Update (5/30/19, 5:36 p.m. EST): The Progress Bar released a statement reversing their rap ban and apologizing for it. Their statement is at the end of this article.
Progress Bar, a gay bar in Chicago, has been accused of racism after an email leaked of the bar instructing its DJs never to play rap.
The email, which was posted on Twitter, read:
We are changing up our format. Our goal is to promote a positive, happy, energetic, upbeat and most importantly… a FUN vibe. Think DJ AM for 2019 — a super open format POP/DANCE focused atmosphere. We have implemented a NO RAP rule effective immediately.
This is not a suggestion!! If you play RAP you will not be asked back.
Anything vulgar, aggressive or considered mumble rap (including certain Cardi B tracks and newer Nicki Minaj) is off limits. If you are unsure if a song qualifies, assume it does and choose something else. Think KISSFM/B96 opposed to WGCI.
If someone is pressuring you for a song just let them know it’s the new rule. There will be added security there to help with this transition and one specifically posted next to the DJ booth.
So let’s parse this out: First, there’s lots of great rap music that totally fits a “positive, happy, energetic, upbeat… fun vibe” including Missy Elliot, Lizzo, Todrick Hall and (yes) Nicki Minaj. Why would you ban all of these artists? Also, the line between rap, hip-hop, R&B and other pop music is a blurry one… and if a DJ is confused, then the bar suggests they just not play it at all on pain of unemployment and blacklisting.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Related: WATCH: Todrick Hall brings it to the runway with new video ‘Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels’
Second, rap is very much a black genre while pop remains dominated by white artists. DJ AM, the DJ referenced in the email, is a white guy. If you Google “KISS FM Chicago,” the images that immediately come up for it are of white people and no artists of color appeared on its “recently played” playlist at the time of publication.
“Opposed to WGCI”……………… the 1960 jumped pic.twitter.com/uRy51hgISx
— shania twink (@phillipethao) May 30, 2019
B96 is a bit more diverse with artists of color like Khalid, Enrique Iglesias and Camila Cabello mixed in with their Jonas Brothers, Shawn Mendes and Ava Max. But according to the bar’s rap ban, some of Khalid and Cabello’s songs with rap in them wouldn’t be allowed.
Third, it’s bonkers that the bar is so opposed to rap that it’s willing to permanently blacklist any DJ that dares spin them. Not only that, but the bar thinks rap fans are so dangerous that banning rap music will require the bar to have extra security at the DJ booth.
Regardless, some Twitter commenters have began accusing the bar of racism:
The caucasity….
Some of their most popular nights cater to “colored” folks and here they come with the bullshit. Mind you, these nights never have an issue either. Ridiculous.— Whew Chilean Sea Bass (@Sir_Eclectic) May 30, 2019
Glad to see the marble-white facade of Boystown starting to crumble. The strip has been racist for decades. I used to DJ at a few clubs there and constantly got told to “lighten up” the music style I’d play. Disgusting.
— Tim Hernandez (@hashtag_tim) May 30, 2019
One commenter even pointed out that the bar has a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. on its website:
It gets better—they have an MLK quote on their website ????? pic.twitter.com/w7MnsJugVb
— SR Nelson ? (@say_splendid) May 30, 2019
The bar has since issued a public response to the fallout stating, “EVERYONE IS WELCOME HERE,” “there are NO racial intentions here” and ” We are still going to play hiphop, please don’t read too much into this.” Here’s the entire response:
As many have seen today, an email was leaked in regards to the direction we want to take the sound of ProgressBar. Progress ownership wants to make it VERY clear that EVERYONE IS WELCOME HERE!!! We value our customers and respect EVERYONE. We are not the 1st bar to look into changing their sound, and we will not be the last. We are looking to try something new. We don’t know if it will work or not, but we want the opportunity to progress!
ProgressBar is about moving forward and continuing to evolve. Without the diversity and support of the LBGTQ community, we cannot do so. We hope that you will stand by us while we tweak things here and there. But understand, above all, there are NO racial intentions here. We love every person who walks through these doors and appreciate each and everyone of you. We have no ill intentions here. That can not be stressed enough. The sound isn’t going to be that much different, we are just tweaking what’s already here. We are still going to play hiphop, please don’t read too much into this.
There might not have been “racial intentions” as the bar puts it, but theirs was definitely a tone deaf move (as was telling patrons of color that they’d essentially overreacted to the rap ban). And with more and more social media commenters calling their move “regressive,” Progress Bar should revoke its over-broad policy or else (ahem) face the music.
Update (5/30/19, 5:36 p.m. EST): The Progress Bar has just released the following statement:
To our patrons, neighbors and the LGBTQ+ community:
The email issued yesterday did not reflect the values of Progress Bar. The content was unwelcoming and hurtful, and in retrospect, it should have never been written or sent. We seek to be a trusted member of the LGBTQ+ community and in the city of Chicago as a welcoming place for every person no matter their race, creed or sexual orientation. We sincerely apologize to everyone in the LGBTQ+ community and across Chicago for the hurt this message caused.
Tonight, we will be closed so we can begin working to heal the pain. When we reopen, we will do so with a renewed commitment to create a space whose patrons, atmosphere, and —yes—music reflects the diversity of our community.
Justin Romme
Owner
Progress Bar
iamru2
To the writer and the racists out there complaining , some people don’t like rap music! It’s bizarre that you people can’t wrap your brains around such a simple concept!
Josh447
Agreed.
