Gangsta Rap

So we have a concert coming to my little town, Juelz Santana. I don't know who he is or his music but I've been told hes got a song on the radio so this is a pretty big name for our town. Its also the first time that there will be a rap concert at our local arena. So far so good right? Not really a concert I have any interest in but this town needs more events like this so I think its a very good thing. But just like every cloud has a silver lining the darkness tainting this ray of light is the local reaction. Several bars near the concert have expressed concerns, one is simply going to close for the day while the other has not decided. I'm really not sure how to feel about this other than kinda sad. I wish we could wait and see, hopefully everything goes smooth and those with concerns will feel silly. Unfortunately if things don't go well then we will feel a whole lot worse than silly. Again I don't know this guys music, the bar owners called it gangsta rap. I know when I think of gansta rap I think of some old Onyx, some hardcore shit that glorifies guns and violence for sure. Obviously not everyone who listens to music like that is violent, case in point I have some Onyx on my computer and I do listen to it occasionally, I might sing along to "Throw yo guns in tha air!" but that doesn't mean I'm going to go shoot people. The flip side of that is that if I went to a Onyx concert I might not be scared for myself but I would assume that there is a much higher than usual chance of someone getting shot. Does that make me racist? In my book it makes me a realist. There are lots of reasons for gang culture and I'm not going to get into why gangs are prevalent in our society I don't have time. But at the end of it I will say that people are justified being afraid of gang violence. I think that is a very reasonable suggestion.

Now I'm not going to say that these bar owners aren't racist pricks, I don't know them, maybe they are. Race absolutely could be the underlying reason I won't deny that option, but being something of an optimist I like to think through the other possibilities before assuming the worst. The one bar that is closing for sure is a classic Irish Pub it's fairly small and cramped and usually there is no bouncer let alone real security. It honestly probably wouldn't be the first destination for folks leaving a rap concert, of course theres more creative ways to prevent this problem. I would have hired a local Irish band, maybe Pat Kane. Get some bagpipes going and I guarantee you won't have to worry about gang violence. As for the other bar thats iffy, there problem is the opposite, they already have gang problems. To be honest I have no idea how much of that is truly gang related and how much is simply people who don't like each other and normal drunken bar violence. I can understand their concern.

Ultimately I think its sad, I think its sad that the bars can't just stay open and get to reap the benefits along with a good time for the patrons, it's just as sad that those same likely patrons of any color have given these bar owners legitimate concerns.

Oh and lastly the people talking about how the arena should be used for "Family entertainment" go fuck yourself, first off not everyone in this town has a family, my tax dollars went to subsidized that private enterprise too and I have no interest in the wiggles. I also find it interesting that everyone says they're concerned about violent lyrics, in case you haven't noticed its a hockey arena, this is a venue where on a regular basis people are actually violent towards each other. Do these same people say how we must not allow hockey to be played here because of the actual violence not just violence thats sung about?