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Pioneers Step Out to Honor Disco King Mario

August 15, 2001 By
Disco King Mario

Disco King Mario

This Saturday [August 18th] Hip Hop’s pioneers will be coming out in full force to pay tribute to the memory of one of its legendary DJs who passed away a few years back-Disco King Mario. We often hear about the achievements of people like Bambaataa, Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash, but very little is said about some of the other pioneers who also laid down much of the foundation we now call Hip Hop. Cats like Pete DJ Jones, Grand Wizard Theodore, the late DJ Flowers and of course Mario were key architects.

Disco King Mario never released no records. He didn’t produce no major rap stars. I’m not even sure if he ever toured around the world once Hip Hop became known world wide. However, for those of us who were around back in the beginning days of the 70s, Disco King Mario who lived upstairs from my man DJ Paradise of X-Clan over in the Bronxdale Housing projects, was a household name. He was known for throwing some of Hip Hop’s best jams and keeping the party going. He was staple in early Hip Hop whose name and his crew Chuck Chuck City was mentioned on many of the early tapes. One of Mario’s unwritten contributions was how he gave Afrika Bambaattaa a helping hand. He used loan Bam his dj equipment. Later on Bam would face Mario in his first official DJ battle. Back in the early days it was Disco King Mario who was at the top of heap and the man to beat

Today its hard for people to understand the significance of the DJ. When Hip Hop first began it wasn’t the rapper who was in charge. It was the DJ. It was the DJ came to symbolized the African drummer. It was the DJ who kept the pace and set the tone. It was the DJ who rocked the crowd and was the supreme personality who garnered the spot light. Everyone else including the rappers were secondary. Cats from all over came to your party based upon who was deejaying. Hence when Disco King Mario‘s name was mentioned cats came from all over because he was the man. He was the type of cat who simply had that magic and command of the crowd. Sadly he passed away before his time, unknown to many of today’s bling bling artists who benefit from the culture he helped laid down.

Chuck Chuck City flyerIf you happen to be in New York, you may see a flyer being circulated around that is reminiscent of the old school flyers from back in the days. ‘By Popular demand DJ Cool Clyde, Lightnin Lance, The Nasty Cuzins, Quiet Az Kept Present their first annual Old School Reunion & Picnic’. It lets you know that the celebration for Disco King Mario is taking place Saturday August 18th at Rosedale ‘Big Park’ in the Bronx. The Big Park itself is legendary. When I was a kid living on Croes Avenue, we were absolutely forbidden to go across the street to the Big Park. That was because the Big Park was where many of many of the early Black Spades used to hang out. The Spades at that time were the largest and most notorious gang at that time. They eventually evolved to become The Mighty Zulu Nation. As for the Big Park, it eventually became the place where Disco King Mario would eventually throw many of his early gigs.

This Saturday, there will be performances by the Cold Crush Brothers, DJ Charlie Chase, DJ Tony Tone, The Crash Crew, Afrika Bambaataa, DJ Jazzy Jay, The Soul Sonic Force, Kool Herc and the Herculords, Jazzy 5, Prince Ikey C, Kool DJ AJ and Busy Bee Starsky. Also on point will be Grand Master DST, Chuck Chillout, DJ Red Alert, Mr Magic and Grandmaster Flash. This is an event not to miss. More importantly Disco King Mario is a man not to forget! For more info holla at my man Big Jeff at 917-644-3233 or Cool Clyde at 917-954-9049

Filed Under: Hip Hop History Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rap COINTELPRO VIII: Jada Vs Beanie and Suge’s Release

August 10, 2001 By
Cedric Muhammad

Cedric Muhammad

Yesterday, August 9, 2001, on Power 99 FM’s Dream Team morning show, Jadakiss repeatedly stated that he did not say what Shaheem Reid and The Source magazine quoted him as saying about Philadelphia in their July issue. Jadakiss also repeatedly said, over the air, that when he sees him in the future he fully intended to “smack the writer” of the article in The Source, that many now claim is responsible for sparking the tensions between Jadakiss and Beanie Siegel and Jadakiss and Philadelphia and for portraying trivial private problems rooted in competition between Roc-A-Fella and Ruff Ryders, as a growing feud.

Some people were defensive and offended when we wrote over the past month that The Source was being reckless and irresponsible in what it did in attempting to hype up the comments allegedly made by Jadakiss in the article. We outright stated that the manner in which they positioned Jadakiss’ quote was a deliberate attempt to grab the attention of the casual reader and intrigue them with the possibility that Jadakiss and Jay-Z were feuding. We also talked about the possibility that we believed that the writer of the story, Shaheem Reid, deliberately worked to pit Jadakiss and Beanie Siegel against each other. In our June 29th Hip-Hop Fridays article we wrote:

“But you can tell that this reporter, Shaheem Reid, was desperate to have his article break the news of this supposed “Jay-Z- Jadakiss beef”. If you read his quotes you can almost literally see him tripping over himself running to the phone to call Beanie Sigel to tell him what Jadakiss allegedly said to him about Philly.”

If we were wrong then who was the intermediary between Jadakiss and Beanie in reference to what Jadakiss allegedly said? Who told Beanie what Jadakiss allegedly said, if not Shaheem Reid or an editor of The Source?

Jadakiss

Jadakiss

Jadakiss repeatedly told Wendy Williams and the members of The Dream Team that he did not say what The Source quotes him as saying. He was asked several times by different members of the morning show, from different angles, and the answer, from Jadakiss, was always the same: he did not say what was quoted. He also added that he does not mince his words, if he said what said he did he would be the first to admit it. He made clear that it is his view that the writer of the article lied about the truth of his (Jadakiss’s) words.

Now, if Jadakiss is right, then all of this goes back to our opinion that rap magazines are as vulnerable to the spirit, tactics and practices of the FBI’s COINTELPRO today as they were 35 years ago. It is a demonstrated fact that the FBI planted stories; fed reporters lies and misinformation about people; positioned photographs and headlines in order to make certain pieces of information stand out and easier to digest; and misquoted individuals. All with the goal of discrediting and disrupting individuals and organizations and sparking envy, jealousy and civil wars between organizations with similar missions. This is a fact which we wrote about and provide the clear evidence of in our RAPCOINTELPRO series

We are not saying that Shaheem Reid is an FBI agent. We don’t know Shaheem Reid or what goes into Shaheem Reid’s writing. But we know that whatever the cause of his writing, the effect was that it contributed to sparking and escalating a potential conflict, that could have turned violent between Jadakiss and Beanie Siegel and even between Yonkers, New York (where Kiss is from) and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (where Beans is from).