I like all music genres except rap. I like to hear singers sing, not talk. Blech.
Marcus
It’s not that it just seems strange that, one you comply single out rap mysic(which by the way for the last 9 years has been the most popular style of music, check the charts) and two that you need extra security and will blacklist any Dj playing it. Seems a bit extreme right?
stanhope
‘You people’……you exposed yourself cracker! Girl Trump sticker on your bus pass LOL
Tombear
I fail to see how refusing to play a specific genre of music is racist.
iamru2
@ stanhope is anyone surprised Queerty would allow this kind of blatant racism?
jsmu
@stanhope B*tch, please. The ‘c’ in crap is silent. You go right ahead and enjoy your homophobic, misogynistic ‘music’ which has two words for female: ‘b*tch’ and ‘ho’. Those of us with brains and taste all laugh at your imbecility.
Catholicslutbox
Not wanting djs to play crap is not racist. PC police is working overtime today.
S.anderson
First they came for the rap, and I did not speak out – because I was not black.
Then they came for the polka, and I did not speak out – because I was not Polish.
Then they came for the bagpipes, and I did not speak out – because I was not Scottish.
Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me. Britney!!!!!!!!!!
Gary Q VV
@S.anderson Did you personally write that freestyle poem? If so, you made a decision to convey your poignant statements and your failures concurrently. That’s a brave, refreshing comment not often found in many posts here. Thanks for being honorable, albeit went over the heads of some here.
Josh447
Been there seen that. It’s a copy. It’s been done B4.
Josh447
It’s been done B4.
Tombear
@Josh, I don’t care for rap music either but I don’t let my gay friends know that for fear of appearing racist.
IWantAFullBeard
What an incredibly bizarre article. I must be missing something because I don’t understand how not playing rap music is considered racist.
mc4bbs
I agree!! I’m not a fan of 99% of most rap, and it’s not that it’s considered the music of any race — it’s because it violates my ears and I can not dance to it! I will LEAVE an establishment that plays loud music in every corner of its property irrespective of what sort of music it is. I prefer the dance floor to be the “loud” area and the bar/booths/tables area to be social areas where you can talk without screaming at each other. Most rap music is “talking” which interferes with my ability to carry a conversation. I’m sure the owners ALSO don’t allow Scottish bagpipe music, opera, Beethoven and other “classical” music or other music that does not fit their establishment. Sticking to a specific style of music sets a mood or theme for a bar — it’s NOT racist to state what is and is not acceptable to be played in their business. Don’t like it? Go elsewhere — trust me, I do!
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
The owners of an establishment have every right to determine the cliente they wish to serve. Gay bars are under continuous assault from local government and SLAs now feeling empowered by the anti-Gay toxic environment now enveloping our nation.
Certain clientele bring with them unlawful and disruptive activity and behavior that put the bar owners livelyhood and a fun safe space for their customers in jeapordy.
Sorry but sometimes ya gotta call a spade a spade. It’s not “racism” it’s good business sense…
Aires the Ram
Exactly Plays Well.
Heywood Jablowme
“Sorry but sometimes ya gotta call a spade a spade.”
um… it’s true that “spade” isn’t nearly as racist as the n-word but isn’t it still kind of racist?
S.anderson
@heywood: Aint it kind of racist to grasp at straws and try to twist something into a racist offense? Tell me which racial minority owns the word “spade” now?
Heywood Jablowme
@S.anderson: (eye roll) – It was a joke, dude. Sorry, I guess I should have put in “lol” or a smiley face for your benefit. Mea culpa. 🙂 lol
dwes09
I always thought that expression referred to bidding in bridge (kind of like the term “x trumps y,” so I googled it.
Turns out it refers to shovels.
It was first used in English in the 16th century, whereas “spade” as a racial epithet was not seen until the 1920’s.
So…the intention of the expression and its origins are devoid of racism.
Heywood Jablowme
@dwes09: Thank you for looking it up. Sometimes you gotta call a spade an earth removal implementation device!
S.anderson
Amazingly, the nuance seems to be that if any venue does not include music of appeal to a particular minority, then it is racist toward that minority. So businesses from now on may not choose their own look and feel, nor develop their own culture. Rap is mandatory.
Aires the Ram
Negative people spending their precious time on this earth looking for a racist around every corner.
The bar can play any damn thing it wants. What if they wanted to switch to all country music? This is all so very lame.
Gary Q VV
@S.anderson. You’re almost hit the proverbial nail on its head-nerve. And it sounds vaguely similar to bakers refusing to make wedding cakes for same-sex marriages. Issues of these sorts are touchy and can stir up peevish and certainty unnecessary miffed conflicts and attitudes. Just a thought… just on the edge of inequality.
S.anderson
@Gary Q VW: Step forward then, and sue an Italian restaurant because they don’t have a selection of Soul Food on menu. I don’t think you even understand why the bakers were wrong for turning away LGBTQ customers.
dwes09
@Gary Q:
The racist act would be to refuse to serve drinks to people of color, or to require 2 ID’s rather than one to enter the bar. We have all seen bars do that, and sadly that is a hard one to deal with because bars pretty much have the legal right to refuse service. There is a huge pool of black music that does not fall into the genre of rap. And there are black people in pretty much every genre of music.
