SEE ALSO: Racist Obama “Don’t Re-Nig” Bumper Sticker Photographed

Hip-hop stars completed a near takeover of the music conference and festival overnight Thursday and early Friday with Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, B.o.B., T.I. and Wale all playing bass-booming showcases just blocks from each other into the early morning. And later in the day, Nas would be the subject of a Q&A interview and 50 Cent was expected to headline the Shady Records showcase where he would perform his iconic album “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” live in its entirety for the first time.

Posters teasing Lil Wayne’s concert at Austin Music Hall appeared Thursday all over town and Weezy was in high spirits as he played his hits, introduced fellow rappers Chanel and Birdman, kicked off a partnership with Mountain Dew and introduced his new clothing line.

“If you get anything from me, it’s to find your name and do you because, ladies and gentlemen, that’s what I do,” he told the crowd in what he said was a commercial for the new soft drink partnership.

As Weezy wound down, Snoop Dogg held court about six blocks away. There, he regaled reporters with tales of his love for the long-gone sour cream and onion Doritos rather than the new “JACKED” flavor he was promoting, his requirement that the company give him a couple of vending machines so his friends can have some and how he couldn’t see the five-story stage on which he performed a set that stretched into Friday.

He also didn’t exactly deny he’s reuniting with Dr. Dre at Coachella, talked about a new project with producer Diplo, his upcoming movie release in June with Wiz Kalifa, gave a shoutout to Virginia Commonwealth basketball coach Shaka Smart and talked of sharing a bucket of fried chicken in Amsterdam with Willie Nelson.

He also explained hip-hop’s takeover of Austin and the big-money deals he, Lil Wayne and Jay-Z – who was brought to SXSW on Monday by American Express – are landing.

“You know, it’s a hip-hop world,” Snoop said in an interview as he stretched out on an orange couch at Carmelo’s in a Texas Longhorns basketball jersey next to a surreal 5-foot-tall snack bag. “I don’t mean that in a cocky way, I mean that in a real way. If you watch TV, anything that’s got to do with a commercial or selling something, it’s hip-hop orientated, whether it’s the music we personalize, the artists involved, even attention on football and basketball. Whatever it is, it’s trying to be something that’s hip-hop.”

SEE ALSO:

6 Female Politicians Go After Male Masturbation, Viagra

Woman Strangled By NY Train Station Escalator

Now Limbaugh is attempting to say that there is a double standard in his treatment and the way rappers are treated for misogynist language and the way he was treated. He wrote on his website:

“You talk about a double standard, One of the greatest illustrations of it is that rappers can practically say anything they want about women, and it’s called art.”

What Limbaugh doesn’t mention is that rappers are held to a standard of misogyny. Rapper Too Short and XXL Magazine’s Vanessa Satten faced a similar campaign of petitions and boycotts and a call to have the editor fired which resulted in an apology from Too Short and Vanessa Satten.

‘LIKE’ NewsOne’s FB Page To Stay Up On Black News From Around The World

Misogyny is not right when it comes from hip-hop and it not right when it comes from right wing radio hosts. What is particularly disturbing about Limbaugh’s misogyny is that he is known as the voice of the Republican party. Limbaugh is the highest rated talk show host in the country and boasts of 20 million day times listeners, known as ditto-heads, who follow Limbaugh without question.

Ronald Reagan called Limbaugh, the “Number One voice for conservatism in our Country” and he received the “Defender Of The Constitution” award from CPAC, where he was the keynote speaker in 2009. Limbaugh has had George W. Bush as a guest six times and has had his hero Dick Cheney on the show.

So should Limbaugh be held to a higher standard than rappers, shock jocks and comedians who use misogynist terms? Misogyny is wrong in any context but when it being used with the full support of a major political party it is particularly disturbing.

Many in the African American community have been critical of misogyny in hip hop. Corporate sponsored hip hop should have to face the same criticism Limbaugh does but that in no way makes Limbaugh’s comments any less acceptable. Limbaugh’s childish “hip-hop does it too” defense shows the standards of misogyny he sets for himself.. Perhaps if Snoop Dogg was the “voice of the Democratic Party” he might face the same scrutiny as Limbaugh.

SEE ALSO: Are Black People Hung Up On Their Mixed Roots?

Rapper, Too Short, real name Todd Shaw, who was recently the scapegoat for negativity in hip hop after he did a video with XXL Magazine in which he advised young boys to be sexually aggressive with females, is blaming an industry conspiracy for negativity in hip-hop.

In an interview with HipHopDx, Too Short blames the record labels who control the output of hip-hop for shutting down conscious hip-hop and destroying the balance of positivity and negativity that it once had.

SEE ALSO:

17 Black Internet Pioneers

Why I Am A Male Feminist

‘LIKE’ NewsOne’s FB Page To Stay Up On Black News From Around The World

HipHopDx reports

I wanted to do a whole album of positive Too Short songs, just to keep that balance. I had made a verbal deal with Barry Weiss, where he was like, “Right now would be the perfect time, you should do like the raunchiest Too Short album ever – the album cover, the songs, just do a dirty f***in’ Too Short album.” This is the executive running the company advising me to put out an entire album of just cursing and sex.

And I noticed that at a certain point in Hip Hop the major labels stopped signing and promoting the positive artists, the ones that was just really positive. Positive images were hard to get out there. So I’m just saying that at some point it wasn’t that Hip Hop changed on its own, it had a little push. I’m a real conspiracy theorist, and I just feel like there had to be a gathering of the major labels and somebody had to say like, “Look, we gotta keep this positive shit off the airwaves and let this booty-shaking shit take over. It’s time.” And after that it’s like the floodgates just opened with sex and violence.

Read More At HipHopDX

“I’ll rape a pregnant b*tch and tell my friends I had a threesome.”

These words came from Tyler the Creator, leader of the “musical” collective, Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, just one of the many Hip-Hop artists who’ve taken the power of free speech and used it to mangle their own community.  Disrespect for women has become par for the course in the language Hip-Hop, not to mention messages about excessive drug/alcohol abuse, sexual irresponsibility, the murdering of one Black man by another and financial irresponsibility.

SEE ALSO: Study: Pot Makes Workers Lazy?

As I headed to Brown University this week to debate the issue with the always outstanding Michael Eric Dyson, I suddenly found myself at odds with my role model and predecessor — like a 10-year old boy forced to fight his 19-year old brother.  It’s awkward for me to disagree with Professor Dyson, because I respect him so much.   It is also tough for me to disagree with commercialized Hip-Hop, since I love the music as much as I love Professor Dyson.

