Breaking News for Black America » 50 Cent

The Forbes Hip-Hop List Ranks Diddy, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre At Top

Abena Agyeman-Fisher — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:52:48 +0000

If you are tired of hearing about rappers and their money, don’t look for a respite from their bombastic claims anytime soon. Forbes just released their “Forbes Five” list that ranks hip-hop’s top-5 wealthiest for this year. Leading the charge is Diddy, Jay-Z and Dr. Dre, but Cash Money cofounder Bryan “Birdman” Williams and 50 Cent rounded out the rest of the list, according to Forbes.

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The wealthiest hip-hop mogul for 2012 and the closest to becoming a billionaire is Diddy who has been able to sustain his Bad Boy empire with lucrative investments in alcoholic beverage Ciroc, which reportedly spiked 22 percent in 2011, and successful clothing line Sean Jean and cologne Unforgivable, which was the No. 1-selling men’s fragrance in 2006. What promises to take his wealth to billionaire status, though, is his new cable channel, Revolt, which will debut next year. Forbes report:

He’ll own the channel outright, and based on projected viewership totals, its value could soar into the low-to-mid nine figures within the next few years.”

Diddy’s net worth is $550 million.

Next in line is Jay-Z (pictured left), whose empire rests on his 2007 sale of his clothing line Rocawear for $204 million and signing a $150 million 10-year deal with Live Nation. Obviously, Jay-Z continues to make considerable profits off of his rap career.

Jay-Z’s net worth is $460 million.

Hip-hop icon Dr. Dre (pictured below right), whose international fame started as a part of N.W.A., racked up when a handset maker paid him handsomely to buy a stake in Beats Electronics. Forbes reports:

In August, handset maker HTC paid $300 million to buy a 51% stake in Beats Electronics, the company founded by Dr. Dre and Interscope chief Jimmy Iovine in 2008.

Sources say each owned a third of the company before the deal, placing Dre’s cut at $85 million after taxes. The agreement also values Dre’s remaining stake at $100 million, which could increase rapidly as the company continues to expand.

Dr. Dre’s net worth is $270 million.

Read about Birdman and 50 Cent, who are in fourth and fifth places, respectively, here.

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50 Cent Tours Somalian Refugee Camp With The United Nations

cganemccalla — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:09:25 +0000

Rapper 50 Cent, real name Curtis Jackson, has visited the war torn country of Somalia in support of the World Food Program. Somalia has dealt with civil war as well as famine and piracy in recent years.

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50 Cent joins other celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, U2′s Bono and fellow rapper Jay-Z in making visits to impoverished areas of Africa, highlighting the problems there. He has pledged to use his energy drink, Street Kings, to help feed starving children in Africa. Due to the explicit lyrics of his music, the United Nations originally didn’t want to take his money.

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50 Cent Gets Floyd Mayweather’s 13-Year-Old Son Tattooed

NewsOne Staff — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:40:27 +0000

Say it isn’t so! Boxer Floyd Mayweather revealed on his Twitter account that rapper 50 Cent took his 13-year-old son (pictured) to get tattoos.

Mayweather, who seems to be best buds as of late with 50, appeared to be upset that his friend had his young son out at 2:30 a.m. getting tattoos on a school night:

FloydMayweatherFloyd Mayweather

What the hell is wrong with @50cent got my son hanging out getting tattoos at 2:30am on a school night

50 Cent, whose recent public antics have had folks raising an eyebrow in regards to his sanity, tweeted on his own Twitter account that Mayweather is angry with him for inking his young child:

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Man @FloydMayweather mad at me I took his son to the tattoo spot. He’s 13 he’s a big boy MONEY TEAM

But 50′s latest antic is just the tip of the iceberg.

Not even two full weeks ago, 50 Cent photographed himself with stacks of money. He also took pictures with the trunk of one of his exotic cars stuffed to the rafters with huge amounts of cash.

And then just before that, 50 lamented supposedly dying soon while also tearing down the music industry. And who could forget when 50 Cent reportedly told an untruth about having a deal with Pepsi that would distribute his new energy drink “Street King” nationwide.

