State agrees to pay Oscar's II nightclub $525,000
The owner of a Central Area nightclub embroiled in a legal battle with the city and state for the past seven years has settled the last part of his lawsuit with state Liquor Control Board.

Promoter found a top spot behind the scenes of showbiz
James Gore remembers well the time he had a full house waiting for a show by Gil Scott-Heron at the Langston Hughes Cultural Center, and the singer-poet never showed up.

Not wearing a seat belt? Cops can now stop you for that alone
Forget to buckle up in Washington this summer, and you might see flashing lights in the rearview mirror and feel a sudden emptiness in your wallet. A bill signed into law yesterday...

Two dead, 1 hurt in shooting outside nightclub
Two people were killed and one was wounded by a man who went on a shooting spree while leaving a Tacoma nightclub early yesterday. McCabe's American Music Cafe was packed Thursday...

Last Call for Balzer's
DID 'MUSIC PROFILING' KILL A HOT PORTLAND NIGHTCLUB? 
Saturday night just turned into Sunday morning, and Balzer's is rocking. Bodies pack the brick-walled club's dance floor, quaking under the elevated DJ booth. Mello-Cee, who's manned the turntables at Balzer's for years, sports a Latrell Sprewell jersey, testifying to a native New Yorker's pride 3,000 miles from home. Mello weaves a succession of hip-hop hits into a seamless wash of big-bottomed beats. Meanwhile, MC Kevin Berry alternates...

Kirkland drops objection to relicensing bar
The city of Kirkland has removed its objection to a liquor- license application by the prospective owners of the Taps 'N' Tabs II bar, but only after they agreed to scrap a troublesome...

Break's over — time for swanky Chop Suey
The Breakroom, that Capitol Hill bar with the blue-collar atmosphere and punk-rock sound, has been replaced by Chop Suey — a little clubbier, a tad more refined; swank rock...

Club owner, promoters entangled in drug bust
An undercover federal drug bust this week has reached deep into the heart of the Seattle nightclub and rave scene, including the arrests of a co-owner of a new Chinatown International District nightclub and several dance-club promoters. In court documents and testimony yesterday, federal prosecutors outlined an extensive, two-year federal Drug Enforcement Administration investigation that relied heavily on court-authorized wiretaps to bring indictments against 30 people

Club NV filling void left by Planet Hollywood
When Planet Hollywood folded like a B-movie a few months ago, it left a void for an upscale hip-hop club in Seattle. Living in a capitalist society, we can be sure that where there's a demand, someone will step up on the supply end. Enter Club NV.

Fenix to rise again; owners expect to reopen in May at new address
It isn't quite rising out of the ashes, à la the mythical bird for which it was named, but the Fenix nightclub is preparing to ascend out of the rubble. The Nisqually Earthquake on Feb. 28 wrecked the Pioneer Square club and sent co-owner Rick Wyatt into a deep funk. Now, nearly a year after the Fenix was partly destroyed and red-tagged, Wyatt is back in a bubbly mood as he prepares to reopen the Fenix two blocks from its previous location.

124 EMP employees laid off this week
124 EMP employees laid off this week Wednesday, January 9, 2002 By. JOHN COOK. SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER Experience Music Project laid off 124 employees this week - a cut that comes just 19 months after billionaire Paul Allen opened the $240 million interactive museum. The job cuts - 24 percent of the museum's staff - occurred in all departments and will leave a work force of about 400 peoplBob Santelli, chief execu

What 'izz' the latest word in hip-hop? Lizzten clozzely 
What 'izz' the latest word in hip-hop? Lizzten clozzely Tuesday, January 8, 2002 By. D. PARVAZ. SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER H to the izzo, V to the izza/I'm not guilty y'all got to feel me. - Jay-Z. As it turns out, he was guilty (of stabbing a record producer at a Manhattan nightclub) but what the heck was he saying in the first part? Basically, he was using something we'll call Izz Latin to spell "H.O.V.A. P

BYRDIE'S BATTLE
Calling Bullshit, Breaking Boundaries
by Brian Goedde

Hip hot: There's more than Puff to the hip-hop scene
Guess who's coming to town? (Hint: It's not Santa, but he does say "ho" a lot.) The artist formerly known as Puff Daddy makes an appearance at the Showbox tonight. Since Puffy is practically the poster boy for mainstream, bling-bling hip-hop, we thought a counterattack was in order. Here are some of the people bringing the sound to Seattle's streets.

Out with the old clubs, in with the (few) new ones
It's another cold, wet, windy, generally miserable night in Seattle. Yet the 50 or so young people standing outside on this Saturday night have expectant smiles. They're waiting to gain entrance to Tiki Bob's Cantina.

Is the party over? Club hopping in Seattle shaken by quake, city codes
A nightclub closing is hardly a novelty. As trends change, a place packed with the glitzy and the glamorous can become a cavernous warehouse in a matter of weeks. Yet consider how different club hopping in Capitol Hill was a year ago.

Club owners feel snubbed
Seattle police, accused of bias toward black clubs, will have a closed-door forum not on perceived harassment but on the clubs' alleged dangers. Club owners are not invited. 

$106,000 paid in club suit; owner claimed shutdown was based on police bias
The city of Seattle has paid $106,000 to settle a civil-rights lawsuit brought by the former owner of a club who claims she was targeted by police and city officials because they played hip-hop music and catered to a young African-American clientele.

New experience
KCMU becomes KEXP as a university-run station partners with Paul Allen's rock museum.

Anonymous $1 million gift buys teens a new youth center

'Restless' for success: Xzibit is poised to be the next rapper to hit it big

Downtown loiterers vanish after Mardi Gras

Pioneer Square -- it really has three sides

Mr. Rap Goes to Washington

The air comes out of Puff Daddy

Diamond in the Ruff

Rapper 'Puffy' Combs says trial has changed his life

Rap star Combs acquitted by jury

Fat Tuesday rioting heats up mayor's race

R. Kelly, Jagged Edge sweep Soul Train Awards