The Hidden Bruise of Forbidden Fruits
There was a poetitorial written a few months back that addressed the impassive glances of Dick Cheney and John Edwards when they overlooked the impact of AIDS on African-American women. And yet, while this inactive stance deserved to be called out, a few of the more astute AllHipHop patrons noticed another blatant discrepancy: the poem […]

The Life and Grind of ESSO
Untitled Page What’s up, AllHipHop? Allow me to introduce myself and get all the formalities out of the way. I’m ESSO, Harlem’s own Certified Grinder / Breeding Ground Alumni / Unsigned Artist / Mogul in Training / Whatever you feel like calling me today… AllHipHop.com approached me about doing a journal to give you a […]

Dome is Where the Heart Is: Lewd Priorities in New Orleans
So is anyone else blown by the priorities that were displayed during week three of the NFL besides me?!! I saw the reopening of a sports arena (and Canal St. businesses, mind you) in the middle of a city that is still ravaged from the destruction of Hurricane Katrina and government negligence. While the people […]

Get Serius: The Club Club
Last month around this time I was on the interior of the New Jersey penal system and today once again Im typing a bi-weekly column for the most respected Hip-Hop website in existence. My name is Serius Jones. Those of you who are familiar with my work know that I am far from the caliber […]

Silence of the Lames & A Better Rap World
At the conclusion of “Silence of the Lambs,” Hannibal Lector daftly informs the young FBI rookie Clarice that she is spared from his ultra-violent, methodical murder spree. “The world is a better place with you in it,” he said to her just before the cannibal went off to eat his next prey. Hip-Hop is its […]

Get Serius: The Anatomy of a Sucka MC
Greetings readers and Hip-Hop fans, I go by the name of Serius Jones. Many of y’all know me from my classic battles and Serius music that’s saturating the streets. However, before I was introduced to the mic, the pif, the liquor, the women and all my extracurricular activities in the streets, I was a gifted […]

Tupac Shakur: What If?
Tupac Amaru Shakur was many things to many people. Rebel. Poet. Sex Symbol. Skinny dude with a big mouth. But to most of our generation, Tupac was an icon that represented both the promise and the trappings of youth. A man who teetered on the cusp of truly taking a leadership role in the direction […]

Hip-Hop’s New House Rules
See the things that irritate me about race and color is it seems a lot more colored people are racist than whites now. It seems as of years of feelings from colored people regarding racism is now turning into them being racists and not white people anymore. I am a white guy with a lot […]

AIDS in Black America: Im Liftin Your Skirts
AIDS in Black America: I’m Liftin’ Your Skirts In a move that may shock America, ABC News aired a primetime special report on the epidemic of AIDS within the African-American community. "Out of Control: AIDS in Black America" primarily focused on the fact that African-Americans constitute roughly 50% of AIDS cases; more to the […]

Hip-Hop: Still All The Way Live
Everyone needs to calm down. Everything is going to be okay. Hip-Hop is alive and well, and here to stay. I know I’m not the only one who is tired of people complaining about the "State of Hip-Hop." Hip-Hop is doing just fine. Actually, it’s doing better than just fine. Why is it that every […]

Illseed: Mentoring Idiots & Forcing Change
With all the discontent, b####### and town hall meetings that people participate in, I figured it was my civic duty to offer some concrete solutions that people can follow to make quantifiable change. This sucks, that sucks, the music, Black people, White people, the industry, the "man" – it all sucks. All our effort is […]

The Lost Boyz in the Hood
The Lost Boyz in the Hood In light of the recent launch of the new Blade miniseries on Spike TV, a striking metaphor exists between that of its protagonist and the plight of today’s African-American male. Due to the fact that Blade is a vampire (therefore casting no reflection) as well as of obvious African […]

Hillary Clinton: On Internet Neutrality
Dear Mr. Creekmur: Thank you for writing to share with me your concerns regarding internet neutrality. As you may know, I support net neutrality. The open architecture of the Internet has been the critical element that has made it the most revolutionary communications medium since the advent of the television. Each day on the Internet, […]

Orwell Was Right; Hip-Hop Is Wrong
George Orwell was right. A close friend of mine hit me up and he was seriously concerned. To frame this properly, I have to say this brother is one of the most apathetic street dudes I know, but he was worried about the United States of America. Here is why. Over the years, slowly but […]

Rappers Can’t Save You – The Death Of The Internet
America’s Black misleadership class, which is nearly indistinguishable from its Black business class, has struck again. In a stunning coup, a mainline African American voting rights group has been enlisted on the side of AT&T and other telecom monopolies in their legislative push to privatize the Internet and roll back hundreds of agreements with local […]

Thoughts on My Beloved: Big Proof (R.I.P)
His eyes turned a pretty shade of brown when light hit them. Especially the light of the sun or of a camera’s flash. On his high cheeks, like his father’s, were dozens of freckles, like his mother’s. Between the freckles, were two barely noticeable places where his deep honey brown complexion lightened. I loved those […]

What if Hip Hop Had a Heaven?
With death seemingly lying dormant beneath the surface of Hip-Hop, is there any hope in sight for the victims that lay in the aftermath of its wake? The answer, for Hip-Hop artists at least, would appear to be yes. Immortalized by lyrics that stereotypically glorify death, we all but deify our cultural martyrs. And while […]

Black and Male in America
I read the recent New York Times cover story, “Plight Deepens for Black Men, Studies Warn,” with a great deal of pain and sadness. As a Black man who is in his late 30s, I have literally encountered every dilemma documented: I am the product of a single-mother led household, fatherlessness, horrific poverty, omnipresent violence […]

A Demand for Black & Brown Unity
Below is a speech I gave in Watsonville, CA on April 17th 2006. I was invited to come down and speak by the Watsonville Brown Berets. Fred Hampton Jr. of the P.O.C.C. and Immortal Technique also represented HARD that day. It was an amazing display of racial, political, religious and Hip Hop unity. There were […]

Lupe Fiasco and The Guilt of the Leak
OK, I have to admit, I got Lupe Fiasco’s album, Food & Liquor. When it was first leaked, I resisted the urge to download it all of 24 hours before I caved into the impulse to see what this Chicago native had to offer. See, I had already snatched up his mixtapes and I was […]