mrDaveyd | Hip-Hop and Politics

Forget President’s Day-Today We Celebrate Huey P Newton on His Bday

February 17, 2014 By mrDaveyd

Today February 17th 2014. For many people it’s the conclusion of a 3 day weekend in which we are encouraged to celebrate Presidents Day where we honor Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Celebrating Lincoln is understandable considering he helped put an end to the horrific institution of slavery by putting forth the Emancipation Proclamation, even though he had to be pressured by abolitionist like Frederick Douglass and others.

Celebrating Washington and Jefferson who were founding fathers of this country and slave owners is not the biz no matter what angle folks take. There was no excuse for their participation in the horrors that were unleashed on enslaved Africans who were not considered human, which on top of being forced to work from sun up to sun down, were subjected to harsh whippings, rapes and their children being sold off.

Some like to point out that Washington freed his slaves. In fact it was written in his will. Yes we heard that story. They were freed after he died. All 316 of them were freed by his wife Martha Washington who waited a good twelve months to honor her husband’s wishes.

Some like to point out that Washington often expressed support for the gradual abolition of slavery. Maybe that’s true, but this is the same Washington who signed the Fugitive Slave Law which allowed slave owners to recapture enslaved Africans even if they managed to escape to states that had abolished slavery. Washington put this law into effect in 1790, which was a good 14 years after he signed the Declaration of Independence that asserted All Men Are Created Equal. We now know that assertion didn’t include Black folks.

We should also remember that Washington came to the aid of the French who had gotten their butts beat by enslaved Haitians who rebelled and overthrew their slave masters. Instead of recognizing their independence Washington dispatched emergency aid. He wanted the newly freed Africans to put back into bondage.

Thomas Jefferson is honored in many parts of this country on President’s Day and is depicted as a beloved figure. He should be remembered as a man who like Washington also owned hundreds of slaves and unlike Washington who instructed his slaves to be freed in his will, Jefferson feared slave revolts and opposed any law that would allow owners to free them.

Many like to talk and romanticize about the love affair Jefferson had with Sally Hemings, an enslaved girl of mixed race who was 14 when Jefferson first got at her. She had 6 children by the President. In describing the relationship, many like to refer to Hemings as Jefferson’s mistress which implies she was a woman who was free and willing participant in a sordid love triangle. Hemings was enslaved and had no agency in this relationship. That makes her a victim of rape. People should reflect on that for a minute.

Lastly folks should note, that like Washington, Jefferson opposed Haitian getting their independence and went HAM on them by putting in place an embargoes designed to economically cripple them. He too feared slave rebellions.

Instead of honoring slave holding Presidents, one should note that February 17th is the birthday of Huey P Newton co-founder of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense..Since its Black History month we figured it would be good to give folks some insight as to who Huey was and what the Panthers were about.. Here’s a brief bio on Huey…

Huey Newton, the youngest of seven children, was born in Monroe, on 17th February, 1942. His father, who named his son after the radical politician, Huey P. Long, was an active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP).

At Merritt College in Oakland, California, Newton met Bobby Seale and in 1966 they formed the Black Panther Party. Initially established to protect local communities from police brutality and racism, it eventually developed into a Marxist revolutionary group. The Black Panthers also ran medical clinics and provided free food to school children.

The activities of the Black Panthers came to the attention of J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI. Hoover described the Panthers as “the greatest threat to the internal security of the country” and in November 1968 ordered the FBI to employ “hard-hitting counter-intelligence measures to cripple the Black Panthers”.

The Black Panthers had chapters in several major cities and had a membership of over 2,000. Harassed by the police, members became involved in several shoot-outs. This included an exchange of fire between Panthers and the police at Oakland on 28th October, 1967. Newton was wounded and while in hospital was charged with killing a police officer. The following year he was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter.

After being released from prison Newton renounced political violence. Over a six-year period 24 Black Panthers had been killed in gun fights with the police. Another member, George Jackson, was killed while in San Quentin prison in August, 1971.

