Dirty Harriet...Spit Fire

Say what you want but Rah Digga is one of the hottest spitters out. She is slept on like a Sealy. Well Rah I got your back! In Hiphop with so many opinions about who is hot? So, and so is doper than..the greatest of all time, top five..blah blah.

Rarley in Hiphop does a female name come into play unless it's about how she looks, and her so-called assets. Industry rule: You must have a pretty face to be marketable. I mean no one wants to see a female rap that looks like (Craig Mack) right? We all want to see a beautiful female that rhymes like a first grade reader or a bad actress with a bad script right? Damn the rabbit hole is deep.

Anyway for most people who are the "know", and let me remind you there are always people in the "know". This is not that backpack carrying "know". This is for those that love Hiphop because of it's soul & creativity. Rah"know" in the words of Tupac "you are appreciated."

Ok she needs a new CD like now. A lot of us would love to see Nas & Jayz on a track together. However I think Rah and Remy(on the rocks) need to collabo on a joint.
Busta..Streetsweepers what's up with that?

One
Storme...the rare breed



Rah Digga
The Harriet Tubman of hip hop has returned baby
C'mon!

[Verse 1]
I be that bitch niggas wantin in the lab
Rhymes comin, rhymes goin like I was a dollar cab
Fingerin the man tryin to tap into his feelings
A misguided soul so aint checkin for the lyrics
Many different players, only one hold the ball
Ghetto fabulous chick, go against the protocol
With the grittiest lingo, still such a little sweetheart
Book educated with a whole lotta street smarts
Follow me now, as I build my fanbases
Makin rappers worry like they got open cases
Harriet Thugman, y'all can see shit through
Like a whole world of people wait for Episode Two
I be the rap purist, the walking hip hop thesaurus
The innovator, spawned from Libra and Taurus
Do away cats with the same ol' whack
Lead a nation up north where the real party at
A place where we spray when our asses get older
No shots in the choke, no gettin pulled over
A place where graffiti aint considered a crime
And your favorirte underrated MC's is primetime
A land good and fruitful, where lyrics free people
Black presidents, and all the weed legal
No rich or poor, we break bread and drink merry
Smoke a little Mary for the real visionaries

The Master....My mind remains to find all kind ideas self esteem make it seem like the thoughts took years to build..

Peace...

I know I am late on this one. However I happen to catch Mtv's Greatest of All times. I was some what disappointed. But I can read between the lines. The people in the top five definitely belonged on the top 10 list.

I know it is all a matter of choice and personal opinions etc blah blah. However the number one spot should have went to Rakim. The reason why is because he is the lithmus test. He is the point where before stands an era of the Emcees, and after him stands an era of Emcees. Who can argue this point?

Everyone in the top five,from Jay, Nas, Big, Tupac were all influenced by him. He is a true lyricist. He continuously strives to take creative lyrics to the next level.

See legend has it that every so often one is born to set higher expectations in the game or their realm. These legends set a standard so high that it elevates others to work harder, and to take their craft more serious. MJ did it for basketball, everyone knew they had to bring their A game. That is what Rakim did for Hiphop...he elevated it. That elevation caused Nas, Jay, Big, and Tupac and countless others to take it to the next level.

Mtv you all dropped the ball on this one. But what do I expect from the 6 million dollar machine...

(chuckling to myself as...I ain't no joke plays in the background.)

One

PS: @Sway I know that wasn't you!

A Jamrock Jewel

Where Do "Baby-Daddies" Come From?
The origins of the phrase.
By Julia Turner
Posted Sunday, May 7, 2006, at 4:47 PM ET

Celebrity gossips are not known for their contributions to English letters. In tabloids, the copy is breathless, the headlines are stunningly literal, and the "hand-written" photo captions seem to toggle between "Awww!" and "Ew!" But as they zero in on celebrity mating and breeding rituals, the magpies keep breaking new linguistic ground. First they imported the British term bump, a noun used to refer to the protruding abdomen of a pregnant starlet. Then they awarded celebrity couples mash-up nicknames like "Bennifer," "Brangelina," and "TomKat." Now they've seized upon baby-daddy and baby-mama, two useful terms that have long appeared in hip-hop and R&B lyrics, and are slowly stripping them of their emotional fangs.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines baby-daddy as "the father of a woman's child, who is not her husband or (in most cases) her current or exclusive partner." The baby-mama entry follows the same template with the genders reversed. But some gossip writers have been adopting the first part of the definition and ignoring the second. Salon recently called Tom Cruise "Katie Holmes' baby-daddy," even though the couple is engaged. And Gawker refers to Keven Federline as "Britney Spears' baby-daddy," even though the couple has been married for more than a year.

Such usages would be unlikely in Jamaica, where baby-daddy has its roots. The OED lists baby-daddy and baby-mama as "colloquial, chiefly African-American" variants of the Jamaican terms baby-father and baby-mother; its first citation for baby-mother hails from the Kingston Daily Gleaner in 1966. The terms probably arose in Jamaican Creole—where they would have been pronounced "biebifaada" and "biebimada"—before taking hold in standard Jamaican English.

Continue Article

On the island, your baby-mother or baby-father is typically someone with whom you are no longer romantically involved. If you called your husband your "baby-father," he might be insulted—the term suggests biological fatherhood in the absence of any real parenting. The linguistics professor Peter L. Patrick, who studies Jamaican Creole, said the terms "definitely imply there is not a marriage—not even a common-law marriage—but rather that the child is an 'outside' child."

The terms soon landed in the lyrics of reggae and dancehall songs, which may be how they made their way to the United States. In 1981, a Jamaican musician named Linval Thompson wrote and recorded a song called "Play MediaBaby Mother" that entreats men not to be rough with pregnant women—"Mind how you're pushing/ when you push on your baby mother"—because an unborn child might be a "king or queen … maybe a movie star." Thompson followed up with "Play MediaBaby Father," a major hit that advised men to take responsibility for their kids. The opening line: "Baby father, don't run. Don't hide."

By the mid to late '90s, the terms baby-daddy and baby-mama were appearing regularly in American hip-hop and R&B songs, and the words were consistently used to refer to an ex. In a 1997 song by Play MediaNut N' 2 Nice, a girl placates her jealous boyfriend: "That ain't nobody/ that's just my baby-daddy." In a song by Play MediaBass Patrol, a beleaguered boyfriend chants, "I don't know/ and I can't see/ why your baby daddy got beef with me." But it was the rapper Queen Pen who most succinctly captured the difficulties inherent in the relationship, in a song called "Play MediaBaby Daddy": "I shouldn't a f-cked him."

