Rap Group Hot Item in Street Scene Safety Talks : Officials Aim to Avoid Rowdyism

A month ago it hardly figured to become a seething question, but here it is:

Will the popular New York “rap” group Run-D.M.C. play the equally popular Los Angeles Street Scene this weekend?

A publicist for the group says that Run-D.M.C. has been invited and will put its distinctive style of aggressive, rhyming lyrics on one of the Street Scene’s 20 stages on Saturday.

The woman in charge of the Street Scene says just as firmly that the group--whose last Southland concert was marred by street-gang violence that left 40 people injured--is not on the bill.

Behind the flat statements lies a tricky compromise that was still being thrashed out Monday: Run-D.M.C. may be allowed to play the Street Scene if the group can bring along a couple of well-known “mainstream” artists to stage a special performance condemning gang warfare and the drug “crack.”

Gang Meeting Sought

The fallout from the group’s Aug. 18 concert at the Long Beach Arena was so intense that a representative of Run-D.M.C.’s management company has been trying to convince law enforcement authorities to schedule a meeting between members of the group and gang leaders so that the singers can plead first-hand against future invasions of their performances.

The debate over whether Run-D.M.C. should play Los Angeles has surfaced at an uncomfortable time for Street Scene organizers, who are trying to change the event’s image from a festival dominated by loud, youthful music to a calmer, more varied “family” spectacle.

A celebration of Los Angeles’ ethnic diversity was what city officials envisioned eight years ago when they held the first Street Scene on four blocks of the Civic Center and drew 200,000 people over two days.

Growth Was Rapid

By last year, the Street Scene had mushroomed to 13 blocks and was attracting 1.3 million people, drawn by 300 performers of all types of music and 150 arts and crafts booths.

Many of those who came were drawn by scores of popular local rock bands, including a number that featured “heavy metal” or “punk rock” formats. It was at these performances, on the first day of last year’s festival, that things got out of hand.

On two occasions that day, large numbers of police waded into crowds of youths whom they considered out of control and shut down performances. The actions provoked complaints from a number of spectators, who complained they were shoved or beaten by police without warning in the quick dispersal--and equal complaints by police, who said the fans threw bottles and other objects at them.

The sheer density of the crowd last year turned the Street Scene’s main avenues into human traffic jams at peak periods. And while the majority of those who came enjoyed the music, food and swarm of mankind, some said they were disturbed by what they characterized as rowdy music fans.

“It was a war zone down there,” said one vendor, Craig Kenna, who like other vendors paid the Street Scene several hundred dollars for the right to peddle his wares. “These kids are walking the street looking for something to happen.”

“I think they’re going to have to rearrange the structure. They’re going to have to scale it down,” said Capt. Bob Martin, who at the time was commander of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Central Division, which has responsibility for patrolling the event.

During the last several months, several subtle changes have been made in the Street Scene to keep it calm:

- While all types of rock ‘n’ roll music will be in abundance, the wilder punk and heavy-metal rock bands have been phased out in favor of so-called “glam” rock bands that emphasize makeup instead of aggression.

- Sylvia Cunliffe, general manager of the city’s Department of General Services, which coordinates the event, set aside a separate stage devoted to classical music and international dance acts and placed it far enough from rock acts to avoid noise contamination. “I’d wanted to do this for a long time,” said Cunliffe, a self-confessed “longhair.” “We wanted to bring sort of a new flavor here.”

- An international junior music competition is scheduled to integrate more mellow “pop” acts with traditional hard rock.

- The Street Scene’s carnival has been expanded to help draw some youngsters away from the music stages, and acts have been distributed to steer more foot traffic to the fringes of the 14 1/2 blocks set aside for the festival, helping to unclog primary arteries like Temple and Main streets.

- Plainclothes police officers are to be stationed on each stage, keeping an eye on the crowd, and uniformed patrol officers--who previously mingled inconspicuously through the Street Scene--will make themselves more visible.

- Police will be stationed along the perimeter of the event to make sure that no bottled beverages are brought into the Street Scene, and vendors will for the first time limit purchases of beer and wine coolers to two cups per person.

The chain of events that coincided with these reforms began a month ago in Long Beach, when Run-D.M.C. headlined a concert devoted to rap music, whose driving, rhythmic beat was born in New York’s ghetto streets and became popular with young blacks--and, more recently, young whites. Rap also has captured the fancy of advertising agencies, which are using it to sell many consumer products on television.

Witnesses said the Long Beach disturbance began when members of black and Latino street gangs began brawling and then attacking bystanders, forcing police to break up the show before Run-D.M.C. took the stage.

After the disturbance, members of the group characterized themselves as victims of insufficient arena security and noted that the themes of their songs, while aggressively sung, stress positive messages like abstaining from cocaine and staying in school.

‘Sterner Measures’ Urged

Run-D.M.C. issued a statement saying it would refuse to play Los Angeles until authorities took “sterner measures to protect Run-D.M.C. fans from local gangs. The gangs stand for everything that rap is against.”

Four days later, the Street Scene sent Run-D.M.C. what officials termed an “inquiry,” saying that a performance at the Street Scene might be worked out if the group could arrange for a couple of other non-rap acts to join it.

The idea, said Milt Petty, who is in charge of booking bands for the Street Scene, was to let the group redeem itself in Los Angeles, particularly because it had performed without incident at the 1985 Street Scene, and also because it did not appear that the violence in Long Beach could be blamed on the band.

However, political considerations intruded.

After hearing news reports that Run-D.M.C. might return, one Los Angeles councilwoman, Joan Milke Flores, whose district lies near Long Beach, telephoned Cunliffe out of concern that more violence might occur.

Even before the Long Beach concert, Flores had been upset at Cunliffe’s department for scheduling “Beach Scene” in her district. It drew 175,000 people--and complaints of property damage by numerous constituents in the host community of San Pedro.