Personally I won’t stay in a venue that plays more than the occasional rap song, as I am offended by the use of “the n word” (if I can’t say it in conversation, I don’t want to hear it over and over and over again), dislike the misogyny and appeal to gratuitous conspicuous consumption. I listen to those rap artists I like at home, and generally only when watching their videos. There is a bar I go to here in SF that plays a lot of old Blues (predominantly black artists), and i love that I wish I heard more of that, more R&B,
PolishBear
Hip-hop depresses me, and rap makes me want to kill myself. It has nothing to do with racism. It’s just that rap sounds very ANGRY most of the time, and I just don’t need the negativity, least of all when I’m trying to enjoy myself in a bar. And even if it has a dance beat, why would anyone want to dance to rap? Sorry I just don’t get it.
RIGay
Have to agree with you – I have never heard rap music that made feel anything other than on-edge.
Unless it’s Cazwell singing “Cakes” (search YouTube for it!)…
S.anderson
I’m partial to the Beastie Boys, but then I am widely thought to be a bad person, lol.
Vince
I liked the Beastie Boys too but then I grew up. Most of it is about the angst of being young and against most adults.
Kangol2
Uh, if a genre of music “depresses me, and rap makes me want to kill myself,” maybe that’s on you, not the music. There’s a lot of joyful hiphop, and a great deal of it is danceable, which is why it translates as a popular music all over the world now.
S.anderson
@kangol: If a genre of music exists to serve a purpose, to work the audience up into an angry frenzy, then that’s on the music. What next, you gonna say music doesn’t make people feel things? lol.
dwes09
Possibly the best entrance to the variability of rap is to listen to the old Quincy Jones “Back on the Block” album that mixes old school rap, artsy rap, R&B , African harmonies, jazz and gospel.
Helped move rap away from monotonous samples and low tech rhythm sections.
That album made me more willing to listen before judging.
But still don’t want to hear much of it when I am out at a bar.
ptcruiser13
And is it not true that much of rap lyrics are homophobic – in content and intent? How many times should an LGBTQ2S audience be subjected to “no homo”, before they leave their bar of choice to hear Britney and Madonna Remixes elsewhere? Us olden gays love our Donna Summer, Diana Ross and Deborah Cox. Progress Bar could include pro LGBTQ hip hop and Rap in its line-up, providing the patrons respond by not leaving the floor. There’s no place in a progressive gay bar for any artist nor lyrics must which espouse messages of hate towards the LGBTQ.
Gary Q VV
What I most disliked about rap is it just never appealed to my tastes and it had nothing to do about race. There’re plenty people who dislike some of my favorite styles of music, and I prefer a wide range of musical styles and periods of music. Just look at those who enjoy today’s rap, people of all: colors, sexual lifestyles, sexes, economical standings, intellectual thinkers, the whole gamut of music listeners; and who doesn’t enjoy music of some kind? Irregardless, to the issue of ProgressBar’s mandating the obvious “No rap, no kind, no way” policymaking doesn’t seem odd at all, because a great number of bars have a specific music theme that their patrons prefer. Perhaps management received an overwhelmingly negative response to rap music being played there. Who know… who cares?
Vince
Oh f*cking please. The truth is most Rap is angry misogynistic and homophobic garbage. Plenty of black artists aren’t rappers so it seems the real racists are the complainers.
There’s a hip hop club near my gym that caters to Rap every Sunday. I get a kick out of it. The rappers pull up in their expensive bling and luxury cars and the women are in fishnets and high heels. They look like 2 dollar hookers. One or two murders and now the city has the swat team on stand by every single time.
Black Pegasus
The message seems pretty clear to me.
The club does not want Black patrons.
IWantAFullBeard
It’s pretty racist to assume that black people will only go somewhere if there is rap.
S.anderson
@black Pegasus: If black people won’t go places where violent, misogynistic, homophobic mumble garbage is banned, then I presume white, hispanic and asian people who like that sort of thing will avoid it, too. It’s pretty clear that black people who like the new format of music are still quite welcome there. If you won’t go there because you can’t spend an evening awash in anger and negativity, then it’s probably for the best. You could dip your toes in a new scene that isn’t self-destructive. Or stay home popping caps and dranking cote foaties. Nobody cares.
Josh447
S.anderson,
Nailed it.
Rap is notorious for attracting violence at public venues. Google is firm on this.
Kangol2
@BlackPegasus, bingo!
iamru2
You’re such an ignorant f*cking troll!
jsmu
@Black Pegasus The message is crystal clear: you’re a black homophobe.
DarkZephyr
Rap is not a race and rap is one of the genres where its still OK to be HEAVILY homophobic without consequences. Sorry, but I don’t find any fault with this bar.
Brian
So why ban a whole genre instead of just the songs with homophobic or misogynistic lyrics?
ShiningSex
Maybe they banned it because……………..IT SUCKS!!! Rap/Hip Hop sucks.
jsmu
@Brian Gee, BRIBRI, why ban a whole ‘genre’ when you could waste hours of your life cherry-picking through it to find the (MAYBE) five percent of songs in that ‘genre’ which AREN’T homophobic, misogynistic, or both? LMAO!
jcoberkrom
this bar did the right thing
Smith David
Wow! people are still going to clubs? Mmmkay…it really gets exhausting being African-American. I’m so tired…lol. Chile cheese.
