A Setback for Live Hip-Hop

The lasting memory of Summer Jam 2002 will be its chaotic, early ending on Sunday--there were 30 arrests and three people injured when fights broke out at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater concert--and the addition of the show to the list of troubled hip-hop events.

The all-day affair organized by radio station the Beat (KKBT-FM, 100.3) was cut short about 7:30 p.m., before big-name acts such as Nelly, Ja Rule and Ashanti ever reached the stage, and the venue was evacuated by Irvine police. Veteran rapper LL Cool J was performing when audience members rushed the stage and chairs began flying at security staffers.

“Security lost control of the stage,” Irvine police Lt. Sam Allevato said Monday. “Those [audience members] dressed in gang attire began hitting audience members who had come on stage with metal pipes.” Three patrons reported injuries; one was hospitalized and released.

Rap concerts have long been dogged by a reputation for safety problems, although in recent years the genre has shown the ability to mount large, successful road shows such as the trouble-free Smokin’ Grooves tours.

“We’ve had problems before at this concert because of the nature of the groups involved and the past history of the performers,” said Allevato, who added that another Summer Jam was stopped in the mid-1990s. The same venue, though, has seen similar disturbances at Jimmy Buffett and Grateful Dead shows, Allevato noted.

Nancy Leichter, general manager of the Beat, issued this statement: “We’ve had a peaceful event every year for the past nine years. It is sad that a few unruly people were intent on ruining the day for 16,000 people who wanted to enjoy the event. We were very happy that the Irvine Police Department handled the incident quickly and professionally.”

It was unclear Monday how the future of Summer Jam might be affected by the violence. Irvine police were already concerned about the show; they had requested extra staffing for the Sunday concert, and promoters responded by paying for 35 police officers from Irvine and 40 more officers were pulled in from gang task force units of other agencies. Once the melee started, 42 more officers from seven other agencies responded.

“I’m sure we’ll be looking at expenditures and talking to management at Verizon to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Allevato said.