Baby-mama hit the big time in 2000, in the OutKast chart-topper "Play MediaMs. Jackson." The song—which, as Andre 3000 put it, went out to all the "baby mamas' mamas"—details the singer's efforts to convince his ex-girlfriend's mom that he's serious about being a good dad, and it soon had Americans black and white singing along with the catchy chorus: "I'm sorry Ms. Jackson/ but I am for real!" OutKast even secured the term's place in the New York Times: It appeared outside of quotation marks for the first time in a 2003 profile of the band that calls "Ms. Jackson" a "conflicted ode to baby-mamas." (The line is cited in the current edition of the OED.)

These days, the terms no longer seem "chiefly African-American"—they're everywhere, the latest bits of hip-hop lingo to gain widespread use. Baby-daddy is the new bling. Online, you can buy "Jesus is my baby-daddy" magnets, tote bags, and beer steins. There is a drink called the "babymama." Scott Hoffman, the bassist for the glam rock band the Scissors Sisters, goes by the stage name "Babydaddy." Some of this cultural paraphernalia retains the old, loaded sense of the term: You can, for example, download a "Salty Baby Mama" ringtone so that when people call, your phone will jangle and thrum while a woman's voice says, "Baby, I know you hear this damn phone ringing. I'm going to beat your ass, as soon as I see you." But just as often, the connotations are strictly biological. Baby-mama has even made inroads in Japan, where it's being used on a Web site that appears to sell strollers.

Who knows why these terms became catchphrases? Perhaps it's just that they're metrically pleasing: Baby-mama and baby-daddy are undeniably fun to say. But it's the novelty factor that explains how the words lost their negative connotations. Sure, there are many gossip writers who still use the terms in their original senses (calling dancer Carlos Leon "Madonna's baby-daddy," for example) because they're useful, reducing a complex chain of possessives—Madonna's daughter's father—to a nice, comprehensible noun. But it seems there are also plenty of writers who just like the way the words sound and don't care much about the stigma once attached to babydaddyhood. When news came last week that Anna Nicole Smith may be pregnant, it was no surprise that bloggers immediately began speculating about the identity of the "baby daddy." It may be a long time before you hear a quaint, old-fashioned "Who's the dad?"

Julia Turner is a Slate associate editor.

Night of the Living Baseheads

I feel like screaming today "WAKE UP!" You know like in Spike Lee's School Daze.

I am so sick and tired of hearing one of the biggest myths in Hiphop. It is so big that silly rappers are beginning to quote it themselves because they have heard it so much. Where is Davey D? Davey...I know you don't know me like that, however I need you to lend some thoughts on this.

Here is the truth.

FEMALE RAPPERS WERE NOT LIKE DUDES PRIOR TO LIL' KIM OR FOXY(ERA?)!!!!!

Now here is the breakdown.

Shante,or Dipples D did not sound nor act like a dude.
Salt-n-Pepa no, Sweet T, Trouble T, Sugar n Spice, Yo-Yo, JJ Fad, BWA, HWA, Latifah, Ms . Melodie, Lyte (no regardless of what you think), Latifah, Antionette, Real Roxanne,Sparky D, Isis (Lin Que), Queen Mother Rage, Lady Rage (Dr.Dre/Snoop),Nikki D, Michie Mee, Monie Love, Mia X,..etc.... NO it wasn't like that.


Exceptions to the rule: The Boss, Gansta Boo and the Brat ( I would like to add at their time baggy clothes were in or a style see TLC at that time)

The point being is that the majority above did not rock high heels...on stage Kim can claim that , however a few of these sisters were dancing so no, one would not expect them to rock heels.

Some spit raw yes...because they had too. Because one major essence of Hiphop is skills regardless to whom or what. That is why Remy says she spits like she has a d*&c@!

Please do not believe the hype! Yes Lil' Kim and Foxy were the first to get national acclaim delivering raw, sex driven-laced lyrics. (For the record...check out HWA).

But we need to stop lying to ourselves..get off the pipe.

Someone(Davey D...cough (hint)!) needs to write a book on the history of females in hiphop seriously!!! They need it!

One

The Homecoming...Malcolm X

I have been reading some of the happenings in Darfur. It brings a heavy sadness to my inner self. I would like to drop a part of a speech Malcolm said about the Motherland. This was taken from OAAU Homecoming Rally 11/29/64. He was right then, and he is right now. RIP Great Mind!

"My main theme, while I was traveling with our brothers abroad, on the African continent, was to try and impress upon them that 22 million of our people here in America consider ourselves inseparably linked with them, that our origin is the same and our destiny is the same, and we have been kept apart now for too long.

This doesn't mean that we're getting ready to pack up our bags and take a boat back to Africa. This was not the impression that I was trying to give, because this is not true. You don't find any large number of our people packing up their bags going back to Africa. That's not necessary. But what is necessary is that we have to go back mentally, we have to go back culturally, we have to go back spiritually, and philosophically, and psychologically.

And when we go back in that sense, then this spiritual bond that is created makes us inseparable, and they can see that our problem is their problem, and their problem is our problem. Our problem is not solved until theirs is solved, theirs is not solved until ours is solved. And when we can develop that kind of relationship, then it means that we will help them solve their problems, and we want them to help us solve our problems. And by both of us working together, we'll get a solution to that problem. We will only get that problem solved by working together.

This was the essence of every discussion......"

Your eyes sparkle just like glass in the Sun....

Ghostface aka Ironman aka Tony Starks aka Pretty Tony


I was skating this web thing. I hit up one of my usually spots which was allhiphop.com. When on their pages were reflections of one of my favorite flavorful mcs Mr Tony Starks.

I begin to think...just seeing him made me think back like yeah...sometimes we do want that old thing back. Whether he is flipping colorful verbals like a peacock doing gymnastics over tracks or flashing dookie ropes & wonder woman bracelets. He is one of those mcs that take you there, and for anyone who loves Hiphop, should know what I mean by take you there. You can tell he truly loves this artform from the heart. He is a true fan of the music himself.

I know we can not go back to those exact times and moments..however energy is never truly destroyed it just changes it's form. Ok I had to get that out.

We love you Ghost, and the whole WU!!!!

