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Lil Wayne Appears In Court; Sentencing Date Set For Feb. 9

Lil Wayne appeared in a New York court today, where he received a February sentencing date for a weapon violation last October.

 

The rapper, born Dwayne Carter, appeared in court around 10:30 AM, flanked by members of Cash Money Records, including label CEO’s Bryan “Birdman” Williams and Ronald “Slim” Williams.

 

Lil Wayne remained silent as the judge set a February 9th sentencing date, where he is expected to be sentenced to at least a year in prison for weapon possession in New York.

 

In October, the rapper pleaded guilty to one criminal count of attempted possession of a weapon.

 

The charges stem from a 2007arrest in which a .40 caliber gun was found on the rapper’s tour bus.

 

In a popular remix to “O Let’s Do It” featuring Georgia rapper Waka Flocka, Lil Wayne references the crime.

 

“Lock the CEO up/and I’m the CEO f**k/prison in February and I aint in no rush…” and later: “Hit them with the shotgun/call that s**t the spot bust/Call me Doctor Carter/aka young wild n***a/aka no trial n***a/aka click clak blow n***a/”

 

The news on Wayne’s sentencing date comes as a new track featuring the Young Money Records’ CEO and Eminem titled “Drop The World” hit the internet.

 

In related news, Lil Wayne’s album Rebirth has been pushed back to a February 1st release date. The album will land in stores just days after Wayne begins his jail sentence.

Juvenile, Drake Perform With R&B, Jazz Legends

New Orleans rapper Juvenile and Canadian import Drake will share the stage with an all-star lineup of legendary Jazz and R&B artists during The 41st Annual Jazz Fest.

 

The rappers will perform alongside artists like Aretha Franklin, Van Morrison, Lionel Richie, Pearl Jam and former Hootie & The Blowfish front man Darius Rucker.

 

“It’s just a way cool thing that Jazz Fest is so broad that it can embrace all these different things, all these different artists,” festival producer, Quint Davis told the Times-Picayune.

 

Hundreds of acts – mostly from New Orleans – will perform during this year’s festival, which takes place from April 29-May 2.

 

In addition to Juvenile, hometown favorites like The Neville Brothers, R&B legend Irma Thomas and Trombone Shorty will make appearances at the festival.

 

A number of acts will hit the stage for the first time during the festival, including The Dead Weather, rapper Drake and Anita Baker.

 

The event takes place at the Fair Grounds Race Course. Tickets to the 41st Annual Jazz Festival go on sale December 22.

Hip-Hop Rumors: T.I. IS HOME? Chris Brown’s Twitter Dies! Soulja Boy & Scrappy – Matching Tats?

DISCLAIMER:

 

All content within this section is pure rumor and generally have no factual info outside of what the streets have whispered in our ear. Read on.

 

T.I. PROB NOT HOME YET!

After doing some investigating…ok…I didn’t, but some others did. It would appear that T.I. is probably still in jail.

This is where they say Tip is and will be until late March:

FCI Forrest City Low

The Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) – Low in Forrest City is a low security facility housing male offenders. It is part of the Forrest City Federal Correctional Complex (FCC). A satellite prison camp adjacent to the facility houses minimum security male offenders.

FCI Forrest City is located in eastern Arkansas, 85 miles east of Little Rock and 45 miles west of Memphis, Tennessee.

Judicial District: Eastern Arkansas

Actively Hiring: This location is in urgent need of physician assistants to fill vacant positions.

Now, I am not some expert here, but this says he is technically still in a minimum-security facility. Hey, they are hiring. Maybe I will go work there and leave the rumors to Chance and Miss Mouth?

Here is the previous rumor.T.I. IS HOME?

The streets are talking. Peep this email I got:

TIP HAS BEEN HOME IN ATL FOR SEVERAL DAYS AND IS CURRENTLY UNDER “HOUSE ARREST”….IF YOU DONT BELIEVE ME CHECK N SEE IF HE IS SOMEONE HAS SEN HIM IN JAIL!! HE WAS IN PROTECTIVE CUSTODY SO NOT ALOT OF PEOPLE SAW HIM, NUT HE HAD A PHONE AND BLACKBERRY IN JAIL WIT HIM THE WHOLE TIME…

Now, what do we have here? There is more to the email, but it looks like T.I. is going to be riding out the rest of his time out of the bing. Now, there’s another source saying he’s not home per se but in more of a halfway house or something until he’s actually released. I am certain his family is happy and he’s writing raps if he’s home.

THE DAILY TWO SENSE!

 Click here to read my late updated rumors from yesterday!

GOODNIGHT TWITTER – Love, CHRIS BROWN.

 

I don’t know if you read it, but AllHipHop ran a story this

year called, “Twitter

Will End Your Music Career.” Did you read it? The reason for the rumor is

Chris Brown’s Twitter was recently ended following the controversy that he has

been “blackballed” from retail outlets like Wal-Mart. Over the weekend, Chris

just went off on everybody from haters to people at the stores. He may have

some valid points, but Twitter is probably not the best outlet. ANYWAY, somebody

with some sense pulled the plug and rightfully so. Chris was doing more harm

than good.Shout out to Michael Jackson. I cannot believe he’s gone! If Chris thinks he’s going through something, he should look at that man’s life and times.

 

THE DAILY TWO SENSE

 

You know, its getting harder and harder for me to reveal

certain rumors that I get. Man, that’s the one thing I like about not really

being too cool with artists or their people. You can say whatever when you

don’t know them. As soon as you are cool with them – BAM – you start thinking

about their feelings and alla that. With that said, I got a couple rumors and I

feel like a nut for not being able to say anything.

 

RAPPERS R IN DANJA?

 

I got this email right here. Rappers: stay in your lane.