In light of my respect for Dyson, I must first admit that I appreciate the fact that he knows how to express disagreement without being demeaning or confrontational.  Every counter-point is preceded by a compliment and his style of communication inspires me to reconsider the manner in which I’ve challenged some of my own colleagues (yes, that was for you, Melissa Harris-Perry, but please leave Dr. Cornel West alone – people often forget that you attacked him first).

During our heated and productive public dialogue, Professor Dyson made the point that Hip-Hop, even the stuff we hear on the radio, is one of the most creative and imaginative art forms in history.  The lyrical genius being shown by Hip-Hop artists should be studied in the same manner as Shakespeare, Chaucer and all the other people who bored me to tears in high school.  It is nothing less than racist to presume that Hip-Hop artists can’t be just as brilliant as those with lighter shades of skin.

Dyson also made the interesting point that the same creative freedoms being given to individuals who make violent films should be given to Hip-Hop artists who make violent music.   One could hardly imagine Martin Scorsese being taken to task for the cultural influence of “The Godfather.”

I don’t disagree with Professor Dyson entirely.   We do live in a country where the actions of Black men are viewed with a more critical and negative eye than the actions of our white brothers and sisters.   Also, the oppression that poor Black men experience doesn’t disappear when you are educated and middle class (no different from the racism I’ve dealt with at Syracuse University).

The problem, however, is that commercialized Hip-Hop is not like a harmless film, where those who absorb the messages clearly understand that the artist is creating an illusion that is entirely distinct from reality.  Commercialized Hip-Hop is the mass marketing and glamorization of a lifestyle that ends up being emulated by millions of Black kids across America.

When Lil’ Wayne says, “My flag’s red,” implying that he is a member of the LA Bloods street gang, he isn’t making this up (he would be killed for making a false affiliation).  There is an expectation in Hip-Hop that the lives of the artists are relatively authentic, that they are “keeping it real.”  When an artist tells a story about his time in prison, he usually has a criminal record.  If he talks about his days of “slangin” dope and never actually dealt drugs, he is ridiculed.

Hip-Hop artists on the radio are not just fictional characters in a dramatic story.  Instead, they are more like political figures, marketing a set of ideas to young people.  They are pastors in a media mega-church, bragging about how they live, what they do, and who they do it with.  To somehow presume that impressionable young minds are not being adversely affected by the negative mantras they recite on a daily basis is nothing short of writing off every Psychology research study in the history of all mankind; the same brainwashing that creates a generation of Lil’ Wayne clones is also used by Nike to get poor Black kids to spend $200 on shoes that cost $10 to make.

Artists have the right to free speech.  But we as citizens also have the right to tell the artists, their corporate plantation owners and media outlets that are distributing this poison that we will not tolerate artists sharing messages that make our kids proud of being ignorant, unproductive, self-destructive and harmful to their own communities.  Anyone who wants to see the impact of these messages need only be around young people as rappers overwhelm even the best parents when it comes to telling their children how to make choices.

Sure, some kids can look past the music and not absorb the messages.  But as a Black man, I see my brothers being impacted by the actions of rappers, who validate and encourage the very worst in them.  I see the men who try to rise out of the cycles of self-destruction that plague so many of us, only to find that the spiritual momentum is in the other direction.  Did Hip-Hop cause all of the problems for the Black male in America?  Certainly not.  But one thing we know, without question, is that the music on the radio isn’t helping.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and author of the book, “Black American Money: How Black Power Can Thrive in a Capitalist Society.” To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.

SEE ALSO:

Harlem Mom Loses Sons To Guns, Becomes Anti-Violence Crusader

Slideshow: TheGrio’s 100 top 10 African-Americans in media

SEE ALSO: Obama Sings Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” At The Apollo

Why would our cool prez, who has in the past admitted to listening to rap artists like Lil’ Wayne and Jay-Z, not include Hip-Hop music on his campaign trail playlist?

Obama’s playlist seems to cover every genre of music — Sugarland, U2, Aretha Franklin, Florence and the Machine and even the English indie folk band Noah and the Whale.  But there is not one sign of an MC anywhere to be found on the culturally diverse list of performers.

Waz up?

In the past, Obama has been quoted as saying that one of his favorite groups are The Fugees; this fact is also mentioned on his Facebook page. They’re Hip-Hop performers, so why isn’t their music good enough to make the campaign trail?

Hip-Hop poet Common, who has slammed former president George W. Bush and egged on violence against the police in his poetry, was invited last May by the First Lady to perform at the White House Music Series.  The move enraged right-wings pundits like Sarah Palin, who was very clear in her criticism of the Obamas:

The judgment is just so lacking of class and decency and all that’s good about America with an invite like this. They’re just inviting someone like me or someone else to ask, ‘C’mon Barack Obama who are you palling around with now?’”

If Common was good enough to secure an invite to perform at the presidential digs, why isn’t one of his songs on the list?

Jay-Z, who — along with wife Beyonce — has been invited to the White House, actually tweeted a picture of the couple as they sat around a conference table pow-wowing with the president.

Where aren’t any of Jigga’s cuts on the presidential playlist?

On Spotify, a music streaming service, the presidential mix has the following subtitle: “The official 2012 playlist features picks by the campaign staff, including a few of President Obama’s favorites.” The Washington Post reports that a spokesperson for the Obama campaign clarified in an e-mail that the president didn’t choose the songs; they were suggested by staff members and volunteers.

Hmmm, really?

Didn’t the Hip-Hop community rally around our president during his campaign?  Rappers seemed to collaboratively go the extra mile to ensure Obama’s election. Nas, LL Cool J, OutKast, Young Jeezy, as a matter of fact the “Queen of Hip-Hop” Mary J. Blige even worked at a campaign office.

The Hip-Hop community has wholeheartedly embraced Obama from jump, but it is quite evident that there is a lack of overt reciprocation for the Hip-Hop community’s affections by our president.

Obama Campaign Playlist:

Different People – No Doubt
Got to Get You Into My Life – Earth, Wind & Fire
Green Onions – Booker T & The MG’s
I Got You – Wilco
Keep on Pushing – The Impressions
Keep Reachin’ Up – Nicole Willis & the Soul Investigators
Love You I Do? – Jennifer Hudson
No Nostalgia – AgesAndAges
Raise Up – Ledisi
Stand Up – Sugarland
This – Darius Rucker
We Used To Wait – Arcade Fire
You’ve Got the Love – Florence and the Machine
Your Smiling Face – James Taylor
Roll with the Changes – REO Speedwagon
Everyday America – Sugarland
Learn to Live – Darius Rucker
Let’s Stay Together – Al Green
Mr. Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra
My Town – Montgomery Gentry
The Best Thing about Me Is You – Ricky Martin, featuring Joss Stone
You are the Best Thing – Ray Lamontagne
Keep Marchin’ – Raphael Saadiq
Tonight’s The Kind of Night – Noah and the Whale
We Take Care of Our Own – Bruce Springsteen
Keep Me In Mind – Zac Brown Band
The Weight – Aretha Franklin
Even Better Than The Real Thing – U2
Home – Dierks Bentley

SEE ALSO:

First Lady Hits Road For “Let’s Move” Anniversary

Maya Angelou Talks About Common

They also report that police departments are frequenting the popular website to to identify and apprehend people who are involved in the fights and other criminal activities.

