AllHipHop

homepage

Guru & Solar: Group Therapy

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: Features

T

hroughout his career, Guru has rhymed in allegory. Classic material like “Now You’re Mine” and “Just To Get a Rep” never used names, but let driving words teach valuable lessons on life. Three years after Gang Starr made their last record, Guru reflects on the last chapter in the group’s life and the lyricist tells a story that’s not so ambiguous. The group that showed so many fans what it meant to be respectful and respected at once, felt disrespected by the industry, their label, and seemingly, each other.

Today, Guru says he’s in a better place. The Boston-born MC says he has been sober for four years, many thanks to his new partner, Solar. Together, the duo released Guru’s Street Scriptures in 2005 to mixed reactions. While the record sold respectably, critics and fans scrutinized Guru’s decision to go solo, and Solar for being the one to take on DJ Premier’s duties.

Freshly healed, Guru and Solar embark on a new Jazzmatazz project in 2007 with strengthened bond. Both look warmly at the future of their 7 Grand label while Guru puts issues from his past to bed with perfect clarity.

AllHipHop.com: Jazzmatazz, as a series, seems to have always been about emotional release. Historically, they’ve come at times when you weren’t in the middle of other projects. That seems true now. What emotions are coming forth in Volume 4?

Guru: This is gonna be the best one, in my opinion. That’s due to the fact that…the first one was an experiment; the second one continued. The third was more like a compilation because I had so many outside producers. The first two were more organic. This one is Guru with Solar, with a pure musical vision. Our relationship is growing. This is going to be an example of that growth and intensity. Lyrically, this is my best work. Solar’s production is pushing me in new realms, lyrically.

AllHipHop.com: On Version 7.0: The Street Scriptures my favorite record was “Cave In.” Lyrically, it impressed me. Guru, you said, “A lot of cats owe me for the game I lent them.” Many in Hip-Hop would agree. In your eyes, what is it you feel you’ve given?

Guru: The game I’ve given Hip-Hop is ‘be yourself and manifest your lyrics.’ Being able to spit and all that is great. But how you living? As far as the [lyric], that’s multifaceted. A lot of MC’s can make a good record, but can they make a good album? Do they have a stage show? It’s a total package of an MC is what you get with me. That’s where the game is at.

AllHipHop.com: That beat, albeit a loop of a classic, is always a pleasure to hear.

Solar: I was the second one to address that particular composition. Melle-Mel and [Grandmaster] Flash had done it [as “White Lines”]. It was a different time, and they used different equipment to do that song. The lyrical content was very reflective of a hedonistic lifestyle that was being led in the ‘80s. In 2005, it was almost like a righteous Sopranos episode. Guru’s the don, speaking like, ‘Y’all thought I was dead. I’m the godfather of this.’

AllHipHop.com: When Snoop made Doggfather, the record was criticized ‘cause it did not have Dre production. The same happened to Wu without RZA. Solar, do you feel you were unfairly judged just because you were filling DJ Premier’s role?

Solar: I say quite a bit.

Guru: A lot!

Solar: An excessive amount, to the point where it’s detrimental to Hip-Hop. If I succumbed to that, you’re talking about a whole talent – a whole career, that would be shut down by negativity. I’m not gonna succumb to it. Thank God that the fans, worldwide, have risen this album. We’re over 100,000 units, this is very successful. The interest is there in ‘Guru and Solar.’ I’ve been blessed, but at the same time, there is a reason for concern. The industry has become this close-minded and this hostile towards a new producer with a new sound.

Guru: Or to an artist who wants to recreate himself. People cling to the past too much. For Gang Starr fans, that disappointed me. Gang Starr was never about that. If you listened to my lyrics with Gang Starr, it pointed to a time like this, where I’d have control over my creativity.

Solar: I was disappointed that people didn’t give me more props for not sounding like Premier. He is one of the most ripped-off producers of all time. I still hear beat reels mimicking his style. Sales-wise, the A&R’s and record companies would have been much more eager to have three to five Alchemist and Premier type beats than they was of what I was bringing. They asked, specifically, for that sort of thing.

