Friday, October 2, 2009

Fresh Selects Refuses To Support Portland Hip-Hop

This response from Kenny at www.FreshSelects.net really fucked me up regarding POH-Hop, as I reached out him about his support of POH-Hop. I have always worked to unite the music community as a whole and really not let my personal tastes affect what I would do to help those around me. This was really fucked up considering that even some of his people are on the line-up for POH-Hop. It really hurts my heart to know that there are people who don't look at the bigger picture and see what can be done if we learn how to come together. I can understand people's personal feelings, but I can't understand it affecting the greater good of something positive. It is what it is.

On Thu, Oct 1, 2009 at 1:00 PM, LL Cool Nutz <jusfamily@aol.com> wrote:
how are you doing Kenny?

I reached out to you a while ago about possibly working with you in regards to the POH-Hop.

I am yet to hear back from you regarding your possible support of the event.

I was hoping that you would see the direction that we are going this year with the festival and be willing to support the event.

hopefully you have simply been busy and haven't been able to get back to us.

the POH-Hop is shaping up to be great this year, and it would be great to have the support of Fresh Selects on this years event.

get back to me when you have a chance my friend.

Kenny(Fresh Selects Response)

wutup man,

my bad for the late response.
I've been thinking it over & while I always respect your work & appreciate the festival existing,
at the same time I also don't see much of the line-up reflecting my own personal taste & what i'd like to see for Portland
so i wouldn't feel comfortable with having my brand being associated too heavily with the event
with that said, i still wish you the best w/ the project & hope its successful as possible

i appreciate you considering me for involvement though, that means a lot.
peace,

Kenny

9 comments:

  1. I understand where kenny's coming from, but I suppose, he fails to see how it helps portland/oregon as a whole unite through music. I still support all oregon music regardless of genre and even if it may not be my first choice to listen to. Without unity we're bound to fail. Props for even putting this event together. I hope much success.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I personally don't think Kenny owes portland rappers anything . Its time to step up and do your own thing. Lets face it even Portland musicians,bloggers,partu promoters dont like to work together so to blast kenny is wrong. He doesnt own portland rappers anything. The majority of them are stuckin a studio for 7yrs telling people how hot their shit is.

    ReplyDelete
  3. i resoect kenny for being a str8 shooter. what i wouldnt appreciate is someone having those feelings but saying something diferrent...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kenny is entitled to his feelings and opinions. I don't have a problem with that. However it is our responsibility to support the movement of Portland music and the growth of it. Not asking for any handouts or favors, just simple support. That is all we owe each other. And that comes from a common respect for what we are all trying to accomplish. We aren't talking about a bunch of wack act, as the festival features Zion I, Braille, Luck One, Dain & Dave Notti, Grayskul, Sleep, IAME, Illmaculate, Living Proof, and more. These are not only some of the regions dopest artists, but the regions heavyhitters. The scene will never get where we need to be if the powers that be continue to contribute support even from a minimal standpoint. What is dope? what does rep the city right? A number of these artists are Kenny's people. So if he isn't supporting POH-Hop, he's not supporting his own people. It's bigger then just some rap shit. It's about us as people and a community trying to advance.

    Cool Nutz(and I will post my name)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nobody said that Kenny owed Portland rappers anything. This event is bigger then Cool Nutz, Sandpeople ,Dain, Dave Notti, Grayskul, Living Proof and Fresh Selects. Poh Hop is about bringing more attention to the North West hip hop and music scene overall. Its also about doing something positive for the comunity and ourselves. If you look at the line ups there is a little something for everyone. This Festival shows the wide range of hip hop acts here in the North West. I understand ANNONYNMOUS comment about rappers acting like they are bigger then they are but a lot of the acts on this years Fest work hard to be heard through avenues such as recording at amzaing local studios to working with dope producers to touring nationaly and booking local shows. They work hard at getting press locally and nationaly. I think Terrance aka Cool Nutz and myself (ANTHONY SANCHEZ) were hurt by kennys response because instead of contributing ideas to help make the Fest a sucess for our region it was just a flat out NO. The idea is to bring attention not only to the artist performing but also the venues that support this beautiful thing we call hip hop. Its about bringing more attention to the recording studios here in Portland and all of the amazing producers Portland has to offer. Its about Portlands art studios our local clothing companys, record stores, and the local papers that support us. All the way to the average Hip Hop fan that pays money for your shows, your CD, your itunes / cd baby downloads. Really More then anything Poh Hop is about bringing young people together that are trying to be creative and share ideas. So yes Kenny dosen't owe anything to Poh Hop or any of the emcess performing and Yes there needs to be more support here in Portland which is exactly what Poh Hop is trying to do and not just for 4 days in October but all year long. Hopefully Kenny and yourself ANONYMOUS will make it out to 1 or 2 of the nights of Poh Hop and maybe you will change your mind about the Fest. Who knows maybe you will become inspired and decide that you want to be involved and apart of Poh Hop 12. And if not maybe you should just move the Fuck out of Oregon and into a state you want to support.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I dearly respect all of you, Cool Nutz, Anthony, and Kenny. My main concern about this whole situation is this, this fantastic events main focus is about the community and unity. I personally feel that by handling the situation in this manner is only creating a divide (even in the smallest way, or between the parties involved) and taking the focus off the fantastic'ness of this event. I truly believe there's 6 sides to every story and it should be discussed and settled from the jump between those parties involved.
    The truth is, we all have our own opinions, it's what makes life beautiful, and even more so...we will not always agree...and thats okay. Sometimes we have to agree to disagree and just keep it moving.

    Peace & Blessings
    Ragen

    ReplyDelete
  7. The funny thing is it takes something negative to get people to even come post a comment on the POH-Hop blog. Of all the other things that we posted from information on Luck One touring, Zion I videos, amazing videos from Sandpeople, and more. People are willing to come in and write about this, rather then comment on all of the positive things that the artists or Portland & POH-Hop are doing.

    As far as Kenny and Fresh Selects, there is no divide, as we were never working together in the first place. However, it is correct that negative topics seem to get more attention then all of the positive stuff that is going on around POH-Hop.

    It is what it is, and there really isn't much to talk about, as Kenny has made it clear what his feelings are. I'm actually more hurt then I am mad about this, as I have been working extremely hard to build unity, but that type of mindset will continue to tear down the fabric of that unity.

    Just my thoughts...

    Cool Nutz

    ReplyDelete
  8. True heads know that wackness is relative. Those with roots in this scene understand it's dopeness. We don't need nobody's help. Our greatness will manifest regardless.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Randomly landed on this page.

    ...

    Come on, now. You can't possibly be serious with this selfish, pitiful complaint.

    It's as if you knew your product wasn't good enough on its own and desperately needed someone credible to put a stamp of approval on it.

    If Mr. Fresh had no interest for the majority of the artists that would be at the festival, why should he be expected to endorse it? I'm afraid your arguments don't make any sense at all.

    It is pretty obvious that your only concern in this situation is your own personal gain, not the "advancement of your community's hip hop scene" or whatever you claim it is. Instead of shitting on them for no reason, you should respect the people who actually are making things happen for the better of your city.

    Cheers,

    David Rankin

    ReplyDelete