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Jasiri X Responds to Rick Ross.. Teams Up w/ Brother Ali About Pillars

April 2, 2013 By

Jasiri X Know thyselfPittsburgh rapper and activist Jasiri X has been on fire… His new album Ascension is  masterpiece spawning several videos which are on point and inspiring.. The music is soulful.. The subject matter is thoughtful.. He’s also been focusing on subject matter that takes you deeper terrain then we normally travel in Hip Hop, but has been rooted in a tradition of African-American music ala Afrika Bambaataa, George Clinton and Sun-Ra before him.. He’s been talking about life and times beyond our  earthly dimensions as well as religion…Cuts like Wheels best illustrate this.. The videos to the song Pillars featuring Brother Ali also touch in that direction..

Yesterday we sat down w/ Jasiri X and Interviewed him… here’s our Breakdown FM Intv

Check out the videos below..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ulCIjvKmT0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQknHopm0_E

Jasiri X has also been keeping his shoulder to the grind as an activist.. Him and his partner Paradise Gray from the legendary group X-Clan have been operating full steam ahead with their 1Hood Media Academy.. local youth from all over the Pittsburgh area come through and are taught how to be media makers and to be media justice advocates..

In recent days Jasiri has stepped up to join the fight to hold artist accountable about violence against women and to push back on rape culture. Below is him responding to the lyrics rapper Rick Ross put in a song U.O.E.N.O. (You Ain’T Even Know It) where he talks about drugging a girl so he can have sex with her..the lyric in question goes; Put molly all in her champagne/ She ain’t even know it/ I took her home and I enjoyed that/ She ain’t even know it.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6g5NaxkvvU

Paradise Gray from the group X-Clan weighs in on the Rick Ross Controversy.. Rape Is Rape

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d-Ndy1q4so

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Filed Under: 2013 Daily News, Breakdown FM Interviews, Video New Music Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Tyler Perry and History Channel set to do Epic Miniseries on Hip Hop

April 1, 2013 By
Tyler Perry

Tyler Perry

Movie mogul Tyler Perry is on fire. His new movie Temptation was bigger-than-projected. It opened at $22.3 million making it Perry’s second-biggest opening non-Madea movie after the sequel Why Did I Get Married Too?.  Tyler said he’s happy with his latest efforts and feels it was big comeback after the set backs and harsh criticism he received with the thriller Alex Cross and his own Good Deeds.

As for future projects Perry announced that he’s teamed up with the History Channel which is coming off a huge ratings success with their mini-series The Bible. The network announced it was their most watched series to date and they are excited to team up with Perry to do several miniseries that highlight and chronicle African-American life. History Channel executives were impressed how Perry gave new life to the iconic play For Colored Girls Only....and feel he can bring similar success to the network.

Click HERE to listen to pt2 of Kool Herc

DJ Kool Herc

The first scheduled project will be an epic miniseries on the birth of Hip Hop which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. History notes on August 11th 1973 in the South Bronx at a community center located inside 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, Clive Campbell better known as DJ Kool Herc along with his sister Cindy threw a back to school dance to raise money for school clothes. The pair who had newly arrived from Jamaica and brought with them a new style of deejaying which included using a massive sound system and doing early raps then called chants over instrumental dub plates. This is how Hip Hop was born.

Perry acknowledged that he grew up on Hip Hop and always wanted to see this story come to life and be told correctly. “A lot of people don’t know, that I’m what you would call a true Hip Hop head. I love rap. I love Hip Hop and I want to do this right…. Doing this series on the History Channel in the same vein as the Bible series will give Hip Hop the true academic validation that has alluded it all these past 4 decades.”

Bible Miniseries producers Roma & Mark

Bible Miniseries producers Roma & Mark

Roma Downey and Mark Burnett the brains and key architects behind the Bible miniseries have been tapped to produce the Hip Hop miniseries which is tentatively titled ‘40 Years The True Story of Hip Hop‘. Although they are not Hip Hop ‘experts’, they are Biblical experts and in Hip Hop in many respects parallels the trajectory of events in the Bible.  History Channel executives felt it was important to tap into their talents so that they can give the True Story of Hip Hop an exciting and larger-than-life cinematic epic feel.

