When this man speaks...please listen

An Open Letter to Hip Hop About Some Real Important Shyt

Dear Folks who say they Love Hip Hop

I wish there was a way to make this issue of Net Neutrality more interesting. I wish there was a way to spice it up and make it compelling like some sort of beef within the rap industry. Maybe I should get Brad and Angelina to talk about it instead of their baby. Maybe Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton can utter a few words and force us to take more of an interest.

I wish Cam'ron spent his vast money holding press conferences, dissing punk ass Congress for taking tainted money from Verizon, SBC, and Comcast instead of going after Jay-Z. Im glad Jay-Z ignored Camron, unfortunately he remained silent as the President of Def Jam on this important issue. We'll see what happens after Def Jam finds it difficult or too costly to send out their e-post cards alerting me and others of their latest releases

Im sorry Miss Jones on Hot 97 was so upset and enraged that she felt compelled to make headlines calling Mary J Blige a bitch for not shouting her out at last weeks Summer Jam. Its too bad that she didnt use her 3-4 hours a day of airtime in the nations largest city to call the greedy Congress people who accepted money from these corporations Bitches. There aint gonna be any shout outs if the Senate follows Congress in passing this bill. Maybe she'll step it up when her parent company Emmis finds that folks from all over the country can no longer easily access their archived interviews on their website.

It's too bad that many of us found this issue 'too complicated' and 'too overwhelming' and hence directed our attention to Ludacris and Ice Cube's beef with Oprah. This is the feedback I got after stories ran on my website as well as AllHipHop.

Shyt I'm sorry Oprah was too busy telling Ed Lover that she really does love Hip Hop and that she listens to 50 Cent and his violent ass all damn day instead of alerting her millions of viewers about the issue of Net Neutrality.

Im sorry that KRS-One and others used these Internet airways to tell us about the Hip Hop Nation they want to build, but didnt issue a call to action to protect a main arm of our communication. Whether youre a Hip Hop or Rap Lover the elimination of Net Neutrality is gonna impact you..

Here's what's happening folks. The house has gone passed the COPE bill and rejected proposals to insure Net Neutrality. Those who sided with the Comcast and Verizon are well aware that the ability of ordinary people to communicate to the masses is a problem because its been the only thing holding them accountable. For the last 5 years, the biggest stories about government corruption, corporate swindles, global warming and no weapons of Mass Destruction has come through Internet bloggers who were able to push an issue to the masses and force Fox, CNN and other News outlets to pay some sort of attention.

Anyone who is an activist and championed causes ranging from Election fraud and Diebold Machines, police brutality Freeing Mumia, Global warming, Media Reform and Saving the South Central Farm in LA just to name a few this is will especially hit you hard, because the Internet and its neutrality provisions have enabled many of us to counter biased mainstream media outlets get information out about particular causes all over the world.

Yesterday that ability took one step closer to coming to an end. The mantra being sung on Capitol Hill is Shut it down, Shut that shyt down and redirect traffic to a handful of places and media outlets that they can influence and control.

Like Ice Cube said 'Laugh Now and Cry Later', because many of us will soon be crying when we see the Internet gets parceled up and we start paying outrageous tolls for basic amenities. And speaking of which why didn't Ice Cube talk about this issue instead of not being invited on Oprah?

Anyway your next steps should you choose is to call your Senator's office and tell them to stand up and protect your interests. Ignoring this, waiting for others to take on your responsibility or acting like the issue will simply go away will not change this.

While many of you may shrug this off and think it doesn't apply to you, stop and think of all the activities you do on the daily that involve the Internet. Such activities range from using phone cards which use Internet connections-(Many of y'all didn't realize that) on down to peeping your favorite blog... Many of y'all like to surf and check out my site, AllHipHop, Sohh, HipHopGame etc.. Folks that shyt is about to change in a big, big ,big way.

