At 11, Melissa Darby went to her first concert, which was at the Redmond Firehouse. The Firehouse was then very similar to the Vera Project, providing all ages shows and an opportunity for kids to become involved in music. Darby knew what she wanted to do right off the bat and she soon began passing out flyers and working the door. "Some were into sports, I was into music," Darby said. "I was into everything, punk rock, hardcore, R&B, hip-hop, I didn't care what it was."

Darby first got heavily involved in music in response to the Teen Dance Ordinance (TDO). TDO was a 1985 law that imposed serious restrictions on clubs and shows catering to or run by teens. "It was the Teen Dance Ordinance's sole mission to abolish all ages music in Seattle. I wanted to put a stop to it," said Darby.

At the time she was advocating against the Ordinance, she was more of an indie rocker than a hip-hopper. However, while meeting with the Mayor's office about the TDO, Darby heard Sam Chesneau, who was representing the hip-hop scene in Seattle, speak about how the Ordinance unfairly affected minorities. "He was saying, 'The punk rock scene has never been in jeopardy in Seattle,' which was true. At the time you had to be 21 or have a fake ID to get into hip-hop shows in Seattle."

Darby struck a friendship with Chesneau and she soon found herself heavily involved in the Seattle hip-hop scene, working in the Student Hip-hop Organization of Washington (The SHOW) at University of Washington with Chesneau and Marc Matsui (now manager of Blue Scholars) and Wake Up Productions with Steven Severin. At The SHOW "we made it our responsibility to bring all ages hip-hop to Seattle," Dar by said, "and before SHOW. there was no hip-hop scene in Seattle."

Matsui and Chesneau soon went on to other things and Darby decided to continue booking shows, thus giving birth to Obese Productions. Darby owns the company, as well as acting as booking agent. Her partner is Jason Gilbert, who acts as Promotions manager, heading the street team and distribution. "This is what he's always wanted to do," said Darby. "I felt that I should pass on what I'd been given, which was a reason to get Jason on board."

One of Darby's biggest objectives has been providing all ages shows. "My job is to make sure that music is available to kids. I believe that kids and adults can learn from each other and when you set boundaries you miss out on a lot." While it's easier to book all ages show than in Portland, where the only shows kids can get into are usually 500 or more people, it's still very expensive. All ages shows require a certain amount of security guards and there must be boundaries between kids and the bar.

Obese Productions has been doing very well but eventually Darby hopes to move on from Promotions. She currently manages Sleep of Oldominion, has routed a few tours as well as acting as a booking agent. "Eventually I'll move on from this promotions stuff," she said, "and then my partner will come in and take the rein."

Check www.obeseproductions.com for up coming hip-hop events in the Northwest.