 

if u havnt heard me & my ni**as ran soulja boy b####

ass up outta chi town false clamin blood..we shut his show down,we ran n his

show bustin shots & cleared that b***h out..them s.o.d n##### is pu***sies

they aint bout bout shyt & that n***a j bar waz bout 2 cry when i had tha

piece 2 his face,i jacked that n***a 4 hit chain & t0ok his 3 grand he had n

his pocket..so let tha rest of des gay ass wanna b blood rap[pers come 2 tha

chi its a wrap

 

I never knew Soulja Boy to be a Blood, but I hope not. On

the other side, I haven’t heard about any of this so I cannot verify it at all.

Oh man…whew! more on this later down the page.

 

BUSTA IN AFRICA

 

I got word from my peeps in Africa that Busta Rhymes was in

Nigeria to grace the 2009 edition of the Star Mega Jam. The Flipmode General

was there over the weekend alongside Spliff Star. From what I was told Bussa

Buss performed in Lagos & Abuja on December 11th and 12th. I

heard Luda was there, but my people didn’t say much about him. I did see Luda

twittering something about Africa, but I didn’t think much of it. Luda said

something like he feels at home whenever he’s in Africa.

 

SIGNS THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END

 

According to the Associated Press, this girl should have

just taken a shower and her mother should be taken to jail. This story is from

November, but a girl allegedly was tasered, because she refused to take a

shower. What seems to have happened was the 10-year-old was just acting a fool

all day and the cops were called. When the cops got there, she dumbed out on

them too. Apparently, she kicked one cop in the sack. Then she got tazed and

dazed. The mother allegedly gave the OK, but the father later denounced the

move. The cop has been put on leave or something pending an investigation.

 

ITS TIMBALAND’S LOSS

 

This is what Timbaland had to say about Hip-Hop to MTV:

 

“I was done with hip-hop a long time ago. Once my

generation left, I left. I do it, but there’s nobody from my generation besides

Jay-Z who’s doing it. I look at Lil Wayne as being from my generation. Some

people are still acceptable. Kanye (West) is acceptable from my generation.

It’s just not the same. By it not being the same, I kind of fade to black. I

did music that fits where I was going to in my age bracket.”

 

I believe Tim’s got some points, but I think that it’s

actually his own loss in abandoning Hip-Hop and it’s all too convenient if you ask

me. I mean, Tim is a legend and a trendsetter like no other so I’m not dissing.

I just think that cats are looking for that pop paper and don’t think rap can

do that anymore. Jay-Z/Kanye/Wayne and others are definitely proof that’s not the

case. 

 

EPIC WIN OF THE DAY

 

LOL! How to beat a bully!

 

Check this one out….

 

[Source]

 

SNOOP DOGG IS NEVER GOING TO RETIRE!

 

Why should he?

 

CHANCE ENCOUNTERS!

HIP-HOP VERSION OF THE VIRGIN MARY?

Can you get kicked out of the house if God is your babydaddy? Oh man…this is too much!

Hey, people…illseed and Chance are two different people so please take note, when you see CHANCE ENCOUNTERS, that is the end of illseed until further notified. I keep getting people talking all crazy about what Chance said. SMH.

PLEASURE P UNDER ATTACKSo while I was gone it came out that Pleasure P was playing with little boys. I was hoping it wasn’t true and was relieved when he issued a statement denying the whole thing. But now a woman is coming forward saying although he did not m##### her son, she was told about his past by authorities who asked her not to leave her son in the same house as him.  SMH if this is true…

KID CUDI NOT SO TOUGHAHH posted the footage of Kid Cudi punching a party-goer he thought threw something at him and it looked like he really gave it to dude. Well, the guy is saying it was nothing and not even worth pressing charges over. Seems like he’s a real fan. He says: “I just want to meet

him and be like ‘I’m the guy you punched.'”  Good to he’s not going to try and milk the $ituation.

MORE ON TIMBO

It’s no surprise that Hip-Hop isn’t high on Timbaland’s list of priorities these days. Ever since he got down with Nelly Furtado, he’s been a lost cause to us. Well, he’s come out and said he wont come back since we don’t support our artists and the fans that support him are (basically) white women. Here is more of what Timbo had to say from what illseed already said:“I know 75 percent [of the people who buy my album] are women…I did this research. It’s the women who watch Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives — all the real go-to-the-bar women…and mostly European women.  It’s not a person who loves mostly Hip-Hop. It’s a person who loves everything besides Hip-Hop…”

Is he turning his back on the next generation or is it the young boys fault for not exciting him anymore…whatever genre he’s making now, you can’t deny Timbo was one of the “best we ever had.” Let the debate begin.P.S. He obviously still supports Drake.

HIYA!!!!So the dude from Twilight who also happens to be Taylor Swift’s boyfriend took this opportunity to pretend beat up Kanye…where was all this chivalry at the VMA’s when he ran up on your jawn???

DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK

Beat boxing has been a major part of Hip-Hop from day one and it’s good to see this tradition isn’t dead yet:

PLAYERS WIVES

Shaq’s soon to be ex-wife just got the go ahead to produce a reality show centered around the wives, ex-wives and baby mothers of Jermaine O’Neal, Antoine Walker, Udonis Haslem, Eric Williams and Dwight Howard, who is suing his wife for posting not-so-flattering information about him online (he’s looking for $500 a view or $9.5 million).  Even though Shaunie O’neil wont be a regular on the show she may make occasional appearances. At least the wives are getting some shine and not the mistresses this time around.