Perry stated ‘These guys are great writers and have tremendous passion and vision..What we have done is amassed a panel of Hip Hop experts including Chicago State scholars Frank Chitterbang and Sam Socrates who founded the nation’s first Hip Hop studies program last year.

“We need to celebrate and honor them for being the first to bring Hip Hop to academia” Perry said. Hip Hop needs to be studied. This miniseries will help underscore that point.

Other Hip Hop experts to be tapped for the Perry/ History Channel Hip Hop project include; Civil Rights icon Jesse Jackson and Reverend T.D. Jakes.

Why Church folks? some may ask…

Some of the controversies involving Reverend Jesse jackson has led to us questioning the state of the Black Church

Jesse Jackson

“In telling the story of Hip Hop we have to be honest and go to the true source”, Perry noted. “Hip Hop didn’t start in some dirty run down ghetto. It started in the church. The first rappers were preachers.

The young bucks at the first party DJ Kool Herc gave were emulating their elders from the church by doing what we call in the African tradition ‘Call and Response’. Dr Martin Luther King who Reverend Jackson marched with was the first true emcee..His cadence, his swag, his message is what inspired early Hip Hop.. That’s real talk. We gotta own up to this.. We gotta know our true history”.

It should also be noted that Jesse Jackson was the first Civil Rights Icon Hip Hop paid tribute to, when Grandmaster Flash did a song about him called Jesse to commemorate his historic 1984 run for President.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3IsCfMB0rk

Perry noted that to keep everyone honest and this series truly authentic, they are inviting the owners of the Hip Hop’s biggest websites like World Star, Bossip, and AHH to name a few to offer advice and help guide the miniseries.

In terms of casting, Perry noted that he and the History Channel were meticulous in their eventual selection. Former wrestler turned actor Dwayne Johnson better known as The Rock’ will play DJ Kool Herc. Both men have similar physics.

Don Chealde to play GM Flash

Don Cheadle to play GM Flash

Comedian Anthony Anderson will play Big Bank Hank of the Sugar Hill Gang

Cedric the Entertainer will play Hip Hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa.

House of Lies actor Don Cheadle will play pioneer Grandmaster Flash.

Chris Brown is being cast to play a young brash LL Cool J.

Coming off rave reviews and the success of Temptation, reality TV star who is now making major headway into Hollywood as an actress of note, Kim Kardashian will be tapped to play Salt of Salt-N-Pepa one of Hip Hop’s first female emcees.

Perry noted that her boyfriend Kanye West is being asked to help show her some pointers on how to rap.. ‘She will do this important role and the miniseries justice’ Perry added.

Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian

Pepa will be played by Janet Jackson who is a favorite in Perry movies

History Channel executives are being tight-lipped about other roles, but from the looks of things this promises to be an all-star cast.

Perry noted that its important to keep in mind Hip Hop is inclusive.  Its a bout building community. It’s in that spirit they are opening their doors doing a nationwide casting call for those involved in Hip Hop and can do a little of acting. They are also looking for Hip Hop experts who are knowledgeable about local Hip Hop history from their respective cities..If you would like to be part of the Hip Hop miniseries you can get more information by clicking HERE..

In case you don’t know…

APRIL FOOLS 2013

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

You Didn’t Make the Harlem Shake Go Viral — Corporations Did

March 31, 2013 By

Harlem ShakeWanna know why so many got upset w/ the Harlem Shake phenom? It wasn’t so much because white kids who never heard of the dance doing it.. I think for a lot of folks that’s what was easiest top grasp onto.. but for many there was something else going on.. many weren’t quite able to articulate and pinpoint it, but something about this just felt foul..

