Drama: T Boz and Mack 10

Looks like the last time you'll see these two as a couple.

I remember they were hand in hand on some awards show a couple of years ago, the perfect example of the "cliche" hardcore gangsta rap star and the "R&B chick", but I accepted it, wrong as it looked. I remember on TV T Boz said she wanted a "corporate thug", so I was like, hey, whatever.

If we are to believe the report filed by T-Boz, Mack 10 is acting out the bad boy gangsta that he plays in his music. Or is he a for real "gangsta"?

According to court documents filed by Watkins, the rapper allegedly threatened to “smash her teeth down her throat,” then pushed her to the ground and choked her, on one occasion when she was trying to leave the couples residence with their daughter. The document states that on another occasion, he threatened to have her “erased.” The documents reportedly make no mention of adultery.

If these allegations are true, I would say that relationships require a full measure of maturity. Handling disputes with "Im going to have you erased." WTF? If you act that way toward your wife of all people, I'd have to say you got issues.

I've been wondering about Mack's "career", and it seems like in the day and age of the million dollar rapper, Mack just fell short. He just wasn't making any hits, his deal with Ca$h Money seemed to fall through, 1 album and thats it, he was rolling with Suge Knight, and that didn't amount to much, and he's on indie labels. Must hurt in a day and age when the cats you influenced are coming up, and you are washed up. T-Boz has a chance to get back on top if she goes solo, and closes the book on the TLC chapter of her life. All she needs is one hit, and it could work better than this marriage did.

First Snoop, now Mack 10. Guess gangsta and gentleman doesn't mix. Check out the report in USA Today.

The Beastie Boys


Pick up the Beasties "To The 5 Boroughs"

Looks like Im going to be going to the record store to get the Beastie Boys latest. I've been into the Beasties ever since I heard "Rock Hard" back in like '84. I was digging them because they seemed to mix all the 80's styles of music (rap, rock, metal, punk) and did each style equally well. They were good rappers and they could've went the route of being a punk band, but they did it so good that back in the day you just had to get their records; the 12 inch single, the tape, the vinyl, the CD. I can't seem to jibe with Eminem to well, who has a similar formula, but I will always be into the Beasties.

Today in hip hop/urban history

Ice Cube born on this day in 1969.

On 6/15/92, the hard core rap group Public Enemy breaks up after group member Professor Griff makes anti-semetic remarks. They would reassemble 2 months later.

Today in Hip Hop/Urban History

6/14/1988-The Fat Boys file a $5 million law suit against Miller Beer and Joe Piscopo for using their likeness in a Miller Lite "Rappin "Fats" Piscopo commercial.

I remember those commercials; they were corny as hell.

Hip Hop Philosophy?

Taken from Hip Hop Philosophy:

Self-respect is the foundation, direction and principle of purpose. It must be the principle of purpose, because without it, we are without purpose.
Our ‘purpose’ is the reason ‘why’, and the answer to the question ‘why?’.
‘Why?' is the first question asked by a child, when they are instructed, by an elder, or anybody, to do, or not do, something, because people, of any age, need a purpose in life. A reason ‘why’ they should do the right thing, and not the wrong thing. An understanding, or overstanding, of having a purpose in life, or a sense of their responsibility to The Creator, and it’s many blessings: life, love, water, food, air-oxygen, The Sun, solar system, the miracle of nature (sometimes called Mother Nature), and the miracle of creation (like childbirth).

Also check out Marcel Lee

Venus Williams-a sellout?


People been calling Venus a sellout because she was kissing some white guy. I say they should leave her alone. I've seen the email go around, and when I find the source I will print it. But my wife told me that Venus been losing, and she was found kissing a white dude who wasn't too attractive. Im cool with her, and she seems to be going through the same criticism that Tiger Woods is going through being with the white model chick and losing games.

Smooth Girl Magazine


One of my favorite magazines is Smooth Magazine. I just picked up this last Friday (6/11) the latest issue, but it wasn't really an issue per se. It was their newest offshoot, Smooth Girl. It has pages of video chicks in nice outfits. Its kinda a counter to "For Black Men", and how they have the same kind of special issues. It should be at your nearest store; pick it up.

Post Soul Nation


Image taken from Amazon.com
Buy this book here!

I haven't gotten this book yet. I am in the middle of reading "Getting Away With Murder" by Richard Mahoney, a book that tells the story of FBI Agent John O'Neill who died in the 9/11 disaster, and the John Micheal Spann and John "Taliban" Lindh Walker incident that happened in Afghanistan. I also have a lot of other books on my plate, but Nelson George has written other good books like Hip Hop America and Blackface: Reflections on African-Americans in the Movies. He is a very good cultural critic. I will get the book and write about it when I find it.

What a miserable week!

Ray Charles RIP 1930-2004

Well, this week is finally over. Being here in DC, I was subjected to the Reagan funeral so much I just couldn't tune it out. Im not a fan of Reagan, and I was suprised when I found out one of my co-workers waited 4 hours to see his casket. The events and proceedings I pretty much ignored but they still got on my nerves, and this day was just so perfectly dreary and summed up this week very well. Thing was, even if you weren't a big fan of Reagan, the next thing that happens is you hear Ray Charles died. So, now all Americans who didn't care for Reagan couldn't escape feeling like crap!

Davy D put together some of the articles which were critical of the man but the ongoing debates about Reagan that I hear are all so indicative of how divided not only Americans are but how divided minorities are. It's just like how most Americans either love him and overlook the "controversies" such as the Iran-Contra scandal and go to the extent of deifying him, or they bring up those controversies and insist that the man was no good. It goes as far as asking what can Reagan critics who talk about "Central American death squads supported by Reagan" tell the 15 year American citizen from Nicrauga who insists that Reagan liberated his people? It's all pretty complicated, this divide.

Very indicative of this division was 2 calls to C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" televison showin which one black man talked about how detrimental Reagan's policies were to African Americans,how Reagan was against the MLK holiday, and how Reagan was against sanctions against the then apartheid regime South Africa. The next caller refuted the first caller, saying in essence that the caller needs to recognize that present day South Africa is corrupt, and that the caller needs to stop talking about how government policies hurt minorities and "pull himself up".

These are very debatable issues, involved controversies which involve research and a complex analysis of policy, history and research. In order to really understand the issues people would have to go beyond emotional outbursts and various cliches and slogans. But, in the post 9/11 world it seems like people are very emotional and seem to take very rigid stances. Yesterday, even the hint that a plane was not accounted for and was headed for the Capital Building had people running away from the Capital Building, frantic and in shock. It was revealed to be the plane of an ex-politician headed for the Reagan funeral. The incident to me shows how bent out of shape most Americans are, and this fear leads to the emotionalism and rigidity of most Americans today.