Newton now concentrated on socialist community programs including free breakfasts for children, free medical clinics and helping the homeless. The Panthers also became involved in conventional politics and in 1973 Bobby Seale ran for mayor of Oakland and came second out of nine candidates with 43,710 votes (40 per cent of votes cast).

Newton published his book, Revolutionary Suicide in 1973. The following year he was arrested and charged with murder and assault with a deadly weapon. Released on bail, Newton fled to Cuba but in 1977 he returned to the United States and was freed after two hung juries.

Newton returned to his studies at the University of California and in 1980 he received a Ph.D. in social philosophy. His dissertation was entitled:War Against the Panthers: A Study in Repression in America. Huey Newton was shot dead on 22nd August, 1989, while walking along a street in Oakland.

courtesy of http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAnewtonH.htm

Over the years Huey Newton and the Black Panthers inspired many within Hip Hop. From Public Enemy to 2Pac to Digital Underground who started off as the Spice Regime a Black Panther styled group to Paris to the Fugitives which was a Bay Area group composed of Panther children.

In recent years we’ve seen revolutionary artists like Eseibio the Automatic who hails from Oakland pick up the mantle and keep the Panther legacy alive. His album Revolutionary Minded is a testament to that commitment. He furthers that commitment by organizing programs for the youth and sparking off weekly letter writing campaigns for political prisoners, many who are former Panthers who fearlessly laid it down for the liberation of the people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKu-laBsMEY

Below are some clips to get you up to speed as to who Huey Newton was and what he was about..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhTD1CY1COs&playnext=1&list=PL0B8A60B9092950FA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuU7bEqKcLk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ypqCYPduI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po8eetZxqB0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oIWjbhZI-A&feature=related

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News Tagged With: Black Panthers, George Washington, Huey newton, President's Day, Thomas Jefferson

Remembering X-Clan’s ‘Day of Outrage’ in the Wake of the Michael Dunn Verdict

February 16, 2014 By mrDaveyd

When things don’t seem right and injustice is all around, sometimes you need a loud, booming song to re-center you and remind you that our people are resilient and that resistance to the evil all around us will be the order of the day.

A day after the incredulous verdict around Michael Dunn where jurors could not convict him of murdering unarmed Jordan Davis while simultaneously convicting him of attempted murder of the men who survived the shooting, has had me listening to the song ‘Day of Outrage‘ by X-Clan. The searing lyrics has me wanting to hear more songs like this as I recall the climate that led up to the landmark song…

For those unfamiliar, back in August 1989, folks were feeling overwhelmed after the killing of 16-year-old Yusef Hawkins at the hands of an angry white mob who thought he was dating a local white girl named Gina Feliciano…About 30 men laid in wait near the house of the girl who was believed to be dating a Black men. They all had bats.

Yusef and his friends came out of candy store and coincidently walked by the building when the men with bats confronted them. No words were exchanged, No bats were swung, Yusef was shot twice in the chest and left dead holding onto his candy bar. The man who shot him was convicted of second degree murder the other main defendant was acquitted but found guilty on a lesser charges.. Yusuf wasn’t dating anyone, he and his friends were simply responding to an ad for a used car.

Yusef Hawkins Protest

At the time New York City was in an uproar and the rap group X-Clan responded . They were part of an organization called Blackwatch which was led by group leader Professor X who was the son of long time activist Sonny Carson who was one of the group’s mentors and advisors. .. On the Day of Outrage they led help lead 50 thousand people across the Brooklyn Bridge… The song they did ‘Day of Outrage’ was among the many songs artists were doing at the time to offer the community a soundtrack for the racial struggles they were battling.. Here’s an article on the day of outrage http://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/01/nyregion/day-of-outrage-march-ends-in-violence.html

Fast forward to today in the aftermath of Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Renisha McBride and Jordan Davis to name a few of the many, one can’t help but wonder what it would be like if popular artists like Nicki Minaj had taken all their anger and frustration expressed in songs like ‘Looking Azz N*ggas‘ and applied that same energy and venom to the racist folks in Florida who time and time again show disdain and disgust for our people.