ABC News reports:

Christine O’Brien, spokeswoman of the Philadelphia Police Department, said World Star and similar sites have helped detectives zero in on suspects quickly just from watching the videos. They solved one such crime in early January, when a man was jumped, beaten and robbed while waiting for a subway. The incident was uploaded to World Star Hip Hop, and detectives made an arrest in the case four days later.

“After we got this got tip [about the World Star video], we found the video and were able to gather information from it,” O’Brien said. “At that point, we made decision to make sure investigators were made aware of this website, to go on and look for incidences. You don’t realize how many people follow YouTube and the videos. It’s a great tool in solving a lot of these crimes.”

Read More At ABC News

SEE ALSO:

Black Woman Leads Crusade For LGBT Rights

Landmark Year In Black History, 1967

Now, in an insightful — and unexpected — blog post on the HuffingtonPost.com, he reveals that orchestral music is the foundation of his base-driven productions and that a marriage between the two genres is not as farfetched as people might believe:

Orchestral and Hip-Hop — along with Rhythm & Blues, Jazz and Country — are all necessary ingredients in the Memphis gumbo that seasoned my perspective on manhood and music. Though I flirted with selecting one genre and perfecting it, once I began studying the diverse career of iconic composer Quincy Jones, I began to realize that the merger of Hip-Hop and Classical music is not impossible — it is inevitable.

There is an electric synergy between the two genres of Classical and Crunk, but one has to have a discerning ear to recognize the instinctive connection. One has only to listen to Nas‘s sampling of Beethoven‘s Fur Elise in his inspirational ghetto hymnal, I Can, Coolio‘s C U When U Get There or former G-Unit soldier, Young Buck rhyming menacingly over Mozart‘s Requiem in Say It To My Face, to feel the mirror tension and twisted beauty that lies in both genres. The theatre of Carmen: A Hip-Hopera — based on the 1875 French opera Carmen, by Georges Bizet, and Kanye‘s ‘Runaway.’

Drumma Boy, who also raps under the alias D-Boy Fresh, shows his extensive knowledge of orchestral history when he shares his appreciation of Ludwig van Beethoven and examines how the maestro’s deafness enhanced his capability to feel music on another level:

From his 3rd symphony (Eroica), to his 5th symphony (Symphony No. 5 in C minor), I find my true, kindred spirit lives within the music of Ludwig van Beethoven. He couldn’t hear at the height of his career when he created his masterful 9th symphony — what many consider to be his magnum opus and the first symphony by a major composer that incorporated vocals — but, he, like I, understood that music transcends sound; it breathes with each note that is created.

Read more on Drumma Boy and the connection between Hip-Hop and Classical music at Huffington Post.

SEE ALSO:

Michael B. Jordan To Co-Star In “Chronicle”

The hip-hop sound — first recognized at the 1989 Grammys — has garnered numerous prestigious nominations over the years, and for 10 of the last 14 years, rap acts have either led or tied for most Grammy nominations. But rarely will a hip-hop act win one of the show’s top four honors — album, song and record of the year, along with best new artist. Instead, rap acts tend to win rap awards.

50 Cent, who won his first and only Grammy two years ago, believes Grammy voters are out-of-touch and need a fresh outlook on what’s going on in contemporary music.

“I think that the board is a lot older and they’re conservative, so some of the content in the music is offensive on some level,” said 50 Cent, who famously interrupted Evanescence’s best new artist speech by walking onstage when he lost to the rock group in 2004. “There’s a lot of people that don’t accept that hip-hop culture is now pop culture.”

This year, hip-hop leads the Grammys in nominations again, with Kanye West earning seven; it’s his third year as the show’s top-nominated act, and his fourth overall (he tied Mariah Carey and John Legend for most nominations at the 2006 Grammys). While his song “All of the Lights” is up for song of the year, his critically revered fifth album, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” didn’t score an album of the year nomination, a shock to many. Even Jimmy Jam — the chair emeritus of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences — was surprised by West’s snub.

“I think he’s one of the genius artists, and I’m saying this as a person who’s worked with Michael Jackson and Prince, so I don’t throw that word around lightly,” Jam said. “So, yes, I was surprised.”

West’s album with Jay-Z, “Watch the Throne,” was also left out of the top album category; both CDs are nominated for best rap album.

Jay-Z, who once boycotted the Grammys because of the show’s lack of love for hip-hop, says Grammy nominations are “cool,” but he doesn’t use the accolades as a barometer of his success.

“The Grammys and all of those other things, they’re fine and it’s a good way for everyone to get together amongst their peers and collect some trophies at the end of the night, but my whole thing is for the people, as long as the people accept it — that’s my real Grammy,” Jay-Z said. “As long as it connects with an audience in a way.”

But Steve Stoute, the former record executive who accused the Grammys of being irrelevant last year in a full-page advertisement in The New York Times after Eminem and Justin Bieber lost top awards, says there is a bigger problem. Stoute believes The Recording Academy doesn’t have board members who understand hip-hop as a true art form.

“If (The Recording Academy) understood that, then (rappers) would be scoring technical points,” he said. “They don’t get the technical points.”

In Grammy history, 14 hip-hop albums have received nominations for album of the year. Lauryn Hill has the distinction of being the first hip-hop artist to win album of the year for “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” in 1999, but the album, while featuring rap, was heavy on R&B. Hill also won best new artist that year, the second time a rap-based act had done so following Arrested Development’s win in 1993. A rapper hasn’t won the award since.

OutKast, the alternative, genre-bending hip-hop duo, followed in Hill’s footsteps with an album of the year win in 2004 for the double disc “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.” It, too, was not strictly hip-hop, as Andre 3000 blended rock and even jazz for his half of the project.

But while there have been high-profile wins, what stands out more are the losses. No rapper has ever won record or song of the year, and both Eminem and West, each nominated three times, have failed to win the album of the year trophy in years where they appeared to be critical favorites.