You're soon gonna be left with only being able to peep monthly issues of The Source and XXL, who neglected to address this issue. The Source bypassed this in their Media Watch column and Elliot Wilson from XXL obvious saw his shyt talking editorials as more important then keeping you informed. I guess I can understand, all these Hip Hop Internet websites were eating into business.

All you artists who felt like you can easily get your music out there via Myspace and the other sites, that's about to change Oh yeah lets not forget the punk ass RIAA who like to sue everybody. They stayed silent on this and in fact while all this is going on they have quietly been lobbying Congress to change laws so that they can fundamentally change the copyright laws in such a way that it will make it damn near impossible to pass things around via the net or do Internet Radio. Please read about this here:

www.kurthanson.com/archiv.../index.asp

and here:

p076.ezboard.com/fpolitic...=453.topic


Also lets not let Steve Jobs and his vast i-tunes network off the hook. Perhaps I missed it, but I didnt see him alerting us when you went to download your favorite song or stepped into his stores. Perhaps he figures he's rich enough to pay for the inevitable increases while the rest of us cant. In other words controlling 90% of the market is not enough.

Shame on former Black Panther, Congressman Bobby Rush for selling us out and supporting these corporations. Shame on the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and any other Civil Rights group pretending to represent our interests while selling us out and taking the money to front for these groups. And while Im glad former Congressman Ron Dellums did well in his Mayoral bid in Oakland, we should not forget that he's also a lobbyist with one of his main clients being Verizon so shame on him as well. How's Oakland gonna be a world class city that is a beacon for new technology and innovation when his client is one of the main people trying to shut down the Internet?

In closing I'm gonna say this and it may be sobering for some... It's what my pops told me after I got caught fuccing up and then went home and tried to kiss up to him so I wouldn't get in trouble. He told me to stop acting like a wuss and start acting like a man. He told me it was time I grow up and accept responsibility. He then punished me for 3 weeks not for the fucc up, but for me trying to kiss his ass instead of owning up to my mistakes. This is about to happen to all of us...

My point is this. Hip Hop is over 30 years old. We're not kids no more. This industry is not run by kids. To not involve ourselves in shaping the institutions that we rely on to get our information and music out is irresponsible. Thats some thing to pond about. Here's another breakdown on this issue courtesy of www.playahata.com

Peace out for now
Holla at your Senator before you holla back at me...

www.senate.gov/general/co...rs_cfm.cfm

Davey D


House Rejects Net Neutrality

The First Amendment of the Internet the governing principle of net neutrality, which prevents telecommunications corporations from rigging the web so it is easier to visit sites that pay for preferential treatment took a blow from the House of Representatives Thursday.

Bowing to an intense lobbying campaign that spent tens of millions of dollars and held out the promise of hefty campaign contributions for those members who did the bidding of interested firms the House voted 321 to 101 for the disingenuously-named Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act (COPE). That bill, which does not include meaningful network-neutrality protections creates an opening that powerful telephone and cable companies hope to exploit by expanding their reach while doing away with requirements that they maintain a level playing field for access to Internet sites.

"Special interest advocates from telephone and cable companies have flooded the Congress with misinformation delivered by an army of lobbyists to undermine decades-long federal practice of prohibiting network owners from discriminating against competitors to shut out competition. Unless the Senate steps in, (Thursday's) vote marks the beginning of the end of the Internet as an engine of new competition, entrepreneurship and innovation." says Jeannine Kenney, a senior policy analyst for Consumers Union.
In case there was any question that Kenney's assessment was accurate, the House voted 269-152 against an amendment, offered by Massachusetts Democrat Ed Markey, which would have codified net neutrality regulations into federal law. The Markey amendment would have prevented broadband providers from rigging their services to create two-tier access to the Internet with an "information superhighway" for sites that pay fees for preferential treatment and a dirt road for sites that cannot pay the toll.

