An Interview w/ David Banner-Contrasting Katrina and Haiti Recovery Efforts

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Click HERE to Listen

With all eyes on Haiti and the horrific devastation that has taken place there, it was natural for many to think back to how government officials and leaders handled recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane’s Katrina, Rita and Ike and see what lessons could be gleaned as we move forward with Haiti. Within our generation, one of the first people who came to mind was popular rap star/producer/ actor  David Banner. Best known for hit records like ‘Cadillac on 22s’, ‘Like a Pimp’ and ‘Play’, Banner is better known for the heroic efforts he put forth in the recovery efforts that took place in Mississippi after Katrina. So much so that he was awarded a prestigious Visionary Award by the National Black Caucus of the State Legislature.

In 2005 Banner was on a roll and was at the height of his career. ‘Play‘ was a number one record, his soon to be released album ‘Certified‘  was anticipated to be a huge success and the doors to Hollywood were starting to open.  Banner was on tour when Katrina hit. He immediately suspended all operations and turned his tour buses into rescue vehicles. Banner personally delivered water, clothing and food to those in need, spending tens of thousands of dollars of his own money…Ironically this caused tension between him and his record label because Banner stopped promoting his much anticipated album when appearing on popular media outlets like MTV or BET  and instead talked about relief efforts and what fans could do to help Katrina victims.

David Banner

As Banner often pointed out, New Orléans went through her immense suffering and death by the destructions of the levees which flooded the city and not the Hurricane itself which by the time it hit was downgraded from a category 5 to 3.  It was his native Mississippi that experienced Katrina at level 5 and bore the resulting devastation half way through the state.  The horrors suffered by Mississippi has not really been spoken about or fully documented. But Banner saw it all and was on the ground helping out just days after. He is still helping out in recovery efforts to this day..

When we sat down to talk with David  Banner, he explained that Haiti has been going through earthquakes ever since she freed herself from slavery and established that country.  She’s gone through economic and political earthquakes caused by the policies of our government including some put forth by George Bush and Bill Clinton who are heading up recovery efforts now. It’s like they were sent to finish a job they started. 

 Banner cautioned that all of us need to keep an eye on and be careful about the people and organizations we send our money. He reminded listeners that many of the recovery agencies involved with Katrina  made money and pimped the victims. He sees and hears many of the same troubling behavior with Haiti. Banner also recounted his own experience of seeing lots of money coming into organizations and it not being delivered to the people. He noted he saw how food and clothes that he brought to these organizations were taken away from poor parts of town and delivered to places where people were a little bit more well to do.. This is a complaint we are hearing over and over in Haiti.

Click HERE to listen to David Banner Interview

Banner also talked about all the money and opportunities that were granted when it came time to rebuild. He cautioned that we should all pay attention to the contracts being given out in Haiti, because after Katrina many of the people who were displaced and lost their homes did not get opportunities to work on the rebuilding. Banner said companies like Halliburton made tons of money while people most in need were left with nothing.

Banner also talked about the psychological damage that victims of Katrina had to endure. He explained that while people were still in shock after seeing a loved one drowned, eating by alligators or seeing their homes and personal effects destroyed, unscrupulous developers flooded the areas offering to buy people’s home for cheap and turn the areas into mini Las Vegas with expensive homes popping up and poor people being permanently displaced.

Banner said the solution to all this is for us in Black America to be prepared and understand Katrina and Haiti will happen again.  He said we will see some sort of catastrophe happen and that we need to be preparing ourselves now, because at the end of the day we’re gonna have to help ourselves..

We concluded by noting how fellow artists like Nelly, T.I. and Young Jeezy came to Banner’s help when he ran into road blocks and red tape by the government who tried to put all sorts of restrictions on the way he could help his own community. He talked about how his Heal the Hood foundation got hit with all sorts of red tape and that Nelly came along and absorbed Banners charity into his and helped him get all the paper work correct.

You can hear the full interview HERE

http://www.swift.fm/mrdaveyd/song/21400/

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Remembering How Hip Hop Took on and addressed the issue of Apartheid

One of the most under appreciated and least talked about collaborative efforts that involved Hip Hop was the Artists United Against Apartheid  and the The boycott of Sun City. For those who don’t recall Sun City was this ultra lavish resort  in this ‘phony’ country set up by the South African government called Bophuthatswana.  This was like a country inside a country kind of like an Indian Reservation of sorts. Sun City was basically South Africa’s version of Las Vegas and was set up to be this place where rich folks could go ‘play and get decadent and then return back to SA proper.

In South Africa under the Apartheid regime there were 4 or 5 of these fake/ reservation like countries called Homelands where Blacks were forced to live in overcrowded miserable conditions. They were moved off their traditional lands onto these ‘independent’ homelands while still being  still forced to work  amongst Afrikaners and subjected to her harsh Apartheid rules that called for strict racial separation.  It was in South Africa that Blacks who were the 75%  of the population and native to the land were subjected to all sorts of humiliations including not being allowed to live on any of the good land and having to show a special ID everytime they traveled from one place to another. These rules of racial separations were brutally enforced with the Afrikaner government going all out to crush any and all rebellions.

Many asked how was it that a country where Blacks were the overwhelming majority they could be under such harsh rule.. Sadly the South African Afrikaner government had two staunch prominent allies who stood in solid support. They were the US and Israel. Both these countries supplies weapons, resources and protection. Israel worked with the Afrikaner government to develop nuclear weapons and signed some sort of secret treaty to test them.

Worldwide condemnation picked up at the time President Ronald Regan was in office and he stood firm, vetoing any attempts to smash on Apartheid via the United Nations. He said the US had a constructive engagement policy..which basically meant business as usual..while they would say ‘Apartheid was the most desireable way to govern. At one point he even sent prominent minister Jerry Falwell over to South Africa to insure the Afrikaners the US was behind them. Both Israel and the US justified their stance because they didn’t want SA to get help from the Soviets.

South Africa’s Afrikaner government used Sun City as a way to give the country a nice look and by inviting A-list entertainers and showing them a good time, they would further highlight themselves via these defacto ambassadors.  Since Regan wasn’t going to back any attempts to officially boycott South Africa, the music and entertainment industry’s launched their own boycott.. people like Steven Van Zandt of Bruce Sprinstein’s E- Street Band kicked things off and formed the group.  He gathered up prominent rock musicians like;  Bob Dylan, Bono,  Peter Gabriel,  Bonnie Raitt, Hall & Oates,  Jackson Browne, Ringo Starr Pat Benatar, and Joey Ramone to name a few.. Joining them were legends like Miles Davis, Eddie Kendricks, Bobby Womack, Nona Hendryx, Herbie Hancock, George Clinton, Jimmy Cliff, and David Ruffin.

Rounding out this all-star line up were prominent Hip Hop artists, including pioneers DJ Kool Herc, Africa Bambaataa, Mele-Mel, The Fat Boys, Run DMC, Kurtis Blow and Gil Scott Heron.. Arthur Baker who is best known for producing Planet Rock along with Afrika Bambaataa was also on board.

The overall gist was to shame any entertainer or athlete who defied the UN sanctioned boycott and played Sun City for the large sums of money they offered. For the most part it worked, but there were a few like Queen, golfer Lee Travino, Frank Sinatra,  Linda Ronstadt, the O’Jays, Ray Charles and Rod Stewart who had no qualms breaking the boycott and in doing so giving credibility to the South Africa regime.