In the video, instead of shooting guns at Looking Azz N*ggas what if she pointed those guns at Looking Azz Racists in Florida who set George Zimmerman free? Or what if she pointed the guns at ‘Looking Azz’ Jury members who got hung up and handed down a mistrial verdict to an un-remorseful murderer like Michael Dunn? Even better what if those guns were directed at the state prosecutor Angela Corey who lost two cases of unarmed Black teenagers being killed via Stand Your Ground, leaving many to believe she threw the case?

Maybe a venomous song could be done directed at George Zimmerman himself, who is seeking to capitalize off murdering Trayvon Martin and reinvent himself as a ‘celebrity boxer’…

Perhaps a stinging song could be directed at ALEC members or Stand Your Ground advocates who created this climate of fear, suspicion which is leading to the murder of innocent unarmed Black folks.

Where are our most popular and most visible artists with their lyrical take downs of this injustice system and the people who run it. ? How about a song directed at Looking Azz Government officials in Florida’??

Instead of distorting the image and legacy of Malcolm X, Emmett Till, Harriet Tubman, Harry Belafonte and other folks who symbolize our freedom struggle, some of these artists should go all out and lambast folks who actively and routinely work against us. For example, where’s the songs to bash Congressional leaders John Boehner and Eric Cantor over their policies like cutting 40 billion dollars in food stamps and not extending unemployment benefits?

Where’s the songs taking down Bill O’Reilly? Sean Hannity? Rush Limbaugh who make a living off of demonizing and stereotyping Black folks day in and day out? Where’s the take down songs directed at Megyn Kelly the Fox news pundit who blew up the spot late last year by announcing Jesus and Santa are white? Where are the songs that go HAM about them? We need more songs that speak to our collective outrage about a system that is broke beyond repair and aggressively counter attack those who seeking to demoralize us.

And yes for the record I’m fully aware there are lots of artists who do speak truth to power, from Rebel Diaz to Immortal Technique to Yassin Bey to dead prez to Cihuatl Ce to Sa-Roc to Talib Kweli to Ras Ceylon to Killer Mike to David Banner to Boots Riley Alia Sharrief to Jasiri X to Toki Wright to Eseibio the Automatic to DLabrie to name a few. Their efforts should be supported and never discounted. Sadly they are not presented via mainstream outlets and in terms of pushing to get issues addressed we should all be thinking, advocating and noting what’s lacking in many of our circles during times like these.

Angela Corey

If one wants to take this a step further, how about a few songs that challenge those in office and push for a changing of the guard? Many are upset with Florida’s State Attorney Angela Corey and her office who they feel did not give it their all both in this trial as well as the George Zimmerman/ Trayvon Martin trial which they lost.

Many feel they were skittish in talking about race and that they went light on the defendants. In this particular case, Corey’s office never countered all the testimony claiming Dunn was a nice sensitive guy by showing the racist letters he wrote from prison in describing Jordan and his friends. Corey needs to be removed from office.

Back in the days, when Miami residents were dissatisfied with their local district attorney, Uncle Luke (Luther Campbell) of the 2 Live Crew, had one of his artists named Anquette do a song that help catapult someone into office who they felt would do a better job. That individual eventually went on to become the US Attorney General.. Her name was Janet Reno. An interesting side note, Reno’s opponent, Jack Thompson was so enraged about the song, that he led a campaign to get 2 Live Crew brought up on obscenity charges because of their racy music. That case made its way to the US Supreme Court where 2 Live Crew was vindicated. Luke in later years said he had no regrets putting out the Janet Reno song. He felt it was necessary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROZllkxVshM

Today I’m listening to that classic X-Clan joint ‘Day of Outrage‘ and remembering some pointed words put forth by the late Amiri Baraka when describing the purpose of Black Art “Poetry is not, as art form, separate from the violent struggles of the people; it is and must be a weapon in that struggle..