Victims quite often could care less about the cause or effect of harm done to them – they are often in so much pain or so unaware of what has happened to them.

Akiba Solomon

Akiba Solomon

Akiba Solomon, editor-at-large of The Source, took exception with this part of what we wrote on June 29th:

“The Source in many ways is like the CIA or FBI doing intelligence work among groups they want to destroy. They like to throw the rock into the crowd and then hide their hand. When ill feelings, envy, resentment and feuds are fed by articles that they print in their magazine and people point the finger at them, The Source takes the attitude of “Who, Me?”. They express concern about ending violence in Hip-Hop and then they run stories that pit one rapper against the other. Even if they aren’t outright agents of the government sent to destroy Hip-Hop, the effect is the same. So, what is the real difference between a paid agent and one who does the same work for the sake of magazine sales and advertising revenue?”

But how is what we wrote inappropriate, especially in light of the fact that Jadakiss denies saying what The Source said he did? And in light of the fact that The Source deliberately lifted Jadakiss’ quote in a manner that would make the reader think that Jadakiss had a problem with Jay-Z? On June 29th we wrote:

The interesting part about the Jadakiss article is that they place in the center of one of the pages, the quote that they attribute to Jadakiss supposedly about Jay-Z. That quote, lifted and put front and center in bold-print is designed to catch the attention of people who rapidly flip through the pages. It is deliberate..

Anyone who doubts this should grab a copy of the July 10th issue of The Source and look at the lifted quote for themselves. Several of our viewers told us that the quote was positioned so well and so prominently that it caught their attention as they were skimming through the magazine with no intention at all of reading the Jadakiss feature article.

Now, we do not hold Jadakiss and Beanie Siegel blameless. It is obvious that both artists, especially Jadakiss tried to turn the rumors, controversy and tension to their benefit by making freestyles on mix tapes dissing each other. They attempted to use the dangerous innuendo thrown into the water by The Source as a marketing ploy. They both figured that the controversy would help both of them sell albums. This is misguided and dangerous. And eventually both sides realized this. But they should have never used the appearance of two Brothers fighting each other as a marketing strategy. Both the executives of Roc-A-Fella and Ruff Ryders should not have risked injury and lives, including that of their respective artists, for the sake of extra record sales

And we do not think that it is appropriate or wise for Jadakiss to state that he intends to “smack the writer” of the article. If Shaheem Reid is responsible for falsely attributing comments to Jadakiss then we certainly can understand where Jadakiss is coming from and how he feels. Put yourself in his shoes. If what he says happened to him, was your experience, you too would probably want to “smack the writer”. But although your feelings may be justified, your actions would not be, in our opinion.

writer Shaheem Reid

writer Shaheem Reid

But even if it is true that Shaheem Reid did what he did, Jadakiss would only be giving Shaheem Reid and the ill-motivations of The Source, power over his bright future if he were to do what he says he will. By “smacking the writer” Jadakiss would be guaranteeing that he becomes the victim of the lies that were written about him.

On the other hand, we have not heard Shaheem Reid’s side of the story and until we do, we will reserve judgment on whether or not he outright lied on Jadakiss.

What we would advise Jadakiss to do, if what he says about what happened is true, is 1) never give The Source another interview again 2) ask Ruff Ryders to pull all of its advertising dollars out of The Source 3) Demand a public written apology from The Source and Shaheem Reid within a month 4) And if Shaheem Reid or The Source does not write an apology, Jadakiss should use every opportunity he gets in promoting his new album “Kiss The Game Goodbye” on television, cable and radio to call for a boycott of The Source.

That is much more effective than smacking the hell out of a writer, who may or may not have been manipulated or urged on to do what he or she did by editors and publishers.

Beanie Sigel

Beanie Sigel

Surely, Jadakiss right now, has just about more influence and attention than any other rapper in the game. If he wanted to, in effect, shut The Source down, he could do so almost single-handedly. He surely could do it if he and Ruff Ryders enlisted the help of Beanie Siegel and Roc-A-Fella in the effort. Instead of “uniting” to sell records by using a dangerous controversy popularized by a major magazine, perhaps both camps could “unite” and start a boycott of the major magazine responsible for much of the problem. That is much more constructive than violence on a journalist.

But surely any reasonable person can understand where Jadakiss is coming from, to an extent. If Jadakiss is correct and “the writer” lied on him, then his life (Jadakiss) was placed in danger by that lie. For a writer to falsely pit a rapper against an entire city, full of true die-hard Hip-Hop fans like those in Philly, is the height of wickedness.

At the very least The Source has some very serious questions to answer and Jadakiss can help all of us to get those answers if he reacts in a wise fashion or in the manner of a “boss” and “businessman” – the roles he publicly emphasizes that he is fulfilling every day. Anyone who has met him or heard him speak knows that Jadakiss has the necessary mind, eloquence, charisma and access to financial resources to deal with Shaheem Reid and the entire matter with the more wisdom than that which is embodied in an impulsive act of violence.

But again, if Jadakiss is right, then every Hip-Hop fan should feel the seriousness of the moment as well as the full extent of the “journalism crisis” in Hip-Hop that we have written about.

In addition, or rather, in light of the media’s role in hyping and circulating the Jadakiss-Beanie Siegel controversy, everyone should begin to seriously question the motive(s) surrounding the mainstream media’s recent interest in Suge Knight and the murders of Biggie and Tupac. Why haven’t the Hip-Hop media challenged what the mainstream media has been doing in its obviously wickedly motivated, and fallacious and flawed attempt to link Suge to the murder of Biggie through the recent Rolling Stone article and VH-1 documentary? What is it that makes the major Hip-Hop magazines silent, indolent and lethargic on this issue and many others that can spark violence in Hip-Hop?

Suge Knight

Suge Knight

As we have written now for several months, the combination of the silence, duplicity and innuendo of the Hip-Hop media establishment, in combination with other factors, has created the atmosphere for harm to be done to Suge Knight and for the blame for such to be placed on the shoulders of other rap artists. Why is this so hard to recognize? Hasn’t anybody noticed the angle being pushed in the litany of Suge Knight interviews in the mainstream media like MTV and Access Hollywood? It is obvious that specific questions are being asked and the cameras are rolling for reasons well beyond the legitimate news story that Suge Knight has been released from jail.

In these interviews you can literally see Suge Knight wrestling with his desire to promote records, improve his image and express his obvious joy to be free from jail as well as some bitterness that he feels, as he simultaneously works to avoid the traps, pitfalls and mischief making of those who are asking the questions. Suge knows that those people who are interviewing him are largely wickedly motivated and are mainly (not entirely) interested in getting him to say something about another rapper or individual(s) so that they can say that a rap war has been started or reignited. They also want him to implicate himself in crime(s) that he has repeatedly said he has not committed.

