Purple Haze blames 'black on black crime,' decides to stop playing 'hard rap music'
MEMPHIS, TN (WMC) - Purple Haze Nightclub will no longer play "hard rap music," according to the business' Facebook page.
The club said it "tried to accommodate an urban crowd that hit all of the downtown dance clubs when a club on Beale St. decided to go in a different direction."
They went on to say, "Unfortunately there is a bad element associated with parts of that scene."
"Rap music doesn't cause crime. People cause crime," Beale Street patron Taj Sanford said.
In response to a Facebook comment that alleged the problem is their staff being affiliated with drugs and crime, Purple Haze said, "the issue is black on black crime outside the club that we cannot control."
"That is very unfair. It's not a black issue or a white issue. It's just an issue," Sanford said.
Purple Haze went on to say in a later comment that "most of the so called black clubs in this city have been forced to close due to violence."
Purple Haze announced it will now play old-school, clean hip hop and top 40 hits instead of the "hard rap music."
"You need to address it in a realistic manner, not change the music like that's going to magically solve your security issues,," Beale Street patron Tonya Lewis said.
There have been multiple incidents in and near Purple Haze, including a peace activist who was shot and killed just outside the club, and a person who was shot inside the club on Christmas morning.
"If there was security out there to stop it, there wouldn't be a problem. They couldn't put the blame on us," William Matthews, a Beale Street patron, said.
The club's original Facebook post has been deleted. A spokesperson for Purple Haze released the following statement about what happened:
It has come to our attention that a recent Facebook post announcing a change in our musical entertainment was not well written by our social media manager and has been reported to be offensive. We have deleted the Facebook post and want to sincerely apologize for any language that was used that was taken as insensitive or offensive, as that was absolutely not our intent.
Our musical entertainment will focus on old school hip hop and Top 40 this summer as we continually work to bring you safe and enjoyable nightlife entertainment.
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