Stu Pflaum seems to have forgotten one of the golden rules of hip-hop: to give credit where credit is due. I was disappointed to read his claim of establishing the Monday night MC battles at Casa Cantina.
Charles Budde and I started disc jockeying on Monday nights at Casa in the spring of 2001, while we were both worker-owners there. Originally titled Subsonic Chronicles, it began as just the two of us cutting and scratching on four turntables. In the fall of 2002, we decided to start doing MC battles. Ethan Minor joined us as an MC / host / referee. We consistently packed the place to capacity while giving an opportunity for notables like Jon Sands, the Dysfunctional Family, Kres Tiu and frequent winner Gabe G-Money Fischer to flex their skills on the mic. Stu was there, in the crowd.
Eventually Ethan, Budde and I decided to step down. We chose Stu as a successor based on his enthusiasm to DJ the event. Stu renamed the already established event Sound Clash and after one or two quarters moved it to the Gator, where it eventually wilted.
There has been a hip-hop scene in Athens for over 20 years. It waxes and wanes, but it has never died. Around the time Stu arrived, it was thriving, as evident in acts like the Jungle Brothers, Black Sheep, Mars Ill, DJ Drastic, Blueprint and Illogic, all rolling through town.
Stu deserves to be commended for his accomplishments. He has done well for himself. I just want to remind him of the hip-hop establishment's stance on embellishment, best stated by the mighty KRS-One: stop frontin'.
Ryan Stolz is the co-owner O'Betty's Red Hot! and a 1992-95 and 1996-'97 OU undergraduate.
17 Archives
Letter to the Editor