But is Suge making the same mistake that Jadakiss made in attempting to enlist a wickedly motivated media and volatile controversy in an attempt to sell records? Is such a strategy really successful, in the long-term, or does it actually shorten careers and lives? Or, better yet, have those in the media and the government who are working to destroy Hip-Hop, already factored in the powerful desire of Suge and rappers like Jadakiss to sell records into their (the media and government) plans to destroy Hip-Hop and spark controversy and violence?

Are the profit motive, marketing efforts and publicity campaigns serving a larger effort aimed at destroying Hip-Hop and the influence it is having on the world’s youth?

Is the desire for attention, publicity and profits on the part of Hip-Hop artists and executives a weakness being used by publications like The Source, Rolling Stone, MTV and VH-1, for example?

And specifically what about the massive attention that Newsweek magazine and The Imus In The Morning program have given to Suge Knight’s release? What is their motive? How do appearances on such shows and interviews with such publications, which disrespect Hip-Hop, serve Hip-Hop?

No matter how you look at it, Suge’s release and the Jadakiss-Beanie Siegel controversy have placed Hip-Hop at a fork in the road and in the beginning stages of its greatest test, ever.

Will we be able to pass the test without the unnecessary shedding of blood and loss of life?

http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=401

Cedric Muhammad

Friday, August 10, 2001

Filed Under: archive articles, Rap Cointelpro Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Rap COINTELPRO PtVII: The VH1 Biggie Documentary

July 13, 2001 By
cedricmuhammed2

Cedric Muhammad

To those who have been following our RapCOINTELPRO series, it should not have come as any surprise the direction taken and innuendo dropped during the VH1 documentary, aired last Sunday, on the Notorious B.I.G.

Basically, the documentary was the video version of the Rolling Stone article that we wrote about in part 6 of this series, where the murder of Biggie was concerned. We won’t revisit our numerous questions regarding the Rolling Stones article, which you can review via our search feature, except to emphasize one very important point.

That point is: Why are VH 1, Rolling Stone Magazine and the primary source of information, former LAPD detective Russell Poole, not focusing their investigation at the scene of the crime? We have spoken to some of our BlackElectorate.com viewers, individuals who work in law-enforcement, who totally agree with our assessment that it makes absolutely no sense to center an investigation into Biggie’s murder around who attended the party that he was at before he was murdered. This is especially true since it is a known fact by the LAPD, Rolling Stone magazine and members of the mainstream and Hip-Hop media that at the very moment that Biggie was murdered, he and Puffy’s vehicles were being trailed by federal agents and members of the NYPD. Russell Poole knows this as well. Why didn’t VH1 spend even as a little as one second on that fact?

Members of Biggie’s entourage were shown photographs of vehicles trailing their cars by law enforcement officers and were shocked to know that at the time of Biggie’s murder they were being followed by federal agents and undercover cops. None of this was explored during the documentary.

Instead, VH 1 worked, even harder than Rolling Stone reporter Randall Sullivan to link Amir Muhammad and David Mack to the murder of Biggie. But their presentation was so weak. All they could muster was that someone saw both of the men at the party before Biggie was murdered. That is all.

And more importantly, VH 1, like Rolling Stone, did not mention the fact that an L.A. Times reporter and Brill’s Content magazine impressively argued against the Amir Muhammad theory last year. We wrote about that as well in our series.

The Hip-Hop community should really be pondering some serious questions in light of this VH1 documentary. Here are a few just for starters:

Notorious BIG orange1) Why has it taken VH 1 5 years to do a documentary on Biggie? Why now?

2) Isn’t there something peculiar about the fact that the Rolling Stone Magazine issue that centers on the murder of Biggie has the enormously popular WWF superstar, the Rock, on the cover? The Rock is incredibly popular among Black and Latino youth and the Hip-Hop generation as well as several rappers. Those who are familiar with COINTELPRO should know that all types of work went into positioning and marketing planted articles. It is obvious that the Rock on the cover, just below the bold headline about Biggie’s murder was designed to attract the attention of a slew of Hip-Hop fans.

3) Why is all of this attention into Biggie’s murder, which feverishly works to implicate Suge Knight, dropping in the public only months before the scheduled release of Suge from jail? Does the LAPD, NYPD, FBI and ATF, all of whom had Death Row and Bad Boy under surveillance over the last 6 years have something planned upon Suge Knight’s release? Are they deliberately creating an atmosphere, at least, that will result in harm being done to Suge, in the name of a rap feud?

Maybe the saddest thing about all of this is that now the grief of Biggie’s beautiful mother, is being used to provide a boost to the theories offered by Rolling Stone and VH 1.

It is obvious that the NYPD and federal government, who were following Biggie, the night he was murdered, are being “protected” by the angle offered by Russel Poole, VH 1 and Rolling Stone magazine. Their hand is being hidden. It is as if the LAPD and Death Row are being used as a buffer to keep people from following a trail that leads back to New York City and the FBI and ATF. Why?

Hopefully, we will lean the lessons of history so that we don’t have to repeat them.

http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=363

Cedric Muhammad

Friday, July 13, 2001

Filed Under: archive articles, Rap Cointelpro Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Rap COINTELPRO Pt VI: Is The Murder of Biggie Setting Up a Civil War In Hip-Hop ?

July 13, 2001 By
Cedric Muhammad

Cedric Muhammad

Note: The Rolling Stone.com online version of the “The Murder Of Notorious B.I.G.” is only an excerpt from the full article which appears in the hard copy

After reading the feature article in the June 7th issue of Rolling Stone Magazine, “The Murder Of The Notorious B.I.G.” we suggest that the Hip-Hop community and industry brace itself for some serious mischief making. The publication of this article and the time of its appearance, which coincides with the news that the NYPD has Hip-Hop artists under surveillance has us just about convinced that something sinister is going on with the FBI, LAPD, NYPD and media outlets that looks just like the COINTELPRO of the 1960s and 70s and which may manifest violently this summer. In light of recent events, the stage has now been set, enough seeds have been dropped and a cover story written for a civil war in Hip-Hop and inside of the Black and Latino community that would involve East Coast Rappers, West Coast rappers, Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings and the Nation of Islam and which would serve the ultimate objective of the U.S. government’s phony war on drugs and gangs.