After explicitly rejecting the Markey amendment's language, which would have barred telephone and cable companies from taking steps "to block, impair, degrade, discriminate against, or interfere with the ability of any person to use a broadband connection to accessservices over the Internet," the House quickly took up the COPE legislation.

The bill drew overwhelming support from Republican members of the House, with the GOP caucus voting 215-8 in favor of it. But Democrats also favored the proposal, albeit by a narrower vote of 106 to 92. The House's sole independent member, Vermont's Bernie Sanders, a champion of internet freedom who is seeking his state's open Senate seat this fall, voted against the measure.

Joining Sanders in voting against the legislation were most members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, including its co-chairs, California Representatives Barbara Lee and Lynn Woolsey, as well as genuine conservatives who have joined the fight to defend free speech and open discourse on the internet, including House Judiciary Committee chair James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin, and Intelligence Committee chair Pete Hoekstra, R-Michigan.

The left-meets-right voting in the House reflected the coalition that has formed to defend net neutrality, which includes such unlikely political bedfellows as the Christian Coalition of America, MoveOn.org, National Religious Broadcasters, the Service Employees International Union, the American Library Association, the American Association of Retired People, the American Civil Liberties Union and all of the nation's major consumer groups.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, opposed COPE, while House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois, and Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, were enthusiastically supported it.

Among the Democrats who followed the lead of Hastert and Boehner as opposed to that of Pelosi were House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer and Maryland Representative Ben Cardin, who is running for that state's open Senate seat in a September Democratic-primary contest with former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume. Illinois Democrat Melissa Bean, who frequently splits with her party on issues of interest to corporate donors, voted with the Republican leadership, as did corporate-friendly "New Democrats" such as Alabama's Artur Davis, Washington's Adam Smith and Wisconsin's Ron Kind all co-chairs of the Democratic Leadership Council-tied House New Democrat Coalition.

The fight over net neutrality now moves to the Senate, where Maine Republican Olympia Snowe and North Dakota Democrat Byron Dorgan have introduced legislation to codify the net neutrality principles of equal and unfettered access to Internet content into federal law. Mark Cooper, the director of research for the Consumers Federation of America, thinks net neutrality will find more friends in the Senate, at least in part because the "Save the Internet" coalition that has grown to include more than 700 groups, 5,000 bloggers and 800,000 individuals is rapidly expanding.

"This coalition will continue to grow, millions of Americans will add their voices, and Congress will not escape the roar of public opinion until Congress passes enforceable net neutrality," says Cooper.

Cooper's correct to be more hopeful about the Senate than the House. But the House vote points up the need to get Democrats united on this issue. There's little question that a united Democratic caucus could combine with principled Republicans in the Senate to defend net neutrality. But if so-called "New Democrats" in the Senate side with the telephone and cable lobbies, the information superhighway will become a toll road.

Peace I am Out Jettin' like a Runaway Slave....

I thought a national museum dedicated to slavery, its about time. It is due for our ancestors. However I think it is very needed now for this generation. I will it brings the truth, and no watered-down sh*%! Drink it straight with no chasers.

Yes I will this to be a part of the light in our darkness.

One
Storme


By Ed Wiley III, BET.com Staff Writer

Posted June 5, 2006 – For a grandson of slaves, Saturday night’s star-studded shindig in the nation’s capital was just the kind of event needed to raise the necessary $200 million for the long-overdue United States National Slavery Museum.

The tally of ticket sales and pledges isn’t in yet, but if attendance and public exuberance is any indication, former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, now mayor of Richmond, is well on his way to seeing his decade-old brainchild become a reality.


Nearly 1,400 people turned out for the $100- to $300-per-person “We Are One People”gala, which featured such celebrities as Bill and Camille Cosby and singer-dancer Ben Vereen. By paying more, you got to hang out with those celebs in a separate reception after the three-hour event.

The museum, designed by architect Chien Chung Pei to stand on the Rappahannock River in Fredericksburg, Va., will serve as a vehicle to help the nation heal, says Wilder, the grandson of slaves who was named after abolitionist Frederick Douglass and poet Paul Laurence Dunbar.