Peace

I am Backkk!!!!!! And Don't talk about my Momma!

Oh yes..I am back. My computer was on the skits. Now a lot has happened since I last scribed. Oh well where do I begin...

Well here is a dose of pop matter which I think needs to be said......

Yo Momma! Viacom Lowers the Bar in Blackface

by

Gumby Dammitt! of Playahata.com


MTV is billing it as, "RAP UNPLUGGED, DEF JAM MEETS 8 MILE". The ads asks, "Can you throw the best smack in your crew? Do you want bragging rights in a battle of words? We're looking for the best hard-core street baggers out there! Are you an expert at "Yo Momma" jokes, amazing at witty comebacks, and so you "appear" to be between the ages of 18-22? Do you have creative, clean, unique and innovative material that'll blow us away?"

Aiight, so check this out. I get a call on the phone from Bruce Banter this past Saturday afternoon and he asks me if I’m hip to this new MTV show called “Yo Momma”. Bruce called cause he knows how the green one has done and still performs live standup, so bad comedy offends me. I was hip to the idea of the show and I had even just seen Wilmer “Fez” Valderrama promoting the show on Jimmy Kimmel during the week.

Wilmer 'Fez' ValderramaNow, when I first heard the idea for the show was being floated around, I was a bit alarmed. I know how the dozens go. Some jokes don’t need to be broadcast on television like it’s alright, and I knew it would only be a very brief matter of time before “Your mama is SO BLACK...” came out.

A very brief matter of time indeed.

No sooner had I hung up the phone and turned on the program when I see a corny ass white dude utter to a black competitor, “You’re SO BLACK...” Here we go. It’s okay to use the word nigg(a/er) because it ‘takes away the sting’ or it’s a ‘term of endearment between brothers’ or some other such justification nonsense.

Now it’s okay for white kids to tell “You SO BLACK...” jokes for the sake of television “competition”. Quite simply, this shit is unacceptable. Making someone’s blackness a punch line for public broadcast is nonnegotiable. It cannot happen. Forget the fact that the program is wack, with bum-budget production value. And forget that it’s so obviously cut together to make jokes heard a million times over in neighborhoods across Black America seem like they’re new and hilarious.

The question at heart here is, ‘At what point will people be offended by being made a joke?’ The question is also, ‘How much of one’s “culture” can Viacom co-opt for it’s own profit?’ Not to mention the question of profit versus respect. If you are going to co-opt my uniqueness and voice, then the least you can do is show me SOME LEVEL OF RESPECT.



From here on in, the aforementioned jokes shall be referred to as YSB (you so black) and YMSB (your mama so black). YSB jokes are bad enough when Black folks tell them in the privacy of common company. I have never liked them and I’m not one that such a joke would be aimed at. Blackness is not a punch line in my book. Such jokes come out of personal confusion and some level of self-hatred. Someone who doesn’t understand or even care about the psychological makeup of such speech truly has no business playing with it. So when you create such a program and add to the mix the little war on “political correctness” that so many seem content on waging, you have a pretty nasty mix. Next thing you know, there’s some corny white boy on MTV telling a Black man on television, “you’re SO BLACK,” pausing for effect, “you make Wesley Snipes look White.” WTF?! Yes, you read right. And if you didn’t find that offensive, then you should go and get your head shaved right now.


You see, NOBODY ELSE in this country is the butt of such jokes. Nobody starts a joke with, ”You’re so Jewish...” or “You’re so Asian...” or “You’re so White...” No one else’s skin color is made the butt of such jokes. Yet, being dark skinned is somehow something to be mocked, laughed at, belittled because of, or made ashamed of. And now you have VIACOM giving a free pass to people to share such speech in public AND amongst themselves (as if they don’t do the latter already). I mean, do White people REALLY need to feel comfortable to participate in such speech? Were White youth somehow being shortchanged by not being allowed to participate in YSB “humor”? Were their lives somehow unfulfilled or empty because? Maybe they weren’t getting equal joke opportunity? The ignorance has got to be checked and on ALL sides. On the same program, I saw a “battle” between two Black males. Their mothers where there for the showdown. Did that stop this dude from going the YMSB route? No. I won’t repeat the ignorance, but he went that route and when they cut to the other dude’s mother, she wasn’t laughing. I wasn’t laughing either. It appears that young Black males can’t discern what kind of “humor” may or may not be made available for public consumption. Surely these cats have heard enough jokes that they can tell at least twenty Mama Jokes before hitting the YMSBs. That’s bad enough. But a white dude feeling free enough to go the YSB route is even more egregious.

I could go on for days about how there’s a certain overall laziness and malaise in this country when it comes to so many things. A president AND vice-president that need impeaching chief among them. Again, I think it speaks to the defeatist mentality that has been cleverly put upon the people of this country. No one really wants to stand up for anything. No one wants to be looked at as a troublemaker or a rabble-rouser. We’ve seen firsthand how whistle blowers are treated in this society, people who raise their voice or call out wrongdoing or injustices are rarely heralded and celebrated... if EVER. So people very often see, hear and read things that are wrong to their sensibilities, yet do nothing. YSB and YMSB “humor” is wrong to my sensibilities. Viacom will never say that these participants in this program cannot use such material. They’ll say that it’s just a television show, these are only jokes and do not reflect the ideas, thoughts or beliefs of Viacom or any of it’s networks or personnel. So just out of curiosity, I wonder how white folks might feel about making their skin color a negative, derogatory punch line. What better way than to encourage everyone within the view of my text to create their very own ‘You’re SO WHITE...’ or ‘Your Mama is SO WHITE...’ humor. Here, I’ll even get the ball rolling with a couple of my own...

Kev got sick and tired of "of being sick and tired!"

