Newspaper Page Text
Monday, November 11
THE MAROON TIGER
PAGE 14
Hip Hop’s Top Down at the Bottom
' By Gregory Johnson, Jr.
A & E Co-Editor
If you want to be down with the stars in the hip-hop industry,
you've got to go to "the Bottom" a.k.a. Miami, Florida. At "How Can
I Be Down? '96," held from October 10-14 and hosted by the Peter
Thomas Entertainment Group, women, wine, and song combined with
stars, sand and seminars to make hip-hop's hottest event meaningful
and memorable yet again.
Music executive and entrepeneur Peter Thomas conducted the first
"How Can I Be Down?" on Labor Day 1993 to celebrate the success of
young guns like Russell Simmons and Andre Harrell and give unsigned
talent a chance to break into the industry. Four years later, the
conference is billed as "the number one urban conference in the
world,"and is quickly surpassing Atlanta's "Jack the Rapper"
convention as the most popular gathering for urban music in the
country.
Being that the industry is markedly stressful and volatile, the
convention was an opportunity to blow off steam. "Big Willies" like
Heavy D and Teddy Riley threw lavish parties. Riley even rented out
an entire island for his affair. California MCs like Rass Kass, Xzibit and
Money B. tossed footballs and frolicked in South Beach with New
Yorkers like Raekwon, Busta Rhymes and the Boot Camp Clique. Beach
events, fashion shows, and celebrity basketball games gave everyone
an opportunity to rub elbows, talk shop and network.
When the sun set, rising stars flanked by large entourages drained
bottles of Moet and Tanqueray. Crowds swarmed around strippers in
drop-top convertibles, crowded hotel rooms, and pool parties. Street
promotion teams from every record label flooded the streets with
promos, demos and flyers. Jam-Master Jay's "Butt-naked Party" ads,
which replaced the convention's B-Boy silhouette logo with a silhouette
of a naked woman in heels, summed up the "good time" attitude.
The parade of negatives dragged on. A Tupac impersonator roamed
the streets. Gorgeous groupies bounced from star to star while drunk
brothers harassed music industry sisters. Over the usual nonsense,
beef jumped off between rapper Fat Joe and several Long Beach Crips
down with the Dogg Pound. Gunshots ended Heavy D's party, injuring
at least one bystander. And finally, torrents of rain caused a blackout
Saturday night, which canceled all the events scheduled.
Dreamers and schemers descended upon Miami Beach; some in
search of props from friendly A&Rs or a chance to let their talents
shine, but most drawn to the image of wealth, luxury and stardom
which has replaced grassroots ghetto hip-hop. For every industry
rookie attending seminars on new technology, publishing,
distribution, and independent labels faithfully, dozens of aspiring
artists were holed up in hotel rooms, nursing hangovers. So, all in
all, what was the point of the convention?
"How Can I Be Down?" represents a crucial stage for our
generation's music. Russell Simmons' documentary "The Show"
depicted the music industry as an avenue for artistic as well as
financial empowerment. Visionaries who struggled during hip-
hop's infancy are now well-dressed, well-paid superstars.
However, the scales are tipping from a delicate balance between
art and money to getting paid at any expense.
The reason for the sex, money and murder overkill is that either
we contribute too much money to it, or we don't contribute enough
money to its musical alternatives. Ironically, many fans are voicing
criticisms about the sex, violence and materialism of rap, but note
that Helly Hansen, Mountain Dew, Reebok, Rock the Vote, St. Ides,
Counterclockwise (from R to L): The HCIBD? '96 logo;
rapper Nefertiti, model and Morehouse student J’Shad;
Digital Underground's Money B and Rass Kass; Arnelle
Simpson, daughter of O.J. Simpson; Boot Camp Clique and
Wu- Tang Clan members Ruck, Top Dog, Rock, Method Man,
Starang and RZA; producer extraordinaire Pete Rock; r <£
b group Total; MTV VJ Idalis, photographer and Morehouse
graduate Robert Johnson III; A & E editor Gregory L.
Johnson, Jr.
Vibe, etc. etc. came
down" with the
nation's economic
power. Events like
Down?" are
for goodwill and
find a common
urban
yet this time
many people were
themselves.
to Miami to "be
hip-hop
purchasing
"How Can I Be
opportunities
networking to
agenda for
entertainment,
around, too
only down for
Photo spread by Robert E. Johnson III