At last year’s Grammys, three of the five songs nominated for record of the year were rap smashes. Lady Antebellum’s crossover hit, “Need You Now,” ended up taking away the record and song of the year honors.

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, the leader and drummer of the Roots, says the hip-hop community shares some of the blame for its losing streak. He says those in the genre aren’t involved enough with The Recording Academy, its community and its events.

“We’re not active members of (The Recording Academy) and I promise to take a more active role in that,” said Questlove, who has won three Grammys. “I should definitely come and be more involved in that. It’s taxing time-wise, but you know, I can either sit and complain … or do something about it.”

Jam says rap’s losses are also a reflection of the Grammy membership, which he said is “traditionally very heavy” with members of the country, jazz and classical music worlds.

“We’re a membership organization and the members vote. So, if the numbers of members who consider themselves of the hip-hop genre … if those numbers are lower, then the results probably point to that fact,” Jam said.

But Stoute, who is the author of “The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy,” had harsh words for Jam, a founding member of funk-soul band The Time and best known for producing multiple hits for Janet Jackson, Usher, Boyz II Men and more with partner Terry Lewis. Stoute and Jam had a conversation after last year’s awards, and Stoute was upset that Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” wasn’t up for song of the year: At the Grammys, a track is not eligible for that award if it contains a sample or if it’s not an original piece of work; that disqualifies much of rap, which relies heavily on sampling (“Empire State of Mind” samples The Moments’ “Love on a Two-Way Street”).

Stoute said Jam should be helping hip-hop, and blasted the renowned producer.

“What he’s doing is not right,” Stoute said of Jam. “And if he’s supposed to be the guy who understands urban music because of his famed career as a producer … (and) if he’s not going to be sensitive to the creativity around hip-hop, I am sorry, we’re in trouble.”

Jam, who was The Recording Academy’s chairman from 2005 to 2009, says his goal was to diversify the Grammy community, and if people have an issue with traditional Grammy rules, they should demand a change.

“You can write a proposal,” Jam said. “I hope … people step up to the challenge rather than dismiss it, which is the easy thing to do.’”

Jam also said he helped bring forth the best rap song award at the 2004 Grammys, which honors rap tracks that contain samples. Jam also implemented a new rule in 2009 that allowed anyone nominated for a Grammy to bypass the regular application process and automatically be made a member for a year. He said he did it so that nominated acts would easily be involved in the organization the following year.

“If hip-hop is the most nominated, then they should be the best represented according to what I did,” Jam said.

SEE ALSO:

Top 7 Addicting Foods

America’s Worst 9 Urban Food Deserts

SEE ALSO:
Facebook Makes People Feel Bad About Their Lives

That was how they honored his life, before the nation had the sense to do the same. We did not BBQ. I did not sleep in on Dr. King’s birthday. I read about Black history, my duty to learn from it and seek better for our people. I was taught to celebrate his life by respecting all life. I never met another kid who had parents that took such an approach to Dr. Kings birthday. I realize now that my parents were nonviolent revolutionaries. Today, with my own children I am working to pick up the torch they gave me in my youth. Hip-Hop music, has helped keep me stay in tune with the mission of Dr. King along the way.

Despite passing long before the seeds of Hip-Hop had began to bloom, rap music itself is an act nonviolence. Many might immediately take offense to this or laugh. However if you look at even some of the most violent rap you can think of, it is still just a song. Any rapper who rhymes about killing, could have picked up a gun. Instead they chose to pick up a pen. I’m not defending the content of murderous rap. What I am saying is that they chose to write an angry poem, instead of using their felling to commit a violent act. That’s choosing nonviolence!

Dr. King spoke directly to the importance of education. In the era of Hip-Hop’s “Golden Age” knowledge was a duty for most rappers. Public Enemy, Rakim, Ice Cube and many others laid a clear foundation for promoting nonviolence in Hip-Hop.

Songs like Ice-T’s The Hunted Child , Ice Cube’s Colorblind illustrated in graphic detail about the consequence of violence on the streets. While embraced as a classics within the Hip-Hop community, mainstream media hardly acknowledge its existence. Even today rappers like Game and Nas will make songs in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and it gets almost no recognition by Black or White media outlets. So, they must be doing it for more than the money? They get zero reward for speaking about peace, and only hit the charts when they sing of murdering their own. We should applaud their courage and accept their sincerity.

In recent years songs like I Know I Can by Nas, Sabac Red’s The Commitment and T-KASH’s Peace To My Enemies motivate feet and minds to live better.

Dr. King took the power of God’s love to the streets. Hip-Hop music comes from the streets. This means that it will not always say things that are fun or easy to digest. But it will always be honest. Songs like Sticky Fingaz Oh My God, Kanye West’s Jesus Walks and Rakim’s Who Is God? are brilliant illustrations of some of the spiritual aspirations circulating within the Hip-Hop community. The RZA from Wu-Tang Clan made an amazing song about love for The Creator called Sunshine on the album 8 Diagrams. Rapper Killer Mike wrote amazing verses about spiritual redemption with God In The Building. Many of these songs may not be in the Top 4o. But they keep the people on the streets motivated to embrace God. I don’t believe Dr. King would want it any other way. Let us remember he died on the way to protect the rights of sanitation workers in Memphis.

While many have taken on Dr. King’s mission of nonviolence, his crusade against poverty has been largely ignored. Poverty knows no color. The empty stomach of a child in Oakland does not hurt any less than the stomach of a child in Chechnya. A Mexican mother without food, worries no less than a White mom in Minnesota. Until I worked at a high school in San Francisco, I had not true understanding of poverty. This opened my eyes to the wisdom of Martin Luther King Jr., almost more than anything else.

I have learned that starving student cannot study. I have seen “underground railroads” of food emerge in response. Many teachers argue against kids attitudes in class. Others see food in the classroom a nuisance. I understand how frustrating it can be for a dedicated teacher to endure it. Kids appear to be disruptive in class, but they can’t hear the math lesson over the rumble in their stomach. I’ve watched kids walk down hallways in shoes with soles that literally are about to peel off the bottom of their foot and be mocked by others. I’ve seen kids walk around in clothes they’ve outgrown due to a growth spurt. So their growth is a silent curse as their parents cannot afford new clothes. I’m not talking only about just Black children. I see this as global burden. Poverty is an oppressive demon and in many cases is the root of why violence happens and why we (humans) excuse it many times. One might be able to argue that the bulk of the violence in Hip-Hop is in direct proportion to the initial state of poverty its performers existed in.

The impact of poverty on the heart and mind can be seen in the music of artists like Apathy’s Check to Check, or Vinnie Paz’s Keep Movin ‘ On . They leave deep impressions about the reality of poverty. In an Occupy Wall St. era, their lyrics sting with searing precision. In his time, Dr. King’s words had the same effect.

