Letters from the issue of Thursday, January 24, 2008

Quick background: I have shared a stage with everyone from 50 Cent, Snoop, Ammonium, Wu-Tang, and Nas, to Outkast, Notorious B.I.G., Ludacris, Cypress Hill, and L.L. Cool J. I was signed in 2001 by Ted Field himself to what was, to my knowledge, the first major solo record deal of any hip-hop artist in Arizona, with advances and budget commitments totaling over $1 million.

I have had a minimum of eight songs of my own (not to mention a plethora of collaborative efforts) played on Phoenix radio, ranging from five to more than 100 spins on my latest single "Bump My Shit," which is still being spiked into rotation at Power.

So, as I'm glancing at the cover yet again, I can't help but feel a sense of curiosity.

Will you — given my history, my involvement with hip-hop radio and the current hip-hop scene, the album I'm in the middle of recording — give me the cover story I need, want, and feel like I deserve leading into the Super Bowl weekend?

Editor's note: Hey, Pokafase, the good news is, we will be writing about you, among others, very soon.

The Blunt truth hurts: The cover story praising Willy Northpole and his style of hip-hop to the skies and trashing hip-hop at the Blunt Club at Club Red was the most one-sided piece of "journalism" I've ever seen.

Shows hosted by Groove Candy with attendance estimated by New Times as 300-plus are covered with admiration and wrapped in glory. And that's great, I have nothing but admiration for Willy Northpole. They are building something special, and I really hope that their great shows at the Door continue to build and pull bigger crowds every week. I'd love to see Northpole and several of the other really talented artists in the Groove Candy scene break through on the national level, and Niki is right on in telling the New Times readership about Willy Northpole. His talent really is incredible.

The problem comes when another great show, Blunt Club, featuring a different style of hip-hop that pulls a 300-plus crowd weekly in Tempe is kicked under the bus and thrown out with the garbage. Put this on an editorial page as an opinion piece, and I have no problem with it. If Niki D'Andrea (the author of the story) likes Willy's great hip-hop the best, that's very cool. Write it up in news style, beat up on Blunt Club, slant the hell out of the story, then blow it up as the cover story and you have a complete lack of journalistic ethics by not just the writer but by the whole editorial staff who let the story run without basic fact-checking.

And more to the point, Niki D'Andrea, in writing for New Times, has completely misunderstood and misrepresented what Blunt Club is all about. Blunt Club is an offshoot of original hip-hop and rap culture that loves the great sound of hip-hop; but without the negative messages of sexism, homophobia, misogyny, and violence.

New Times was the very first long-term advertising contract I signed when I first started the Red Owl (that later grew into the Club Red-Red Owl dual venue when a pizza place next door went under and the chance to expand came along). I was proud as hell to host the first New Times Summer of Sound event in May last year. And I rearranged my entire summer booking schedule for New Times when it needed help finding a venue for the punk category show (headliner Fenix TX; winner Nunzilla). I didn't make a big deal of it. I just called in a lot of favors to switch the dates around and help them out. And they came through with a great show; the punk show really kicked ass as did the rock show.

So it saddens me greatly to stop advertising in New Times, given that I value them as a business partner very highly. But I simply can't stay in a publication that writes attack editorials disguised as responsible reporting. I can't stay in a publication that trashes an important and viable part of the live music scene.
Kim Commons, Club Red

Retardo Montlebons: Are you [complaining] pussies kidding me? Grow the fuck up. This article ["Raising Terrazona"] was a good one. Are you all too close to this to realize the article speaks about something different than what you think you read? You all don't get it. Fucking Retardo Montlebons [sic].

And the letter from Kim Commons (posted in full online under comments for the "Raising Terrazona" story) is hysterical. Seriously, get a clue. Stand down, dork.

As for everyone else, quit bitching and keep up the solid work on the hip-hop community.
Name withheld by request

Can't you effin' read, people?: My God! What has become of people? Did anybody really read this ["Raising Terrazona"] article? I thought it was pretty solid.

Who do you want to write an article like this? Someone from the inside (who will definitely be one-sided) or someone from the outside looking in? And how this became a "Groove" versus "Blunt" story is beyond me. Can't you people fucking read?