Tishthedish
Is the reason you are so tired is because you wear yourself out complaining about everything and everyone always being racist?
asby
Seems like they don’t want the hardcore rap…They wanna keep it poppy. And how is it racist? Do POC only go to bars that play rap music? Do POC only listen to rap? How can you be offended that they won’t play some mumble rap by some anti gay artist
ruffian
I have friends who DJ on the UK gay scene, some of them remix tracks for the record labels and they say the main request they get when talking to clubbers after their sets is “can you play the version without that stupid rap in the middle’ – rap has been clawing it’s way into some great pop tunes over the last few years and quite frankly it just spoils a damn good song. IMHO.
andrewmpls
Cardi B rapping on that Maroon 5 song pisses me off. It’s so bad and out of place, ugh.
Brian
Isn’t that true of every Maroon 5 single that has a tacked on rap verse? It’s blatant pandering for hits, and it’s worked amazingly well for them.
PinkoOfTheGange
If they had said except Eminem, Vanilla Ice, and Blondie’s Rapture, then it was most likely racially motivated otherwise it is just a format change.
Cam
If you point out that the article itself says they were’t banning Cardi B or Missy Elliott, but the author is claiming they did….suddenly your comment disappears and goes into moderation.
Can the authors of the blog please show us the terms of service where it says pointing out inconsistencies will get your comment deleted.
Brian
I’m not sure why so many people are acting like rap is a single style of music. Like a lot of music, there is a huge variety across the spectrum where the only common denominator is that the person is rapping instead of singing.
Granted, whatever is popular at the moment results in a million songs that sound identical, but that’s always been true of pop music too. Remember Stock, Aiken, Waterman? I find the droning, minimal, morning sound that’s popular today to be horrible, but that’s pretty much defined pop music for the past couple of years. Thankfully things are starting to shift away from that and back into more traditional sounding pop.
I’m old, so my rap references are ancient, but stylistically songs like F the Police by NWA and Let’s Talk About Sex by Salt n Pepa are in two different universes. There is an old Shamen song called Ebeneezer Goode that is pure rave dance music, but the verses are spoken, so is that rap? Or Dance Wiv Me by Calvin Harris and Dizzee Rascal, which is joyous electronic pure pop and perfect for a dance club, but the verses are rapped. Where does that fall?
We live in a time where Billy Ray Cyrus is at #1 on the pop charts as a featured artist on a rap song that also charted on the country chart. Rap has evolved immensely in all directions, it ain’t just guys smacking their hos and smoking blunts anymore.
S.anderson
I’m not sure why so many people are acting like an LGBTQ club doesn’t have a right to pick music and control the mood of the crowd. I dare anyone tell me i’m wrong.
So, why ban a whole genre instead of just hand-picking family friendly songs? Well now, don’t we LGBTQ people boycott whole businesses because of the way they treat their employees/patrons or the causes they donate money to? Unquestionably, the rap/hiphop scene needs to clean up its act. Some artists are worse than others, but that means we have to ban all their tracks instead of just the *particular* ones where they rap about “killing de f’gg’t.” Oh, they’re fine with taking our money, and they still think it’s OK to slip that poison in with a lot of sugar. I think they’re wrong.
If I ran a club, probably the first thing I would do is ban violent, misogynist, homophobic artists. It’s perfectly fair to ban whole genres whose labels aren’t going to stop until they start losing real money. Exceptions made for LGBTQ artists who can ‘take back’ the sound with good messages.
Brian
The whole job of a DJ is to hand pick songs. Why wouldn’t they be able to do that with rap music?
S.anderson
@Brian: so then the DJ just plays “clean” tracks by artists who also glorify violence, hoe-beating and killing the f’gg’t in other tracks? So then the DJ just plays artists who are on the same label as violent artists? So the rap/hiphop industry keeps cranking out violent material and happily taking our money. Hand-picking “clean” tracks also means there will need to be lists of who can and cannot be played. Who makes those lists? Who deals with the people not happy with those lists? Who deals with malicious rap artists who sue clubs that have singled them out?
Let’s be reasonable; the techno/edm, rock, pop and country industries do not produce copious quantities of media full of the n-word, the f-word and glorifying all the worst characteristics of humanity. Maybe country, I dunno. But the rap/hiphop industry is orders of magnitude worse.
LGBTQ communities Can. Not. Support. This! Clubs that ban violence, misogyny and homophobia are setting a good example.
Brian
Wow. You sound exactly like a person justifying why they won’t hire black people.
It’s County Fair season. Maybe some organizers will use your logic to ban music by gay or gay supporting artists because our slutty lifestyles are not conducive to their family friendly event
S.anderson
@Brian: I give up. You’re totally right. LGBTQ folk should absolutely buy and listen and celebrate as much violent, misogynistic and homophobic material as possible so as not to fall into the habit of excluding minorities, as they would not want to be so excluded.
Reality: I truly cannot conceive of what life events has created a person such as yourself. I pity you. I am so glad I am nothing like you.
Brian
Yeah, it’s such a horrible life of not painting entire groups of people with the worst stereotype brush and advocating for discriminating against them. It must be so much easier to just selectively decide what to respond to and double down on your ignorant, racist statements.
S.anderson
@Brian: Nice. You’re describing yourself. You can call me any blessed thing you want, and publicly. You have so little credibility I won’t even blush.
Brian
And yet again you pretend I didn’t make points that show your woeful ignorance about what discrimination actually is. Here’s a hint, it’s not like an election where majority wins. Making people guilty by association is discriminatory.