Hip Hop Activist Kevin Powell is Running for Congress They're up to Towns challenge 3 to seek 10th C.D. job BY HUGH SONDAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER A former MTV "Real World" cast member, an assemblyman with a petty larceny rap sheet and a firebrand City Councilman all plan to challenge Rep. Edolphus Towns of the 10th District. Interest in the central Brooklyn congressional seat - held by Towns for 24 years - comes after national Democratic leaders, labor groups and poverty advocates condemned Towns for several votes, including a no-show on a $50 billion vote for cuts to services for the poor. "I think we need new energy, new leadership and new vision," said Councilman Charles Barron (D-East New York), who told the Daily News he will kick off his campaign Sunday. "Towns has been missing in action on a local level, and a disaster as it relates to policy on the national level," Barron said. Assemblyman Roger Green (D-Fort Greene) said he was "definitely leaning" toward running and had started a fund-raising committee. Green pleaded guilty to submitting false travel expenses in 2004 but was reelected later that year. "There's concern that after 24 years, he doesn't have the same commitment he had when he entered Congress," Green said of Towns. Kevin Powell, a political activist, former Vibe magazine writer and star of the 1992 season of MTV's "Real World," also is mulling a run, said his political consultant, Basil Smikle. "He'll at some point declare his candidacy officially," Smikle said. "He's got the fire in the belly, and he knows how to listen to people in the district." But Towns dismissed his challengers, insisting that voters in the 10th District - which includes East New York, Brownsville, Canarsie and Mill Basin, among other areas - know him well. "Let's face it - I've represented this district for 24 years," Towns said. "Just because someone goes to bed one night and decides he's going to run, that does not make him a candidate." He defended his voting record, saying he had voted twice to prevent the $50 billion social services cuts and missed only a Nov. 18 vote on the issue. Political consultant Hank Sheinkopf said Towns, who is 71, would be "tough to dislodge" because of his popularity among older voters. "They need an overwhelming argument [saying that] Towns is out of touch with the district, and they need money," said Sheinkopf, who estimated that challengers would have to raise $700,000 or more to mount a serious campaign.

RIP the Queen of Kings!

Coretta Scott King, 78, DiesATLANTA (AP) - Coretta Scott King, who turned a life shattered by her husband's assassination into one devoted to enshrining his legacy of human rights and equality, has died, former mayor Andrew Young told NBC Tuesday morning. She was 78. Young, who was a former civil rights activist and was close to the King family, broke the news during a phone call he made to the ``Today'' show. ``I was not expecting it. She has been ill for last few months. My first reaction was she was ready to cross on over.'' Asked how he found out about her death, Young said: ``I understand she was asleep last night and her daughter tried to wake her up.'' Efforts by The Associated Press to reach the family were unsuccessful. They did not immediately return phone calls, but flags at the King Center were lowered to half-staff Tuesday morning. King suffered a serious stroke and heart attack in 2005. She was a supportive lieutenant to her husband, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., during the most tumultuous days of the American civil rights movement. She had married him in 1953. After her husband's assassination in Memphis, Tenn., on April 4, 1968, she kept his dream alive while also raising their four children. She worked to keep his ideology of equality for all people at the forefront of the nation's agenda. She goaded and pulled for more than a decade to have her husband's birthday observed as a national holiday, then watched with pride in 1983 as President Reagan signed the bill into law. The first federal holiday was celebrated in 1986. King became a symbol, in her own right, of her husband's struggle for peace and brotherhood, presiding with a quiet, steady, stoic presence over seminars and conferences on global issues. ``I'm more determined than ever that my husband's dream will become a reality,'' King said soon after his slaying, a demonstration of the strong will that lay beneath the placid calm and dignity of her character. She was devoted to her children and considered them her first responsibility. But she also wrote a book, ``My Life With Martin Luther King Jr.,'' and, in 1969, founded the multimillion-dollar Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. King saw to it that the center became deeply involved with the issues she said breed violence - hunger, unemployment, voting rights and racism. ``The center enables us to go out and struggle against the evils in our society,'' she often said. After her stroke, King missed the annual King holiday celebration in Atlanta in January 2006, but she did appear with her children at an awards dinner a couple of days earlier, smiling from her wheelchair but not speaking. The crowd gave her a standing ovation. At the same time, the King Center's board of directors was considering selling the site to the National Park Service to let the family focus less on grounds maintenance and more on King's message. But two of the four children were strongly against such a move. Coretta Scott was studying voice at the New England Conservatory of Music and planning on a singing career when a friend introduced her to Martin Luther King, a young Baptist minister working toward a Ph.D. at Boston University. ``She said she wanted me to meet a very promising young minister from Atlanta,'' King once said, adding with a laugh, ``I wasn't interested in meeting a young minister at that time.'' 01/31/06 08:00 © Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained In this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Rich get richer, and the poor get poorer!

Study Finds Rich-Poor Income Gap GrowingBy MARK JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer Thu Jan 26, 8:24 PM ETALBANY, N.Y. - The disparity between rich and poor is growing in America as the federal minimum wage has remained flat for years, union membership has declined and industries have faced global competition, according to a study released Thursday.The report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute, both liberal-leaning think tanks, found the incomes of the poorest 20 percent of families nationally grew by an average of $2,660, or 19 percent, over the past 20 years. Meanwhile, the incomes of the richest fifth of families grew by $45,100, or nearly 59 percent, the study by the Washington-based groups said.Families in the middle fifth saw their incomes rise 28 percent, or $10,218.The figures, based on U.S. Census data, compare the average growth from 1980-82 to 2001-03, after adjusting for inflation.The poorest one-fifth of families, the report said, had an average income of $16,780 from 2000-03, while the top fifth of families had an average income of $122,150 — more than seven times as much. Middle-income families' average income was $46,875.Trudi Renwick, an economist with the union-backed Fiscal Policy Institute in New York, said globalization, the decline of manufacturing jobs, the expansion of low-wage service jobs, immigration and the weakening of unions have hurt those on the lower end of the economic scale.In 38 states, the incomes of high-income families grew by a higher percentage than those of the lowest-income families; Alaska was the only state in which the reverse was true. The 11 states where the high and low incomes increased at about the same rate were mostly in the West and Midwest.The greatest disparity between rich and poor was in New York, where the top 20 percent of wage earners had average incomes 8.1 times larger than the poorest 20 percent in the early 2000s. Texas had only a slightly smaller gap; Wyoming had the smallest disparity at a 5.2 to 1 ratio.Matthew Maguire, a spokesman for the Business Council of New York state, said the money earned by the state's wealthiest residents is "something that everybody who cares about New York should be pleased about.""New York's wealthy pay huge sums in taxes and those wealthy people and their taxes make it possible for New York to provide the nation's most generous social service programs to less fortunate New Yorkers," he said. "It also reflects the fact the state is a magnet for immigrants who come from the four corners of the globe to a state they see as symbol of economic activity."Renwick said the government "needs to continue its commitment to correcting the natural outcomes of the marketplace" by raising the minimum wage with inflation and by tax policies like the earned income tax credit.Renwick also suggested that governments, when giving tax breaks to companies, insist those companies provide jobs that pay higher wages.