AllHipHop.com: Solar, in the aftermath of this, will we be seeing your work more places?

Solar: It looks like there will be. Honestly, I feel like the collaborations I do as a producer are gonna have to include Guru. That’s how we see it. So when you see Guru working on another project, it’ll either be a Solar produced track, or a project that we thought he should be on.

AllHipHop.com: I interviewed DJ Premier in December. I asked him if “Counter Punch” on Big Shug’s album would be the last time Hip-Hop fans heard Guru over a Premier beat. He said, that Gang Starr was merely on hiatus because of Virgin Records’ promotion of The Ownerz. Your comments?

Guru: I don’t agree with that. I don’t see us working together. The way I see it now, I don’t see that happening…for a few reasons. That song, “Counter Punch,” it was real old. That song was so old that they shouldn’t have put it on that album. But I guess they wanted something with me on it. I guess he was putting a good spin on it, but I don’t agree at all.

Gang Starr had reached its peak with me. I moved on. I wanted a whole new musical vision. When we were recording The Ownerz, that whole situation was frustrating. During the recording of that album, I was already looking for a way out. That was the last album under our contract. Yeah, I would say the label screwed up certain things. But I’d also say that a lot of things were already screwed up.

AllHipHop.com: On a money side or personal side?

Guru: Both.

AllHipHop.com: That hurts me as a Hip-Hop fan – the same way when CL Smooth aired out Pete Rock on our site two years ago. To a Hip-Hop purist, that’s not unlike The Beatles breaking up…

Guru: There’s a saying that all good thing gotta come to an end, sometimes. That’s just that. All my favorite artists were able to recreate and reinvent, so I had to do that. On many levels, as an artist, I wasn’t getting the proper attention or stimulation of my creative talents. The Ownerz, I didn’t like the album, I didn’t like doing it.

AllHipHop.com: Do you wish it wasn’t out there?

Guru: No, not like that. I just knew, when I was doing it, that it was our last.

Solar: Let me add something that I feel is relevant. I sympathize with your, and anybody else’s feelings. When I came into the picture, The Ownerz was in progress. What I saw in Guru was an alcoholic. He was drunk all the time, that’s fact. He was functioning. We met as friends. I had no ambitions to produce with him, or get involved with Gang Starr or anything. I was just Guru’s man. But I did make friends with everybody in the Gang Starr Foundation. I got to see a man that was at the end of his rope. Virgin wasn’t really committed to Gang Starr at all at that point. Premier and Guru had disconnected from each other. If they weren’t in the studio doing a song, there wasn’t nothin’ goin’ on with them two. They weren’t fighting or bickering, but there was nothing there. Nobody was excited about The Ownerz. The fans need to understand this.

Guru: He had his own crew, I had my people – me and Solar. I used to always to always talk about these major labels influencing our music, and how disgusting it was. That’s where we started ‘bout putting a label together. Solar encouraged me to do it – just me. I called him back like, “Why don’t you get down with me?” Then it came down to me and my drinking and all of that. A week later, I quit. I haven’t taken a drink since. You can hear that on “Surviving the Game.” When I rhyme, I rhyme about what really goes on in my life. I have always wanted to do my label. Premier was well aware. But he never mentioned wantin’ to do that with me. He did it on his own. At that time, that whole Virgin situation was frustrating. I couldn’t do outside projects – as a vocalist, without their approval. Premier could produce anybody and do anything he wanted. That was a messed up situation.

AllHipHop.com: What about the mutual connections you have and the Gang Starr Foundation? Are they forced to decide between the two?

Guru: At the time, the Foundation was all breaking up too. All this happened together. Jeru had already left. I see him on occasion, that’s a good brother, I got love for Jeru. I see Lil’ Dap. Melachi had gotten locked up. He’s out now, doin’ better. At that time, the Foundation didn’t exist.

