Hip-Hop pioneer Fab
5 Freddy recently took on former United States President George Bush, Sr. during
a football game between the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons on Sept.
25. The match marked the reopening of the Louisiana Superdome, which shut down
in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Freddy told the New York Post that
he attended the football game with MTV’s CEO Judy McGrath, ex-Viacom CEO Tom Freston,
and Viacom’s John Sykes. When the trio stepped on the field to catch performances
by U2 and Green Day, George Bush, Sr. walked by. "I got in his way and [yelled],
‘We need to bring the troops home!’" Freddy said. According to the former
host of Yo! MTV Raps, Bush replied "We must win this war." Fab
Five Freddy said he reiterated his call to bring the troops home to Bush, who
was being shuffled away by associates. The former President reportedly came back
to Fab 5 Freddy and said "I don’t really have anything to do with it."Busta
Rhymes’ Australian fans are reportedly upset with the rapper after a proposed
Big Bang Concert with two dates featuring Rhymes was canceled at the last minute.
According to promotion company PDA Touring, Rhymes was set to play the Supertop
Auckland on Sept. 30, before heading to Sydney for a show at the Sydney Entertainment
Centre on Oct. 1.PDA Touring issued a statement yesterday (Sept. 28) claiming
that "outrageous demands on the eve of departure by Busta Rhymes’ management
forced the concert to be canceled. In 2004, a show featuring Rhymes was canceled
after members of his entourage were detained by immigration officials at the Sydney
airport and questioned for hours before being allowed into the country. Later
in the evening, Rhymes canceled the proposed concert. Representatives for Rhymes
could not be reached for comment.Former
Black Sheep member and producer Mr. Long (formerly Mr. Lawnge) is preparing a
new album titled The Class of ’89. According to Long, the album recreates
the feel of Hip-Hop circa the late 80’s and early 90’s. As a member of Black Sheep,
Long helped produce the group’s classic breakthrough album, A Wolf in Sheep’s
Clothing,
which contained hit singles like "Strobelite Honey" andthe group’s most well known single, "The Choice is Yours." "Today’s
rap is a scratched record focused almost exclusively [on] street commentary about
money, cars, drugs, jail and death," said Long. "Being ‘wack’ is the
new dope. I call it a glorification of the ignorance of small minds — where rhymes
are about materials things, sex, and the underworld and not enough about ’causes’."
The Class of ’89
is available in streaming media on Long’s CDBaby.com pageand at mrlongmusic.com.A
host of top industry executives will gather for the annual Latin Rap Conference,
which aims strengthen the Latin urban industry and focuses on some of the best
music the genre has to offer. The conference will take place Oct. 11-13 at LQ’s
in New York. Scheduled panelists include Kevin Lawrie, Sony BMG Latin chairman;
Craig Kalman, Atlantic Records chairman; and Steve Rifkind, president of SRC Records.
as well as leading executives from MTV, Mun2, AIM TV, Univision, and AOL Latino,
among others. The Latin Rap Conference, intended to foster the growth, education,
empowerment, and development of good business practices in the burgeoning Latin
Urban industry, will be hosted by artist/actress/comedian La Bruja. The LRC will
also showcase established and up-and-coming artists in the Latin urban genre,
including Machete/ Universal recording artists Rigo Luna, Tres Coronas, and several
soon-to-be announced special guests. For conference itinerary and information
on how to register, visit lrc.2006.com