We ask again, what is going on with 50 Cent?

50 Cent Tweets Money Pics, Mocks Jay-Z And Beyonce’s Baby

NewsOne Staff — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:17:27 +0000

Controversial rapper 50 Cent is at it again. The entrepreneur shared in-your-face poses of himself and bad boy boxer Floyd Mayweather swimming in wads of cash, and if that weren’t enough, he also commented on the arrival of Beyonce and Jay-Z’s baby.

The rapper, who tweeted pics of himself stuffing the trunk of his $500k Lamborghini Murcielago with $2 million in cold cash (pictured), has decided to flaunt his wealth again. The four pictures that were posted on 50 Cent’s Twitter account depict him literally bogged down with stacks of cash.

In two of the poses, Mayweather, who is also known for his braggadocious ways, joined the entertainer in placing bundles of money down the length of his arms, into his tee and into his baseball cap.

The 36-year-old mogul is notorious for being ostentatious, and some might even say that his obnoxious display of wealth makes one throw up a little. Take, for example, one of 50 Cent’s lavish homes. In 2003, he purchased a 50,000-square-foot home in Farmington, Conn., complete with a nightclub, 35 bathrooms, 18 bedrooms, 4 kitchens, an elevator, movie theater, billiard room, five jacuzzis and a locker room. He also owns outrageously expensive cars like a Ferrari FXX, with a price tag that is close to 1 million, iced-out jewelry and designer duds, flaunting his $250-million status without discretion.

It’s no secret that 50 and Jay-Z have been rivals and now the ongoing feud has been reignited with the rapper’s latest antic. 50 Cent mocked Beyonce and Jay-Z‘s new baby girl, Blue Ivy, with pearl-clutching images (pictured) and captions of the child on Twitter:

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Yal play to much congratulations to JAYZ and Beyonce BABY #BlueIvyCarter IS GEORGOUS @50cent

Two years ago 50 Cent got under Jay-Z’s skin, when he publicly stated, that he would steal Beyonce from him and have kids with her.

50, when will it ever end!

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50 Cent Losing It: Rapper Lies About StreetKing Pepsi Deal?

NewsOne Staff — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:49:43 +0000

Despite being one of the wealthiest rappers in the history of the game, mega-rap mogul 50 Cent seems to think that he is headed for an early grave.

In a move that has many scratching their heads, 50 Cent took to Twitter, lamenting not only his own demise but also his disgust with the inner workings of the music business:

50cent 50cent
Ill be honest I don’t think I’m gonna live much longer. That’s why I started my street king movement. I want to … http://t.co/ADT2zTrj

50cent 50cent
I have lost all the faith in the team I’m on. I having nothing left to say I will not be promoting my music.

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Music was so much fun for me now the people and politics involved disgust me. I’m putting out a song tonight FT … http://m.tmi.me/k2OhK

Over the last few months, 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, has publicly expressed dissatisfaction with his record label, Interscope, because his fifth album was allegedly mishandled. On New Year’s Eve, the rapper/entrepreneur/marketing whiz ranted that he was fed up with Interscope executives and even directed a tweet at the company’s chairman, Jimmy Lovine, to discuss the record deal.

Recently, 50 Cent also claimed to have inked a deal with Pepsi that would distribute energy shot Street King nationally. The businessman tweeted that every time a shot is purchased, a meal would be provided for a hungry child with a donation to the United Nations World Food Program. The artist hoped to feed 1 billion children worldwide via the initiative.

But now, there are reports that 50 Cent actually misrepresented the distribution deal with the soft drink supplier. BEVNET, the beverage industry news company, is reporting that the rapper’s deal is actually with the Honickman Group, which distributes PepsiCo’s products in the New York City area.

NewsOne got an exclusive quote from a PepsiCo spokesperson, who asked not to be named:

I can definitely state, that 50 Cent does not have any deal whatsoever with regards to his new energy drink with either PepsiCo or Pepsi Beverages Company. He might very well have a deal with Honickman but we cannot comment on that situation because we don’t have any knowledge with regards to it. But as far as our company is concerned, the statements that are being reported are completely false!”

