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Jay-Z: Hip-Hop’s Hustle Man?
The views expressed inside this editorial aren’t necessarily the views of AllHipHop.com or its employees.
“Well, it might be sad. Or might sound funny but that’s what people do for money.”
Divine Sounds
There is one in every ‘hood, a “hustle man.” Like the dude from the old “Martin” show, “Hustle Man” is the type that would sell vitamin water to his grandma on her deathbed. The type of guy who hawks R.I.P. hoodies outside of funeral homes. The type of person who would use one of the most revolutionary events in modern history to sell T-shirts.
Last week, Shawn “Jay Z” Carter made headlines when he vandalized the Occupy Wall Street movement by creating “Occupy All Streets” T-shirts that are to be sold by his Rocawear Company. Although, it is still being debated whether Jay will go through with it, the fact that he had the cahoonas to attempt it in the first place says a lot about the character of the man.
If you ask the folks from “The Roc” and supporters like Russell Simmons, they will tell you that Jay is just trying to spread the message by launching an Occupy All Streets Movement. If you ask others, he is either trying to make a quick buck ,or worst, trying to dilute the movement by diverting attention away from the economic center of the planet.
What Jay Z is trying to pull off is a textbook example of the Hip Hop Hegelian Dialectic .(thesis, antitheses, syntheses) In this case, create the “problem”, front like your solving the “problem” and then sell the “solution” for $22.
Ask any true Hip Hop head what is the major problem with the art form, today and he will say, without hesitation, “commercial exploitation” However, this is not limited to Hip Hop alone, as commercialism has invaded every aspect of society. What makes Hip Hop different is that it started as a movement to give a vehicle of expression to poor and oppressed communities. So, when you co-opt Hip Hop you are co-opting the voice of the people.
It must be noted that commercialism did not start with Shawn Carter, as the practice has plagued Hip Hop every since Adidas found out that they could make a dollar using RunDMC to promote their sneakers in the 80’s. One can also remember that infamous Nike commercial from the 90’s where KRS proudly proclaimed that the “revolution” was not about fighting for human rights but the revolution was merely, “basketball.”
In a capitalist society, nothing is sacred, not even social movements.
In his book “There’s a Riot Going On,” Peter Doggett traces the genesis of corporations jackin’ social movements back to a 1968 meeting of advertising agents and entertainment company bigwigs , “Selling the American Youth Market.” According to Doggett, attendees paid $300 dollars a head to find out ways to make money by exploiting the Civil Rights and Anti-War Movements of the 60’s.
It must be noted that commercial exploitation is not just limited to music. Remember, Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Speech” has been used to sell cell phones and Malcolm X’s entire ideology has been reduced to the price of a postage stamp.
What is interesting about the Jigga scandal is the straw man argument where a conversation about the exploitation of a movement was quickly flipped into a debate over who he was gonna break off with some Benjamins.
Although entertainers have been known to give donations to social causes (Marlon Brando and other celebrities supported the Black Panther Party), for the most part, it’s strickly business.
As Herbert Haines wrote in “Black Radicals and the Civil Rights Mainstream 1954-1970,” “business support for pro-civil rights changes was brought about not by moral enlightenment but by recognition that racial trouble damaged business interests.” Historically, social unrest has been bad for business. And a business owner is more than happy to throw a couple of dollars at “radicals” if it means not having to worry about about a brick being thrown through his store window.
(Just look at how many hood dudes got sneaker franchises after the ’92 LA rebellions.)
So, when millionaire missionaries such as Shawn Carter and Russell Simmons support projects, it is more so to calm the restless natives then to aid the revolution. The reason why Simmons is given a hood pass is because he holds the golden microphone. Over the last decade Hip Hop activists such as Rev. Conrad Tillard (formerly Minister Conrad Muhammad), Rosa Clemente and Dr. Jared Ball have all pointed out how Simmons has used his star power to, allegedly, undermine legitimate grassroots movements.
The problem is that in the past we have placed symbol over substance.
In his book “An African Answer” Edgar Ridley, argues that “those who are victims of symbolism are, invariably, the ultimate losers in any dialogue or conflict.” So, we have to realize that the symbolic act of showing up at a protest or wearing a bootleg version of a movement’s slogan on a shirt does not mean that your favorite celebrity is getting ready to toss a Molotov cocktail.