Here are two land mark songs from the landmark  Sun City album where Hip Hop left its footprints.. Props out to the pioneers who really put it down especially Mele-Mel and Kurtis Blow. What I like most about this joint is hearing Gil Scott Heron who was an obvious precursor to modern day rap doing his thing along side them. His commentary underscored everything that was happening. I was impressed with the way he paralled the struggle for equality here in the US along with what was going on in South Africa.

In order to fully appreciate this other cut Revolutionary Situation which is basically sound clips and samples over hard hitting beats is to hear it in full stereo. That wasn’t fully captured during this particular recording. Produced by drummer Keith Leblanc who did the song Malcom X on Tommy Boy record, this  the entire songs has sounds coming out of left and right speakers. They range from Nelson Mandela’s daughter Zindi , Bishop Desmond Tutu,  Alan Boesak, and Steve Biko and Ronald Regan.  You get this sense of urgency that at any minute South Africa is gonna explode if the walls of Apartheid don’t crumble. Hearing Ronald Regan inside this song makes you realize how utterly out of touch and mean-spirited we sounded as a country.. . Sadly it was because of this exposure of Regan’s insensitivity that ‘Sun City’ got limited airplay and PBS refused to air the documentary that went alongside making this album.

Afrika Bambaataa

Afrika Bambaataa

Coming off the Sun City album which raised about a million dollars many in Hip Hop kept the message alive. there was the big divestment movement at UC Berkeley. myself and my crew did an anti-Apartheid song that was played during rallies. Others like Afrika Bambaataa who’s pioneering Zulu Nation organization was named after the South African tribe who fearlessly fought the British, took it a step further and started doing concerts overseas where he raised money for the African National Congress. Bam will be the first to tell you that he was inspired after seeing the movie Zulu to form his organization and later adapt certain things including battle strategies from them. Hip Hop had been acknowledging South Africa and her freedom struggle from day one..

Also in that vein was Arrested Development  who also donated money to the ANC and if memory serves me correctly performed when Mandela came to Oakland at the conclusion of his Free South Africa tour

One of the most prominent groups to address the issue of Apartheid was Stetsasonic the original Hip Hop band.  They did a song that sampled Jesse Jackson who had just come off making a historic run for President. The song was called Free South Africa and was not only a 12 inch single that was promoted and pushed, but had an accompanying video..

Y’all remember this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73HGCLeapBs

Chuck D & Paradise at the LQ

Chuck D & Paradise at the LQ

The Setsasonic single came out during the hey day of Hip Hop’s Golden Era’ which was ushered in because of a series of secret meetings held at the Latin Quarters, the biggest and most popular nightclub in New York during the mid 80s.. Top artist of the day from The Jungle Brothers to KRS-One to Bambaataa and many others came together and agreed to stop wearing the popular gold dookie chains which were made with gold from South Africa. A fast and hard rule was agreed upon which forbade anyone from performing on the stage wearing gold.. The chains were replaced with leather African medallions and essentially ushered in Hip Hop’s Golden Era..

The primary architect behind that was Paradise Gray of the legendary group X-Clan who ran the nightclub. He is finishing up a book and documentary along with writer/activist Giuseppe Pipitone about that special period..

Also coming out of that Afrocentric/ Golden Era in Hip Hop was Queen Latifah and her song ‘Ladie’s First‘.. many may have forgotten the video that she did which was directed by Fab 5 Freddy who was also hosting Yo MTV Rap.. The imagery used in the video shows the resistance to Apartheid..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLB5bUNAesc

Here’s an incredible posse cut featuring Afrika Bambaataa, Brother J, Professor X, Lakim Shabazz,  Jungle Brothers, UTFO, Master Rob of Ultimate Force, Grand Puba of Brand Nubian, Kings Of Swing, Queen Latifah, Solo, Revolucien, Lin Que, Arthur X called Free South Africa from the group Hip Hop Against Apartheid

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

Hip Hop/ New Wave icon Malcolm McClaren best know for the landmark song Buffalo Gals which came out in 83, had on the flipside this song about Soweto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tij6wdlniHQ

Here’s another video which I forgot.. Straight outta of the UK is Brotherhood in the form of the Black Rhyme Organisation To Help Equal Rights (B.R.O.T.H.E.R ) was a collection of some of the most talented UK Hip Hop artists around in 1989. Instigated by the political ragga-rap group Gatecrash, the main purpose of their debut record, “Beyond the 16th Parallel” was to raise awareness of the racial inequalities of the South African apartheid regime. Assembling an all-star line up, including the late Bernie Grant MP, each of the separate groups had the task of tackling the specifics of the Botha government.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T0JARInwz8

Another group out of the UK that strong addressed Apartheid was the Cookie Crew with one of my all-time favorite songs ‘How Long Has this Been Going On’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-IW9zo4Sbk

In South Africa, there were scores of rappers, but the most potent and most political was Prophets of Da City (POC) who wound up being banned by the government because of their lyrics.. They wound up performing at Mandela’s inauguration, but remained critical of the government which they felt had been too forgiving to the Afrikaners.. They remained banned and were recently the subject of a documentary put together by South African film maker Dylan Valley talking about their plight .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhG0IDrKiaI

We will leave out with a new song from Jasiri X and his new song about Mandela called Listen to what the Drums Say

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

 Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

It’s About to Get Nasty:How Corporations Are Secretly Gearing up for the 2010 Elections

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There’s so much one can say and write about last month’s Supreme Court ruling that allows corporations to weigh in and spend unlimited amounts on campaign contributions. One thing is certain-it’s about to get nasty and ugly.  The bottom line is, no matter how many ways people try to justify this ruling under the umbrella of ‘free speech’, it’s only a matter of time before the realization hits that it’s not exactly Free Speech when only the rich and powerful have access and can afford to voice their opinions on traditional powerful mediums.

We often forget that radio and other media outlets are corporations and with all the criticisms we have about the bias of news outlets like Fox or if you’re on the other side of the political spectrum, the so-called ‘left leaning’ media, that in itself should be proof  that an unbridled corporate voice could be really, really bad. The fact that our airwaves are now dominated by over-the-top political pundits who have become more and more strident and divisive over the past 5-10 years should have rung a few alarms, but sadly we are at a day and time where people have been lulled into believing that

1-There’s always opportunity to lay out one’s ideas via the internet.

2-Things aren’t  so bad as long as they can see or hear their own political viewpoint.

Look for corporations like AT&T to take full advantge of the new Supreme Court Ruling by campaigning to eliminate free speech on the Internet

A couple of things to keep in mind… First and foremost, we better make note that some of these corporations who are now free to spend billions are spending billions of dollars on law makers via lobbying efforts to cripple the internet and stifle the opportunity for the little guy to reach millions. Companies like AT&T and Comcast have been working night and day to get rid of Net Neutrality, which has allowed a free and open internet up til now. As we noted in recent stories thse corporate telecoms outfits are spending millions to sponsor events put on by law makers that represent communities of color as well as traditional Civil Rights organizations.

As unbelievable as it sounds, the end result has been the majority of members in both the Congressional Black and Hispanic Caucuses siding with AT&T and other telecoms that want to bring about a restricted and consolidated internet.  Even more disturbing is seeing organizations like LULAC and the NAACP who have held events heavily sponsored by AT&T take supportive positions.

What’s even sadder is noting that these expensive lobbying efforts were happening before the Supreme Court ruling, where these corporate telecoms still had constraints and rules that limited them. All thats about to change big time. One of the first places you are likely to see the impact of this Supreme Court decision will be in the form of aggressive campaigns launched by the telecoms supporting lawmakers who are willing to eliminate Net Neutrality and cripple ‘free speech’ for the average John Doe on the internet. How ironic that the granting of unrestricted speech to corporations will result in them using  likely their far reaching destructive power to shut down free speech for others.