Solar: The money had dried up too. When Gang Starr was in their hiatus, they were touring, making lots of money. They were able to support that entourage. I don’t wanna make it sound like these guys weren’t loyal and didn’t have love. They did. They were a family – a family that was financially health. At the end, D&D was goin’ broke, it wasn’t an affluent situation. People that were there during healthier times… it’s a delicate thing. You can stand there and be supported, or you can go out and support yourself ‘cause you can’t be supported anymore.

Guru: I’ll take it one step further. That was a point where I had to me. I wasn’t concerned about that. Those guys could’ve chosen any type allegiance that they wanted when we left. They chose to go with Premo. That’s fine with me. I don’t have a problem with it. I knew that.

AllHipHop.com: Guru, Hip-Hop history suggests that Young Guru isn’t the first time something like that has happened. Rev Run began his career as ‘Son of Kurtis Blow.’ There’s two Dr. Dre’s. Def Jam even had South Central Cartel, which is comprised of two members, Prodeje and Havoc, which is identical to Mobb Deep… am I missing something?

Guru: First of all, people using each other’s names is that they have no knowledge of that person. One’s from the West and one’s from the East, like Dr. Dre. That happened to be a coincidence, if you believe in coincidences. That’s different than someone having the knowledge of me and my life’s work, and still taking the name and putting a “Young” in front of it. That’s very offensive. What are we gonna have now? Young Rakim? Young KRS-One? I would be appalled at that. I would be appalled if someone called themselves Young Premier. That, to me, was totally disrespectful, uncalled for, and I’m not goin’ for it.

Solar: I’m born and raised in New York, a true New Yorker. I’m a success story who made it before I made it in music. I feel that any man should be responsible for his actions. Nobody was steppin’ up to ask Young Guru what was goin’ on. I did it. I got his number up at D&D [Studios]. I called from D&D to Baseline [Studios] to speak to him. He was there. I heard him in the background. He started clownin’, me son. I heard “f**k them” in the background, specifically. That information was translated to Guru. The fans don’t know that element. I’m sure that Run didn’t disrespect Kurtis. Maybe ‘cause [Young Guru] is at Roc-A-Fella, and they’re taking this position, he thinks he doesn’t have to talk to Guru. But it just looks you’re putting the “Young” in front just to diss Guru. Maybe he thinks Guru’s washed up. I’ll take it one step further to see what his motivations were, they weren’t honest. In his AllHipHop.com interview, he said that Premier told him it was okay to use the name. That’s irregardless. It’s Guru’s name.

Guru: That’s cowardice. I don’t condone that activity.

AllHipHop.com: Thank you for sharing all of this.

Guru: It’s important for the readers to get the story from the horse’s mouth. Come see us live. We got one of the best Hip-Hop shows on the planet.

Rapper Twista Planning Next Album, Acting Career

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

Chicago rapper Twista is hard at work on his fifth album and will be adding the role of actor to his growing list of titles.

The rapper’s new album Adrenaline Rush 2010 is due in stores on June 20.

“I was putting together a mixtape, but the label heard the music and said, ‘No we have to have an album,'” Twista told AllHipHop.com. “So now it’s gonna be an album. We do it way big in the studio.”

Twista’s reputation in the rap game has led to collaborations with the likes of Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and a host of others.

“I got something coming out with Monica soon. It’s so many people I can’t just name ’em off top,” Twista said of his recent alliances. “Puffy [and I] are working on some music, me and Pharrell are working on some more music [so] I work with everybody….It’s a blessing.”

Twista is featured on the Mission Impossible III theme song “Impossible.”

In addition to his own set, the quick-tongued rapper is also in the studio with Speed Knot Mobstaz, working on their new album, and plans to begin building his acting career.

“I aint know too much about acting, but I got one of the best acting coaches,” Twista said. “I ain’t gonna reveal no secrets or nothing, [but] we gonna put it down right and you’re gonna see Twista doing it real big on the screen.”

