"Tell 'em why you mad, son!" Hip Hop moguls defend their music to the House

Photo: Amanda Marsalis, from Fader 28

A few scholars in the Hip Hop community, along with David Banner and Master P, banded together to defend Hip Hop (again).

Billboard.com: On Sept. 26, David Banner joined fellow MC Master P, music industry executives and scholars to discuss offensive language in hip-hop music before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Reading from a statement, the 33-year-old Mississippi rapper/producer tenaciously defended hip-hop from its detractors.

During his testimony, Banner said, "If you fix our communities, we'll fix our lyrics." Asked how that would affect change, he tells Billboard, "In the Katrina hearing, one congressman asked, 'Haven't we done enough for Katrina?' They live in a world that we don't live in, and it's hard to speak for a majority when you don't live under the same conditions. People don't sing happy songs if they're broke."

"Rap music does for us the same thing gospel did for the slaves," he adds. "We communicate our anger through our music."Banner has butted heads with those trying to ban words like "bitch" and "hoe" from rap lyrics, including the Rev. Al Sharpton and Master P.

"Aren't there bitches out there?," he says. "Don't they exist? Those types of women exist, and if they didn't it'd be different. When someone yells in a room full of women the word 'dyke,' my mother isn't insulted because she isn't one.""Rap is an art, and I can say whatever the hell I want to," he continues. "I use the words I use because they are graphic and they hurt. It's supposed to get people's attention. Where we come from, we speak that way."


You're right, David Banner. There are bitches in the world (mainly those who serve as imprudent bosses in the workplace).


I could preach the "why tear down black women" speech, but I've done better than that. I don't support music that I don't believe in or agree with. I concur with many Hip Hop artists when they say that listeners should ACTIVELY pay attention to their music before they purchase it. If you don't like what you're hearing, don't support it. Because not all Hip Hop is good Hip Hop (and that's another story that we won't EVEN get into).

I have a question for you:

There was a point in time when music served as a tool for healing and change, especially in the 60’s and 70’s. With the Global War on Terror, Jena 6 and post-Hurricane Katrina, I think we need Hip Hop music to channel all of its energey to help America heal. So where is Hip Hop? Did it die with Tupac and Biggie?

Ahoy! Hollywood studios are cracking down on movie pirates!

Photo: Reuters

According to Yahoo! News, The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has filed suit against two online Web sites that are allowing users to watch bootlegged movies online, and many of them are in theaters now. Titles like "Good Luck Chuck" and "Resident Evil" are amongst some of the pirated films on the illegal websites. Uh oh!

The lawsuit seeks to shutdown cineatube.net and ssupload.com, and to disallow them from further "infringing on the copyright of MPAA members."

So if you're a bootlegger, and you frequent the following sites: http://cinematube.net/ or http://ssupload.com/, I suggest you find another vendor. Go back to the dude that bootlegs buspasses in the projects (9 times out of 10, he's the smartest guy you know. Hopefully he's smarter than the MPAA). Or just pay for your stuff like everyone else (my husband is probably laughing his ass off as he reads this sentence).

Chaka Kahn and Bebe Winans: the new "Miss Sofia" and "Harpo."

Newsday.com (and my favorite celeb gossip blogger Sandra Rose) reported Chaka Kahn and gospel sensation BeBe Winans are slated to star in the Broadway musical "The Color Purple" this January. Producers say the diva herself (Chaka) will portray the role of Sofia, and BeBe will play opposite her as Harpo. American Idol's Season 3 winner Fantasia Barrino is currently playing the role of Miss Celie, and they're looking for her replacement before she leaves the cast in January.





DAMN! My dream of going to Fantasia's Broadway performance is slipping right before my very eyes...(sniff, sniff). But I guess it's cool. There's always syndicated reruns of Oprah, who has already had Fantasia sing on her show. Plus, Chaka should make a very interesting portrayal of Miss Sofia, hmmm...I can see it now, "I said hell naw." I'm giggling already.

*Zoink!* Scurry Spice Danced with the Stars better than I anticipated.