X-Clan Day of Outrage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ejFR1asJvc

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News Tagged With: Angela Corey, Anquette, Janet Reno, Jordan Davis, Michael Dunn, Nicki Minaj, X-Clan, Yusef hawkins

3 Dope Songs from Desdamona Reppin the Twin Cities

February 15, 2014 By mrDaveyd

Desdamona is a hip-hop and spoken word artist from Minneapolis, Minnesota She has won five Minnesota Music Awards for ‘Best Spoken Word Artist’ in the years 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 and is considered to be the best female spoken word and hip-hop artist in the Midwest.

Her emcee name, comes from Desdemona, the wife of Othello in William Shakespeare‘s tragedy Othello. She was born and went to school in Iowa. A childhood inspiration for her music, she said, was her father who would dress up as Count Dracula and tell bedtime stories to her.

In college, Desdamona and her friends formed a band in which Desdamona was the rapper, inspired by the R&B group TLC. The group performed around Waterloo, Iowa and had a few shows in Iowa City. When she moved to Minneapolis, she found an audience for her work. She began to go to open mic nights to perform her poetry. In this way, she became known as a spoken word artist, which was not her original intention, but which, she says, “made me a better writer.”

Desdamona was noticed for her guest vocals in Brother Ali‘s We Will Always B in 2000. Her lines criticized male dominance of hip-hop and chauvinism in general. This led to her first CD, The Ledge, which came out in June 2005.

Desdamona frequently collaborates with Twin Cities beatboxer Carnage the Executioner, also known as Carnage. On Desdamona’s second disc, The Source, which came out 26 June 2007, the duo do the first track, Infinity, together.The two have formed a group called Ill Chemistry, which was noted as a rising hip-hop group at the 2007 Minnesota Music Awards. Desdamona has noted that they’re working on a collaboration on her blog.

Desdamona co-founded an female based music festival, called B-Girl Be, which incorporates all the aspects of hip-hop and spoken word; emceeing, break dance, D.J.-ing and graffiti. She also works with schools, teaching students, as well as in the Stillwater Prison program, In the Belly.

In 2010, Desdamona was invited by Ursus Minor to sing on their third album “I will not take but for an answer” and also did the 21010 Ursus Minor October and August French Tours along with Boots Riley.

Desdamona “The Comeback”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TuCdehkcjY

Desdamona “The Source”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iC-K9eDAJ4

Desdamona ‘I Don’t Stop’

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

Desdamona “Get By”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWelD-DmsLs

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News, 3 Dope songs, 500 Females page Tagged With: B-Girl Be, Desdamona, female emcee, Minneapolis, The source

500 Female Emcees: Meet Audry Funk from Mexico

February 15, 2014 By mrDaveyd

Audry Funk is from Puebla, Mexico and considered one of the most representative emcees in the country. She’s put in more than 8 years on the independent music scene. She first started out doing reggae and after a while started dabbling in HIP HOP. Her first album GREEN SOUL SYSTEM came out in the year 2006. Iin

In 2010 she was invited to join the collective WOMEN WORKING Together with other female emcees who were holding down the national scene. Since 2011 she’s been working with HIP HOP tHE BOROUGH. This year he takes out his first solo material ….

Audry Funk Kemalo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX7QrfEGAmo

Audry Funk Matices

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j9qgixo-Hg

Audry Funk Destreza Hip Hop Tatuado

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0NfInls8ZM

Audry Funk ft. Achepe La Simplicidad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzq3aJ6KvME

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News, 500 Females page Tagged With: Audry Funk, Mexican Hip Hop

500 Females Emcees: Meet Azealia Banks

February 15, 2014 By mrDaveyd

Azealia Amanda Banks was born on May 31, 1991 Her mother raised her and two older sisters in Harlem, after their father died of pancreatic cancer when she was two years old.Following her father’s death, Banks says that her mother “became really abusive – physically and verbally. Like she would hit me and my sisters with baseball bats, bang our heads up against walls, and she would always tell me I was ugly. I remember once she threw out all the food in the fridge, just so we wouldn’t have anything to eat.” Due to escalating violence, Banks moved out of her mother’s home at age 14 to live with her older sister.

