17 January 5-11, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER | CONTENTS | UNFAIR PARK | SCHUTZE | FEATURE | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | MOVIES | DISH | MUSIC | CLASSIFIED | Ye or Nay Are Dallas DJs playing any of Kanye’s music after his full Nazi meltdown? BY DANNY GALLAGHER E ven if you’ve never heard Kanye West’s music or seen one item of his clothing/shoe brand, you still know the name thanks to his many public breakdowns. These crescendoed last month when he made it clear that he sympathizes with Nazis and Adolf Hitler. West had been dropping hints that he leaned way toward the dark side of the Force with Twitter comments about going “death con 3 [sic] on the Jews.” Then he went on conspiracy wacko Alex Jones’ online show with noted white supremacist and Holo- caust denier Nick Fuentes in a full face hood, where he espoused in no uncertain terms things such as, “I like Hitler,” “I don’t like the word ‘evil’ next to ‘Nazis’” and “The Ho- locaust is not what happened.” West’s abhorrent comments may have killed his already dwindling future, but has it also affected the way people feel about the music he made in the past? “We don’t censor our DJs, but honestly, they aren’t playing Kanye either,” says The Nines and Charlie’s Star Lounge co-owner Allen Falkner. “One of the bartenders brought up something recently. At The Nines, we play music videos on Fridays and Saturdays from 7 to 9 p.m. A week ago, a Kanye video played and an [convicted sex offender] R. Kelly video played. I was asked to remove them from the playlist, which I did.” A booking agent who works with DJs for the 13th Floor Music agency and asked not to be identified says he’s seen a huge wave of backlash against the artist since his Nazi praise went public. “I know multiple DJs who won’t play Kanye anymore, and I’ve had at least one cli- ent who didn’t want to play Kanye any- more,” he says. “As soon as that day when he got dropped by everybody, they said nobody in their company would be playing his music anymore.” Other club regulars, such as club influ- encer @steal.Tokyo, says he thinks it’s possi- ble to separate the modern Kanye from his earlier music before he went off the deep end. “I’m a fan of old Kanye West and I like some of his tracks,” he says. “So I can’t really have a feeling about playing his music. You have to play according to your audience as a DJ and have a little bit of something for ev- eryone.” Joe Vega, who spins records as DJ Vega at places such as Common Table and the Statler Hotel and works as entertainment director for Crate Events, says he still plays Kanye’s music but just like other artists, he plays it only if the crowd is feeling it. “I’d play with the crowd and on the back of that, ride it all the way through,” Vega says. “I wouldn’t necessarily say cut any art- ist, and it’s not just Kanye. Multiple artists have gotten in trouble back in the day. Chris Brown got in trouble and I still play him.” The 13th Floor booking agent notes that artists like R. Kelly and Michael Jackson, who famously fell from grace, still get ro- tated at live events and taken out of playlists depending on the DJ and the room. “Obvi- ously, it’s not the same as what R. Kelly or Michael Jackson did, but I’ve seen the same reaction in a similar way,” he says. “Some people who’ve completely banned that mu- sic from what they play. Some justify it with, ‘We’re not trying to make a political state- ment.’ It’s just a song in a club. “Just personally me listening to music in my car, I skip Kanye songs,” he adds. “I’m alone in my car and if the song comes up, it’s not hitting the same. It kind of kills the vibe.” DJ and It’ll Do Club co-owner Colton Carlyle says Kanye’s “Forever” collaboration track with Drake, Eminem and others came up on the playlist during a recent gig at The- ory Nightclub Uptown. He says a feeling washed over him “that I shouldn’t be play- ing this right now.” “I back spun it and went into another song immediately,” Carlyle says. “I just did not feel comfortable playing it. He doesn’t deserve to be played in the clubs, one, for his hate and for another one, I felt really un- comfortable doing it. I always split the mu- sic and the artist apart but this was a first for me and I’ll always let tracks play out but with him, no way, at least for the foreseeable future.” Charlie’s Star Lounge is doing more than just taking Ye’s music out of its video rota- tion. Co-owner Corey Howe says the own- ers commissioned a graffiti mural for one side of the bar’s building following Kanye’s Nazi meltdown. “The ball’s in his court,” Carlyle says referring to Kanye. “I can’t speak for the greater of his conscience but I really hope he does figure it out and he makes peace not only with himself but the Jewish com- munity.” That’s Kanye West behind the hood praising Adolf Hitler on Alex Jones’ show. Screenshot from Info Wars ▼ Music Corey Howe Charlie’s Star Lounge commissioned a mural for its building painted by local artists 1DER, M3PS and Redskeee and the pro-Israel advocacy charity group Artists4Israel after Kanye West’s racist comments went public in early December. 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