ARS Owners team up to bring Christmas to their community.
By Chukundi Salisbury
Support Hip
Hop! Buy my Album! Come to my Show! Buy from my Store! These phrases are all too common within
the hip-hop scene in Seattle these days. It seems every time you turn around, somebody wants you to
spend money, time, and energy with him or her.
While many will beat you with a “guilt stick” to get there point
across, how many of those people are taking that support and in turn help others
in there community? Ok…cut to
December 18th, Sharples Building Cafeteria, South Seattle…
Hundreds of kids and parents, the sweet smell of good BBQ, hundreds of give-away's and presents along the walls, The picture man taking flixs, and a DJ playing the latest cuts. That is the scene that I walked into last Monday at the Networker Youth Association’s Annual Christmas party. The brainchild of longtime, Seattle Club & Mobile DJ, Gary Alexander, the Association is an Official non-profit organization that is working “quietly” with Hip Hop’s next generation. Guy and Chris Davis (A.K.A.: Uncle G.U.Y. and Ferl) of ARS records also have a major stake in the operation. That is evident as I look around and see the whole “ARS Family” involved in some capacity around the room. One very long table has every inch covered with posters, CD’s, and stickers from almost every artist that dropped an album this year.
“Attention, Can we have everyone’s attention!” shouts Gary on the MIC as he begins to give the crowd instructions on how the evening will go. As the crowd begins to quiet down, it occurs to me that this is a major event, not unlike those put on by community centers and national non-profits. I look at all of the families and see that there is at least 5 different languages being spoken, but I know that they are saying the same thing….”Where is Santa?”
As people move thru the food line, provided by Jones BBQ (a MLK Way institution), kids are jumping with anticipation. Smiles are everywhere when I hear Gary announce that Santa would be there in 10 minutes. Families lined up in an orderly fashion and every young person received some type of gift. Just because the event was in the hood, did not mean it had to be ghetto. Overall, it was a great event. What was even better is that it was sponsored and organized by people who are not paid to do so. Instead, local businessmen who are heeding the call organized it.
To me, this is what SUPPORT is all about. ARS makes plenty of money over the course of the year by selling all of cuts, but they are REALLY giving some of that money back to all of us through events such as this and their Family BBQ which is heading into it’s 6th year. While it is ok to get your fetty, after all this is America, it is also a responsibility to support the community that supports you. Think about that next time you dive by ARS on your way to the Mall.
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