Crib Notes

BEST OF YESTERYEAR: Mic Club didn’t go out without a fight.

Mic Club — the weekly event hosted and promoted by Dres the Beatnik at Apache Cafe — gave up the ghost this past Tuesday before a packed house full of faithful followers.

The weekly show was canceled when Apache owner, Asa Fain and Dres couldn’t come to an agreement about Dres’ compensation. After a few circulated emails, with both men defending their decisions, things came to a head Tuesday.

Before the battles began, Dres took the mic, reminiscing about the event and its numerous helpers and supporters, proudly adding that for the past six years the show always went on — rain, sleet or snow. He also mentioned that 10 million DVDs had been sold that chronicled Mic Club, bellowing that the “World Famous Mic Club will never die!”

The words “love and loyalty” were repeatedly slipped into his diatribe, as he not so subtly suggested that he was shown none by the Apache owners.

“The only thing we ask is that you take care of the people that take care of you, and that’s why we’re at this point now,” he said.

Despite the original idea behind the event, the mediocre emcees were mostly props for Mic Club’s colorful ending. Shortly after 2 a.m., Dres got onstage for the final battle, but ended up sidetracked, deciding instead to talk about his troubled relationship with Apache.

At that point, Asa grabbed the mic from the soundboard at the back of the club, urging Dres to “talk about it” with him, before getting on stage and suggesting that Dres wasn’t telling the entire story. (more…)

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THE LAST STAND: Mic Club host/promoter Dres tha Beatnik (middle) says Mic Club won’t die. (photo by Zack Wolfe, taken from Mic Club’s MySpace page.)

After holding it down for 6 years at Apache Cafe, Mic Club — which won CL’s 2007 Critic’s Pick for Best Club Event — is calling it quits.

Next Tuesday’s show will be the last, says host and 4 Kings Entertainment promoter Dres tha Beatnik, who blamed the event’s sudden demise on failed renegotiations with Apache Cafe owner Asa Fain.

“They don’t want to give us what we need to stay,” says Dres.

According to Dres, his long-standing arrangement with Apache guaranteed him 60 percent of door receipts, but the best updated offer he says he received from Fain was a 70 percent take on door receipts on nights that net $1,500.

Fain counters that Dres “wanted 100 percent of the door and 20 percent of the kitchen and bar. I just don’t do those kinds of deals.” He admits the Tuesday night event was well-attended but disputes Dres’ average attendance numbers of 275.

“It’s a little bit insulting and disappointing because this show does mean something to a lot of people in Atlanta,” says Dres.

Fain says Dres let “pride get in the way” of what was originally a partnership that included the late Quinton “DJ Ox” Bradford Jr. and Fain’s own band.

“Now [Dres] wants to justify that it’s his thing, but now he’s made his bed and he’s gotta sleep in it. I’m not glad it’s over…. We had a great time. It was a blast. I’m sorry to see it go, [but] things change. It’s cool. I think people will miss it a little … but it’s time to get with the new.”

A monthly Mic Club event could be on the horizon, says Dres, who is looking at the Masquerade and Variety Playhouse as possible venues.

Meanwhile, Dres hopes other promoters in the city can learn from his experience.

“I wanna be able to have this serve as a lesson to up and coming promoters to know what to do and what not to do, and also for the general public to know how much this venue and this city [de]values independent hip-hop.”

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