Well here’s what was going on.. what was driving this Harlem Shake thing, wasn’t a bunch of folks sincerely having fun.. It was corporations getting behind this video and making the whole thing pop to the tune of big time money… So yes, folks were right when they said the Harlem Shake was the ‘Gentrified Harlem Shake‘ a term I first heard from writer dream hampton….To be accurate it was corporate gentrification.. The end game was to make  it appear as if everything was spontaneous..but it was anything but.. I like to use the words ‘social engineering‘…to make it plain and simple, call it manipulation or just straight up pimping…

When speaking to classes, I remind folks today’s generation is being bombarded from all angles with information specifically designed to make them consumers and followers and not thinkers.. This Harlem Shake thing is a perfect way of showing how that happens.. This article below lays how all this went down and even though it doesn’t specifically lay this point out, I would emphasize, there’s no meaning to the phrase ‘let the buyer beware‘ or in the words of Chuck D from Public Enemy ‘Don’t Believe the Hype‘..here’s an excerpt from the Mashable article.. The entire piece can be found at;  http://mashable.com/2013/03/30/harlem-shake-corporations/

You Didn’t Make the Harlem Shake Go Viral — Corporations Did

Google’s trend charts of the phrase “Harlem Shake” are seismic. Almost no one looked for the words until Feb. 7, then searches surged faster than any term Google ever had, except for “Whitney Houston” after her death. A few weeks later, they fell close to zero.

Experts said the “Harlem Shake” phenomenon was emergent behavior from the hive mind of the internet — accidental, ad hoc, uncoordinated: a “meme” that “went viral.” But this is untrue. The real story of the “Harlem Shake” shows how much popular culture has changed and how much it has stayed the same.

The word “meme” comes from evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. Bits of information — memes — propagate from brain to brain through imitation, are subject to selection and can be regarded as living structures, he says, “not just metaphorically but technically,” because new information changes our brains. They are often made deliberately — think catchphrases, slogans, melodies — and makers may try to propagate them as fast and far as possible, or make them go viral. The myth of the “Harlem Shake” is that its viral spread was spontaneous, not directed by financial interests — a pop culture, popular uprising. Here’s how the meme and the myth began.

Filed Under: 2012 Daily News Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Black Folks Are Catching Racist Hell Throughout the UK & Europe as Austerity Kicks In

March 29, 2013 By

Logo-Lee-Jasper-2

This week on our daily show, Hard Knock Radio we talked with long time political activist and former senior advisor to the Mayor of London Lee Jasper.. He alerted us to some disturbing news about the plight of Black folks living in the UK and throughout much of Europe as so-called austerity measures kick in..

For many it should not come as a surprise,  but Black folks are catching major hell as they are being scapegoated for the economic hardships many are experiencing.. For example in places like Greece, Black folks are literally being chased out of the country by uniformed goon squads.. White supremacist, Neo-Nazi hate groups and far right reactionary political parties are on the rise with Blacks and other immigrants as primary targets

We are now seeing the fallout of misguided foreign policy which has complicated this situation. Ongoing conflicts in Mali and in Libya which has resulted in thousands of Black folks fleeing Africa to various ports in Europe only to be turned away. The irony here is that its NATO/ and Western foreign policy that has led to this mass displacement..

During our conversation Jasper went into great detail about the types of policy measures taken to keep Black folks disenfranchised and in economic peril. He also noted the widespread police brutality many are experiencing. He noted whats been going on in France with many Blacks and the out of step perception put forth by popular artists like Jay-Z and Kanye when they did their song N–as in Paris and how that contrasted with the reality that Black folks in this fabled city who are treated like ‘N–gas in the worse possible way..Jasper noted

Lee also updated us to whats been going on since we saw the massive uprising in the UK two years ago and in Paris 6 years ago..

Lee has a wealth of information and will update us again in the near future. In the meantime.. Peep the insightful Hard Knock Radio interview by clicking the link below..

You can also read an indepth report of what’s going on in Greece as Black folks are being attacked.. Go to the link below

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/return-of-the-far-right-greeces-financial-crisis-has-led-to-a-rise-in-violent-attacks-on-refugees-8551798.html?action=gallery&ino=1

Here’s Lee Jasper speaking at a recent political rally giving folks the lay of the land

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L1fFrhd_v0

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Filed Under: 2013 Daily News, Hard Knock Radio Intv Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Rebel Diaz Moves Onward with a New Video About Hugo Chavez

March 29, 2013 By

Rebel Diaz collectiveGlad to see Rebel Diaz and the RDACBX Collective are standing strong and pushing back hard in spite of the set backs imposed on them by the greedy developers in the Bronx, NYC and its gentrification projects and the FEDs.. After the group painted a mural on the walls of their community center, bringing attention to political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal, there was a chilling response from those in power.. The building owner refused to sell the space to the group and he refused to take their rent or negotiate for new terms… He also never expressed concern about the mural..but nevertheless the group came to learn it was a trigger..