“Slavery has been a subject so many people never really wanted to talk about,” said Wilder, who in 1990 was the first African American to be elected a U.S. governor. “This is the only museum dedicated to the education of slavery.”

Wilder has been appealing to donors and corporations to contribute to the museum fund. He also established a Web site, www.usnsm.org, to help raise the needed money.

I Came to Bring the Pain...Hardcore..

Peace Fam...

I came across an article on Meth..another one of my favorite emcees. Please review the full article below.

I found this to very interesting, although most will probably read it and not think much about it. I was intrigued by him confessing some of his own self-realization. It seemed to be very honest in his discussion about his business driven reasons for the push of his last cd, and the people he worked with. He pointed out how his image begin to be more directed as a "party/good time" emcee. I am sure he still is however from PLO style to Bring the pain it's a long time coming. He is definitely skilled in his art of mic verbals. He was raw in the fact that he admitted basically that he got caught up, that he could not see it, and made mistakes. He is taking accountabilty for it. He is also saying that he doesn't like it, and he needs to be more focused, and get back on point. A lot emcees especially now don't do this, not in the public anyway.

I love the line they quoted of his in the article..."Now they just gon' front/ Like my joints is on Proactiv and they just don't bump/ Then n---as gonna say I lost my skill/ When in fact they all been programmed and lost they feel."

How true this is on certain levels which I will address in a future post. In the meantime enjoy the article.

One
Storme...the rare breed



Method Man Drops P-Diddy and Finds Clarity Method Man Drops Diddy, Seeks Clarity On New LP, 4:21 ... The Day After

In the few years since his last LP, Tical 0: The Prequel, dropped, he's read unfairly disparaging appraisals of his skills in magazines, had his pride tested, gotten his car and most of his jewelry stolen (that famous Meth diamond ice pick? Gone!) and seen his wife battle a severe illness.

"There were a lot of things that needed to be changed in my life and career," Meth said Tuesday at New York's Electric Lady Studios. "Everything! I needed that moment of clarity."

The title of Meth's new album focuses on that clear-headedness: 4:21 ... The Day After.

"Four-twenty [April 20] is the national weed-smoking day, according to those who chief," he explained, sitting on a piano bench. "I basically said '4:21' because I'm the day-after dude. Plus, four [and] two [and] zero only adds up to six. '4:21' gives you that perfect seven. So this is sort of the day after, a moment of clarity, so to speak. When you're waking up from that night of partying and sh-- like that, what goes down."

4:21's street record, "Yah Mean," features Fat Joe and Styles P. and is the kind of pavement-embedded record one would expect from Meth. The album's first single, "Say," includes a sample of Lauryn Hill's vocals from her 2001 performance of the Bob Marley classic "So Much Things to Say" on MTV's "Unplugged." The track finds Meth at perhaps his most pensive, talking about people who say he may not have it on the mic anymore, among other things.

"See, it was 'Clan in the Front,' " he raps over an acoustic guitar. "Now they just gon' front/ Like my joints is on Proactiv and they just don't bump/ Then n---as gonna say I lost my skill/ When in fact they all been programmed and lost they feel."

"I hate the way mutha-----s was talking, like I was the worst thing to happen to MCing," he said of the inspiration for the song. "And there's n---as out there doing way worst sh-- than I ever did in my life.

"It's like finally getting the joke and figuring out everybody is laughing at you — 'All this time, I ain't know' — but still having that power to strike back at 'em," he added. "Like 'I'm gonna reverse the joke. The joke is on y'all, 'cause I get it now.' "

Another moment of clarity arrived while Meth was figuring out who he was going to work with on 4:21, his fourth solo album. Kwame and Scott Storch both supplied beats, and RZA is back on board as well (see "RZA Happy To Once Again Be The Peanut Butter To Method Man's Jelly").

