The new club Prime Six at Flatbush and Sixth in Brooklyn has neighbors up in arms: the venue may (gasp!) play rap music. Naturally, Park Slopers have been circulating a petition. The details, hysterical and sickening, serve as a prescient glance of the imminent neighborhood tension.
The Village Voice caught wind of the whole memo written by neighbor Jennifer McMillen, and it basically boils down to the writer's demand for "a vibrant artistic hub instead of another Yo MTV Raps 'bling bling' vip club."
The title, with flagrant use of caps, provides a nice condensation of the letter's urgent tone: "SEND THE MESSAGE TO PRIME 6: Indie Music Will Earn You More Than Hip-Hop!!!"
The true tension of the matter comes from the fact that Prime 6, at the nexus of Atlantic Yards, would be a grade-A location for drinks after a Nets game; however McMillen, in foreseeing this as an invitation to what she views the "rap" crowd, has decided to lash out.
Of course, this club would be markedly different from the rooftop hot-spot planned for Hotel Grand Prospect in the neighborhood, which affects more of the yuppified vibe now cliche in those parts.
Yet McMillen gratuitously preempts any charge of racism for opposing rap music:
I know for a fact that there's no single type of establishment (or type of bar/club patron for that matter) that Park Slopers would inherently view as 'undesirable.' I don't think anyone would deny that Park Slopers are about the least 'racist' people on the planet.'