S.anderson
You hear that everyone? Brian says he “made points” which *I* cleverly ignored while pursuing an racist agenda. I’ll just let everyone scroll back and see for themselves. Pay no attention to Brian’s track record of being dense to “points” while clinging to *his* agenda. Where did you learn to think like that, Brian? All those trump rallies you go to? Sheesh, you’re simply not worth adulting with ya know?
jsmu
@Brian You really are a pitiful excuse for a grownup. S.anderson schooled, spanked, and mortified you, and you thought you somehow ‘won.’ Your impotence is exceeded only by your ignorance. Go listen to more of your ‘b*tch’ and ‘ho’ ‘music,’ troll 🙂
Gary Q VV
@Brian. You’ve always been quite fair, calm, and intelligent with your comments. These @S.anderson-types just love to play on people’s emotions while they sit in their dark smoked-filled tiny rooms and make any conflicting comments for attention, which they obviously seek to no avail. I rarely play into such ignorant attention-seekers, but I get tired of them wasting our time.
S.anderson
@Gary Q VV You and Gary must be sisters, the way you both try to get things stirred up, pretending to be intellectual and fair about it, but ducking and dodging any reasoning that tears your house of cards down. WE are tired of YOU.
DavidIntl
The critique is just ridiculous. Count me among those who doesn’t generally enjoy rap – and no, it has absolutely nothing to do with race. The club’s choice not to play rap would make me MORE inclined to patronise their establishment. And the same would be true for most of my black friends.
JED08
I’m sorry, but that by itself is not racist. Because I’ll bet you they don’t allow any heavy metal music to be played at all either, and you don’t hear anyone squealing about that. There are surely other genres that this same bar won’t allow to be played. It’s about the type of music it is, not who’s singing it.
masterwill7
I understand this completely! I wish more clubs and bars had this rule, just give me pop and dance 100% of the time! If you don’t like this music, just don’t go there? There are lots of Rap and R&B bars, they don’t play Martin Garrix in their places!
ShiningSex
Well rap/hip hop is awful music but so is Celine Dion, Katy Perry, Lady Gag–a, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Madonna, Christina, Beyonce, and Mariah.
Esscourt
I cannot stand rap. It baffles me to this day as to why the kids like it so much.
Vince
Because when you’re young you’ll do just about anything to fit in and look cool. Rap has that factor right now. The one difference you’ll notice is how they listen to it. It’s almost mandatory that they roll down both windows so everyone knows how cool they are. I’ve never seen anyone listening just to enjoy the ambiance of it.
Bytemenow
Wow. I see that racism continues to be alive and well in the gay community. Many of the comments here are proof positive. The oppressed are now the oppressors. I hope this bar suffers and eventually goes out of business. I guess “No rap music” will be added to their ads right after “No fats, no fems, no blacks, no Asians, whites only”.
S.anderson
@Bytemenow: My ad says “No quislings, collaborators or Judas goats”. 😉
It’s not oppression to stop feeding the violent, misogynistic and homophobic rap/hiphop industry.
iamru2
You and those like you are the reason why race relations will never improve.
jsmu
@Bytemenow No, troll, BITE ALL OF US. You are a total cretin without the logical skills necessary to be a functional five-year-old. News flash, moron: rap does not equal black, nor is it a badge of racial identity.
shakes_head
White gays being White…
Tishthedish
Not all black people like rap or hip hop ! Are they being racist too ?
andrew.agee
Actually, it’s more like “please play the music that’s going to get us the most patrons, who will spend the most money, most often.”
There’s nothing to keep anyone from opening a ‘gangsta bar, where pimps, bitches, hos, crips and bros run free…let’s fire up a blunt and talk about drugs and guns and bitches…all misogyny, all the time!
Let’s see how long *that* lasts…
Terrycloth
When you cant do anything else , or get a real job..give yourself a odd misspelled name and become a rapper. It is the worst disgusting vile nasty awful genre of so called “music ” there ever was..hip hop and rap aren’t played on most radio stations much anymore (at least its fading here fast )I would rather have a root canal without pain meds than listen to rap or hip hop
MynameisSid
So, do hip hop bars play country music? I don’t see the problem here.
Brian
Lots of rap music is dance music. You could put on In Da Club at almost any wedding in America and the dance floor would fill up.
Vince
I’d say the “rap” you’re talking about is a hybrid of dance music and added rap and I agree that can be nice. Many artists are doing that. Full on rap..never. It’s just not dance-able.
jerkinns
well sh1t, I don’t like rap “music”, does that mean I’m racist? No. Rap is just a genre. There are white rappers and there are black non-rappers. it’s not a race issue but music/mood preference!
Personally I won’t go to a bar playing rap music.
Shaugn
This is crap. Many gay bars play country music only. No pop, disco and no rap. Where is your article on their “racism “. This has gotten out of hand. Just because the politically correct line up does not make them correct. How about no more articles like this, a bit of smoke doesn’t make a fire. Next article will state that a guy made advances and was turned down, so the guy saying no is straight and must now be excluded from gay bars. No one has all the details, the guy asking is dirty, ugly and smelly but the guy turning him down is racist, homophobic and everything that is oppressive to the community. The racist card doesn’t have to be played on everything.
Shaugn
Many gay bars play country music only. No pop, disco and no rap. Where is your article on their “racism “. This has gotten out of hand. Just because the politically correct line up does not make them correct. How about no more articles like this, a bit of smoke doesn’t make a fire. Next article will state that a guy made advances and was turned down, so the guy saying no is straight and must now be excluded from gay bars. No one has all the details, the guy asking is dirty, ugly and smelly but the guy turning him down is racist, homophobic and everything that is oppressive to the community. The racist card doesn’t have to be played on everything.