Oh well, I'm glad this week is over.

Stanley Crouch, you are lunchin'


Davy Crockett-the father of rap?

Stanley Crouch completely ignores the African American oral tradition dating back to slavery, and the interesting history of the oral tradition which includes such limeriks like "Stagolee" (otherwise known as "Stagger Lee", which became a classic rock song by Lloyd Price in the 50's), signifying(which includes the poem "The Signifying Monkey") and the art of the dozens (the tradition of cracking jokes about your mother which dates back to slave days).

He ignores everybody from Robert Johnson and other blues singers,the "Beat Poets" of the 50s, James Brown, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, The Coasters, Blowfly, Richard Pryor, The Last Poets, Gil Scott Heron, and Afrika Bambatta, and credits the beginnings of rap to Davy Crokett???????????:

The worst of the early figures in American popular art appeared between 1833 and 1856, in fictional tales growing out of the life of Davy Crockett. Like a gangster rapper, this folklore character had no sense of fairness and fought without any rules other than winning. This Crockett also bragged himself into exhaustion. He opened the way for rappers when, in an 1837 story in "Davy Crockett's Almanac" he said, "I can walk like an ox, run like a fox, swim like an eel, yell like an Indian, fight like a devil, spout like an earthquake, make love like a mad bull, and swallow a n----- without choking if you butter his head and pin his ears back."

So when you next see some gold-toothed Negro strutting with a microphone, cursing, bragging, expressing hatred for women, realize that he is not doing anything black at all. He has fallen for the lowest version of white culture and, like the ignoramus he is, has absolutely no idea about his roots at all. Just like Davy Crockett, he should be wearing a coonskin cap.

Stanley Crouch, you're a dumbass!

Today in hip hop/urban history-1984



Beat Street premiered on 6/8/1984. Nobody's been saying a thing about it, but this is the 20th anniversary of that movie. Where are the special DVD editions and such?

Regardless, I'll never forget when I went to the theater in Hartford. I was in the 8th grade, and I was just wanting to see this movie so bad. I had seen "Breakin'" earlier, but Beat Street was like the East Coast NYC all the way; Breakin' was West Coast. The theater I was in was packed with youngsters; so many of Hartfords youths filed in to see this movie. It wasn't the most exciting flick; a Christmastime movie in June seems kinda strange, but it was the breakdancing we all wanted to see. For its time, it had everybody, like Afrika Bambatta, Treacherous Three, Dougie Fresh, Jazzy Jay and even Kool Herc. I knew all these cats by name, and it was just exciting to see them on film. A classic.

Today in Hip Hop/Urban History



I'll never forget when this happened; just turned on MTV News and they were assisting Luke to a jail cell. He was slapping hands, wearing a 2 Black, 2 Strong, 2 Live t-shirt.

Today in 1990,a Florida state court declared As Nasty As They Wanna Be by rap artists The 2 Live Crew to be legally obscene. The Supreme Court later overturns the state court ruling. It was a significant battle over First Amendment rights and sparked a political firestorm.

Funny when it happened, more people where starting to actually buy the album. The whole thing of "obscenity" is playing out these days with the new name "indecency". The controvesy was jump started not by rap music but by the Super Bowl half time show in January. Compared to Janet and Howard Stern, rap music has not had to endure any political jabs. Whether that will continue remains to be seen; Eminem has a new record coming out later this year and GW Bush is up for re-election. If he makes Eminen's record an issue in terms of his disagreement with the lyrical content, that would be expected since the Republicans (ie Bob Dole, Bill Bennet, Bill O'Reilly) always take issue with rap music, especially when it is election time. Whether he will remains to be seen.

For more information on music censorship:
Lousville.Edu
Bgsu.Edu
Open.org
Hip Hop City

Reagan and Central America

Manuel Noriega


The Sandanistas

Interesting article on Reagan's affect on Central America, a continuing controversial subject.

Sample:

Gerson Martinez, a rebel leader in the 1980s, remembers Ronald Reagan as the man who funneled $1 million a day to a repressive and often brutal Salvadoran government whose thugs and death squads killed thousands of people, including the mother of his two children.

Ricardo Valdivieso, a businessman and a founder of El Salvador's main conservative political party, said Reagan "saved Central America" and was "a great ray of light and hope for civilization and liberty in a dark hour for our country."

The memory of the 40th U.S. president, who served from 1981 to 1989, is still strong in the region, and the contrasting views are passionate and polarizing.

The United States was heavily involved in wars in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala in the 1980s in what Reagan described as an effort to stem Soviet influence in the hemisphere. The United States spent more than $4 billion on economic and military aid during El Salvador's civil war, in which more than 75,000 people were killed, many of them civilians caught in the crossfire.

The United States also organized Nicaragua's contra guerrillas, who fought that country's revolutionary Sandinista government. Reagan referred to contras as "the moral equivalent of the Founding Fathers" and the United States spent $1 billion on them; the fighting in Nicaragua killed as many as 50,000 people. Honduras was a staging ground for U.S. Nicaraguan operations.

Reagan also supported the repressive military dictatorship of Guatemala, where more than 200,000 people, mostly indigenous peasants, died over 36 years of civil strife.


Contra rebels

Check out this timeline for Nicrauga.

Spike Lee's Latest?

Image taken from www.csupomona.edu

I didn't know, but Spike Lee has a new movie out. And guess what? Not that it makes a difference, but it actually has black characters! I'm just suprised because I thought he wasn't focusing on black movies anymore. From the synopsis, it looks like it will be interesting.

This day in hip hop/urban history:The tragedy of Richard Pryor



This day in 1975 (June 9) was not a good one for Richard Pryor. He was trying to freebase cocaine and burnt half of his body. I always heard that story about him, but never really gave any thought to when it happened. That was only the first of the many tragic misfortunes (such as bad movies and disease)of Richard Pryor.

Is this really news?

Now, I know Eminem is popular and all, but are these two items.Is it me, or do they seem to sound like one of the stupidest stories to appear in print:

Hijinks Backstage at MTV Movie Awards

Sample:

Costumed as various stars of yesteryear, the Detroit rap crew passed the time before their performance by taunting glamorous and beautiful passers-by.

"Sharon Stone! I'm Rick James," shouted D12's Kon Artis, who was dressed as the funky singer. He stopped the stunned "Basic Instinct" star in her tracks and caressed her hand. "I love your movies," he purred.

