BAM!
www.districtsoul.com

Re: WPost... I actually work for washingtonpost.com, seperate company. I don't rub shoulders with the print paper "Posties" that often, they're downtown and we're out here in Arlington.

Re: Gentrification... Yeah, I'm astounded when I see all these luxury condos popping up like mushrooms after a storm, get disgusted at seeing a tanning salon on U Street in a bldg called "The Ellington" and get irate when new residents moving into nightlife districts try to clamp down on the nightlife that revived these neighborhoods, BUT - it isn't that simple. Can't forget that tons of black folks willingly moved out to PG County because many of us believed that getting out of the city and getting some space and bigger houses was a sign of improvement. Other folks rushed in to fill the void. That's the nature of things, ebb and flow. The real test is in how much mixed-income housing will be built with all this development and I don't have those statistics at hand. Then we got the whole baseball thing too...

Back to the topic of this thread though, even gentrification can't shut down the overflow of culture that can be taken advantage of in DC Truthfully, I'd put DC up against any major city when it comes to arts & entertainment and would bet my reputation that it competes favorably, whether we're talking NYC, ATL or London.

MissLady, you're from Detroit? Tell DJ Genesis that Poem-Cees send their regards.

MissLady, I've got to echo DJStylus' comments regarding Baltimore. I'm a recent transplant to Baltimore from Brooklyn and while it's not as in your face as NYC there's plenty to do in Balt. and DC. I find myself shuttling between both cities frequently. It's only like a 30-45 minute ride between the two depending on where you're leaving from. Don't forget that Philly is only an 1 and 15 jaunt away too. I caught A Tribe Called Quest up there last night and it was well worth the drive. I typically pick up both 'City Papers' weekly to comb them for what's going on. 2-3 times out and you'll be in the loop in no time. Welcome to the area and I hope to see you all out and about...

Also,

check out

www.groovegumbo.com

and

www.dcsanctuary.com

To follow up on what stylus was saying, you need to check out:

www.divinecipher.com

to find out what's going on in DC's creative underground. There are a RACK of shows coming up.

Fertile Ground, Eric Roberson, De La Soul, Erykah, Jill Scott, Living Colour, K'Alyn, Dub Ell, King Britt

Plus all of the different club nights. the monthly "Lovesexy" Prince parties at Modern, deep house nights and the Sanctuary on Fridays and Red on Saturdays, the various cool hip-hop nights in Adams Morgan (Felix Mondays, Chief Ike's Thursdays, Aroma on Fridays)....
**** I can't keep up with it all.

Once you get plugged in to the right circuit, it will be hard to keep up with everything that's going on in DC.

Thank You all...
but yeah

gentrification
is ******* yall up

I just moved here from Detroit. Its plain as day.

Stylus...you work at the Post...do you know a Jessica Dawson over there? Writes Art Gallery stuff for the Metro section?

Yeah I remember State...when Deep Dish used to spin there for $50/night. Those were the days.

I agree that NE needs some love. Outside of Capitol Hill, there's nothing to hit in the NE and that's sad. Will definetly check out H Street the next time I go home and see what's going on there.

MissLady, looks like Stylus just hit you off with a full week of events...check 'em out. DEFINETLY go to Chief Ike's Mambo Room.

Also, JustOneKid is on this board and he lives in B-More. J.O.K., you know any cool **** to do?

Almost forgot, if you're a serious hip-hop head you can always take a little trip up I-95 to the Elements Party in B-more (elementsparty.com My crew did a show with Brand Nubian there a few weeks ago. Little Brother was just there and I think Kool G. Rap is there this week. If that's not hip-hop enough for you, I don't know what is. Reunion Thursdays that I mentioned is at Chief Ike's Mambo Room in Adams Morgan. There's also Organized Theory (organizedtheory.com for the underground heads.

I do have to admit that hip-hop in this town hasn't been the same since U Street changed, particularly the closure of State of the Union. If you never went to State, you'll never really understand what U Street was during it's Young Black Arts period (approx. '95 - '02)

I mourned State for a while, but I'm cool now. There's just more things to move on to, and like Dead Prez says "it's bigger than hip-hop". For instance, none of the hardcore hip-hop heads I know would have checked out Louis Vega and Elements of Life at Club Five this year, or Bugz In the Attic when they appeared there. Those were both PHENOMENAL nights.

Now, if the thought of being run out of U Street now is upsetting, folks need to invest in events and spots that can see new life. Mark my words, The H Street coridor is the next fertile location for arts to flourish. The H Street Playhouse is already doing good things, along with Sanctuary. There are little cafés and bookstores opening up. We need to show N.E. some love and help some life finally come into that part of town.

With all due respect, there's no reason at all for anyone to be bored in this town. DC has so much going on that you could get overwhelmed trying to take it all in, even if you don't want to do the "jiggy" stuff. And sometimes, even the jiggy stuff is fun. Teedra Moses, Tweet and Cee-Lo gave a great show at Fur last night. I was glad I went.

There's definitely more to DC for progressive black folks than U Street. Back before the money started pouring in, I would have spoken otherwise but everything changes and despite the fact that U Street is no longer home, there's still a lot of fun to be had.

Even if I were to only stick to U Street/Adams Morgan, tonight (on a Monday!!) I could hang out at Asylum, get some half-price tacos and good music, than hit Bar Nun for the Mos Def listening party and end up at Felix dancing to hip-hop.

There are many helpful resources to find out about things, including the washingtonpost.com Entertainment Guide (where I work) and the City Paper of course. If I were to run down three things off the top of my head for hip-hop, house and "culture", I'd start with things that are off the beaten path but that I think are really great. there's Reunion Thursdays, D.C. Sanctuary (black owned, visual art & house music), and LAFI/Latin American Folk Institute in Mt. Rainier. At LAFI, you can get workshops and performances in afro-cuban music and dance. Those are just a handful of examples, there are TONS more. If you expand your options outside of the tastes of what this site represents (beat culture & music, etc) there are always excellent independent film events (even though Visions closed), great theater (underground stuff too, at places like DCAC and Warehouse), performance art, craft and artisan gatherings, dance groups and on and on. Do you know that there are FREE daily shows at the Kennedy Center all year 'round?

If you're a dj and you're not hanging out at Capitol City Records, DJ Hut and Crooked Beat, you're missing out. The folks at all those stores are really knowledgeable and will help you find records you're looking for. Plus you can find out about more events there and network with other djs & artists.

I could go on and on, but really it's simple. DC is a cosmopolitan town bursting at the seams with all kinds of culture. You've just got to get out and embrace it. I enjoy being an ambassador of sorts, probably because people that aren't from here tend to diss it, so feel free to inquire if you need more info:

djstylus AT vibeconductor DOT com
www.worldsflyest.com
www.poemcees.com

I'm sure you all know about divinecipher.com too.