Rap Group Invited to L.A. Festival
The rap music group Run-D.M.C. has been asked to perform at the Los Angeles Street Scene festival next month despite a gang-initiated brawl that left 40 people injured at the group’s concert last weekend in Long Beach.
“The music doesn’t attract the gangs,” said Sylvia Cunliffe, general manager of the city’s Department of General Services, which is coordinating the event. “They have focused against anti-social behavior, particularly drug abuse.”
More than a million people are expected for the Street Scene Sept. 20 and 21 at the Civic Center.
Cunliffe said a performance by Run-D.M.C. would not discourage attendance, despite reports of violence at the group’s concerts in New York City and Pittsburgh as well as last weekend at Long Beach.
The group, known for its rapidly spoken rhyming lyrics, has been invited to perform during the day, she said, and “gang kids like to come out at night.”
After the Long Beach fracas, the group said it would not play Los Angeles again unless police could protect fans from gangs.
Cunliffe said Friday no agreement had been reached with the group, but she was confident police could handle any incidents.
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