keepin it real
Just came across Joell Ortiz’s blog, he’s an emcee out of Brooklyn… know about it: www.joellortiz.wordpress.com
I wanted to highlight a recent entry “Brooklyn Bullshit”, he made about the Brooklyn Bodega, which is the company that coordinates the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival. It’s interesting to see what goes on behind the scenes, the “politics” artists have to deal with to perform in front of their communities. I won’t get into it, but it’s worth the read… here’s an excerpt from his blog:
Once again, I don’t want anyone thinking what about to say is sour grapes cause I got snubbed by some random event promoter. That shit happens, no big deal. But the real reason Wes didn’t want me there is cause I called him out on his bullshit the first year he had the event in the Williamsburg Brooklyn, steps away from where I was raised. Long story short, I got pissed cause there weren’t any non white locals represented, on stage or in the audience. NO one that grew up in my projects, on the Southside or on Greenpoint knew about the event. It was clear from the beginning that we uncool Black and Latin people in the neighborhood were not welcome. On top of that, they claim the name, “Brooklyn Bodega” but there were no flyers or poster boards in or around any bodegas in the hood. I found out about the event cause a friend that loads trucks for one of the sponsors told one of my managers about it. As the date got closer I found out another friend of a friend from Boriquen Projects was hired to clean up after the event.
I’m glad Joell Ortiz shared this experience with the public, and as always there are two sides to every story… to give credit to the Brooklyn Bodega, organizing a festival and deciding who is on the bill is not an easy task. Mostly, I just found this interesting and worth bringing to light since you may find yourself in similar situations. How will you handle it? What steps will you make when caught in a situation that you find unfair or compromising?
Something to think about… it will most likely happen to you at some point in your career. My advice is to make sure communication is clear and open between all parties involved. Always follow up, be respectful to others, but never keep your mouth shut when disrespected.