'Aint we lucky we got 'em...GOOD TIMES!

I watched ‘Dancing with the Stars’ last night in a NyQuil induced state (I’m getting over a bad case of the flu). So I was feeling right! Nonetheless, I was a little surprised with Mel B’s performance. Not the type of surprise you feel at a surprise birthday party. More like the surprise you felt when you first heard that Tracy Edmonds and Eddie Murphy were getting married—you wasn’t really shocked, you had other feelings bubbling inside, and happiness may have been somewhere in that bed of emotions.

For real, for real, I kinda thought that her dancing was going to go a little bit like the Hollywood gossip that’s been surrounding her for the last few months—all over the place.

But she did really well in her Cheetah Girls dress (which I thought was really cute). She was a little stiff, but she already knew that. I was proud. High on NyQuil, but proud.

I give it TWO SNAPS UP!

And speaking of America’s Next Top Model…It’s Miss Jay Alexander, B*TCHES!

I love Miss J. Alexander! Style, spice, rage, haughtiness—Miss Jay has got it, and I LOVE IT! So I was thrilled when PAGE SIX reported that Miss J. is giving this season’s ANTM viewers a bit of an upgrade, which has already started airing. The new and improved style is described as “dirty, filthy, nasty and fabulous.” Fabulous.

PAGE SIX also informed us that the ‘Catwalk Queen’ dropped the dime—well, more like the nickel—as to which model/diva in training will be crowned queen for the latest ANTM cycle. “She’s extremely religious,” said Miss J.

Should I be scared or excited? I'm not really sure...

Stop the madness Adrianne Curry!

So I'm reading the headlines for the Celeb Gossip segment of my show, and lo and behold, I come across this little tid bit. Apparently, Adrianne Curry from Cycle One of America's Next Top Model had a few choice words about Black History Month and Black people on her myspace page.

This is gonna be hard guys. I LOVE the comedians on BET. I also LOVE the fact that they play my favorite show of all time, In Living Color. However, I do not believe in seperating ANY RACE in America. WE ARE AMERICANS! How dare we have Black History Month! In my eyes, the Native Americans deserve it MUCH more, seeing how we destroyed their ENTIRE SOCIETY. There are hardly any of them left! They also have been proven to have the WORST living conditions on their reservations. I want AN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH. One where we learn about EVERY race, ALL OF OUR LEADERS, EVERYONE! I think by having a month dedicated to one race, and not one for any other, is RACIST. Every fund set up to only help people of one race is SICK and RACIST.

Yes, I get it. Black people were slaves here once. You know what? That does suck some major balls, however, it is time to move the fuck on. Do we hear the Jews crying that they were made slaves for thousands of years? Do we hear them whine that they should OWN the pyramids in Egypt because THEY broke their backs making them? Do we hear them bitch and moan about Hitler, etc? (my hubby is a Jew)Nope, we dont. It's time for us to UNITE AS ONE. I do not think that singling out one race, giving one race opportunities to go to college (I know a TON of poor white.asian, indian, american indian, etc etc that could use that too!), giving one race the EXCUSE to blame things on others for being whatever nationality they are, is a good way at making sure we NEVER kill racism.

I am over this shit. WE ALL CAME FROM ONE BLACK WOMAN FROM AFRICA, THAT is our EVE! It has been proven by science, and I stand by it. If any other race had a chanel dedicated to just them, we would think it was racist. If any other race demanded a month be set aside for ONLY them, they would be considered racist. I am NOT living by this double standard any longer.

Think I am racist? I am not. I know what racism is. I dated a guy named "Justin" in Junior high. Nothing serious, but I really liked him. He was the blackest of black...BEAUTIFUL skin, kinda like Alex Wek's. He was handsome, and athletic, etc. I was called a nigger lover. But you know what? I was called that by a whole 2 people out of a school with HUNDREDS of students. THAT is why I am NOT buying this racist shit anymore. Let us teach or children that there is NO DIFFERENCE! We are all human. I hope one day aliens land and try to kill us. Maybe THEN we would finally realize that WE are ONE.

