(AllHipHop News) Jay Z has been using his platform to speak out about the social injustices that have happened in the United States, where two African-American men were murdered by police in less than 24 hours.
On Tuesday, bystanders captured a Baton Rouge police officer shooting and killing an unarmed man named Alton Sterling. As the nation grappled with the first shooting, police in Minnesota shot and killed Philando Castile during a traffic stop, on Wednesday.
Friday morning, Jay Z posted a new track on Tidal titled “Spiritual” that calls out police brutality. Well, Jay Z isn’t done making statements on the unrest after the release of the new song.
Today (July 10), the rapper posted a new playlist titled “Songs For Survival,” which features music from several artists including Beyonce, Nina Simone, Outkast, Kanye West, and many other artists.
Posted along with an image of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King together, the playlist is tailored to ease the souls of many by including music that calls out the injustice that has happened this past week.
(AllHipHop News) Rap star Lil Kim will return to reality television as one of the stars of “Celebrity Big Brother.”
According to reports, Kim has landed the highest contract the British show has ever doled out, with their offer of over $500,000.
Producers hope that Lil Kim will add tension, as well as a new viewing audience to the hit show.
Lil Kim, who has already starred in reality shows like “The Apprentice” and “Dancing With The Stars, is expected to address her plastic surgery, as well as reports that she is bleaching her skin.
“Producers are thrilled they’ve finally got her. It’s taken a lot of cash but they are confident she will be worth it,” a source connected to the show told The Mirror.
Other stars featured in “Celebrity Big Brother” include Mob Wives star Renee Graziano, Samantha Fox, Sarah Harding, Lady Colin Campbell and others.
For a few months fans have wondered what exactly happened with the murder of rapper Bankroll Fresh. Fresh was shot and killed in front of 2 Chainz’s Street Execs studio in March.
Various rumors swirled around his death, and several names were attached to the altercation. Bankroll’s former friend No Plug’s name was attached to the situation, but details of his involvement were unclear.
No Plug recently sat down with DJ Vlad and revealed that a female friend of Bankroll’s told him that No Plug was at Street Execs, and Fresh came to the studio immediately to confront him about letting people kick him out of the 9th Ward. No Plug says he kept trying to diffuse the situation but Bankroll Fresh wasn’t trying to hear it.
Plug says he walked out the studio but had to return because he realized he dropped his cell phones. According to No Plug, when he pulled back up to the studio Bankroll Fresh came outside with about 15 people.
They started shooting, Plug and his side shot back and Fresh ended up getting shot. No Plug says he called his lawyer and his name was cleared in the name of self defense because the altercation was caught on camera, and because Bankroll Fresh started the altercation.
Plug basically says their relationship went sour because Bankroll was jealous of him. No Plug believes that if him and Bankroll Fresh could’ve gotten past the situation everything could’ve gone back to normal because they’d known each other for so long. What are your thoughts?
(AllHipHop News) Drake and Rihanna have paid tribute to one of their young fans after losing her battle with cancer.
Megan Flores, who met the stars with help from the Make-A-Wish Foundation earlier this year, passed away on Saturday, E! News reports.
Drake immediately took to social media to pay tribute to the Florida native, after learning Megan had died.
“Rest in peace my angel. I know heaven is celebrating today,” the rapper captioned a shot of Megan on Instagram. “Thank you for the moments and emotions we share. I am blessed to have known you in this lifetime.”
Rihanna also took to social media to recall the first time she met the cancer patient back in March.
The “Diamonds” hitmaker shared a photo of the trio on Instagram on Saturday, and wrote, “I had the pleasure of meeting an angel on earth! After my show in Miami, @champagnepapi introduced me to Megan! She’s inspired me so much with her strength and her perspective on life! So fearless and kind!”
Rihanna went on to reveal she had kept in touch with Megan via social media, adding, “It’s heavy news that I can’t slide in your DMs anymore like I used to!! There was always a smile waiting for me there! You brightened any day! Rest up baby girl! We will miss you!!”
Megan, who was battling terminal cancer, was unable to contain her excitement when she met the pair back in March.
“BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!, I MET THE LOML (Love of my life),” she captioned a shot of herself with the Hotline Bling rapper. “He was so sweet & down to earth. Gave me and my family some OVO clothing. BEST DAY EVER. NO LIE. @champagnepapi LOVE YOU!”
Drake later dedicated his latest album, Views, to Megan.
“This body of work is dedicated to Megan Flores,” he wrote above the credits for the album’s opener, “Keep The Family Close.” “I pray for your well-being every day.”
(AllHipHop News) A prominent member of the Black Lives Matter movement was arrested last night (July 9) in Baton Rouge, following protests over the shooting death of local resident Alton Sterling.
According to reports, BLM leader DeRay McKesson was arrested as he walked along Airline Highway.
McKesson was among the hundreds of people peacefully protesting the recent shooting deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.
Sterling, 37, was unarmed when he was shot to death by a cop in front of a convenience store in Baton Rouge.
The following day, Philando Castile, 32, was shot by a white officer in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota. The aftermath of the horrific act was broadcast by Castile’s girlfriend on Facebook Live.
McKesson was chronicling last night’s protests in Baton Rouge via his Twitter and Periscope accounts.
“Again, the protestors have been peaceful tonight. The police have been violent. #BatonRouge,” McKesson Tweeted before his arrest. “If anything happens tonight, it was caused by the police. Everybody has been peaceful tonight but them.”
Witnesses said the activist was arrested as he filmed the protests, but as of press time, it was not known why he was detained.
Police had a heavy presence during the protests in Baton Rouge, which came on the heels of the shooting deaths of five officers in Dallas, during similar protests.
The sniper, military vet Micah Johnson, was allegedly upset with the Black Lives Matter movement as well as white police officers and white people in general.
Despite the carnage in Dallas, protests over Sterling and Philando Castile continued over the weekend in cities like St. Paul, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Atlanta, San Francisco and Fresno.
(AllHipHop News) Last night at Steez Day in Los Angeles, rapper Ab-Soul came out of nowhere with shots fired at Jay Electronica and Troy Ave.
The TDE rapper took some time, after performing the Black Hippy Remix of ScHoolboy Q’s latest single “THat Part” to freestyle his thoughts on the previous conflict between Jay and his fellow record-mate, Kendrick Lamar.
The rapper called out Jay Electonica for believing that Kendrick couldn’t rap better than him.
Although it’s been reported that the beef between Jay and Kendrick was squashed, it seems like Ab Soul needed to let him know who’s the real king.
I would think Joe would know how this goes down in Bandwagon Land. He may be operating under the illusion that people are fair or think rationally. Nope, Drake is the man of the hour and the fans are going to rock accordingly. Now, one would think after a pair of heavy disses and legitimately dope lyrics, people would at least think Joe had a case. I don’t know if they feel that way.
(AllHipHop News) Rapper/actress Queen Latifah has called on authorities to make sweeping systematic changes to bring about an end to the continued cases of police brutality against African-Americans.
The 46-year-old is among the celebrities who have been left heartbroken and outraged by the fatal shootings of Louisiana man Alton Sterling and Minnesota resident Philando Castile by cops earlier this week.
The controversies sparked protests in cities across the country on Thursday, but one march in Dallas, Texas turned violent when a sniper began opening fire on officers monitoring a Black Lives Matter demonstration.
Five police officials were killed, while seven cops have been left injured.
Latifah appeared on breakfast show “Today” on Friday to promote her new movie “Ice Age: Collision Course,” but the interview soon turned to the civil unrest, which has rocked the nation.
“I’m almost at a loss for words with this situation,” the star began, revealing she is struggling to keep a smile on her face during promotional duties for the film as she is so troubled by the deaths of Sterling and Castile.
The Dallas incident has left Latifah fearful for her own family as many of them are police officers, but as a black woman, she still worries about how she may be treated if she is stopped by an overzealous cop.
