Rapper cited for profanity takes umbrage at charges

Just because there is so much profanity in society does not mean it is right.
Profanity may be the way it is in society right now. That just means that we must work harder to re-educate people that it is wrong and that civilized people do not use it as everyday language. Profanity should not be accepted as the norm.
Festivents is absolutely right to prohibit profanity in its contracts.
It would be nice if the City could prohibit profanity in the park, but that would be too hard to enforce on an equal basis and might violate free speech guarantees in our great Constitution, but just being legal does not make it right.
Profanity in public is WRONG and in POOR TASTE, even if it is legal. Even stronf supoporters of our exceptional 1st Amendment should know that and therefore should work towards eliminating profanity through voluntary actions. There is absolutely no need for profanity as a part of a public act.
Users of profanity in this manner are exhibiting low class manners and poor taste. Let us all clean up our acts and let us encourage others to do so also.

I think Will Ferrell should play him in the movie.

The band and it's guest play about 25 shows a month when on tour. In most situations they, by contract, which their agents presents to promoter, have artistic licence. This means whatever they do is within their rights. This is certainly the promoters fault due to the facts that we all know full and clear. By proxy of the nepotism of the hiring of fest-events, this is also by proxy of the Mayor, for whom puts his favorite cronies in those positions. I cannot remember who quoted that they could not believe the promoter or City is not responsible but they are just not looking at the facts. The hipocracy is that the head of Fest-events exploited the artist. That is flat out it

A couple of years ago, the Oceanfront had a free concert, like they still do, in which the Kottonmouth Kings performed. They by NO WAY are a family-oriented group. They are very pointed in their political, 'herbal,' and language usage; and, boy, did VB yank those guys in a quickness. Regardless of the fact that I was disappointed, the City obviously failed in communication with that group. I can't say that Norfolk is completely blame-free themselves in this case.

It's a tough spot to be in bringing in bands for events since people hardly come up with anything orginial these days and blend/sample/synth/etc other peoples work. The Underground scene is a needle-in-a-haystack scene when looking for a diamond in the rough(ness). It's alot better than listening to Z104 anyday though!

I do not think this form of vulgar talking/yelling with some banging in the background constitutes music and to elevate it to the level of a "genre" is being way too generous.

If Festevents hadn't pulled the plug we'd all be here reading about how irresponsible they and the city were for allowing the show to go on. In the end the same people would berate Norfolk while the same ones would berate the entertainer. Norfolk can't win for losing. A lot of bad decisions made there, but IMO pulling the plug was a good one. Festevents erred but the issue is now being addressed via a new contract clause. Learn from mistakes and move on. Good golly....

jmo

You're making the same point I made over and over again on this message board. I can't force anyone to agree with me, so I was agreeing to disagree, while saying at various times that hip hop shouldn't be judged solely by what's in the media.

Welcome to Virginia. Our state bird is the cardinal and our state flower is the dogwood. We are also a state that does not filth spewed on our highways and in our ear ways.

You can demonstrate your inability to use the American language in appropriate situations but here we cite you because we think that is like exposing yourself to the public.

Who you was? Indecent Illiterate Immoral Who cares?

Before you step on our soil you better find out we are.

CH & Phrog, while I agree that many rap groups (and those getting rich off them) have done way more damage to the black community than any racist organization could ever dream of doing, there are many subcultures of the genre. Just as the modern alternative genre "emo" isn't all about slashing wrists in self pity, hiphop isn't only what is played on mainstream media outlets. I've noticed some of the mainstream stuff actually carries some culture backlash (I'm thinking of a recent Timbaland track). Check out Blackalicious, or Sage Francis, or many of the guys that aren't a science experiment of making kids want to buy it through group think and psychology, by way of really expensive PR & marketing firms. There is even a nerdcore geek hiphop movement (I suggest Jessie Dangerously, YTCracker, and Futuristic Sex Robotz from that genre).

is this still in the news? It's over already.

I wasn't saying you were being narrow-minded. I was saying that the opinions based off popular culture and not actual research are narrow-minded. I understand many of your points, many of which I agree with. But overall, I can agree to disagree.

"I think probably from the moment I stepped on the stage, they just saw a black rapper and didn't hear a thing I had to say."

I'm surprised they could understand what he said. I can't understand most of those lyrics.

So, if I walk down the street, stub my toe, and all of a sudden blurt out an expletive, I could be carted off the jail? Now, on the other hand, if someone stands on the corner and preaches Jesus and the sins of homosexuality, I suppose he could be charged with hate speech, too. Freedom is quickly leaving this country. Now, people, don't come back with the old, "Offensive speech offended people." What constitutes offensive, hate speech? Must be walk on eggshells every time we go out in public, fearful of saying the wrong thing?