Is 50 just enjoying the shock factor of his tweets or is he losing his grip? Time will tell.

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50 Cent Lands Deal With Pepsi, Expands Empire

NewsOne Staff — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 19:43:12 +0000

// While Curtis James Jackson III, aka 50 Cent, has just inked a major-distribution deal with Pepsi to expand his energy drink nationally, this latest venture only adds to the businessman’s ever-growing empire.

Last September, the rap mogul launched Street King with one goal in mind, to use its sales to serve 1 billion meals in Africa. Jackson, who has steadfastly promoted the product since it was launched, tweeted his most-recent business coup with Pepsi on Twitter:

I did a deal with Pepsi to distribute streetking its gonna be every were [sic] buy a bottle feed some one in need.

The 36-year-old award-winning rapper-turned-actor and author is certainly no novice when it comes to negotiating business moves with soft drink manufacturers. Back in 2007, Jackson owned a stake in Vitamin Water company Glacéau and managed to finesse an agreement with soft drink king Coca-Cola to purchase his company for more than $4 billion.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Besides his G-Unit clothing venture, 50 Cent teamed up with Reebok for 5 years in 2005 to distribute his G-Unit sneaker line.

Deodorant king Right Guard also partnered with 50 Cent to launch a body spray called “Pure 50 RGX Body Spray,” and in 2008, the businessman created a condom line called “Magic Stick Condoms,” where a portion of the proceeds was donated to HIV awareness.

Also in 2008, Steiner Sports, a retail and wholesale sports memorabilia provider, signed 50 Cent to a multi-year contract to sell his memorabilia.

Jackson’s interest in acting led him to open two film production companies, G-Unit Films in 2007 and Cheetah Vision in 2008, which earned a whopping $200 million in funding last year.

Jackson also launched G-Unit Books in 2007 under the imprint of the highly respected publisher Warner Books. His ‘The Ski-Mask Way” will be made into a film.

Irrespective of the genre, market, or product, 50 Cent has proven that he is an ambidextrous businessman who stays on the move.

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Young Buck Losing Name In Bankruptcy Case?

NewsOne Staff — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 02:11:40 +0000

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Rapper Young Buck could lose his name and other assets in a bankruptcy case that the rapper says is frustrating his attempts to sign with a new record label.

Davidson County Bankruptcy Judge George Paine converted the artist’s bankruptcy from Chapter 11 reorganization to Chapter 7 liquidation this week.

The trustee administering his estate has said she plans to sell the trademarked “Young Buck” name along with other assets. The platinum artist, whose real name is David Darnell Brown, told The Tennessean he was close to signing a recording deal with New Orleans-based Cash Money Records (http://tnne.ws/rQikXS ).

To date, creditors have submitted 22 claims totaling $11.5 million in Buck’s bankruptcy case, including $10 million that the record label G-Unit Records says Buck owes them over a contract dispute.

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Top 10 Black Tweeters

NewsOne Staff — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:00:36 +0000

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This month, NewsOne presents a special exploration of Black Americans’ influence on social media, #TWEETING WHILE BLACK.

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Twitter has amassed more than 300 million users since its public launch in 2006, and a Pew Research Center survey shows that African Americans are more likely to Tweet than any other demographic. There is some speculation that this is because the median age among African Americans is currently skewing seven years younger than that of Whites — which can then be linked to smartphone usage and interest in the celebrities and media outlets (like BET’s 106 & Park), that rank among the most followed — but no conclusive study has been conducted.

But there’s no doubt that Black Americans are among the most effective and powerful users of Twitter, and that their influence is far out of proportion to their share of population.

Here is NewsOne’s official list of the Top 10 Black Tweeters. Are you following them?

