The key to successful and safe hip hop events in Sacramento is to focus on the music, an expert panel said Tuesday.

Sacramento needs club owners and promoters to give hip hop artists doing good music a chance – working together rationally to overcome stereotypes or solve problems. What the city doesn't need is people who bring turf wars or personal drama into clubs, said hip hop artists, promoters and a historian gathered at the Crest Theatre.

One panelist, rapper B-Smoove, acknowledged that problems can arise if gang enemies who normally don't cross paths suddenly wind up at the same club. He’s established a reputation for hosting problem-free hip hop nights by reminding his audiences that everyone was there for the music, not drugs or violence.

"When it's all about the music, all the B.S. goes by the wayside," said hip hop DJ and promoter Mic Jordan at an event organized by the Midtown Business Association, Downtown Sacramento Partnership and Old Sacramento Business Association.

The panel was part of a series of workshops on nightclub safety and state laws and city regulations for bars and nightclubs. On Nov. 16, the business organizations are hosting the third Pubs, Clubs and Bars Security Training workshop on bar security and operations from 2 - 5 p.m. at the California Military Museum, 1119 Second St.

The free workshops are open to businesses, DJs and club promoters in Old Sacramento, downtown and Midtown.

Hip hop started largely because New York gang lords wanted to create places for their kids to have positive experiences. There may have been war in the streets, but that wasn't allowed at such events, Jordan said.

"They used their muscle to enforce these hip hop events as safe zones," Jordan said. "As artists, that's part of our responsibility. That's what we can do at the clubs."

Panelists discouraged marketing efforts that exploit violence, such as promotional fliers with gunshot holes used recently here by one promoter. Sacramento's hip hop scene has remained largely unrecognized, and artists aren't given opportunities because of problems with violence that have been blamed on the music, they said.

"Our underground music scene is as good as anybody across the board," said Jordan, adding that the city doesn’t have enough club owners who trust artists or have established clientele.

Hip hop educator Michael Benjamin II recommended clubs play more diverse hip hop and use diverse DJs and musicians. The crowds will come for events featuring hip hop’s golden era in the 1980s and 1990s, he said.

"I've never understood a club owner complaining about violence at their club and they're playing all violent music," he said.

Some but not all panelists say troublemakers might be weeded out with dress codes, which could add a more sophisticated vibe inside clubs and prevent gang colors from being worn. Problems might also be prevented by no longer making people line up outside and wait to be chosen to get in, B-Smoove said.

The practice may work in cities like Los Angeles and New York. But here, customers are likely to become unhappy if someone else is allowed in when they’re not, he said.

“In Sacramento, that tactic don't necessarily work,” B-Smoove said.

Some clubs are only concerned about filling up with customers, so they aren't weeding out bad people, said DJ Katz, an underground electronic DJ who joined about 25 other people in the audience. The crowd included bar owners, DJs, promoters, police and security personnel.

"It's desperation time right now. There's crickets," he said.

But Swiff, a musician who does hip hop, rock and R&B, said rules that force people to wear expensive clothing may start more fights because a guy who gets a drink spilled on his expensive shirt will be more angry than if he was just wearing a T-shirt.

The panelists suggested Sacramento clubs hire more security for events. Bouncers should be trained professionals – polite and well-dressed, yet tough when needed, so they themselves don't initiate violence with disrespectful behavior. They should also work at the same clubs repeatedly so they recognize people who've caused problems in the past, panelists said.

Swiff said he's OK with having police officers sitting outside clubs to keep troublemakers or "outside scum" away. What he doesn't want is people leaving one of his events vowing never to return because they're afraid for their lives.

"That's what’s wrong in Sacramento: We're letting the scum beat us," he said.