However, the outrage generated by the Occupy All Streets T-shirts does signify a change in the collective consciousness of the people who are beginning to realize that everything is not for sell. Especially the economic future of our children. Finally, Hip Hop fans are beginning to demand accountability from those who exploit the art form.
But Jay Z is not the first person to exploit Hip Hop and he won’t be the last.
Unfortunately, there will always be those who are willing to sell their souls to the highest bidder.
And the culture.
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott represents the Militant Mind Militia. He can be reached at mi*****************@***il.com Website http://www.militantmindmilitia.com Follow on Twitter @truthminista
Showbiz and AG “South Bronx Sh*t”
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Quintescence “Raphonizing”
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Blast Holiday Ft. Mistah FAB “Coldest Winter Ever”
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UK Week on AllHipHop.com: A UK Revolution!
AllHipHop.com is read and enjoyed by a worldwide audience, and lest we forget our friends across the pond, we say it’s time to pay props to some of the top rappers and musicians from outside the U.S. border.
Kicking off our focus on international Hip-Hop culture is the UK, where MCs are the new pop stars – thanks to artists such as Dizzee Rascal and Tinie Tempah.
Dizzee was crowned ‘Best British Male’ at The Brit Awards in 2010 and Tinie in 2011. Only a few years ago, this award would have been taken by pop royalty such as Robbie Williams – one of the most successful solo artists of the past 20 years – and Paul Weller from legendary band, The Jam.
The attention that these MCs are getting from the public and the media has made some of the biggest players in Hip-Hop stand up and take notice. Jay Z was recently quoted about reaching out to Tinie Tempah: “If he wants to be super and successful, he should come to us. I’ve been hearing about him.”
In addition, DJ Whoo Kid has recorded mixtapes with Skepta, Giggs, Tinie Tempah, Wiley, and Klashnekoff and Diddy made #Team UK, a trending topic on Twitter – and that is is just scratching the surface.
The history of the UK MC takes us back a lot further to the late 70s and 80s, with reggae sound systems such as Saxon and Unity, through to London Posse and the emergence of jungle in the late 80s to early 90s. However, it wasn’t until the birth of grime in the early 2000s that the mainstream really stood up and started to take notice.
What differentiates the UK MC from any other MC is that they emerged into the mainstream via rave culture. Rave culture was spawned out of the late 80s acid house movement. The key elements were pirate radio and the raves. This would ensure that jungle then garage and grime sounds would be heard, before any mainstream media would truly jump on board with UK MCs in the early 2000s.
AllHipHop.com managed to catch up individually with SIX of the biggest urban artists in the UK – Professor Green, Wretch 32, Sway, Estelle, Durrty Goodz, and Giggs:
Professor Green is one of the premier rappers of any ethnicity in the UK. After surviving the folding of his label a few years ago, along with the suicide of his distant father, Mr. Green has taken the charts by storm with his soulful, personal track “Read All About It.” Find out about the White rapper whose influence is credited heavily to the Old School American greats.
Wretch 32, originally part of the grime scene and The Movement collective, has since broadened his sound by making credible commercial Hip-Hop. This gained him three Top 5 national hits, including a #1 for his single “Don’t Go,” and he has become one of the biggest stars of 2011. His debut mainstream album, Black & White is out now and entered at #4 in the UK album charts.
Sway, originally from the UK Hip-Hop scene, was one of the first rappers to merge Hip-Hop and grime together to create a unique sound, which has provided a template for other artists to follow. He’s seen support from artists including Akon and Lupe Fiasco, and his new album, The Deliverance, is due out soon.
Estelle is one of the top R&B and rap artists to make the trip across the pond and find commercial success in the United States. Originally known as an MC in the UK, Estelle’s fans soon recognized that she could sing, too, opening up a new lane for her eclectic talents. Her recent single “Thank You” from All of Me and her surprising appearance on the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards Cypher has rallied new attention to the lady from Hammersmith, London.
Durrty Goodz is one of the original grime MCs – developing his style and delivery initially over drum and bass/jungle and later over UK garage and grime. He would go on to battle “The Godfather Of Grime,” Wiley, and deliver a classic EP entitled, Axiom. He’s collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Stephen Marley and KRS One. His new album, Overall, is out now.