2 or 3 years ago AT&T brought computers for Chicago congressman Bobby Rush who then turned around and voted to eliminated Net Neutrality via the COPE Act

Many of these corporate telecoms simply don’t want a blogger who writes from home to be on the same playing field as a big newspaper or giant media outlets.  They want faster and more efficient access to be granted to those who can pay and like I said earlier,  millions of dollars have already been put in the coffers of Black and Brown leaders in both Congress and Civil Rights organizations who have had their votes and support brought and paid for…

Now that the Supreme Court has unbridled these corporations, you will see these efforts increase as these corporations will start looking for influencial groups and individuals who desperately need money in these economically challenged times for crucial projects and events or as was the case with Congressman Bobby Rush in Chicago, new computers for a school and write them big checks in an ‘unspoken’/’Unwritten’ exchange for votes, support or silence.  Many law makers will go for the short-term relief  and not concern themselves with long-term damage.  We all need to pay close attention because we are about to see some strange and disturbing political pairings.

The other widely held viewpoint is-as long as one can see or hear their own political viewpoint via a popular media outlet, then there’s no reason to trip off the Supreme Court’s ruling.  This is shortsighted and rooted in the belief that one’s favorite medium will always be forever and in a position to effectively champion ‘the cause’. The recent closing and filing of bankruptcy by progressive leaning Air America should serve as a strong reminder this is not always the case.

 Air America was supposed to be a viable alternative to the increasing use of right-wing talk show hosts on corporate radio, many who were accused of being racist, homophobic and carriers of ‘Hate Speech’.  With Air America gone there has been no replacement and even if one makes the argument that it wasn’t as popular as its right-wing counterparts, it nevertheless served an audience and represented an  important voice and political perspective that is now is gone. Where does one go now, keeping in mind the assault to corporations to cripple free sppech and control the Internet?

Glenn Beck led a corporate backed assault against political foes in the Obama White House. The end result was two were forced to resign

How bad can things get?  Well, we’ve all seen the type of damage that can be inflicted when a corporation pours money and resources into unrelenting attacks in political arenas. Fox News host Glenn Beck‘s vicious on air assaults on White House appointees Van Jones and Yoshi Sergent are two prime examples.  Beck was relentless and there was very few opportunities and outlets for Jones and his supporters to really strike back. The end result was both Jones and Sergent resigning and an emboldened Beck promising to intensify his crusade and go after other White House appointees. If Beck’s attacks weren’t an example of  corporate free speech gone wild then I don’t know what is.. What i do know is that after last month’s ruling  such attacks will increases tenfold with very few protections for those lacking resources and access.

On the political flipside to the Beck’s attacks, within urban America we have Radio One, the largest Black owned radio outlet which has long come under fire by leadership in the African American community. many have lambasted the outlet for not taking advantage of its enormous reach and influence within the Black community to help raise political awareness and social consciousness on a variety of important  topics versus dumbing down the audience and relying on the constant ressurection of troubling stereotypes of ignorance and buffonary. Radio one has noted that they have a well respected talk show line up which includes Civil Rights leader Al Sharpton and lawyer Warren Ballentine among others..However, that  punditry is rarely shared or exposed on their day-to-day music oriented stations which attract the largest number of listeners.

Radio One owner Cathy Hughes is using her popular media corporation to try and unseat Black lawmakers who she disagrees with over a proposed bill that she says will weaken her radio stations.

Last year Congressman John Conyers introduced a bill HR 848 which would force radio stations to pay an extra tax to record labels for each song they played. It’s a policy I definitely don’t agree and it sparked a big debate within many communities. Some took the proposed bill as a referendum against lack of politicalness of Black radio and Radio One in particular and came out in full support.  This resulted in Radio One owner Cathy Hughes taking to the airwaves and running a series of in-house political ads and editorials designed to unseat Black lawmakers including Conyers and  Houston’s Sheila Jackson Lee.  Hughes took things a step further by refusing to run ads or editorials that countered her concerns. The 2010 elections will show how impactful those ads were. It was the topic of discussion during a heated panel I sat on during the most recent Congressional Black Caucus gathering where there was a lot of back and forth and haggling to squelch the assaults. Again I bring this up because all this took place  prior to the Supreme Court ruling. Imagine how much crazier it will get now that corporations are free to say and do as they wish…

White House appointee Van Jones was a victim to vicious corporate sponsored attacks

The Supreme Court ruling that allows corporations the right to weigh in and contribute to elections unrestricted is not only dangerous, but one that many including those who seem to think its ok will come to regret sooner or later.  Those who support this ruling are those who simply have not been on the receiving end of such attacks and influence. The nature of corporations in America is grow and make as much profit as possible and eliminate an and all obstacles in way of its goals. Right now its easy to dismiss this because a Yoshi Sergent, Van Jones, Sheila Jackson Lee etc, don’t impact the day to day lives of most people. But after those victims of corporate assaults are eliminated who’s next? Will it be your church? civic group?, union? or son, daughter, mother or father voicing a strong opinion to an important issue?

What happens to the voice of coal miners in West Virginia when the owners decide they wanna drown out the complaints of  workers about low pay or shoddy work conditions and put someone in office who will reinforce their policies via legislation?  What happens to voice of nurses and doctors who find themselves drowned out by powerful  HMOs or Big Pharma companies who may be cutting corners or doing something that workers find unsettling?  What happens when you live in a small town or community and have elected rep who you like because he or she speaks to your needs, but those opinions rub some corporate owner the wrong way and he decides to launch a crusade against that small town official even if he lives thousands of miles away. Folks better start taking note.. The price for freedom is to be forever vigilant. In 2010 we best note that not all attacks are made with guns and swords.  Sometimes it comes with a pen as demonstrated by the Supreme Court  and their reckless decision last month.

-Davey D-

below is an article detailing some of the moves being made as corporations gear up for the 2010 election season..

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How Corporations Are Secretly Moving Millions to Fund Political Ads

Gaping legal holes allow corporations to spend enormous sums on politics without leaving a paper trail.
  

original Aletrnet/Raw Story link http://bit.ly/d8nQy6

 stockwallcorporate Exclusive: How corporations secretly move millions to fund political adsThe Supreme Court’s seismic January ruling that corporations are free to spend unlimited amounts of their profits to advertise for or against candidates may have been the latest shakeup of campaign finance – but gaping holes already allow corporations to spend enormous sums without leaving a paper trail, a Raw Story investigation has found.

Campaign finance experts confirmed that though disclosure rules remained intact in the new Supreme Court decision, there are effective methods to circumvent them.

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, an attorney and campaign finance expert at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice, said corporations already effectively end-run campaign finance law by shuffling money through trade associations.

“One of their favorites right now is spending through trade associations,” Torres-Spelliscy said.

Trade associations are considered tax-exempt non-profit organizations under US law. While they must report contributions received from other corporations to the Internal Revenue Service, the document itself remains confidential and is not

“Money coming through the trade association doesn’t get disclosed,” Torres-Spelliscy explained. “You can’t tell if it came from particular corporations.”

For example, she said, “The disclaimer form is likely to just say, ‘This is brought to you by the Chamber of Commerce,’ with no extra ability to see behind that.”

The Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest trade association representing at least 300,000 businesses and organizations.