She continued, “I’m Queen Latifah, but I’m black wherever I go. I deal with the same experiences that other people deal with. I’m also the daughter of a cop, I’m also the sister of a cop, the cousin of cops, the niece of cops, so do I want the guns to now be turned on cops? I don’t want the guns turned on police any more than I want the guns turned on us.”
Latifah goes on to demand police chiefs take action to prosecute and punish those cops responsible for the unnecessary shootings, after a string of others involved in similar fatal incidents with African-Americans escaped conviction.
“It’s time to make an example out of someone… who is a police officer, ’cause there’s no way all these things could happen and there’s no guilty police officer,” she said.
“Every time these things happen, no one is really brought to justice at the end of the day. By the time it’s all said and done, the police officers usually walk, and what it does is leave us feeling empty and feeling hurt and feeling like we have no recompense, and that it’s gonna happen again. And what it does is also endanger the lives of police officers; it just creates more animosity.”
She insists serious changes are needed within the police force itself to allow officers to report “bad” cops and not fear being punished for calling out one of their own.
“You make all these good cops have to walk out here dealing with bad cops’ BS (bulls##t), dealing with the stuff that bad cops are doing. And the thing about it is, cops know that there are bad cops, but… I think their higher ups are leaving them powerless… so if they wanna say, ‘Hey, this dude is a bad apple’, they don’t leave them in a position where they can say it.
“What happens? You say something about it and then you’re blackballed. So this thing is something that really needs to start from the top because it’s leaving police officers powerless.”
Talking about this week’s atrocities, Latifah added:
“It’s terrible, but we have to get real about it. If we get real about it, we can deal with it. But if we want to act like, ‘Oh no, that’s their problem,’ and, ‘This only happens here…’ No, it’s happening to all of us and it should not have to affect all of us.
“We need police and we also don’t need to be the enemies of police. We need to really come together, face our real racial issues and deal with what’s happening from a systemic point of view. It’s gotta change.”
Latifah is not the only star demanding systematic change – Beyonce issued a call to action to her fans on Thursday urging them to lobby their local congressmen and women to make their grievances heard and Snoop Dogg and The Game took part in a peace rally in Los Angeles.
Lupe Fiasco, Macklemore and John Legend have also addressed the issues.
(AllHipHop News) Public Enemy group member Professor Griff is receiving death threats, after a picture of him posing with the man who gunned down five Dallas police officers surfaced on social media.
A picture of Professor Griff and Micah Johnson was on posted on Johnson’s Facebook page, shortly after it was revealed he was the sniper who killed five officers and injured seven other cops in a targeted attack.
The Dallas Police Department even issued an update on Johnson and named checked Professor Griff and his book A Warrior’s Tapestry as a source of inspiration for Johnson’s Afrocentric ideology.
Professor Griff has come forward to deny knowing Micah Johnson, saying he simply posed for a picture with the cop killer, and did not know him.
“The police and FBI have been watching me and tapping my phone they know who I talk too, I DO NOT KNOW THE SHOOTER,” Professor Griff tweeted.
Local police even contacted Professor Griff and questioned him about the image, which Griff said must have been taken after one of Public Enemy’s shows.
Professor Griff is using the hashtag #handsoffGriff to get the message across that neither he, nor Public Enemy were associated with the killer.
Meanwhile, group member Chuck D. retweeted a remix of Public Enemy’s classic “Fight The Power” by The Holy Kush featuring the rapper dressed in garb similar to clothes Micah Johnson is wearing in another picture.
YIKES! Snoop and The Game got a lot of props yesterday for leading a peaceful protest yesterday – straight to the LAPD. However, one brother is not having it. I think he may just have a really good point. I think the rapper’s made a good step yesterday, but this side has to be considered. “Does it make any sense that an artist that promotes violence and gang banging on every album to be doing a peaceful protest!? you are part of the f’n problem!”
I still applaud Snoop and The Game. This is a start from some folks those street tribes respect. Those dudes are really just products of their environment.
(AllHipHop News) The early reviews of SchoolBoy Q’s new album Blankface are overwhelmingly positive, but some are taking exception to some lyrics on a remix of “That Part.”
On the song, the rapper castigates the people that filmed the death of Alton Sterling, who was killed executioner-style by Baton Rogue police.
