Brouhaha Ends Hip Hop Awards
An awards celebration honoring the best in rap music had to be cut short Tuesday night when a fight broke out in the audience and scores of people tried to rush the stage.
When police tried to quell the disturbance at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, several in the audience turned on them and began pelting officers with bottles and compact disc recordings.
"With no apparent hope of continuing the show peacefully, the Pasadena Police Department announced that the show would not continue and asked the audience to leave quietly," the department said in a statement.
Police do not know the reason for the initial violence, reports CBS News Correspondent Steve Futterman.
Most people complied and, despite some isolated scuffles outside the auditorium between officers and members of the audience, no one was arrested. A witness says one man was badly beaten.
The second annual The Source Hip-Hop Awards Show was being taped for broadcast on UPN next Tuesday, but network officials said the fate of that broadcast is now in doubt.
"It is indeed unfortunate that the irresponsible actions of a few individuals marred a celebration of the best in hip-hop music and culture," UPN said in a statement.
Witnesses said the event was beset by scuffles before it began. Punches were thrown as rapper DJ Quik and his entourage arrived, an audience member told Reuters. Inside the auditorium, there was some minor shoving.
About a half-dozen awards were presented, and raunchy female rapper L'il Kim had just finished performing before the pandemonium erupted.
A separate, pre-written press release issued after the show ended said Dr. Dre received five awards, including a lifetime achievement honor, while his protege, Eminem, took home two.
The star-studded event boasted "higher production values which elevated this year's event to the level of other major awards shows," the statement said.
Last year's awards show produced the highest ratings the network had ever drawn for a Friday night. That show also ranked No. 1 in New York and Miami, No. 1 among teen-age viewers and No. 2 among adults 18-34, the network said.
This year's show began on an upbeat note with some of the biggest names in hip-hop stopping to chat with fans and reporters outside the Pasadena Civic Auditorium as they arrived for the show.
Among those being honored were Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, who received lifetime achievement awards.
Nominees for such honors as artist of the year, album of the year and music video of the year were selected by The Source magazine and leading hip-hop contributors from last year's awards.