What's Beef?

The two biggest questions rap fans want answered right now are: What does Jay-Z think about Cam'ron coming at him on wax? And now that Nas is on Def Jam, how do God's Son and Hova plan to smash the rap game?First things first — Cam is
"I feel like I would be stupid to even pay that any attention, because it's such a ploy. ... That's not even a good dis record." — Jay-Z
Photos, audio and video from this story

Jay-Z"99 Problems"The Black Album [Edited](Roc-A-Fella Records)

Cam'ron"Down & Out/ Get Em Daddy"Purple Haze(Diplomat Records/Roc-A-Fella)
-->holding a press conference Wednesday (January 25) in New York to discuss what the streets are calling his "beef" with Hova. As for Killa Cam's "You Got It" dis record (see "Cam'ron Attacks Jay-Z With Dis Track 'You Got It' "), Jay said he's not sure he'll respond with his own dis record. Jigga said he's never had any problems with Cam, though he admits the two never bonded while Cam was on Roc-A-Fella."My thing is, it's such an obvious ploy for attention and to get people to talk about it and for [Cam to] sell albums," Jay said Tuesday, speaking to MTV News from a company retreat.Even though Jay says he knows Cam's master plan, he's conflicted. On one hand he feels he's too big to stoop to Cam's level, but on the other hand, the MC in him is itching to retort with battle raps."I'm torn," he admitted. "I feel like I would be stupid to even pay that any attention, because it's such a ploy. ... N---as is holding press conferences behind [the dis record]. The MC in me is like, 'That's too easy [to come back at him.]' That's not even a good dis record. That sh-- is trash. I'm torn. We'll see what happens. Maybe on my time we'll deal with it, but I'm not really pressed. I'm inspired by good artistic sh--. Cam's sh-- is not artistic. There's nothing good about it. Everything about it is an obvious ploy to get attention. Nobody wants to get used. You're just using me. Of course he had to go that far."One of the brow-raisers in Cam's song comes at the beginning, when he says part of his disdain for Hov came about because Jay had wronged former partner Dame Dash in their business dealings. Speaking to New York radio station WQHT-FM, Cam also said Dame had tipped him off that Jay would be coming at him during last year's "I Declare War" concert (the show turned out to be all about peace; see "Jay-Z And Nas Put Beef To Sleep In Onstage Show Of Unity").Jay called Dame's involvement in the equation "shocking" and said he hasn't spoken with his once close friend about Cam and has no plans to. "To be honest with you, that's the most surprising thing," Jay said calmly. "I'm still in shock, to be honest with you."No one was really surprised this week when it was announced that Nas had signed to Def Jam (see "Nas Signs With Jay-Z, According To Report"). The two had been in talks for a while and performed two nights of shows in October. Hov said there probably will not be a Jay and Nas album, but he does expect to do at least a song with Nas."I'm guessing like September, fall, so we can do it right," Jay said of when he expects Nas' LP to drop. Nas has been recording material for months, but Hov thinks he'll start fresh with his new deal in place. "I didn't hear the stuff he did before, but I'm guessing it'll be a new slate."Jay added that he hopes Nas will connect with some of the best producers in the game, such as Kanye West, DJ Premier, Just Blaze, Dr. Dre, Timbaland and Pharrell Williams, though he hasn't ruled out Nas teaming with some up-and-coming beatmakers. He said his former rival is in such a great headspace, he wouldn't be surprised if Nas made the best album of career."[I'm proud to have him on Def Jam] for so many different levels," he said. "One, he's been at the forefront of hip-hop since he's been out. [Illmatic] is arguably one of the best albums ever made. To have that down with the team, it's just a beautiful thing. Two, it says so much about the culture. It shows another way. [The media] always portrays us like we're ignorant. It shows another ending. I think it's bigger for the culture."While the Nas album isn't due for several months, Jay is so excited about the albums coming out on Def Jam this year — including Ghostface Killah and LL Cool J — he contemplated dropping an album himself, but he's since rethought it and will continue to play the executive role.And it's a part he's been playing to the fullest. Jay's team is on the brink of adding one or two more major players, but it's too early to name names, he said. — Shaheem Reid

This seems strange......but I can't knock the Hustle!

Nas Officially Signs With Def JamBy Nolan StrongDate: 1/23/2006 8:30 pm In Oct. Of 2005,ay-Z and Nas ended their long running feud and now, Nas has officially signed with Def Jam as a recording artist. Under the terms of the deal, Def Jam and Sony Music will split the profits from two albums, while Def Jam will keep an additional two. Additionally, Sony has the rights to release a Greatest Hits album from Nas. Def Jam will cover the marketing and production costs of the recording, while both companies will oversee the marketing of the releases. Nas' newest album is also expected to contain a collaboration between Jay-Z and Nas. Nas has sold more than 11 million albums since the debut of his 1994 album Illmatic.

She's doing it BIG!

Peace this is a beautiful thing........and it is on the observation of MLK day. I really hope this is a new day for the start of peace, and rebuilding for Liberia.

New leader's pledge: Unite Liberia

Inauguration for Africa's first elected female head of state

Monday, January 16, 2006; Posted: 11:23 a.m. EST (16:23 GMT)

Sirleaf is sworn in Monday as Liberia's new president.

ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF

AGE: 67. Born October 29, 1938 in Monrovia, Liberia.

EDUCATION: M.P.A., Harvard University, 1971. She also earned an economics diploma from the University of Colorado in 1970, and a B.B.A. in accounting from Madison Business College in 1964.

CAREER: A long-standing member of Liberia's political elite, Sirleaf served as finance minister under ex-President William Tolbert before he was toppled and killed in 1980 coup. She fled the country shortly afterward, taking up top jobs at Citibank, the United Nations and the World Bank.

RETURN TO POLITICS: In 1997, she made a failed bid for the presidency, losing to ex-president-turned-warlord Charles Taylor in a vote he won amid a climate of fear. After Taylor was forced into exile as part of a deal to end Liberia's civil war in 2003, Sirleaf returned to make a successful run for the presidency in late 2005.

FAMILY: Sirleaf is a widowed mother of four, and has eight grandchildren.