So, I will no longer tune into BET. This is going to suck, but I do NOT like the idea of having a chanel for only 1 race. In the year 2007 in a country that is supposed to be the most advanced and equal. This is unexceptable! I will also no longer acknowledge Black History Month. Instead, I will see it the way that Morgan Freeman does (I have the quote at the bottom of my last blog on Obama/jesseJackson, and OJ). AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH! I will read/watch/and learn about ALL the people who made a difference in this country.

I am asking you ALL to join me. Black, White, Indian, Asian, Russian, Australian, etc etc.....lets be AMERICANS together! What happened to the African American community was AMERICAN HISTORY, not BLACK HISTORY. If you want to celebrate in a way that excludes others and singles one race out, count me the FUCK out! I am soooo proud to be an American. I am SO proud that I have friends of every race, and none of us see each other as anything but what we are..people. Lets change Black History Month to 2 months of AMERICAN HISTORY. We will still learn about all the black leaders and people who made a difference....just not with the racist name of "Black History Month". It has to start somewhere. I am going to do my part in making sure we are all treated EQUAL in a country that CLAIMS we are. NO MORE SPECIAL TREATMENT FOR ANYONE WITH ANYTHING!

But in all fairness, she did have a rebuttal:

Yep, I gotta try to clarify a few things here.

Firstly, I just want to apologize for how random my thoughts were in my last blog. I wrote what I did just minutes after a long heated discussion on the topic. I can hardly read the thing, it's so damn random!

I think it is HORRIBLE that people misunderstood my message. Just because I wanted to stop separating races, doesn't mean I want to STOP TEACHING HISTORY! Or schools need to teach MORE of ALL of it anyway! I was asking that we not name things to separate ourselves. I never claimed we shouldn't learn our own history, or that of all the other countries on earth (which we as Americans are pretty bad at). I am very aware of all the amazing things hat black people have done for our country, and we should always be aware of it. However, separating our races sounds like racism to me. It just does. So go ahead, claim I am the one who is ignorant for wanting us all to be EQUAL! Can you believe that? How does that make a fucking lick of sense? Honor your heritage, I know I do. Just make sure that by doing so, you do not seperate yourself from the rest of us! Black History to me would be everything that happened in AFRICA. I lived there for almost 5 months. Visted Robin Island, and saw the cell they held Nelson Mandela in. I witnesses first hand people calling these taxi vans "Black Taxis" and these nice taxi's "white taxis". Just vile.THAT is African(black if you will) history. African AMERICAN history is OUR history!

And you know that what you've just read above is not all. Oh no folks, that is not all...

click the link below to read more:

http://www.myspace.com/adricurry

My word:

Adriannne Boo: whatever you do, DON'T TURN INTO A ROSIE O'DONNELL! You're trying to head down that road with this blog. DON'T DO IT! Just come on back home. Petey Pete! Handle that!

Mother sentenced to 1 year in jail for encouraging her daughter to fight on the school bus

I saw this story/video on z90.com a few months ago, and I thought it was a mess then.

(check this link for the full story: http://www.channel10.com/news/specials/popular/article.aspx?s=popular&storyid=63583 )

I’m not really sure how I feel with this one. A part of me is angry at Shayla Muldrow for even encouraging her daughter to fight her battles with her fists. But my mother made me fist fight when some crazy girl and her cousin verbally and physically attacked me in middle school for a period of time (yeah, I was a little bit of a punk. I’m not one now so…).

What’s even crazier is that I still hold true to the old belief that there are some people you have to smack upside the head in order for you to get your point across to them. This is why we have to teach our kids to fight with their minds and not their fists. They start thinking like yours truly.

One day we will evoke the spirit of our mothers and fathers from the civil rights era and fight all of our battles nonviolently.

O.J.: what the cowboy h*ll was he thinking?

Okay, So O.J. decides to act a fool and “retrieve” memorabilia that he says belongs to him. He said that he's found police to be unresponsive to him when he does seek their assistance. People are still really pissed at him.