A fellow non-profit that works on campaign finance, the Center for Political Accountability, calls trade associations “the Swiss bank accounts of American politics.”

“What was the lesson from Watergate?” Torres-Spelliscy quipped. “Follow the money?”

Health insurers, pharmaceutical companies embrace loophole

Trade associations such as America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) have had an enormous impact on the health insurance reform bills pending in Congress. In fact, AHIP was recently found to have solicited $10 million to $20 million from leading health insurance companies — UnitedHealth, Wellpoint, Aetna, Cigna and Humana among them — and funneled it secretly to the US Chamber of Commerce to underwrite anti-reform attack ads.

Asked about the story, the Chamber’s top lobbyist told the reporter, “No comment. We never disclose funding or what we’re going to do.” The Chamber of Commerce did not respond to a Raw Story request for comment.

Raw Story’s 2008 award-nominated investigative series The Permanent Republican Majority noted that, “Despite its seemingly bipartisan name, the Chamber of Commerce has operated as a pro-Republican powerhouse since the fervently anti-regulation Thomas J. Donahue became president in 1997.” Raw’s Larisa Alexandrovna and Muriel Kane uncovered, for instance, that the Chamber, under Donahue’s leadership, had an indirect role in the defeat and political prosecution of Governor Don Siegelman and in targeting sitting judges in contested state elections.

President of the Center for Political Accountability Bruce Freed told Raw Story that trade associations also use other trade associations in this manner as “blinds for ads” to “launder their money.”

“It’s a way for the industry to avoid responsibility for those ads,” Freed remarked.

Karl Sandstrom, the Center’s lead counsel, noted that it isn’t only the public that remains in the dark over the “Swiss bank” loophole. He said that when the Center surveyed boards of directors of companies, the majority of them just assumed their businesses’ contributions supporting political ads were being disclosed.

“It’s just almost a working assumption,” Sandstrom said.

Most of the boards of directors, he said, were “shocked to learn there is no disclosure.”

While these types of contributions prior to the new Court ruling could only be used for “issue ads” — political advertisements that do not expressly advocate for or against a particular candidate — many such ads were often accused of blurring this line and having nearly the same impact as express advocacy ads.

Christian Hillard, spokesman for the Federal Election Commission (FEC), confirmed Tuesday that the FEC has “no authority over issue ads.”

Corporate funding of issue ads through trade associations has “no filing requirements with us,” he told Raw Story.

New ruling’s impact on the trade association loophole

Now that corporations, including trade associations, are free to spend funds on political ads – which cannot be coordinated with a candidate or political party but which expressly advocate the election or defeat of a candidate – the line between funding issue ads and express advocacy ads has been largely erased.

Campaign finance experts expressed grave concern in conversations with Raw Story.

Paul S. Ryan, an attorney and expert in federal election law at the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, D.C., asserted that Congress did not contemplate this new Court ruling when it wrote the laws for disclosure related to independent expenditures or electioneering communications, because at the time such corporate spending was prohibited. Ryan said that it’s imperative that the FEC addresses disclosure requirements pertaining to this decision.

“Take hypothetically a group like the Chamber of Commerce,” he explained. “The Chamber collects money from lots of other corporations. So the question becomes: What kind of disclosure are we really going to get when the FEC gets around to promulgating rules to implement this Supreme Court decision?”

“Yes, the Chamber needs to file paperwork with the FEC saying we ran an ad saying Vote for Candidate Smith,” he continued. “But does the Chamber need to tell the FEC where it got its money to pay for that ad? And when the FEC adopts its rules to implement this new Supreme Court decision, the FEC will likely say, ‘Chamber of Commerce, you only need to tell us where you got your money if that money was given to you specifically designated to run election ads.’”

Ryan and other campaign finance experts told Raw Story this is a simple dodge.

“It’s child’s play to get around that type of disclosure,” Ryan said, adding, “It’s unclear whether the Court was being naive or disingenuous” when it touted disclosure provisions during its decision.

He explained that, for example, all the Chamber of Commerce has to do is tell other corporations, “Give us money and we’ll make sure it advances your business interests.”

“So as long as the donors don’t say to the Chamber, ‘We’re giving you this money to run political ads,’ as long as they refrain from saying that, then their identity can continue to be shrouded or hidden from the public.”

The Center for Accountability’s Sandstrom agreed, saying this type of disclosure “is easily avoided” and adding, “As long as you don’t designate it, you won’t be disclosed.”

The Chamber of Commerce, in fact, argued against any disclosure in the Citizens United case.

“Their first brief filed in Citizens United is on the disclosure issue,” Sandstrom said. “They argued that they would raise substantially more money the more they could keep it anonymous.”

FEC spokesman Hillard said that the FEC was still examining the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision and would not comment on anything pertaining directly to that ruling, including disclosure provisions.

 Brad Jacobson is a contributing investigative reporter for Raw Story

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Update-Army Puts Smash on Hip Hop Soldier Sends him to Iraq for Court Martial

Before reading this update, u may wanna refamiliarize yourself w/ this story by peeping the first article we ran http://hiphopandpolitics.wordpress.com/2010/01/15/army-imprisons-soldier-for-singing-against-stop-loss-policy/

Immediate Iraq tranfser and court martial announced in violation of military regulations

By the Friends and Family of Spc. Marc Hall.
February 3, 2010
Donate | Sign the petition | stoplossmusic.org

http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/content/view/816/1/

Today, Fort Stewart, Georgia officials confirmed that the Army will attempt to separate Spc Marc A Hall from both his civilian legal team and his established military defender Capt. Anthony Schiavetti by sending him to Iraq “within a few days” to face court martial.

The Army declared that, “The jurisdiction transfer ensures a full and fair trial for both Spc. Hall and the United States.” Nothing could be farther from the truth, at least for Spc. Hall.

“It is our belief that the Army would violate its own regulations by deploying Marc and it would certainly violate his right to due process by making it far more difficult to get witnesses. It appears the Army doesn’t believe it can get a conviction in a fair and public trial. We will do whatever we can to insure he remain in the United States,” explains attorney David Gespass of Birmingham, Alabama.

Spc. Marc Hall produced and distributed an angry hip-hop song in July 2009 when he discovered that he would not be allowed to leave active duty due to the Army’s “stop-loss” policy. Spc. Hall continued to serve with his unit for the next four months undergoing command and mental health counseling as requested. “I explained to [my first sergeant] that the hardcore rap song was a free expression of how people feel about the Army and its stop-loss policy. I explained that the song was neither a physical threat nor any threat whatsoever. I told him it was just hip-hop,” explained Spc. Hall.

When Spc. Hall continued to express strong objections to redeploying to Iraq, his unit used the hip-hop song as a pretext to incarcerate Spc. Hall on Dec. 12, 2010. The command likely believed Spc. Hall would refuse to deploy anyway creating discomfort among other soldiers.

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Spc. Hall was charged Dec. 17, 2009, with five specifications in violation of Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Conduct, two of those for wrongfully communicating a threat based on song lyrics. Article 134 is the vague rule that outlaws anything “to the prejudice of good order and discipline.”

Brenda McElveen, Spc. Hall’s mother notes, “Marc served his tour of duty to Iraq honorably. To his dismay, he was told that he would be deployed again. When Marc voiced his concerns over this matter, his concerns fell on deaf ears. To let his frustration be known, Marc wrote and released the song. Marc is not now nor has he ever been violent.”

