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?
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Whatever Happned to Essence Magazine's Take Back the Music?
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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
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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