IanHunter
If you want to here rap, go to a bar that plays rap music. Some people want to dance so they go to clubs that play dance music. Same with every other genre of music. I don’t this this is racist, I think that it is just a preference to a style of music.
Doug
Had the owner said he didn’t want any classical, 50’s through 90’s music played, no one would have said a word.
Itsonlythetruth
Here we go again, trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill. I fail to see how the owners decision not to play rap is racist.
812rls
Is it racist for an adult contemporary radio station to choose not to play rap? I think not, they are defining the genre they are targeting. You want rap, turn to that station. Same for clubs/bars. I side with the bar on this one.
JamesVW
At least there is choice in a city the size of Chicago. Down the street at Scarlet, they have welcomed rap and hip hop. They have a ladies of rap night. They have nights featuring Cardi B and a monthly Rihanna night. There staff is very diverse with a majority very cute POC. The space is small but no doubt rap is welcome.
Tishthedish1
Do they play white music there? Let’s say like white hip-hop artists ? Such as lil’wyte ? I like to dance at a dance bar ! I can’t dance to Rap …. well I could…. but I would look like a idiot !
andrew.agee
Scarlett is a “club” in name only, it’s the size of a single car garage and constantly struggling. They’d club baby seals to get people in the doors, if that’s what it took.
Jack Meoff
Not playing rap music just shows good taste and has nothing to do with racism. Political correctness gone awry again.
pisces-boi
No it shows ignorance, just like ur comment. Just cause something isn’t for you doesn’t mean it’s bad
jsmu
@pisces-boi Nope, MORON. Rap is virulently homophobic and misogynist, or are you so deaf you never even heard any of the ‘lyrics?’
sydboy007
A lot of rap is extremely misogynistic, so on that basis I’d be happy to have it banned in public. Many tap songs I find offensive.
pisces-boi
The music that is played in most gay clubs, is the reason I don’t go to clubs. As a guy from an urban background I just can not relate to the music or the culture of gay clubs. I’m glad to say I won’t be going to this or any gay club like this.
boymikefl
Maybe start working on changing your reputation. Stop causing trouble everywhere you gather.
Stop shootin’ up da clubs, funerals, concerts, bbq’s, McDonalds’, casinos (2 Pac), and what did he do for a living? Trouble is in their blood. I’m in Baltimore and I don’t bother wondering what race when crime is on news. Prisons overflowing. Best thing for all…GET YO SH*T TOGETHER!!! When was there last a shoot out at Jilly’s?
pisces-boi
Maybe you guys should stop shooting up schools when you don’t get your way. Since we’re calling out race.
loveistheanswer
Chile, you are pressed and your racism is showing. The bitter white gays! I just cant!
Bytemenow
Changing our reputation? If that’s the case, then perhaps you and your ilk should stop shootin’ up movie theatres, elementary schools, grade schools, high schools, universities, military installations, banks, grocery stores, indoor or outdoor concerts, hospitals, and stop calling the police, because you feel threatened by law-abiding citizens working in their own yards, having a family picnic, walking in a park, shopping in stores (where you don’t think they belong), asking people to show proof they live at THEIR OWN HOME, or calling the police on law abiding citizens meeting at Starbucks for a business meeting. Gay, white bigots…GET YO SH*T TOGETHER!!!
Brian
Simple question. I’m a DJ at this club, I want to play Gossip Folks by Missy Elliot. Progressive, socially conscious artist, #1 Billboard Dance Club Play song. Justify why I can’t.
S.anderson
Simple answer. Since you’re a DJ at ‘this club’ i.e., Progress Bar, you can’t play it because they have banned the genre. Respect LGBTQ folk by not feeding the anti-LGBTQ industries. Respect your employer or find another venue. Clear enough?
UlfRaynor
The club owner and his ex had that as “their” song and since the break up it just brings back painful memories so he bans it ever being played in his bar ever again.
jsmu
@Brian Simple question. You’re a homophobic troll. I want you banned from commenting on gay websites. Progressive, socially conscious, negative social sanctions against an obvious sh*t-stirrer. Justify why I can’t. 😀
Brian
S. Anderson, give it up. Just because you keep trying to coattail your defense of discrimination onto LGBT rights doesn’t magically make it not be discrimination. Even if 90% of rap music was as offensive as you describe it (and it’s not), that still doesn’t make it not discriminatory to ban all of it. Your opinion of what’s offensive and whatever arbitrary number you’ve personally decided is the threshold to making a ban acceptable is irrelevant.
Ulf, that is certainly a reason. And I’d love to meet the couple whose song is Gossip Folks. Now is there a reason based on the facts (or this being Queerty, “facts”) as we know them from this article?
jsmu, how original. Calling someone a troll when you can’t actually dispute their logic. There’s something we never see on Queerty.
S.anderson
@Brian: You are certainly exhausting, I’ll grant you that. But I’ll say this again: you’re nakedly obvious about what you are and what you’re here trying to do. You’re not clever. You’re not intelligent. We’re not drinking your kool-aid.
KellyRobinsonJr
I can hear that awful Billy Ray Cyrus rap song playing in gay bars around the country. GAG ME WITH A PITCHFORK NOW.
dinard38
People see racism everywhere these days. I’m black and I don’t see anything inherently racist here. I can’t stand 90% of rap music. As many already mentioned, most of it is homophobic, misogynistic, extremely vulgar, negative, and use the N-word way too much. Who’d want to go to a club and listen to that garbage? I want to hear dance/house music at the club.
jsmu
@dinard38 FINALLY! Thank you.
pisces-boi
Ewww and you say rap music is bad? but I agree there’s nothing racist about this. And they’re so many places out there for everyone to enjoy. That’s why I AVOID gay clubs.
