hiphopmusic.com:

North Carolina's DJ Chela passed along this interview in the News & Observer. I'll just note that "artistic" and "destructive" are not mutually exclusive, there have been many hip-hop records that embody both.. and I think sometimes wer'e being too easy on ourselves, by citing the underground/commercial dichotomy as the root of all problems.. Cuz the truth is there's quite a bit of misogyny and gaybashing on our underground/indie records too.

Music perpetuates a tragic cycle

THE N&O: Do you believe that hip-hop music denigrates black women?

LAUREN HARKRADER: In a lot of ways, pop music in general tries to dumb down the masses because it makes people more into a consumer and more apt to go out and buy whatever clothes and food or alcohol or cigarettes or whatever people are selling. In terms of hip-hop, what you get is a very unique situation because hip-hop originated out of the struggle of black and Latino people coming out of the Bronx, and in New York City in general in the '70s. So in the '80s and '90s, it enjoyed more of a mainstream commercial success, and now in 2000, it's definitely Top 40 music.

What I see as a tragedy is the misogyny and the violence and, in general, the self-destructive messages that are being applauded through the music. And that's just the commercial hip-hop music out there that is getting this exposure. There's also a lot of other artists that do have more artistic, more thought-provoking music ... but don't enjoy the same amount of sales as, say, 50 Cent.

THE N&O: Why would an artist like 50 Cent make this kind of destructive music? Is it all about the money?

HARKRADER: Yes, I definitely think money is a large factor, and when you look at the empire that 50 Cent has built, no one can come close to touching that right now. In whatever arena you look at, ignorance really sells, even in politics. When you also look at the other statistics in our society -- black women being most affected by AIDS or underpaid for jobs and so many black female single mothers and young pregnancies and whatnot -- you see how this situation has come into being.

Society is misogynistic, American society is patriarchal and so on, so it already sets things up. But a lot of the commercial music takes that to a higher level and really endorses it, or normalizes it, makes it something acceptable. Young, impressionable people are going to buy into that. And the whole cycle perpetuates...

Unkut.com just dug up one of the reviews I wrote for the Source, back in '91. Yikes! This must be how Lil' Jon feels looking at his high school yearbook photo.

Patrick Swayze emboldened by his hearing his name in the Narnia Rap, I presume. A duet and/or beef with MC Hassle the Hoff seems inevitable.

Patrick Swayze wants to release a rap song.

The buff actor Patrick Swayze is said to be planning to record a hip-hop track and could release it later this year.
Swayze reportedly told website allhiphop.com he is working on a track that will show that "rap rhythms are an emotional undercurrent for ballads". It is not the first time the 53-year-old star has turned his hand to singing. In 1987, Swayze had a worldwide with the ballad She's Like the Wind - a duet with singer Wendy Fraser...

It's always fun to joke about Microsoft being an evil empire, but if this is accurate (check the back and forth on this in Scoble's comments) there's not much funny about it:

Microsoft takes down Chinese blogger

Microsoft’s MSN Spaces continues to censor its Chinese language blogs, and has become more aggressive and thorough at censorship since I first checked out MSN’s censorship system last summer. On New Years Eve, MSN Spaces took down the popular blog written by Zhao Jing, aka Michael Anti. Now all you get when you attempt to visit his blog at: http://spaces.msn.com/members/mranti/ is the error message pictured above. ..Note, his blog was TAKEN DOWN by MSN people. Not blocked by the Chinese government... - Rebecca MacKinnon

OK, this one is depressing to me. It’s one thing to pull a list of words out of blogs using an algorithm. It’s another thing to become an agent of a government and censor an entire blogger’s work. Yes, I know the consequences. Yes, there are thousands of jobs at stake. Billions of dollars. But, the behavior of my company in this instance is not right...

...I do believe in a slippery slope. If they come after you today, maybe they’ll come after me tomorrow. Gotta stop this kind of stuff while we’re still talking about you... Guys over at MSN: sorry, I don’t agree with your being used as a state-run thug...