1. @BarackObama: 11,449,382 Followers)

The account is run by his #Obama2012 campaign staff with at least daily updates on Presidential happenings. Much less frequently, he’ll chime in (he signs these Tweets “-BO”): “This dinner is important because I’m only president thanks to the work of millions of Americans like the four I just met.” (He dined with a teacher, an entrepreneur, a postal worker, and an artist who all donated at least $3 to his campaign and won the “Dinner With Obama” contest.)

2. @rihanna: 10,428,259 Followers

Her Tweets range from a Happy Birthday @britneyspears to quoting Jay Z to self-promotional commentary on her own social gaffes like “Shooting another vid in Ireland today!No farm this time :( … Im shooting another #ARMANI campaign Spring/Summer!Try to sneek u a pic ;)”

3. @Oprah: 8,456,870 Followers

She’s surprisingly not new age-preachy on this Twitter account. Instead, the media mogul posts one word response to her followers (“hi”), smiley face icons, and the occasional update of what it’s like to be Oprah: “Just saw Hugh Jackman on Broadway. WOW was he awe inspiring. He BROUGHT IT. Sang it, danced it and THREW DOWN!”

4. @NICKIMINAJ: 7,560,448 Followers

Between her Pink Friday promotions and congratulations to @maryjblige for her new album, the platinum-selling artist spends most of her Tweets thanking her Barbz and acting in cyber-speak: “Thank u my loves. I couldn’t do this w/o you. I am overwhelmed. I’m in love w/u guys. How could one girl be this lucky? *holds u close*”

5. @chrisbrown: 6,011,182 Followers

He still has a considerable following after recently deleting most of his Tweets. Now, Young Brezzy’s account is sporadic, sparse words like: “ELEVATE MENTALITY” and “Live LIFE!”

6. @MariahCarey: 5,314,200 Followers

With her record-breaking 1993 release, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” still charting and recently being remixed by Justin Beiber, Mrs. Cannon is using her Twitter to count down the days ‘til 25th, and bubble about her new song with John Legend, “When Christmas Comes.” She also takes a moment to shout out her second cousin’s sweet sixteen, post a Twitpic of herself in the booth, and send a note to O.D.B.: “Happy birthday & RIP to the late great O.D.B! I miss you & love you. “Ol’ dirty bastard across the globe.” – Fantasy.. classic, forever. Xo”

7. @aliciakeys: 5,284,370 Followers

Besides the occasional personal Tweets to the likes of @traciellisross, she’s all business on her account promoting her Keep A Child Alive cause, the Broadway play “Sticky Fly” that she produced, and her job as a “light bearing mommy/artist/songwriter/musician…”: “‘You’ve got to dance like nobody’s watching and love like it is never going to hurt ~ Ann Wells’.”

8. @50Cent: 5,301,573 Followers

He goes in multiple times per day, and will sometimes drop insight like how amazing it was to see Goldie Hawn and @deepackchopra live, but in true 50 fashion is mostly about the marketing strategy: “Streetking is the movement I’m not reading or retweeting if I don’t see SK in your tweets I need your help hold me down” (referencing his energy drink partnership with the United Nation to feed the hungry).

9. @kanyewest: 5,251,094 Followers

Only a select group of Tweeters have millions of followers without following anyone at all (the Dalai Lama, Rev Run, and Lord Valdermort), and, of course, Kanye tops that list. But it’s not the arrogant, Ye-centricity that one may expect. He expresses gratitude with a thank you to HipHopDX.com for a “tasteful well written review,” Chicagoan camaraderie with a re-Tweet of Bears stats mid-game, and just genuine goodwill: “Support Michael J. Fox foundation & NIKE and the fight against Parkinson’s”

10. @SnoopDogg: 5,222,697 Followers

He’s got a narrowed-eye focus on #macanddevin via many daily Tweets. The only thing that’ll make him take a breather from his new joint album with Wiz Khalifa is news of his Snoop Youth Football League Superbowl game and his family: “Sunday n vegas syfl superbowl go hard or go home! Happy 2 b home. Cocori! N tae tae !! Love yall!!”