She forced a smile. "I ... love your music ...?" she said with uncertainty, before her entourage hustled her out a side entrance.

D12's Bizarre ogled her as she walked away. "Sharon Stone ..." he growled.

When Halle Berry passed by, Kon Artis shouted: "Halle! We love your music!"

The Oscar-winning actress, who doesn't record music, did her best to ignore them.

And the even more inane:

MTV to Cut Shot of Eminem Exposing Rear

Good examples of really dumb news? Maybe its just me!

Watch out Marc Anthony, I want your girl!



I think that not only will Reagan's death kill all the hype surrounding J-Lo's marriage to Marc Anthony, but also people are just tired of J-Lo and her fickle ways, I feel.

To me, she used her relationship with Diddy to get into the music industry and her relations with Ben Affleck to get better acting roles. Im really that cynical about her.

Will she bring it back to the barrio and the Latino community with her relations with Marc Anthony? Will she do one duet and just be out the door? I guess we will have to watch and see.

6/7/2004-Happy Birthday To.............


Ecstacy of Whodini

Whodini was one of the first rap groups that went beyond just having 12 inch single songs which were common for rappers back in the dayz. They put out the classic album Escape which had "Friends", "Five Minutes of Funk" and "The Freaks Come Out At Night". It was classic stuff. Back in those days, the "rappers" were all shoved in between the r&b records, or what they used to call "black music". Now you have CD racks exclusively for hip hop. Whodini was one of the few rap groups I could find that had a whole album, no filler, and it was tight for its day. Even the white kids back then who breakdanced liked Whodini.

Unlike all the other rap groups who bit their style like The Boogie Boys and UTFO, Whodini still are well known as pioneers of hip hop music.

This day in hip hop/urban history



June 6, 1966 Stokely Carmichael launched "Black Power" movement.

The following taken from Spartacus Schoolnet:

On 5th June, 1966, James Meredith started a solitary March Against Fear from Memphis to Jackson, to protest against racism. Soon after starting his march he was shot by sniper. When they heard the news, other civil rights campaigners, including Carmichael, Martin Luther King and Floyd McKissick, decided to continue the march in Meredith's name.

When the marchers got to Greenwood, Mississippi, Carmichael and some of the other marchers were arrested by the police. It was the 27th time that Carmichael had been arrested and on his release on 16th June, he made his famous Black Power speech. Carmichael called for "black people in this country to unite, to recognize their heritage, and to build a sense of community". He also advocated that African Americans should form and lead their own organizations and urged a complete rejection of the values of American society.

For more information on Stokely Carmichael, check out:
Washington.Edu
Interchange.org
The Talking Drum
Blackbones

Free Your Mind.....


Buy "Free Your Mind" at Amazon.

I only got into the P-Funk when I was listening to some gangsta rap and wanted to hear who was behind the music being sampled. Also, one of the guys I work with is from that era when people in DC were crazy about the P-Funk. The group Funkadelic is from this area! Parliment-Funkadelic even did the CD "Chocolate City" in tribute to their large following in the Washington DC area. Everybody knows DC is "Chocolate City"!

I brought the "Free Your Mind album from some ol' school record store, and to me it was crazy! They did some serious drugs making that one.

"Free Your Mind" was a serious rock/funk tour de force that has not ever been duplicated in rock history. It's a radical album yet could appeal to hippies, stoners, and the liberal intellectuals all at once! Hip Hop has yet to produce anything as experimental and appealing to everybody. Don't get me wrong, of course I love hip hop. Certain arguments can be made, but I just don't think there is anything else quite like this album. It's sheer genius!

Thanks, but no thanks, Ronald Reagan…

“All right people, ease on through, Rappin’ Ron Reagan’s got cheese for u…”
“Rappin’ Ron Reagan”

“Don’t push me cuz I’m close to the edge, I’m trying not to lose my head….”
"The Message"-Melle Mel

"We got actors runnin' for president, so what the hell is wrong with this government?"
"Sign of the Times"-Cowboy

Back in 1984, I used to listen to hip-hop in my room at my home in a small town in Connecticut. There was one song I heard on a college station that played hip hop, I think the station was WESU at Wesleyan, Connecticut, that I have on tape and I don’t know the name of the artist but it was called “Yeah ,You Can Do It”. It was a really positive song, pre-Public Enemy, about black people uniting and doing what they have to do to reach their goals.

The chorus went:

“Yeah you can do it,
it don’t matter if your young or old,
Yeah you can do it,
Focus now and achieve your goals,
Yeah you can do it,
it don’t matter if your young or old,
Yeah you can do it,
And if you do it you’re solid gold.”

The song addressed social issues, saying:

“Puberty, poverty stopping blacks…”

The song also gave props to Martin Luther King and Muhammad Ali, and social conditions, but they condemned Ronald Reagan. They chastised him for cutting welfare, saying it hurt blacks in the urban community. Towards the end of the song, they warn of Reagan’s BS, saying,

“Never let Ronald Reagan fool your behind”

When I get the tape out of storage I will be able to break it down better. But I bring up this to say how Ronald Reagan and his social policies affected black people so much in the early 80’s that he had such an immense influence on the formation of early 80’s hip hop. This was music that could quote Ronald Reagan, make fun of him, and parody him (remember “Rappin’ Ron Reagan?), while at the same time allowing people to vent their anger towards him. In the movie “Boys In the Hood”, there was a scene in which the main characters where children and they walked into an alley and saw a poster of Ronald Reagan. It had bullet holes in it. The youngsters went on to put a middle finger up at the poster. Such was the response to the Ronald Reagan era, or should I say error?

As I sit and watch the Ronald Reagan tributes on C-SPAN, I have to wonder how much people will remember how much Ronald Reagan was instrumental in making hip hop the angry, political music it was? How the behind the scenes schemes of the Reagan era US government and the CIA put crack on the streets and an AK-47 in every gangbanger’s hand in the late 80’s, setting the stage for NWA’s classic “NWA and the Posse", leading up to NWA’s “Straight Out of Compton” and the formation of “gangsta rap”.? How the social policies and the resulting destruction of every urban in the USA lead to the increased political consciousness of the late 80’s and early 90’s? To me, it all goes hand in hand.

So, if anything, we all have not only Kool Herc, Melle Mel, Afrika Bambatta, Russell Simmons, RUN DMC, BDP and Grandmaster Caz to thank for hip hop’s formation, we also have Ronald Reagen to thank for making everything so messed up in the first place and giving people a reason to unify, stop the violence, find out who we really were, and take the gold off our neck.