Rappers Can’t Save You – The Death Of The Internet

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: Uncategorized

America’s Black misleadership class, which is nearly indistinguishable from its Black business class, has struck again. In a stunning coup, a mainline African American voting rights group has been enlisted on the side of AT&T and other telecom monopolies in their legislative push to privatize the Internet and roll back hundreds of agreements with local communities that force these monopolies to extend Internet and cable service to poor and rural communities around the country.

A time-worn corporate technique for dishonestly manipulating public opinion is to create what are called in the world of public relations, industry-funded organizations and front groups. The indispensable site SourceWatch.org spells it out like this:

"An industry-funded organization receives funding from a company or industry and often acts as a mouthpiece for views that serve the industry’s economic interests… Industry-funded organizations come in many shapes and sizes… trade associations, think tanks, non-profit advocacy groups, and media outlets. Some of these organizations serve as ‘third parties’ for public relations campaigns. The third party technique has been defined by one PR executive as ‘putting your words in someone else’s mouth.’”

"A front group… purports to represent one agenda while in reality it serves some other party or interest whose sponsorship is hidden or rarely mentioned. The front group is perhaps the most easily recognized use of the third party technique. For example, the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) claims that its mission is to defend the rights of consumers to choose to eat, drink and smoke as they please. In reality, CCF is a front group for the tobacco, restaurant and alcoholic beverage industries, which provide all or most of its funding…”

For this legislative sales season, the telecommunications monopolies have created a deceptively named corporate mouthpiece called Hands Off the Internet. Its chief public spokesman is former Clinton White House official Mike McCurry. A look at the Hands Off member organizations reveals a list of the usual suspects like the American Conservative Union, the Center for Individual Freedom, and the notorious National Association of Manufacturers. As bankrollers and hosts of the party, one expects to see AT&T and Cingular listed, and they are.

Renting Black Republicans is neither a new nor a big deal, so the National Black Chamber of Commerce, which recently fronted for the proposed privatization of Social Security on the grounds that fewer African Americans lived to collect it, is along for the ride too. In their attention to detail the telecom monopolies have even rented the traditional contingent of Black preachers, constructed them a web site and bestowed upon them the title of Ministerial Alliance Against the Digital Divide.

Black Commentator was quite surprised, however to see one of the mainstays of Black voting rights activism listed among the members of the telecom astroturf group: the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. How and why did this happen? What does it mean for NCBCP and for what remains of the civil rights movement?

Why Network Neutrality is a Black Issue

On April 27, Black Commentator published two stories about CBC member Bobby Rush’s sponsorship of this year’s noxious telco legislation. We explained how the Rush-Barton Act, also called the COPE Act or HR 5252, would kill off public access TV, strip towns and cities of the right to force cable monopolies to serve blacker and poorer areas in return for being able to do business in the wealthier parts of town, and allow companies to charge web sites like this one for allowing content or email to reach users. We called attention to the acceptance of a million dollar donation by a tentacle of AT&T to a not for profit organization associated with the congressman. All this earned us a call that morning from a Chicago-based defender of the congressman.

Black Commentator was making a big mistake, the caller told us, by leading with the issue of network neutrality. Our deeply misguided caller accused us of playing into the hands of white media activists. Network neutrality, she said again and again in the course of an hour long conversation, was just not "our issue.”

But when a Black member of congress accepts a million dollar telco donation for a supposed community-based project in his district, and turns up as co-sponsor of telco legislation to redline and disempower Black communities nationwide, along with suppressing everybody’s freedom of access to the Internet, it is indeed a Black issue. When AT&T rents Black ministers and Black Republican sock puppets like the National Black Chamber of Commerce, and even recruits the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation to its team, network neutrality has very definitely become a Black issue.

The incongruity of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation finding itself in bed with AT&T, the American Conservative Union and the National Association of Manufacturers is downright striking when you look at who serves on the NCBCP Board of Directors. To start with, there’s Dr. Howard Dean, whose campaign for president would have been impossible without a free and open Internet. There are luminaries like Dr. Joseph Lowery and Dr. Ron Walters of the African American Leadership Institute. We counted at least a dozen representatives of labor unions, including an assistant to AFL-CIO president John Sweeny, the UAW and UFCW, AFCSME, SEIU, and both national teachers unions and the A. Philip Randolph Institute.