"On the third LP, it was suggested to bring in Harve Pierre and P. Diddy," he began to explain about exactly where The Prequel went wrong. "Who am I to argue? Puff knows how to sell some records. But that wasn't the direction to go in, and I know that now.

"I didn't know that when people look at me, they didn't just look at me as a performer who goes around and has fun all day," he continued. "They want me to say something. I got [so] caught up in the other hoopla that I stopped saying anything. I just got wrapped up in trying to make hit records and SoundScan. ... I just wanted to get my album out. Def Jam was going through their transition, and I felt that if I didn't get my album out, I wasn't gonna be at the label."

Now, looking back, Meth says he sees that he needed to look inward to find the right direction.

"I wasn't true to myself [on The Prequel] for the simple fact that, look at who I was working with," he said. "I'm not trying to take nothing way from Puff, he's the biggest artist on Bad Boy. But Puff with Meth don't mesh. We don't party the same way."

4:21 ... The Day After is due July 18.

— Shaheem Reid

All Day in Black Girl's Life...Can You See What I See...

Rap Videos: The Effects On Black Girls
By Randy Dotinga, HealthScoutNews

Rap music videos often portray a world teeming with sex and violence.

But can they make teenage girls do bad things?

While the authors of a new study say the answer to that question remains elusive, they add their research has uncovered a potential connection.

The study found that black teen girls who view more rap videos are more likely to get in trouble with the law, take drugs and become infected with sexually transmitted diseases.

"We can see there is some link, some association," says study co-author Gina Wingood, an associate professor of behavioral sciences and health education at Emory University in Atlanta. "Maybe they see what's on the rap music videos and think that's how teenagers act, and that's how I should act."

While sociologists have devoted plenty of time studying how music affects teenagers, rap videos haven't gotten much specific attention. "We said, 'Let's look at adolescent females and ask them questions about rap music and other media venues, like gospel, hip-hop and music videos in general," Wingood says.

The study findings appear in the March issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

Phone calls seeking comment about the study were not returned by spokespersons for Island Def Jam, a record company that releases rap records, or the Recording Industry Association of America (news - web sites), the main trade group for the recording industry.

Wingood and her colleagues went to health clinics in Birmingham, Ala., and studied 522 black girls from 1996 to 1999. All were sexually active and between the ages of 14 and 18.

Girls who watched the most rap videos (more than the average of 14 hours a week), were three times as likely as the other girls to have hit a teacher (7.1 percent versus 2.4 percent). They were also 2.5 times more likely to have been arrested (17.3 percent versus 7.2 percent), and nearly two times more likely to have had sex with multiple partners (19.3 percent versus 11 percent).

The researchers then followed the girls for a year. Forty-one percent of those who watched the most rap music videos developed a sexually transmitted disease, compared to 33 percent who didn't watch as many videos.

Wingood and her researchers looked at several factors that could affect behavior, such as age, income level and extracurricular activities, including church attendance. However, only two factors other than rap music viewing boosted the rates of promiscuity, drug and alcohol use, and violence among the teens. Those factors were lack of employment and lack of parents who monitor teen activities.

Wingood acknowledges she doesn't know whether the watching of rap videos directly affected the girls' behavior or merely reflected interests they already have. "Maybe they want to be independent and autonomous adolescents, and this is how they express it," she says.

Michael D. Resnick, director of the National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Research Center at the University of Minnesota, says sociologists have found plenty of evidence that the media -- including music and television -- affect the health, attitudes and behaviors of teens.

"Young people are listening and observing," says Resnick, who is also a professor of pediatrics. "Adults may think they are not, but they, like adults, are social beings and respond to the environment around them."

"When that environment is one that desensitizes us to violence and to treating each other with caring and respect, we see predictable results in young people and in ourselves."

Does Hiphop Need a Messenger?