Giggs, hailing from Peckham, South East London, is uncompromisingly gritty, raw, and gangster. His style has seen him grab attention from some of the biggest players in Hip-Hop from Young Guru to DJ Whookid to B.O.B., all proclaiming to be fans of his work.
Look for individual features on each of the artists above AND MORE, as AllHipHop.com celebrates the rap artists and music of the UK all this week!
Johnta Austin “Make Love”
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Yung Berg Ft. Ya Boy, Menace, Noble and Driicky Graham “Magical”
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Juelz Santana Responds To Arrest; Taunts Police Officers
(AllHipHop News)
Juelz Santana has commented on his recent arrest for making terroristic threats.
Juelz was arrested in New Jersey last week, after police pulled his Bentley over for unknown reasons and attempted to search the luxury vehicle.
According to Juelz, things went downhill from there.
“How many mugshots they gonna take of me smfh!!! 46k bail,” Juelz tweeted. “Police impounded my bently so I guess I gotta bring the rose out! f**k they thought that was my only car lol #Whooooaaaaaa,”
While details on the arrest are scarce, Juelz blamed the incident on Bergen County Police.
“It’s the NJ Bergen County Police. They be bored ‘no action’ smh so when they c someone like me they make it a big deal,” Juelz tweeted to his 473,000 followers.
In February, Juelz Santana surrendered to police and posted $125,000 in bail, after a 10 month investigation resulted in weapons and drug charges.
That arrest was the result of a 10-month investigation into gang activity at Juelz studio, which is located in Bergen County.
Police raided the studio in January and found 17 baggies of high grade marijuana and two loaded 9mm handguns.
Jay-Z Pulls Rocawear “Occupy All Streets” Shirts From Store
(AllHipHop News)
Jay-Z Rocawear Clothing company has removed its “Occupy All Streets” t-shirts from their website, after criticism surround the shirt, which was a take on “Occupy Wall Street.”
The t-shirts were apparently removed in response to critics who accused the rap mogul of trying to profit off of the “Occupy Wall Street” policital movement.
Prior to being showcased on the Internet, Jay-Z’s company released a statement stating that they would not be donating the proceeds of the T-shirts to the “Occupy Wall Street” movement.
“The ‘Occupy All Streets’ T shirt was created in support of the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement,” a rep for Rocawear said in a statement. “Rocawear strongly encourages all forms of constructive expression, whether it be artistic, political or social. ‘Occupy All Streets’ is our way of reminding people that there is change to be made everywhere, not just on Wall Street. At this time we have not made an official commitment to monetarily support the movement.”
That announcement caused discord between “Occupy Wall Street” supporters and Jay-Z, whom they claimed was profiting off of the movement and not sharing.
Opposition to the Rocawear t-shirts began when Jay-Z was seen on the Rocawear website advertising the shirt for sale (Friday November 7th).
At press time reps for Jay-Z or Rocawear have not made a comment.
NiteCap Extended: Big Sean/iamPeterBailey.com Exclusive
Pac D## Live in Phoenix, AZ
Ludacris Ft. Meek Mill – Say It To My Face (BTS)
Killa Kyleon – “Bodies HIt The Floor” (Live @ A3C)
Kendrick Lamar Confirms Working With Beat Legend Just Blaze
During Kendrick Lamar’s visit to NYC for his Sneaker Pimps performance this past Friday night (November 11), AllHipHop.com caught up with the young Compton rapper to talk about the alleged upcoming Just Blaze produced single slated to drop next week.
Just Blaze took to Twitter Thursday (November 10) to announce the news as he tweeted, “Me and @kendricklamar single next week maybe? Maybe. I dunno.”
“Me and Just Blaze been working on some s**t,” the young Compton spitter explained. “We have a possible on in the can.”
Lamar connected with the producer during a studio session with Dr. Dre.
“We was in a studio session one day and you know I introduced myself as a new artist man, humbling myself you know because Just [Blaze] is in the building.”
“How you doing sir, I’m Kendrick Lamar and I’m out your way,” Lamar says finishing with a laugh. “The next studio session, you know he wanted to work so it was a honor, I jumped in.”