TELL EM WHY YOU MAD SON!!!!The 2010 Grammy nominations came out a little while ago and not everyone is happy about the list. The Dream went in on Twitter about his disgust with the academy and the industry in general…how dare they not recognize his brilliance…”BaBy, yo Baby, yo Baby, Yo Baby etc…”

“Isn’t it funny the best album of 2009 didn’t get a nomination for the second year strait [sic]Man, I’m black. I’m paranoid, I already

expect bullsh– anyway. When I see the names nominated, I’m saying, ‘Are

you saying my name don’t belong with the people in this category?…Nobody released more titles. It’s not even close. It’s not even close, dude…When you’re growing up, it means so much…the Grammys always pull out the best s**t.  I don’t think that happens now.  I should be able to get nominated or be able

to win based off the strength of music – if we’re talking about the

best music. If it’s a popularity contest, let’s just say it’s a

popularity contest.”Does anybody even still believe the Grammys are based on quality???

I’M JUST SAYIN’The Game says he’s going to win a Grammy with his new album … it has Justin Timberlake on it.MTV says So Far Gone was the ’09 mixtape of the year…big surprise there…what else had as much impact???In a ceremony on January 30, 2010, Michael Jackson will receive a lifetime achievement Grammy Award.Jim Jones says even though he doesn’t like Jay-Z, he still respects his music…he wrapped it up by saying “f**k that ni**a and the camel he rode in on”.Chris Brown deleted his Twitter yesterday. Didn’t say why.Kelis says RiRi and and Cassie duplicated her style. I credit FeFe Dobson as the originator of RiRi’s persona.

Some people were upset Floyd Mayweather left a photo shoot for 2 1/2 hours to go to the bank. That must have been a hell of a withdrawal and we know Floyd has a penchant for making it rain.

Here is the pic of Soulja Boy and Lil Scrappy’s matching tattoos I told you about yesterday:

Peace – ChanceCDR @ Twitter or Gmail

FOXY, WE LOVE YOU!!!

They keep us talking, but if we stop talking about them then they should worry!

-illseed

WHO: illseed.com

WHAT: Rumors

WHERE: AllHipHop.com, MySpace.com/TheIllseed

HOW: Send your rumors and ill pics to illseed at [email protected].

The NFL Wrap-Up Week 14: Did The Cowboys Lose their Chargers?

Please tell me that some of

you “got” my joke in the title for this weeks’ wrap-up. 

I need to know that I am rocking with some intelligent individuals here.

As for the here and now, if you are new to “The NFL Wrap-up” welcome

to the future. Bold statement, I know, but I have backed it up for weeks.

What did I tell you about those Steelers last week? Didn’t I tell

you that they will not win another game this season if Troy “Isn’t

It” Polamalu was inactive? They lost to the lowly Cleveland Browns

decisively. Ben and Hines are reported to be at each others necks. In

the famed words of Coach Jim Mora, “Playoffs!? Don’t talking about,

Playoffs? You kidding me!? Playoff!? I just hope we could win a game!”

 

“It’s time,” said a dejected

Tony “Oh No” Romo during the post game press conference after the

Cowboy’s loss to the Chargers. Really, Tony? Dallas Cowboys fans would

like to know what time it really is. If it is time to win, then you’re

timing is a few games too late. Local media are drilling you and your

coach about your lack of intensity in December. It just seems that the

deeper your team goes into the season, you lose your charge (see where

I am getting at with the title). Coach Phillips was quoted as saying

that he has a team of winners. If he is right, would you say that your

coach is letting you down? This isn’t for me Tony. I love the game

of Football, period. This is for your fans. Your fans want to know why

your team runs out of gas at the same point, every season. We see your

stats in the past two games. You’re doing very well. However, if you’re

team isn’t winning, you’re not doing all that well, are you? 

When on the flipside, the San

Diego Chargers, led by Phillip “In Your Face” Rivers are 16-0 in

December. I know that I haven’t given the Chargers the proper coverage

in past wrap-ups, and I will not apologize for it. Why? Simple… because

I know that they are a “Sleeper Team.” The Indianapolis Colts are

not the team to beat in the AFC, the Chargers are. Taking it a step

further, The New Orleans Saints are not the team to beat in the NFC,

the Cardinals are. Back to the Chargers, they get the most out of their

entire squad. Their quarterback is a stud in this league. Rivers is

plugged in at all times, he never backs down, yet he remains below the

radar compared to other elite QB’s. The Colts going undefeated in

the regular season doesn’t mean a thing, if they face the Chargers

in the playoffs. And I am going on record as saying that I am not speaking

any knowledge on the Chargers that their fans and analysts across the

nation don’t already know. The Chargers got the Colts number. And

this is why I don’t talk about the Chargers as often.

The Playoff picture received

its first strokes of the paint brush this weekend. The undefeated Colts

and Saints clinched their divisions, while Minnesota led by Favre 4.0

brought some purple to the party. Sunday Night Football gave us a scoreboard

destroyer with the Eagles slipping by the Giants, 45-38. And what was

so interesting about the high scoring game was that the Giants left

21 points on the field. The Eagles are leading their, but anything is

still possible in the NFC East.

As always, I can’t get to

every team in these wrap-ups. I’d like to thank all the consistent

AHH NFL fans that comment every week. I read every comment and seriously

take them into account. So let’s OWN UP! Which teams are you sure

won’t make the playoffs this season? Was anybody surprised that the

Cardinals lost last night (I sure wasn’t)? How is your team holding

up in the final stretch? And have the New York Giants fans took a Kanye

West like hiatus on OWNING UP? Anytime you need a friend, we got your

back…

Arizona 9, San Francisco 24

Philadelphia 45, New York Giants

38

San Diego 20, Dallas 17

St. Louis 7, Tennessee 47

Washington 34, Oakland 13

Detroit 3, Baltimore 48

Denver 16, Indianapolis 28*

New York Jets 26, Tampa Bay

3

Buffalo 16, Kansas City 10

Green Bay 21, Chicago 14

Seattle 7, Houston 34

Carolina 10, New England 20

New Orleans 26*, Atlanta 23

Miami 14, Jacksonville 10

Cincinnati 10, Minnesota 30y

Pittsburgh 6, Cleveland 13

* = Clinched Division   

y= Clinched Playoff Berth

50 Cent Considers ‘Tiger’ Condom Line; Says Women Don’t Fear Golfer

Just last week 50 Cent had given up on his fledgling line of condoms, but now the rapper is reconsidering the venture in the wake of the Tiger Woods scandal.