By far, this article is the most extensive, in terms of innuendo, rumor-mongering and potentially slander and libel that we have seen since we began writing this series about our belief that the Hip-Hop community and industry are the object of a destabilizing effort that bears a startling resemblance to the FBI-coordinated efforts to discredit, neutralize and destabilize Black organizations. In that effort everything from surveillance, informants, planted evidence and newspaper articles were used to destroy organizations and their reputations from within and in the court of public opinion.

Det Russell Poole

Det Russell Poole

This article in Rolling Stone, which relies heavily upon the account of a single LAPD officer, Russell Poole, works to pin the murder of the Notorious B.I.G. on Suge Knight and a group of LAPD officers. This is the second time that a media outlet has attempted to do this. The first effort began in early 1999 but was unsuccessful in large part due to articles printed in Brill’s Content and the work of another reporter who writes for the LA Times who poked numerous holes in the theory.

SugeKnight-cigar-225The Rolling Stone article, even though it acknowledges that the first effort to link Suge Knight with the murder of Biggie had some very serious problems with it spends not so much as a whole paragraph detailing how Brill’s Content and the second LA Times reporter poked wholes in the initial theory. Instead, Rolling Stone writer Randall Sullivan spends tens of thousands of words dropping seeds and speculating that Suge Knight, some LAPD officers and an individual named Amir Muhammad were involved in the murder of Biggie.

Sullivan very deviously and slyly works to even connect the murder with the Nation Of Islam, an effort that actually publicly began within hours of the shooting, by emphasizing the reports and police sketch indicating that the shooter wore a bow tie. Sullivan then states that Amir Muhammad and David Mack, one of the off-duty officers allegedly involved in the murder of Biggie, claimed to be Muslims.

Regardless to what their faith may be we find it especially peculiar that Sullivan and Rolling Stone, in thousands of words of writing, only make one reference to the second LA Times reporter who debunks the association of Amir Muhammad with the murder of Biggie. They only mention it briefly but do nothing to explain how the reporter saw through the loose reporting of his fellow reporter who first put in print the theory that Suge Knight, LAPD officers and Amir Muhammad were behind the shooting.

One of the more interesting things that comes out of the Rolling Stone article is that the reporter reveals how the government and the LAPD infiltrated Death Row Records as well as businesses connected with Suge Knight. They even make reference to a probe of Death Row Records and Suge Knight, which was/is being run out of the U.S. Justice Department.

But by far, the most interesting aspect to the story is that while it makes numerous efforts to pin the murder of Biggie on Suge Knight it drops some very peculiar information that seems to indicate that people way above Suge Knight and off-duty LA police officers have knowledge of who is actually behind Biggie’s murder.

Sullivan writes:

diddy flowers-225“One week after Russell Poole took over the Biggie Smalls murder investigation, the media learned that as many as a dozen law-enforcement officers had been on the scene when Smalls was shot to death. Six cops had been working for Smalls that night. The rapper was being shadowed as well by an assortment of undercover officers from the New York Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The New York cops believed that the same man who shot Tupac Shakur at Quad Studios had killed by one of their off-duty officers and might still be working for either Puffy Combs or Biggie Smalls. The ATF officers were part of a federal task force investigating allegations that employees of Death Row Records were involved in money laundering and the sale of stolen weapons.”

It is interesting that Sullivan leaves out the fact that the officers that followed Biggie’s car as he was killed were able to show members of Biggie’s entourage actual pictures of cars and individuals taken while they were following Biggie. That information shocked the members of Biggie’s entourage who were totally unaware that the government and NYPD cops were following them. This was reported in the LA Times, why didn’t Rolling Stone and Randall Sullivan indicate that in their article?

And why does Sullivan rely almost exclusively on information and sources within the LAPD when he knows that NYPD officers and ATF agents were following Biggie at the exact moment that he was shot? We think in light of that fact it would be incumbent on any reporter worth two cents to follow up that angle. If the NYPD and government agents had a birds’ eye view of Biggie’s murder why all of the emphasis on the LAPD?

LAPDWhy would a supposedly enterprising reporter like Sullivan not work his investigation from the actual scene of the shooting? Why do we have so much information in his article about people at the party that Biggie attended before the shooting where “Muslim-looking” individuals and off-duty police officers connected to Death Row were seen, and so little information about the government agents and undercover NYPD officers following Biggie’s car when he was shot?

To ignore the scene of the crime as Sullivan does, when information is available, is a sign of horrific reporting, at best.

Unless… the Rolling Stone article is part of the cover story being written not by Rolling Stone but through Rolling Stone, by the government, with the help of editors and a willful or ignorant reporter, Randall Sullivan, to pin the murder of Biggie on Suge Knight, off-duty LAPD officers and others in order to serve a larger purpose with implications on the Hip-Hop and Black communities.

The FBI and CIA, for years, used reporters and editors to influence stories and even plant stories in mainstream media sources that were uncomplimentary to various groups.

Notorious BIG DiddyA basic reading of the story indicates that Sullivan directly or indirectly was fed information from people in the U.S. government who have been watching Death Row and Bad Boy Records and who work with the LAPD and NYPD. No one can reasonably refute that from the manner in which Sullivan quotes unnamed sources and weaves in information into his story that had to have been given to him by the government itself, or through others in touch with the FBI or Justice Department.

The most striking aspect of the article which makes us believe that the story at least has been crafted, is that after spending the entire emphasis on the article and tens of thousands of words on making the LAPD the entire focus of the article, Sullivan turns his attention to the reality that the FBI is now working on an effort with the help of a Los Angeles jail inmate to connect Suge Knight with the murder of Biggie. The effort is not lightweight, according to Sullivan.

Our question for Sullivan’s reporting is: if the FBI has been investigating Biggie’s murder all along, why does he place the entire emphasis of his story on the LAPD and its investigation of the murder?

Even Sullivan’s primary source, Russell Poole, who evidently has knowledge of the FBI’s investigation, is quoted by Sullivan as saying, “The FBI has something big cooking…”

David Mack LAPD

David Mack LAPD

For Sullivan to leave out the NYPD, ATF, the Brill’s Content and LA Times articles which contradict the alleged Suge Knight, David Mack, Amir Muhammad connection with the murder of Biggie; and for Sullivan to leave out the FBI’s investigation into the murder, until the end of his lengthy piece, results in his writing and willful omissions fitting rather nicely with whatever the FBI is “cooking”.

Why is all of this information coming out now, on the eve of Suge Knight’s release from jail?

Has the government, law enforcement agencies and informants in the Hip-Hop industry/community planned something even bigger that puts not even Suge Knight’s life in danger, upon his exit from jail, but the entire Hip-Hop community and sectors of the Black community?

