I was at the South Memphis Block Party on McMillan Street last summer when Blac Youngsta shot this music video, but today is the first …
#078 Blac Youngsta-Paper.MOV (by jdoggtn7)
Memphis rapper Blac Youngsta performs his single “Paper” for his friends and neighbors at the McMillan Street Block Party in South Memphis, 6/2/12
Blac Youngsta performs for his friends and neighbors in South Memphis at the McMillan Street Block Party, 6/2/12
After the video shoot, there was a dougie contest for the little kids, and then Blac Youngsta performed for the crowd at the block party, South Memphis, 6/2/12
McMillan Street Block Party, South Memphis, Memphis TN, 6/2/12
Later in the afternoon, there was a block party in South Memphis in memory of a young man called King Craddy who had been murdered several years ago. There was a DJ posted up on the block, and the rap artist Blac Youngsta was filming a new video down the street. As the evening progressed, the crowd grew larger and larger. 6/2/12
Yesterday, DJ Zirk held his first annual 2 Thick Records Orange Mound Block Party, moved indoors to the Bear Cave on East Parkway, presumably because of the excessive heat warnings. Unlike last week’s rambunctious Orange Mound Block Party, this was a smaller and quieter event, with Memphis rap veterans like Tom Skeemask and DJ Care Bear making an appearance. Unfortunately, the air conditioning was malfunctioning, and the extremely crowded room was hotter than a sauna, but we enjoyed some great Memphis rap and R & B from newcomers and veterans alike.
People walking home after the fights and shooting, Orange Mound Block Party, July 30, 2011. I will never understand why people would come to a recreational event in a mood to pick a fight with someone, or why anyone could think that it was ever justifiable to shoot a gun into a crowd of people. But the end result is that the city will prevent events like this from taking place, so all of us will be the losers because 6 or 7 people would rather fight and shoot than have a good time.Â
In the aftermath of the fights and shooting, the police cleared the park, and people began slowing walking back home, Orange Mound Block Party, July 30, 2011
Late in the afternoon at the Orange Mound Block Party, a string of fights developed. One young man that had been onstage with several of the acts was beaten unconscious and had to be carried back behind the stage, and then two girls got to fighting. Shortly after that, everyone broke into a full run at the sound of gunfire. We later learned that someone had fired a shotgun into the crowd, and a young woman was hit. The police quickly flooded the park, but I could hear gunfire continuing, now coming from the northwest corner of Park and Pendleton. The ambulances came, and police began clearing out the park.Â
