TC Hip Hop Awards 2013 reportedly canceled by Myth Nightclub

By Lars Larson Wed., Feb. 20 2013 at 9:00 AM

Photo by Drew Carlson

Toki Wright was scheduled to perform at Friday's TC Hip Hop Awards.

A good reputation can open doors, and a bad one will lock you out. To be realistic, the Twin Cities Hip Hop Awards has been stuck with a bad rep over the last few years. However, it's up for debate if it was well-earned or not. But you can't argue with video evidence. Last year's event at First Avenue was the latest of several in its history to be diminished by violence from the crowd.

Sad to say, while the ballots were being counted and the awards being ordered for Friday's gala affair, Myth -- the host venue for this year's award show -- reportedly pulled the plug on the show just days before the first rapper took the stage. So what happened?

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David "Depth" Powell, the award show's organizer and veteran of the local scene, had a signed and sealed contract to hold the event at Myth Nightclub this Friday. Last Wednesday, February 13, rumors and postings on Facebook were abuzz that the Maplewood Police shut down the Seventh Annual TCHAA.

According to Powell, the Myth Nightclub general manager sent him an email on February 12 alerting him that the show was shut down by the Maplewood Police Department due to worries about fighting and violence. When Powell reached out to the chief of police to get answers, the chief had no idea what he was talking about and said he took no such action.

Powell went back Myth with his new evidence and they told him that "the acting lieutenant in charge shut the event down, not the police chief." Again, Powell called Myth out on their lies, and communication between the two became a game of cat and mouse.

When City Pages reached out to the Maplewood chief of police he had this comment: "Police specifically don't have the authority to shut it down," said Dave Kvam, acting police chief. He added that he had not been consulted on the matter, and was not familiar with the event.

In what could be considered admission of guilt, Powell says Myth did give back the event deposit in full, but also told him to "Get over it and deal with it" when he pushed for more answers about the cancellation. "Even from the beginning I knew something was off. They never listed the event on the Myth website, printed advance tickets, or helped with promotion of the event," Powell says. "The day I was supposed to reach out with the production manager to talk about the show setup, that was the day they sent me the cancellation email."

From then on Myth received phone calls, internet chatter, and questions about the cancellation. Powell says the club accused him of being in breach of contract for bad publicity with Facebook threats, and that led to the cancellation of the event -- even though no such clause existed in the contract. Plus, they had already given him back the deposit and the show was canceled days before the internet spam.

Since Monday all communication has been silent with Myth, Powell, and the Maplewood Police Department, and even City Pages' repeated attempts to reach out to the management at Myth have been met with silence.

When asked if the show would go on for the 7th TCHAA, Powell says he considered a couple of other venues, but since it was such short notice he wasn't sure if something would happen this year or not. "I wish to keep it going," he says. "But it's starting to wear on me with everything that has happened the last few years."

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Tags:

Myth, TC Hip Hop Awards

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jaqsin203

It's Really sad that the actions of a few misguided people could stop such an event. The Myth has been " shady" in the Past so it doesn't surprise me that this Happened. The Majority of the Hip-Hop Community is Top Notch! Let's Try again next year and show the community that Hip -Hop is NOT about Violence and Truly about Community.

SlayerRULES

Racism? Wouldn't they have cancelled Meek Mill if that were the case? Maybe they realized to late that the TC Hip Hop Awards was just a pain in the ass. Shame on them for not doing their research and general incompitence? Sure. Shame on them for racism? Not so much.

Dan33185

racism? Most of the popular local rappers are white.

Dan33185

Racism? Most of the popular local rappers are white.

alvin

Certainly a life was saved by canceling the show due to the collateral damage which generally happens at events such as this . Dont fool yourselves people the message in the music is not about peace love and friendship its about the opposite

mspmidway

Imagine that. More racist nonsense coming from one of the suburbs. Most suburban business owners (large and small) and residents are racist. Even the majority of people who visit these dumps for entertainment purposes are racist.

MotherJones

@mspmidway Kind of funny that you said that as the majority of people who patronize Myth are Hmong. So there goes your "racist" argument.

BlackFist

The racism in this city doesn't seem to die. Hard Metal shows still get booked and have just as much violence if not more than local Rap shows. There are fights every weekend at [white] bars like Brothers and Cowboy Jacks put yet no bad press or things getting shut down.

Riverview gets closed. Dinkytowner gone. Karma gone. They target the so called black clubs put nothing gets done to the so-called white establishment bars and venues.

Sick.

MotherJones

@BlackFist Um. No, you're wrong. Heavy metal shows do not generally end up with shootings and gang-related violence. The worst that happens at those shows are some stupid drunks getting into fist fights. And regarding Karma? That crime-infested filth bucket deserved to be shut down the day after it opened.

MotherJones

Violence at rap events? No. Really? Are you sure?

Dave Eckblad

Well sure. But, they're smart for not hosting it. They should've never said yes in the first place. To the few talented Hip Hop artists, I know, I hope you get your recognition. To the awards promoters; get a clue and revamp your event.