No song title is confirmed for the single as of yet.
Not present in the video, but Lamar denied the rumored track with Dr. Dre allegedly titled “Compton City,” which was also said to be produced by Just Blaze. The song was rumored to be the next single off of Detox.
However, Lamar says that it’s nothing more than a “rumor.”
Tyrese Breaks from Movies to Offer His Sexy “Open Invitation”
Bottom line, Tyrese, the singer, really wants you to support his new album. His Open Invitation has gone to #1 on iTunes in its first two weeks, as longtime fans return to the root of their love for the chocolaty, wide-smiling Tyrese – his voice. It was 1994 when fans first discovered his raspy, old soul voice, spotlighted front and center in a commercial for the world’s #1 selling beverage.
In the years since then, the modeling world and then the rest of us discovered that his chiseled good looks were marketable – for underwear (of course!), fragrances, soda, and much more. Beyond that, Hollywood was eyeing his acting chops, where those same good looks translated nicely on the big screen, along with buzz-worthy performances that pulled him further away from the studio. But now, he’s back.
AllHipHop.com recently visited with a surprising, early morning version of Tyrese – full of charisma, sensuality, and plenty of plugs for his latest endeavor. There are many words to describe the new album – soulful, raw, sexual, groovy, and “Fireworkz!” come to mind – but again, Tyrese would rather you check it out for yourself. Check out his whirlwind interview here:
Tyrese: What’s happening?
AllHipHop.com: Hey, Tyrese. How are you?
Tyrese: What’s up, AllHipHop.com? How you doing?
AllHipHop.com: I’m good! Did I wake you up? You seem sleepy.
Tyrese: Nah, I’m wide awake. This is my talking voice.
AllHipHop.com: Okay. [laughter]
Tyrese: Just relaxed.
AllHipHop.com: Wow. It’s very sexy, Tyrese. Thank you for this morning upper! [laughter] I want to jump right into my questions. So I know you’ve been doing a lot of promo this week for some new music that you’re releasing, and it’s been a while since we’ve heard you on the music front. The new album is Open Invitation, so the first thing I want to ask is, what are you openly inviting us to?
Tyrese: Well, it’s been a few years since I dropped an album or did anything musically, so my first invitation is to hope that the fans give me another shot at their heart, musically. I had a conversation with will.i.am and he said, ‘Tyrese, you’ve convinced the world that you’re a movie star, because you’ve been doing so many movies back-to-back. People have got a short attention span. You’ve got your real loyal fans, it’s ride or die, but you know, you’ve been doing so many others back-to-back.’
I had to sit on that for a minute. And it’s like, you know what? You’re absolutely right. But here’s the good thing. A fan is a fan, and a supporter is a supporter. Because somebody reads your book doesn’t mean somebody bought an album from you before. Because somebody shows up to see you in a movie doesn’t mean they even know or are aware of the fact that you are a singer. But they are a fan of something that you’re capable of. So now, you’ve just got to put the music on their minds and get it on people’s radars.
So I think for me, it’s challenging and exciting at the same time to know that we’re at 1.7 billion worldwide in box-office received, because everything from Transformers to Fast and Furious, New York Times bestselling author in one month…all of these statistics are great, so I’m looking at all of this energy out there in the universe floating around. They may be all a bunch of bits and pieces of me, but it’s the same person. So that’s my open invitation. That’s my invitation to this album.
AllHipHop.com: Okay. Let me ask you about the first single, which is “Stay.” That is like super grown-man sexy. So it was surprising to me that you let that out for the single, but it sounds like an evolution for you. So tell me about that. Tell me about “Stay.”
Tyrese: Well, you know, I pay a lot of attention to what’s out there musically. And I just decided, you know what? Because these songs may be popular doesn’t mean people actually want to show up and see somebody in concert. It’s perception vs. reality. The reality is you don’t want to go see somebody do a whole concert in Auto-Tune.
AllHipHop.com: This is very true.
Tyrese: You just don’t. You want to go support somebody who’s really going to put their heart on the mic, really put their best foot forward, really turn it on. For me, I think, here’s another perception vs. reality.
