of the family home.
That famous record shop that went out of business was there.
My friends dad was sometimes called the mayor of Westport (unofficially).
He started a yearly gatherings of Westports around the world. Every year people in Westport KC MO invites a delegation from another Westport or travels to another. My friends mom still does this every year.
I visited once, and found Westport very pleasant.
So what's up with all the negative Westport talk?