The trial of ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick highlighted the shakedown nature of the city administration, how contractors had to pay-to-play. That wasn't so good for the city's rep.
Now, we see the "No Fly Zone" where rapper Rick Ross was blocked from performing at Chene Park last weekend. A group of people, led by rapper Trick Trick, formed a human blockade and kept Ross from performing.
Darren Nichols of The Detroit News says the latest incident involving Trick Trick has brought negative attention nationally to the "No Fly Zone," which up until now was something mostly rappers just knew about.
Nichols writes:
Until the June 21 incident, few outside the city’s hip-hop community knew about the so-called “No Fly Zone,” making Detroit an area where artists are not permitted to perform without including members of the local hip-hop scene.
Upset with how national artists have come into Detroit, made six-figure checks and left town, local rap artist Trick Trick has led the charge for several years.
Nichols writes that hip-hop observers and concert promoters say the "No Fly Zone" sends the wrong message about the city.
“We shouldn’t even be having a discussion on who can come here or who cannot come here,” said David Rudolph, a spokesman for the Right Productions, which operates Chene Park.
“We all have issues about making sure Detroiters are getting a piece of the pie. We all should be having a seat at the table. But there’s a way to ask and demand that seat and you earn that. You don’t do that through an intimidating or corrosive nature. It doesn’t help the city. A lot of folks in this town are working hard to improve the image of Detroit and making it a welcoming place for all.”