I love Jazz, Blues and Rock. I love Gospel and all other forms of Black music from the African diaspora. But nothing has pushed nonviolence as consistently and as bold as rap music. It is a fact we cannot deny. This fact does not undo much of the violence and sexism and celebration of materialism in Hip-Hop. Yet it was Bid Daddy Kane, Biz Markie and Kool G Rap that reminded me to Erase Racism. What the subculture of Hip-Hop has achieved, I will not allow to be denied. I thank Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for his sacrifice every time I hear a rapper embrace peace. Happy birthday Dr. King. Those love Hip-Hop continue to keep your message alive.

SEE ALSO:

Luther Campbell Calls Mitt Romney “Racist”

Haitian Choir Heals

A program at the community center, “Sessions LA” use hip-hop and deejay culture to teach them how to make beats using digital technology.

CNN reports:

Huang eventually moved to Los Angeles, where he began to volunteer with Sessions LA, which uses hip-hop to draw kids in and keep them from trouble. Huang helped to develop the program’s curriculum, and helped it grow. It currently serves about 15 kids, most of them Latino, black and Asian. They’re often the children of immigrants, and many have experienced trauma or abuse.

These are the kind of at-risk students, Huang said, who don’t usually have much to keep them busy.

Read More At CNN

SEE ALSO:

Child Swept Away Into Sewage System

Give Birth Like A Celebrity

SEE ALSO: Kevin Hart Is On Fire

Cuddly elementary school kids have let go of Sesame Street in exchange for an AK-47 with a condom on top.  The great challenge is finding a way to be a good parent in a world that provides influences that run counter to everything you want your child to believe, and believe me folks, it ain’t easy.

The formula presented in commercialized hip-hop is simple:  Drink and use drugs in excess; have as much irresponsible sex as possible; don’t ever show any respect toward women; for God’s sake, don’t ever educate yourself; make sure you’re “strapped” whenever possible, in case some fools try to roll up on yo’ spot; spend all your money and don’t think one second about saving or investing it.

It’s hard to disconnect the beats, rhymes and messages being absorbed by our kids with the fact that Black people are broker than we’ve ever been, getting less educated by the minute, going to prison like cattle, killing one another at record speed, and running back and forth to the club every other day.  Hip hop is not entirely to blame for these problems, but yes, there is a connection.

Dr. Towanna Freeman, who professionally mentors young women, has strong feelings about the music and spoke openly about how she dealt with her daughter’s decision to download music that she found to be objectionable:

Whether you know it or not, your subconscious is absorbing the stuff this music is saying to you.  What goes in eventually comes out. One day you will find yourself cussing someone out or acting in a way that responds to the music you’re listening to.  That’s why when someone is being brainwashed, they have them listen to headphones.  You absorb what you hear.

Columbia University Professor Dr. Christopher Emdin says that the music provides a teachable moment for parents:

The chief thing for parents to understand is that there is a major distinction between rap and commercially hip-hop (which is driven by corporate interests and caricatures of blackness) and black music and its complexity, its history, and its wide ranging messages. Parents who have children who are interested in music/hip-hop have to make the music sharing/listening activity a family activity.

Dr. Emdin goes on to say that there are ways that parents and kids can work together to inspire critical thinking as it pertains to hip-hop culture:

Create playlists with wide-ranging Black music together. Listen to their music, and then suggest something that you like. If a child likes a song, find the original sample and develop an appreciation for the original music. Teach them to listen and then critique the messages in music. Teach them not to be a consumer, but a critic.

Dr. Julianne Malveaux, president of Bennett College for Women, also sees the music as a chance to teach your children about values:

Parents are responsible for transmitting values to their children, despite the challenges of hip hop and black radio. When vulgar language is used, parents should be the ones to point it out and discuss why it is vulgar. When sex and sexuality are on display, parents have the opportunity to talk about their values about sex.

While the debate over hip-hop isn’t going to end anytime soon, there is no debate regarding whether or not some things need to change.  There’s nothing in the theory of Psychology stating that you can recite lyrics over and over again without this message having some impact on your subconscious thinking.  Black people don’t own media, but we own the right to reject the media that is serving to destroy our children.  Our voices must be louder than the radio.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University.  To have Dr. Boyce articles delivered to your email, please sign up here.

SEE ALSO:

Nicotine Gum, Patches Don’t Help Long-Term

Venus Pulls Out Australia Open

SEE ALSO: TSA Discovers Ninja Daggers Hidden In Book

While it remains to be seen how his music will be distributed and categorized (he’s had deals with Def Jam and Cash Money since his release from the pen), here are 10 examples from 2011 that prove hip-hop is philanthropic — and we’re not even including the most-active hip-hop philanthropists Russell Simmons and Wyclef Jean.

1. KENDRICK LAMAR, XXL’s FRESHMAN CLASS REACH OUT FOR WOMEN

MC Kendrick Lamar donated the proceeds from “Keisha’s Song (Her Pain),” off his debut studio album Section.80, to address the abusive cycle of prostitution. XXL‘s 2011 Freshman Class also contributed to the ending of prostitution by headlining a concert that benefited two organizations, Downtown Women’s Center and Project Rural India Social and Health Improvement (RISHI).  [ocweekly.com]

2. ASHER ROTH’S HUNGER CAMPAIGN

Preparing for his Def Jam debut, Philly-based Asher Roth has decided to give the proceeds of his latest interim project, the Pabst & Jazz Sessions, to the Philadelphia Hunger Coalition. The collection is slated for a Dec. 20 iTunes release. [ballerstatus.com]

3. LIL WAYNE’S CASH MONEY

With so much money made from the Young Money, Cash Money, Universal labels, it makes sense that Lil Wayne would team up with Discover Financial Services to issue a Lil Wayne-endorsed pre-paid debit card. Proceeds from the card sales go toward his One Family Foundation. [americanbanker.com]

4. WIZ KHALIFA SPARKS GREEN CONSCIOUSNESS

One in three people lack access to quality water, so Wiz Khalifa teamed up with Green For All (Yes, isn’t it ironic, or coincidental, or kismet?) on World Water Day to launch a Campus Consciousness Tour and a public education campaign called “Keep It Fresh.” [greenforall.org]

5. MAC MILLER MAKES-A-WISH

Fulfilling a promise that he would donate $50k to the Make-A-Wish Foundation if he got $50k worth of pre-orders for his debut, Blue Slide Park, Mac Miller signed a check to the foundation. The album eventually sold 145,000 copies in its first week and entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1. [theboombox.com]