As they noted in a recent press conference, RDACBX is not limited to a building, it’s the spirit of the community and that community is everywhere and expanding..Their latest project is a song and dope video that pays tribute to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who was a big supported of the South Bronx community center the group and the neighborhood built.

Here’s what they penned about the video..

Peace Familia!

The direct connection we have with the The Bolivarian Revolution is
that our community space The Rebel Diaz Arts Collective -BX (RDACBX)
was directly funded by Venezuelan owned oil company- Citgo. For 4 1/2
years we received direct assistance from Comandante Hugo Chavez and
the people of Venezuela.

This song is our tribute to him as we consider him to be a champion of poor people around the world. Hugo
Chavez supported Hip Hop in The South Bronx. Hugo Chavez is Hip Hop.
Our community space was violently shut down on Feb. 28th by The NYPD and federal
marshalls. We know what it is. We were a threat because we were
teaching the youth, speaking out against Stop and Frisk, doing
political graffiti, doing open mics, etc.

We are living historic moments of oppression to which we can only respond
with historic moments of resistance!! It is time to Work Like
Chavez!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKkveMo-2NA

Filed Under: 2012 Daily News Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Important Follow Story About Bay Area Rapper Saafir & His Health Challenges

March 29, 2013 By

Since we ran that story from Shock G about Saafir and his health challenges there has been massive response from all over world. It was one hardly anyone anticipated…Its been much appreciated..Many folks had lots of questions, concerns .. Many had lots of advice and wanted to help..  Below is the first of two stories that are important  follow ups courtesy of  Bay Area scribe Garrett Caples of the SF Bay Guardian. He reached out and did two stories.. One is called  ‘Injured Player in the Game’ the other is called Reality Rap which is an exclusive Q&A which you can access here…http://www.sfbg.com/noise/2013/03/27/reality-rap-qa-saafir-saucee-nomad.. Big salute to Garret for rocking this..-Davey D-

Injured Player in the Game

Saafir Photo: Garret Caples

Saafir  Photo: Garret Caples

MUSIC “I have a new respect for people with disabilities,” Bay Area legend Saafir, the Saucee Nomad says, sitting in his wheelchair in the East Oakland living room where he’s temporarily crashing. “I was aware of their plight, but I never imagined how much strength it took mentally to deal with every day, day to day. It’s a cold strength.”

The extent of Saafir’s disability, revealed last month by Digital Underground leader Shock-G on Davey-D’s Hip Hop Corner blog, took the rap world by surprise. I’d heard Saafir was in rough shape, following a 2005 operation to remove a cancerous tumor from his spine, though the release of his unexpectedly religious album Good Game (ABB, ’06) seemed to signify a recovery. Yet a numbness that began in his toes in ’08 gradually crept up his legs to where he can no longer walk or even stand. His inability to work coupled with his medical expenses has wiped him out financially.

Tweeted by Questlove to his two million Twitter followers, Shock’s account went mini-viral over social media and hip-hop blogs. Wanting to interview Saafir, I called Shock, who gave his number but warned, “He’s a little heated ’cause I didn’t clear that story with him and I got some details wrong. But he wouldna let me post it. He’s a soldier.” And it takes some convincing before Saafir grudgingly agrees to an interview, though by the time we meet, his anger at the unwanted attention has largely dissipated into relief and acceptance. He’s allowed Chris Clay, a protégé of Shock’s who’s also a web designer, to set up a site, www.tostandagain.org, where fans can make Paypal donations. He’s even plugged the site in a phone interview on Sway and King Tech’s Wake Up Show (Shady 45 radio).