Thanks to Del for this one:

Toronto Hip-Hop Community to RISE UP! for GuluWalk on Saturday, January 14th

On Saturday, January 14, 2006, Toronto’s hip-hop community will come together and RISE UP! at The Drake Hotel in support of GuluWalk, a campaign created to bring attention to and generate support for the children of northern Uganda, who are the innocent victims of a civil war that has been terrorizing the nation for over 19 years.

Some of the biggest names in urban culture will be showcasing their talents at this unprecedented event. DJs, MCs and artists from all over the city, country and continent will be coming together for the sole purpose of continuing to bring international attention to this forgotten emergency.

RISE UP! will include a ticketed showcase event in The Underground at the The Drake Hotel, with The Lounge featuring some of the city’s hottest DJs. Headlining the event will be three-time Juno nominees BrassMunk, local standouts Mathematik, Shylow, 9th Uno and Citizen Kane, as well as New York City natives Red Clay and Okai.

The evening will be hosted by Big Jacks, DJ Linx & Taktiks and Seven:30, with The Lounge featuring FLOW 93.5 DJs Starting from Scratch and P-Plus, and CKLN’s Son of S.O.U.L.

RISE UP! will take place on Saturday, January 14, 2006 at The Drake Hotel (1150 Queen St. W at Beaconsfield Ave.). The doors at The Underground will open 8:30 p.m. with the events in The Lounge set to start at 9:30 p.m. For complete event listings and ticket information visit the official RISE UP! website at www.guluwalk.com/riseup...

I love how helpful and informative NY graffiti can be.

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I was surprised to read that Latifah was the first hip-hopper to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, thinking surely Fresh Prince must have one by now.. wikipedia says Big Willie is there already, but they've been known to get things wrong now and then..

Not that there is ever a good reason to give a crap about the walk of fame.

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Good reading at feministe lately.

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And dude, Chris Lighty has a blog!? Do you understand how big that is?

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from Voice of America, who has some audio attached:

Guinea's Rappers Offer Voice of Dissent

In the West African nation, Guinea, which some economists fear could collapse amid bad governance, the musical style of rapping offers the only voice of popular dissent.

[A leading voice is] the Guinean rap album called "Son Galanyi." One fan, purchasing the tape at a market stall, explains the meaning of the album's title.

"It means a sound of thunder, sound of thunder," he said. "That's why I like it, it's just about the struggle that is going on in the country. There is no job for the boys, for the youths. People are struggling. That's why I like it."

A market vendor fumbles through the many rap tapes he is selling. He is all out of Son Galanyi, because the album is so popular. He refuses to be interviewed. Many Guineans, including opposition leaders, shy away from directly discussing anything critical of President Lansana Conte. The former soldier has been in power since a coup in 1984. Recently, there has been growing unemployment, elections tainted by cheating, rumors of coup plots and riots against rising prices of rice.

The rappers behind Son Galanyi discuss all these problems.Using a mixture of French, Soussou, Malinke and Fulani, they openly denounce what Water is scarcer and scarcer in Guinea they view as Mr. Conte's misrule...

This may be the greatest web page I've ever seen and not understood at all.

I'm saying. Blizzmajazz Jazzmatazz.

I'm just saying.

(via minusbaby. also, incidentally, my last.fm page is here)

The warrant is signed for him to die by lethal injection (on the same day Biggie passed):

Rapper Cool C's Execution Warrant Signed by PA Governor Ed Rendell

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.

Well it may not be new, exactly, but it's a version we haven't heard before. And it has rapping on it:

I'll never understand why it took so long for the Graves fam to make this move. Hopefully it's not to late to salvage this once-proud institution.

How sad and funny to watch them going out Comical Ali style, defiant and deluded to the bitter end.

Source Duo Dodge Ouster By Board

David Mays, founder of the embattled hip-hop magazine The Source, and his longtime president Ray "Benzino" Scott dodged a bullet from a new board of directors seeking to oust the duo.
Yesterday, the Source board, now controlled by executives friendly to the Graves family that owns Black Enterprise magazine, had hoped to boot Mays and Scott. They both obtained a restraining order from a judge in New Jersey to temporarily derail the ouster.