6. 50 CENT ENLISTS DEEPAK

50 Cent’s Street King movement went from Twitter to the auric field, when he introduced a new commercial featuring Deepak Chopra. Sales from the energy drink go toward his partnership with the United Nation’s Food Programme. [killerhiphop.com]

7. NICKI MINAJ’S BARBIE

Nicki Minaj has partnered with Mattel to make a limited-edition doll modeled after her own Barbie persona (pink hair and all). With an opening bid of $1,000, the proceeds will go to Project Angel Food, which provides food for people living with HIV/AIDS. [billboard.com]

8. B.o.B.’s B-DAY GIFT

B.o.B, named a Forbes‘ 2011 Hip-Hop Top Earner, took a moment from his 23rd birthday celebration to donate $10,000 to Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless. [hiphopwired.com]

9. FABOLOUS’ ROYAL COAT DRIVE

Fabolous helped to meet the goals of New York Cares with a month-long coat drive sponsored by his A Fabolous Way Foundation. The first annual 3 Kings Coats Drive helped to bring in 100,000 coats, which kept about 10,000 more youth warm than the organization was able to outfit last year. [xxl.com]

10. JAY-Z TAPS FINANCIAL FRIENDS

Jay-Z continues to set his sights on big-money tickets. The mogul announced plans to perform two concerts at Carnegie Hall in February to raise money for his Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation and the United Way of New York City. Tickets went on sale Dec. 12, priced at $500 to $2,500. A portion of the tickets, reserved for the public, will be offered at lower prices on Jan. 30. The foundation has provided more than 750 students with at least $1.1 million in scholarship money. [nytimes.com]

SEE ALSO:

GOP Congressman Obsessed With Michelle Obama’s Butt

Ron Paul Ditches CNN Interviewer Who Asks Him About Racism

The ATF and D.C. police created a fictional rapper “Richie Valdez” and used a studio they called “Manic Enterprises” and reached out to the criminal underworld to catch criminals.

AllHipHop reports:

Over the course of the year, agents confiscated 161 firearms (including a rocket launcher), 29 assault weapons, 80 pounds of methamphetamine, 21 pounds of cocaine, 1.25 gallons of PCP, 24 pounds of marijuana, heroin and Ecstasy.

In addition to the seizures of drugs and weapons, police said many of the 70 suspects detained bragged about other crimes and reportedly stated they would kill police officers or other innocent people if necessary.

Read More At AllHipHop

SEE ALSO:

Tea Partier Calls For Assassination Of Obama Family

Man Drives 225 Miles With Dead Wife

See also: DMX Plays Wheelchair Basketball With Injured Troops

John Wilson, better known as rapper Tommy Hill, was talking to the manager of a bar he left without paying when he was approached by three men around 1:30 a.m. on Friday.

According to reports, one of the suspects aimed his weapon at Wilson while the others grabbed him, pushed him to the ground and began rooting through his pockets.

Wilson was later found with wounds to the chest and lower body. He was rushed to a local hospital where he died from his injuries Sunday morning, police say.

Allhiphop reports that back in 2004, Wilson cooperated with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office in a case against a trio of North Philadelphia drug dealers accused of running a high level drug organization in which they stockpiled weapons of mass destruction.

Read more at the Grio.

RELATED:

Russell Simmons On Why He Supports The 99% And OWS

The Plot Against Hip Hop: An Interview With Author Nelson George

In other words, as the Dec. 31 deadline for completing their withdrawal approaches, U.S. troops are leaving behind the good, the bad and what “Lil Czar” Mohammed calls the “punky.”

Sporting baggy soldiers’ camouflage pants, high-top sneakers and a back-turned “N.Y.” baseball cap, the chubby 22-year-old was showing off his break-dancing moves on a sunny afternoon in a Baghdad park. A $ sign was shaved into his closely cropped hair.

“While others might stop being rappers after the Americans leave, I will go on (rapping) till I reach N.Y.,” said Mohammed, who teaches part-time at a primary school.

His forearm bore a tattoo of dice above the words “GANG STAR.” That was the tattooist’s mistake, he said; it was supposed to say “gangsta.”

Eight million Iraqis — a quarter of the population — have been born since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003, and nearly half the country is under 19, according to Brett McGurk, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York and, until recently, senior adviser to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

So after years of watching U.S. soldiers on patrol, it’s inevitable that hip-hop styles, tough-guy mannerisms and slangy English patter would catch on with young Iraqis.

Calling themselves “punky,” or “hustlers,” many are donning hoodie sweat shirts, listening to 50 Cent or Eminem and watching “Twilight” vampire movies. They eat hamburgers and pizza and do death-defying Rollerblade runs through speeding traffic. Teens spike their hair or shave it Marine-style. The “Iraq Rap” page on Facebook has 1,480 fans.

To many of their fellow Iraqis, the habits appear weird, if not downright offensive. But to the youths, it is a vital part of their pursuit of the American dream as they imagine it to be.

“Lil Czar” Mohammed, a Shiite Muslim, says he was introduced to American culture by a Christian friend, Laith, who subsequently had to flee the anti-Christian violence that broke out in Baghdad. “I had nothing to help my friend, he left,” he said. “But when I get the money and become a rich boss, I will tell my friend Laith to come back.”

Meanwhile, he said, he is trying to record a rap song in Arabic and English. “It is about our situation. About no jobs for us.”

“I love the American soldiers,” said Mohammed Adnan, 15, who pastes imitation tattoos on his arm. Adnan lives in the Sadr City, the Baghdad base of followers of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who has threatened violence against U.S. troops if they stay beyond 2011.

But, surprisingly, Adnan says the U.S. gangsta look is accepted in his neighborhood.

“All young men in Sadr City wear the same clothes when we hang around,” he said. “Nobody minds. And we’re invited to weddings or celebrations where we perform break-dancing.”

It all adds up to a taste of the wide world for a society which lived for decades under Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship that deprived them of satellite TV, cell phones and the Internet, and then through invasion, terrorism and sectarian killing.

Not all Iraqis welcome the culture the Americans brought. Dr. Fawzia A. al-Attia, a sociologist at Baghdad University, says one result is that young Iraqis now reject school uniforms, engage in forbidden love affairs and otherwise rebel against their elders.

“There was no strategy to contain this sudden openness,” she said. “Teenagers, especially in poor areas where parents are of humble origin and humble education, started to adopt the negative aspects of the American society because they think that by imitating the Americans, they obtain a higher status in society.

“These young Iraqi people need to be instructed,” she said. “They need to know about the positive aspects of the American society to imitate.”