That the Wake Up Show was the first national music media to reach out to Saafir is unsurprising; the epic battle between Saafir of Hobo Junction and Casual of Hieroglyphics that the show hosted in 1994 when it was on KMEL was arguably step one in a series that leads to Sway interviewing Obama. A high-water mark of Bay Area rap history, Hobo v. Hiero occurred the same year Saafir released his debut, Boxcar Sessions, on Quincy Jones’s Warner imprint, Qwest. Saafir scored the $250,000 deal on the strength of his performances on Digital Underground’s Body-Hat Syndrome (TommyBoy, 1993) and in the film Menace II Society (1993), but even those didn’t quite prepare the world for his surrealistic syntax stretching on Boxcar or the tripped out beats of Hobo producers JZ and J.Groove.

While it became an enduring underground classic, Boxcar dropped at a time when the golden age was giving way to the bland consumer-speak that still dominates rap. After another album, The Hit List (1999), Saafir left Warner only to sign with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath as a member of Golden State Warriors, a supergroup with Xzibit and Ras Kass. But the project ultimately didn’t yield an album.

“We didn’t get held up by Aftermath; we had internal issues,” Saafir says. “We did a lot of high-profile records but we could never push past that level.” Following the group’s demise and his cancer operation, Saafir had just relaunched as an independent artist when he began to experience the first symptoms leading to his present condition.

The whole persona of a rapper is about being extraordinary, but in many ways Saafir’s current situation is typically American, Obamacare notwithstanding. Like any rapper who signs to a major in his 20s, he bought “some dumb shit” with his Warner money and has regrets, but he always set aside money from his deals; he has kids he’s putting through high school, among other expenses. But even with some insurance, he’s lost everything, and it’s impossible for him to make money the way a rapper does— always hopping flights to the next show — when it takes him two hours to get dressed.

After last year’s failed quest for laser surgery, described in Shock’s post, Saafir’s again working with his original doctor to determine the cause of his loss of leg function. If it can be restored, he estimates he’s looking at over $80,000 of uncovered expenses for surgery and rehab. If it can’t, he needs to get himself into an accessible assisted living situation, because couchsurfing in his condition is untenable.

But wheelchair or no, Saafir plans to continue rap.

“I’m a boss but I’m an injured player in the game,” he says. “I’m a very strong injured player in the game and I can still make plays from my position.”

Below is a link to an exclusive Q&A with Saafir via Garret Caples of the SF Bay Guardian…

http://www.sfbg.com/noise/2013/03/27/reality-rap-qa-saafir-saucee-nomad

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Rapper Rick Ross Explains His Song Was just a Big Misunderstanding-He Loves Women

March 28, 2013 By

Rick RossRapper Rick Ross appeared on a radio show on q93.3 in New Orleans and attempted to do some damage control by explaining the lyrics to his song..U.O.E.N.O. (you ain’t even know it)..In the song he describes what many call a ‘recipe for rape’ , where he brags about slipping a molly into a woman’s drink, taking her home and having sex, all while she is under the influence and doesn’t know..

The firestorm it set off has been widespread, including a big article in today’s Washington Post that includes a petition demanding key record executives be held accountable.. You can peep that article HERE..

In the article Industryears co-founder Paul Porter tells the Washington Post

Porter goes on to argue that artists should not be solely responsible for their lyrical content. According to him, the bar is being set increasingly lower and many are relying on shock value for mass appeal. This might explain why it seems the lyrical content gets progressively worse in its promotion of violence and drugs. And with media outlets not doing the best job in self-policing the airwaves, references to “Molly” and other drugs continuously get heard on the radio and in music videos.

“Somebody is responsible at every record label for what gets approved,” says Porter. “These are the people that we never talk about. The guys that profit the most never get talked about. Until the pressure is at the top – the bottom is never going to change. Rick Ross is just a pawn.”

There are times when I question the power of our voices against these massive corporate machines. What could we write/say that hasn’t already been written/said? What could we do that would actually hurt their bottom line? And if we reach one artist, aren’t there hundreds of others who are just the same?

Rick Ross in his interview says that he has love for women and they are sacred. He refers to them as Queens and says he condemns rape..He claims his lyrics were a big misunderstanding and that its important for artists to clarify.. He starts talking about the song 4;26 into the 8 minute intv..