 

50 had been planning the condom company since at least 2007, when he announced that he was producing a line named after his popular song “Magic Stick,” which featured rapper Lil Kim.

 

He had planned to launch his line of condoms due to the demise of the popular “Wrap It Up” condom campaigns.

 

50 Cent’s own line was shelved, because he wanted to add sexually enhancing performance chemicals to his condom line.

 

During an appearance on The George Lopez Show on TBS last night (December 14), the rapper revealed he is reconsidering the line of condoms and may even add a “tiger” stripe to the packaging, in honor of Woods’ numerous trysts outside of his marriage.

 

“Thirteen women and no condoms – you’re a gambling man ain’t you Tiger? Rappers use condoms often. Golfers apparently don’t use condoms,” 50 Cent joked. “It’s interesting when you pick your women at Perkins. That’s why you get told on. When she tells it’s not really her fault, especially when you didn’t give her nothing and she’s at Perkins.”

 

The rapper went on to say that the women in Tiger’s life didn’t respect or fear him.

 

“The woman needs to feel like maybe he’s gonna snap, so I aint gonna say that,” 50 Cent told Lopez. “Tiger there aint no fear.”

 

The Wyclef Doctrine: Why ‘Industry’ And ‘Street’ Must Become ‘Movement’

“Cedric, I’m on my way down to see President Obama and I want to talk with you about some things,” Wyclef Jean told me last week. His words were part of perhaps the tightest, yet wide-ranging conversations I can remember having with a Hip-Hop artist.

Yeah, it’s not every day that you build with a musician able to move through diverse topics like street organizations (gangs); what it will take to get the industry monetized again (folks paying for music rather than copping it for free); and political events outside of America.

It came as no surprise then, last Thursday – less than 24 hours after my airing a portion of our conversation (download and scroll to the 3 hour 7 minute mark of the Dec. 9th Edition of ‘The Cedric Muhammad and Black Coffee Program’ at: http://blackelectorate.com/media/cmbcp120909.mp3)) – that when I tuned in to news channel France 24 to watch international coverage of President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, in Oslo, Norway, I see, who else, but Wyclef in the front row of the audience.

For the past month, it seems, some industry observers have been confused about Wyclef’s latest project, ‘DJ Drama Presents: From The Hut To The Projects, To The Mansion’ – a rare mixtape-EP album. And one may think that Wyclef has contributed to that by speaking as much about his next album, expected this Spring, as he does his current one, which dropped in November. But that’s only if you judge by appearance rather than listen carefully to the EP.

I initially saw ‘From The Hut, To The Projects, To The Mansion’ as part of a brilliant (if not transparent) marketing strategy designed to preserve Wyclef’s street credibility and to set up a contrast with the next album, which will have a different sound, and broader, more global appeal. But as I listened carefully to the mixtape EP I got the sense that this project wasn’t a loss leader (a business strategy where a business offers a product or service at a price that is not profitable for the sake of offering another product/service at a higher profit) to set up the next album, but, rather a definitive statement of just who he, Wyclef, is. Confirming my reaction, Wyclef acknowledged that this is the album, in terms of providing a window into his life journey.

To see how skillfully Wyclef balances political, street, and spiritual elements the album’s ‘Walk Away,’ ‘We Made It,’ and ‘Letter From The Penn,’ are references.

What I think has made this project difficult for some to grasp (especially those who still can’t accept the music industry made serious, almost fatal blunders in how it produced and distributed its product this decade) is that it comes from an artist who comes as close to the definition I have of a Hip-Hoppreneur ™ (http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=1812) as any I have built with.

Journalists who have been trained to focus only on one aspect of an artist’s personality and brand (especially in Hip-Hop) simply can’t appreciate broader dimensions that make them successful, inside the studio and in what they do outside of it. They also fail to see that there are some artists who have deep non-musical skills that help them make good music, and that the music of a few special artists – regardless to sales count – translates into non-musical benefits that make them larger than life and extend their careers.

In short, Wyclef is one of a very few entertainers who appear as comfortable in the three roles I believe will be necessary for any artist to fulfill in order to be successful next decade – creative risk-taker, business person, and leader (with political impact in America and abroad). The successful artist of the next decade will not be able to rely upon just hot music and selling a lifestyle and image. They will actually have to show that the street credibility and shot-calling they claim in songs is actually translating into power – from the block to the board room, and across borders.

Wyclef may already be where others will have to go.

What he has, that most lack is not just profile, personality and awareness, but just as importantly – the maturity and courage to take risks, take stands, and take the initiative to encourage those who collaborate with him to do the same.

Case in point – his creative relationship with DJ Drama.

Those who have heard it will note that one of the things that stands out on ‘From The Hut To The Projects To The Mansion’ are how strong the interludes are, in terms of message and delivery, spoken by DJ Drama.

So wanting to know more about how they came about, I asked Wyclef did he write them himself.

“I always write all of my interludes, but I’m going to tell you what’s deep about this,” Clef explained to me. “Me and Drama had a conversation and I said, Drama, on this one, you’re gonna come different because they are expecting you to come like, ‘Yo Drama Gangster Grillz!’ And I knew that Drama’s voice sounds like a preacher. I knew he had so much to say. So Drama (wanted me to send him the album tracks) and when he heard what I was doing, he was like, ‘I gotta just sit and write something for this’…I would say that every word that you hear Drama say in an interlude is something that he got inspired from, by listening to the music. He definitely went in. I said to Drama when people look back in history – they are going to look at us and they are going to (ask) ‘when they (DJ Drama and Wyclef) got together what did they do?’ And I was like, it has to be something historic, and he said the same.”