On Feb. 1, 2010 Spc. Hall underscored his non-violent outlook by formally applying for discharge from the Army as a conscientious objector. His application explains the transformation he went through during his year-long deployment to Iraq. The Army’s attempts to now deploy him violate AR 600-8-105 (Military Orders) and the Army’s Conscientious Objector regulations among other errors.

“The Army seeks to disappear Marc and the politically charged issues involved here, including: the unfair stop-loss policy, the boundary of free speech and art by soldiers, and the continuing Iraq occupation. The actual charges are overblown if not frivolous, so I’m not surprised the Army wants to avoid having a public trial,” explained Jeff Paterson of Courage to Resist (couragetoresist.org), an organization working in collaboration with Iraq Veterans Against the War (ivaw.org) to support Spc. Hall. Supporters have created stoplossmusic.org to support Spc. Hall and pay for his legal defense.

Ft. Stewart Public Affairs Chief Kevin Larson, (912) 435-9879, announced today that he will no longer provide information regarding Spc. Hall. Media should instead contact Iraq-stationed LTC Eric Bloom via email only at eric.bloom@mnd-b.army.mil. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This alone underscores the lack of a fair and public trial available to Spc. Hall in Iraq.

The Army continues to implement its stop-loss policy despite President Obama’s promise to end the unfair practice that involuntarily extends the active duty service term of many soldiers. According to the Pentagon 120,000 soldiers have been affected by stop-loss since 2001 and 13,000 are currently serving under stop-loss orders.

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

An Interview w/ SXSW Hip Hop Director Matt Sonzala

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Matt Sonzala

Matt Sonzala is a long time fixture in the Texas, Hip Hop scene. he started off doing a popular radio show in Houston on our sister station KPFT called Damage Control. Him and co-host Zin who now does SOS Radio we key in granting many of Houston’s now big time stars from Paul Wall to Bun B to Chamillionaire crucial exposure when many were content in  overlooking music coming from Texas…

Over the years Matt expanded his range and began penning articles for various magazines including the Bay Area’s Murder Dog. He then decided it was time to start highlighting many of the artist he was exposing via his radio show, by becoming the Hip Hop director for South By Southwest (SXSW) music convention.

We sat down and spoke with Matt about a variety of topics most notably all the artists that he’s managed to swing through SXSW. When he first started several years ago, Matt did a couple of showcases in what was overwhelmingly an indie rock showcase. He brought artist like Dizzie Rascal from the UK and gave love to some of the local Texas acts. Years later he had more than a dozen Hip Hop showcases and several panels with an impressive line up of artists ranging from members of Wu-Tang to Kanye West to Public Enemy to numerous artists from overseas. In this interview, Matt lays out the dense line up for this years gathering thus reminding us just why  SXSW is an important destination place if for any reason just to network…

In his recent blog found at  Matt laid out this line up for South By South West on his popular blog http://austinsurreal.blogspot.com

Wednesday March 17, 2010
La Zona Rosa, Austin, TX
SXSW Night 1
SXSW & OGPR Presents The Best in Texas
Chamillionaire & Paul Wall Reunion Show (Houston)
Trae tha Truth (Houston)
Chalie Boy (Hearne/Calvert)
Dorrough (Dallas)
J. Kapone (Austin)
Fat Pimp (Dallas)
Big Sid (San Angelo)
Kyle Lee (San Antonio)
Question? (San Antonio)
League of Extraordinary G’z (Austin)

International Hip-Hop at SXSW

La Melodia (The Netherlands)
The Arab Summit (Palestine/Lebanon)
Invincible Voice (Palestine/Lebanon)
David Dallas (New Zealand)
Young Sidd (New Zealand)
Mr. Sicc (New Zealand)
Bliss N Eso (Australia)
Anita Tijoux (Chile)
ChocQuibTown (Colombia)
Sweatshop Union (Canada)
Binary Audio Misfits (France/Texas)

Coolooloosh (Israel)
Adam Tensta (Sweden)
Looptroop Rockers (Sweden)
Timbuktu (Sweden)
LidoLido (Norway)
4th Pyramid (Canada)
K-Os (Canada)
Young Fathers (Scotland)
Nach (Spain)
At Versaris (Spain)
Bubbz (UK)

Friday March 19th
Scoot Inn
Duck Down 15th Anniversary Show

Buckshot
Smif-N-Wessun
Sean Price
B-Real of Cypress Hill
Kids in the Hall
Blue Scholars
9th Wonder
Promise
Ruste Juxx

Bun B

We talk to Matt about the history of Houston ‘s rap scene and how he’s seen it evolve over the years. He tal;ks about the key roles that artists like K-Rino, The Geto Boys, South park CoalitionTrae, Chingo Bling  and many more have played. He touched upon the innovative tech savy nature of artists like Chamillionaire who recently headlined a Silicon valley tech gathering. he also talked about the nurturing role icons like Bun B has played toward younger artists..  We also talked about the hustling independent aspect of Houston artists and compared the way the Bay Area has approached the game in similar fashion.

Below are the links to the podcast Interview w/ Matt Sonzala

Interview w/ Matt Sonzala pt1

Interview w/ Matt Sonzala pt2

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here’s an interview from a couple of years back…

http://24hrgrind.com/matt.htm

We get to square off with Matt Sonzala. One of Houston Texas finest pioneers in bringing the underground to the surface in all types of formats ranging from his radio show on KPFT every Wednesday at midnight to amazing interviews in Murder dog magazine among other things..

OTG – Let’s start this off right. What’s your name? What’s your hood? And what do you claim?

Matt Sonzala. I live just outside the Heights, two blocks exactly from the car lot where Rap-A-Lot Records first started. The Heights is like just below the north side, kind of north edge of the center of the city. I claim the whole world because I want it all. I get real restless and want to live everywhere sometimes to be real with you man.

OTG – How does it feel to be a pioneer in covering the sound that has been coming out of the state of Texas these past years? You have the Damage Control radio, the publishing’s and the infamous HoustonSoReal blog. Let’s not forget the photography. That sure is a lot of media and format to cover?

Man like I said, I get restless. I can’t handle having a real job. I don’t like doing the same shit day after day, so I just tackle whatever comes at me. I started writing in 1989 or so, and really began writing about Houston, and Rap-A-Lot in particular for magazines out here like Texas Beat in 1991, so I been on it for quite a while. It feels good to be me right now though because seriously I’m starting to get some recognition and some real money. Before I didn’t want to be recognized, and I’m still not the type who just goes way out there, but I really like that my work is being recognized and respected right now.

I’m completely obsessed with radio and wish that more of it was better. I used to sit up at night and like, turn the dial on the radio so slowly, trying to find the faintest trace of a station and check what they were playing. I’m originally from Pennsylvania, so when I was real young I’d hear stations in Canada, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, cuz I lived close to Lake Erie so there was not much in between me and those places, I could hear all kinds of shit.

And in high school I started writing for the school paper, publishing my own little Xeroxed fanzines and taking pictures with the schools camera. It was like my hall pass, I’d grab the camera and tell teachers I was on my way to take a photo for the school paper. I was just always way into radio, reading/writing and taking photos. Now I make money doing the writing and photography and have a lot of fun doing the radio. I need to turn that shit into a paid gig, but I’d have to have full control like on Damage Control.

OTG – How did you get your spot on Damage Control radio?

