Considering the history of racial insensitivity at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, I was surprised to read about the Alabama administration's recent decision to separate the university's homecoming concert into two locations, allowing the country singer Neal McCoy to take the stage on the main campus quad while relocating the Ying Yang Twins hip-hop act to a recreational field across from an Arby's.
The incident reminds me of the complaints I've heard about Quake, Vanderbilt's homecoming concert. Both this year and last year, Quake centered around hip-hop artists, with Chingy and the Ying Yang Twins last year, and Ludacris, Common, and Shareefa last month. However, the performances were not supplemented by performances by artists of other genres.
I haven't had a problem with this because I am personally a fan of hip-hop music and I think it strikes a good balance with Rites of Spring (which is seemingly geared towards alternative music) and the nature of the Nashville country music scene. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony was included in the line-up of the 2006 Rites of Spring, but that was the only band of that nature. I figure that there are plenty of opportunities for country music fans to get dose of their favorite sounds. Just turn on the radio. Take a cab downtown. Take advantage of many of the inexpensive concerts right around campus. It's a little more difficult to find a good selection of hip-hop and rap music in the area. I also figure, if you don't like a certain style of music, you are not required to attend an event that features it.
The difference between Quake and Alabama's homecoming concert is that Alabama claims that theirs is intended for families, in which case, the appropriateness of lyrics becomes an issue. Hip-hop is party music. It is not family-friendly. Understandably, many are offended by the lyrics and sexual suggestions (or outright declarations).
If the purpose of their event was to provide a form of entertainment that people of all ages would be attending, why were the Ying Yang Twins selected in the first place? Their act cost $40,000 while McCoy's act set the university back $35,000.
The administration cited logistics as the reason. They didn't want anyone to feel cramped. However, in previous years, the quad has held more than 20,000 and the total for both acts this year came in at approximately the same number. Space was really not an issue.
The suggestion made in many articles is that the Ying Yang Twins would offend young ears and the ears of influential alumni, and that since the black Greek groups were to perform in the recreational center near the field the concert was located, it would be more convenient to have it there since only blacks would be going to the concert.
I don't really see a whole lot of merit in any of these arguments, but do see the situation as discriminatory even if unintentional, simply because it separated the mainly white population from a large portion of the black population on the campus.