You’ve got people out here caught up in the numbers. Now the numbers are great. Congratulations to whoever ends up being number one this week. But you’ve got somebody that will end up selling the most records the first week out, and it’ll drop off 95 percent the next week, because people will finally hear the album, because their perception and the hype make them go get the album. Then they hear it, and it’s trash.
AllHipHop.com: Right.
Tyrese: My thing is, what is the view of my album going to be like at the end of six months vs. that first week out? And that’s what I’m about.
AllHipHop.com: Okay. So, you went sort of for a throwback sound because for you, that represents a time when people really put their work in…I see.
Tyrese: It represents longevity. It doesn’t represent a quick fix of something right quick. Okay, you’ve got it now. How do you really sell? Are you going to really love this album three months from now? Or is it because everybody was buzzing and hyped about this album for the first week out, then you finally got it, and you don’t like it?
So for me, I’m saying this because this has been the R&B feedback I’ve gotten from women just like yourself. I listen to music all day, every day. I’m in tune with a woman. Because they’re singing about sex doesn’t mean you want to have sex to their music. You’ve got all these little boys out there singing all these supposed grown man songs. I’m not convinced. You’re like a little teenager on stage trying to sing about sex. What are you talking about?
AllHipHop.com: Okay!
Tyrese: That’s what women have told me, and that’s what inspired me to get back in the studio to do it again. So for me, I don’t want to sell the most records, I just want to sell my records. And anybody who knows me, I did this one interview on the radio station.
Sometimes I’ll do interviews, my dear, and I’m like a student where I’m listening, and I’m just like wow, never thought about it that way. So they’re saying, ‘After you hear this Open Invitation album, you’re going to understand where real music comes from. Real this, real that.’ [The radio personality] went on and on. Then he said, ‘Tyrese, with the state of music, we all know that if you wanted to make some real money you wouldn’t be doing another album.’
AllHipHop.com: Right. This isn’t the time to make money for most people right now in the industry, for sure.
Tyrese: So, if you wanted to make some real money, you’d stay doing movies. So that’s my motivation – every tweet, Facebook, MySpace, letters, e-mails, and more importantly, running into the fans in person. ‘We love you in the movies, we need another album…’ So for me, AllHipHop.com, I get the alerts every day. Me and my man Shark are always exchanging e-mails.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, I know you’re a friend and fan of AllHipHop! We love that.
Tyrese: I love your website. Seriously, when I sit down in front of my laptop, if you type in ‘a-l…’, it’ll take me straight to AllHipHop, I swear to God. So for me, I did this album independent, my dear, and you know who you are. You know how to convince your readers of what they need in their collection. I need this energy. I did it independent. Some people were like, ‘He’s going to go independent; he’s going to fall on his face.’
My album is number one on iTunes, first number one in my career, and whoever ends up being number one next Tuesday on the Billboard Charts and all that, congratulations. My album will speak for itself. Before you buy it, go on iTunes because the fans can download it digitally, worldwide, on iTunes. It’s a total of 16 songs. I’ve got T.I., Rick Ross, R Kelly, Ludacris, this new girl named Ken, this was amazing, on the song called “Angel,” and my man J Rock is on this song called “I’m Home.” I put my best foot forward. It’s the best of me, for you, for the fans. It’s a part of the music, and I don’t know. I put my heart on the mic.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, you just answered my question about who else featured on the album and collaborations.
Tyrese: You haven’t heard the album yet, right?
AllHipHop.com: I’ve heard a few songs off of it, and that was “Stay” and at least one of the others you just mentioned. But I wanted to ask you, in terms of the styles, you mentioned some in the collaborations. Is the style of “Stay” what the fans can expect for most of the album?
Tyrese: No, no, no. “Stay” is in the spirit of the album, but you know what? Before you even buy it, because I wish we had sent it to you, just go to iTunes and listen to all the snippets. You’ll see.
AllHipHop.com: Okay. So let me ask you, Tyrese. For our readers, I’m really thinking about you and knowing that you’re a fan of AllHipHop, but I’m remembering some pivotal Tyrese moments in history, and I think it really speaks to how you are this triple threat. So there might be people who know you in one field, then people who know you in another lane. So one pivotal moment for you was the Coca-Cola commercial with you on the bus. Tell me about that, and how you’ve evolved over time since then.
