Dj Red Alert Talks About Artists Acting A Fool
Hip-Hop elder statesman sounds the call for professionalism
from EUR, May 11, 2000

This year's Impact Music Conference was held in Nashville, TN. While the business side of urban music generates billions in annual revenue for those involved, the very nature of the genre attracts some folks with attitudes that are far from business like.

We ran into famed spinster DJ Red Alert, and he expressed his displeasure with the way some artists were carrying themselves. There were promo stickers and flyers stapled and taped all over the hotel; loud and disrespectful behavior; and more usage of the "N" word than at a Klan rally, and that was just the tip of the iceberg.

"I can understand that you have to be true, and that you have a certain image you want to portray, but when you leave from your neighborhood and come out into the world, people are going to look at you in a certain way. You gotta understand what you're doing. People are watching you. What we need now is artist development. Someone needs to show these people how to act on stage, as well as off stage. (They) have to understand that the microscope is on (them). A lot of these entertainers are reared to believe that anything they do is right. 'Oh, you're the man. It's your world .' And they're believing that. As it is now, they're looking at everyone in the Hip-Hop genre as being one big mess."