SOURCE: The Associated Press

MONROVIA, Liberia -- Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has been sworn in as Liberia's new president, becoming Africa's first elected female head of state and vowing to lead the country away from its turbulent past.

Sirleaf took the oath of office Monday at an inauguration ceremony in the capital of Monrovia attended by dignitaries and leaders from around the world.

The 67-year-old grandmother, who was elected in a run-off vote in November, has promised to unite Liberia by ending political corruption and rebuilding her country after civil war between 1989 and 2003 left some 200,000 dead.

"Let us begin anew, moving forward into a future that is filled with hope and promise," Sirleaf said in her inauguration speech.

Sirleaf promised to "wage war against corruption regardless of where it exists or by whom it is practised."

CNN correspondent Jeff Koinange, reporting from Monrovia, said Monday's high-profile ceremony would have been unthinkable just two years ago.

"This was literally a war zone. All that has changed," he said.

United Nations peacekeepers were sent to restore order in 2003 after then-president Charles Taylor was indicted by the U.S. for war crimes and forced from office.

The UN, which still has about 1,600 troops on ground, increased security ahead of the inauguration, The Associated Press reported. About 500 peacekeepers usually stationed outside the capital were moved to areas around the capital and the international airport.

Liberian police also bolstered their presence on the streets, AP said, while two U.S. Navy warships patrolled offshore.

"The country is still unsafe for the most part," Koinange said, adding that a U.N. official told him peacekeepers will remain in Liberia "for the foreseeable future."

Among those attending the ceremony were U.S. first lady Laura Bush and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Also present were Nigeria's leader Olusegun Obasanjo and South African President Thabo Mbeki.

Liberia in Africa's oldest republic, founded by freed American slaves in 1847.

The country is abundant natural resources and had a stable economy until a bloody military coup in 1980 led by Master Sgt. Samuel Doe. President William Tolbert was killed in the coup and was replaced by Doe.

Monrovia now has no running water or electricity. Unemployment in the country is running at around 80 percent.

Sirleaf, who was educated at Harvard University in the United States, was Liberia's finance minister before the coup.

She was imprisoned twice in the 1980s and later fled the country.

In 1989, Taylor -- a former government minister -- led a rebel group invasion of Liberia from neighboring Ivory Coast. After several years of fighting, a peace deal was reached and Taylor was elected president in 1997, with Sirleaf coming in second.

Another round of rebel attacks began in 2000 against the Taylor regime. The fighting ended in a cease-fire in 2003 and Gyude Bryant was named leader of the interim government.

Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights

A King among Kings...Respect due

Martin Luther King – Biography

Martin Luther King, Jr., (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968) was born Michael Luther King, Jr., but later had his name changed to Martin. His grandfather began the family's long tenure as pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, serving from 1914 to 1931; his father has served from then until the present, and from 1960 until his death Martin Luther acted as co-pastor. Martin Luther attended segregated public schools in Georgia, graduating from high school at the age of fifteen; he received the B. A. degree in 1948 from Morehouse College, a distinguished Negro institution of Atlanta from which both his father and grandfather had been graduated. After three years of theological study at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania where he was elected president of a predominantly white senior class, he was awarded the B.D. in 1951. With a fellowship won at Crozer, he enrolled in graduate studies at Boston University, completing his residence for the doctorate in 1953 and receiving the degree in 1955 In Boston he met and married Coretta Scott, a young woman of uncommon intellectual and artistic attainments. Two sons and two daughters were born into the family.

In 1954, Martin Luther King accepted the pastorale of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Always a strong worker for civil rights for members of his race, King was, by this time, a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the leading organization of its kind in the nation. He was ready, then, early in December, 1955, to accept the leadership of the first great Negro nonviolent demonstration of contemporary times in the United States, the bus boycott described by Gunnar Jahn in his presentation speech in honor of the laureate. The boycott lasted 382 days. On December 21, 1956, after the Supreme Court of the United States had declared unconstitutional the laws requiring segregation on buses, Negroes and whites rode the buses as equals. During these days of boycott, King was arrested, his home was bombed, he was subjected to personal abuse, but at the same time he emerged as a Negro leader of the first rank.

In 1957 he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization formed to provide new leadership for the now burgeoning civil rights movement. The ideals for this organization he took from Christianity; its operational techniques from Gandhi. In the eleven-year period between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action; and meanwhile he wrote five books as well as numerous articles. In these years, he led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world, providing what he called a coalition of conscience. and inspiring his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", a manifesto of the Negro revolution; he planned the drives in Alabama for the registration of Negroes as voters; he directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, "l Have a Dream", he conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson; he was arrested upwards of twenty times and assaulted at least four times; he was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963; and became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks but also a world figure.

At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement.

On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, he was assassinated.

Yo Rev...ain't right!

 


Swimming With the Sharks
By Howard Karger, AlterNet
Posted on January 11, 2006
http://www.alternet.org/story/30407/

Reverend Al Sharpton finds solace in strange places.
"When I'm out fighting for the little guy and I need quick cash, I find comfort in knowing that LoanMax is here for me."

This is from a television ad he did in early December for LoanMax, a predatory auto title lender. After some criticism, Sharpton relented and declared a moratorium on the ads, saying he wants more financial data from LoanMax.

What data does Sharpton need? To get an auto title loan, a borrowers put up their car title as collateral along with an extra set of keys. They get a 30-day loan equal to a maximum of 50 percent of their vehicle's trade-in value. If the loan is repaid on time, the borrower gets the title back. If not, the vehicle is repossessed and sent to auction. In some states, the lender keeps the full proceeds of the auction, even if it exceeds the loan. To be fair, LoanMax isn't interested in repossession since it makes more money from customers' rolling over their debt from month to month. Trapping customers in a cycle of debt is the cornerstone of fringe lending.

LoanMax makes 500,000 title loans a year through 200 stores in 21 states. Its average car title loan is $400, and at a 30 percent monthly interest rate, it makes $120 on a $400 loan for 30 days. Since LoanMax claims that most borrowers repay their loan in two to three months, in only 90 days the average customer pays $360 in interest on a $400 loan. If customers take a year to pay off the debt, they'll spend a whopping $1,440 in interest on a $400 loan. Borrowers also pay title recording fees, plus some lenders add a $50 annual membership fee.

