Yesterday as I read about Nelly being denied entrance into the Union Station Mall in his native St Louis, I found myself thinking; 'The more things change, the more they remain the same'. It seems like there is a breed of folks who continuously want to try and find ways to hate on Hip Hop. The latest trend that seems to be occurring from coast to coast is the infamous dress code.

Hip Hop artist T-Kash who is also a member of the Bay Area rap group The Coup found himself standing outside an Albany, California night spot [Club Mallard], two weeks ago, after bouncers informed him that the club had adopted a new policy; 'No Hip Hop Attire Allowed'.

Kash, who was caught off guard, questioned the bouncers as to what specifically qualified as Hip Hop apparel. There were no signs posted on the doors explaining what was or was not acceptable. All it said was 'No Hip Hop Attire'. T-Kash explained that he nor the other patrons who were denied admittance that evening were never able to get a straight answer. No one could explain if wearing FUBU or Tommy Hilfiger was considered Hip Hop gear as opposed to wearing Izod, Eddie Bauer or clothes from The Gap or Banana Republic. They had no explanation as to whether or not a certain type of shoe or boot qualified as Hip Hop gear. Nor could they answer if wearing a bandage under your eye like Nelly or copying some other style of dress that was depicted in a rap video would suddenly make it Hip Hop Attire.

T-Kash noticed that a number of people were allowed to enter the club wearing jeans and tennis shoes which was exactly what he had on. When he pointed this out to the guards T-Kash got the look over and was quickly told that he couldn't come in because he had on baggy jeans which they considered Hip Hop attire. T-Kash who is heavy set explained that any type of jeans he wears is going to appear baggy. He wanted to know since they allowed people with jeans what exactly constituted baggy jeans.

Later on that evening the bouncers denied entrance to another brotha. They claimed that he had on clothing that contained a sports team logo. To them that was considered Hip Hop gear. The guy was still denied admittance even after it was pointed out there were people inside the venue wearing baseball hats and clothing with the Shark's logo [Bay Area Hockey team].

It wasn't long before T-Kash and the other patrons who were denied admission discovered that the rules were being changed minute by minute with each patron. It was later discovered that the bouncers were allowed to use their discretion and 'better judgement' as to what was and wasn't Hip Hop attire. What made this entire scenario so foul was the club was playing Hip Hop.

Since this incident several other Bay Area night club venues, pool halls and bars have adapted the very subjective 'No Hip Hop Attire'. This has sparked a number of Bay Area Hip Hoppers to look into the legality of having such an ambiguous, unclearly defined ordinance.

Last week veteran rapper/producer 35 year old Def Jef found himself being embarrassed and humiliated when he showed up for a business lunch at Houstons' Restaurant in Century City, Los Angeles. Houstons is a national chain of restaurants similar to other establishments like Lyons, Olive Garden or Red Lobster. There's nothing fancy, its come as you are first come first served and there is no stated dress code at least up until now.

For those who aren't familiar with Def Jef , back in the late 80s early 90s he was considered to be one of Hip Hop's more positive and culturally enlightened artists. His unique voice and colorful garb help put his two albums 'Just A Poet with Soul' and 'Soul Food' on the list of albums one must have.

For many of us it was in a Def Jef video where we were introduced to the Pharcyde who were dancing and doing choreography. In recent years Def Jef has been leaving his mark in the TV industry. He's appeared in several movies and was the music producer behind MTV's hit series 'The Lyricists Lounge'.

So last week, Def Jef arrived several minutes late for business lunch with several TV and music industry executives. He went to the hostess to inquire about his party and was told he would not be allowed in the restaurant until he fixed his hat and wore it the 'right way'. Surprised, Jef explained that he did not know there was a 'right way' to wear his hat. He like many other folks prefers to wear his hat with the bill to the back. He also noted that there was no dress code policy posted on the door and this is how he has always worn his hat. Plus, Def Jef had been to Houston's on a number of occasions without anyone telling him what way to wear his hat.