The performer, or any performer, is out of place if they can't take a simple look at their audience and see there are children in it and make their performance fit the given audience. If they don't have the sense to do that or have someone in their group scout the audience to get a 'feel' for them, then they aren't much for being entertainers. I firmly believe that the use of profanity in public just shows one's stupidity and lack of command of the English language.

For people to claim that this artist specifically is not intelligent, and is just spewing garbage, shows that no one's bothered to even listen to or bother to Google for lyrics. 5 Million Way to Kill a CEO is actually a statement against corporate America. My Favorite Mutiny is an anti "the man" song that carries a bit of "black pride". Just like every country song isn't about drinking and tipping cows, don't typify every hip-hop act either. Boots Riley is in the same league as Talib Kweli and other socially conscious hip-hop acts that are trying to bring a message in their own style.

You are right, a performer does not have to "research" his gig as you put it, but it all comes down to a performer's self-respect and the respect of others within earshot (read:common sense). "PUBLIC performance", to me, is the key to this whole issue. I have worked with other cities on many occasions ( outside ) and in their contracts it states no profanity will be tolerated on stage. Simple as that. We claim to be a civilized society....Let's act as one.
I do agree that the arrest was overkill, but there were better ways to handle the situation; Turning the sound system off would have easily done the trick.

First of all, the Bayou Boogaloo is not a "Cajun Music" festival, but incorporates all types of music representing the Gulf Coast. This includes Rock, Funk, Jazz, Blues, Zydeco, AND Cajun, among others. Galactic is a New Orleans based band steeped in the traditions of funky Louisiana music, so their booking should not even be an issue. As stated previously, they were booked on two other occasions, with no known incidents. I would tend to believe that Boots Riley was a later addition to their lineup (by GALACTIC, NOT FESTEVENTS), and his style of music slipped under Festevents radar. I think both Festevents AND Boots are equally guilty in this incident, each not knowing what the other was about. (Sort of sounds like America in general huh?) I have worked with Festevents for well over 20 years, and have in fact told artists that I have booked that this would be a family show. When Denise LaSalle was booked for the Blues Fest back in the early 90's, I personally told her that her nightclub act would not be tolerated. The same went with the Rev. Billy C. Wirtz at a later festival. Whether each of them knew it was a family show or not, it was about communication, which is wher

edv82481: The album cover for Party Music was conceived and shot in JUNE of 2001. They ditched the original artwork and went with a cover that has a martini glass on it. So, good try on the "OMG, LOOK THEY'RE TRYING TO MAKE FUN OF 9-11!!!" Maybe you can opt for an angle where you try to say The Coup was part of the 9-11 plot itself.

bigbassmikey: If I hire you and pay you for a performance, you'd naturally assume that I am AWARE of your normal performance and am okay with that. So yea, it is the PROMOTER's fault for not paying attention to what their booking. It's not the performer's responsibility to "research" where they're playing.

bgirl43: That's the same Vice-Mayor that needs to take "elected responsibility 101". The same one who jumps on and off Riddick's "racism cart" whenever it suits his image. Urban artists reflect their urban audience and environments. So yea, Boots and The Coup do give their audience what they want.

For Scherberger to state "I would ask Boots why didn't he do his research?" is a classic example of passing the buck. She hired him, and it was her job to see if he was appropriate for the venue. Some people may be fooled by your CYA strategy Ms. Scherberger, but it is plain as day that you got caught with your pants down...so to say.

CH, your point is well received. You make a striking argument regarding the stereotyping of a genre of music. And I do agree with that particular point of view. But, I will say, and you may have to admit, that by-and-large, the vast majority of todays rap is of the negative brand and the most widely popular among young impressionable minds. I do know that there are some very good rap artists out there, but they are generally supressed by the popularity of the vulgar.

Also, please refrain from using the term “narrow-minded” in your comments. That is code for “if you don’t agree with my point of view, then your opinion doesn’t matter.” That is just as bad, if not worse than, name calling. I love a spirited debate where in the end we find that we may agree to disagree, but we respect each others opinion.

You're right! Why was a rapper act booked at a Cajun festival? Cajun music is great music that puts everyone in a good mood. It's perfect for family events. I wonder how many families went there hoping for some fun dance music and heard obscenities instead.

I can not believe we are making such a big deal out of this. The man said a curse word, I am pretty sure it was lot more tamed than what most kids hear in school or what is on T.V. Ex. my 9 y/o sister explained to me what a Lesbian and Gay means, so curse words are the least of worries. If the man is wrong charge him and get on with the events. It is crazy that people are trying to generalize all Hip Hop as cursed filled bad music. Sadly people judge off what only the main stream media puts out there and that is not a full representation of what is really going on. It would be wrong for me to judge any genre of music by what only the media puts out, if that was the case could you imagine what generalizations I could come up with about rock music. There is always more than whats on the surface. If people do not want to hear bad language stay in the house. As for explaining it to the kids I just tell my 9 y/o sister "Don't you do it, you know better than that" and that is end of story.