SEE THE ENTIRE #TWEETINGWHILEBLACK SERIES HERE

METHODOLOGY:

List derived from Twitaholic.com, data updated via Twitter.com

‘Jersey Shore’ Pauly D Signs With G-Unit Records

NewsOne Staff — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 10:00:39 +0000

You just can’t make this stuff up. The New York Daily News have announced that G-Unit Records has signed a record deal with Pauly D.

“On Thursday, the “Jersey Shore” star officially signed on to the hip-hop mogul’s G-Note record label, reports Billboard.Pauly D’s new deal sounds like a right fit for the rapper’s dance and pop music featured label.”

In related news rapper 50 Cent announced on Twitter that his latest effort, The Big 10, will drop next week at noon. Some folks believe 50 has fallen off as an MC. Does working with Pauly D hurt his street cred? Does street cred matter when you already have more than 100 million dollars? Tell us what you think.

Read the full story in the New York Daily News.

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Read Up! 50 Cent To Release Children’s Book On Bullying

NewsOne Staff — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:15:38 +0000

50 Cent is well known for his business ventures outside of music, however, his latest is unlike the rappers many projects in the music, fashion and cologne industries.

5o’s latest venture, “Playground”, is a new book focused on bullying and aimed at teenager readers. “The scenarios in the book are written from the perspective of a child that is being a bully not dealing with the emotions properly,” says 50.

50 says that bullying is a relevant issue for him because his son is now 15 years old. The language and the situations are a bit “rough” but they represent the life 50 Cent lived before stardom.

Slaveowner’s Descendant Tells 50 Cent About “Mongolian Slaves”

cganemccalla — Fri, 06 May 2011 19:54:12 +0000

SOUTH CAROLINA – In a recent VH-1 documentary that had rapper 50 Cent find out about his ancestors and family history, a white lady who was a descendant of the white people who owned 50′s ancestors told him about Mongolian slaves who looked like Black people that were taken to America after he asked her a question about the Confederate Flag.

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50 Cent Cancels NYC Performance Amid Security Concerns

50 Cent Sparks Outrage With Japan Tsunami Tweets

cganemccalla — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 14:51:41 +0000

Rapper, 50 Cent has received a lot of criticism for jokes that he told on twitter about the earthquake and tsunami that recently hit japan.

The Huffington Post reports:

“Wave will hit 8am them crazy white boys gonna try to go surfing,” he first tweeted on Friday morning. Later in the afternoon, he said, “Look this is very serious people I had to evacuate all my hoe’s from LA,Hawaii and Japan. I had to do it. Lol.”

Read The Whole Story

Feds DID NOT Shut Down WorldStarHipHop.com

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Feds DID NOT Shut Down WorldStarHipHop.com

cganemccalla — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 00:11:45 +0000

WorldStarHIpHop is back online. According to several sources, federal authorities shut down the popular urban website, WorldStarHipHop.com. WorldStar is known for showing rap videos, footage of rappers engaging in ignorant behavior, fights, newsclips and the occasional sex tape. Reports are that they were shut down by Homeland Security.

Federal authorities have already shut down the sites, OnSmash and Rap Godfathers, last year as well as several torrent sites. Rapper 50 Cent has claimed that he is responsible on Twitter:

I put worldstar to bed, you don’t believe try me I will shut your sh*t down. Lol

I don’t know why people underestimate me. I just shut down WORLDSTAR for future advertising contact thisis50.com suckers lol.

According to HotSpot Atl, Q from WorldStarHipHop is claiming that it was server issues rather than federal authorities or 50 Cent that shut down WorldStarHipHop.

50 Cent Selling “Sketchy Penny Stocks” On Twitter

cganemccalla — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:31:35 +0000

Rapper 50 Cent, real name Curtis Jackson has taken to his Twitter account to sell penny stocks. He has been advertising H & H Imports(HNHI) which the New York Observer claims is a “sketchy penny stock.”

Later 50 Cent would Tweet

“I own HNHI stock thoughts on it are my opinion. Talk to financial advisor about it.”