At a young age Banks became interested in musical theater, acting and singing. Aged ten, she began performing in off-Broadway musicals with the Tada! Youth Theater in Lower Manhattan. She had lead roles in three productions (Rabbit Sense, Sleepover, and Heroes) in addition to performing as a soloist. Banks was trained in the performing arts at the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts in Manhattan. At the age of sixteen, Banks starred in a production of the comedy-noir musical City of Angels, where she was found by an agent and sent on auditions for TBS, Nickelodeon, and Law & Order, all without success. It was at this point that Banks decided to end her pursuit of an acting career, citing the large amount of competition and overall sense of unfulfillment as reasons for her retirement. Because of this, Banks began writing rap and R&B songs as a creative outlet. She never finished high school, instead choosing to follow her dream of becoming a recording artist.

source wikipedia

Azealia Banks No problem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tkEp91mWYo

Azealia Banks Liquorice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlWRhnYgWcc

Azealia Banks Yung Rapunxel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdCGptVzqVU

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News, 500 Females page Tagged With: 500 Females emcees, Azealia Banks

3 Dope songs from LA Rapper Ak’sent

February 14, 2014 By mrDaveyd

Ak’Sent aka Krystle Kantrece Johnson is from LA..I remember when she first hit the scene around ’05, ’06, she looked like she was ready to be that main person everyone was checking for.. But then she disappeared.. Not sure what happened, but her music was dope and as an emcee she was up there..

Her father is of African-American descent, while her mother is of Mexican descent. Ak’Sent grew up quickly thanks to a rough childhood. Her father was an aspiring rapper caught up in the gang lifestyle and was killed in a gang shooting when she was four years old, and with her mother unable to support her on her own, she was sent to live with her grandparents in South Central, Los Angeles.

Ak’Sent was signed to Capitol Records when she was only 16. Since then she has worked with a number of well-known professionals such as The Jugganauts, DJ Quik, & Beenie Man.

Ak’Sent aims to avoid the glorification of violence and prefers to think of Hip-Hop as a form of “street poetry.” Her first album, International, was released on September 26, 2006. She released her second album Gem-In-I under the Avex label. It was released on July 16, 2008 in Japan only. She is currently recording her third album and a mixtape.

Although Ak’Sent signed to a major label when she was only 16 years old, her African-American/Latino background had her wondering where to fit in. Adding to her challenges, rap music wasn’t allowed in her grandparent’s house, but as Ak’Sent learned more about her father’s hip-hop aspirations, she decided she should carry on in his honor. She eventually spent time in several R&B-based girl groups and began dance training with Debbie Allen. One showcase at the age of 16 had the young multi-talent signed to Capitol and working with the production duo The Jugganauts. Ak’Sent was especially excited about the Caribbean-styled beats the Jugganauts were working on, and soon she was writing a series of dancehall numbers. One was the future hit “Zingy“, featuring guest star Beenie Man, who Ak’Sent herself had chosen because she was a huge fan. Her debut International landed in 2006 with a Spanish-language remix of “Zingy” and an ode to her departed father titled “My Life“.

source wikipedia.. for more info on Ak’sent go to http://www.aksent.com/

Ak’sent ‘The Bomb’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Izg4mcWrzTY

Ak’sent ‘Bounce’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXOKk3HC1Y0

Ak’sent ‘I Hate Love’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SauqNhpOm8

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News, 3 Dope songs, 500 Females page Tagged With: ak'sent, Hip Hop, Hip hop music, Music

3 Dope Songs from Alia Sharrief Repping East Sacramento

February 14, 2014 By mrDaveyd

Finally hip hop heads can rejoice in the emergence of Alia Sharrief. Hailing from East Sacramento and now living in the Bay Area, she is well-known throughout California, and now internationally. Alia’s message stresses that she is more than an image. She is #newfemalehiphop. New art. New revolution.

