A big ol' outpouring of peace-and-love talk has already grown out of the onstage brawl that put an abrupt end to Friday's TC Hip-Hop Awards show at First Avenue, a wild incident that everyone involved agreed is uncharacteristic of the forward-thinking Twin Cities hip-hop scene.

"It was a random, unforeseeable situation," said David (Depth) Powell, organizer of the fourth annual event, which he hopes will return next year. "I was greatly discouraged at first. But I've been getting such a good response and so much encouragement from throughout the community, I think it should live to see another day."


To recap: The fight took place just before Illuminous 3 was set to perform. A rapper named Jae Estate who lost an award earlier in the night, Powell said, pulled a Kanye and crashed the stage while comedian/host Boima Freeman was talking. After a few calls for security (which many mistook for a joke), Freeman swung and kicked at Estate as he tried to grab the microphone, knocking him to the ground. A few more men jumped on stage, including Powell, resulting in a melee of shoving — and even a bar stool being thrown — before First Ave security staff intervened.


"It was unclear what was going on at first, but at least it got broken up right away," First Ave general manager Nate Kranz said, responding to Powell's statements that the club's staff did not respond swiftly enough. "There were so many people coming and going backstage. It was too disorganized." First Ave staff opted to pull the plug on the show then, and the three-quarters-full crowd slowly (and peacefully) dispersed. No one was arrested. In fact, the only police report filed at the club that night was of an alleged rapper punching a woman. The day after the awards show, surprisingly clear video of the onstage scuffle was heavily circulated on YouTube and blogs such as Amplified Life.

The day after the awards show, surprisingly clear video of the scuffle was heavily circulated on YouTube and blogs such as Amplified Life. As of today, though, both the stage-crasher Estate and the punching host Freeman had reportedly talked and apologized to each other. Powell issued a statement today accepting some share of the blame while urging others to "continue the dialog that they have begun in earnest" about keeping the local scene free of violence. Even First Ave's manager said the staff would be open to hosting the event again, but "it would have to be better organized," Kranz said.