But no thanks to Ronald Reagan for the brothers who died in the mess that he created in every city in the USA.

From “Rappin’ Ron Reagan”

Ronnie’s the boss, he wears the pants
That man of mine sure loves to dance,
Got a good record on civil rights
My youngest song grew up in tights…..

Even the census proves income disparity!

It is said by the Republicans that good ol' "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" mentality will ensure if you work hard, you will prosper!

Anybody who says that this isn't entirely true, that there may be cases where there are income disparities is dismissed as being a commie/pinko/liberal crybaby.


Liberal Crybaby!

However, the census has proven the income disparities between men and women.

The article states:

Nationally, the median income for a woman working full-time, year-round was about $28,000, compared with $38,000 for a man. That means a woman earned less than 74 cents for every dollar earned by a man.

But I'm sure that Republicans will just say "These women need to stop being such prissies and pull themselves up by their brastraps!" "Work hard and prosper!" "Work hard and prosper!"

What about the historic income disparities between blacks and whites? What does the census say? Dont go there!

Work hard and prosper, indeed.

Today In Hip Hop/Urban History



6/4/1972-Angela Davis, black activist, acquitted of killing a white guard by 11 whites and one Mexican American of murder, kidnapping, and criminal conspiracy charges brought in connection with a 1970 courthouse shoot-out in San Rafael, California.

Angela Davis's bio

Skee-Loo



Buy "I Wish" here!

I remember back in 1996 seeing the video for "I Wish" on MTV all the time. It got so much play because it was an exit from all the gangsta rap madness so popular at the time.

I was thinking how this boy had issues. He was short, couldn't get no play, had no rap with the ladies, playing Forrest Gump in his video, wishing he was "a baller". How pathetic. But it was a fun, cool sounding tune.

I would ask DJ's if they played "I Wish", and they'd look at me like I was crazy. I didn't even buy his CD, but that video has been in my mind, driving me bonkers. But the song was real, I mean, how many "brothers" can honestly admit they have no game?

Meet Letta!



More so than B-Ball Players, I am a big fan of the cheerleaders and the dance team. Cheerleaders are often the most neglected aspect of the game. They are seen as being merely sex objects, but sports is just a show, entertainment and such. But, unless you pay like $200 to go to an actual game, you don't get to see them on TV.

This is one of the Howard University campuse's finest.Fellas, this is what you will get a chance to see if you go to Howard University, I'm telling you. Ladies, if you plan to go to Howard, this is what you have to compete with, but just do you. I have to give props to this cheerleader of 2002-2003 Washington Wizards Dance Team. She didn't make it to 2003-2004 Dance Team this last season, but she's just the lick, ain't she?

Maybe she graduated, moved on, whatever, but I have to give props to one of the best aspects of the Washington Wizards. Do your thing, Letta!

Now if only the Washington Wizards didn't suck so badly, maybe I'd actually watch the games I get to go to.

First Time for Comments........

Just want to see if there will be a way I can enable comments. This post here will only be a test.

Check out my other blogspot, "Today In Black History".

Self Destruction?


I think it was sad some of the drama surrounding this incident where a young dude (about 18) asked to buy a slurpee for some female at a 7-11, and then the girl's boyfriend and his boys beat the guy down and three cars ran over the dude. To me, this is sad that in what I perceive and guess to be a combination of that hardcore "thug" attitude and macho posturing. It's something that is quite common in our communities, this need to be "respected" and to show the ladies what a man you are.

Sure, I wasn't there, but I'm probably not off the mark in guessing how the scenario went down. Thing is, the guy who died could have been a great leader, a scientist or a doctor. The guy who went with his boys to beat the guy down could have had the same potential. When will we learn?

A couple of years ago, Washington DC was the "City Under Siege". When I first came here in '88, there was crack, prostitutes, and guns all over the place. Now that has been overrun by high property values, shifting demographics, and many more changes.

If our youth try to embrace these "gangsta" and "thug" ethics and codes, we will only destroy ourselves from within. Our children need to think of their future; studying hard, getting a good job, and getting the hell out of Dodge the first chance they get.

The only thing that being a "gangsta" or a "thug" will get you is jail or the grave. I know this will be a controversial statement, but look what happened to Tupac. Look where he ended up. Its never too late to change.

"Soul Plane" controversy

Despite some negative press and controversy, "Soul Plane" raked in as of 6/2/2004:

Engagements:1,566
Cume: $7,008,711

The Fat Boys



Buy "The Best of the Fat Boys" here!

That song "Fat Boys" is in my head, so I just had to give props to this great ol' school group. Where would rap be without the Fat Boys?

Today in Hip Hop/Urban History



Today was the race riot in Tulsa, Oklahoma:

Today in history in 1921, a major race riot occurs in the Greenwood section of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Twenty-one whites and sixty African Americans will be killed according to some sources. The destruction caused in the area referred to as "Black Wall Street," prompts the first American Red Cross response to a man-made disaster. The Red Cross will report that 1115 houses and businesses belonging to African Americans were burned down, and another 314 were looted. Their statistics will also show that 300 persons were killed, a much higher figure than chronicled by other historical sources.

For more information, check out this page at Davey D's website.

P Diddy to give C-SPAN competition?

First I heard Howard Dean was getting his own TV show, and then Al Gore was getting his own network, but now Diddy of all people is getting a political TV show????????

Thanks to Hip Hop Logic I found out about P Diddy and his up and coming show, Project Change.

I'm not too crazy about who they have decided to make the host, the king of cool, P Diddy. In the press release he is quoted as saying, "I'm going to make Kerry and Bush squirm."

I'd only say that it's possible that P Diddy may, with the right priming and guidance, be able to make politicians squirm, but on the other hand, there are much more experienced people like Tom Russert at ABC who has been able to make politicians squirm for years. Politicians deal with people daily who scrutinize and criticize their every move. I think Bush and Kerry will be able to swat Diddy like a fly. Sad, but true.

If everything goes as planned, I will bet that Kerry will make an appearence being that I believe he will try to get every vote that he can. However, Bush would not touch this show with a ten foot pole because he doesn't have to. If you have all the "important" states covered and the vote of every kind of Republican, be they black, white, Latino and fudge ripple, what would you care what a bunch of rap music fans think? And Diddy making Bush squirm? Why would Bush risk the embarrasment? I can see the Washington Post and Drudge Report headlines now!