Man I did my first radio show in like 1989, a reggae show in Pennsylvania. Then in like 1991 I had been in Houston for two years and my man Richard Hanna asked me if I wanted to try and do a show on KPFT. I said yes and like 6 months later they put us on and we played hip hop from 3 a.m. – 5 a.m. Monday mornings. That later became Strictly Hip-Hop Sundays when they gave us the midnight till 5:30 a.m. slot. Then I moved to New York in 1994, and moved around a lot throughout the 90’s. New York, Austin, Amsterdam, Austin again, Chicago and then back to Houston in 2001. When I got back KPFT was going through some changes so I just got with a bunch of the people there, got them on my side and bugged the Program Director till I got a show. That was like 6 months after moving back here. I just stayed on them like crazy till I got it.

OTG – How did that start and how do you feel about what it has grown into?

Really it started as an idea to give independent artists from Houston and the south some real airtime. Some time to expose their music and talk about things outside the typical box of the typical rap interview. I feel like we’ve definitely achieved that. The show is sometimes half talk, half music because we really want to introduce these artists to the public. Most hip hop shows on college or community radio only play the hot 12”s from the indy hip hop cats from New York, LA, or whatever, the shit they report to in CMJ and whatever the indy college promoters send out. They really think they are breaking things when they play B Sides from major label records and shit like that. I don’t give a fuck about that. I want to hear what is going on here and now. I don’t really even talk to any record promoters at all, ever. This dude out here Lump is my man, I talk to him, but he knows we play local music and respects that. I talk to my girl Jessica at Spectre, but she knows we don’t play half that shit cuz we just don’t have time. We only have a couple hours a week and man, we have like 100-200 people pass through the studio literally every week. Most wanting something played or a chance to talk. We try to accommodate them all. We don’t need promo people to tell us things, the artists walk right up to us. I prefer it that way.

OTG – Last but not least did Bizzy Bone scare you?

Naw I had fun that night man. It was crazy all around yeah, but it was fun to me. I mean shit we have like 100 people in the studio at any one time. Nothings gonna jump off cuz we all respect what the station and the show represents so it’s all good. And he was real cool actually, fairly cordial, just a little strange. I wasn’t trippin’. I was glad he was there. You heard it.

OTG – How do you feel about watching underground artists from Houston climb into the spotlight of main stream America? It must be weird seeing Paul Wall on MTV talking about sittin sideways!

Man I’m happy about it. Real happy about it. I want these guys and girls to gain fame and make money. I wish more of them could, but it’s a testament to the grind. Swishahouse hustled hard. Most of the folks with deals came from Swishahouse in some capacity. Not all of them, but a lot of them, so what can you say? They been at this shit for years and deserve it. There’s a lot more talent down here though and there’s a lot of people eating off the music so we really don’t need MTV and BET. And to be honest I only saw Paul Wall on MTV talking about that once cuz I never turn that shit on. I liked My Block: Houston, but aside from that I don’t think I have even seen 10 other minutes of MTV or BET this year. I fucking hate music videos. They destroyed popular music a long time ago. Especially rap.

OTG – Now do you think Austin TX rappers like Bavu Blakes who are a bit more socially conscious in there records will ever get mainstream coverage now that the door has been cracked for Texas?

Man I mean, I don’t think that all of these artists really have to rely on the current trends or whatever. They just need to keep plugging away, make appealing songs and just do it for themselves. I personally think that Bavu Blakes is one of the best MC’s in the world and he is hands down the best live performer in hip hop. New York folks a lot of the time get scared when they see him cuz he’s not the typical Texas rapper and they don’t know what to make of him. He shows people how this shit is supposed to be done. I think he needs to get on the road and grind it out in front of a wider, more open mided audience than the Texas audience and he’ll do fine. Seriously that dude needs to tour. Now socially conscious artists in general? Shit, Scarface is the most socially conscious rapper of all time to me. Bun B is way up there. People seem to accept their messages. I wish they did more message oriented stuff.

OTG – I noticed while living many places in the south and interacting with rappers from Houston that the hustle mentality of people from H-Town touches no other. How do you think this mentality was built and framed into the minds of this generation?

Man the shit comes from way back in the blues days. No one ever reaches out and helps Texas man, these folks had to do it themselves from Day 1 man. And always have. Plus there’s a lot of money down here. Even the broke people have money cuz the cost of living is low and man, people just generally support people out here. Its southern hospitality at its finest. We’re not just rats in some race.

OTG – What artists do you think are next to come out of Texas that people should look out and have an ear for?

Definitely Bavu Blakes, this kid KB has a hot single, Cl’che is kilin’ em. SLAB is amazing, Rapid Ric is the best young DJ in the game, DJ Chill and DJ Ryno have some dope mixtapes in the works, there’s lots man.

OTG – What is next for Matt Sonzala? What new venteures do you having coming out that you are able to speak about?

I got the HoustonSoReal compilation and DVD project coming possibly on a major label, more shows in New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, Amsterdam, London and wherever they’ll have us. I’m working on setting up an international booking agency,writing a book and just staying busy raising kids and being a family man.

OTG – Last but not least. Who are your top 5 artists out of Houston of all time?

Man! I don’t want to hurt anybody but Scarface, Devin, Willie D, Fat Pat, K-Otix.

OTG – Thank you so much Matt for letting us pick your brain. Any last words? Shout outs? Plugs?

Man I just want to shout out everyone who has love for music and art in general. Holler at me for anything Houston. I got dat. matt@damagecontrolradio.orghttp://houstonsoreal.blogspot.com and listen to Damage Control every Wednesday night from midnight till 2 am central time on www.kpft.org 90.1 FM in Houston 89.5 in Galveston. THANKS MAYNE!

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Why are Civil Rights Orgs & Leaders Helping Big Media Giants & Telecoms Take Over & Cripple the Internet?

We have spoken about the importance of Net Neutrality for a couple of years. For those unfamiliar with the term,  this is principle that up to now has governed the internet and leveled the playing field. Its been the ultimate democratizing agent. Here the little guy writing a blog from his bedroom is just as just as accessible as the big media giant in a high-rise office.  because of Net neutrality many communities and people who never had a voice, were able to gain one via the Internet and for the most part thats been a good thing…

Because of Net Neutrality we were able to stay abreast of the student protest in Iran.  We were able to track important world event in places like Copenhagen during the Climate Change conference.  Net Neutrality is what allowed Barack Obama to tap into millions of people who used the internet to help get him elected. Net neutrality has allowed scores of artists who didn’t fit the criteria established by corporate media giants  to reach audiences all around the world. It was Net Neutrality that allowed groups offended by CNN’s Lou Dobbs to organize and push for him to leave the network. Net Neutrality is what allowed us to organize and get the information out about the huge anti-war protests a few years ago.

Many of us scoff at the severe restrictions that China has placed on her citizens where people are not able to send out or surf the net for information and varied perspectives.  many of cringe at the thought of having our freedoms curtailed. It’s with that in mind that we find it appalling that some Civil Rights organizations and leaders, many of whom been sponsored by big telecom companies like AT&T and Comcast have lined up to tell the FCC that Net Neutrality is not needed. These big telecom companies have spent billions of dollars and aggressively lobbied Washington lawmakers to allow the internet to be parcelled up and have what amounts to toll lanes. If you can pay the money you can have a website that loads fast and is one quick away. Everyone else would be out of luck.  It would create a situation that chased many of us to the net in the first place-to get away from the dictates of big media.. How and why groups like LULAC, The NAACP and 3/4th of the Congressional Black Caucus are sitting alongside these big-time lobbiest who want to cripple the internet is more than horrifying.  But in this day in age, money talks.