To me, what Wyclef describes sums up the challenge for the street-oriented Hip-Hop artist seeking to stay relevant and thrive in the coming years – where a gangster image and hot music matter less than how much an artist is up on technology, how strong their business mind or team is; how aware they are of current events; and how much they care about their legacy, beyond the lifestyle-image they sell their current core audience.

For years the industry and culture has been in denial about what makes an artist ‘street’ or ‘real.’ Dumbing it or boiling it down to aggression, claimed gang affiliation, and a careless (‘eff the world’) attitude, many artists, labels, and consumers forgot what really creates a following and generates record sales.

The result has been that somehow we are all supposed to accept that street artists are anti-intellectuals, who don’t read books or newspapers, could careless about political events, and who never admit how powerless we all are in a world and system we don’t run.

How soon we forget that Tupac was born to a family neck-deep in a political and community struggle, with a love for knowledge. How soon we forget the stance that Snoop Dogg took in relation to the execution of Nobel Peace Prize-nominated Crip co-founder Stanley ‘Tookie’ Williams (much less what Snoop rapped about on ‘Lil’ Ghetto Boy in 1992 or what he said at Saviours’ Day in February 2009). And how soon we forget that 50 Cent – perhaps the defining ‘street’ artist of this decade openly indicates that his avid reading (better yet, mastery) of 48 Laws Of Power has been a factor in how he makes business decisions.

One of the best books I’ve ever read and one of 4 that I recommend to any and all youth is written by a proud member of the Bloods, Dashaun ‘Jiwe’ Morris (http://jiweera.com/), a person whom I’ve gotten to know over the past year and for whom I have great respect.

When we first spoke Jiwe told me a fact that is increasingly rare these days with book authors – he really wrote it himself.

Anyone who has read War of The Bloods In My Veins: A Street Soldier’s March Toward Redemption knows the author has extraordinary skill, with the ability to write to the head and the heart.

Rather than act as if his incredible writing talent, intellect and introspection isn’t ‘street,’ Jiwe proves the opposite.

That this is true for so many in the streets is why I gave 50 Cent the advice I did regarding how to market Beanie Sigel, should they collaborate together on an album and do business together.

You can read it at:

Part 1: https://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2009/11/18/22031325.aspx

Part 2: https://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2009/11/24/22040490.aspx

Today’s artists and labels with tunnel vision, focused only on how hard they sound are an endangered species about to become obsolete (or at least laid off) by demographics (population changes), technology, and the seriousness of two wars and a recession (which demand greater substance and impact from artists who claim to represent what’s happening in the hood).

In Wyclef, you have an artist who understands this and what it means to the future of the game.

“It’s a great opportunity for those who are aware, who understand the change (and accept that) everything can’t stay the same. We’re moving towards modern times, which deal with technology, and (where you) can get your information out there quicker. There are less people buying (music) and more people just grabbing it for free. They will continue grabbing it for free. But if they start to feel that you are beyond music and a movement I sincerely think that they will actually go back to the stores and pick up your music again. And that is what I’m working towards,” Wyclef told me.

High on his list of ‘movement’-oriented work are his efforts to broker a truce among street organizations on the ground and uniting them and others through the Internet. “I went back to Haiti and started putting a truce together among the gangs. I had an epiphany that I would start a new gang, and online. The idea of this social movement is that you can be from any part of the world and if you feel like you are in a gang, we welcome you. Just come and talk to us on Twitter and the computer because you know that the opposite force uses the Internet to recruit people for other things. So I use them (Twitter and the Internet) to recruit them for the right side of the gang. This is a real movement. When we come to your town I’m not only trying to perform, we’re trying to come to the schools, out to the community, and talk to kids in gangs and just try different things. Because we can’t just sing about it, we gotta act on it. We’ve seen everybody sing about it already,” Wyclef explained to me.

Unfortunately in Hip-Hop too few artists are willing to even ‘sing about it,’ not realizing that creative maturity, political influence, and greater reach in the local community and internationally, are a foundation of a lucrative career – not just posturing, and posing like you have rocks in your mouth.

They remain unaware and afraid to take a stance, not realizing that the artists with the longest careers – across genres – are those who have moved beyond a street or industry image and built a movement of some kind out of their ‘fans’ and consumer base. In a subtle way, this is what Jay-Z is pointing to in the first line of the first verse of ‘Run This Town.’

Never have I felt that more than when I heard ‘Million Voices’ on Wyclef’s 2007 album, Carnival II. On that song he justifies the call for a ‘United States of Africa.’ This goal is not a pipe dream. In some shape or form the Organization of African Unity (OAU), now known as the African Union – which represents the 53 nations of Africa – has been working to unite the continent since the 1960s. In 1991, the African Union, officially committed to building a common market or economy out of all of its countries. Last year, the AU established the First Congress Of African Economists to advise its efforts.

In 2001, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, speaking at Russell Simmons’ Hip-Hop Summit Action Network gathering, around the theme of taking back responsibility informed the artists who were present, about the ‘United States of Africa’ effort and encouraged them to find ways to rap about it in their songs. He offered to make himself available to them if they desired more information or his advice and guidance.

To the best of my knowledge, since June of 2001, Wyclef Jean is the only artist who was present that day who has prominently weaved a mention of this incredible movement into his music.

To one degree or another I believe it is fear, ignorance and an unwillingness to grow, that has prevented other artists from doing the same.

But just because this particular group of artists is standing still doesn’t mean that the rest of us are, or, that the world or even the music business will, for that matter.

In 1996, while serving as GM of Wu-Tang Management, I participated in a private meeting with executives from RCA Records. At a certain point they brought out our sales figures from around the world. It only included totals from the Americas, Europe and Asia. So I asked them, ‘What are our sales figures in Africa?’