(check for the full storyhttp://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3608130)

But what I want to know is this: why is it that every time OJ gets involved with someone or something, there’s always a number of unanswered questions? Who knows, maybe the (overpriced, might I add) book “If I did it” will answer some of my queries.

The Lower Level hitches up the ‘Lac and rides to Jena.

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a dynamic Hip Hop group out of the Lone Star State who are getting their politics on (move over Kanye).

Jedii.com and Freddy Freaxx make up The Lower Level, and the duo is on the road to Jena, Louisiana to show support for those whose lives were inconvenienced by outrageous politics concerning the Jena 6 trial (visit democracynow.org for more info).

If you’re a fan of their music, or just appreciate a Hip Hop group supporting something more worldly, hit up their myspace page at www.myspace.com/thelowerlevel.

Jedii (the mad writer) said that he will keep us updated on what’s up in Jena, and I’ll be sure to keep all of you posted as well.

Peace and Love,


Miss.shaun

Michael Vick versus the media

Despite popular belief, I am personally happy that Michael Vick is owning up to his crimes, and is pleading guilty. I am even happeir that he isn't trying to cop a plea deal or trying to weasel his way out of this one (besides, there was no way he could have gotten out of this jam). But I don't think that he should be hung outside to dry because of it.

Jennifer Lopez said something in Page Six that struck a cord with me, on this same subject. (Paraphrasing) J.Lo said that PETA tends to pick on certain celebs so that they can gain noteriety. I couldn't have agreed more with her, especially in the Michael Vick case.

Again, don't get my words twisted. Vick was dead wrong, and he should be punished. But when people say stuff like "This case is worse than Kobe Bryant's rape case,"? WOAH! TIME OUT! PRESS PAUSE!

How is it that a human beings life is of less value than an animals? I've owned my share of pets, and I've never wanted harm done to them, but why is it that my life is less than an animals? Statements like that piss me off! It's an insult to every man or woman who has ever been sexually assaulted or physically abused.

I hope that Vick learns a valuable lesson in all of this drama, and I hope that all states (besides the Commonwealth of Virginia) start tightening up their laws on animal abuse. I sometimes wonder if his case would have been blown out of proportion had he did it in New York state.

50 Cent.. the real Mad Rapper

Have you ever worked with someone who would come in to work and say some stupid sh*t like “Don’t expect me to work today! ‘Cause I aint doing no work!” Or what about the guy/girl at who is labeled the outrageous complainer? This person can’t seem to do anything without crying like a baby first?

Needless to say, that’s a mess. Unfortunately, it seems like we have a few of these types of people amidst our presence in the music industry, and one sticks out like a sore thumb in my mind.

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. I swear it’s like every week, this man finds five things to be mad at. Is this negro ever happy with anything? I’d hate to imagine him as the type of man that would walk into an elevator “gangsta-like” as women, black and white, begin holding their purses and shivering nervously. So that I can prove one of my points, lets take a moment to reflect on the most recent zany adventures of Curtis Jackson:

On Jay-Z & Diddy: “Nah, I don’t even like them”
On MTV’s rap list: They don’t even exist outside the U.S. [Well, I was actually mad that the Game made #3 on MTV’s rap list my damn self. But still, 50 should KNOW that he can’t be faded! Where is the confidence?]
On his “boss”: "@#*$%s think Jimmy Iovine my boss, #*$%, @#*$ Jimmy Iovine.”[check out the mixtape at SOHH.com]
On Kanye West: I’m “retiring” if he sells more albums than I do.
On the leak of his next music video featuring Robin Thicke: “smash” goes the blackberry; “clang clang” goes the sound of the plasma TV as it hits the floor. “crash” goes the window.
The list goes on.

While I side with Fiddy in many of the reasons why he is so angry, there are a few of them that I just can’t even pretend to agree with. But regardless of what others think, 50 Cent has done extremely well. He’s a phenomenal businessman, period.