After an NCBCP staffer assured Black Commentator on the phone that “Yes, we signed off on that,” Black Commentator phoned and emailed more than a dozen NCBCP board members affiliated with labor unions. Of the six that returned our calls or emails, all claimed to be unaware of the connection between NCBCP and the telco front group. Those few we had actual conversations with before this article was posted expressed horror at the company NCBCP seemed to be keeping, and some said they’d be taking the matter up with NCBCP executive director Melanie Campbell.

Our assumption is that some NCBCP staff and board members committed this act of treachery against the interests of African Americans in return for a sizable donation with which to continue some of its actual good and commendable work. As disturbing as this is, it may not be the first piece of dirty money NCBCP has solicited or accepted.

NCBCP prominently displayed a Wal-Mart banner at a summer event on voting rights it held in Washington DC, prompting questions at that time from some people close to the organization. Black Commentator cannot say with any certainty what Wal-Mart is getting for its money from NCBCP, but the basic motives of Wal-Mart, and the mission of anyplace with a name like “National Coalition on Black Civic Participation” seem fundamentally and irreconcilably at odds. We hope that NCBCP’s board members will find the time to untangle these questions soon.

“This is something they did without my knowledge, probably without the knowledge of most of us,” a union member of the organization’s board told Black Commentator. “If we knew about this, or about an NCBCP affiliation with Wal-Mart or the National Association of Manufacturers, I’m sure we’d have had a lot to say about it.”

In the three decades of NCBCP’s existence, labor unions have consistently been among its principal contributors. That support threatened to falter in recent times, partly due to changes in campaign finance laws that favored other types of organizations, and partly as a result of cuts in those kind of expenditures by some unions and by the AFLCIO.

Members of what we call the “Black business leadership” class consulted their speed-dial lists, opened up their rolodexes and delivered the National Coalition and its hard-won credibility into the hands of AT&T, and of Wal-Mart, and who knows who else? Whatever else you can say about this bunch, they know an opportunity to pick up an undervalued property when they see it.

In a Black Commentator cover story last October titled Where the Left Lives, we cited a recent study by the Bay Area Center for Voting Research of 250 American cities ranking them in order from most to least conservative and most to least “liberal.” The conclusions were not the least bit surprising to us at Black Commentator.

“The nation’s remaining liberals are overwhelming African Americans.

“The BACVR study that ranks the political ideology of every major city in the country shows that cities with large Black populations dominate the list of liberal communities. The research finds that Detroit is the most liberal city in the United States and has one of the highest concentrations of African American residents of any major city. Over 81% of the population in Detroit is African American, compared to the national average of 12.3%. In fact, the average percentage of African American residents in the 25 most liberal cities in the country is 40.3%, more than three times the national rate.

“The list of America’s most liberal cities reads like a who’s who of prominent African American communities. Gary, Washington D.C., Newark, Flint, Cleveland, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Birmingham have long had prominent Black populations. While most Black voters have consistently supported Democrats since the 1960s, it is the white liberals that have slowly withered away over the decades, leaving African Americans as the sole standard bearers for the left….

The message seems clear enough. If labor values its only stable base constituency, and its own future, it must invest more heavily in the grassroots organizations that work in and for Black America. Otherwise some of those grassroots organizing efforts will die, some will be stillborn, and too many others will be subverted by corporate dollars.

Network Neutrality and Competition

Finally, if network neutrality becomes a Black issue when telcos can buy, sell and rent Black organizations, when a Black congressmen accepts a million dollar telco donation and sponsors legislation that allows the industry to redline and disinvest in our communities, that’s a Black issue too.