“THat Part (Remix)”:
“Gangbangin’ like we stand for somethin’
When Alton Sterling gettin’ k!lled for nothin’
Two cowards in the car, they’re just there to film
Sayin’ #BlackLivesMatter should’ve died with him
Wrong ngga in your hood, you gon’ ride on him
White ngga with a badge, you gon’ let that slide?
Tell me how they sent that footage off and slept that night”
The lyric offers another side that video taping brutality, which has been exposed through the advent of technology.
Aside, Q’s album is out and has and impressive roster of artists like Jadakiss, Kanye West, E-40, Tha Dogg Pound, Vince Staples and others like TDE’s SZA.
(AllHipHop News) Outspoken Chicago rapper and Roc Nation artist Vic Mensa canceled his show in Detroit due to racist tweets from the hosting Populux venue.
The rapper was set to perform July 29 with Joey Purp as part of his Back With a Vengeance Tour, before Populux posted the very inflammatory statements to their twitter account, prompting the artist to back out of the show.
The club would then issue an apology soon after the racist remarks were posted with claims of being hacked.
The controversial statements from the venue were in response to the murder of five police at a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas yesterday.
The tweets certainly didn’t go over too well with the MC, as the Black Lives Matter movement is a cause that Vic Mensa has shown much support for in the past.
Vic released his EP There’s Alot Going On last month and is currently working on his debut album Traffic.
Check out the controversial tweet from Detroit club Populux and the soon to follow apologies below.
(AllHipHop Features) At one time Saturday Night Live was the number one TV show at spawning the most successful mainstream comedic talent in the country, but The Daily Show has claimed that title over the last two decades.
The Comedy Central late night program served as a launching pad for showbiz heavyweights such as Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Larry Wilmore, Ed Helms, Samantha Bee, Olivia Munn, and Rob Corddry. It was also the outlet where many people around the world first became familiar with New York comedian Wyatt Cenac.
After helping pen scripts for King Of The Hill, Cenac joined The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as both an on-screen performer and member of the writing team. The gig earned him an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series in 2012.
Since parting ways with the satirical news series, Cenac’s star continued to rise thanks to his own stand-up comedy productions Wyatt Cenac: Brooklyn and Furry Dumb Fighter. He recently transformed his live weekly series Night Train to a digital program on Seeso as well.
In the second part of my conversation with Wyatt Cenac, I asked the performer/producer if he has ever hit the stage while under the influence of marijuana, what other comedians he studies, and why The Daily Show has become the premiere incubator for comedians.
There was a bit on your Furry Dumb Fighter special about how people always think that you’re high just by looking at you. First off, do you smoke?
Every now and again. But I’m not the cat who’s gonna wake up every morning and get high. It’s one of those things where if I have access, I’ll smoke every now and again. But I don’t go out of my way to do it everyday.
I heard your story about the first time you got high at a baseball game. Have you ever had any experiences being high while performing?
Not really. I’ve performed a couple of times stoned. I know people who will perform stoned and they enjoy it. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it. It was just that I always wind up feeling a little guilty if I have too much to drink or I am a little too out of it. I feel guilty that I’m not giving the audience enough.
As it is, I’m a low energy dude. I’m not running around on stage or doing too many animated things. So I feel like if I’m inebriated and even more sluggish than I already am, I start to feel bad.
[I feel like,] “These people didn’t want to see me this out of it. Now I just seem like a DJ doing the ‘Quiet Storm’ on the radio, just ready to put them to sleep.” [laughs]
You said you’re a low energy performer. Is that just your natural personality?
To a certain degree. I’ve never really been a super-animated person. I think sometimes I’ll get there if I’m with friends and we’re having fun. I’ve been a person that lays in the cut a little bit.
I see people that are animated, and I’m always very awed by it. When you look at somebody like Kevin Hart on stage, see how much energy that dude expends, and how physical he is as a performer, there’s something about it where I’m just like, “Wow, that’s amazing.”
That physicality is another joke telling method that he has at his disposal. It’s watching somebody do something that I feel like I don’t know if I could pull that off.