“HNHI is the right investment for me it may or may not be right for u! Do ur homework”

Read The Whole Story

WikiPedia says the following about penny stocks.

Since many sub $1.00 stocks are thinly traded, and especially those that trade for fractions of one cent, they are targets for price manipulation.[2] For example, an individual or organization buys up hundreds of thousands, or even millions of shares, then uses web sites, faulty press releases, and e-mail blasts to drive interest to the company. Very often, faulty or misleading information is provided, resulting in investors buying shares in the underlying company. The increased demand pushes the price up, while the original individual or organization doing the “pumping” sells their holdings.[3] The expanding use of the Internet has made penny stock scams easier to perpetuate.

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Police: 50 Cent’s Mansion Burglarized By Wine-Drinking Suspects

NewsOne Staff — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 21:27:02 +0000

Police responded to a suspicious car discovered at rapper 50 Cent’s Connecticut mansion at 6 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Guards at the home told police that a male suspect was inside the residence. But was he making off with bling, or cases of Vitamin Water (50 Cent is an investor)? No, just a nice bottle of wine.

According to a news release from the Farmington (Conn.) Police Department, the suspect, later identified as Alexander Hernandez, “was hiding in a closet, drinking a bottle of wine he had stolen from the residence.” Another suspect (this one not raiding the wine stash), Santos Padilla, was found hiding in another section of the house. Both were in possession of marijuana when they were arrested.

Read entire article at TodayShow.com

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50 Cent: Oral Sex Remarks Were Not Anti-Gay

NewsOne Staff — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 20:10:40 +0000

50 Cent is trying to defend allegedly gay controversial remarks he made about oral sex over Twitter.

“If you a man and your over 25 and you don’t eat pu**y just kill your self damn it. The world will be a better place. Lol,” he tweeted on Thursday.

Even if he just meant to encourage straight men to give oral, his statement offended many considering the recent gay teen suicide at Rutgers, one of four similar tragedies within a month.

50 Cent Registers As Marrow Donor For 11-Year-Old Lion King Star

NewsOne Staff — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 18:04:16 +0000

See, hip-hop mogul 50 Cent is a nice guy after all. Just don’t tell his nemeses Rick Ross and Fat Joe.

The tough-guy rapper, who just premiered his new film Twelve last week, recently registered as a bone marrow donor in an effort to help a young actress diagnosed with leukemia.

When 50 Cent heard that 11-year-old Shannon Tavarez needed a bone marrow transplant, he and G-Unit member Tony Yayo registered with DKMS and were added to the Be The Match Registry.

Before she was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia, Tavarez had a co-starring role as young Nala in the Broadway production of The Lion King.

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50 Cent Cancels NYC Performance Amid Security Concerns

Smokey D. Fontaine — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:19:13 +0000

The rapper 50 Cent has canceled a “Family Day” fair he had planned in his old Queens neighborhood amid police concerns about security for the event.

The fair had been planned for Sunday at a school yard in the borough’s Jamaica section, blocks from a spot where the rapper was shot and wounded in 2000.

The musician’s manager, Chris Lighty, says the event is being postponed while organizers work out new arrangements with police.

Authorities had been worried about whether they would have enough officers on hand to deal with crowds and keep the peace, especially if the rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, performed.

OPINION: Do You Know the “7 Dirty Words”?

NewsOne Staff — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:55:42 +0000

Keri Hilson’s “Knock You Down” was on for the millionth time yesterday and I didn’t mind because I like the song and all but there’s one thing that does bother me about when that song is played on the radio; censors blank out two words that aren’t even obscene!

When Ne-Yo sings, “I used to be commander and chief of my pimp ship flying high…” they blank out the word “ship”.

Then when Kanye spits, “How can you ask someone who’s only average…?” they blank out the word “ask”.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that hyper sensitive censors hit the mute button on words that might have sounded like fouler words or words that were innocuous in most cases and only sometimes slightly risky due to context. Heck, Wanye and Baby’s “Always Strapped” has the second word in its title blanked depending on the time of day or which station you catch it on.