Bobby Rush, in his statement answering the Chicago Sun-Times offers the transparent legalistic defense to conflict of interest charges, that since the donation was from a single company and the legislation benefits several telcos, no conflict exists. What else can you expect from a legislative body that elects its Speaker, its majority and minority leaders not on the basis of who has the most compelling vision for the nation and its people, but who can raise the largest number of corporate dollars? To anyone not mired in the culture of corrupt public officialdom, Rush’s position reeks of a conflict of interest, whether it meets the legal definition or not.

The congressman, his donors, and their front organization, Hands Off the Internet claim that handing over the Internet to private corporations and eliminating network neutrality will lower the cost and improve the quality of Internet service for everybody. This is nothing short of an outright lie. According to Stanford University’s Dr. Lawrence Lessig in a recent interview with Robert McChesney, broadband Internet access in France, Japan and South Korea and several other countries is cheaper, faster and more widely available than in the U.S. In every case, they do this by making the provision of service to everyone law and public policy, not leaving it up to “the market” or the whims of private corporations.

The whole “free competition” and “leaving it up to the market” argument flies in the face of how AT&T and other telco and cable monopolies came into existence and how they actually conduct their business. As the Univeristy of Illinois’s Dr. Robert McChesney explained recently on Democracy Now:

”…the phone companies and the cable companies, which provide Internet access to 98% of Americans and almost all businesses, are viewing – you know, they are companies that were set up by the government. They’re not free market companies. Their entire business model has been based on getting monopoly license franchises from the government for phone and cable service and then using it to make a lot of money. And they’re using their political leverage now to try to write a law basically which lets them control the Internet…”

”…what they want to do desperately is be in a situation where they can rank order websites. And websites that come through the fastest to us, to the users of the Internet, (will be) …the ones that pay them money or the ones they own. And websites that don’t pay them come through slower, much harder to get, or in some cases, they’ll have the power to take them off the Internet altogether.”

”…there’s no technological justification for this. There’s no economic justification. It’s pure corrupt crony capitalism. They’re basically using their political leverage to change this so they get a huge new revenue stream, and it gives them an inordinate amount of power over the Internet.”

In the interview, McChesney also discusses the impact of cable and Internet service to minority communities and how this will be affected by Rep. Rush’s legislation.

”…one of the core fundamental aspects of telecommunications policies historically… was the requirement that the phone companies, if they were going to get these monopoly licenses to make a pile of money, they had to serve the entire community. They couldn’t discriminate against neighborhoods, against cities. They had to give universal access…they hate that. They basically want to serve just wealthy and middle class communities and skip poor and rural communities. And they’re trying to write it into the law that they can basically… redline, that they can be discriminatory about which communities they offer their best services to and only offer in the most lucrative communities.

Congressman Rush concludes his defense by observing that “The real conflict here is America’s unwillingness to invest much needed capital in (oppressed) communities like Englewood.” His legislation though, allows telcos to deny our communities investment in their own communications infrastructure. Cheap, ubiquitous and comprehensive broadband access is as necessary to the economic well-being of our community as good streets.

By the time this Black Commentator article is printed, almost 700,000 Americans will have signed the petition against the telecom bill that Bobby Rush co-sponsored and NCBCP has endorsed. We urge any Black Commentator reader who has not yet done so to add your name to the list. By the time it comes to the House floor later this month, there may be a million signatures on the petition against it, despite the fact that no mainstream news outlet will cover the story. Whether or not you’ve already emailed, do call your own representative in Congress today and tell him you oppose HR 5252. Thanks to our readers and hundreds of thousands like you, the tide is turning against this atrocious legislation.

They say that the other superpower in the world today is public opinion, and that the only force stronger than organized money is organized people. Given the wave of public revulsion at this naked grab for power and profit on the part of the telecom industry, it’s not at all too late for Bobby Rush to find a way to withdraw his sponsorship. And it’s not too late for NCBCP to remove itself from the telecom front organization, and to undertake a general reconsideration, in light of its historic mission, of who it takes money from and why.

Black Commentator Editor Bruce Dixon can be contacted at [email protected].