Tyrese: Only by God’s grace can you do a 30-second commercial, hustle, drive, focus, determination, and of course God’s favor can expand a 30-second commercial to 17 years of some form of show business. Ask people in the past that have sold way more records, been in movies, way more awards they’ve won, they’re gone. I’m still here. The turtle wins the race.
AllHipHop.com: You know, your physical exterior doesn’t hurt either. I know you’ve done some modeling over the years, and that’s probably what got some people’s attention, especially the ladies. So tell me about the modeling side of Tyrese, and how that came about.
Tyrese: Well, you know, I just never really considered myself a model. There was just somebody taking pictures. I never considered myself a model. I don’t know, there’s a lot of people that are good looking, I guess, attractive, sexy, fly, swag, whatever you call it. I’ve never really considered myself a model. I just kind of do my thing, and it gets appreciated.
AllHipHop.com: Alright. Appreciated! Well, the third pivotal thing that we know you’ve done is Baby Boy. That’s like a cult classic in the ‘hood. Why do you think people respond so well and for so long over Baby Boy and your performance in that?
Tyrese: You know what? It’s just something everybody can relate to. I think there’s a little bit of Jody and Yvette in all of us. I’ll never forget this dude in Australia that said to me, ‘I’m “Baby Boy,” I’m “Jody.” My mother raised us on her own, and had these f*cking boyfriends. I love that f*cking movie.’ It’s just one of those movies that a lot of people can relate to and identify with. Since we did Baby Boy, that’s why I asked Taraji [Henson] to be my leading lady in the “Stay” video.
AllHipHop.com: Right. I think people will be looking forward to seeing that. You guys had good chemistry, even though the relationship wasn’t interpersonal in Baby Boy, you guys worked well together.
Tyrese: Yeah, I love Taraji.
AllHipHop.com: What will we see in the “Stay” video with Taraji?
Tyrese: Well, I hope you post three different things on this. One thing is the link that takes you straight to iTunes, a total of 16 songs. Tell them to listen to it before they buy it, it’s fine by me. The second thing is I hosted an album listening party in my living room. Did you see that?
AllHipHop.com: I did see a clip on that.
Tyrese: Yeah, so I hosted an album listening party in my living room, and the third thing is, hopefully you’ll post the “Stay” video. And between all of that energy right there, we’re good to go, because AllHipHop is worldwide, baby!
AllHipHop.com: We are global, for sure. A lot of people are going to see this. So Tyrese, tell me, if people want to go out and see you live, are you performing at all? Are you touring at all?
Tyrese: We’re trying to put a tour together right now to go out at the top of the year. I’m pretty exhausted. I’ve done two world tours, gone to nine different countries to promote both of these movies. I’ve done at least 13 cities and conventions to promote my book. The album is out. I just want people to marinate and live with the music for a couple of months and, we’ll go out at the top of the year and have some fun out there.
AllHipHop.com: Okay. So I want to ask you about weathering the media. I think it’s the times you’re doing something good when people are talking about you. But you’ve had some bumps along the way in the media over the years, so how do you weather that? Do you care about that at this point in your career?
Tyrese: You know, listen. I’m going to generalize the response, and I’m going to say this. Most of us entertainers work real hard at covering up who we are and a lot of our struggles and issues, and we hope people just focus on the music. Love the music, love the movies, love the sexy. We try to keep that on the forefront. We are literally growing up and learning and bumping our heads along the way.
But like somebody that lives in the neighborhood, you can go have some trauma, some problems, some issues, some health issues, and it’s just some sh*t you’re dealing with, and only the people that live in your neighborhood will know about it. When we make a mistake, say something wrong, do something wrong, it’s amplified, it’s magnified, because we’re growing up with the whole world watching us. So, you live and learn. I have no regrets about my star power, my fame, my success. I have no regrets whatsoever. If I ever rubbed anybody the wrong way, p##### them off, said something wrong, I apologize. I’m growing up and learning every single day, trying to be the best version of me I can be.
AllHipHop.com: Okay, okay. That’s a good thing to point out though… is that you get unfairly criticized when your life has to be in the spotlight at all times, because we all stumble and fall.
Tyrese: Absolutely. None of us, whether private or public figures, none of us are the same persons we were even two years ago. It’s the worst to p### people off when you’re not even aware of it.