What kind of atmosphere is being created by the Rolling Stone article, media outlets like Newsweek, MSNBC (particularly the Imus in the Morning Show) hyping up Suge Knight’s release from prison, and what of the hidden efforts of the Justice Department, FBI, ATF, NYPD and LAPD – including these law enforcement agencies’ ongoing investigations focusing on Hip-Hop artists and record labels?

How does all of this relate to the recent revelation that the NYPD now has the entire Hip-Hop community under surveillance? And what about the recent arrest of Jay-Z while under surveillance by the NYPD’s Street Crime Fighting Unit and his reported feud with Jayo Felony, a rapper from LA who is said to be a Crip?

Who would benefit from a war in the Black community involving East Coast rappers, West Coast Rappers, Suge Knight, Puffy, Bloods, Crips, and even the Nation Of Islam – all of whom, through innuendo, are made to look like criminals in the Rolling Stone piece?

Fasten your seat belts.

http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=92

Cedric Muhammad

Friday, June 01, 2001

Filed Under: archive articles, Rap Cointelpro Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rap COINTELPRO PtV…The NYPD Zeros In On Hip-Hop

April 27, 2001 By
Cedric Muhammad

Cedric Muhammad

The news out this week that the New York Police Department (NYPD) has been specifically watching the Hip-Hop community should come as no surprise to those of you who are regular readers of our “Hip-Hop Fridays” columns. For nearly a year now, we have been writing about the documented relationship between the FBI, local law enforcement and the media in the 1960s and 1970s and comparing that relationship with its real and potential counterpart today, in reference to the Hip-Hop industry. Any skepticism for what we have been arguing should have been swept away by Jay-Z’s arrest two weeks ago, by the NYPD street crime unit, and by this week’s admission from the NYPD, that its gang intelligence unit has been monitoring Hip-Hop artists and the nightspots that they and their fans frequent.

Having said that we hope that no one is really so naïve as to believe the NYPD’s explanation of their activities, that they are doing what they are, to protect Hip-Hop artists. We argue to the contrary and believe that their explained efforts to “serve and protect” the Hip Hop industry is a cover story, or a front to really arrest Hip-Hop artists on gang, drug and racketeering charges. This has been their aim for some time now.

To be sure, there are certainly a few who may be guilty of crimes. But a full-scale monitoring of an entire industry, in its biggest city, is evidence of more than good police work. After all, if drugs and gangs are what they are after, the police would be better staking out raves, heavy metal concerts and the homes of Rock artists in search of heroin, cocaine and ecstasy drug use, as well as ties to organized crime.

Black-Panthers-Huey-Bobby-brownFar from an effort to save rap artists, the effort is an indication of a return to the FBI’s Counter Intelligence Program – a program that was aimed at organizations like the Nation Of Islam, the 5% Nation Of Islam, the Black Panthers, SCLC and SNCC. Interestingly, two of the biggest files that the FBI kept during COINTELPRO, were its files on the NOI and the 5 Percenters – the two communities that arguably have had more impact on Hip-Hop than any other.

So now, an entire music industry joins that rarified air, previously the domain of activist and progressive organizations and those concerned with political consciousness, social change and community development. Now, that we have established this fact, we hope that the Hip-Hop community in general, and Hip-Hop artists in particular, are prepared for what awaits them and what has already been happening to them. We hope that they are prepared for their telephone lines to be tapped; their vehicles and homes to be bugged; agents to be placed within their organizations; their friends turned into government informants; letters and communications attributed to them, and even their forged signatures attached to such, without their knowledge; conflicts started between rivals and competitors; lies and half-truths about them planted in various media outlets, and yes, even violent action taken against them.

Every one of these acts, and much, much more were performed in COINTELPRO, with the help of the FBI and local police departments. In order to get an idea of how extensive the FBI’s efforts were, and for evidence of what we have described above, one should visit the FBI’s reading room, in person or online. foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex.htm .

photo credit: Panther 1619

photo credit: Panther 1619

You maybe surprised at some of the names the FBI has in its file index as part of COINTELPRO or other surveillance programs. The list includes several celebrities www.fbi-files.com/celebrities/index.html who the Bureau feared could move the public in ways counter to the desired direction of the status quo. Many of the most famous were White actors. The same fear exists today for Hip-hop artists who may have the most loyal fans in all of the entertainment industry.

The NYPD’s program is already being described as illegal and unconstitutional. Many believe that the program represents “profiling” – a practice that is increasingly coming under fire. It will be interesting to see if civil libertarians or the liberals and progressives which dominate the industry will come to the aid of the Hip-Hop community and defend them from what at the very least, is a massive invasion of privacy and at the most, an act of war.

We advise that Hip-hop artists should not be surprised to find little support from the labels that employ their services. For years, several record executives have been handing over marketing plans and providing information on a variety of artists to federal law enforcement officials. And on the local level, we know of at least two record label executives who have silent alarm buttons in their offices that connect them to the NYPD, in the case of an emergency or violent altercation. Of course these record label execs have their own artists in mind as the likely perpetrators of aggression.

Which leads us to a final point. If the Hip-Hop community is going to avoid the mistakes that the targets of COINTELPRO previously made, they will have to 1) begin to question their “friendships” with record label executives, lawyers and business managers who seem to have no problem providing privileged information to law enforcement officers 2) compare notes with one another 3) discontinue their recently increased leaning toward public disputes, 4) End any activities that can be construed as illegal and 5) they must seek ways to peacefully resolve conflicts and unite.

That is a tall order for rappers with enormous egos, and a disrespect for history, but if lives are to be saved today, a major change in the thinking of Hip-Hop artists and some of their fans must take place, in a hurry.

In light of the NYPD’s new program, if anybody can’t see what is happening by now, we don’t know what else will get their attention, before it is too late.

The more things change the more they stay the same. Hip-Hop…meet COINTELPRO.

http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=34

Cedric Muhammad

Friday, April 27, 2001

Filed Under: archive articles, Rap Cointelpro Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Rap COINTELPRO Pt 4: DEA vs Rap-A-Lot, Scarface & James Prince

December 8, 2000 By

Cedric Muhammad

For the past two days I have attended Congressional hearings on the Drug Enforcement Agency‘s (DEA) Investigation of Rap-A-Lot Records. While the hearings were called by Republican members of the House Committee on Government in an effort to provide evidence or to imply through innuendo that Rep. Maxine Waters and even Vice-President Al Gore intervened to slow or end a DEA investigation of James Prince, the head of Rap-A-Lot records, some of the most striking information revealed in the hearings was the extent to which the federal government had placed federal informants in not just Rap-A-Lot Records but throughout Houston’s 5th Ward section.

