Kiss Him, He's Irish (and White)

Local rapper Brendan B tried to set up a show a couple of weeks ago.

"I call up one [San Diego] venue, and the guy goes, 'You know, we really don't do rap music.' I'm trying to book this show for the 17th, St. Patrick's Day, so the way he found out I was white was I told him I was Irish. So, right away [he said], 'Oh, you're white. Okay. Well, maybe we'll do it. We just don't want to bring the wrong crowd in here.' And I was, like, 'What do you mean by that?' And he's, like, 'Your normal rap crowd, people that like rap music.' Right away I was, like, 'Forget this. I don't want to do a show there if this is the way you're gonna be.' "

B says the club wanted an audience that "tipped well" and didn't want to deal with the "problems" associated with the rap crowd. Fights are often associated with rap shows, but B says incidents at rap shows are fewer than the media and club owners may lead one to believe.

"Just because we're rappers doesn't mean we're talking about killing people or talking about jewelry.... It sucks that we can't do shows because commercial rap is like that."

Brendan cites Dreamstreet's Thursday-night hip-hop, the Honey Bee-Hive's Saturday-night hip-hop, and 'Canes as the area's best bets for the rap crowd.

Brendan B, Apoc, the Green Brothers, and Mood Swangz play Dreamstreet on Saturday, March 17.