I'd much rather see Chuck D, Paris, Talib Kweli or even Ice T do the job. Diddy could get the ratings, but I really doubt that he'd lend much substance to the effort. Politics is a rough game, and Diddy can play the rap game, but can he really cut it in the political arena, dealing with these dudes. Despite my skepticism, I look forward to seeing the final product.

As for my response to this statement:

"The people who usually ask the candidates questions are screened, and I'm going to use real people off the streets to get their questions out there," Combs told the paper.

Diddy, brother, they've been doing that on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" TV show for years. Watch C-SPAN, and see how its done!

Happy Birthday to........

Two ol' school heavyweights were born today in the same year (1964)!


Image from Aerosol Planet.

Kid Frost

Hip Hop Summit Action Network In the News

There was alot of different responses to the Hip Hop Summit Action Network in the News.

According to this article:in the Detroit Free Press:

Amid the boilerplate bromides about the value of voting during a roundtable headed by rap mogul Russell Simmons, officials made a big announcement: The summit has added 75,000 names to Michigan's voter rolls.

The news ignited a round of raucous applause. But it was hard to know exactly what was being celebrated. As with MTV's Rock the Vote effort, the Hip-Hop Summit faces a built-in dilemma.

These ventures are founded on a flawed premise: that the mere act of voting is a noble end unto itself. "Mobilization. Empowerment. Involvement." They're the inescapable buzzwords, oatmeal slogans whose constant repetition, rarely augmented with real argument, renders them meaningless.

CBS News was alot more optomistic, reporting and exposing the event. Alternet put together an excellent article about the hip hop voter movement, which highlighted the Hip Hop Convention and other movements as well.

About the Hip Hop Summit Action Network, this is what they had to say:

Meanwhile much of the grassroots work has been overshadowed by the glitzy, mainstream Hip Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN), a high-powered effort led by music and clothing impresario Russell Simmons and a gaggle of record industry heavies like Damon Dash and the "king of excess" P. Diddy Combs. The project is being run by the controversial Ben Chavis, a member of the Nation of Islam and organizer of the so-called "Million Man March." HSAN, which doesn't appear to have many actual members of the hip-hop generation in their leadership mix, has used huge concerts with A-list talent for high-volume registration of young people. With large events in Chicago, Los Angeles and Houston under their belt, HSAN has turned for support to corporate sponsors such as Anheuser Busch, PlayStation2 and the corporate media behemoth Clear Channel.

So, this makes me think how the Hip Hop Summit Action Network is a commercialized, corporate affair, and that's when I get doubtful about it. Its funny how with all the "Fight the Power" rhetoric offered by the group that they go for that big money from Busch and Clear Channel, of all companies. Registering people to vote and left-wing posturing is cool with me, but besides that, what does the group really stand for? Pardon my pessimism but for me, that remains to be seen.

Buy Dead Prez's "Revolutionary But Gangsta"

Freedom of Speech vs. The Patriot Act?

In this article, it seems that some guy got arrested for :

The Saudi-born Ph.D. candidate set up and ran Web sites that prosecutors say were used to recruit terrorists, raise money and disseminate inflammatory rhetoric.

However, for me the freedom of speech issue concerns this bit:

"To the extent that someone provides guns or money to a group for terrorism, that should be punished," said Kevin Bankston, an attorney for the civil liberties group Electronic Frontier Foundation. "But you can't outlaw advocacy for any group or position, and that seems to be what they are attempting to do."

The implications are that if you take on an opinion that is deemed "a threat" by the Establishment?

The case is seen as a major test of a provision of the Patriot Act that targets "secondary" terrorists who provide "expert advice or assistance." In January, in another case, a federal judge in California ruled the provision violates people's First and Fifth Amendment rights.

This concerns me. Could Paris, Dead Prez, or even Talib Kweli be considered "secondary terrorists" if they say the wrong thing?

I know that it is a stretch to make a connection between rappers and terrorists, but I just think that this is a dangerous precedent to giving the opponents of free speech more power.

One of the actors in "Soul Plane"



Angell Conwell. This picture made my blood pressure go up. Enough said.

Soul Plane's Gettin' Some Bad Reviews

So far, this is the first review I've seen for "Soul Plane".
Karen Hunter did a good write up in the New York Daily News about how it was demeaning.

I can see why. The movie fits with my personal sense of humor, but when I find the article it will be posted to show that the Karen Hunter has some very valid points.

Soul Plane

With Kevin Hart, Snoop Dogg, Tom Arnold, Method Man, Mo'Nique. Director: Jessy Terrero (1:26). R: Strong sexual content, language, some drug use.
In "Soul Plane," about a black-owned airline that caters to an urban clientele, the less desirable seats behind first class are referred to as "low class." That also describes the humor in this gross, nearly unwatchable comedy.
It's true that some people think any joke involving a toilet is the height of sophistication, and they can have the low-class tickets to themselves. A thinking audience will reach for the barf bags.

Nashawn Wade (Kevin Hart) wins $100 million after an airline mistreats him (he gets stuck in the on-board toilet and his dog somehow winds up in the propeller). With the money, he sets up a carrier called NWA, a self-explanatory joke involving a rap group.
This is the airline he's always longed for — funky, hip hop, more like a hot nightclub.
"Airplane!" is the movie's most obvious inspiration, but "Soul Plane" simply uses an airplane setting for a series of mostly unrelated sketches about race, sex, travel and, of course, toilets.
Hart, a stand-up comic, is in over his head in the lead, and is not helped by having a role so amorphous that it could have been played by different actors in different scenes. Method Man has a sidekick role with, again, no particular character attached.

Snoop Dogg plays a drugged-out pilot with no flying experience, and Tom Arnold plays Elvis Hunkee, whose party of four are the only white passengers. Hunkee's girlfriend (Missi Pyle) leaves him during the trip for reasons that play on the usual racial stereotypes, and his daughter (Arielle Kebbel) celebrates her coming of age in an implied gang-rape scenario. Sex jokes are the mainstay — male inadequacy, female voraciousness, a blind man's mistake with a baked potato.

Sloppily directed by music-vid veteran Jessy Terrero, this movie should be flushed down one of its own ubiquitous toilets.
The only bright spot: Mo'Nique manages to wring a few laughs out of her role as an over-zealous airport security guard, patting down the handsome passengers and humiliating the others with an endearing imperiousness.

Shortage of black and Latino grads........

It's sad, but there is proof that those cliches about more Black Men in jail than in college. Here is one article that sadly brings out this underreported issue.