The federal government, with the help of the Houston Police Department, infiltrated Houston’s Fifth ward in a manner that can only be classified as military in nature. For at least 8 years, the DEA and Houston Police Department worked aggressively to form an intelligence network that would result in the conviction of James Prince and the shutting down of Rap-A-Lot records. It was also revealed in the hearings that the DEA has over 300 DEA agents in Houston alone and when combined with the Houston Police Department task force currently has over 400 people working the city in the “War on Drugs” effort.

Depending upon whose testimony you rely upon the DEA investigation of Rap-A Lot records began in early 1992 and possibly 1988 when two large cocaine busts were made. The DEA claims that since that time 20 arrests were made in connection with the investigation, with convictions ranging from drug use and sales to murder.

But in over 8 years the investigation never produced proof that the intended target, James Prince, formerly known as James Smith, was guilty of any suspected crimes.

James Prince Rap-A-Lot Records

During the hearings, DEA Special Agent In Charge Of The Houston Field Office, Ernest L. Howard spoke of the great effort and energy expended to attract and groom informants from Houston’s inner cities to be of help in the investigation. Agent Howard explained how difficult it was to “infiltrate the 5th Ward” and that the investigation made “no progress from 1992-1997” until the government began to have success in its efforts to recruit informants in the 5th Ward and inside of the Rap-A-Lot organization.

And Agent Howard left little doubt that the government was looking to use its informants and its intelligence network to build a case that would not only lead to the arrest of James Prince but would which would also shut Rap-A-Lot down, as a business enterprise.

And the manner in which the DEA hoped to do this was made clear during the investigation: the government hoped to get James Prince in jail and to shut the legitimate business activities of Rap-A-Lot records down under the Racketeering In Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) which allows the government to associate entire organizations/businesses with the criminal activities of its members.

RICO is the ultimate guilt-by-association statute in the federal government’s arsenal, which allows it to link the activities of executives with those of employees and individuals with that of corporations.

“The only way that we were going to get the target (James Prince) of this investigation was through a conspiracy”, Agent Howard stated during the hearings.

Agent Howard then offered that there were two individuals affiliated with Rap-A-Lot records which they hoped to arrest and/or turn into informants who would be “key to proving a conspiracy”.

A letter was also released during the hearings written by James B. Nims, Group Supervisor in the DEA, to Rep. Dan Burton (R-In), chairman of the Committee on Government Reform which revealed that multi-platinum artist, Scarface, was a significant target of the DEA investigation and that the DEA was working to get Scarface to turn against James Prince.

In the letter Nims writes to Burton:

“In regards to the US Attorney’s Office, we could not convince them to indict Brad Jordan, AKA “Scarface”, even though I strongly believe we had him tied in solidly on a federal drug conspiracy charge. This was devastating to the case as we felt that Brad Jordan could have provided us with important leads and information regarding Mr. Smith.”

Many close to the investigation say that an indictment against Scarface never occurred because the evidence against him was so weak and that the DEA was willing to do almost anything to pressure Scarface in an effort to get him to become an informant.

The reason that Rep. Maxine Waters was the focus of committee hearings was because of the fact that Rep. Waters wrote a letter to Attorney General Janet Reno in August of 1999, after Prince sought her help, fearing that his life was in danger due to the DEA /Houston Police Department investigation.

Rep. Waters wrote the letter which reflected her commitment to issues of civil rights violations, unlawful search and seizures, racial profiling and police brutality.

Prince especially believed that one of the officers on the case, Jack Schumacher, was harassing him and Rap-A-Lot in a manner that could have led to Prince’s death.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters

Rep. Waters asked Reno to give the matter her full consideration and attention. Republicans believed that Rep. Maxine Waters’ letter to Reno resulted in the investigation against Rap-A-Lot ending.

The reason that Al Gore’s name entered the hearings was because in March of 2000 Gore visited a popular Houston church, Brookhollow Baptist Church, where James Prince is a member. Prince is said to have given the church over $1 million in donations.

Three days after the Gore visit, agent Schumacher was given a desk job. Republicans sought to determine whether there was any connection between the Gore visit and the decision to move Schumacher.

In one of the hearings more bizarre moments Schumacher stated that he heard that Prince had made an illegal donation of $200,000 to the Gore campaign.

When pressed by Congressional Black Caucus member Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) Schumacher admitted that the information regarding Gore and Prince was unsubstantiated. Schumacher told the committee, “It is third-hand information that has not been corroborated”. Schumacher said that he received the information from a source that he had never had contact with before.

Yesterday, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) who represents Houston, questioned Schumacher and Agent Howard regarding the allegations and innuendo that Vice-President Gore and Rep. Maxine Waters interfered with the DEA investigation.

The questioning revealed that there was no evidence that supported the claims.

In total, the investigation brought the power of the DEA, IRS and Houston Police Department against a Hip-Hop label.

Some say that the information that came out of the investigation that revealed how the government recruited informants in Houston’s inner cities reminds them of the tactics used by former FBI head J.Edgar Hoover who in 1968 established the “Ghetto Listening Post” in inner cities across the country – an effort that resulted in the recruitment of 3,248 informants.

The DEA Rap-A-Lot investigation is full of lessons for the Hip-Hop community.

Please read:

Dallas Morning News Full Coverage Of DEA Rap-A-Lot

Rap Case Suspension Wrong, DEA says

DEA Says Rap Drug Probe Ongoing

Cedric Muhammad

Friday, December 08, 2000

Filed Under: archive articles, Rap Cointelpro Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Suge Knight Hit with a $4.3 Million Judgement

December 8, 2000 By

Suge KnightBad news for Suge Knight and his Death Row counterparts. The other day he was slapped with a 4.3 million dollar judgement for defrauding Kurupt‘s former managers. In the suit Lamont and Ken Brumfield stated that Suge Knight had interfered with the contractual and economic relationship they had with Kurupt.

In his explosive book ‘Have Gun Will Travel’ by Ronin Ro, he gives a more detailed account about this early encounter. The way it was described was Suge said ‘yes’ to a lot of the Brumfields early demands and in the same breath had Kurupt appearing on albums doing songs for free.

What was interesting about this whole scenario was that Lamont Brumfield in the book talks about how persuasive Suge was to the point he actually started promoting Death Row in spite of his misgivings and what he perceived as unfair treatment for his artist. The judgement breaks down to Suge having to pay at least 1 million dollars of his own money..