This is my thoughts regarding the previous article. First the author does feel Hiphop needs a messenger. He feels Hiphop needs someone more in the vein of Tupac.

Well I will say I overall I agree. However I would like to add, Hiphop doesn't need ONE messenger. It needs many. That is one major problem with movements, and leadership. Because once the leader returns to the essence...the movement is lost. There is usually no direction.

One also has to take in account that Hiphop became big business, and once big business stepped into the ring..things have a way of becoming blurred. We know big business in most cases doesn't speak for the people. But rather manipulates the public as consumers for their own pockets & gains.

A lot of people in the Hiphop community feel as though balance needs to be brought back, which I think is essential. There are a lot of "messengers" out there. The only thing is one has to dig to find them. More than likely you will not find them on your local radio or video channel. They do speak to the soul. If any one is speaking truth to power will touch the people, now we know that everyone won't be touched because as humans we are far more complex than that (see book pic above), and some of us are to far lost for that. However I think when it comes to the youth, and the next generation it is never too late to give up. There are "messengers in the making" among us.

We need to think about cultivating the next new "messengers/leaders". People have to find more creative ways to get the "other" messgages out there, and it not just the responsibility of the artists. It includes all of us. The industry insiders, and the knowing public. The ones that are tired of hearing the same old..same old. We have to support,demand and promote balance.

Afterall, if the youth don't know. They just don't know. But the ones that do know need to spread the word, and take action. That may mean even if you purchase one of their cds, go to a concert, donate/volunteer at local Hiphop or arts program in your community.

The article could have been written on how the author misses Tupac(and I miss him too), how Hiphop lost a messenger etc and how he would love to see another dynamic an artist of conviction...oh it was....My bad..I just got a little lost by the extra rant on other present day “conscious"rappers and their messages that he seemed to dismiss. And as for tapping into this generation's anger....I would like to say that this anger has been around for a long a time, passed through generations....,and it's bigger than Hiphop.

One
Storme...the rare breed

Hiphop Needs A Messenger...

What's Up Fam?

Below you will find an article I read on Davey D's site by a guy who feels Hiphop needs a messenger. I will post my thoughts next.


Hip Hop Needs a Messenger
Story by Hector Gonzalez // Art by Fernando Amaro Jr.

www.siliconvalleydebug.co...iphop.html

Rap music now a day is in the worst phase that it has ever been in. I can't think of one song on the radio that is worth listening to a second time. Rap careers seem to come and go and not many rappers that have come out since 2001 have made it past a third album, and even when they do, their albums are anything but memorable. With the exception of Jay-z (99 problems) , Nas (I can) , the Game (Dreams) , and Kenya West (Jesus Walks), every other rapper getting radio play can be thrown out the window. Rappers are all about the money and have lacked to consider the power that they carry by simply sending a message so powerful that it could literally change the history of this country forever.

What hip hop needs is a messenger, it needs another Tupac.

I'm from a generation many times referred to as the “hip hop generation,” I grew up listening to it and have been a part of it since a young boy. I would like to believe that hip hop is more than just entertainment, as having the potential to lead a movement for our generation. Back in September Friday the 13th of 96'when Tupac was pronounced dead after being shot 6 days prior, I was in 8 th grade. Back then I didn't really understand the importance of Pac. It actually took years and even adulthood to fully understand his words and importance to society as a whole.

Thug Life
He was the son of a Black Panther, who not only claimed to live a ‘Thug-life' but also claimed that the injustices of this country is what made him a thug. Thug life was a movement in which there were 26 points to the code of a thug, the term “THUGLIFE” itself was an acronym for Tupac. It meant The Hate U Gave Little Infants Fucks Eveyone.