We caught up with James Rucker who heads Color of Change who sat down with us and explained whats at stake.  he talked about how there would not have been a Jena 6 campaign had it not been for Net Neutrality. He talked about how there would not have been a campaign to get advertisers to drop sponsorship Fox’s Glenn Beck‘s show had it not been for Net Neutrality. He lays out the devastating impact it would have on artists especially those who are independent …What’s at stake is very eye-opening.    Below are the links to the podcast as well as a recent column he wrote on the topic..

-Davey D-

Interview w/ James Rucker on Protecting the Internet-pt1

Interview w/ James Rucker on Protecting the Internet-pt2

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Why Are Some Civil Rights Groups and Leaders On the Wrong Side of Net Neutrality?

by James Rucker of Color of Change

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-rucker/why-are-some-civil-rights_b_440926.html

It’s said that politics creates strange bedfellows. I was reminded how true this can be when I traveled to D.C. in recent weeks to figure out why several advocacy groups and legislators with histories of advocating for minority interests are lining up with big telecom companies in opposition to the FCC’s efforts to pass “Net Neutrality” rules.

Net Neutrality is the principle that prevents Internet Service Providers from controlling what kind of content or applications you can access online. It sounds wonky, but for Black and other communities, an open Internet offers a transformative opportunity to truly control our own voice and image, while reaching the largest number of people possible. This dynamic is one major reason why Barack Obama was elected president and why organizations like ColorOfChange.org exist.

So I was troubled to learn that several Congressional Black Caucus members were among 72 Democrats to write the FCC last fall questioning the need for Net Neutrality rules. I was further troubled that a number of our nation’s leading civil rights groups had also taken positions questioning or against Net Neutrality, using arguments that were in step with those of the big phone and cable companies like AT&T and Comcast, which are determined to water down any new FCC rules.

Most unsettling about their position is the argument that maintaining Net Neutrality could widen the digital divide.

First, let’s be clear: the problem of the broadband digital divide is real. Already, getting a job, accessing services, managing one’s medical care–just to mention a few examples–are all facilitated online. Those who aren’t connected face a huge disadvantage in so many aspects of our society. Broadband access is a big problem — but that doesn’t mean it has anything to do with Net Neutrality.

Yet some in the civil rights community will tell you differently. They claim that if broadband providers can earn greater profits by charging content providers for access to the Internet “fast lane,” then they will lower prices to underserved areas. In other words, if Comcast — which already earns 80 percent profit margins on its broadband services — can increase its profits under a system without Net Neutrality, then they’ll all of a sudden invest in our communities. You don’t have to be a historian or economist to know that this type of trickle-down economics never works and has always failed communities of color.

Whether the phone and cable companies can make more money by acting as toll-takers on the Internet has nothing to do with whether they will invest in increased deployment of broadband. If these companies think investing in low-income communities makes good business sense, they will make the investment. Benevolence doesn’t factor into the equation.

On my trips to Washington, I met with some of the groups and congressional offices questioning or opposing Net Neutrality. I asked them what evidence they had to back up claims that undermining Net Neutrality would lead to an expansion of broadband to under-served communities, or that preserving Net Neutrality would thwart expansion. Not one could answer my question. Some CBC members hadn’t yet been presented with a counter to the industry’s arguments; others told stories about pressure from telecom companies or from other members of congress. As one CBC staffer told me, many CBC members have willingly supported the business agenda of telecom companies because the industry can be counted on to make campaign contributions, and they face no political backlash.

I also heard from people who don’t consider themselves against Net Neutrality, but who say their issue is prioritizing broadband expansion over maintaining Net Neutrality–as if the two have some intrinsic competitive relationship. When I’ve asked about the relationship, again, no one could provide anything concrete.

To those taking positions against Net Neutrality, I ask what sense it makes to undermine the very power of the Internet, especially for our communities, in order to provide access to everyone, presuming for a second the two were even connected. It’s like what we have with cable — our communities are saturated with programming that they cannot control, with no benefit of empowerment for anyone. Again, no one with whom I talked had an answer to this point.

Thankfully, there are an array of grassroots, media and social justice organizations that have not followed this line of reasoning and are actively supporting Network Neutrality, such as the Center for Media Justice and the Applied Research Center. Black and brown journalists and media groups who understand the need for unconstrained expression on the part of our communities are on the same page as well: the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, UNITY: Journalists of Color, the National Association of Latino Independent Producers, the National Association of Black Journalists, and the National Hispanic Media Coalition have all been vocal supporters of Net Neutrality.

Prominent lawmakers, including CBC members Reps. John Conyers, Maxine Waters, and Donna Edwards are vocal supporters, as are House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Obama — who has pledged to “take a back seat to no one” on the issue. And last week, Mignon Clyburn, a commissioner at the FCC, called out advocacy groups entrusted by many to represent our communities, for making half-baked arguments that completely miss the boat on the importance of Net Neutrality to our communities.

As Clyburn pointed out, far from being just a concern of the digital elite, Net Neutrality is essential to what makes the Internet a place where people of color and marginalized communities can speak for ourselves without first asking for permission from gatekeepers, and where small blogs, businesses, and organizations operate on a level playing field with the largest corporations. Net Neutrality regulations are needed to protect the status quo, because the telecom industry sees an opportunity for profit in fundamentally altering this basic aspect of the Internet.

In the coming weeks I plan to head back to DC to continue to fight for Net Neutrality. I’m hoping that on my next trip some of the anti-Net Neutrality civil rights groups or CBC members will heed my call and explain their position. I would like to believe that there is more to the “civil rights” opposition to Net Neutrality than money, politics, relationships, or just plain lack of understanding. For now, I’m doing my best to keep an open mind. But I don’t think it will stay that way for much longer.

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

When Hip Hop Came Together to Close the Crack House w/ X-Clan-(It Was One of Many Battles Against Chemical Warfare)

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People have often talked about fighting wars using biological and chemical weapons. We came after Hitler for using them. We came after Saddam Hussein for using them. Sadly no one ever came after those who flooded urban communities during the 1980s and into the 90s with Crack. If this wasn’t a weapon of mass destruction, I don’t know what was.. One thing I can say about Hip Hop is that early on it confronted the problem.. Kool Moe Dee dropped a dope song called ‘Monster Crack’ in 1986..

Before him, we heard Cracked Out by Masters of Ceremony featuring a young Grand Puba who later went on to be a part of Brand Nubian.. Of course we all know the joint from Public Enemy ‘Night of the Living Bassheads which featured the debut of a young actor named Samuel Jackson.

Another landmark song ‘Batterram‘ came from West Coast Legend Toddy Tee.. who responded to the hateful orders of LA Police Chief Darryl Gates to use an armored tank with battering ram to break into fortified crack houses in hood. On more than one occasions, police got the wrong address and broke down the wrong house..

We also cannot forget Donald D who was one of the first rap artists to come out and blame the FBI for crack in the Hood. This Rhyme Syndicate member had a song called F.B.I. which stood for Free Base Institute.  Before people got into crack, they free based cocaine..

A west coast anthem addressing this scourge was Dope Man by NWA..which gave keen insight into what was going on at the time.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqECIKQaPBk  Bay Area pioneer Too Short’s ‘Girl’ was another early joint  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImviIbqI-8Q

In the same vein an anthem song that addressed cocaine and not crack was White Lines by Grandmaster Flash and Furuious Five. It was supposed to be an anti-drug song, but unfortunately many took it to be an endorsement of the popular drug.