AHH Stray News: Violence At Jim Jones Show, Gnarls Barkley, Wyclef, Czar Squad DJ’s

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

A police officer

was assaulted and one man was stabbed yesterday (May 21) at a Jim Jones concert

in Buffalo, N.Y. The rapper was performing at The Tralf nightclub on Pearl Street

when over fifteen hundred extra people showed up but could not get into the

concert. Police were summoned as people rushed the front doors, and a female

officer was struck on the head, according to reports. David Jones, 36, was taken

into custody for the assault. He was taken to a local hospital after police

learned he had been stabbed. Jones underwent surgery and is currently in stable

condition. Another man was shot and killed while sitting in traffic on Pearl

Street. An unknown gunman came up to 21-year-old Lamar Williams’ vehicle and

open-fired, instantly killing the man. Police have not yet arrested anyone in

connection with Williams’ death.

Gnarls Barkley

has been tapped to perform at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards. The duo of DJ Danger

Mouse and rapper/producer Cee-Lo recently released the album St. Elsewhere.

Their first single "Crazy" became the first single to reach No. 1

on the UK singles chart simply based off downloads. If the track maintains No.

1 for a ninth week, it will tie Queen’s nine-week run for their hit "Bohemian

Rhapsody." The 2006 MTV Movie Awards airs June 8 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Casting has begun

for the new HBO show Wyclef Jean in America. The series is loosely based

around the life of the Haitian born rapper/singer, who moved to New York at

the age of nine. Wyclef went on to form the rap group The Fugees before embarking

on a solo career. The series will be written by Danny Hoch, Seth Zvi, and Wyclef,

who will also provide the soundtrack for the series.

Czar Entertainment

CEO Jimmy "Henchmen" Rosemond and Victor Herrera have announced the

formation of a new DJ collective, the Czar Squad DJ’s. Rosemond, who manages

the careers of Too $hort, Rick Ross, Shyne, The Game, Mario Winans and others,

said the collective is designed to help launch the careers of music artists

and DJ’s. Czar Squad has 18 professional DJ’s throughout the United States,

Canada and Europe and includes such notables as DJ Warrior, DJ She-Devil, Kris-Stylez

and Chris Brown’s DJ, Babey Drew. “The Czar Squad D.J.’s is designed

to offer new and established artists the opportunity to gain exposure, while

giving fans the chance to hear fresh talent which they may not be exposed to

from their local radio station,”Rosemond said. “My objective is to

build the Czar Squad D.J. initiative into the premiere DJ movement in the world

by offering quality music and creating a presence in every major market.”

Snoop Dogg Claims His Space On The Internet, Launches 4AllMyDoggs Fan Club

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

Snoop Dogg’s official

Web site, Snoopdogg.com, has initiated a new fan club called 4AllMyDoggs.

The rapper’s home

on the web will offer concert tickets and "Snoop Authentic" memorabilia,

including stage props used during touring.

"All my ‘Doggs’

are looking for a fan club and Web site about me that tells it like it is,"

Snoop Dogg said in a statement. "I want to keep it real for them and make

it like we’re hanging out talking about music, movies, honeys, life, whatever

… no matter whether I’m

touring or not."

Paid Inc., a Worcester,

Massachusetts-based company that specializes in building fan sites for celebrities,

will operate Snoop’s fan club, as well as the ticketing and merchandising arms

of the Internet business.

The company will

also redesign and manage Snoopdogg.com, and add new content that includes on-stage

and behind-the-scenes streaming video, photos and audio clips from his extensive

stash from concerts, television and movies, and personal audio messages from

Snoop.

"We are very

excited to be working with an icon who crosses over from music to sports and

lifestyle markets," said Paid Inc. VP Kristen Kuliga. "We believe

that an important part of building and maintaining fan loyalty is helping celebrities

stay connected with their fans both on and off tour."

Snoop Dogg recently

completed a tour in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, as well

as an infamous trip to Europe that led to the rapper being barred from England

for a brawl in London’s Heathrow airport.