Some samples from the article:

Overall, 63 percent of four-year college students earn a degree within six years, the usual benchmark for college completion.

But the breakdowns at some colleges, particularly along racial lines, are alarming. Of the 772 four-year schools with student bodies that are at least 5 percent black, nearly 40 percent graduated fewer than 30 percent of their black students. Sixty-eight schools, or nearly 10 percent, graduated under 10 percent.

I remember back when I started school at Howard, some classes that I had already had in high school some of my friends were struggling through. So, it doesn't surprise me when they say:

Carey said some explanations are beyond universities' control, acknowledging poor and minority students generally come to college less well prepared academically.

Somebody has a solution:

Tom Meredith, chancellor of the University of Georgia system, said a task force there is working to improve graduation rates. About half of students who enter the system receive a degree, either where they start or at another state school.

He said the system wants to produce more prepared students, close a race gap, and simply make room for the hundreds of thousands of students the system must accommodate in the coming years.

"We need their seats," Meredith said. "We need to get them in, get them out, and get them to work."

The only way to get far in this society is through a good education. Education is Liberation.

Good grief, Bill Cosby!

Bill Cosby's comments have drawn much attention. I was surprised to see some leader of some organization commenting about the remarks! It's all over the news!

Granted, I don't think its all that serious. I thought this was Bill Cosby just being Bill. However, there is a darker side to this whole controversy. Say for example that Rush Limbaugh or Michael Savage makes these same remarks. They would immediately be condemned for their statements, and that's the way it should be.

This whole controversy makes it so every right wing blowhard can say, "Yeah, we were right all alone, it just took a one of your own, a successful black man to put YOU PEOPLE in check! It's not far off to think that it will be open season for these right wing loudmouths, like Bill O' Reilly to say what they want about black people and then say:

"Well, Bill Cosby said it, why can't I?"

But do they have a right to make these statements? In America it is about free speech, but Rush Limbaugh and Micheal Savage have proven themselves irresponsible and reckless in their mannerisms. Furthermore, their audiences already have a negative image of black people burned in their minds, and this makes things worse because this encourages that negativity.

I wouldnt fool myself into thinking that what Bill was talking about wasn't true, but there are plenty of kids from the ghetto who get straight A's, plenty of single mothers who work their butts off to raise up their sons responsibly, and plenty of black teens who speak "proper" and are interested in more than Jay-Z and 50 Cent. I wish there were more, but I think that there should more praise for the winners and less focusing in on the losers.

Trifling as it was, it does not merit the controversy and attention it has gotten.

Today's hip hop beefs...zzzzzz

I usually keep up with the current beefs by buying DJ PCutta's "Street Warrior" series.

However, the beefs this summer now are just dull. As we know, the beef's are just a marketing tactic to sell records, and thats real in a day and age when an artist can sell 10 million records. It used to be real back in the day, but ever since Kool Moe Doe dissed LL back in '88 its been more one artist dissing another to draw attention to themselves. Its a marketing thing.

I was browsing the message boards and found rumors about beefs between Camron and Eminem and Joe Budden and "The Game". Now, I don't care too much for Eminen, which I guess sounds backwards because he's the voice of this generation, but Im not in this generation. Camron I don't care for either; I liked when he first came out with 3-5-7, but then he started doing this pop rap and that "Horse & Carriage", "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma". I thought he was going to be some kind of agressive rhyme spitter, but he turned out to be like an East Coast MC Hammer or something, or a more agressive Ma$e. Joe Budden's got to come out and do something that will move me a bit; I didn't buy his record, and what I saw and heard from it was alright. As for The Game, I heard him freestyle, but I'm thinking his steelo is alot like Crooked I's. Matter of fact, I don't care if Dre is producing The Game, I'd rather hear Crooked I, for real.

I guess after the Nas and Jay beef came and went, there just isn't much further this "beef" thing can go.

Sex for Bracelets

Some middle school kids have made up a game of sex for bracelets. Girls wear the bracelets and boys will grab the bracelets, and each bracelet symbolizes a sex act.

Amusing, but Im not really comfortable with the fact that these kids are in the fifth grade.

I guess I could say that our kids are getting too fast through our cultural influences (does Britney have to do with this?) and a wider access to adult stuff.

On the other hand, this could just be natural; maybe kids have always been fast, maybe its a small majority, maybe its more harmless than its made out to be.

When I have a child, I will take responsibility for their moral upbringing, and without being overprotective, I would see to it that she or he would not be a "ho" or a "player". It's gotta start at home. Better that than the culture police trying to change the culture back to early 50's "Leave It To Beaver" and "I Love Lucy" days.

Hip Hop Convention a bust?

Here's an interesting article about the Hip Hop Convention which took place in Detroit this last weekend.

Cosby, Cosby, Cosby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought people would let his remarks go, but people are still talkin'!

Nelly-racist?

It's funny how the Eminem controversy came and went but everybody just shrugged their shoulders and said "Em's not a racist!" and there were arguments back and forth about how black rap artists demean women in videos.

But talk about ridiculous. Nobody will finger point Eminem but now people are taking the backwards approach by attacking all other artists. It seems that some campus intellectual wants to accuse Nelly of being "racist". Yeah, right.

Professor William Jelani Cobb took a shot at Nelly and rappers overall in the body of his dissertation, Past Imperfect: The Hoodrat Theory, saying videos like the St. Lunatic's "Tip Drill" are not just sexist, but racist too. Earlier this month, Nelly had cancelled his appearance at a planned bone marrow charity event when word got out that some students, outraged at the portrayal of black women in his video for "Tip Drill," would protest the charity event.

Apparently, these self righteous moral crusaders are fighting for one "principal"-"anything that harms black women harms black people"

In my opinion, this is entertainment plain and simple. The reaction to the Eminem incident, and this as well, makes it clear to me that people are just taking rap music and artists like Nelly way too seriously. I don't expect to get any moral clarity from Nelly, I was offended by the Eminem tape but not suprised, but though having naked girls in your video is questionable, nobody should impose their values on others to tell people what they should and should not do.

Besides, half naked girls doing the shimmy in entertainment is nothing new; it was practically the backbone of all those "Beach Party" flicks of the 60's. The best part of living in this country is that people are free to put that in movies, videos and so forth. If you want moral clarity, read a book, or better yet, read a Bible!

IRS vs. Black America?

My philosophy on taxes is this, I have a real "render to Caesar what is Caeser's" attitude when it comes to taxes. I believe that when it comes to taxes, that's all they get from me. I'll pay my taxes and go on about my business being a citizen.