After waiting a while they returned to the room with a new printout with Africa added to the list. The grand total, according to them, for the sale of ‘Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)’ in Africa, a continent of nearly 1 billion people was 73 units sold.

I will never forget how I felt when I saw the number ‘73′ on the paper. One day, in this column, I intend to share what I thought was the real cause of, or story behind the ‘73.’

Today that memory stays with me as I build with entrepreneurs and musicians in Africa on business concepts and ways for artists in the States to sell records abroad, and vice versa.

I’m no longer GM for Wu Tang but I have gone on to become a Member of the First Congress Of African Economists – named in 2008 by the African Union for my proposal for a single African currency backed by gold.

“If you have the euro and you have the European Union, then you can have a United States of Africa,” Wyclef said with passion last week.

2010 begins a new decade, one where I believe Hip-Hop artists will be guided by a different formula, what I now refer to as ‘The Wyclef Doctrine.’

Not just streets, and not just industry, but movement.

[You can watch and listen to the video collage of my thoughts on ‘The United States of Africa’, including Wyclef’s words and music at

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuP7uR2RSPk

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSRGkRbsqPQ]

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. He is author of the book, The Entrepreneurial Secret: To Starting a Business Without A Bank Loan, Collateral Or Revenue (http://theEsecret.com/). He is a Member of the African Union’s First Congress of African Economists. His talk show, ‘The Cedric Muhammad and Black Coffee Program’ can be viewed every Wednesday from 12 to 5 PM EST (USA) at: http://www.cedricmuhammad.com/media/

He can be contacted via e-mail at: cedric(at)cmcap.com

Robert Greene: Master of War

If he was a music artist, he would be a multi-platinum seller. Instead, Robert Greene is one of Hip-Hop’s biggest influencers without ever have recorded an album. Released in 1998, his book, The 48 Laws of Power was a meticulously researched book about strategy that has become a must read for anyone, but especially people in the entertainment industry. Now, just over a decade later, Robert Greene has collaborated with 50 Cent to write and release The 50th Law. AllHipHop.com spoke with Mr. Greene by phone for a long discussion about the need for power and strategy and why the rap game is so much like the dope game.

AllHipHop.com: First, I have to say that I love the book, The 50th Law; I’ve read it twice already.

Robert Greene: I’m happy to hear that.

AllHipHop.com: Your books are so popular, specifically, The 48 Laws of Power, I don’t know many young Black men who don’t own that book. Why do you think that your books are so popular among an urban audience?

Robert Greene: A combination of things, probably. Number one, the timing of the book was pretty good. At that time, it sort of resonated in Hip-Hop; it just came out at a time when a lot of rappers were wanting to become entrepreneurs, owning their own labels, starting their own businesses. And the music business is just the worst as far as Machiavellian, sharky, evil games going on, as far as manipulation. So, a lot of these guys found the book helpful because they didn’t come from a business background and they needed something to tell it like it is, to show the kinds of power games that people have been playing for hundreds of years so that they could even the playing field. As far as in the urban community, for a lot of Black people in America know that people can profess to being good, but all they really care about is power, they’ve seen it, and they know that this is the game and how it’s played, so they were kind of attracted to the honesty. I’m speculating because I can’t really say for myself, but I have had a lot of conversations with people.

AllHipHop.com: You mentioned how treacherous the music business can be and in The 50th Law you make a lot of comparisons between the music business and the drug game.

Robert Greene: Hustling on the street and dealing with the police and dealing with other hustlers, 50 would say it was actually easier than dealing with the music business because on that level, your enemies are pretty clear, you couldn’t trust anybody basically so you had to be out for yourself and you had to be careful and people more or less revealed their cards openly. But the music business, what he wasn’t prepared for, was how people could smile and say nice things to you and promise you a big budget for marketing your record and then do just the opposite, things were so much more manipulative and subtle. So in some ways, the way he describes it, the music racket is even more brutal and difficult to deal with than the hustling racket and I’ve heard that from other rappers. I mean, you know, you have a greater chance of being a moderately successful hustler than being a successful rapper, even if you get that first record deal, that’s just one tiny little step, how many artists have that one album and then where are they now?

Greene arm wrestles co-author 50 Cent.

AllHipHop.com: Let’s talk about 50, how did your relationship with him evolve?

Robert Greene: Well, you know at first, neither of us knew what to expect from the other person. He was expecting someone older and more conservative. I was expecting someone who was kind of this gangster thug-type person whom I might be a little intimidated by. Then we met each other and realized that wasn’t the case on either side. He’s actually really a kind of charming, nice person. He doesn’t have much ego considering where he is. When you talk to him, he listens. He’s kind of down to earth. I can kind of be that way myself. From the very beginning, we felt kind of comfortable with each other. We just had a really nice rapport, some of it comes from thinking alike, but some of it is stuff you can’t explain. We had a comfort level and I didn’t worry about him trying to meddle with the making of the book. To this day, we talk on the phone; we have a very nice relationship.

AllHipHop.com: Each chapter of the book opens with a brief story of his past and then you kind of go into the “meat” of what that story is supposed to tell. How did you come up with that concept?

Robert Greene: It was difficult, because to do a book together, there weren’t really other books out there like this, I had no model. We spent a lot of time together, I had a lot of interviews, great material, a lot of discussions, but it was a question of how to bring out two voices together, and at first, I tried to put a lot of 50’s own words in the book, but it wasn’t flowing right, between his voice and my voice, so I decided to do the book in my voice, but decided to use him as the anchor of each of the stories. When we were doing the book together, we came up with these ten chapters and we discussed them at length, but because his story is so amazing, just to think about it from where he came from, the circumstances of his life, to have experienced all that and to be where he is now, I mean, can you think of any other black person who can have that and hold onto his power and have that kind of success and hold on to it for so long. To me it’s like the classic American rags to riches story.

