Radio exec says he advised Wayne’s crew against bringing tour buses into New York. By Shaheem Reid Lil Wayne, 07.22.07 Photo: MTV News Ebro Darden, Director of Programming for New York’s Hot 97 and KISS-FM, was one of the people who spearheaded Lil Wayne’s New York concert on July 22, 2007 — after which he was arrested on the attempted gun possession charges that are sending him to jail today. Darden, a veteran of radio for over 20 years, said he and his staff urged Wayne and his entourage to not to travel to the Beacon Theater on their tour bus. “They decided they wanted to drive their tour buses through Manhattan because they didn’t want to ride in regular cars that day,” Darden recalled. “I suggested against it, but obviously [he’s] the type of person that likes to be in an environment he’s comfortable in. That’s where he lives a lot. He spends a lot of time on that tour bus. Leaving that tour bus in one place and jumping in the car and going to another place was uncomfortable. So we parked the tour buses outside [the theater]. “My reaction to the actual incident at first was, ‘Damn. Didn’t he know he was in New York? ‘Cause they don’t play that,’ Darden continued. “I didn’t know the particulars — if the gun was his, if the gun was in somebody else’s bag, if it was in his bag. I just knew that somebody I like as an artist got caught up in something, same way a lot of artists that we love in hip-hop have got caught up in having possession of firearms in New York. [New York authorities] don’t play , especially if you are coming through New York and are an out-of-towner coming from somewhere you can actually carry a firearm, the odds are high that they’re gonna catch you with one to be able to make a an example out of you. You’re gonna get caught up.” Outside the Beacon Theater that night, tension was very high between police and a group of hip-hop luminaries, such as the Diplomats, Ja Rule, Irv Gotti and DJ Khaled, who came to support Weezy at his first headlining New York concert. Police, mounted on horses practically pushed a crowd — which included Juelz Santana and Jim Jones — down the block. Wayne himself had a tough time getting in the building and going through security. Onstage during his performance, Weezy said police harassed him. “I just went through the worst f—-in’ feelin ever with y’all police,” he fumed onstage. “This may be one of the only times you see me because of how they treated me.” Darden said he had no control over the police’s behavior. “Security is security,” he said. “At any event, we try to do the artists a special service because they’re coming to do a service for the audience. You still gotta go through security. We don’t own the buildings; we definitely don’t own the police. This is hip-hop, so most buildings and most police, we’re not on their good side. They’re not really going show us any special concessions. They’re gonna try and make it difficult for us. Just like they’re gonna try and make it difficult for the cat on the train. If you’re in hip-hop, you kinda accept a little bit of that burden. It’s unfortunate.” The hip-hop stars say that the treatment by the police got no better for them as they left the Beacon. “Leaving the Beacon was weird for me,” Khaled told MTV News last year. “I felt like [police] was just watching everybody. It didn’t feel right. Everybody was backstage, undercovers, I heard Ja Rule got pulled over. And nobody was doing anything wrong. That’s why I didn’t really understand it. Me, I didn’t leave from backstage. I left with the crowd. When I was leaving, I was hearing all this stuff about people getting pulled over. I feel hip-hop is a target for no reason right now.” “I remember that day, a couple of people got arrested, I got pulled over,” Santana told MTV News last year. “They followed me uptown. You can’t just go and try get n—as for no reason. Say a n—a did have a gun. We’re on defense. By the time somebody tries to [do something to me] and [the police] get to me, I’m just explaining the story. That’s the position we in. C’mon. The people that’s trying to get us are looking out to see when the police aren’t there,” he said. Wayne and Ja Rule were both arrested on weapons charges. In October, Wayne pleaded guilty to attempted gun possession and is expected to begin serving a year-long sentence today, of which he’s expected to serve eight to 10 months. Darden is one among many who feels that Wayne’s musical career won’t flag while he’s in jail. “He’s got a great catalog at this point,” he said. “The airplay is going to continue. I think people are rooting for him. He didn’t hurt anybody. The Young Money album , the [upcoming] Drake album , his album, even the Birdman album: The music that features him and the music that is his own is gonna stretch out from March to March [of next year]. It usually takes a record 8-12 weeks to take off. Then it’s probably another 8-12 weeks tacked on the back of that where it has a life. So you’re talking four to six months that a record could be around getting airplay. If you have three or four records lined up that are bona-fide, we might not even notice he’s gone. I think that’s what their plan is: shoot a bunch of videos, have a bunch of music, you might not even recognize he’s gone.” Related Videos Lil Wayne Goes To Jail Lil Wayne’s ‘Road To Rikers’ Related Photos Lil Wayne And Friends Live In New York Related Artists Lil Wayne
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Lil Wayne’s Arrest: Concert Organizer Looks Back On The Night