AllHipHop.com: For sure. Will we hear some of these bumps reflected in the new music?
Tyrese: Wait until you get it, that’s all I can say. Before you even print this article, hopefully you’ll give me a chance and listen to this album, so that whatever you’re going to say about it is coming from a real place.
AllHipHop.com: Okay, I definitely am going to listen to the entire album before I write the intro to this. One thing I’m going to ask you about, though, I don’t know if you know, but at AllHipHop, the majority of us are originally from Delaware, even though we’ve been up in New York City for years. We ran a story a couple weeks ago about you getting kicked out of a radio station down in Delaware, and we know the guy who kicked you out!
Tyrese: Yeah, I already talked to Chuck [Creekmur] about that. Absolutely. It’s all good. You know what? I’ve got love for Delaware. That issue was fresh on my mind when I went into that radio station. It wasn’t Delaware specific. It’s something that’s going on everywhere in the country. I think liquor stores and liquor banks should not be that close to elementary and junior high schools, because of the types of personalities they attract.
It was fresh on my mind, I addressed it when I went on the air, and I got kicked out of the station, and I had my music banned. But it is what it is. My story will never change. I have no regrets about speaking my truth. It was fresh on my mind, as I had just left an elementary school, and the liquor bank was right there. All I wanted was a Coca-Cola. They didn’t even that.
AllHipHop.com: Okay, well, I can definitely agree with you that liquor stores don’t belong near schools. And it’s like that in Delaware, and lots of other places. I know you’re super busy, so thank you, Tyrese, for your time. We appreciate all the love at AllHipHop.
Hip-Hop Rumors: The Gay Mafia Runs Hip-Hop, Fat Joe Says!
GAY MAFIA CONTROLS HIP-HOP!?
Fat Joe thinks so! In a recent interview with VLAD TV, Joe let it be known that rappers and the culture of Hip-Hop are no longer driving the urban force known as Hip-Hop!
“[Hip-hop] is the greatest gay market in the world. The hip-hop community is most likely owned by gay. I happen to think there’s a gay mafia in hip-hop. Not rappers — editorial presidents of magazines, the PDs at radio stations, the people who give you awards at award shows. This is the f—ing gay mafia, man. They’re in power … So why wouldn’t a guy come out and say, ‘Yo, I’m gay’ and get that type of love? Like Lady Gaga, I don’t know if she’s gay, but she’s running with that gay s— for real. And she’s winning. It’s 2011 going on 2012. If you’re gay, rep your set.”
He continued:
“I think I’ve done songs with gay rappers. I’m pretty sure of that. I’m pretty sure the football n—-s is gay, the basketball n—-s is gay — n—-s is gay. There’s millions of gay people in the world. Girls, too. Once again, I’m not a fan of that s— either. I’m a fan of ‘Yo, I’m gay, what the f—?’ 2011, you gotta hide that you’re gay? Be real! Like, ‘I’m gay, what the f—?’ If you gay, you gay. That’s your preference. F— it if the people don’t like it.”
Peep it:
R.I.P Ol’ Dirty – Raekwon, Kool Herc Discuss Rapper’s Life
Exactly seven years ago today (November 13, 2004), Wu-Tang Clan rapper Ol Dirty Bastard collapsed inside of 36 Records in Manhattan and died of a heart attack.
Ol Dirty was just two days shy of his 36th birthday when he tragically died on the 5th floor, in the label’s studio.
Paramedics tried, but could not resuscitate the rapper.
“To the public he was known as Ol Dirty Bastard but to me he was known as Rusty. Russell was more then a rapper he was a loving father, brother, uncle and most of all son,” ODB’s mom Mrs. Cherry Jones said after his death.
Check out this exclusive footage of Wu-Tang’s Raekwon the Chef and Hip-Hop’s founding father Kool Herc, discuss ODB and his influence.
Master P Ft. Romeo, Bengie B, T.E.C. and Miss Chee “TMZ (Too Many Zeros)”
[ahh_audio src=/11-13-11/MasterP-TMZ(TooManyZeros).mp3]
Freddie Gibbs [BGA] Ft. D-Edge “Hit Mafia”
FreddieGibbsftD-EdgeHit-Mafia.mp3