A sold-out Hip-Hop show at the Blue Monk ended before it got fully started Saturday night when performer Illmaculate took the stage, stating that he would not perform as a result of an ever-swelling police presence that engulfed both the immediate blocks around the southeast Portland venue, and inside the club.
Reasons range from flimsy to bullshit. The "official" reason given for Portland cops besieging the show on Saturday March 1st 2014 was "over-crowding". So it sounds like at best, an issue with the promoter/venue. Typically, issues of venues breeching capacity are addressed by a local fire chief. However, police terrorists came in full force to intimidate concert-goers at a small venue because it was, apparently, 35 people over-capacity. Oh, and there might have been some gang members in attendance, according to police - go figure.
The show in question, held at The Blue Monk on SE 33rd Ave. and Belmont St., featured local Rappers Luck-One, Mikey Vegaz, and Illmaculate who was headlining. However, the sold-out show was brought to an abrupt halt when Illmaculate approached the stage and announced that he would not perform, due to an over-baring and swelling police presence.
Cop Target: Portland MC Illmaculate seen here.
Local Rapper Luck-One
Local Rapper Mikey Vegaz
Cops targeting Hip-Hop shows is nothing new, nor rare. And Portland is by no means an exception. For years, it was routine for Portland pigs to show up in full force, with no specific reason, to Rap concerts at large venues such as The Roseland. Even though private security is always on hand at these larger events, cops feel free to simply "invite" themselves. Such is the modern day Police-State: intimidate law-abiding citizens, let them know "their place", maximize tensions, claim "safety" reasons, all the while padding their paychecks with hours of over-time. Being a damn cop must be a pretty sweet scam.
Police harassment at Rap shows is common and often out-right racist. The latest targeting of a generally friendly show at an intimate bar/venue in inner SE Portland, however, struck a particularly sour note. Over 20 pigs, along with some fire marshals, swarmed upon the show that night, enforcing a Police Occupied Zone (POZ), and shut down an entire square block. Portland Fire Bureau Inspector Rob Cruser was on hand that night, claiming to have counted 135 bodies in attendance. The Blue Monk's website states that it has a max. capacity of 100. The fire marshal's concerns seemed to be mostly that the venue was slightly over-crowded. However, Portland Police Gestapo Minister of Propaganda Pete Simpson made accusations about alleged gang affiliations with one of the performers, Mikey Vegas - accusations which the Portland Rapper strongly denies. Rapper Luck-
One had harsh words for the Portland police that night and rightfully so, calling them 'terrorists' and proclaiming the cop's tactics to be 'terroristic' in nature. Also, for the record, cops made NO arrests that night. And the PPG's jinned-up bullshit over so-called "gang affiliations" and "gang activity" proved to have been just that. Cops wanted to ruin an otherwise peaceful and modest local Rap show because these filthy-ass pigs power-trip just that way... that damned simple. So far as anyone could tell, there was ZERO gang activity that night until the POLICE showed up!
Portland Police Gestapo Minister of Propaganda Pete Simpson.
In the wake of the incident, the City of Portland's Independent Police Review Division - a civilian over-sight board - announced on Tuesday March 4th that it would be conducting a review of the PPG's policies and procedures on how it engages Hip-Hop music events and venues. The IPR says that when its review is complete, it will issue a public report. We shall see... hope it doesn't take a year to finish.
No comments:
Post a Comment