Tupac was more than just a rapper, he literally was a messenger because he was able to tap into a whole generation by his words and conviction. No other rapper has had the same magnitude because no other rapper has mastered those elements. In the days following his death I saw countless footage of people all over America mourn for Tupac. A class at the University of Berkeley was introduced whose curriculum was solely based on Pac's lyrics, murals of his face were painted all over America, and countless youth still wear the image of Pac on their shirts throughout the streets of America. In the Bay Area, a social worker by the name of David Inocencio asked incarcerated youth to write about how they felt about the death of Tupac, the writing was so powerful that it became a weekly publication called the Beat Within where incarcerated youth write about their lives.

Tupac was ahead of his time. If he were alive today he would be the biggest threat to President Bush, I think even far greater of a threat than Osama. This is because in this country there is the spirit of millions of people waiting for a leader to speak to them. Tupac was becoming this voice for the people. When Tupac was alive he would spit on T.V. cameras, flip off courthouses and even dis' politician like Bob Dole and Dan Quayle.

A rapper of this magnitude is needed now more than ever, we are living in a politically tense times, the prison system is growing, no jobs, and Hurricane Katrina was a reminder that people of color are still second class citizens.

Conscious Rap
Hip Hop thinkers have always talked about the value of the music but never about how to tap into the heart of the listener.

I've heard people like KRS One (Rapper, philosopher and founder of the Temple of Hip Hop), Afrika Bambata (Founder of the Hip Hop organization Zulu Nation) Davey D, (Radio Commentator for KPFA and columnist for the Mercury News) talk about Hip Hop being special because it is the voice of the ghetto and that rap music allowed rappers to deliver a message to their community. In the documentary “Soundz of Spirit,” a film on hip hop and spirituality, Davey D actually compared rapping to preaching and although I would agree with him 100%, there are such things as bad preachers and the rappers of today are bad it. Considering that all of these important figures to hip hop are saying that rap is the voice of the ghetto, and that rap music has a message, then it would be completely rational to say that because rap now a day isn't delivering a true message, then rap is no longer special nor important if rappers like 50 cent (Window Shopper), Bow Wow (Like You), and Dem Franchize Boyz (I think they like me) are taking the shine. Even the cliché analyzes people give rap by saying that it is the reality of the black youth is a false one because most of the black youth and other youth of color are not living the life style that 50 raps about. I hate to say it, but the rap of today sounds pretty dumb.

Many “conscious” hip hop activists make the claim that people like Common, Mos Def, Tali Kweli and Dead Prez are able to tap into the youth and perhaps lead a conscious hip hop movement because those artists are generally considered positive. Although I would agree that they are, that is not what this generation needs. The conscious scene, although it educates, ignores and leaves behind the people who are truly suffering in America. It may not do it intentionally, but it does it regardless. Going to a Dead Prez show is like going to a Hip Hop hippie concert. Dead Prez's ‘Revolutionary But Gangsta' album by no means has the potential to tap into the hearts of the poor youth across America. What makes rap so beautiful is that rap allows people to reflect on their lives, so although Wu-tang Clan are perhaps the better lyricists, NWA will always get more respect, because people were able to relate their lives to the realities that NWA was talking about. It's the same for people like Dead Prez, they definitely educate and are talented, there following consists of college students, activists, and coffee-shop hip hoppers, while Mike Jones for example- in his line ‘back then they didn't know me/ now I'm hot they all on me” is more relatable because poor kids, including myself when I was in my teens, would fantasize about getting paid so that girls would jock.

Many rappers, although maybe spreading good messages, have not been able to tap into the anger of this generation. This anger comes from the frustration of feeling trapped with the mentality of a hustla', because hustlin' seems to be the only form of escaping out of the ghetto for youth in America. This anger and frustration is real and authentic, it is not fake like most rapper's trying to claim to be gangsta's and not fake like ‘conscious' rappers trying to get everyone to be activists.

The hip hop generation of today is lost and confused and doesn't seem to know where it's going except to feed the multi billion dollar industry that is ultimately being controlled by old white males in office boardrooms. The underprivileged youth of America are ready and prepared for war, all they need is a leader to finish what Tupac started.

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.