Last night (Dec 3), the 7th annual Mixtape Awards
were marred by violence as minor altercations and random acts caused organizers
to put a halt to the event shortly after is started. The cancellation was sparked
when DJ Kay Slay (The Drama King) and DJ Pudgee P had a verbal dispute that escalated
into chaos.
The event, which took place at the Hammerstein
Ballroom, honors the influential mixtape DJs for their contributions to hip-hop.
While producer Easy Mo Bee was reading the list of nominee’s for Best Artist
on a Mixtape, the confrontation spun out of control. But, in the pressroom,
when a member of Kay Slay’s entourage struck P in the cheek, the unnamed
individuals began fighting and smashing DJs awards, effectively ending Justo
Faison’s annual Mixtape Awards.
As the crowd speculated what was going on, Kay-Slay
came to the stage and announced that the show was over. A few moments later
the founder of hip-hop DJ Kool Herc took to the stage to issue troubled words
of criticism to the DJ’s.
"Leave that ni**a s### outta here, we all
fu**in’ brothers. Clue and Kay need to stop that sh*t," Herc said in regards
to the beef that has spawned between Clue and Kay-Slay. "If Clue was about
anything, his ass would be here and this would be televised on MTV." According
to insiders, Clue boycotts the awards, claiming that the voting process is tainted.
Taking the mic from Herc, Kay Slay then returned
to the stage stating, "I’m not going to let no f**kin’ punk from nowhere
talk no sh*t to me. F*ck the Drama King, my name is Keith, man. Respect comes
first. If a ni**a disrespect me, he gets the sh*t beat out of him right there."
Of the incident, many artists and spectators
were bewildered as to the reasons for the outbreak. “Why,” inquired
radio personality Steph Lova without further comment.
“There is rap and entertainment,” Capone
from Capone-N-Noreaga said. “Don’t get it all confused.” Capone
went on to say that people should exercise more restraint when attending hip-hop
events.
Others, like Gangstarr, were appreciative of
the awards, but had concerns with the disorganization.
“I was chosen to be presenter at the awards
but I can’t get in to get a ticket. It’s messed up that Chuck Chillout
is not recognized to get in by the people that’s working the door. They
paved the way. You gotta know these cats. That’s a red flag right there
for the Mixtape awards,” Gangstarr’s Premiere said to AllHipHop.com.
“At the Apollo, it was a lil’ more
organized, you got security that don’t know nobody, you got people coming
up the back way, you got people stressing. It’s a lil’ extra,”
Guru, the other half of Gangstarr said.
Others complained about not being able to get
in the event effectively. “Man, it was cold as sh*t out there. A riot almost
broke out and I’m trying to write about this event,” said a writer.
Still, Busta Rhymes remained optimistic about
the awards and the DJ’s relevance in the industry.
“This here is hip-hop here. That’s
the quote you are going to get from me. This is probably the most untainted
form or hip-hop that’s left. Aint no politics involved here. If there is,
I don’t know what level its on,” said Busta Rhymes.
Nevertheless, the other awards were given out
at the after party, which took place at Nyla. J-Love won for Best Graphics,
Best DJ Producer honors went to Ron G and Best Radio Mixtape DJ was bestowed
on Enuff. Finally, Kay Slay won honors for best Mixtape DJ amid all the drama.