How do venues look at hip-hop in 2001 vs. say three to five years ago?
Unfortunately, many venues are still quite uneasy with the concept of presenting rap. Arenas need business and when you are put in a position of need, sometimes you end up doing business with people that are less than qualified to do their job. The money looks good, but when it comes to producing a safe, well-organized event, inexperience reigns and trouble begins. We, along with Hot 97 and Radio Events Group, have produced the biggest rap show in America for the last eight years — Summer Jam. Hot 97 is an incredible partner because they are not afraid to use their leverage with an act by saying, “If you f**k up, we will drop your records.” That kind of strong statement leads to organized, safe and entertaining shows. We had similar success with our Up in Smoke tour last summer. Dr. Dre issued that same statement, but instead of dropping records, f**k up with Dre and you lose any credibility as a rap artist in a very fickle environment. Once again a safe, organized and very entertaini
