The first person that I saw entering the Paid Dues Festival this past weekend was a girl in her late teens, wearing spandex leggings, a shimmering club-style shirt and pastel-shade make-up. Her dyed red hair was styled into something akin to the long hair on the men of 1980’s hair bands. She laughed lightheartedly as she entered the urban music festival, holding on to the hand of a boy who was wearing khakis and looked like he came from his freshman bio class.
What does this have to do with the music that was performed at the festival? Everything.
The people who attended the Paid Dues Festival reflected the purpose of the festival itself which is to bring together different types of urban artists to show the breadth of what urban music is defined as today. The mostly – but not entirely – young crowd of fans who were putting their hands up in the air and waving them left and right was comprised of a diverse group of individuals. There were hippie girls in flowing skirts turning ballet moves into hip hop performance. There were boys in circles who looked like they should have hackey sack games going throwing their bodies around breakdance style. There was representation of all races and probably most religions.
And the performers from Paid Dues brought to the stage this same sort of diversity. From the almost sing-song bouncing friendliness of Pigeon John to the Texas-rough rap of Devin the Dude, each artist brought something different to the musical table. There were drum machines and multi-media videos and audience interaction. One of the defining characteristics of when music becomes art is when there is unfettered passion that doesn’t turn into unnecessary drama; that was the case with Paid Dues. This was art in action.
At the tables outside the performance arena, kids in Rasta wear bought T-shirts with slogans like, “you can’t download mad skills” and toughened guys in football jackets browsed the merchandise at the MURS for President booth. Freestyle groups got together and battled it out on the street stage while their friends supported them with cheers and beat box sounds. The overall atmosphere throughout the festival was one which was laidback, relaxed and appreciative of the fun side of urban music.
When I was a teenager, I had to sneak around to go to rap concerts, because my parents were frightened of what kind of people would be at such events. When I got there, I often found that my parents fears were somewhat warranted because gang activity drew at least as much attention as the performing acts. But Paid Dues isn’t your big sister’s rap concert. It’s an annual festival which truly emphasizes the positive influence of the world of hip hop, bringing together the many talents of the different performers to appeal to a broad group of people. The stereotypes which may have once been true of rap music just don't hold water any more. Urban culture is about diversity and Paid Dues brought it all the way.