Photo Credit: Black Sports Online
I’ve always held fast to the belief that the moment the temperature
rises above 80 degrees or higher in New York City, all kinds of wild
and dangerous activity increases. I’m sure that’s true most anywhere
else, but here it can take on a new shade of bizarre. And that would
definitely be the word to use given what took place at Irving Plaza
this past Wednesday night.
It’s been three days since four people were shot in the green room
balcony area at the concert venue during a rap show headlined by
the veteran MC & actor out of Atlanta, Georgia, T.I. One person, Ronald
“Banga” McPhatta, took a bullet to the chest and died later that
night. Another two people, including a woman named Maggie Heckstall,
were wounded. The fourth person? Troy Ave, who apparently shot
himself in the leg during the melee. As the night wore on into the
next day, it was determined that Troy Ave and his people including
Banga had words with someone else in the backstage area and it
led to guns being drawn. Currently, the New York Police Department
have placed Troy Ave under arrest upon his release from NYU Medical
Center, and detectives have claimed that all of the shell casings that
they’ve recovered to this point match the weapon that Troy Ave had
and fired that night. TMZ released video footage of part of the incident
Thursday, which appears to show Troy Ave letting off shots.
In the wake of this, NYPD Commissioner William Bratton went on
to state the following in the press conference: “The crazy world of the
so-called rap artists, who are basically thugs that basically celebrate the
violence they did all their lives. Unfortunately, that violence oftentimes
manifests itself during their performances.” Mayor Bill de Blasio quickly
refuted that statement in his remarks later that day, stating: “I think
that’s an American problem and beyond all of the issues of law which
we have to change.”
Taking all of this into account, the shootings at Irving Plaza have stirred
up a lot of emotion and anger and unfortunately, brought us back into
a mode of ultimately blaming rap music and hip-hop culture on a
whole in a knee-jerk fashion. I’ve grown up with, been let down by,
been lifted by, and ultimately love rap music. When stuff like this
happens, I find myself being a combination of historian and public
defender to those who aren’t into the music or the culture. Especially
if others rely on whatever they see on the television they watch, or
the webpages they go to. Hearing Commissioner Bratton’s remarks
didn’t surprise me. It’s customary to label an entire group as “thugs”
in sweeping fashion from those among his rank and file. I won’t deign
to stoop to that level and call all NYPD officers because I know better
and I don’t do blanket judgements. (Plus, given the ongoing drama
that his department is going through, those criticisms might be better
left unsaid.) The shooting at Irving Plaza only has one scant connection
to rap music, in that it was the vehicle that allowed two groups of
men into the same place to act like fools. That’s it. While there have
been numerous incidents over the past 40 years of rap music’s history
at concerts which have had tragic results, making such comments
ignores a lot of other factors. Plus, its interesting how easily we can
say this yet have no words on rising violence and deaths at country
music concerts, or electronic music events, or even sporting events.
I wonder why that’s the case.
What happened at Irving Plaza? From what I’ve been seeing around
the web, it seems to be that Troy Ave and his people got into it with
some other group. They started to beef with each other. Then words
turned into fists, and escalated to gunshots. At first, there was some
speculation that he had a beef with Maino, who was one of the MC’s
on the bill that evening. Maino’s from Bed-Stuy, Troy’s from Brownsville.
Neighborhood beefs still spark tension. Maino has gone on record as
saying he has no beef with Troy. His set had just ended and he was
heading up to the green room when everything popped off. (Side note -
the woman injured is actually Maino’s girlfriend. She intends to sue
everyone involved.) There’s other speculation that the well-known
podcast host Taxstone was involved, and Troy Ave was incensed that Tax
basically kept cracking jokes on him on his podcast. Again, this is speculation
and nothing is verified. But Troy Ave does have a history, one that
doesn’t put him in the best light at times.
Troy Ave has recently been in the news in dubious fashion, mainly
because of his comments about the late Capital Steez of the Pro
Era crew and Joey Bada$$. All of this as his debut album, Major
Without A Deal, was released and essentially flopped according to
recorded sales statistics. Troy has made it a habit to mock others
online, even going so far as to mock the death of someone who
passed from brain cancer. And now, his actions have led to the
death of someone who was a close friend of his. Someone who
was dedicated to helping others avoid a path of violence along with
his brother out on the streets of Brooklyn. I’m sure there’s a ton
of jokes out there about him joining the “Cheddar Bob” club, but
if even one of these charges sticks, Troy Ave is looking at some
serious jail time. And he has no one to blame but himself. That’s
the price you pay if you want to prove you’re a major deal that way.
It goes back to what I had referred to earlier - part of the stigma
that rap music has gotten with these shootings has nothing to
do with rap at times. It’s a matter of misguided pride and arrogance,
and sometimes that “crabs in a barrel” mentality that pits cats
against each other instead of being glad someone is shining. It’s
a combination that is encouraged by some in the street, and is
exploited by some labels and media outlets. And some of those
entities have to accept some of the blame and change, not go into
the “respectability politics” mode and shift all of that onto the public.
If you don’t want rap music on a whole to be seen as gangster-laden
and violent, show off and promote artists who have a different
message on equal footing with hardcore rappers. You know, like
you used to do?
Another factor to consider? The tendency to not pat down artists
or let them get a pass. This has been something long accepted in
the music industry on a whole. It’s why the green room or any
VIP area can look like a rock concert all by itself. That may never
change outright but you could see some restrictions.
Ultimately, we have to look at this situation in this light: it was
a stupid scenario that could’ve easily been smoothed over given
time. Rap music isn’t perfect overall, but we have to consider that
these incidents are now seen as rare. Most artists will take the
time to mediate disputes, and diffuse them. But that can only
happen when all sides want to do that. It’s clear Troy Ave didn’t,
along with whoever else is involved. It makes him the villain,
and as much as he brags about having all eyes on him I’m sure
this isn’t what he meant. But as James Brown once sang, you
pay the cost to be the boss.