Like many Iraqis, high school student Maytham Karim wants to learn English. But the English he hears most often from his peers — and mostly those who listen to American music — is laden with profanity.

“The F- and the ‘mother’ words are used a lot, which is a very negative thing,” Karim said.

As U.S. forces began closing their bases Iraqis rummaged through their garbage for discarded uniforms, caps and boots to sell to youngsters who pay top dollar to dress like soldiers. Baghdad’s tattoo business is also booming. Hassan Hakim’s tattoo parlor in affluent Karradah neighborhood is covered with glossy pictures of half-naked men and women showing off their ink, regardless of Islam’s strictures on baring the skin.

The storefront caused a stir when it opened last summer, but complaints soon died down and the business is thriving.

“Iraqi youth are eager in a very unusual way to get tattoo on their bodies, probably because of the American presence here,” said Hakim, 32, who is attending graduate school at Baghdad’s Fine Arts Academy. “Four years ago, people were concealing their tattoos when in public, but now they use their designs to show off. It is the vogue now.”

Most of Hakim’s customers are Iraqi security guards imitating their American counterparts. They demand tattoos of coffins, skulls, snakes, dragons, bar codes, Gothic letters and crosses. Female customers prefer flowers and butterflies on their shoulders. Also, many young women now dare to wear tight tops and hip-hugging jeans with their hijabs, or head coverings. Some also sport miniature dogs.

Showbiz and military chic aside, young Iraqis agree that the American troops opened their minds to the outside world. The wait for a place in an English classes, for example, can last months.

“I found that all Iraqis want to learn English,” said Nawras Mohammed, and using the Internet or watching satellite TV is fine. But users need to be selective, the 24-year-old college graduate said.

“The positive and the negative aspects of the American presence,” she said, “depend on us.”

While twelve members have been arrested, the rappers in the video Eastside L Boog and Eazy (real names: Larry Hooker and Earl Willams) are currently on the run.

The Loop21 reports

They are also seen giving a tutorial on how to cook crack cocaine and warning listeners about various “snitches on the block” and admitting to keeping weapons handy just in case they have to “let off a couple shots” if the “cops run up in the spot.” They also mentioned just how many packs they move a day

While Hooker and Williams are still on the run, when they do get caught, just know that they pretty much wrote out the prosecution’s case for them. At least we know they were authentic.

Read More At The Loop 21

“Well, not a really big fan,” she corrected. “But I like rap music. They’re all cute. Those are cute guys and they’re all talented.”

Though she never discloses exactly who she’s keen on, marketing execs would concur that there are many appealing, adept artists in Hip-Hop. Here’s a sampling of some who would make a great cross-over feature on the Martha show, other than her friend Diddy.

RELATED:  Sunday Dinner With: Carla Hall Of ‘The Chew’ And ‘Top Chef’

1. After Mac Miller debuted at the top of the Billboard charts with his Blue Slide Park, it’s the perfect time for Martha to commemorate his success with a Pittsburgh original remix inspired by his name: a beer braised turkey Devonshire sandwich with a side of EZ Mac.

2. Before he was on the road to recovery as rap royalty, Eminem worked as a short order cook at the Gilbert Lodge. He and Martha can cook up a version of the burgers and pizza menu that the Michigan eatery is famed for.

3. If Three 6 Mafia doesn’t win Vh1’s “Famous Foods,” perhaps their “Cookin’ Ain’t Easy” show will get picked up after an appearance on Martha, and Martha can add another franchise to her empire.

4. Hailing from the same hometown of Jersey City, Martha and Joe Budden can take a trip to a slaughterhouse and find some tasty beef to cook up for the holidays.

5. This year’s Billionaire Boys Club partnership with Rocawear could be the signal that Pharrell Williams is ready to take his designs to the masses. He and Martha can sit down in one of his limited edition “Perspective” chairs and ponder how to mainstream it a la the Martha Stewart Living collection.

6. Not forgetting that there’s some lovely lady rappers too, a Martha craft corner segment with Nicki Minaj could be the catalyst for a whole line of food-inspired accessories.

7. Not only can Martha and 50 Cent dish on their entrepreneurial success as authors of “Martha Rules” and “The 50th Law,” respectively, but they can also help boost 50’s energy drink, Street King. For every shot sold a meal is provided for a hungry child.

8. Martha and Styles P can bond over time spent in the clinker, and she’d discover that while locked up, Styles became quite health conscious. He’s since bought into Juices for Life, a juice bar in the Bronx, and can blend up some veggie and fruit juice recipes with the domestic diva.

9. An Asian/Staten Island fusion moment is called for if Raekwon the Chef gets in the kitchen with Martha. The two can chop chop Shaolin ninja-style with a peanut pesto pasta like Chef Chiarello made on “The Next Iron Chef.”

10. Still a touring rapper, the now reality TV star and self-proclaimed Ghetto Gourmet, Coolio can give Martha some Compton street-cred with a revival of his web show “Cookin’ with Coolio.” Of course, he’d have to make it daytime TV appropriate, but he still may be able to get away with his seasonings packaged in dime bags.

RELATED

Beyonce & Jay-Z: Movin’ To Miami?

You Won’t Believe Why This Fake Doc Was Arrested

See also: Rapper Heavy D Dead At Age Of 44

Longtime EPMD affiliate DJ Scratch tweeted: “Erick Sermon had a heart attack today,” Scratch wrote. “He’s ok, but still send your prayers. He is not on Twitter.”

The news comes just days after rapper Heavy D passed away in a Los Angeles hospital Tuesday after collapsing at his condominium building.

The duo [EPMD] rose to fame in the late 1980s with their debut album, Strictly Business, which featured the underground hit “Strictly Business,” based on a sample of Eric Clapton’s version of Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff.”

Read more at ballerstatus.com.

The building, where Kool DJ Herc held parties that would help create hip hop culture, had fell into disrepair after the business that bought it defaulted on the mortgage and fell into foreclosure.

See Also: Stars Without Makeup

See Also: Black Travel: Visit Chicago, Illinois

The New York Times reports:

Representative José E. Serrano, who had lobbied with building residents in a failed attempt to buy the building in 2007, said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the auction.

“The new owners have committed to preserving the building as affordable housing, and to engage in efforts to better recognize the building’s historic status as the birthplace of hip-hop,” he said. “If taken, all of these steps will help revitalize and properly recognize this historic location.”

Read More At The New York Times

See also: Florida Teacher Evaluations Tied To Student Test Scores

See also: A girl and her dog in South Africa

The event, put on by New York Non-Profit Entertainers for Education Alliance (E4EA), aims to encourage and inspire young people to live their dreams while emphasizing the importance of education.