It remains to be seen how Ross’s explanation will sit with folks.. Many are upset at the stations who promote such songs and are still pushing for them to pull that and other songs that celebrate rape culture..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzR-yTSWZgI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lI7VOqLYLiY

Filed Under: 2012 Daily News Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Breakdown FM: End Violence Against Women (No More Tears, No More Shame)

March 28, 2013 By

logo-End-Violence-No-More-tears-No-More-shameIn recent weeks there’s been far too much violence directed at our sisters, mothers, daughters and women in general.. It ranges from the reaction to Steubenville rape verdict and the local NAACP President Royal Mayo saying she wasn’t really a victim to the recent Rick Ross song advocating ‘date rape’..to highly publicized gang rapes in India to on going assaults in our own military where they say as much as 30% of the women enlisted have been assaulted..

A couple of years ago we did this mix in reaction to the disturbing domestic violence incident between singers Chris Brown and Rhianna. We wanted to bring it back out and give folks something to think about..Much of what was expressed then is still relevant today, if not even more so.. We wanted to leave folks with a message that is hopefully uplifting and healing..  Consider it our Anti-Rick Ross mix..

Speaking of which folks should be aware there is a petition directed at industry executives around Rick Ross and his disturbing song.. Be sure to check it out,  sign it and pass it along

https://www.change.org/petitions/rape-rick-ross-and-responsibility-rrr

There is also another campaign designed to remind people about the horrors of rape and how we must draw clear lines.. The video below speaks for itself..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lI7VOqLYLiY

Lastly with respect to the mix.. among the cuts we got hold of include jams from Brother J and X-Clan called ‘Wiz Degrees‘. Its a nice song about love and his appreciation for his partner and what she means to him. Its off the album ‘Mainstream Outlaw‘ which is banging.

Desdamona out of the Twin Cities has a searing song that’ll make you pause and think called ‘Faulty Fuse‘.

Two of my favorite songs addressing this issue comes from MC Hammer and Brand Nubian. Hammer’s track ‘Big Man‘, off the Family Affair album hits a homer as he reminds folks the harsh consequences of such behavior.

Brand Nubian‘s song ‘Sincerely‘ was completely overlooked when it was released on the 1st anniversary of the Million Man March‘. You will be asking yourself, why wasn’t this record being exposed to the masses? It’s an incredible song.

Two other songs to check is Bridgette Gray‘s heart wrenching Letter to Hip Hop. She lays out some serious questions that still have yet to be adequately answered.

We follow that up with a piece from fellow spoken word artist Amir Suilaman called ‘How Beautiful‘.

Anyway there’s lots of joints to get you thinking. Enjoy, reflect, pass along and most importantly Try to make a difference help bring about a world where the horrors of violence against women no longer exist….

Listen to 25 Joints by clicking link below:

25 Joints to Get U Through the Day #9
No More Tears-No More Shame-No More Violence

01-PSAStop Domestic violence
02-Tabb Doe ‘Sleeping w/ the Enemy’ (San Francisco)
03-MC Hammer ‘Big Man’ (Oakland)
04-Poetess w/ Def Jeff, Kool G Rap, Almighty ‘Love Hurts’ (LA)
05-Brand Nubian ‘Sincerely’ (New York)
06-KRS-One ‘Brown Skinned Woman’ (New York)
07-Bridget Gray ‘Letter to Hip Hop’ (LA)
08-Amir Suilaman ‘How Beautiful’ (Oakland)
09-Hard Knock ‘Hands of a Stranger’ (New York)
10-Sister Souljah ‘Relationships’ (New York)
11-Paris ‘Assata’s Song’ (San Francisco)
12- J Boogie w/ Zumbi ‘For Your Love’ (San Francisco/Oakland)
13-Michael Franti & Spearhead ‘Hey World’ (San Francisco)
14-Urban Ave 131 ‘Heaven Help Us’ (Washington DC)
15-X-Clan ‘Wiz Degrees’ (LA)
16-Bambu ‘Nicole’ ft Micah (San Francisco)
17-Desdamona ‘Faulty Fuse’ (Minneapolis)
18-NY Oil ‘You’re A Queen’ (new York)
19-M-1 ‘Love You Can’t Borrow’ (New York)
20-Gabriel Teodros ‘Warriors’ (Seattle)
21-Public Enemy ‘Revolutionary Generation’ (New York)
22-Queen Latifah ‘Nature of a Sista’ (New York)
23-Kofy Brown ‘Just a Woman’ (Oakland)
24-Michael Franti & Spearhead ‘U Can’t Sing R Song'(San Francisco)
25-Jennifer Johns ‘Afraid of Me’