I saw an interview with Kevin Hart where he talked about how he studies other comedians. Are there certain comedians that you study?
Sure. I also have the benefit of having my weekly show Night Train. With that show, every Monday six different comedians are presented to the audience. But I also get to sit in the wings and watch.
Whether it’s a more established comedian or a comedian doing the show for the first time, I get to see how they perform and what they draw out of the audience. For me, that’s been my biggest thing as far as being able to see other comedians.
If a comedian has a special out – like Ali Wong’s [Baby Cobra] special just came out – I’ll sit down and watch that. But having a show every week is a nice way to see a bunch of other comedians.
You’ve won awards as a writer for The Daily Show. Looking back at all the people that came from that show, you’re talking about a “who’s who” of comedians and actors in the business. Was there anything that you feel like was happening there that led it to be this incubator of all these amazing talents?
I think part of that is a credit that goes to Jon [Stewart] and the producers of the show for recognizing and giving a platform to talented people. I think a lot of that credit goes to those talented people for seeing that platform, taking advantage of it, and being hungry to want to not just do that job, but also want to do something after that job.
TV jobs are rare, especially in late night and especially jobs where you get to perform under your own name. You get the opportunity to create a character for yourself and develop your voice. It’s different from a sitcom where you’re playing someone else.
[On The Daily Show] you’re actually playing a version of yourself. Night after night, you get the opportunity to put that out there. If I play Joey on Friends and I told a joke that wasn’t funny, I could be like, “That wasn’t me. That was Joey.”
But if I tell a joke as me, Wyatt Cenac, and it’s not funny, that falls on me. Whether I wrote it or not, people are going to be like, “That joke you told wasn’t funny. That field piece you did was stupid.” So I think there’s a certain amount of investment – because your name is attached to it – that you want it to do well.
Do you have any interest in hosting your own late night show? You have a lot of experience with that.
It’s definitely something that’s crossed my mind, because I do enjoy the world of late night. As far as a place to do things on television, it’s one of the more freeing places because you don’t have the same oversight that you do as a drama or sitcom.
I’ve thought about it, but at the same time I feel like I don’t know what I would necessarily want to bring to it. I haven’t sat down and thought what that would be. We’re at a nice time right now where there are so many late night shows, but also if you’re going to enter that field you need to have something to say.
(AllHipHop News) Last year Drake joined forces with Future for What A Time To Be Alive. Could the Toronto native partner with another Atlanta rapper for a joint project in the coming months?
AllHipHop.com spoke with Zaytoven about some of his upcoming production credits, and the hit maker revealed there has been discussion about Drake and Gucci Mane possibly releasing a full body of work together.
“We were at the video shoot. We were working on Gucci’s album, and Drake just came through,” says Zaytoven. “We were talking a little bit about working on a project. We were thinking about working on a project with Gucci and Drake.”
The world got a taste of what a GuWop/Drizzy mixtape would sound like when the song “Back On Road” dropped last month. Zone 6 and The 6 came together on the Murda Beatz produced track.
Even if that potential Drake and Gucci mixtape does not actually materialized, followers of Champagne Papi can look for the OVO boss to reconnect with Future on at least one upcoming track.
“We got one, maybe two, [Drake features] for Beast Mode 16. One for sure,” offers Zay about the sequel to his critically acclaimed Beast Mode mixtape with Future.
Zaytoven also revealed the duo has already settled on about 95% of the songs that will appear on Beast Mode 16. Fans of the “Real Sisters” rhymer should expect more music that made the 2015 original mixtape part of Future’s “4peat” run of successful solo projects.
“When you listen to Beast Mode 1, to me it’s almost like a work of art. All the tracks we did were real piano driven, real melody driven,” Zaytoven states. “So we’re back at that again, but it’s almost times 10 on this one.”
In addition, Zay was heavily involved with Gucci’s Everybody Looking album which is due out July 22.