Remembering Malcolm X’s Long Connection to Hip Hop

February 14, 2014 By mrDaveyd

In the aftermath of the firestorm Nicki Minaj caused soiling the image of Malcolm X El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) by using him as a marketing tool for her new song ‘Lookin’ Ass Nigga‘, we wanted to take some time out to remind people of the long history our Black Shining Prince has with Hip Hop.

Malcolm X had such a presence in Hip Hop because he was sampled so much and his image was put in so many videos, many would remark that he was an emcee. His words of wisdom and powerful voice was a part of Hip Hop’s soundtrack and it informed us.

Those who are old enough will recall the early days of Hip Hop, before records were made, pioneering deejays like Afrika Bambaataa would rock Malcolm speeches over break beats. Not only did it sound funky but it helped raise our consciousness. For many of us it was our first introduction to him. It inspired many to pick up his autobiography which was transformative.

In all fairness it should be noted that Bam was doing what many within jazz had already started doing in terms of inserting Malcolm’s voice within their work. Many did songs that paid tribute to him.. Hip Hop had joined the circle.

In the pioneering days of Hip Hop, Malcolm’s presence was felt because many of us one of the hot spots for early Hip Hop jams was the famed Audubon Ballroom. Situated right across the street from Presbyterian Hospital on 168th and Broadway (where I was born), one could not attend a Hip Hop jam in the late 70s early 80s at the Audubon and not think of its sordid history. This was where Malcolm was assassinated (Feb 21 1965) . One could not enter that Audubon, see the huge hospital less than 100 feet away across the street and not wonder why it took over 45 minutes for the police and medics to get him inside that building after he was shot to work on saving his life..

It should also be noted that Malcolm’s presence was felt when folks picked up compilations of reissued break beats ‘Super Disco Breaks‘ on Paul Winley records. Winley also pressed up copies of Malcolm’s speeches. Many of us snatched copies of Ballot or the Bullet along with early recordings where Malcolm would spit fire. On some of the reissued speeches, Winley rearranged them to sound like press conferences. He had an announcer ask questions and than would edit in excerpts from one of Malcolm’s speeches.

Break beats and Malcolm X was the formula back in the early days. It was all crystallized in 1983 when Tommy Boy records released the song ‘No sell Out’ from drummer Keith Leblanc where bits and pieces of Malcolm were interspersed throughout the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPw85V1q7CA

During the so-called Golden era you had everyone from Poor Righteous Teachers to Paris to 3x Dope to Gang Starr to Public Enemy all rocked Malcolm samples in their songs.. KRS One mimicked the infamous Malcolm X pitcher, that Nicki Minaj soiled, where he was holding a gun looking out the window, ready to protect himself after his home had been firebombed. Many say KRS kicked things off when he featured Malcolm X in his My Philosophy video … I miss those days..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1vKOchATXs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra2JbaIcB60

Malcolm was sampled so much that he wound up being on the cover of the Source Magazine in 1990. Many forgot about that. Say what you will, the powers that be (Cointel-Pro, J Edgar Hoover, FBI) worked overtime to remove Malcolm from our collective consciousness must’ve been fuming when that happened. At the height of the crack era, Malcolm had reached young minds from the grave and was helping reshaped them..

It wasn’t too long after that Source cover that we started to not see and hear Malcolm as much. Some said it was because labels and his estate were smashing on people for sampling him and wanted to collect money if his voice was added to any record. Others said he was over exposed especially after Spike Lee‘s movie came out in 92 and folks started rocking X hats thinking it stood for the number ’10’ vs Malcolm X…