When Def Jef politely asked if he could see some documentation outlining the store's policy on the 'right way' to wear a hat the hostess summoned the manager [Mike Grant]. When questioned about this new policy on wearing a hat the 'right way' the manager told Def Jef "I am sorry but there is a certain element that we are trying to keep out and we now require you turn your hat around".

Jef was in disbelief from that statement as another African American gentleman walked in and asked to be seated. The hostess told him, he could not be seated until Def Jef turned his hat around. Jef nor the man knew each other. The hostess apparently assumed they were together because both were African American.

After about 10 minutes of going back and forth, the manager finally agreed to seat Def Jef and his party. Jef thanked him but told him he thought it was unfair for Houston's to have a dress code policy on hats.. At that point the manger flipped out and refused to seat him. I guess he thought Def Jef was part of that 'element' he was trying to get rid of. Where it stands now is Def Jef is persuing this situation. He intends not to let it slide. We'll keep you posted on how things come out.

In the recent case involving Nelly, he was told that his red doo rag [headgear] violated Union Station's Shopping Center policy which prohibited any sort of attire that one can affiliate with gangs. Now on the surface that may seem to be reasonable, after all, we've all read and heard the horror stories about cats fighting over colors-most notably red and blue which have been deemed the official colors of the Bloods and Crips. But why stop there? Organized crime figures are known for wearing 1500 dollar Vercase suits or cheap running outfits. I watch the Sopranos. I see what they wear. And yes, they have been known to have public confrontations. Should anyone sporting those types of clothing be denied access?

In recent days there's been a lot of attention focused on Catholic Priests molesting little kids. Should the Union Station mall start prohibiting anyone wearing traditional black and white collars? What if someone shows up wearing a cut off leather jacket and boots like the ones worn by motorcycle gangs? Wasn't there a huge shootout at a Reno casino with 4 fatalities a couple of weeks ago? So with that in mind, if you show up to Union Station with a riding helmet and a leather jacket will you be denied admission?

I ask those questions rhetorically, but let's deal with the obvious one. Does anyone seriously think that Nelly, a well known multi-platinum artist and MTV icon who has worn a red doo rag in all sorts of public settings really trying to go to a mall to let everyone know he is affiliated with some sort of gang?

As far as I know, Nelly has always worn red because it’s one of the colors sported by his native St Louis Cardinals baseball team. Y'all have seen the videos. Nelly is always trying rep for St Louis by wearing baseball jerseys and red hats or doo rags. In fact, the reason he showed up at the Union Station mall in the first place was to purchase 25 Cardinal jerseys for his crew to use in a video they were shooting at nearby Busch Stadium.

In an interview with the cats from AllHipHop.com, Nelly is quoted as saying "I do a lot for this city…It's supposed to be give and take. When do I get mines?"

Now as you know most people know the song simply as 'Country Grammar'. Folks were stunned by the Mayor's steadfast refusal. I recall a number of people writing emails to point out that city of St Louis had no problem honoring Mark McGwire when he broke the home run record even though there was controversy about him taking steroid like substances. To dis Nelly was the height of hypocrisy.

What makes this current situation involving Nelly so ironic is the fact that he and his crew the St Lunatics along with members of the Cardinals and Rams baseball and football team are in the process of putting together another community event. They will be spending time and showing support for the grieving families of two firefighters who recently perished while trying to save the life of a colleague. From what I'm told that's typical of Nelly. He's always reaching out.

Apparently a number of people in St Louis are taking issue with Union Station. They see the dress code ordinance as a way to racially profile people, in particular African American males. As a result, St Louis community organizers including folks from the National Action Network as well as air personalities from a local radio station brought more then 200 people to Union Station the other day [Tuesday May 7th ] to express their displeasure with Union Station.

Nelly himself doesn't think the incident was racially motivated, although he is on record saying that he was treated rudely. Community organizers were disappointed that Nelly has seemed to want to distance himself from the protest, however, his situation is not unique. Him being denied entrance has been the latest and most visible in a long standing problem the African American community has been having with the shopping center. Do you think slugger Mark McGwire would've been denied entrance into the mall if he showed up wearing his St Louis jersey and a red doo rag? We'll keep you posted on the final outcome of this controversy.