But some lawyer, William Wright is just not havin' that. He's suing the IRS by saying:

"I think African-Americans not only need tax refunds for all that period of time, but also a moratorium on taxes, too," Wright told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.

Wright makes his argument based on a phrase in that 1913 law that applies to "citizens and aliens." To Wright's thinking, blacks are neither "by reason of the denial of basic rights of citizenship."

His further reasoning:

In his filing, Wright cites examples of local discrimination. He notes that black police officers were not hired in Columbus until 1952. A year later, the Georgia Legislature used tax dollars - including those collected from black taxpayers - to pay private schools in order to maintain segregation, Wright wrote.

In a day and age when too many citizens are docile and don't speak their mind, or have a "gotta get mine" attitude, or have my attitude, its good to see somebody stand up and fight for what they believe in.

Say it ain't so Snoop!



I'm not too surprised that Snoop is getting a divorce, after all, he portrays the whole "pimp" lifestyle, hangs out with Bishop "Magic" Don Juan, makes porn flicks, and raps a lot about all these dimepieces he wants to get with, pimp, whatever.

How can a pimp be married anyway? Furthermore, what woman would put up with that act. She had more patience than Howard Stern's wife, thats for sure.

Im glad I never had to put up with this!

I would never be comfortable on a college campus with the KKK making appearences. Though I know its not unique to campuses that are predominately white, I just wonder, why would I want to be somewhere I am not welcome.

If I had to deal with this scenario, I'd have to say that I'm glad I went to a black university like Howard. The good thing about this is that a University of Louisiana professor is actually trying to have the klan blacklisted off the campus as a terrorist organization.

I say that its about time that somebody called them out like that, but at the same time I'd rather not be on any campus where they have been sponsored, or where they would even bother with them.

Honey,there's one thing you didnt shrink!



The only thing noteworthy in this movie is Jessica Alba'sbody. Thats the only thing. It's quite a treat to watch this woman in action, and how she moves. Unbelievable.

Other than that, the story I wasn't really feeling. I think that somebody must have seen the old school "Body Rock" movie with Lorenzo Lamas and decided to update it. The movies have in common somebody who makes a come up, pisses off the person who made him/her, and then despite being blacklisted from the scenes they are breaking into, they triumph in a major way.

Then there's the premise I've seen too many times of a dance group winning a contest, therefore winning money or something and triumphing in the end. Its been done too many times in movies like Sister Act, the Fighting Temptations, except in those movies they were singing but it was close to the same premise.

This stands as one of those quick cash urban dramas like Save the Last Dance and 8 Mile. The look and the feel is the same for showing young teens what urban America looks like. It didn't do anything for me, but it might excite the 14-18 year old young 'uns it was made for.

Check out the reviews on All Movie Guide and Rotten Tomatoes.

This can also be brought at Amazon.

Happy Birthday Malcolm X!



I know that I am late with this, but Malcolm X was born on May 19 in 1925, so that would have been on Wednesday this year.

What if Malcolm X returned?

I think if Malcolm X returned he would have truly been a force to reckon with. His death was part of a much bigger plan to undermind black leadership; his death was hand in hand with the death of Martin Luther King.

In a nutshell, Malcolm X was born the victim of racism in a major way. His father was killed by racists, being a radical himself. Malcolm took to the streets as "Detroit Red", the badazz gangsta role which most young black males try to emulate to this day. After ending up in jail, he was introduced to the Nation of Islam by family members. He then became Malcolm X the main speaker for the NOI; my favorite speech by him in this phase being "The Bullet or the Ballot." In my opinion this was one of the most important speeches in US history. He got kicked out of the nation for his "chickens coming home to roost" remark regarding the Kennedy Assasination; and then went on to explore the Islamic faith on a more personal and deeper level, leading to his going to Mecca. After discovering what Islam was all about, he became El Hajj Malik El Shabazz. He was assasinated in a conspiracy involving many players. Spike Lee made a wonderful (but flawed) movie about his life, purchase it here. Also, read >"The Autobiography of Malcolm X."

Check out the Zulu Nation website.

Bill Cosby is lunchin'



Bill Cosby did a speech at Constitution Hall here in DC for the Brown vs. Board of Education. I've seen him do speeches at different functions and making appearences, and he has a tendency to just go off the deep end.

Some of the comments he made:

"Ladies and gentlemen, the lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal," he said Monday night. "These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids - $500 sneakers for what?

And another gem:

"They're standing on the corner and they can't speak English," he said. "I can't even talk the way these people talk: 'Why you ain't.' 'Where you is.' ... And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. And then I heard the father talk. ... Everybody knows it's important to speak English except these knuckleheads. ... You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth!"

If you think that's bad, check out his movie"Leonard Part 6" Now that's offensive, to my intelligence, that is!

David Hasslehoff-rap star?



According to this tabloid clip, David Hasslehoff will be groomed by Ice-T to be a rapper called "Hassle the Hoff".

I don't think he will be giving Eminem (or even Vanilla Ice for that matter) any serious competition. No, I don't think so.

DC Hip Hop Weekend.....

This is like the ideal weekend in the DC Metro area to like rap music. You could start off tonite with a choice of parties to go to. You could see Petey Pablo at the Dream nightclub. That starts at 6 PM. If Petey isn't your thing, you could to this other party at the Juste Lounge.

I've already posted the WHFS Festival, which will have Jay-Z being the headliner, along with Cypress Hill, and alot of rock, punk and alternative bands. Roc A Fella artists M.O.P. will be at the Weapons of Mic Destruction tour Saturday night, but you gotta go to Baltimore for that. If you want something underground, you could go to Revolution Records on Saturday afternoon. There is a freestyle session from 4-6.On Saturday Night you could go to the Method Man record release party at H20 Club in DC.

It don't stop on Saturday night though, on Sunday, CEE-Loo Green is suppossed to be at Club 5 on Mass Avenue. I couldnt find any real link to confirm that, but it said so in the Washington Post, so it has to be true, right? If by the end of the weekend you dont have your fill of rap music and hip hop, I don't know what to tell ya!

Who are we?



This is a book which is broken down in this article called "White Fear In Wartime".

Quotes from article:

What is the book about?

In his just published book, "Who are We: The Challenges to America's National Identity," Huntington speaks about the meteoric rise of white nativism in America, for which he offers not an apology but a rationale: "The most powerful stimulus to such white nativism will be the cultural and linguistic threats whites see from the expanding power of Latinos in U.S. society."

How should we react to "white fear"?

