As is often the case, put hip-hop in the vicinity of anything violent and the culture can be quickly vilified by the media, in some shape or form.
A Calgary man remains in the hospital after being shot in the chest on a downtown C-Train platform at 7th Avenue outside the Distillery Pub. The hip-hop connection? Inside the Distillery Pub, the King of the Dot Calgary Division was in the process of hosting a battle and the accused, David Eugene Traynor, 24, of Calgary, had been kicked out of the event earlier in the evening.
“King of the Dot has held 124 successful events without incident and the fact remains, this situation occurred outside of the club with someone that had been removed from our event.” – Organik
Local Calgary media has made a point of heavily referencing King of the Dot in coverage of the shooting and, on Monday evening, CTV Calgary went as far as discussing hip-hop’s image and reputation within the city in direct relation to the incident. The fact remains, Traynor had been removed from the event for acting in an unsavoury manner, according to King of the Dot organizers. Obviously the company can’t control someone’s actions thereafter.
“King of the Dot has held 124 successful events without incident and the fact remains, this situation occurred outside of the club with someone that had been removed from our event,” stresses Organik, King of the Dot host and co-founder. Needless to say, this is an isolated incident and should not reflect on the safety of future King of the Dot events. Going 124 shows without injuries in anyway is almost unheard of with music events. King of the Dot is known for being a friendly welcoming environment where people feel safe.
In fact, King of the Dot has a history of supporting anti-violence movements. They work closely with the organization Think Don’t Shoot (TDS) in Toronto and you can even find the TDS logo on all recent King of the Dot videos. Think Don’t Shoot promotes their close relationship with King of the Dot on their Twitter and Facebook accounts.
“The person in question was removed from the event for rude and suspicious behaviour. He was considered a liability to the success of the event and to the security of our fans, so he was removed,” Organik continues.
“We can’t control what he does after that. We’re just sorry that the victim was someone who attended the event and hope for his speedy recovery. Our thoughts are with his family.”
Organik’s comments echo those of Sketch Menace, King of the Dot Calgary Division President: “We find positive ways to direct aggression and have no tolerance for violence…we’re all heartbroken that the victim is someone who attended the show.”
As a proud sponsor of King of the Dot, we’re not willing to sit quiet while the mainstream media treads even remotely close to unjustly tarnishing their impeccable reputation. Don’t blame King of the Dot and don’t blame hip-hop. Instead, assuming he’s found guilty of his charges, blame the individual.
Don’t forget to check out KOTDTV.com and follow @KingOfTheDot on Twitter.