AllHipHop.com: On page 32, you state that, “The world has become as grimy and dangerous as the streets of Southside Queens-a global, competitive environment in which everyone is a ruthless hustler, out for him-or herself.” Can you elaborate on that?

Robert Greene: It’s a very rich idea that I could spend a lot of time on, but I won’t go too deep into it. What kind of inspired it was when I read From Pieces to Weight, it struck me that in the 1980’s, what happened to places like Southside Queens is kind of mirroring what the world is going through now. In a place like that, prior to crack hitting the streets, it was mostly large gangs that ran the drug trade and even though it was violent and ugly, there was a little bit of order to it, kind of a hierarchy. Then when crack hit the streets, it all just kind of broke up, nobody could figure out what to do or who had the power or not. From within that chaotic environment, which was highly competitive now, people emerged as consummate hustlers who could kind of do things for themselves and navigate the new world. It just seems sort of similar to what we’re going through now. We are living in a world now where the old order of things, large companies, mainstream media, are all falling apart. The model that they lived by is no longer relevant and no longer profitable, so it’s chaos now. We don’t really know what’s going to emerge out of this recession, and in that kind of environment, entrepreneurs are the ones that are going to be able to thrive, so the world is so competitive now and so globalized that you can’t just think of your small audience, you have to think in larger terms and deal with so many political games, it kind of just reminded me of the chaos on the street. I think people nowadays have to let go of their old habits and wake up, it’s a new world. More and more you have to be like a hustler and think of yourself and your own future.

AllHipHop.com: That’s fascinating; my mind is turning a mile a minute. In the book, you kind of talk about how it’s kind of difficult for a person of financial means to be prepared for that environment than for someone from the streets.

Robert Greene: Now with the recession going on, it’s people of higher income who are suffering the most because they are now out of a job, they have never had to deal with that before, many of them had a sense of privilege that they were almost owed a certain kind of lifestyle, when that’s gone, it’s a terrible feeling. People who are poor, white or Black, have been dealing with crap their whole life and they have the inert skills, they know that bad stuff is just part of it, and if you are wise, it doesn’t necessarily get you down. It was always shocking to me to talk to 50, and after all he’s been through, and even with a lot of the pressures that he is under right now, he’s got a great life, but there is a lot of pressure. He never gets depressed, so many of my friends get depressed at the drop of a hat; he says that he doesn’t have the luxury of getting depressed.

AllHipHop.com: What do you hope people will learn from The 50th Law?

Robert Greene: We’re all human beings, 50’s experience is relative to anyone else’s on the planet. What it demonstrates to me is that it’s up to your mindset to create your opportunity in life. You can say it was all sorts of things that he did, but in fact, the root of his success is his attitude. Anybody can learn from this, you don’t need 9 bullets going through your body, you are also facing death and danger and competition, but at any moment, you can decide to have a fearless mindset.

AllHipHop.com: Did you learn anything about Hip-Hop culture from working with 50?

Robert Greene: I’m not deeply immersed in the culture, so I’ve been reading about it, but seeing it first hand, I did get a sense that, as far as a business, it’s a very difficult world. I have a lot of admiration for people like 50 or Jay-Z or Puffy who have managed to have such success because A) You’re dealing with the dynamics in America which is hard for Black artists, B) You’re dealing with a business where there are just so many people competing for the light and attention. So, it’s a little more brutal than I imagined. I went to the VMA’s and various award shows with 50, the feeling that he has managed to get where he is, is almost insane, it’s not luck, it’s a lot of hard-work. There are a lot of people who don’t like him even in the Black community who are Hip-Hop fans who think he’s sold out, I was surprised by that. So, the pressure, the competitiveness and the envy, it was a little bit surprising.

AllHipHop.com: You mentioned that there are a lot people who don’t like 50, he is a very aggressive person; do you think that there is such a thing as being too aggressive, maybe, when it comes to him?

Robert Greene: Number one, it’s what brought him to the top, so at that point, from Power of a Dollar, Get Rich or Die Trying and maybe The Massacre, at that point he couldn’t be TOO aggressive. It’s what got him his name, if he suddenly went kind of soft after his first album, it wouldn’t have worked. Now, if you’re saying that in the last couple of years, has he gone too far? It’s possible. He’s learned some things; he learned some things from the whole situation with Game. But, it’s weird because he is a very competitive person, so he enjoys it. He enjoys picking fights; it’s almost like a pleasure. He’s 34 years old at this point; it’s going to start wearing thin. I guess my answer is, you can go too far with it, he understands that. It’s almost like a trap, if he starts becoming soft, people will accuse him of selling out and if he keeps up the aggression, people will wonder what’s his problem. It’s almost like he can’t win, but he can if he just figures out how to make it a little more balanced. He needs to pick his fights when they are important, and leave them when they are not.

AllHipHop.com: Ok, so speaking of some of his rap battles, in The 50th Law, you specifically mention the Ja Rule situation. What should Ja have done, from a strategy standpoint?

Robert Greene: It’s very simple; he should have totally ignored 50. I think that’s what he was doing. I have to speculate because I didn’t talk to Ja Rule, but from 50’s side, because of the Supreme connection, he (Ja Rule) was kind of forced into going after 50, and that was a mistake. He was in a more powerful position than 50, in that kind of situation, you leave them alone. The moment he started engaging in a battle with him (50), it just increased his presence, and it wasn’t just the songs that he did, but the fights and things that went public. I think he felt like his manhood was at stake and that he had to respond to show how tough he was. On a strategic level, if I was his counselor, that was a no-no.

AllHipHop.com: Would that be your advice in the Rick Ross situation which is kind of 50’s current battle situation, what’s your take on it?