Perhaps it was a new version of cointel-pro working in overdrive to stamp out his presence once and for all and make sure he never got that far into the mainstream undistorted and un-maligned. Perhaps it’s for that reason when future generations of emcees sampled Malcolm X and did justice to his image that the songs were uncelebrated and damn near marginalized. They range from David Banner‘s Malcolm X to local artists like D’Labrie‘s It Aint EZ w/ San Quinn and Keyanna Bean to folks like DJ/ Professor Jared Ball (I Mix What I Like) taking it to another level and by editing and penning books about Malcolm X to keep his legacy in tact.. (A Lie of Reivention Correcting Manning Marable’s Malcolm X )

Maybe it was this effort to erase Malcolm that artists like Nicki Minaj felt comfortable maligning him.. She didn’t see him as a peer as was the case with past generations, but instead as dusty irrelevant relic of the past.

Nicki was pressured to remove this image and issue an apology thanks to other Hip Hop community leaders like Rosa Clemente who were outraged, still saw Malcolm as a peer and launched an online petition that garnered thousands of signatures opposing Nicki’s latest offering which many found offensive.

Here are a few other songs that were dope that came out at a time many were screaming for conscious music that evoked Malcolm and have gone unnoticed..

Killer Mike w/ Ice Cube ‘The Pressure’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKh5p8_XFFc

Akrobatik ‘Remind My Soul’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1Zle34Y4Ns

Jasiri X ‘Universal Ruler‘

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nlx2M_nnF0w

K-Hill For My People

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfhmTaf0ahI

Malcolm Meets Fort Minor Our Black Shining Prince (Davey D remix)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7o3zVD7rx0&sns=tw

Many have got it twisted in thinking Malcom X somehow softened or lightened up in his final days.. This speech given in 1965 one month before he was killed is anything but soft.. He stays sharply focused and unwavering in his fight for freedom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac3WliIKNPI

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News Tagged With: akrobatik, Audobon Ballroom, Hip Hop, Malcolm X, Nicki Minaj, Rosa clemente

5 Thumbs Down to KRON TV for their Misleading Report on Oakland Sideshows

February 13, 2014 By mrDaveyd

So yesterday KRON 4 News decided to do some cheap underhanded sleight of hand BS during their segment People Behaving Badly..where they focused on Oakland Side shows.. They lead into the segment with Pam Moore announcing they have ‘shocking new video’ and then reporter Stanley Roberts Kron kicks off the segment by describing Oakland as the Wild, Wild West.. From there viewers are treated to this ‘new’ ‘shocking’ footage..Only problem is the new footage is from 1-2 and maybe even 3 years ago..

KRON gives no context to videos to let you know if folks are from LA and other far away cities which many of the sideshow footage on YouTube clearly show..

Even though KRON ran a notice at the top of the screen that says courtesy of YouTube it was shown for less than 3 seconds while they put the KRON logo over the videos and make it seem like a reporter was actually out on the turf interviewing a young man shown in a year old video holding a gun that he shoots in the air..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvTEBYgGjvk

This side show footage shown on KRON is damn near a year old

KRON cuts that part out and leads viewers to believe that at any minute serious drama is about to jump off…We don’t know if the young man is from Oakland.. We don’t know if he’s still around since the video is a year old. We don’t know anything except KRON tried to make it look like they were the ones who did the on the spot interview vs his homie whose voice they cut out in the report..

We don’t even know why this young man was holding a gun or not too concerned about being seen on video. My take is when your friends are filming you, you’re not too concerned vs when a news reporter is filming you and intends to show it on the evening news..

KRON also doesn’t give you the context of him hanging with a number of his friends in his own neighborhood. Instead they show quick cutaway of a woman walking by looking at her cell phone and offer their own explanation about how jaded and shocking it is that she’s not alarmed by dude holding a gun..They imply that this woman was an ‘innocent bystander’ navigating the mean streets of Oakland in the ‘Wild, Wild West’ and she was in mortal danger. A quick look at the original footage shows that the woman is hanging with the crew and even gets in one of the cars.. She wasn’t ‘all into her cell phone’ as reporter Stanley Roberts asserts.. She was using her cell phone to film the cars like everyone else.