“That’s one good thing about education in our country,” said Terrence J. “We’re a country where it comes free to everybody. And as long as you do your thing in school and as long as you keep up with your grades, you are able to get a post high school education as well under the government.”

Read more at the Grio.

See also: Jamaica rapper Vybz Kartel denied bail

See also: 48 Hours: Dallas Has the Best of Everything

Rapper Dphillgood is spearheading what he calls the XY movement, hoping that people will reconsider what they think is normal male and female behavior.

“The only obstacles are in your mind–I had to break down those barriers in my mind until I was just confident enough to do it,” he said about wearing lipstick and tights.

“A lot of people feel like a lot of colors or tight clothes is homosexual. I feel like it`s more of an expression of me,” said XY Movement creator Daryll Duane Philips II.

Read more at the33tv.com.

See also: 50 Cent: Oral Sex Remarks Were Not Anti-Gay

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.

Read more at the Huffington Post.

RELATED:

50 Cent’s “Street King” Aims To Feed A Billion Hungry People

50 Cent Loses A LOT Of Weight, Looks Emaciated

In the world of Hip-Hop, police don’t seem to concerned and the “no snitching” rule usually rises up amongst the public when it comes to speaking to authorities.

New information is revealed all the time about unsolved Hip-Hop murders, but it is unlikely anyone will ever be brought to justice for these deaths.

Below is a list of the top 5 unsolved Hip-Hop murders.

5. Soulja Slim

James Tapp, Jr., who performed under the name of Soulja Slim got his start with Master P’s No Limit Records. Before signing onto No Limit, Slim worked with B.G. from the Hot Boys and later Juvenile, with whom he recorded the number one single, “Slow Motion.”

Soulja Slim would wind up being killed in New Orleans by gunfire to the face and chest. A 22-year-old man would be charged with Soulja Slim’s murder only to be released and then murdered himself.

4. Big L

Big L, real name Lamont Coleman, was 25 years old when he was killed in 1999.

At the time, Big L was full of promise, having the respect of both the underground and the streets. But right before Big L had a chance to blow up, he was shot and murdered in his own Harlem neighborhood on 139th St. and Lenox Avenue.

A childhood friend of Big L’s was charged, but later released. Police believe the killing may have had to do with Big L’s brother who was killed three years later.

3. Jam Master Jay

Jam Master Jay, born Jason Mizell, was the DJ for pioneering rap group, Run DMC. He was shockingly murdered in 2002 in a studio in Queens, New York. In 2007, federal prosecutors claim that notorious Queens stick-up artist, Ronald “Tenad” Washington, was an accomplice to the murder, but was never convicted and no other suspects have been named.

2. Notorious B.I.G

Notorious B.I.G also known as Christopher Wallace was killed in Los Angeles, California in 1997 after a Vibe Magazine party. The shooting sent shockwaves through the industry.

While accusations and rumors have been plentiful, no one has ever been charged with the murder.

Theories range from corrupt cops working for Death Row Records killing Wallace on the orders of Suge Knight to Crips killing Biggie in retaliation for an unpaid debt.

1. Tupac  Shakur

After surviving being shot in New York City, Tupac Shakur was fatally killed in Las Vegas after a Mike Tyson fight while driving with Death Row Records head, Suge Knight. One of the original suspects, Orlando Anderson, who was beat up by Tupac and Suge Kinight’s entourage before the killing

RELATED:

Popular Hip-Hop DJ Tried To Score Pot Before Murder

NYPD Investigates Rapper Fabolous’ Link To Murder

Also read: Kanye West, Russell Simmons Visit Occupy Wall Street Protestors

Whether or not Kanye considered his appearance at the protest a contradiction, a conflict of interest, or worse, is unknown. Public mocking and condemning his appearance happened widely and quickly.

Because the Occupy Wall Street is itself a purposefully wide assortment of protesters who range from people calling for reasonable financial reform to anarchists, it’s unclear if they themselves welcome self-made millionaires like Kanye West and Russell Simmons among them.

Read more at theGrio.com

RELATED:

Big Dreams! NBA Players Consider Starting Own League

1520 Sedgwick Avenue, credited as the birthplace of hip hop, is the site of one of Hip-Hop’s founding fathers, Kool DJ Herc who helped create hip the culture as we know it.

RELATED: Bronx Birthplace Of Hip-Hop Saved From Destruction

Curbed reports:

Turns out it hasn’t been as easy for the new owners to fix that situation as they expected, because they’ve run into a bit of trouble paying the mortgage. According to PropertyShark, the building is facing a foreclosure auction on November 7. The lien amount: $7,379,208. Will anyone ever rescue this piece of history?

Read More At Curbed

The rapper, whose real name is Anthony Smith, was arrested this past summer for his involvement in a dispute with his child’s mother where an AR-15 assault rifle was confiscated. Originally, Smith was held in custody for less than an hour before posting bond of $50,000.

He pleaded guilty to one count of corporal injury to a spouse and possession of an assault weapon. The weapon was an unregistered AR-15 Sporter, but he didn’t actually use it.

Read more at YourBlackWorld.

RELATED:

Chris Brown Completes Domestic Violence Program

Domestic Violence Can Happen On A First Date

Danny Rogers, better known as “Lil Dee God’s Gift,” was acting out a mock robbery  armed with real, unloaded guns when someone passing by thought a real robbery was occurring and called 911.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s deputies swarmed the parking lot, arresting Rogers, Chance Gomez, Yonael Santana, Timothy Kelly and Nidal Jamhour for Criminal Mischief.  Raassan Holmes, Frank Cheffen and Terrell Hogan face a charge of Illegal Carrying of a Concealed Weapon along with Criminal Mischief.

Read more at fox8live.com.

RELATED:

Really? Man Fakes Robbery, Beats Himself Up To Get Oprah Tickets

Yikes! 4 Cross Dressing Men Arrested For Robbing Fabric Store

Residents of the the neighborhood claim the rapper illegally entered the property and has since disturbed the community with his loud music and rampant marijuana smoking, which neighbors say they can smell from their properties.

Read more at myfoxla.com.

RELATED:

Lord Help! Black Churches Across Country Face Foreclosure

House Votes To Kill Main Obama Foreclosure Aid

Start Gallery

Rapper Young Ni**a, the first artist to sign the to the Sony/RED backed OFWGKTA record label, debuted his first single, “Come Threw Looking Clean” with the announcement.

A statement from Odd Future’s publicist reads: “While our original intent was not to sign anyone to the label we simply could not pass up the opportunity to sign somebody this talented.”

Read more at the Grio.

RELATED:

Are Rapping White Women Keeping Hip-Hop Relevant?

Start Gallery