Brady Street bar and restaurant The Garage, 1709 N. Arlington Pl., found itself on the receiving end of a social media shit storm Monday when several posts showing an apparent Garage DJ “no play list” spread like wildfire.
The problem? The artists on the “no play list” are exclusively rap and hip-hop artists. Travis Scott, Lil Wayne, Pusha T, Playboi Carti (included twice!), Future, Lil Baby, Migos, Don Toliver, and 2 Chainz are just some of the big “no play” names. Oh, and “NO MILWAUKEE RAP” is printed at the bottom of the list.
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A screenshot of a text message purportedly sent from an unnamed employee to Garage DJs reads: “Effective immediately, we can no longer play these artists (that includes remixes). I will also have this posted at the booth as well. This is coming from ownership. Failure to comply will result in a loss of gigs. If you have any questions, please reach out to me directly.”
Following approximately 10 hours of apocalyptic comments from the public, Garage ownership responded Monday night with a comments-off Instagram post:
We are very proud of our diverse patron mix and our staff and we are very upset to learn of this situation. We have spoken to the employee who issued the list, which was not approved by ownership, and stressed why it was not acceptable. The intention was to eliminate music with lyrics that referenced violence or guns, and create a more relaxed vibe at the establishment but a list of artists was certainly the wrong approach.
We have always supported the diversity of Brady Street and will continue to do so. We regret that this presents us in any other light.
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Both The Garage and the adjoining HiHat Lounge are owned by Mojofuco Inc., a restaurant group that includes Leslie Montemurro, Scott Johnson, and Kristyn O’Laughlin Eitel. The Garage opened in 2001 as an extension of HiHat Lounge.
Milwaukee Record has reached out to Garage ownership for additional comment.
The original “no play” video was posted to TikTok account @ishdarrspam, an alternate account apparently used by Milwaukee rapper IshDARR. IshDARR’s latest mixtape, Sophisticated Ish Talk Volume 4, was released last week.
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