LoanMax's interest rates would make even Tony Soprano green with envy. According to the Justice Department, one underworld crew operated a large-scale loan sharking and bookmaking operation that preyed upon employees of stock brokerage firms. The crew made illegal loans at interest rates of one percent to five percent a week, or the equivalent of a 52 percent to 240 percent APR. This would be a bargain for auto title pawn customers. In fact, the phenomenal growth of legal fringe lenders may be cutting more into Mafia profits than the FBI's anti-racketeering efforts.

Sharpton claims he was recruited for LoanMax by Lamell McMorris, a civil rights activist and founder and CEO of Perennial Strategy Group, a consulting and lobbying firm. Quoted in the New Pittsburgh Courier, McMorris said, "I know a great deal about LoanMax because the owner of the company [Rod Aycox] is my best friend. LoanMax is not a predatory lending institution. As far as I'm concerned, they're green-lining a redlined America." Perennial wrote and disseminated LoanMax's rebuttal to attacks on the Sharpton commercial.

Predatory lenders like LoanMax crave respectability, and Lamell McMorris has the credentials to deliver. In 1998 Ebony named him one of the "30 leaders of the future, 30 and under." McMorris has worked with Jesse Jackson, the Chicago Urban League, the NAACP and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, and was director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. What better friend for a predatory lender?

The fringe economy represents an economic war targeted at the old, minorities and the poor. At its root, predatory lending is a class- and race-based industry. Check the zip codes. I doubt there's a LoanMax office located in a posh or upper-middle-class neighborhood. When Sharpton and McMorris work to make a rogue industry respectable, they are little more than well-paid mercenaries in an economic war against the poor. Promoting a debt culture also doesn't help the economic base of African American communities.

The main opposition to predatory lending comes from Democrats, and if fringe lenders can divide the leadership, the industry will be more secure. Part of the industry's strategy involves neutralizing or dividing African Americans over the issue. Unfortunately, this tactic seems to be working, at least on the basis of the silence of prominent civil rights activists like Jesse Jackson, Julian Bond and Bill Cosby. So far, no black leader has commented on Sharpton's swim with the LoanMax shark.
On the other hand, Congressional Black Caucus member Stephanie Tubbs-Jones refers to predatory lending as the "civil rights issue of this century." Take heed, she's probably right.

Dipples D was a girl she was great...her and Marley Marl went and cut a plate......

First I must send praises due to Davey D (www.daveyd.com). This brother has one of the most well balanced sites on the net for Hiphop. It something there for everybody.

Now since that verbal honor is complete. I found this on his site and it made me think.......yeah what did happen?
******************************************************************************************

Whatever Happned to Essence Magazine's Take Back the Music?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A year ago Essence magazine launched their "Take Back The Music"
campaign. At that time Essence promised to explore, discuss and give
solutions regarding misogynistic content in music and video.

Personally I was excited that such a prominent magazine was taking on a
much needed and daunting task. Then editor Diane Weather, promised a
year long look at the who, what and why. I connected with Michaela
Angela Davis the editor in charge of "Take Back the Music", shared the
mic with her on radio and tv. For a few months Time Warner owned
Essence, walked the walk...

Now six months after "Take Back the Music Summit" at the famed Schomburg
Museum in New York, not a peep. The final six months of the Essence
campaign were non existent, although the website still boast their
mission statement.

My three connects are no longer in the building. Diane Weathers,
Michaela Davis and Carla Williams. We often give credit for starting but
rarely acknowledge jobs left undone. So let's all remember Essence
dropped the ball on this one. Maybe their only goal was to sell a few
magazines after all.
Paul Porter

IndustryEars.com
************************************************************************************************

Ok.....my subscription to Essence ran out. However I had their initial issue where they stated they were going to address this issue of misogynistic content in music and video, and some solutions. You know get the people talking and thinking etc.

Now I am thinking with all this publicity "super head" is getting. A VH1 special, radio beefs, cancelled book signing based on "so-called threats", and maybe even a movie in the making base on her confessions. WTF?

Let's cut straight to my point...because I could give more rants on the lack of positive images about women of color in music, and the media outlets. Instead I will tell you what I am for.

This is what I am for.........(because some people are way beyond reach).

More balance for the exposure of quality & a variety of Hiphop in all avenues from MTV, BET, films to your local hood DVDs. [Yes from underground to commercial. Remember....all commercial rap isn't bullsh*t, and all underground rap ain't dope. These are the times we are in. Sorry people when Hiphop didn't use to get much radio airplay you could say "back in the day" if somebody was on the radio during the day that so-called rapper probably sucked.]

More exposure for women with skills in front of mic and the board room.

More education for the youth to understand that everyone will not be the "front man or woman rapper" there are plenty of areas in the industry to work in or start your own businesses and not settle.

More education on the roots/culture of Hiphop for the youth and some of these so-called "now school" rappers.

More grown heads to support their "era" of artists (example: Eric B & Rakim should still be able to fill an arena. If the Rolling Stones can then.....what?)

More music education in the school system.

I will cut it there. Because I can go on and on about what I would like to see more of. Just to sum it up to BALANCE, BALANCE is what I would like to see. The next installment will discuss some ideas on how we can strive to bring in more balance to the game.


Next is a NOTICE to everyone who lives this culture, an especially grown heads.

How do we expect the youth to choose between brand quality or an imitation brand?
When they don't know any better and the machine is manufacturing an imitation that is close you can hardly tell them apart. As a matter of fact a lot of them have been fed this imitation since they were first expose to the culture.

So where does one go when they are unsure about a piece of art/painting being the real thing? You go to an expert that's what.

This is when the experience of the older generation needs to feed down to the youth...so they will know. Therefore pass it on, write about it, speak about it, document it, support the quality of it, teach it, live it, and don't give up on it. I am not saying it is easy.....afterall I am just saying.

PS: I know there are a lot of hard-working heads (29/30+) that are stirving to do just that. I say thank you to you all.

Shout out to Afrika Bam & Zulu nation!

Until next time
One

Show me the power!

Shout out to Sway! I am proud of this brother, he knows his worth, and walked the walk.




Sway of MTV Steps It Up Big Time
------------------------------------------------------------------------

RENOWNED TV PERSONALITY, SWAY WALKED AWAY FROM MTV!

New York, NY- After five years with MTV News, Popular television host Sway Calloway severed ties with the network at the beginning of negotiations back in September of 2005.