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Filed Under: 2013 Daily News Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Steubenville, NAACP President Says Rape Victim Ain’t Really a Victim…Nat’l NAACP Condemns Remark

March 28, 2013 By

Update (03-29-13) So yesterday after we ran this story about Royal Mayo who was identified as president of the Steubenville, Ohio NAACP, stating he didn’t think the rape victim was really a victim, we soon heard from the National NAACP..Derek George Turner, director of communication sent this statement:

NAACP Condemns Remarks Disparaging Steubenville Rape Victim; International Business Times Article Misidentified Mayo as Local NAACP President

(WASHINGTON, DC) – The National NAACP released the following statement condemning the remarks disparaging the victim of the sexual assault in the Steubenville case:

“The NAACP abhors the remarks attributed to Royal Mayo regarding the rape victim in the Steubenville. The remarks are Mayo’s own, and do not reflect the position of the NAACP and its membership.

Mr. Mayo is not the president of the Steubenville NAACP and is not a spokesman for the NAACP. The article attributing him as such has been corrected by the International Business Times.

Rape is a despicable crime of violence. The NAACP understands that comments that blame victims for the actions of their attackers contribute to and perpetuate a culture of acquiescence to rape.

The NAACP advocates strongly for a society where victims of rape and sexual assault can come forward and seek legal redress without further retribution from the community, media or society at large.”

Royal Mayo

Royal Mayo

Reading this article from Steubenville, Ohio, where the NAACP president  Royal Mayo is raising the issue about why only two men got convicted and not everyone else.. His claims and layout of the incident should not be immediately dismissed, especially as he places it in the context of long standing police corruption in Steubenville. He notes it’s the first police department in the country to come under a federal court decree..

Where Mayo, loses me and I’m sure many other folks is when he makes the outlandish statement that this teenage girl really isn’t a rape victim.. He claims that the teenager shown in those sordid videos and pictures wanted to have the type of sex the young men from the football team were on trial for… Unbelievable.. No wonder we have such confusion amongst people about sexual assault…Thinking like this is not usual it’s embedded in the minds of far too many people..The thinking goes; If she’s drunk and out of it and unable to stand, she’s good to go.. Inevitably that leads to young men making moves to get a young women in that condition.. ie Dropping a molly or some other mind altering substance in her drink.. All that gets accentuated when popular entertainers like rapper Rick Ross rap about it in a song..or as you may recall last fall, Cee-Lo Green gets accused of doing this..

Perhaps its time we draw clear lines in the sand similar to ‘No means No‘.. How about we make it clear, being drunk, too high, unable to stand and be in full control of your faculties means ‘No’.. end of story?

The article that appears in the IBTimes has the following excerpts: Peep the entire article

http://www.ibtimes.com/steubenvilles-naacp-president-says-rape-victim-was-drunk-willing-exclusive-1149517

Mayo described the 16-year-old girl as the “alleged victim” and said she might have been having consensual sex. “She said her mother brought her to the party, at 3 o’clock, with a bottle of vodka,” Mayo said. “Where did you get it, young lady? You brought it from home? Where’d you get it? You came to the party with your mother.”

Mayo added that she might have been a willing participant, apparently unfazed by the inflammatory nature of such statements. “They’re alleging she got raped; she’s acknowledging that she wanted to leave with Trent. Her friends say she pushed them away as she went and got into the car, twice telling them, ‘I know what I’m doing; I’m going with Trent,’” Mayo said.

By 10:30 p.m., other partygoers were making catcalls and bets to urinate on her, according to a New York Times time line of the incident. The victim was “carried” out of the party by Richmond and Mays two hours later. In the car on the way to another party, Mays was videotaped digitally penetrating the victim. At a third party, the victim was unable to walk on her own, and, according to testimony, Richmond was seen digitally penetrating her from behind. In the videotaped testimonies from the teens at the party, they understood that something wrong was happening but did not stop the sexual assault, as reported by Gawker.