I woke up thankful to be alive and grateful to be with my daughter. I got up begrudgingly to traverse to New York’s Pix 11 news station to talk about a pair of dead Black man that were slain at the hands of police. “Do I really want to talk about this?” I had to do it. The reports are early, but it is pretty clear from the accounts and the videos that there was foul play. Sure, there will be an investigation. Sure, police are innocent until proven guilty. The only issue is these very American processes often yield decidedly un-American results if you are a person of color.
Alton Sterling was executed. Philando Castile’s girlfriend was so mistrustful of the police she Facebook-lived her man as he died. Did I mention a 4-year old child was in the car? Later in the day, South Carolina death was ruled a “suicide” when a young man died by hanging himself. The KKK was handing out flyers in the area the day before, according to reports. When I got to Pix 11, I saw friend and consummate activist Tamika D. Mallory – refreshing. Whenever she is around, I know something intelligent will come out of a conversation even when I am unnerved.
When we talked, however, it was like having Arctic water thrown on me – sobering. Tamika talked honestly about her teenage son and how she simply wanted him to be allowed to live in this 2016 America. I thought about my daughter and the world that lurks in the not-so-distant future. Its maddening in many ways. When I went on the air I spoke honestly, likening this toxic environment to “mental terrorism.” I believe to be a valid comparison. There have been studies that show that systemic racism and even the perception of racism in action cuts short the lives of Black people, especially Black men. When it was all said and done, Tamika was as sharp, resilient and powerful as ever. And then the the morning show jumped to Ciara’s wedding. New York’s Pix 11 with Chuck Creekmur and Tamika D. Mallory:
My heart dropped as the brief segment ended and we really didn’t get to drill how we felt home. Poor Alton and Philando. I look at my face on Pix 11 – worn and sad – and I thought of the people I know. We have migraines. We are afraid to leave our homes. We have sleepless nights interrupted by nightmares. Just Monday, my daughter and I were happy during an African Festival that celebrates the origins of life, culture, unity, music, food, fashion, clothing, positive vibes, family and, more importantly life. Life. What a precious thing.
We cannot leave fate up for those that have no respect for our lives, or those that dismiss our movements to take a smidgen of this American apple pie. So, now I am getting ready for the #AllLivesMatter rally in New York. Pardon my sarcasm.
I don’t know where to end this so I’m just going to end it with this: We will not lose.
#RIP to all victims of police brutality and misconduct.
(AllHipHop News) Texas rapper Z-Ro sat down with AllHipHop.com to talk about several topics. The Drankin’ & Drivin’ album creator discussed his career, being considered “underrated,” and the changes that have taken place in rap music since the 1990’s.
“Back then, you really had to be chosen to be a favorite. You really had to be saying something that somebody wanted to hear,” Z-Ro tells AllHipHop’s Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur. “Now it’s way different, because you don’t have to say nothing no more. You can just get on there and just recite the ABC’s in a cool type of way, and you’re number one.”
The 39-year-old rhymer released his first album in 1998. His debut LP Look What You Did to Me was followed by over a dozen other projects including Z-Ro vs. the World, Let the Truth Be Told, and Crack.
(AllHipHop News) The Game and Snoop Dogg have successfully organized a peaceful protest march that ended with them meeting with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and LAPD Police Chief Charlie Beck.
All parties made a unified plea for peace in the wake of violence involving civilians and police officers. The closed-door meeting took place at the LAPD’s headquarters.
“The mission is to reintroduce our community to the LAPD-just to get some understanding and dialogue. We’re the ones they’re going to be dealing with, we’re the ones that are going to be pulled over,” Snoop Dogg said. “We’re here on peace.”
Check out some of the images and video from the march, which was also attended by West Coast legend Kam.
Hip-Hop was always supposed to be the voice of the people. The art form developed out of struggle and never stopped talking about what it meant to be black in America and to struggle in a system created for oppression. Police brutality (or violence) has always been a present theme in hip-hop music and culture, because police violence has always existed in urban communities.
