It looks like the perilous relationship
between hip hop artists and writers have just gotten strained again.
The latest incident involves Blaze Magazine editor and chief
Jessie Washington and a producer out of Puff Daddy‘s
camp relationship. According to a story in The Associated Press,
Washington was attacked by 4 men who barged into his Manhattan
office and pummeled him. One of the four men accused of beaten
Washington was Derek ‘D-Dot’ Angellettie who works as a producer for
Sean Puffy Combs.
Derek ‘D-Dot’ Angellettie
Angellettie has vehemently denied his innocence-so much so that he
has volunteered to go down to police headquarters for questioning.
None of the other assailants were identified.. However, the story
that has been circulating around the music industry was D-Dot and
his crew were upset by a recent article that appeared in Blaze.
Unfortunately for Washington this incident is the second
confrontation he has had since he launched the new magazine 5
months ago. This past summer word had gotten out about Washington
having a gun pulled on him by Wyclef Jean. In this scenario, Wyclef
was upset about an editorial regarding Wyclef‘s artist Canibus.
Wyclef
Wyclef has steadfastly denied the allegations although industry
heads have maintained that Wyclef rolls with a posse of kids who
have no problem acting ill when upset about something. Washington
himself came under fire because he waited for more than a month
before publicly talking about the incident. He was accused of using
the incident as a publicity stunt for his new magazine. In addition
Washington did not involve law enforcement. When questioned about
that. Washington noted that he had been taught not to involve the
police when there is a problem between two Black men. His
contention was, the police would make matters worse.
It will be interesting to see how this whole drama plays itself out,
and whether or not Washington will call the police. In this case,
Washington was beaten bad enough that it landed him in a hospital.
This unfortunate event brings to mind the topsy-turvy relationship
between writers and artists. Many artists have maintained that hip
hop journalist have unfairly criticized their material in an attempt
to garner a reputation and make a name for themselves. They have
also contended that bad write ups have resulted in financial set
backs. Writers on the other hand, have noted that hip hop artists
have not learned the rules of the music business industry and
incidents of violence [and there have been many] have been the
result of ignorance and kids trying to bring a street mentality
into the world of business.
written by
Davey D