"The board has decided that this was the only feasible course of action as Mays and Scott could not continue their series of financial recklessness and negligence," the suit said.

It had given the duo 48 hours to turn up at a special board meeting yesterday afternoon that was expected to ratify the ouster.

"They can want to do that all they want, but it's not happening," said a still defiant Mays yesterday. The whereabouts of his partner Scott, he said, was "top secret."

The board said it felt that continuation of Mays and Scott in their jobs "hurts not only the employees of The Source, but all of its investors, vendors, subscribers and readers."

David Finkler, a lawyer for Mays and Scott, said that as far as his clients were concerned, "there is no new board."

(via nah right)

I know this film has been around for a while now, have any of y'all seen it yet?

Hip-hop and sexuality

LIer's look at misogyny and homophobia a key note among music-driven movies

In the society of hip-hoppers, there are some places that you just don't go. Take the time when Smithtown-born filmmaker Byron Hurt asked rapper Busta Rhymes to explain the link between machismo and homoeroticism in hip-hop. Rhymes was so unwilling to go there he got up and walked out of the room.

This agitated flight is captured in a new documentary that Hurt will unveil at this year's Sundance Film Festival - which kicks off tomorrow - entitled "Beyond Beats and Rhymes: A Hip-Hop Head Weighs in on Manhood in Hip-Hop Culture."

...Among the other notables who had their feathers ruffled by Hurt's crusading camera was hip-hop entrepreneur and social activist Russell Simmons, who, when asked to weigh in on the sexual objectification of women in hip-hop, replied, "I think we have to challenge sexism as it stands in the community, and not the poetry that is a reflection of it ... I can't address every issue because I don't have the equipment."

The 36-year-old Hurt seemed unconvinced. "I thought it was a bit of a cop-out," he said from his home in Central Islip. "Here is someone ... the Rockefeller drug laws are important to, voting and registration is important to, reparation is important to. He's a spokesperson for PETA. But he's not willing to delve into issues of sexism and respect for women. It's reflective of the general belief system a lot of men have, that it's not a priority..."

Can anyone from around there confirm that this take is accurate? I'm hesitant to rely too much on "parliamentarian Monika Griefahn" as my reference for the local hip-hop scene:

And Now...Aryan Rap

German rapper Fler wears finger-thick gold chains and big baggy jeans, but his rhetoric would have made Adolf Hitler proud. In his recent album, New German Wave, the blue-eyed, baby-faced rapper rhymes, "Black, red, gold, hard and proud ... believe me, my mom is German." In the accompanying video, Fler struts through Berlin, while Aryan-looking thugs wave an enormous German flag and battle with swarthy immigrants.

Meet the Fatherland's new shock troops: German rappers scaling the pop charts with violent, nationalistic lyrics and building a fan base that includes legions of neo-Nazis. Fler's album, for instance, debuted at No.5 within a week of its May release and is set to become certified gold.

The growing popularity of the genre threatens to energize a growing far-right movement here and has pushed the government to censor rap albums for their sadistic content. "[Rap lyrics] are becoming increasingly pornographic, violent, and racist," says parliamentarian Monika Griefahn. "We need to restrict it in order to protect our individual rights and our young people..."

Can anyone remember what we used to do on the internet before they invented youtube? Check this big old (cosmic)sloppy mess of music I found on there today:

the tech's technique, cuz he's a technician

Last week we had one of the greats, Lord Finesse, manning the turntables for a full hour and sitting down to reminisce with us about all the history he's made and witnessed. Sometimes it's really cool to have a radio show. You can hear the whole two hours below, also including a full set from Monk One:

I'm sure nobody meant any harm, but uhh, this is looking kinda iffy.

