So who wants two free tickets to see the Clipse at the Jefferson Theater on Saturday?

my guess is that it's the mixture of regional influences on account of the proximity to so many military bases. further, the area is equidistant from new york and atlanta, allowing both city's distinct rap sounds to influence and mold a wholly unique one. finally, it's virginia--i'm told there's not much to do but cook.

Would not go if you gave me free tickets and paid me for my time.

No show in Charlottesville, VA...... The main problem is that many in charlottesville fail to provide intertainment for the African American community. Let's not hide the issue we are black people and yes we listen to Rap, R&B, etc. As you can see John paul jons arena has only help one rap concert and I attended the concert was late starting and thank god it did b/c it waould have been a lot of upset people, due to the fact that security RMC Events had to search and wand every attendee. I also work for RMC Events before and they didn't do that for other concerts. Many feel that coming to Charlottesville may be a waste of time due to lack of people that will show up to the show and the venue. Also, many don't feel wlecome to the the racial issue. We all know that most of the summer activities are for the white race and not the black around here in charlottesville. it's bad to say that I'd rather get off of work early and drive to Richmond for their summer concert series that to drive five mins. to fridays after five in charlottesville, Charlottesville need to treat people equally and not forget that black people live here too. Don't get me wrong all races listen to all sorts of music but it all comes down to race and do we want to provide the secuirty. Well JayZ said he's would't start the show unitl everybody was in the building. A lesson learned have respect.

I think that it's more of that fact that charlottesville didnt really have a bigger venue to hold a group this BIG! When the Clipse dropped there first single JPJ wasnt even thought of and jeferson theater was still showing movies. A lot of people know where charlottesville is, but the police dont want to deal with the large crowds of younger adults that come out for these groups. When Jay-z and T.I. came to town JPJ was packed! Remeber it cost the police and others money to regulate big crowds!

^Ticket prices are based on artist fees, it doesn't have anything to do with the genre.

Charlottesville is definitely not a prime destination for rap and hip-hop artists. As a Northern Virginia native, I've been lucky to see several hip-hop artists including Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Timbaland, T.I., and T-Pain at either the Verizon Center or Nissan Pavillion (now Jiffy Lube Live). As you mentioned, the Virginia Beach area has produced a lot of hip-hop talent and those acts consistently pay homage to their hometowns, typically with concerts at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater. Kanye West's 2008 Glow in the Dark Tour, which featured VA Beach band N.E.R.D. stopped at the Amphitheater for a show, where another VA native Chris Brown also briefly appeared on stage.
I think artists and managers may view Central Virginia as more of a country music area, seeing as how many country concerts JPJ hosts and how successful they are. C-Ville is also home to Dave Matthews Band and several indie rock artists, who are featured much more in local media than hip-hop acts.
But Josie Wales is absolutely right. A large percentage of Charlottesville citizens are African American in a city that still struggles with racism. Just as Charlottesville requires more security for hip-hop concerts, the University of Virginia requires more security for black fraternity parties. It's an unfair policy that surely detracts some artists from coming here.
That being said, C-Ville has had a few big names come through in the past few years - Jay-Z, T.I., Nas, Damien Marley, DC-based Wale, and Snoop next week.
Calling Virginia Beach an "odd little nexus" for mainstream hip-hop is strange phrasing. The area has a rich tradition in R&B and jazz and was home to Ella Fitzgerald. Hampton U and Norfolk State are evidence of a thriving African American population in the VA Beach area that unsurprisingly produced talents like Missy, Timbaland, and Pharrell. Hugo Chad and Pharrell went to high school together, as did Timbaland, Pusha T, and Malice. This kind of situation - partnering with local rappers in your neighborhood and finding fame together, is pretty common in the hip-hop world. Look at Dr. Dre, Warren G., Snoop, and Nate Dogg. Look at the Hot Boys from New Orleans who had Lil Wayne, Juvenile, and Birdman.
Overall, I'm guessing that Charlottesville doesn't attract much attention from rappers, because they already do shows in 2 other VA locations: Northern VA and VA Beach. Until the city becomes more friendly towards hip-hop artists, these kinds of acts are going to be few and far between.

SHHO at UVA was founded on the sole principle of bringing together the hip-hop community at UVA and around Charlottesville. Get your tickets to our biggest show yet featuring the legendary duo at http://www.jeffersontheater.com/clipse before the show on Saturday night! There will be limited tickets at the door.

This event is being sponsored by SHHO and they have a lot of events to try to bring the ENTIRE community together. Lets not make this racism issue. Their organization is all about bringing people that enjoy hip-hop together.

*Make that "incident at the Slick Rick concert", as it didn't actually involve Rick himself

Why are they free?

The larger question is why are there not a lot of better shows at the Jefferson. Oh, wait, I figured it out when I saw how many of the bands that play are managed by Capshaw. So, if you're not into third-rate jammy bands, all the good acts will go straight from the Black Cat/9:30 to Asheville and the Orange Peel. This will be my 1st show at the Jeff, though I had tix to the canceled Neko Case and was unfortunately out-of-town for Titus Andronicus (though they did an admirable job of rocking Random Row when I caught them there).

When will the winners be announced?

:(

cant belive no one when The Roots or members of Wu Tang where here in VA

I remember the Roots/Skillz, Wu-Tang, even Craig Mack too.