Today's rap is very negative, misogynistic, and violent. A lot of times it glorifies things we should be trying to escape in life. However, my point is that what is widely portrayed in the media does not account for all or even the majority of rap music. Don't believe that what you hear is all that exists, because that is a very narrow-minded way of thinking. If you want to understand the true nature of rap, then you have to be willing to embrace/research all of it-the good and bad-and not use what's currently popular in the media as your basis of judgment. We all should know by now that we are constantly manipulated by the media-even the Virginian-Pilot often has biased, one-sided reporting.

Like someone said earlier, a white man isn't responsible for what Don Imus said because he doesn't represent all white males. Similarly, obscene rap artists do not represent all rap artists. Go beyond what is readily available to you on tv and the radio and do some research.

"The head of Festevents, whose organization sponsors most downtown events, said Galactic was told that obscene language would not be tolerated. The band should have passed on the warning to Riley, Karen Scherberger said."

Wait. I thought Galactic was an INSTRUMENTAL band who had played Festevents with no problems in the past. Why would Scherberger give them a specific warning not to use profanity? I believe she didn't; she's making it up as she goes along. She did not do any research before promoting this artist on the Festevents website and now, like everyone else in our society, she cannot take personal responsibility.

Looks like Boots is not the only person present with no morals.

It’s the whole “it’s an art” argument that I can’t stand. Yes, I have heard the lyrics and “musical” structure of todays rap. Todays rap is far removed from the rap of the 80’s and 90’s (Run DMC is a good example of that). Todays rap is filled with hate, filth, obsenities, and the degradation of other people (mainly women). Todays rap is probably the most widely heard and perhaps the most apperent of the violent tendnencies of modern music. It is an influence that does reprehensible harm to our youth. I do agree with you regarding Goth and Grunge/Hardcore Punk styles of music. But they are more inward and represents self-distruction through direct bodily harm and the drug culture. Still they do just as much harm. While I don't always agree with authority, I always respect authority. Todays rap incites the complete disregard for authority.

You would have to be an idiot to see kids in the audience and not think that you should clean up your language. Whether or not the organizers did their homework, take responsibility for your own actions!

I agree with the Norfolk officials who yanked the act; but the whole point has been missed - Why would anyone book a rapper for a Cajun Festival? Go and find some REAL Cajun performers who perform REAL Cajun music. It's very unique. Some of the great musicians include The Balfa Brothers, D.L. Menard, Belton Richard, Randy C. Newman. Listen to some of their music and you will then get a true picture of Cajun music. Sadly, some of these artists have passed on but their music remains.

Let me help you out young brother. Please don't play into the guilt game. You are not responsible for anyone's actions but your own. If you're a mature individual you know what you like and don't like. Patronize what you like and avoid what you don't. Don't feel you have to take responsibility for Boots Riley's actions. He's an adult and can speak for himself.

Have you ever wondered why we as black people are always held responsible for what someone else of our race does, but no other race carries that burder? Why are you held responsible for Boots Riley, Burfoot, Riddick or Sharpton? Are others being held responsible for what Imus says, or what Randy Wright says?

Phrog is so right-on with his comments. This is a public arena, people. The crap that passes for music today is not just different. It can not be compared to rock and roll being different from Sinatra music of two generations ago. It is not music, it is just rhymes that really do not even make sense. It is rude and crude, sure it is different, but that does not make it acceptable to the public. Some of these profanity cds are played blaring loud at the stop light and the more cussing the better,it seems the drivers like to play that "lyric" over and over.

OMG, How did this get from public use of profanity to a dislike of a certain genre of music. Like the Vice Mayor said, "Music 101" will teach you to look at your audience and make your show suitable to them. Isn't this what artist are all about anyway. Making your audience happy.

Posters like Phrog just proved my point in that they want to use such instances to label and group a genre they don't like in the first place. While no one could or should try to excuse the use of profanity at public family events, don't be so hypocritical of artists just because you don't like their genre as they are not or claim to be politicians or missionaries. Why act so disgusted that rappers make so much money on what you call junk; all of us can say the same about any genre, movie, or sport that could care less for. If you think a couple of explicit lyrics at Town Point Park are so bad and you need to shield your kids from it, don't take them to a sporting event! If you think the music industry is so deplorable and how could anyone get paid so much money for what you call junk (and I agree a lot it is becoming harder to defend on morale grounds), think about it the next time you pull those dirty magazines from under your mattress! Let me guess: you probably don't but a lot of your peers probably do and while they would look in disgust at rappers who use explicit lyrics and exploit women, get drunk, cuss, and drool over women at wet T-shirt contest!