Robert Greene: I think in that situation, he (Ross) initiated it. I think you get seduced by thinking, “If I go after 50 now, or if I engage in a fight, I’m going to attention.” But 50’s too smart, he’s too strategic, he’ll let you have that fight, he’ll go after you and give you that attention, but at the same time, he’ll destroy you. He’ll keep at you, he has too many weapons, he has so many resources, once he engages in that fight, he is just going to crush the hell out of you. I would say just leave it alone, you’re not going to win, look what happened to Fat Joe.

AllHipHop.com: Who are some other artists that you admire for their strategy?

Robert Greene: Jay-Z is kind of smooth; unlike 50 he conceals his aggression. You think he’s charming and nice but he is actually pretty sharp and pretty hard edged. In some ways, that can be kind of smarter than 50’s method. And Kanye is a hard one to figure out, because he’s so out there, he’s kind of authentic. People love him because he is so honest, but he doesn’t know how to control it and he goes too far. I know he reads the 48 Laws and he’s quoted it, but he seems to lack what a lot of these other guys have, like 50 has a little bit of coldness, and Jay-Z has it, but Kanye seems to take things kind of personally. He’s almost like a child, which is a nice thing, in The Art of Seduction, I talk about that kind of person and how they can be very compelling but on a strategy level, I think he has some issues. I don’t know Nas very well, I wish I did because I love his music, there are only 5 or 6 rappers that I listen to a lot and he is one of them. He seems very secretive.

AllHipHop.com: One situation going on right now is Jay-Z and Beanie Siegel. Beanie was signed to Jay-Z’s label and that kind of fell apart and Beanie has been kind of battling Jay, releasing songs and Jay really hasn’t said much in response. Now Beanie may be signing with G-Unit which sort of aligns 50 and Beanie against Jay. What could come out of a situation like that?

Robert Greene: Wow. I’m a little bit behind things.

AllHipHop.com: Specifically as it relates to their tactical strategies, how would you see a battle of Jay-Z versus 50? What would that look like, in your opinion?

Robert Greene: Wow. In my opinion, like a heavyweight bout. (Laughs) Like Pacquaio and Mayweather and I don’t know which one would be which. I guess 50 would be Mayweather and Jay would be Pacquaio. (Sighs) It’s a little bit like what happened with Game where Game turned against 50, in the end, he could attack Game, but they were on the same label and it was almost self-destructive. That’s how I met 50, he was in that beef and he wanted my advice on it. I’m sure he’s thinking about that when it comes to Beanie Siegel and Jay-Z. From Jay-Z’s side, he has nothing to gain by this. Over the years, 50 has tried many times to lure Jay-Z into a battle, and he’s never really taken the bait. He never really lets it go into an all out war; he’s really smart that way. If I analyzed him, it’s almost like he’s like one of those great Chinese generals, he’s very crafty, and he’s one of the few people that won’t bite the bait that 50 will lay out for him. 50 tries, he keeps on trying, he knows that if he and Jay-Z are in a battle it would be huge money for him. I have a feeling that based on the past; Jay is going to let this go. Is that what he’s doing so far?

AllHipHop.com: So far. One of the most fascinating things to me to come out of it was after the American Music Awards, Jay-Z was photographed at a basketball game sitting with Jimmy Iovine. Jay isn’t on Interscope, but 50 is.

Robert Greene: (Laughs). Here, if I could read between the lines, that would be Jay-Z’s way of attacking 50 because 50 and Jimmy have a very up and down relationship. That’s his way of counter-attacking 50 and aggravating and frustrating him. The guy is very clever; he’s not going to counter-attack in a direct way, by like doing a song. Ignoring the battle and then doing subtle things like you just mentioned is very crafty. Jay is ultra-smooth and ultra crafty, I know that he is a reader of The 48 Laws and Law 48, Assume Formlessness is one of his big laws. He would never want to make a counter attack obvious or clear, he’s like a ninja warrior. But, in the long term, I’d still put my bet on 50.

AllHipHop.com: Cool. Ok, so you went from The 48 laws to The 50th Law, I have to ask, what is the 49th law?

Robert Greene: (Pauses) Well, I have to say in some ways the 49th law was The Art of Seduction. Seduction is a form of power, in the world that we live in today; seduction is the ultimate form of power. The way the world is, you can’t be too aggressive and fighting all the time, people will start to hate you; seducers are the most powerful people in the world.

AllHipHop.com: Interesting. What’s your next project?

Robert Greene: It’s tentatively called The Master Player. In all of my books I have kinda learned what makes somebody powerful and successful. It is just a way of thinking about the world, I am going to reveal this ultimate way of thinking. I allude to it in Chapters 7 & 8 of The 50th Law, but I am going to be going much more deeply into it. It’s kind of process of knowing something so well that you kind of have a feel for it, I am going to use some current and historical examples about how that way of thinking works and how to adopt it, and if you adopt it, you are going to end up changing the world.

Robert Greene is the author of The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction and The 33 Strategies of War, he is the co-author of The 50th Law written with 50 Cent. Biba Adams is a long-time Allhiphop.com contributing writer and a beat and book junkie, she can be reached at [email protected].

Ludacris Show Postponed Over Family Emergency

Ludacris fans in Alaska will have to wait an extra day to see the rapper in light of a personal matter that has delayed an upcoming performance.

 

The show, originally scheduled for Friday (Dec. 18) at the George M. Sullivan Sports Arena in Anchorage, will now be held on Saturday (Dec. 19).

 

A release from SMG, the company that operates the venue, attributed the delay to an unspecified family emergency.

 

An unnamed representative for Ludacris confirmed the cancellation while expressing the rapper’s reluctance in missing the show.

 

“While we hate to disappoint fans, this change was necessary to accommodate a family emergency,” the representative stated in the SMG release without giving further details. “Rest assured that his performance will be worth the one-day wait.”

 

Tickets purchased for the Ludacris performance will be honored on Saturday, KTUU.com reports, adding that addtional tickets are still available for the show.