Filed Under: archive articles Tagged With: , , , , , ,

High Rents Killing Bay Area Hip Hop

December 8, 2000 By

daveyd-raider2Last week the Bay Area Hip Hop community was saddened to see the unintended departure of long time producer DJ Paul Nice. He had become the latest casualty in an increasingly long line of talented musicians and artists who have been forced out of the Bay Area due to astronomical housing costs. With the average price of a medium size two bedroom house going for $435 thousand dollars, rents in Bay Area cities like San Francisco, San Jose and now Oakland have skyrocketed to the point that it is now cheaper to move out and rent an apartment in Manhattan. Bay Area Hip Hop hot spots like Oakland, Vallejo and East Palo Alto are changing by the minute as longtime residents are getting evicted left and right. Paul Nice was a victim of a landlord saying he wanted to move into his pot .. so he could kick Paul out and then go on raise the rents..

In San Francisco the housing situation is all but a lost cause. Hip Hop strong holds like the Filmore have literally changed face over night thanks to the dot com invasion. You will now show up to a gig in the Filmore and be made to feel totally unwelcome and out of place in what was once your neighborhood prior to the new economy suddenly exploding. The historic colorful Mission District is currently dealing with this onslaught and next on the list is Bayview Hunters Point. The South of Market club district is now dotted with ‘live work lofts and newly arrived cranky residents who have used their economic and political clout to shut down night clubs which they say are making too much noise.. It was just a few years ago that many of these now occupied buildings once played host to raves and after hours Hip Hop parties..

Adding fuel to the fire in the nation’s dot com capital is a 1% vacancy rate and ruthless landlords who are now starting to put rental units on auction sites like EBAY. It is now a situation where the highest bidder wins. This is complicated by big businesses that are now buying up and renting apartments for key executives and employees which has driven up rental prices even more. Can you imagine competing for an apartment with a big company that has deep pockets and is determined to fly in workers from overseas or across country? They simply outbid you by offering crazy rent prices. Its not unusual to see 1 bedroom apartments for $2500 and up. Its totally ridiculous and we haven’t even begun to address the drama surrounding commercial properties. About a month and half ago there was a highly publicized situation where a dot com came into the Mission District and displaced a popular rehearsal and studio spot that was home to more than 500 musicians. The Bay Area’s Hip Hop community has definitely been feeling the strain.

bootsriley-pamLast year Boots of the Coup along with the San Francisco Bay Guardian which has been chronicling this entire mess did a series controversial radio ads on Bay Area radio stations about the Bay Area housing crunch. In the commercial Boots talks about how he was forced to move out of his house in Oakland because of high rents and gentrification. He placed the blame on Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and warned long time Oakland residents that the new economy and the new face of Oakland would most likely not include them if they didn’t step up their efforts. Boot’s concerns were realized not too long ago when Oakland City Council members voted down an ordinance that would’ve protected residents from unfair evictions.

Another longtime Bay Area Hip Hop fixture was producer DJ Fear of the group No Concept. Earlier this year he was forced to move out of Oakland due to high housing costs. Well established Hip Hop outfits like the Bay Area Hip Hop Coalition and the Hieroglyphics Crew were forced out of their downtown office space which they had for years due to rent increases. These are just the tip of the iceberg.

Over the past year and a half I’ve counted more than 30 Bay Area Hip Hop artists, promoters DJs etc have moved out of the San Francisco/Oakland area to the far outskirts of the Bay or down to LA because of the high housing costs. Its now gotten to the point that when out of town cats say they’d like to get a taste of the local Hip Hop scene, you have to send them to neighboring cities like Sacramento, Antioch, Stockton or Los Angeles which is 400 miles away so they can get a feel. It’s in these places that you will now find Bay Area artists like; Mac Mall, The Luniz, Mac Dre, Mystic Journeyman, Money B, and Rappin’ 4Tay to name a few. More and more Bay Area folks have also been relocating to New York, Atlanta or Texas where housing costs are cheaper when compared to the Bay..Even sadder is the fact that some Bay Area Hip Hoppers went away to school and found they can’t afford to move back..

Billy Jam

Billy Jam

In an attempt to bring attention to this housing problem, long time Bay Area DJ Billy Jam and Amoeba Music has put together a compilation album featuring 19 independent artists called ‘Just Paying The Rent’. The album is a who’s who of Bay Area underground artists like Clever Jeff, Crack Emcee, Superstar Qu’am Allah, BLACK, DJ Fear Slumlordz and DJ Zeph. to name a few cover the entire music spectrum from Hip Hop to folk music.

“Just payin’ the rent” is pretty much the battle cry for each of the nineteen indie artists on this compilation who, despite their radical range in musical styles, all share the struggle to just pay the rent and be able to create their art. The San Francisco Bay Area, where most of them reside, has felt the seemingly-overnight effects of the new dot-com economy which has escalated housing costs, changed demographics, and had a drastic effect on the local arts community.

Crack emcee

The Crack Emcee

“Living in San Francisco is like living in a computer: everything is about the Internet,” said the pre-teens’ Laura Davis. “People are been forced out because of the skyrocketing rents. Clubs are closing down and practice spaces are rare.” Indeed a major blow was dealt when on October 1st, San Francisco’s Downtown Rehearsal building, where 500 bands of all types of music had rented rehearsal spaces, were all evicted after the building was sold for a huge profit. “I call them the Dotzies,” laughed the Crack Emcee. “They’re blowing the smoke of the new economy up your ass… and all they want to do is sell you sh&*…..everyone’s selling banner space.”

There’s no telling where all this will end and what the final lay of the land will be..I guess I’ll have to move down to LA or back to New York with DJ Paul Nice to get a taste of the Bay Area’s Hip Hop scene. For more info on ‘Just Paying The Rent Project’ drop an email to Billy Jam at mailto:hiphopslam@aol.com

Filed Under: archive articles Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

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November 8, 2000 By

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Filed Under: 2012 Daily News

Rap COINTELPRO Pt 3 (Five Percent Nation & the Golden Era)

June 30, 2000 By

Cedric Muhammad

In the last of our three-part series on COINTELPRO and its possible application to the Hip-Hop Industry and Community we take a look at some of the work that the U.S. intelligence community has performed via media outlets. The purpose in doing so is to establish that in fact, there exists documented evidence that the U.S. government has used T.V. Stations, radio stations, newspapers and their editors and journalists to spread misinformation, lies and half-truths designed to destabilize Black and progressive organizations.

Furthermore, said reporters and editors have been used to actually spy on such organizations as well as on liberation movements in foreign lands – all on behalf of the U.S. government. The New York Times revealed some of this in 1977 – showing that Reuters, CBS and several newspapers had been used by intelligence agencies.