But what I want to see Fiddy do is bring Hip Hop back, or forth, rather. I want to see him take Hip Hop beyond shaking in the club, to the phenomenal force it once was. I feel that he has the potential to make the music more profound and almost cult like. He has the potential to give the O’Reileys and others like him something to really fear--a black man with a socio-political agenda. You see how people are already attacking Obama, right?

Now, if only Curtis Jackson could find a way to put something like that on his weekly s**t- I- need-to-be-mad-at list. Hmmm…

Lessons learned from The Notorious B.I.G.

“It was all a dream, I used to read Word Up Magazine..."

Do you remember how you felt when you actually let the meaning of those words sink into your brain when the late Notorious B.I.G. spit those lyrics? If you have never actually thought about those words, then reader, I think we have a problem.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not writing this piece to downplay your intellect. But Christopher Wallace had some profound meaning behind his words.

Ok, check it: there was a time when Wallace just wanted to be heard, just like you. There was a time where he felt tired, and he wanted to be able to care for his family, himself, and tell people where he was from and how he lived--just like you. He was hungry, so he ate, while influencing and, whether you admit it or not, changing Hip Hop forever, especially upon his death.

But if there is one thing that all of us can take from Christopher Wallace that we should value and cherish is that he always maintained that he was never "above" anything or anyone.

"I'm blowin' up like you thought I would, same number, same hood and it's all good," (Juicy)

"If the game shakes me or breaks me, I hope it makes me a better man, Take a better stand (Sky's the limit)

"See 74' march 8, set me straight, not able to move behind a great steal gate, Time to contemplate, damn were did I fail, All the money I stacked, was all the money for bail..."(1970 Somethin')

My point is this: remember that you were given a blessing, and the whether you believe you should make it big or not, it's a blessing. This means that you are not above anything or anyone. You may be given accommodations that might be less than desirable. You may even hate the crowd you are performing for. But nevertheless, you are the next pioneer. You may not feel it now, but you are leading a community, and maybe, a world of individuals who want to hear your words.

They could be words of endearment and encouragement, like what Juvenile did for Hurricane Katrina victims in his hometown. They could be words of hope, like what Bun B did for UGK's fans worldwide when his partner was sent to prison. Or they could be radical enlightenment, and we frequently saw that from Tupac Shakur’s lyrics.

Whatever the case, you are not above speaking to those that need to hear your words the most. Otherwise your journey to the top will be exactly like what the late Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G. Wallace said: "It was all a dream".

Think about it.

Peace and Love,

miss.shaun

Ric Shea: He can't survive without his radio

Despite the drama that surrounds Hip Hop music, Indie artist Ric Shea is no Russell Simmons, but he is helping to progress it, one mic at a time.


One thing is for sure: hip hop music has drastically changed since it’s late 1970’s conception. Nonetheless, there’s something in the music that keeps listeners shawty snapping, thunder clapping, and rocking away. Call Ric Shea old school, but his goals as an artist are a bit different than those who are producing today.

“As an Artist, I hope to take it [Hip Hop] back to its roots,” he reflects. “When I was young, hip hop spoke a lot of the struggle. Now all artists talk about is their money. Money is cool, but I’d like to think [that] the next generation is more important.”
A son of a jazz musician, the Chicago native understood the importance of quality music at an early age. That seed was planted when Ric Shea saw his father’s first performance before his sixth birthday. Since then, he’s been staying on his grind, all the while keeping in mind that he has a social responsibility to his listeners as an artist.

“I like to educate the kids, [and] thats what Chuck D and Flavor Flav did so well. Other artists followed, but we've gotten away from that. I would like to see us get Hip Hop’s essence back,” he said.

In the meantime, you can catch the conscious rapper making moves with some members of the Wu Tang Clan, hosting a party, and planning his next move while trying to take Hip Hop’s world by storm.

As for those who want to join Ric Shea in taking Hip Hop music to the next level he advises them to educate themselves. “Study music's icons of every era, then you'll see where the vets of hip hop got their love from,” he says. “We only love music because of the greats that came before us. That's why you have your Jay Z's and Big's and Nas's and Tupac's.”


Check out Ric Shea at http://www.myspace.com/ricshea