Sadly one of the first crack songs I ever heard was one that actually came across as one that advocated smoking crack at least in the hook..It was called Crack it Up by Funkmaster Wiz. In the song Wiz says warns we better not crack it up,  and in hindsight 20 years later we clearly hear it.. At the time..this song was an all out anthem that suggested we go for it.. For many its hard to believe Hip Hop went there, but let’s be honest, back in the early pioneering days it wasn’t unusual to hear popular artist of the day shout to high school folks, ‘If you snort cocaine- say yeah”

The song that really stood out for me but was definitely underplayed was this posse cut, done in the same spirit of  ‘Stop the Violence’ and ‘We’re All in the Same Gang’. This was done by X-Clan leader Professor X. It was a 1993 joint called ‘Close the Crackhouse’ and featured an Allstar line up of  Professor X, BrotherJ, Wise Intelligent, Big Daddy Kane, Digital Underground, Ex-Girlfriend, Chuck D, Sister Souljah, Mickey Jarret, Freedom Williams from C&C Music Factory and 2 Kings and a Cypher.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfWmc79iIHk

 Kool Moe Dee ‘Monster Crack’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6ek6UXQWWU

Public Enemy ‘Night of the Living Bassheads’.. This video is deep on so many levels..especially how they showed just how widespread the problem was.. from Wall Street to the Hood. I also like how they did this video as a news report..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyR09SP9qdA

Donald D ‘FBI’

Toddy Tee ‘Batterram’

Funkmaster Wiz ‘Crack It Up’… Can you believe there was a song that actually advocated for crack? When this song first came out the chorus was an affirmative ‘Crack It Up’.. Funkmaster Wiz claimed it was anti-crack song, but the hook left everyone believing it was a pro crack song.. People complained and Funkmaster Wiz went back in the studio and tried to clean up the song by putting the phrase ‘Ya better Not’.. Over the past year or so, the original version has been scrubbed from Youtube and whats left is the anti-crack version..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVBD6hRepIw

Here is a excerpt of the original version.. You can see how folks concluded it was a pro-crack song..

Mele-Mel– doing a live performance of White Lines..

Masters of Ceremony ‘Cracked Out’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62T0Njv-xjM

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Black History Month-Remembering Lakim Shabazz-First rapper to Shoot a video in Egypt

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As we continue to celebrate Black History month, lets do it with Lakim Shabazz. He was one of the dopest rappers to bless the mic back in the early 90s who came with hit after hit..  He was all about raising consciousness and was even featured on the front cover of the Source Magazine along with Paris and Big Daddy Kane when they did a story on the influence Islam was having on Hip Hop. Lakim was down with the 5 percenters aka the Nation of Gods and Earths.

One of the things I really liked about Lakim was he would lace his songs with samples.. Most notable was him snatching Kwame Toure, than known as Stokely Carmichael and inserting him in the song ‘Lost Tribe of Shabazz’ where he said ‘Our People Will Survive America’. His albums Pure Righteousness  and Lost Tribe of Shabazz are definitely gems well worth seeking…If you can find them, pick them up. I loved the production by Mark The 45 King and later Diamond D.

The other noteworthy thing about Lakim was he was the first rapper to head off to Africa (Egypt) to shoot his video…he wasn’t about renting women cars and fancy mansions he didn’t own..  He was all about connecting our experience with the motherland. Too bad his efforts came at a time when shows like video and radio  outlets were shying away from lyrics they deemed ‘too militant’ or too Afrocentric 

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

The Wisdom of Dick Gregory-Obama, Racism, White Supremacy & Haiti

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Long time Civil Rights activist, author and comedian Dick Gregory made his rounds in Washington DC where he took in the State of the Union and the healthy Families USA convention. We caught up with Gregory and talked to him about the situation in Haiti. He pointed out some of ther glaring flaws in the relief efforts including the irony of having two men who don’t like each other, George Bush and Bill Clinton being the face for recovery operations. 
 
Dick Gregory also talked about why he is going on a 30 day fast and how that action is powerful and will help out those in Haiti..
 
 
In this clip Dick Gregory sat down with his good friend, long time radio show host  Bev Smith. Here is goes in on President Obama in response to his State of the Union speech.  Gregory talks about why Obama doesn’t flex his power and how the shackles of racism hold pyschological effect. He said Obama doesn’t flex because he knows he’s a Negroe in America.
Here Gregory talks about the meaning of racism and white supremacy.  

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Black History Month-Remember Gary Byrd & Stevie Wonder’s Rap Song-The Crown?

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I wanted to kick off Black History Month with this song.. It’s a hard to find record that features well known radio talk show host Gary Byrd and  soul singer Stevie Wonder. It was one of the first message songs coming out in 1982. It was dope because Stevie Wonder bridged the gap between Hip Hop and R&B by producing the song. Byrd bridged the gap because he was able to tap into the young emerging Hip Hop generation by doing what he and Black radio jocks a generation before us had done which was spit rhymes.. He formed the GB Experience and wrote this dope joint.. Enjoy Black History month

People of the world wherever you be
welcome to Cosmic YOUniversity.
Where life is the journey and love is the trip

And the study of them will make you hip.
I’m professor of the rap and when I speak
I guarantee that my lines will not be weak.
They say a mind is a terrible thing to waste

That’s why I’m here and on the case.

Rapping up every mind with a special degree in socio-psycholo G.B.E.
The Gary Byrd Experience is my course

When you take my class you will feel the force.
‘Cause I know the roots that the rap is from

When I speak to you I am not dumb.
Hear my rap and begin to dance
and I promise you this you will advance.
You may have seen the Raiders of the Lost Ark

But you still lefl the theatre in the darkl
So clap your hands to the beat as the Wondersound

And the G.B.E. shine on the Crown.

You wear the Crown
I wear the Crown

So proud to say that we all wear the Crown
the Crown.

I do recall so very well
when I was just a little boy

I used to hurry home from school
I used to always feel so blue

Because there was no mention in the books
we read about my heritage.
So therefore any information that I got was education.
Bums
hobos at depot stations
I would listen with much patience

Or to relatives who told the tales that they were told to pass ahead.
And then one day from someone old
I heard a story never told

Of all the kingdoms of my people
and then how we fought for freedom

All about the many things we have unto the world contributed.
You wear the crown. – We wear the crown – we wear the Crown.

It’s not Star Wars
it’s not Superman
it’s not the story of the Ku-Klux-Klan.
The crown will appear in the G.B.E.
but it’s never seen on your T.V.
It’s in black and white in your gold mind
a picture so old it defies time.
Alex Haley drew it in his book
it’s what Kunta kept in his other foot.
Ghana Songhay and old Mali
they are the roots of your own family tree.
Kingdom so vast and knowledge wise

They removed cataracts from human eyes.
And yet today some refuse to see
and live in fear of their discovery.
Now in fourteen hundred and ninety-two Columbus sailed to ocean – true.
But years before in Alkebu a ship set sail with a chocolate crew.
2000 years before Columbo came
the Olmecs paid tribute to their fame.
Stone heads with faces eight feet high
that the Hulk could not lifl to his thig
Though the facts historians avoid
first to arrive was the Africoid.
It may shock the House and Shockley
too

And if you’re not prepared it may shock you

While some had doubts that the world was round.
In America guess who wore the Crown.
I wear the Crown
you wear the Crown

So proud to say that we all wear the Crown
get down.
You wear the Crown
I wear the Crown

So proud to say that we all wear the Crown
the Crown.
 

Lyric transcription courtesy: http://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/gary_byrd/the_crown-lyrics-906707.html

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