The most instructive example, relevant to the education of the Hip-Hop community, that I have been able to locate in regards to finding an example of how media outlets were used to destabilize Black groups and organizations, is the work the FBI accomplished through media outlets in the 50s, 60s and 70s against the Nation of Islam. This example should be combined with a thorough knowledge of what the FBI did to oppose the Five Percent Nation of Islam, particularly from 1965-1967. Why? Because these groups (NOI and Five Percenters) are still around today and arguably have had more impact on the evolution of Hip-Hop than any other force – spiritual, political, economic or cultural. That point is almost beyond debate, just weigh the impact that the NOI and Five-Percent teachings have had on Rakim, Public Enemy, Ice Cube, Wu-Tang Clan and Lauryn Hill. And then look at the impact these individuals and groups have had on Hip-Hop, America and youth culture in general.

Minister Farrakhan and Jabril Muhammad

In a book entitled This Is The One, written by Nation of Islam Minister Jabril Muhammad (he was known as Minister Bernard Cushmeer when he wrote This Is The One) the question of the coordination of media outlets in a propaganda war against the Nation of Islam was raised. Keep in mind that Minister Muhammad began writing this book in the late 60s when COINTELPRO was not known to be in existence by the general public. This kind of reminds me of the situation that we find ourselves in today, where, for the most part members of the Black and Hip-Hop Community don’t have public knowledge of any intelligence campaign being waged against them by the FBI, CIA or NSA. Here is the actual quote of what Minister Muhammad wrote in his book which he began in 1968:

Back In 1959, the white press, as if on signal, launched a furious attack on Messenger Muhammad and The Nation Of Islam, following the dishonest portrayal of us entitled: “The Hate That Hate Produced.” Through such publications as Time, U.S. News and World Report, Newsweek, The Reporter, Esquire, Confidential, True, Saga, and a host of other magazines and newspapers; white America spewed forth a flood of articles, both superficial, spurious and poisonous in nature. A few among them did a creditable job, as far as they went. But the bulk of what was written was insidious and rotten to the core. But it did not hurt us.

There is plenty of evidence to show that much of the material was deliberately misleading. There are instances when reporters found interpolations in the text of their stories that were altered, here and there, by their “bosses” so as to misrepresent their findings of the Messenger and his followers.

The white people – newscasters, commentators, etc.,–have lied in concert. The television newsmen were not, and are not, above editing their films in such manner as to actually tell lies to their viewers. They conspired to deceive the public regarding Messenger Muhammad. This can be proven with ease. Members of a large orchestra do not accidentally play the same tune.

Mattias Gardell

Was Minister Muhammad right? According to a White Swedish Scholar, Mattias Gardell, he was absolutely correct. In Mr. Gardell’s book, In The Name of Elijah Muhammad: Louis Farrakhan And The Nation Of Islam, published in 1996 (28 years after Minister Muhammad began his book) Gardell verifies the truth of what Minister Muhammad wrote. Gardell writes:

In 1959, the FBI launched a large-scale media campaign. In this first phase, the FBI briefed selected journalists who wittingly channeled the view of the bureau to the American public. The special agent in charge (SAC) in Chicago, wrote:

“Originally the program was centered around espousing to the public, both white and black, on a nationwide basis the abhorrent aspects of the organization and its racist, hatetype teachings. This was done in such leading magazines as Time, U.S. News and World Report, Saturday Evening Post etc., as well as through newspapers.”

The sudden outburst of media interest is commented on by NOI apologist Jabril Muhammad (then Bernard Cushmeer). His view might have seemed overly paranoid to some readers, but Cushmeer was correct: “Back in 1959, the white press, as if on signal, launched a furious attack on Messenger Muhammad and the Nation of Islam…white America spewed forth a flood of articles, both superficial, spurious and poisonous [sic] in nature…They conspired to deceive the public…Members of a large orchestra do not accidentally play the same tune.”

In the notes in his book, Gardell makes reference to the actual FBI files that he saw, on which he bases his statements.

For context, for those so inclined, get the Church Committee Report, go into the Congressional Record and look into the Second Session of the 94th Congress and get Senate Report Number 755. You will find, very clearly, the various lies, tricks and evil which the U.S. government directed at certain groups in order to destabilize and destroy them. All of which are maneuvers used in modern warfare.

Go to the FBI’s own online website and read the files that they have released pertaining to COINTELPRO and how they had virtually every organization that even thought of doing any good under surveillance. The address is http://foia.fbi.gov/room.htm

Many dope emcess were members of the Five Percent Nation

Again don’t forget to play close attention to the Five Percenter file which is available in two parts. And lastly, apply what you see to what happened to the Hip-Hop community, particularly what happened to the industry after the golden era of Hip-Hop consciousness, which in my opinion, ran from 1988-1992.

(*update Jan 2011* peep this article on Influence of Five Percent Nation)

Was it an accident that the industry moved so dramatically away from this era? Was and is there any interaction between intelligence officials and music industry executives like there is between the CIA and executives in other industries (I hope most of you are aware of this and are familiar with industrial espionage and how the government relies upon business executives to supply info on other countries, governments and citizens that it does business with in foreign lands – to the skeptics, if you don’t know anything about this please do some research of your own or reserve judgment until I write about this in a future A Deeper Look)?

What about the dramatic impact that marijuana and now ecstasy is having on the Hip-Hop community? To what degree has the FBI, Justice Department and DEA coordinated its crime fighting and war on drugs and “gangs” with those who work in the music industry? We already know that the U.S. Drug Czar Gen. Barry McCaffrey, works with news outlets and editors and “rewards” them for content that is viewed as helpful in the “war on drugs”. If you are unfamiliar with this please visit Salon Magazine‘s expose on this at

Propaganda for dollars

and

Prime-time propaganda

And never forget how the war on drugs has hurt and not helped Blacks and Black Youth in particular. This month a slew of studies came out about this.

And remember, Gen. McCaffrey’s position was made a cabinet-level position by President Clinton. He is officially part of the executive branch of the United States government.

Finally play particular attention to how the East Coast-West Coast feud was played up in the media and how freely the FBI and police departments gave info to journalists covering the supposed “feud” and the murders of Tupac and Biggie. Get your hands on old newspaper articles that came out in major cities the week after Biggie’s murder, in particular. And of course please re-read my series in its entirety, whenever your schedule permits, things that were a bit foggy when I first began this series may now be more clear, hopefully.

May we learn the lessons of history and not have to wait 28 years before we figure out what has been going on today. If I seem paranoid to some of viewers, then I consider myself to be in good company (smile).

Thanks for staying with me during this series.

Peace.

Cedric Muhammad

Friday, June 30, 2000

original article: http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=139

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