If you think back to 2003, in the chorus to 50 Cent’s “What Up Gangsta“, when 50 spit, “What up Blood, what up Cuz…” the “Blood” part always got blanked. This I found particularly disturbing because the censor, who was clearly showing his affinity for street gangs by omitting the reference to a popular one, also blatantly missed the fact that “Cuz” is just another word for “Crip” (the rivals to the Bloods). This could make it seem as if the radio endorsed the Crips over the Bloods.

By far, in my opinion, the worst case of runaway censorship however had to be on The Notorious B.I.G.’s “One More Chance” remix when Big spit “Navajos creep me in their teepee…” “Navajos” would get garbled-which is similar to being blanked, just with distorted audio- thereby rendering an entire nation of Native Americans too perverse to mention aloud.

The late great comedian George Carlin had a standup routine where he listed the 7 words that were, under all circumstances, too offensive to ever say on television or the radio. I’m not gonna write them here (just click on Carlin’s name if you’ve absolutely GOTTA hear them), but I will give you their cleaner alternatives: feces, urine, womb, copulation, chicken lollipop, female-parent fornicator and the palindrome for “breast”.

What do ya’ll think of censorship? Are there truly such things as “bad” words and if so, which words are they?

OPINION: Police Give the ‘OK’ to Kill 50 Cent

NewsOne Staff — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:39:10 +0000

On Redemption Song, Bob Marley sang “How long shall they kill our prophets while we stand aside and look?”

Well Bob, it looks like they’re at it again. And we’re just gonna stand aside and watch this one too.

I’m thoroughly insulted that the New York Police Department is trying to tell me that there is basically no way they can guarantee the safety of rap superstar 50 Cent when he appears at a free concert that is to take place on August 30^th in his old Queens neighborhood.

“We can’t control the area,” said one law-enforcement source.

“Someone’s gonna try to make a name for themselves,” said another of these clowns. “They’re gonna take a shot at him, and they’re either gonna hit him or they’re gonna miss him and hit some poor, innocent kid or grandmother.”

Now, what are they really saying here? If it’s not, “G’head, killers! Take your shots and we won’t even try to stop you!” I don’t know what it is.

And we’ve seen this before, far too recently with the deaths of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. The two biggest stars in music at the time were killed virtually before our very eyes and the police are still yet to make a single arrest in connection with either murder.

You know what that says? If you are a State and there are murders in the State and you do not arrest the people that participated in the murders; that means you’re ok with the murders and heck, you might have even sanctioned them. Considering this, it only makes sense for rappers to carry guns. Big guns. Hell, if law enforcement won’t even arrest your murderer, you might as well try to stay alive! (shout to T.I.)

Writer Isis Wisdom recently (and rightfully) asked in a blog “Are Black Men Cowards?” She used as a stunning example the situation that Casey Gane-McCalla posted right here on Newsone.com of an elderly Black woman being slammed on her head by the police and while there were plenty of Black men around to film the scene on their cell phones and provide commentary, not a single one rushed to her aid.

Now that the police seem to be telling us to kill 50 Cent, I’ve got to hope that we’re sophisticated enough to see through this gross insult to our intelligence and let the brother come home, party, and leave in peace.

Police Worried Someone Will Shoot 50 Cent During Free Concert

Smokey D. Fontaine — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:51:50 +0000

From The New York Post

Superstar rapper 50 Cent is secretly planning to stage a free concert in a schoolyard near the Queens projects where he grew up, and where he was nearly fatally shot — sparking a wave of fear in the community and prompting cops to prepare for the worst.

“We can’t control the area,” warned one law-enforcement source, noting that the performance on the grounds of PS 40 in Jamaica will be part of “an outdoor event — people could walk in from anywhere.”

“Someone’s gonna try to make a name for themselves,” another worried source added. “They’re gonna take a shot at him, and they’re either gonna hit him or they’re gonna miss him and hit some poor, innocent kid or grandmother.”

Read The Whole Story