We have been wondering when Jack’s family would step in to address this situation. We have received numerous complaints about The New Jack the Rapper conference using Jack’s name. The attorney’s statement is provided below.
Recently, BMF organized a very accurate and impressive tribute to one of the greatest music industry conferences of all time, Jack the Rapper. “JACK THE RAPPER” is an iconic name, coined, developed, and made famous by the legendary radio and media pioneer Jack “The Rapper” Gibson. Jack commenced his radio career in the late 1940s at Atlanta’s WERD, the first Black-owned and operated radio station in America.
Additionally, Jack served as the inaugural National Director of Promotions and Public Relations for Motown Records. Jack The Rapper is considered to be the father of Black Radio and pioneered the style of hip on-air announcing that many hosts like Daddy O, Radio DJo Henderson, and Frankie Crocker helped to popularize.
In 1977, Jack launched the first Jack The Rapper Family Affair convention for the radio and music industries. Contrary to later beliefs, Jack the Rapper was not solely a Hip-Hop convention.
Over the subsequent years, the convention was held in Atlanta and Florida. The convention garnered widespread support from the Black music industry and the Black radio community, becoming one of the key annual gathering spots for networking, new artist showcases, informative seminars, and good old-fashioned partying. It was an industry event like no other.
Every floor was a party when it was held at the Atlanta airport, with each floor being run by various labels that blasted their music and hosted their major artists as they threw parties across the entire floor.
Unfortunately, Jack the Rapper, the most incredible industry conference, began to fade in the early to mid-90s when the format was changed, and the conference was relocated from the airport to downtown Atlanta. Additionally, when a popular DJ on a major station in Atlanta announced the exclusive industry conference was in town, fights broke out as individuals not involved in the industry sought to catch a glimpse of celebrities. Without question, everything that occurred in the last couple of years in Atlanta would have made the conference uninsurable.
Jack later moved to Vegas in his later years, and the final conference was a mere shadow of its former self. Support from the labels had dissipated after the last few conferences where everything had changed. After the conference folded, Jack passed away in January 2000 after battling cancer. The Black industry has yet to see anything close to the original Jack the Rapper since the conference ended. Jack’s era preceded widespread video recording, and in those days, video recorders were huge, so few people had access to them. We invite industry professionals to see if they can identify the individuals in the pictures in the comments.
In early December, several Atlanta-based music industry entrepreneurs decided to organize a new music industry conference and chose to adopt the name The New Jack The Rapper Convention, contrived by Steve “Face” Riley and Billy D. Foster without the permission of Jack’s heirs and without any consideration or deference to the legacy that Jack The Rapper and his family built.
Instead, they have chosen to pirate Jack’s iconic moniker and promote their event as an incarnation of the infamous Jack The Rapper Family Affair. It’s a sad statement of complete disrespect and indifference to the rights and decades of work by Jack and his family. There are now more The New Jack The Rapper conferences scheduled for Houston and New York City, all without the consent or support of Jack’s family.
Jack and his beloved late wife, Sadye, are survived by his daughter Jill, son, Jackie, wife, Elsie, and grandchildren, Louis and Laryn. They have hired Atlanta-based renowned entertainment attorney, Kendall A. Minter, Esq., to protect their legal rights and preserve the integrity of the legacy built by Jack. The family has been developing their plans to hold a Tribute to Jack The Rapper Conference later this year in Atlanta. Stay tuned for the original. We invite industry professionals to see if they can name the individuals in the pictures in the comments.
Why didn’t the family keep doing the event? Because they can’t, the biz has changed. What Jack the Rapper used to be, wouldn’t make it these days due to lack of record company support.
Please understand that the family abandon the name over 13 years ago and did not protect it or support it. they went on with there lives. Now that some new blood did their research and trade mark the name, they are mad and disgruntle. You have to stay relevant in the game. Like the guy above said itt would not last if it was run like it did in the past. While all these email are going out and press releases are going out their attorney is ask for revenue from the event which the new owner are providing. We find that the whole things is about money and not about keeping his legacy. Please understand this is not the old jack the rapper but the new jack the rapper with a new audience and new group players.
It’s not about money… It’s my grandfather and my family legacy !!! You will never take that ! We never aboned our name ! We do things when the Gibson family is ready ,not when you all want it ! Einn Deighton Gibson ,Grandson of Joseph “Jack The Rapper” Deighton Gibson … Son of Jack 3
I don’t care if I choose to not to embark on what my father didi, did you think maybe they are not capable of handling that aspect concerning the music biz.The family have a hell of a shoe to fill and when they are ready or not ready Jack’s Legacy should not be rushed back into the light until the family is ready point blank. If they choose not to do anything they have a right. Just because Michael Jackson was a big pop star doesn’t mean his children have to do anything the Legacy was built so what more to do. I hope the lawyer does protect Jack’s name it’s a shame folks just move on disrespect to make a dollar.
Had the honor of knowing and working for this PIONEER for several years…I really cant wait to see how this comes out…Lets make sure it’s DONE RIGHT..May he rest in peace..
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I’m an ole school college radio vet, I was in the Wu in ’97, I streaked the BCS 2010 game and put a souvenir album out on itunes protesting corporate control of college football. I also did a lot of work with the Insomniac. Ok, so I remember Jack the Rapper when it was in it’s hay day (i was there in ’93 when it came to Orlando), and to be honest with yall, it was just a bunch of niggas trying to get easy pussy, and nobody was really doing any serious networking. I was just trying to stay away from any fights that would break out. And pretty much the cost of the convention lived up to the name “Jack”. All the rappers would leave that place broke as hell, with really no chance in hell of scoring a record deal, hence jack them rappers, jack ’em all out they money. But I’m not dissing because that’s the real game. All these cats out here today are so internet minded, they wouldn’t drop a dime to promote their own shit. I would love to see a resurgence of JTR, if anything it might put a value back on physical product. And as for the fam complaining about somebody taking the name, wtf? They just mad because they didn’t know how to keep making money off the mf’er. So bigups to the cats that are trying to relaunch it. Them cats might actually get paid for real, because now a days all these ‘new’ cybernetic rappers need some tough love. They need to get jacked.
I knew Jack and his family when Jack was in Columbus then Cleveland then back to Columbus Jack was amongst a group of Black Disc Jockeys supported playing “Ramblin Rose” (whom I worked for as promoion manager) Nat’s last hit record before his death. Jacks family “Back In the Day” were good friends. Jack Gibson created his annual events and conventions that encouraged persons of COLOR to be proud. Jack was heavily involved wih guys like Dave Dixon in St Louis with the organizing of NATRA a Black radio and TV group of Sales, Promotion, and Broadcasters in the U.S. Jack agressively promoted the Pride of BLACK AMERICA in the Entertainment Business
Renny Roker