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Not Every Artist is An Artist..Some Are Lapdogs & Spokespeople For Oppression

March 27, 2013 By

Davey-D-brown-frameIn response to Beyonce telling women they are B–tches and to bow down and Rick Ross rapping about date raping someone, there are some who tried to explain that we should leave such artists alone and that they have FREEDOM of SPEECH.. Lets get a couple of things clear..

If you are pushing oppression and have multinational corporations with million dollar budgets and vast resources, promoting destructive messages then YOU ARE NOT an artist.. What you are is a worker…You are a lackey for corporate interests and should be seen as such.. You are no different then Ronald Reagan when he used his acting skills to be a spokesman for General Electric..In this case you are a spokesperson for oppression. Your creativity and artistic talent is being pimped out for repression not liberation..

Spokespeople and workers for oppression look for huge paychecks, cheap fame and an ostentatious lifestyle so they can bury their shame, ease their guilt and distract us from the fact that their souls were sold and their principles forever compromised. A corporate lap-dog will make excuses for having their talent and art be marketed for young minds and used destructively. They’ll tell you about the importance of ‘sales’ and ‘staying relevant’ or how parents should raise their kids.. These are corporate talking points all designed to avoid responsibility.. It doesn’t change their wrong doings of spreading corporate poison and using ‘art’ as the validating vehicle

soul-for-sale-yellowThis is not about telling artists they don’t have freedom of speech or there is one particular party line they gotta adhere to..This is about waking up folks and making it very clear who’s imperialistic interests some who call themselves artists are furthering..It’s about shining a bright light on the deep pocketed nefarious forces behind the work being hawked to the masses..

Are you in the business of saving souls or selling souls? Are you leading us on to the plantation or off? Time will tell the side you choose to represent…

Davey D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwFN9f8q5g0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHnUFpCeGxQ

Earlier when I posted this.. I got an insightful response from former BLA (Black Liberation Army) leader and former political prisoner Dhoruba Bin Wahad..Here’s what he added to my remarks..

I think maybe we should understand how the status of “Race Music” has been transformed in America by a combination of technology, social change, and the corporate globalization of culture. Once “Black” music, R&B, Jazz Gospel, Blues etc, were separate and apart from white corporate and popular music personified by “Tin-Pan Alley” top song listing.

In the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s Our music was patronized and confined (segregated) to our community therefore it reflected our communal reality (faults and all). But after the upheavals of sixties, the rise of the white Hippie “Love Generation” , the urbanization of white supremacist power to control inner city Blacks, mainstream White culture subsumed it’s Black sub-cultural counterpart. This process at once depoliticized Black music, dummed it down to nursery rhyme like songs (almost every popular Rap track, gangster, or “Dirty South” song sound like nursery rhymes appealing instantly to the adolescence generation that was never really taught what growing up means- but more importantly changed the nature of community musical introspection into gross expressions of sex, violence, money, and the values of misogyny.

Hence acting and behaving as backwards Niggers is acceptable.. authentic, the “Hood”. What we used to call “country” (Gold grillwork dressing like a clown in a bad circus act, is now glorified in videos and on stage) because the money corporate America can generate from ghettoized entertainment serves not just they’re bottom-line, but also the promotion of American values, mystique and material wealth – and most importantly the place of the Black man/woman in the overall scheme of things, we have the artists we do today making millions.

I may be wrong, but the last time I looked, white youth were the major consumers of Hip-Hop music and related paraphernalia. White girls don’t consider themselves “Bitches” in the street sense of that odious term – so what Beyonce says in this respect doesn’t resonate with them – what resonates is her outfits and style, so its not unusually for folks to admire stylish assholes, or that an entire generation of young Black women in the “Hood” have raised and are raising a generation of Shanniqa’s and children named after their Moma’s favorite perfume or club drink or luxury car. What does it say about one’s class status and values when waking up in a new Bugatti is a dream come true?

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News Tagged With: , , , ,
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