Russell Simmons Hopes To Change The Negative View Of Africa’s Diamond Industry

The Simmons Jewelry Company introduced a plan Tuesday (Dec. 5) in New York, to empower African communities where diamonds are a natural resource. Simmons announced the establishment of the Diamond Empowerment Fund, hours after returning from a nine day mission exploring the diamond industries of South Africa, and Botswana. “I have witnessed…that diamonds can be […]

DJ Whoo Kid Launches Pow! Magazine

Budding entrepreneur and acclaimed mix-tape DJ Whoo Kid seeks to expand his growing media empire with his latest venture, POW! Magazine. POW!, which borrows its name from a run of successful mixtapes DJ Whoo Kid released, is set to premier this Christmas with the inaugural issue dubbed “Hip Hop vs. Hollywood,” featuring Mobb Deep and […]

Millions Tune Into BET’s ‘American Gangster’ Series

The successful programming year for BET continues as the network scored on of its best prime time performances of 2006, with the new documentary American Gangster. The inaugural episode, which profiled LA’s infamous Crips gang co-founder Stanley Tookie Williams, earned a 1.6 rating (1.3 million households and 1.6 million total viewers), according to Nielsen Media […]

Arizona Officer Requests Blacks To Rap To Avoid Ticket; Dept Apologizes

The Tempe, Arizona police department is conducting a full-scale investigation of two Tempe police officers, after city officials pulled a local show off the air following a recent segment which showed an officer telling two African-American men they could avoid getting a ticket for littering if they rapped. According to The Arizona Republic, the investigation, […]

Atlanta Rap Scene Shaken Up As Ying Yang Twins, Producer Mr. Collipark Part Ways

A major change in the landscape of Southern Hip-Hop has taken place, as Atlanta rap giants Michael "Mr. Collipark" Crooms and Ying Yang Twins have parted ways and will no longer work together. The announcement comes days after the release of the Twins’ new album Chemically Imbalanced, which hit stores November 28.Chemically Imbalanced will be […]