The failure to recognize white fear and confront it on its own terms has become Latinos' central strategic error in the domestic policy wars that vilify immigrants, destroy schools and disproportionately push larger and larger numbers of former students of crumbling school systems into prisons and into the ranks of the dead and endangered in Iraq.

Is the book racist? They say:

Rather than fall into the psy-op trap of reactive anger by dismissing the book as the rant of a "racist" or a 19th century backwoods nativist, it is best to interpret "Who Are We" as another very dangerous installment in the career of a seasoned national security specialist. With the steely calculus of a post-Cold War warrior in search of new enemies, Huntington is helping create a fear that is transforming American and Latino identity, and U.S. politics overall -- a fear most visible in our gated communities, gated countries and gated minds.

Why should we read a book like this? How seriously should we take "white fear"?

Even though ideas about race, ethnicity, culture and civilization are fluid and murky, white fear is cohesive and entrenched. It gets funding for research using state-of-the-art statistical methods to prove age-old ideas about white intellectual superiority; it informs government policies and media coverage that -- despite the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, white militias and private border battalions -- never link "white" with "threat," "terrorist" or (to use Huntington's term) "challenge." White fear mobilizes Republican and Democratic voters to defend their perceived racial interests under the guise of patriotism.

As it is, this article is interesting, but in the end, I think the only way to really approach these questionable ideas is read them for yourself. His ideas have been dismissed by the establishment, since nobody took his other book "Clash of the Civilizations" seriouly. However, its not too hard to believe there are extremists who do believe in his ideas.

Buy the book at Amazon if you want to see for yourself.

HFS Festival

Here in DC this Saturday (May 22) you got the HFS Festival, its mostly for like the punk rock/alternative set, but this year there will be a suprise.

Cypress Hill will be there, but thats a favorite group amongst the skater/punk/alternative set; if you do music about weed, you're a sure staple at events like this. Hard to believe that Jay-Z will be there though. He always seemed to me to be more the MC for the player/thug/jiggy set. Im not sure how the kids will respond to him, but it'll be funny if jigga fans have to sit through an Offspring set because he will be probably last. So most of Jay-Z's fans will be introduced to new music they never heard. Hey, it might work!

How the AK-47 Came To Rule the Street

You don't hear that much AK-47 and Uzi talk in rap anymore. Thank God, but in the early to mid 90's that was the staple of rap music. Ice Cube used to make references to Uzi's in like every other rap as part of his reality,as a problem and solution all at the same time.

This article here is about "How the Uzi Came to Rule the Streets"

A Quote:

The latest weapon of choice on the streets, the one getting all the attention today, is the Russian Kalashnikov, or AK-47 -- a large assault rifle capable of holding 100 rounds in one clip. On the streets it's called a street-sweeper, because anything it hits gets swept away. Cars and trucks are turned into Swiss cheese -- imagine what this weapon does to human beings.

Why is this gun the gun of choice? Simple. Let's say you have a shotgun, or a snub-nose .38, or a Glock 9mm. I have a rapid-fire, handheld cannon (the AK-47). When you run out of bullets, I'm just getting started. You can't hide. I'm the equivalent of seven well-armed hunters; you're a sitting duck. You've got a pellet gun; I've got lightning bolts and thunder.

I'd say that I don't know if I am convinced, but then again, hey, I just like hip hop, I may not run in those circles, but here in DC you dont have many deaths being the result of big weapons. I don't think guns should be glorified or named; I remember back in the days here in DC kids would wear black T-shirts with guns on them; one had "Mac 11 makes ya, jump, jump." In this day and age, all guns should not be glorified or made to be "cool".

Brown vs. Board of Education

The Brown vs. Board of Education decision happened 50 years ago.

In my opinion, I think that this was necessary at the time to break down the racial barriers and force America to confront the inequality that black people were experiencing.

However, this is a reminder of the importance of education. In today's culture, learning is somehow collectively frowned upon; its more important to be "cool", and people who are smart are seen as "nerds".

I wish that the younger generation could see how detrimental this attitude is to the future, and that learning is the most important thing to getting your foot in the door. Brown vs. Board of Education should show people that an education is the most important thing to get, and that in the past people died trying to get an education.

You're just easier to control if you're dumb, ignorant and uneducated.

May 16th-23rd 2004 marks the 7th Annual Hip Hop Appreciation Week.

Our theme this year is faith—fear not, only believe. Every year during the third week in May, conscious Hiphoppas come together to discuss Hiphop beyond entertainment. Such a discussion however is not for everyone. Everyone does not see the vision of a unified, self-governed and prosperous Hiphop Kulture. Most people can only understand Hiphop as rap music. Even more people prefer to only use the elements of Hiphop to satisfy their own individual desires. Are you one of these people? Hip Hop Appreciation Week is a time set aside to show one’s appreciation for what Hiphop has done to advance the quality of one’s life. Such a vision is reserved for those who truly care for the further development of Hiphop—the culture. We believe in Hiphop’s ability to prevent sickness, hate, ignorance and poverty while producing health, love, awareness and wealth. Hip Hop Appreciation Week is our time to publicly manifest such a vision. How will you support?

Every year during Hip Hop Appreciation Week the Temple of Hiphop presents a series of cultural conferences throughout the United States aimed at addressing some of Hiphop’s more pressing cultural issues. This year our conference will explore ways in which Hiphop can direct the attention of its community (especially youth) toward excellence in math, science, engineering and space exploration. We know that it is the power of Hiphop that authenticates people, places and things and makes them cool (appealing) to those youth influenced by Hiphop. We know that it is Hiphop that is actually speaking to our youth. With this in mind, we have decided to present our 2004 Hip Hop Cultural Conference at the National Aeronautics Space Administration headquarters (NASA) in Washington DC in an attempt to promote the coolness of math, science, engineering and space exploration within the Hiphop community.

On May 19th 2004 the Temple of Hiphop will be inviting one hundred math and science students from the Washington, DC area along with NASA’s scientists, some three hundred prominent Hiphop activist, artist, ministers, politicians and teachers to discuss Hiphop’s cultural role in the positive promotion of math, science, engineering and space exploration amongst our youth. Would you like to be part of this historic discussion? What can you contribute toward the success of our conference? How will you support? We are confirming our panel of Hiphop speakers/activist now. We would be honored to include your name and/or organization’s logo to our list of speakers, contributors and sponsors. To pledge your support and/or confirm your attendance, please call 1-818-848-9030 or email: info@Temple of hiphop.org. Thanks for listening.

KRS-ONE"