Brian
So most rap music is homophobic, misogynistic, extremely vulgar and negative, and most rap artists are black, does that mean it’s ok to ban you from places too? Excluding an entire group because of the actions of some is discriminatory. Just because you don’t like 90% of rap music doesn’t mean you shouldn’t support the principle.
S.anderson
@Brian: It doesn’t matter what skin color “most” rappers are. Most rap/hiphop music IS INDEED violent, misogynistic and homophobic. The industry needs to clean up its act. If you hand pick “nice” tracks, your money and support is still feeding the artists and labels which crank out poison along with the sugar. The rap/hiphop industry and culture needs to STARVE until it stops profiting from hate.
You are such a twit! You take my breath away with your supposed sympathy for the hypothetical minority of rappers who don’t preach violence and hate. But what you fail to do is CONVINCE anyone. You’re nakedly obvious about what you are and what you’re here to do. Go tour your local sanitation plant. They have siht for you to stir there!
orfunnyhaha
Go to a bar that predominantly plays rap and ask them to play country. See how that goes.
Brian
Nobody is asking them to play rap, they were already playing it and are now banning it. Big difference.
S.anderson
@Brian: Honey, just re-read the letter in the article above. The Progress Bar didn’t discover that rap/hiphop artists were black! What happened is they FOUND THEIR CONSCIENCE!
Will L
I don’t care for rap in the least. I have a hard time even classifying it as music. If anything, I would classify it as poetry – angry, spoken poetry. Who goes to a bar to hear that?
Good Times
Democrats never forgave Republicans for freeing their slaves. As payback, Democrats opened the welfare plantation and learned the value of calling everyone else racist. But no evil deed goes unpunished. Bars are now miserable because of slave music and it looks like it’s here to stay. That’s too bad. BTW, my black stepbrother says rap is fighting music. So be warned. I leave when he and his friends pump up the jam.
dannysax
As a musician and an accomplished vocalist, I like a song that is a song, with a melody or something similar, maybe a verse and a chorus, or at least chord changes. I don’t know about others, but I understand that the current millennial generation may not have been exposed to much real music, hence the strong popularity of this poetry with a beat. It is mostly very danceable, so that may be the big draw. But I do wonder why women don’t protest more about the misogynistic lyrics, and a lot of rap is also very homophobic and bigoted in other ways. I think everyone needs a mandatory course in what music really is! I have been to bars, usually smaller clubs, that only play rock music. So is that racist? There were more black rock and rollers in the earlier decades, but it is not merely a white man’s genre even today. I don’t see barring rap as being racist, since there are a lot of black artists who are pop and R&B stars. It’s what someone said previously, the PC police are overreacting.
Good Times
Modern rap isn’t poetry, as the ivory towers claims. It’s toxic. Rap was pretty good in the beginning, but not anymore. We now suffer a 100% vapid leftist culture. The Motown greats who came before loved God and country. Thugs today know nothing but entitlement and that the race card is all-powerful. I mostly blame white Obama voters for this travesty.
And you ask why women and gays don’t decry misogynistic and homophobic rap? Surely you jest? Women and gays fall beneath blacks on the leftist victimhood scale. Only Mohammedans superseded blacks. I thought that was common knowledge.
Libertas Belle
I think it’s a stretch to call them racists just because they don’t want a particular style of music played. They have the right to choose what is played in their establishment, and it sounds like they want just pop music. Fine.
If you don’t like just pop music, then don’t go to this club that plays just pop. There are other places that will play the style of music you want.
Brian
Pop music and dance club music aren’t the same thing.
pisces-boi
@jsmu You’re calling me out my name, and you want to complain about rap music? And apparently you don’t listen to enough rap music cause not ALL rap music is that way. NEWS FLASH! NOT EVERYONE THINK LIKE YOU!
johnnymcmxxx
For a bar to prefer to a certain type of music to be played at their establishment is perfectly fine with me. I do not want to hear the same music at each bar I visit. I prefer disco and soulful house but even I don’t want it at every nightspot I visit. But to call out one particular music genre that is predominantly associated with African-American people is racist. Did they also say they won’t play Country music, or soft jazz or call out any other music genre? No, so yes it is racist.
S.anderson
“Predominately associated” as a defense doesn’t hold a candle to the violent, misogynistic and homophobic lyrics. But I see you have your priority.
Vince
Probably there was never any need since country or soft jazz isn’t generally played at most gay clubs.
jerkinns
obviously they already have a set and they just want to specify not to include rap in it. Common sense will dictate that that particular set will not include country because duh, it’s a gay bar, while rap can easily be considered. However they didn’t want it so there.
mgconlan
I’m writing this while listening to John Coltrane’s classic 1961 album “Africa/Brass.” I love great African-American music. I can’t stand rap. Rap has its origins in a testosterone-fueled game Black men used to play on streetcorners called “The Dozens,” in which they would hurl insults at each other. All too much rap preaches racism (Black racism aimed usually at other people of color), sexism (women are just “bitches” and “ho’s” to be sexually exploited and trafficked for profit), homophobia (a lot of rappers boast about bashing Queers), greed and conspicuous consumption. Many rappers are affiliated with criminal gangs, and some have been murdered by gangs associated with their commercial rivals. I’m not calling for rap to be suppressed, but the sooner this garbage loses its audience the better. I certainly wouldn’t patronize a bar that regularly played rap!