"The nature of the contract presented to me did not reflect where I wanted to be professionally with the company at this point in my career," explained Sway. He enjoyed working with such a talented group of individuals. He saw MTV as a wonderful place to nurture his career. He benefited from the creative opportunity MTV provided him, however, Sway had a five-year plan that would increase his decision-making ability with the company. "Once that plan had not come to fruition I decided it was best to walk away. The plan encompassed my development into a company executive being instrumental in the decisions made about today's increasingly expanding music industry. Sway made history with MTV News, with the rise of hip-hop; he also played a vital role in bringing more hip-hop to the network.

Sway came to MTV being an entrepreneur and through natural progression, he wanted to more involved with the company. Some of his entrepreneurial attributes include him and his business partner King Tech being credited for helping launch the careers of Eminem, Chino XL, Nas, WuTang, and many more. They both host radio's renowned Wake Up Show which is syndicated through Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, San Diego, France, Japan, and other markets, with expanding syndication this year. In addition Sway and King Tech own a record label, Bolo Entertainment with distribution through Universal, they will be releasing Chino XL's solo album first quarter.


After four months of negotiations MTV agreed to be a part of Sway's professional growth. "They stepped up to the plate making MTV my home! It will be a few years before we see the results of this development, however I'm looking forward to the challenge." MTV recognized Sway's need to be more involved and proved to be an equal opportunity company that worked diligently to come to a solution. In addition to being a news correspondent for the network, Sway is officially an executive at MTV with the ability for him and his business partner King Tech to produce programming on MTV and other Viacom channels. Sway is the first TV personality since Carson Daily to negotiate a deal of this magnitude. Sway is extremely happy and people will see him with MTV for many years to come!

Deathrow..what a brother know...?

Once again another dead blackman walking. Peep this...


Rapper Cool C's Execution Warrant Signed by PA Governor Ed Rendell
By Seandra Sims
Date: 1/11/2006 4:15 pm



Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell signed the execution warrant yesterday for former Philadelphia rapper Christopher "Cool C" Roney.

Roney, 36, is currently an inmate at Pennsylvania’s State Correctional Institution at Greene and is set to die by lethal injection on March 9.

In October 1996, Roney was found guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of Philadelphia police officer and nine-year veteran Lauretha Vaird during a botched January 1996 bank robbery that included rap partner Warren "Steady B" McGlone and a third man.

Vaird was Philadelphia's first female officer ever killed in the line of duty.

While McGlone was convicted as an accomplice and getaway driver, later receiving life in prison, prosecutors asserted that Roney was the triggerman and sentenced him to death.

The sentence was affirmed by the state's Supreme Court a year ago, and a subsequent plea to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied in October 2005.

Roney was a member of rap crew The Hilltop Hustlers in the late 1980s and helped put Philly rappers on the map with singles such as
"Juice Crew Dis" (which was later used by Philadephia rappers Beanie Sigel & Peedi Crack on 'When You Hear'), as well as 1989's hit single, "Glamorous Life."

As a rapper, Roney released two albums, 1989's I Gotta Habit and 1990’s Life in the Ghetto.

In 1993, he joined Steady B and Ultimate Eaze to form the group C.E.B. and released the album Countin' Endless Bank in 1993 on Ruffhouse Records.

Que' pasa? to all my queens out there!

I know I maybe a little late on this one but I don't care.

Congrats to Q-u-e-e-n L-a-t-i-f-a-h-in command! You deserve it.

"Remember Rappin' Duke duh-hah,duh-hah, who would've of thought hiphop to take it this far. " BIG (RIP)

This is from mtvnews the underground...........

Last week Queen Latifah became the first hip-hop artist to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Queen, whose new movie with LL Cool J, "Last Holiday," comes out on Friday the 13th, says she realized early on that she had to multitask. "It's important that you don't rely on one thing," she said. "For me in the very beginning, I said, 'If I'm not the best rapper ever there's no way I am going to put all of my eggs in one basket,' and I never felt like I was the best rapper on earth. What artists have to realize is everything has a value. You are a brand and you need to treat yourself as such. All of the talent that you have should be explored. If you can act, why shouldn't you? If you can write books, why shouldn't you? If you can write scripts or are a great public speaker, why shouldn't you lecture?"


To all my ladies in Hiphop whether your are in the front light (ps: I don't mean shaking that a** only) or working the back ranks (execs, ghost writers, directors,accountants, lawyers etc). Keep working it. There is still lot of work to be done. Give thanks.

One

Boxing Politricks?

Lately.....I have been really interested in boxing. Don't know why? Please read below.


1/9/2006

Don King says Tyson Era officially Over but Judah?


Playahata.com-Don King told Radio Station 98.7 kiss in New York that last week he finished paying Mike Tyson the final installment of over 3 million dollars and that he now owes the former champ nothing.The “Tyson era is officially over King declared”.
King said “I was making Mike Tyson millons of dollars but he wanted to listen to his associates and go elsewhere so now we have parted ways and we can handle our business seperately. Its a shame cause we both from the streets and came from nothing but I wish him luck.”

Tyson’s middleweight protege Zab Judah is also now expressing concern over Don King in his life and personally called King a “mother*uc%er” this past week. Zab Judah on Saturday night blew a $5-million showdown against Floyd Mayweather by losing a unanimous decision, and his WBC welterweight title, to Carlos Baldomir of Argentina, a 25-1 underdog .

By contrast, Judah’s promoter was upbeat. “I think that’s on ho-o-o-old,” Don King said when asked about the status of the Judah-Mayweather fight. ” Now Zab will have to redouble his efforts, dust himself off, and find a way back up there.”

After the bout, Judah’s camp charged King with having more than a passing influence on the outcome of the fight. “They took the fight from us,” said Yoel Judah, Zab’s father and manager-trainer. “Look, we been having a bad time with Don, a bad week, and you saw what happened. It was a setup.”

King laughed off the charges. “Let ‘em blame me, everybody else does. The Johnstown flood, World War II, the Lindbergh kidnapping, they all blame me. It was a great night of boxing, so blame me for that, too.”

The first person to call Zab Judah on Saturday night after he had blown his $5-million showdown against Floyd Mayweather was Mayweather himself.Who watched in the same shock and horror as the Theater at Madison Square Garden crowd as the Brooklyn-born Judah lost in front of hometown fans. Somehow, Mayweather wasn’t angry, but supportive. “He said what happened tonight was crazy,” Judah said. “He said, ‘You fought good. You’re still a champ, hold your head up.’”


Ooh Papi