If time keeps on slipping into the future, why aren’t we tripping over the past? News, rumors and everyday life are moving too fast. How could it be April and 2010 has already been a blast? Let’s take you from the beginning to what happened last.It is impossible to talk about the first quarter of 2010 without looking back on the natural disaster that devastated Port-au-Prince. An earthquake, 7.0 in strength, churning 6 miles below ground, violently shook the resilient country of Haiti, taking tens of thousands of lives while leaving hundreds of thousands, homeless. People from all over the world came together to help Haiti. Social networks played a huge part in getting the word out and raising money. Hip-Hop producer and philanthropist, Wyclef Jean played the largest part in rallying the movement. Wyclef and his wife were in the trenches less than 24 hours after the tragedy, picking dead bodies up from the streets. While back at home, certain news outlets were trying to stain his name and his Yele Haiti Foundation. Wyclef stood tall under fire, addressed the accusations and continued on with helping his country; his life’s mission. If he is not a finalist for TIME Person of the Year, it is an injustice. Waka Flocka Flame was shot on January 19. He’s alright now.Rapper Apache died on January 22nd. Apache led the new wave of Jersey artists in the early 90’s including Naughty by Nature and Queen Latifah. ‘Gangsta B*tch’ is the record that he is most known for; a song about the strong black woman of his desires, with an edge that was machete sharp. You will be remembered, Apache. Hip-Hop…January 31, Drake cracked a ‘Nicki Minaj backside’ sized smile during his heavily featured Grammy performance. And once again, if your name was Jay-Z or Eminem, you walked away with a Grammy. As long as the song was cleared, it got nominated. Really? Crack-a-Bottle? It’s time that I pay that fee to be on the voting committee next year. Hip-Hop Reform!February 15, Jay-Z explained why he turned down “We Are the World 2010”. “I know everybody is gonna take this wrong,” he said. ‘We are the World’, I love it, and I understand the point and think it’s great. But I think ‘We are the World is like [Michael Jackson’s] Thriller to me. I don’t ever want to see it touched.” Well, we’ve listened to the finished product. “We are the World 2010” wasn’t bad at all. All the reason why it shouldn’t had been remade. Now if the song was titled differently, it would’ve made a more monumental impact.February 20, Eve was the latest artist to come up on the Family Feud board of tax troubles. Over the past two years, the IRS placed four liens on the rapper/actress that total close to $370,000. This past January, Eve placed her four bedroom, five bathroom Los Angeles mansion up for sale for $2,295,000. All the best to you Eve. Get back to what you do best.February 23, remember when those two men tried to use a fake credit card to pay for $25,000 in champagne during Juelz Santana’s 27th birthday party? Sometimes society reaches a moment when enough is enough. And obviously, these ballers got blocked for not having enough. We need to do better. Like Snoop Dogg better. After all these years, Snoop (which appeared at the party) can still afford to take a 20 man entourage wherever he goes. Wait, once it was a 40 man entourage. Maybe the recession touched him just a little bit.On March 1, DJ Premier of Gangstarr confirmed reports that Guru suffered a massive heart attack in NYC. If you can recall, the weekend previous to this confirmation was flooded with #RIPGuru trends on Twitter. In the coming days, Guru’s producer and friend, Solar came above ground as a centerpiece in the story. Guru’s nephew Justin Nicholas-Elam Ruff released a video on YouTube.com in regards to Solar. Supposedly, Solar wouldn’t return calls or text messages to Guru’s family about his health. Solar would retaliate by releasing statements against Guru’s nephew and son for allegedly lying. *side note: something just didn’t and still doesn’t feel right about the drama that ensued here. I’ll reserve my judgment.March 8, Lil’ Wayne was sentenced in Manhattan to a year in Rikers for having a loaded gun on his tour bus back in 2007. His sentencing was delayed three times prior due to dental surgeries and courthouse renovations. If Lil’ Wayne can stay out of everybody’s way while incarcerated, he could be released as early as eight months. (add slang phrases of encouragement here)March 26, TI’s probation ended. He was released from house arrest and will begin three years of federal probation, as revealed by his attorney. TI has began releasing new music and it is safe to say that he hasn’t missed a beat. And please people, just because he came out of jail doesn’t mean that you must raise your standards of his new music to levels that you can’t even explain in a conversation. If you’re a fan of TI’s, enjoy the music. If you’re not a fan of TI, then your favorite rapper, on good behavior, could possibly be out of jail by the fourth quarter of this year. Contrary to popular philosophy, all news isn’t good news. That doesn’t mean it should be forgotten either. Let me know if I hit the mark with this wrap-up of the first three months in 2010. And feel free to add to it.