o-dub: Dude. Is NY about to melt down or what? (Not that I'm trying to engage in too much hyperbole)
jsmooth: camron?
o-dub: yeah man
jsmooth: ugh, i wish i could sit back and expect to have fun like in the old days, instead of having to worry
jsmooth: i mean i doubt anything bad happens from it, but its too bad the tradition of battling is pretty much ruined now, basically now anything like this just puts everyone on terror alert
o-dub: worry about what? You think this'll get too out of hand?
o-dub: ah
jsmooth: i dont think it will no
jsmooth: but at this point it's always too much of a concern, as a default, to really have fun with it, even though this is two of the most clever emcees possibly going at it
jsmooth: i mean really i'd love to be able to post this and say "awww shit here we go!", but now it's like what if something happens then i look back and see i helped amp it
jsmooth: i wish i had a chance to talk to lord finesse about that
o-dub: I hear you
o-dub: but all things considered, this was kind of a tame diss.
jsmooth: when i hear a song for the first time, if i dont like it musically i cant really concentrate on the lyrics, which was the case here
jsmooth: i gotta go back in a minute
o-dub: I mean, the Lox threatening to drop a fridge on Puffy was more explosive
jsmooth: yeah hahaha
jsmooth: definitely
o-dub: Jay's not going to send Beans out to rough Cam up.
o-dub: At least not while Beans is on parole.
o-dub: Maybe Bleek can now earn his keep at the Roc.
jsmooth: i'm getting flashbacks to fredo corleone

I just started a new blog, tuberaider, to keep track of all the youtube videos I'm watching.

Also, the following sites were added to our links section. Please tip generously:

Apparently Barry was planning to step down for a while now, but this year of public disgrace at Hot 97 helped grease the wheels:

Hot-97, Kiss exec is dialing back

After three eventful years whose low points included Hot-97's "Tsunami Song" and whose high points included Kiss-FM returning to the top of the ratings, Barry Mayo is stepping down as senior vice president and market manager for Emmis Radio...

..He will continue at Emmis, overseeing WRKS (98.7 FM), WQHT (97.1 FM) and WQCD (101.9 FM), until a successor is named. He will also remain an in-house consultant for a year and may eventually consult for "one or two" other stations. "I know people in radio say, 'Consultant? Oh God, that means he got fired,'" said Mayo with a laugh. "But this is my choice. I had a contract option for another year that the company said it wanted to pick up. I said no..."

...Smooth-jazz WQCD has remained generally steady and calm, which isn't a word that would be applied to Hot-97 after a year that started with last January's ill-advised "Tsunami Song" parody. "There's no way in hell I could have foreseen what would happen with Hot last year," Mayo admitted. "And if there's anything I could take back, it's pretty obvious it would be 'The Tsunami Song.' I didn't hear it or approve it beforehand, but I take full responsibility for the fact it went on the air for four days. "It was clearly the biggest f-up of my career."

The resulting firestorm led to two dismissals from the Miss Jones morning show, considerable losses from canceled advertising and Emmis paying $1 million to a tsunami relief fund. It also cast Hot-97 as a villain in discussions on whether radio goes too far.

Mayo praised Emmis yesterday for holding the line where it did. "Almost any other company," he said, "would have fired [station management]."

I'm not sure how praiseworthy that last item is.. and I'm curious to see whether his replacement has any different thoughts about remaining loyal to Hot's management.. I know if I was taking that job I'd have a lot of questions for my new employee, Hot's PD John Dimick.

Once again the NY Post, of all people, has the scoop.. maybe these guys are the only topic sleazy enough for the Post to be in tune with? Allhiphop says Benzino and Eva Dave are holed up in a bunker in New Jersey, plotting one last desperate bid to reclaim the throne. Good luck with that, guys. (And good luck of the non-sarcastic variety to incoming boss Jeremy Miller)

HIP-HOP HEAVE-HO

In the latest tug of war for control of The Source Entertainment Inc., founder David Mays and the longtime president, rapper Ray "Benzino" Scott were ordered out of their jobs by the newly constituted board of directors after a temporary restraining order blocking the move was lifted. Four of the six board members voted to fire the duo last week and instead install Jeremy Miller, a one-time chief operating officer, as the new chief executive of The Source...