In the back you can see the ‘innocent bystander woman hanging out with the crew at the sideshow

KRON misleads viewers by juxtaposing a relatively calm and uneventful scene with footage from other sideshows that were ‘turnt up’, including age-old footage where revelers throw bottles at police cars. The scene shown reminded me of the time when folks were throwing bottles at police cars in SF after the Giants won the world series. Maybe KRON should’ve shown that since they were using 2-year-old footage anyway it could’ve added to the sense of drama and mayhem..

They edit one video on top of the other so you feel like all hell is breaking out and it all went down over this past weekend. Here’s the original clip that KRON jacks to make it look like their own.. You can see the interview about 5 minutes in..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUd9aC97Wz4

With all that being said, while KRON was busy letting you know how ‘Oakland was Behaving Badly’ by showing 2-year-old side-show footage, they neglected to head on over to SF and show how our own US Senator Diane Feinstein is behaving badly by sponsoring a bill that would essentially legalize and give the President even more power to collect data and spy on us.. It’s called the FISA Improvement Bill and was subject to a worldwide protest that involved millions this past Tuesday..

Why didn’t KRON’s Stanley Roberts bring a camera to the Senator’s office and show her bad behavior and talk about her deep pocket connections to the defense industry that seems to sway all her decision-making?

Why didn’t KRON bring camera’s over to Feinstein’s husband Richard Blum and ask him why he’s leading the charge to privatize the US Postal Service and how he’s getting lucrative government contracts to sell off Post Offices all over the country??

Elders fighting the Ellis Act in SF…

Why didn’t KRON bring camera’s over to the SF’s DA’s office this past week where folks like Lisa Tiny Gray-Garcia of Poor Magazine were confronting unscrupulous corporate backed landlords and showing how their abuse of the Ellis Act in number of instances violates state law is a form of elder abuse?? They are pushing the DA to press charges.. Maybe Roberts should be covering that vs showing year old footage and passing it off as new…You can read the story Poor Magazine did on that ran in the SF Bayview here–> http://sfbayview.com/2014/the-crime-of-ellis-act-evictions/

Lastly I hope some of our esteemed council members like Lynette Gibson McElhaney, Libby Schaaf and Desley Brooks among others push back on KRON for such a misleading report..This is not to excuse reckless behavior. There are lots of people in Oakland trying to improve things as evident by this past weekends packed out Black Male Achievement Hackathon.. what needs to be checked is reckless news reporting…5 thumbs down for KRON on that one..

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News Tagged With: KRON, Oakland, recless Reporting, Sideshows, Stanley Roberts, Wild Wild West

3 Dope Songs From Sa-Roc: A New Day is Upon Us-True Mastery

February 10, 2014 By mrDaveyd

We continue our 3 Dope Song series by shining a well deserved spotlight on the very powerful and gifted Sa-Roc who originally hails from Washington DC, and is now based in Atlanta where she reps the God-Hop Movement.

Her new joint True Mastery is the biz as she lets folks know a new day is upon us in Hip Hop.. Either come to the table with heat and get your bars up or be removed from the cipher. Sa-Roc is not playing. Check out her new album Babylon

Here’s a bit more info about this sister as noted in her bio

A product of Afrikan-centered parents, Saroc developed a rebel mentality from an early age. She grew up on the music of Jimi Hendrix, Gil Scott Heron, and Earth,Wind & Fire. Her musical soundtrack was a klash of sounds, from gogo, to rock, to hip hop. This foundation began an aural quest for different sounds and concepts in music.

It wasn’t until 2002, when Saroc met Atlanta producer Sol Messiah, that she began her love affair with the mic. Armed with the lessons and musical genius of Sol Messiah, she developed a sound that was 1 part hood poetry, 2 parts otherworldly, and totally new and fresh. From subject matter ranging from melanin to pyramids, Saroc spits metaphysical ideas over melodic hip hop beats, seeking to fuse knowledge of self with great music.

Sa-Roc – True Mastery

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq65f67_2bs