Fan Goes Down on Rapper Danny Brown

The unforgettable concert experience that we can’t get over

Has sex become an acceptable part of live performance?  This is just one of many questions that have sprung from the scene fans viewed at Danny Brown’s Minneapolis concert.  For those of you unfamiliar with Danny Brown, the 32 year old experimental Hip Hop rapper from Detroit Michigan started his career in the music industry in 2003.  His tour entitled ‘Worst of Both Worlds’ started in April with dates booked all the way to August 2013.

Hardly a week into his tour, during a concert at Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis, MN on April 26th Brown faced an uncomfortable situation with an impulsive fan.  At the event in question while the rapper was performing a female fan got on stage showing her appreciation for the music.  The fan, on stage at crotch level pulled down Brown’s pants and proceeded to perform oral sex on the rapper.  Brown continued rapping and did not miss a beat while the fan gave him fellacio in front of the other musicians and the audience.

This public act has sparked much controversy in news articles and blogs that have taken two different stances on the situation.  One version is shared by Daniel June, one of four authors of JD Journal.  He comments on the event writing, “…It seems perhaps like an enviable position, if you are a man with adolescent sense of what’s cool. However, having some stranger perform sexual acts on you is a quick way to get a disease, to say the least.”  June interprets that Brown is a willing participant in the sexual act and as such acted irresponsibly.  Aside from the troubling health risk that June addresses, other concert goers have also expressed their disapproval of the act that took place.

The other view is one that is shared by Kitty Pryde, friend and fellow rapper on tour with Brown.  Pryde has been vocal about her outrage over the situation saying that the act in question was rape.  Kitty expressed that since the act was not consensual it must be constituted as rape.  She explains that due to certain pressures in the Hip Hop in the community it would have been social suicide to turn down or express negativity towards the willing female sexual aggressor.  She also rightly points out that if the roles were reversed, a man sexually aggressing a female, the public would be more outraged by the acts of the presumptuous fan.  With these factors in mind, it is hard to think of how a male performing Hip Hop artist can react and avoid aggressive advances from the opposite sex.

Without getting into a very serious debate on rape, the biased opinions that are often attached to different genders, and how we can ascertain who is at fault and who the victim is, I believe that there is another big issue that frankly I’m amazed has not come up yet: where was the security team?

The first question that I asked while reading about this incident was, how did this happen?  Or better yet, who let this happen?  Adoring fans will often try their best to get closer to artists they love in the hopes of being taking in photo with the person (group) they admire, or be spoken to directly, touched and even brought on stage.  So where does that leave the artist?

This is one of several questions I would love to address to the security team that was in charge at the Brown’s concert.  The young people attending Brown’s concert were unwittingly subjected to a live porno display due to one fan’s poor decision making, a lack of reaction on the artist’s side and a lack of security presence.  Fans are unpredictable.  Artist are paid to make art.  The security team is hired to keep everyone safe.  Yet still an aggressive fan was able to get on stage, give head and get her picture taken without interference from security.

Does that sound safe to you? In June’s remarks, he addresses that Brown’s health was put at risk.  Disturbed fans all witnessed, at the very least, indecent exposure watching the scene.  Pryde believes that Brown was raped, and if this is true the audience was eye-witness to sexual assault.  If the security team that worked the night of the concert deems a music performance turned orgy as a safe environment, just what would they consider dangerous?

We all rely on security services at organized events to define the standards of artist-audience interaction.  Brown’s concert proves that when security teams do not have standards, neither do we.  Perhaps promoters will take a closer look into what security standards are for future events.  With this knowledge they could better communicate the type of show they are promoting and the audience would be able to choose whether or not they want to be a part of it.