...Yesterday on the Web site allhiphop.com, Mays said he had fired Dasun Allah as editor-in-chief and instead installed himself in the top editorial spot... Mays said on the Web site, "Right now I am taking the role of editor-in-chief. There were just other issues that caused this to happen in this particular way."

...Charles Simpson, an attorney representing the board, said of Mays latest claim, "He's terminated, so he is not going to be doing anything."

now that their Reign of Error at the soure has finally ended, Mays and Benzino...

• A) ..will join the staff of allhiphop.com
• B) ..will sign on to co-star in the new season of VH1's "Strange Love"
• C) ..will be appointed by President Bush to run FEMA. Benzino will use entire budget to fund more FEMA raps.
• D) Other (post in comment section)

Posted today at tuberaider.

I was just saying to somebody this weekend, "well at least we don't have a Walmart here yet.." but according to this protest I may not be able to say that for long?

Protest Against Backdoor Walmart in the Bronx

Please join with the UFCW, Community Organizations, Small Business Groups,
Members of the Clergy and organizations concerned with responsible and
accountable development at a:

Press Conference and Rally to
Slam "The Backdoor" on Walmart and BJ's

Monday January 23rd
Noon
Steps of New York City Hall

By seeking approval from the City Council to build the new Gateway Mall at
the Bronx Terminal Market and failing to identify the tenants of the proposed
mall, developers are providing a "backdoor" for Walmart and BJ's to
escape scrutiny of their labor and business practices. This deception cannot
be allowed.

Labor, Community and Clergy:
Unified in Keeping NYC Walmart Free

For information and/or to confirm your attendance, Contact
Pat Purcell at

Like any President worth his salt, looks like Jay knows how to use a few well placed "leaks" to nudge unwanted stories off the front page. Ian, tell your friend I'm still up for that bet.

Rapper Nas Is to Join Label Led by Former Rival Jay-Z

The rap superstars Jay-Z and Nas, who hurled bitter insults at each other in rhyme for years in one of rap's most prominent feuds, have reached a deal that would formalize their much-publicized recent truce and transform the two onetime foes into business partners, according to music industry executives involved in the arrangement.

The long-rumored deal sets the stage for Nas to join the artist roster of Def Jam Recordings, the rap label where Jay-Z became president last year in an unusual executive shuffle. But the two stars' personal cease-fire also evolved into an unconventional treaty of sorts between their competing record labels.

As part of the deal, Nas's longtime record company, Sony Music, and Def Jam will split the profits - or any loss - from his next two albums, the sources said. Def Jam is expected to lay out the cost of producing and marketing the recordings, and to divide the profits after recovering its expenses. The two music companies will jointly plan and oversee the albums' marketing campaigns.

The agreement pays Nas about $3 million, including a recording budget, for each of the first two albums, and provides for two additional albums with Def Jam, the sources said. Sony also retains the right to release a Nas greatest hits album, they added. Representatives from Def Jam and Sony declined to comment.

As a result of the deal, Nas's next album instantly becomes one of hip-hop's most anticipated recordings of the year. It is expected to include the first significant collaboration between two wordsmiths who long battled each other for the title of New York's best rapper...

Like most Okayplayer charter members, I've been in the Cult of Lewis Taylor for a good 5 years now. But none of us here in the states ever had a chance to see him in person until this Thursday night, when he hits the Bowery Ballroom. He's also doing a couple of appearances on Friday night, if everything goes according to plan: One on te Conan O-Brien show, and one on WBAI with yours truly. Here's some coverage of his visit in Sunday NY Times:

From Studio Hermit to Reluctant Soul Star

David Bowie and D'Angelo are fans. So is Elton John. But the soul man Lewis Taylor isn't exactly thrilled by his growing popularity. Happiest as a studio hermit at home in London, he has little interest in performing live or seeking a wider audience, say, in the United States. Yet this week he finds himself doing both...

late crucifixion

Kanye West Posing as Jesus on cover of Rolling Stone

Kanye West, with a crown of thorns atop his head, poses as Jesus Christ on the cover of the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone. The outspoken rapper defends his brash attitude inside the magazine's pages, on newsstands Friday. He is also pictured posing as Muhammad Ali...

