Bad Rap Beaten as All-Day Show Comes Off Peacefully

Rap music’s bad reputation took a turn for the better on Saturday after several black and Latino groups performed an eight-hour show before a violence-free audience.

“Summer Jam ‘92,” held at the Santa Ana Stadium, was the first concert to feature non-mainstream, nonwhite rap groups in Orange County since the 1990 shooting at the Celebrity Theater in Anaheim during a performance by Ice Cube and Too Short, both hard-core black rap artists. Since then, Orange County venues have been leery of scheduling rap performances because of the threat of violence.

“We have proven so far that the city of Santa Ana is wrong and the police are wrong,” said Saturday’s concert promoter, Carlos Quintanilla, referring to the strict and costly requirements imposed on him. “The fact that we could get 4,000 people in here without incident, that kind of silences the critics.”

Security was highly visible throughout the event that included performers Kid Frost, Lighter Shade of Brown, Black Sheep and Cypress Hill.

Mounted police roamed the periphery of the crowd that gathered around the stage set up on the stadium’s playing field. Uniformed police officers staked out entrances to the seating area. Moreover, private security forces mixed with the crowd and used walkie-talkies to communicate with each other. Several Santa Ana park rangers also were visible.

For some concert goers, the heavy security presence was a turn-off.

“I don’t think it is fair that they have this kind of feeling about rap groups and the kind of people that go to their concerts,” said Shauna Lopez, 17, looking at two mounted officers a few feet away. “I see all these police officers and it’s like they are waiting for one of us to pull out a gun or something.”

“My father took me to a Dodgers game last year and two men got in a fight and almost killed each other and I didn’t see any police then,” added Lopez, a Santa Ana resident.

But officers were wary of concert-goers flashing gang tattoos and wearing gang colors.

“We have to be here to keep a lid on things,” said Santa Ana Police Officer Carlos Carrillo. “There are a lot of rival gangs out there. I’ll be happy if everybody goes home and nobody gets hurt.”

Several hours into the show, police denied Quintanilla’s request to relax security since there were no signs of violence. He wanted to reduce his overhead costs.

“There has been no incident, not even a skirmish, and I am paying $647 for every officer that is here. Tell me that is not abusive,” said Quintanilla. “Look at the police officers, do they look like they are really doing anything? It’s a shameful situation.”

Although the event was peaceful, officials said several area residents called police to complain about the noise and the profanity used by many of the performers. As a result, performers were cautioned to tone down their language before going on stage. With Saturday’s trouble-free concert as evidence, Quintanilla said he hopes to persuade officials to allow several more rap groups to Orange County before the end of the year.

He added that he did not do as well in ticket sales as he would have liked at Saturday’s “experimental” event, falling about 2,000 ticket buyers short of the goal.

“Four thousand is not what we wanted, but we are not devastated,” Quintanilla said.

For 16-year-old Mike DeLango of Commerce, however, “Summer Jam ‘92”’ was a vision of perfection. “This is the coolest. You got music, women, sunshine and everybody is getting along fine. I shouldn’t have any trouble getting my parents to let me go to rap concerts after this.”