Released in 1988, “F**k tha Police” by NWA was the first song that directly, and confrontationally, addressed police brutality. Framed, ironically, as a trial of the Los Angeles Police Department for their history of brutality with Ice Cube, MC Ren, and Eazy-E acting as “prosecuting attorneys” and witnesses. In the now historic letter from the F.B.I., the U.S. Government accused NWA of “encouraging violence and disrespect” for law enforcement officers.
But, what’s changed in the last 30 years since this song was released? Very little. Former United States Congressman Joe Walsh in a now-deleted tweet blamed the sniper shooting of 11 Dallas police officers (5 fatally) on “Black lives matter punks,” as well as the President.
NWA’s “F**k tha Police” highlighted the police violence that was a direct result of the crack epidemic in Los Angeles. By the time the album was released, drug possession arrests had doubled in less than ten years. In addition, the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act changed the system of prosecuting drug crimes as a punitive one rather than one of rehabilitation. The act changed the mandatory minimum sentencing for possession of 5 grams of crack to 5 years, whereas possession of powder cocaine was 500 grams, a 100:1 disparity that disproportionately affected African Americans. Ironically, 30 years later after the decimation of an entire generation, government officials admit that the act was a ‘tremendous’ failure.
“F** tha Police” was also inspired by LAPD “crackdowns” on gang violence. Compton’s repressive anti-gang laws allowed police to detain any group of three or more young people, allowing for young kids to be treated like criminals. The California Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act (STEP Act) of 1988 made it possible for a youth convicted of “participating in a gang,” to receive a felony sentence of up to three years in prison. On the song Ice Cube explained, “Fu**ing with me ‘cause I’m a teenager/with a little bit of gold and a pager.” Oppressive youth laws fueled and still influences the sound of West Coast hip-hop.
Conversely, J. Dilla’s “Fk the Police,” was released over ten years later on September 18, 2001. The song was supposed to be released on MCA Records as part of Dilla’s first major debut. However, the single and album never saw major release. Instead, because he felt strongly about the song, “Fk the Police” was released just a week after the 911 attacks as a single on Up Above Records.
These two songs are just two examples of protest songs against police in hip-hop, in fact, over two dozen songs with “F**k the Police” as part or all of its title exist in the genre. As the voice of a people, and multiple generations, hip-hop will no doubt continue to write about police violence which is a consistent and daily fact of life in the urban communities where the music originates. However, even hip-hop empathizes with the loss of life that took place last night in Dallas with messages communicated by various artists via social media.
“F** the Police,” as Dilla states at the beginning of his song, is not a statement that advocates violence against police officers. It, instead, is an indictment of a corrupt system that tortures the people in the same communities it is sworn to protect.
(AllHipHop News) Kid Cudi is set to let loose his latest musical project in the coming weeks. The Cleveland born artist declared Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’ will arrive before the end of the summer.
Cudi spoke with Pharrell Williams’ OTHERtone Beats 1 show. The conversation included the “Day ‘n’ Nite” performer discussing his battle with depression.
“I didn’t like that I had money, success, and I had made it, and everybody I had ever met in my life – good people – weren’t able to experience the same,” explained Cudi about dealing with wealth and fame. “I wasn’t able to truly enjoy my success. Even though I worked hard for it, it bothered me that I had so much and my friends didn’t.”
The rapper/actor born Scott Mescudi also chatted about his drug use, his rise in the music industry, and his first meeting with his frequent collaborator Kanye West.
“Plain Pat calls me up, and he’s like, ‘Kanye wants you to come to Hawaii,'” Cudi said. “I had already met him in passing, but this was like actual up close and personal.”
That studio session eventually produced “Already Home” off Jay Z’s Blueprint 3 and Kanye West’s “Welcome To Heartbreak” off 808s & Heartbreak.
The full Kid Cudi interview with OTHERtone airs July 10 on Apple Music.
(AllHipHop News) Schoolboy Q has dropped his highly anticipated fourth album Blank Face LP. The 17-track project features Kanye West, Jadakiss, Vince Staples, e-40, Tha Dogg Pound, and more.
Besides Q’s latest body of work hitting stores, the TDE representative announced a 24-hour short film installation in Los Angeles. Fans can experience the movie for free by showing proof of purchase for the Blank Face LP.