..."If I was more complacent and I let things slide, my life would be easier, but you all wouldn't be as entertained," he says. "My misery is your pleasure."

The strangest tangent of the Rolling Stone story, however, is when West says he's addicted to pornography. He remembers first seeing his father's Playboy magazine when he was 5 years old. "Right then," West says, laughing, "it was like, `Houston, we have a problem.'"

Posted today at Tuberaider:

1. Main Source "Fakin the Funk"
2. Nas "It Ain't Hard to Tell"
3. Boogie Down Productions "Love's Gonna Getcha"
4. Boogie Down Productions "You Must Learn"
5. Boogie Down Productions "My Philosophy"
6. KRS-One "Step Into A World (Rapture's Delight)"
7. Channel Live feat. KRS One "Mad Izm"
8. Heltah Skeltah "Operation Lockdown"
9. Group Home "Livin Proof"
10. Kool G Rap & DJ Polo "Streets of New York"

Also Prince doing Housequake live at First Avenue back in '87... and other things.

Looks like he'll only spend a few more months locked up off this one, though:

Cassidy guilty of involuntary manslaughter

Baby-faced rapper Cassidy was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault Tuesday in what prosecutors called the planned ambush of a man who had argued with the musician. The 23-year-old Cassidy (real name: Barry Reese) was grossly negligent for supplying the guns that killed Desmond Hawkins and wounded two of his companions, Common Pleas Judge Jane Cutler Greenspan said at the end of a two-day non-jury trial.

Greenspan sentenced Cassidy to 11 1/2 to 23 months in prison. He has been in custody since his arrest in June, meaning he could be out of jail within a few months...

"...It's a tragic situation for me too," Cassidy told the judge. "I didn't set up for this to happen. Desmond Hawkins was my friend ... one of my closest friends..."

The funny/sad thing is, when Jay handles this as if he's a grown man with some sense in his head, half of this ass-backwards "ignorance is strength" hip-hop nation we now live in will probably take it as a sign of weakness, that further jeopardizes his "street cred."

From USA Today:

Jay-Z says he's not bothered by former Def Jam star Cam'ron, who recently released Gotta Love It, in which he disses Jay-Z. "The artist in me tells me to respond to that immediately," Jay-Z says. "But I know what that's all about. He has an album coming (Killa Season), and how else is he going to get mentioned in USA TODAY or other publications?"

All the goodies on my tuberaider blog inspired Tamara Palmer, author of "Country Fried Soul: Adventures in Dirty South Hip-Hop, to do some Tuberaiding of her own. Check out her compilation of clips from a bunch of the artists featured in her book..

I keep telling y'all youtube blogging is the wave of the future. Six months from now when everybody's doing it, please remember the originator.

Passed along (and written) by Rosa Clemente, of WBAI and the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement:

WHAT DOES JESUS LOOK LIKE?

I was raised in the Catholic Church. From the moment I was placed under this religious institution, I was put in a situation where my savior would never look like me. For me Jesus Christ was a white men with blond hair and blue eyes. Much of my high-school years were spent going to church and confessing my teenage sins to a white man who would absolve me of those sins and tell me to pray to a white women(virgin mary) who in turn would save my soul. By the time I was 14 I thought all white men and women did was save people, the only man of color I saw in an position of authority was my dad, and papi did not look like Jesus and neither did mami...

I'm posting this performance to remind y'all New Yorkers that Lewis Taylor is doing his first (and only, for the moment) US show tonight at the Bowery Ballroom. If you don't go to this show you're gonna be sorry afterwards (unless you're heading for that Nokia joint). I'm telling you:

I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone post about this track since Spine linked it up. Have y'all listened to this?

I thought they had patched things up after reuniting at the BB King show we posted here, but clearly the peace treaty didn't stick.