cheloalexanderloui
You see, I’m glad to see that people don’t like that music and it is not to be seen as racist. I am Puertorrican born and race and hate rap, can’t stand it in English or Spanish wich the language is worst. And there is black people who don’t like rap, I have dated them. Here in nyc bars they have nights for Latinos, black and whites. I don’t like white guys, sorry, but love music seen as white. It is what it is, not everyone is the same. Please stop with the racist card if some guys don’t like rap and the language in it. I’m not a racist since I’m very colored my self, there is black, white and taino in me, I’m mix and preferred a music induced it to dancing and it is not rap.
ruffmarine
Let me be perfectly clear, if I am on the dance floor and we have been dancing away and a rap song comes on, it clears the floor and me most of the time and kills the mood. This does not make me nor do I consider myself racist! That’s BS!!! Most clubs and dj’s know and understand what gets a crowd onto the floor. And it ain’t rap.
pisces-boi
It not rap at the clubs u go to
For me as a black person, I hate house disco music I can’t dance to that crap at all. That’s why I dnt go to gay clubs
Brian
Yeah, Baby Got Back is always such a mood killer when people are dancing.
iamgeraldjr
It’s ironic to watch Gay men who aren’t Black men
comment about things they don’t understand
But yet they get mad at straight people for doing the exact same thing.
Brian
Well these comments have certainly made me understand more. MC Hammer and XXXtentacion are the exact same thing, right?
Brian
It is pretty horrifying to see how many people here are fine with the concept of banning something because they personally don’t care for it, or they have some arbitrary standard of a certain amount of it being X, so it’s ok to just do a sweeping ban on all of it. Just remember this story when it’s gay people who are the certain amount who are being X, and therefore unwelcome.
S.anderson
@Brian: apples to oranges. LGBTQ clubs embracing violent, misogynistic and homophobic music WILL NOT give pause to the homophobes who hurt us from their own perches of influence. WE gotta fight hate when and where we can. There are no Faustian deals to make. It’s mind boggling that you’re trying to WHIP UP SYMPATHY for an industry and culture who profit from hurting LGBTQ people!
jerkinns
I don’t like rap music, it doesn’t necessarily mean I don’t like Black peoples. A business person doesn’t like the rap music vibe in their bar. I don’t see any racism here. They didn’t say they don’t like “black people music” for example. And anyway, rap is not exclusive to Blacks. Tthere are white rappers and there are black non-rappers too. The world is, no, America is just ruining everything.
hotshot70
I used to DJ. I never played rap either. Rap is angry most times. Pride is about being happy.
DJEphraimAdamz
So no Madonna, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, Christina Auguilera, JLo, or Jessie J then since they all have hit songs with rappers….. Because Lady Marmalade featuring Lil Kim isn’t an iconic drag queen anthem?
jerkinns
I find it ironic that the people who cry racism here are the same people who identify/stereotype rap music as Black race music.
Hypocrites, these bunch.
jerkinns
The local coffee shop in my block played only Bossa Nova. So what does that make it? Racist too? Non-inclusive? I wonder what these “PC” people think it needs to do to please them.
ElPillo
I don’t like bluegrass. I’m I racist?
blahman3113
This article fails to mention that with-in 24 hours this past weekend the bar had a number of safety incidents:
This is in response to how within 24 hours this bar needed to have the police called to it. Someone had their face sliced open with a knife at 2:45am, and then around 9pm someone punched through the window. When emergency response showed up the crowd inside of the bar decided to get in the way and dance in the street.
The bar is liable for for the safety of it’s patrons, and the bar has consistently had incidents where the police have needed to be called to intervene, again on a regular basis. The Halsted / Roscoe intersection has regularly needed to be closed down because the crowd from progress decide to have a impromptu alcohol fueled dance fist fight in the middle of the street.
So of course the owners want to change something, they do not wish to be sued….. Would you rather they install metal detectors at the front door?
Chrisk
Yep anytime a venue decides to go rap you’re going to find violence. Never seen it different.
ShowMeGuy
Clubs in my burg give up on having “rap music” night because the cops get tired of spending all their time there on those nights and the city gets pressured to pull the booze license for the club which has 911 on speed dial.
Rap music and the audience which consumes rap music have a reputation. Where did that reputation come from? Most stereotypes are based in bits of reality.
blahman3113
And Last night this happened…
A crowd of at least two dozen men and women overtook Halsted Street in Boystown early Saturday, dancing on cars and obstructing traffic as video cameras rolled and one onlooker proudly screamed, “We f*cking sh*t up!”
One man mounts an SUV in the 3300 block of North Halsted as others block the vehicle’s path. The man begins “twerking” on the hood, jumping up and down, then slams himself onto the hood.
“We gone crazy! Say something to the camera baby!”
The incident was reported to police at 2:57 a.m., but no arrests were made.
just me
how can anyone put “rap” and “music” in conjunction? and stop seeing racist shadows everywhere, come on.
MISTERJETT
i’m not a rap music fan by any means, but if i owned a bar and knew that i had customers who like and want to hear it, i would tell the d.j. “play rap music”.
DJEphraimAdamz
So no Madonna, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, Christina Auguilera, JLo, or Jessie J then since they all have hit songs with rappers….. Because Lady Marmalade featuring Lil Kim isn’t an iconic drag queen anthem?