The Citadel Center in Adams-Morgan, a welcome new concert site in the past two years, has had its public hall license suspended by the city's Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. Yesterday, awaiting the D.C. Board of Appeals and Review's decision on an appeal, promoters decided to move tonight's Siouxsie and the Banshees concert to Lisner Auditorium. Further action on the appeal is planned for Monday.
The suspension followed complaints from neighborhood residents about noise, a lack of street parking and disruptions from Citadel events. There were also claims that minors were allowed on the premises. "We've taken issue with both of those claims," says Citadel attorney Paul Weber. Weber had sought an emergency stay so that concerts and other events scheduled prior to the suspension be allowed to go on, arguing that business would be severely harmed if the suspension were allowed to stand while it is being appealed.
"The Citadel Center is a great place to see a show for the people of Washington and the surrounding area," says Seth Hurwitz of IMP, which has produced most of the concerts there. "It would be shortsighted of the neighbors, and of the city, to want a huge empty building sitting in their neighborhood. This is a classic case of 'not in my neighborhood' -- it seems they want to shut it down so they can have more parking. It's trying to customize a neighborhood, like people moving in next to an airport and then complaining about planes taking off. The disturbances they speak of are no different than a well-attended movie theater letting out," Hurwitz argues. He had a number of concerts scheduled at the Citadel over the next three months and says that if necessary, they will be moved to other venues, such as Lisner Auditorium.
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Hip-Hop Summit 2
Building on last year's successful debut, "Hip-Hop at the Crossroads: Seizing the Cultural Initiative," Howard University will host the second annual Hip-Hop Conference this weekend. Organized by Cultural Initiative Inc., an independent group made up of Howard alumni and staffed by Howard students, the conference includes panels and workshops as well as a new talent showcase.
"Our audience is primarily black youth," says April Silver, president of the nonprofit organization. "We are concentrating on exposing them to the business aspects of the music and entertainment industry, with emphasis on hip-hop, which some people call rap."
The conference seeks to change the patterns of business in those industries so that black artists and the work they create can be self-controlled, Silver notes. "Black artists don't control their own industry -- only the performance aspects," she says. "And that translates to misrepresentation and miscommunication about the music, such as the ongoing debate about hip-hop and violence. If the people who create it don't control it, you have misrepresentation. Economically, you have people getting ripped off."
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That means panels like "Hip-Hop and Publications: Documenting Our Culture," "Hip-Hop, Black Youth and Empowerment" and "How to Get a Record Deal," as well as the cautionary "Law and the Entertainment Industry."
Share this articleShareSilver believes the conference is "a tool, an information foundation and a networking base. ... It's also a politicizing experience. Most people who are outside the hip-hop culture don't see that the music can be a political tool, especially in terms of education, so we are using the conference to expose that fact."
The Hip-Hop Conference kicks off tomorrow at 5 p.m. at Cramton Auditorium with "Underground Music: An Artist's Perspective," moderated by Amiri Baraka Jr. At 8 p.m., the Blackburn Ballroom will be the site of a deejay competition. More panels take place Friday and Saturday, with a party and new talent showcase Friday at the Washington Marriott, starting at 10 p.m. Guest performers will include Organized Konfusion, Lord Finesse and 415. Tickets will be available at the door.
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Among the recording artists scheduled to sit on panels: Sister Souljah, Heavy D, Doug E. Fresh, Cypress Hill, Afrika Bambaataa, Marley Marl, Nikki D, Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth. Industry panelists include Carmen Ashurst-Watson, president of Rush Communications; video producer Moses Edinborough; author Havelock Nelson; and publisher Jamie Foster Brown of Sister 2 Sister. Participating in the "How to Get a Record Deal" panel will be former Howard student Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, A&R director for MCA/Uptown Records, who was involved in the promotion of the recent City College rap star basketball game in which nine young people died. The conference is dedicated to their memory.
This year special attention is being paid to locally brewed music via "Underground Music: a Focus on Go-Go, Hip-Hop and Reggae Music." Go-go acts scheduled to participate in this panel include Pleasure, DJ Kool, Rare Essence and Stinky Dink.
The final panel takes place Saturday in the Blackburn West Ballroom from 6 to 9 p.m. It's called "Hip-Hop Music and Commercialism: What Is the Future of the Music?"
A general admission ticket to the conference is $40, $125 for industry professionals. For information call 202-797-9637.
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