Rap duo dead prez Celebrate New Documentary ‘It’s Bigger Than Hip-Hop’

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

Rap duo Dead Prez

will premier their first documentary/concert on the Starz InBlack network tomorrow

(May 22) at B.B. King’s in New York.

Taped in San Francisco,

Dead Prez: It’s Bigger Than Hip-Hop features Sticman and M-1 in concert,

and focuses on the inadequacies of the public education system, minority entrepreneurship,

and social revolution.

"We’ve never

had the opportunity to express ourselves on this magnitude," M-1 stated.

"Starz In Black taking a chance on us lets us know that the work we are

doing is not in vein. That our message is penetrating, it’s getting through.

We are community people and we are about the betterment of the community."

The one-hour analysis

will also feature dialog and interviews from Dead Prez, as well as Kamel Bell,

owner of Ankh Marketing and son of incarcerated Black Panther Herman Bell, Fred

Hampton, Jr., son of Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton and Bay Area rapper

Ise Lyfe, among others.

"When it comes

to people of color, the corporations that own these outlets understand the manipulation

and they don’t want to sell us no revolution, because that would be selling

us freedom," said Stic.man. "We are still in a state of apartheid,

even in America."

Dead Prez: It’s

Bigger Than Hip-Hop will air June 9 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

Three 6 Mafia To Peform During WWE’s ‘SmackDown!’

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

Oscar Award winning rap group Three 6 Mafia has been selected to perform live at the World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) taping of Friday Night SmackDown! in Bakersfield, California tomorrow (May 23.)

The group’s performance comes on the same day the WWE releases their newest CD, WWE: Wreckless Intent.

The CD features well known artists performing reworked versions of the WWE’s top wrestlers’ entrance themes, heard during WWE’s weekly television shows RAW and Friday Night SmackDown!.

“It’s goin’ down in Bakersfield! Three 6 Mafia performs live at ‘SmackDown!,'”Juicy J said. “We want everybody to come out and party with us! It’s gonna be a blast!”

Three 6 Mafia’s performance will air on WWE’s Friday Night SmackDown! on Friday, May 26.

WWE: Wreckless Intent hits stores tomorrow (May 23) and is being released in conjunction with the WrestleMania 22 DVD.

Hip-Hop & Gaming Collide At Rockstar Tourney

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

In the video game world, much like the Hip-Hop world, competition is everything.

With that in mind, Rockstar Games (GTA: Vice City, The Warriors) hosted a rapper-friendly tournament earlier this month to promote the company’s latest title, Table Tennis.

Hip-Hop gaming addicts like Hot 97’s DJ Enuff, Sirius’ Lord Sear, among others, competed at an exclusive Manhattan lounge for bragging rights.

“The graphics are crazy; I can actually see the characters sweating,” Enuff told AllHipHop.com excitedly.”

Though most in attendance said they don’t normally lay table tennis, all of them agreed the game impressed.

“I don’t really play ping-pong, but this game lets you learn the basics while adding your own moves,” explained producer Chops, who recently won the Mixtape of the Year Award at the 2006 Southern Entertainment Awards.

As the night wore on and the tournament ensued, complete with hilarious commentary courtesy of Lord Sear, the competition became fierce.

Power 105’s DJ Spinbad, who was touted by several people as the “best player” of the night, battled Joe Underwood (All City Distribution)

for the championship.

Spinbad also shared his thoughts on Power 105’s latest acquisition, DJ Clue, who left Hot 97 recently.

“It’s beautiful. Looks like me and him are gonna be working together so it’s good,” said Spin, who finished second to Underwood.

Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis for Xbox 360 will be available nationwide May 23, 2006.

Gnarls Barkley: Three Times Crazy

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: Features

W

hen Cee-Lo Green and Danger Mouse began recording what would become Gnarls Barkley’s St. Elsewhere in 2003, the uncanny pair simply envisioned a pet-project that they could possibly shop to an indie label. Three years later, their debut song “Crazy” is a record-breaking, genre-jumping single in the UK that just started infecting American airwaves, backed by Atlantic Records.

Gnarls Barkley is likely to slither into ears unaware of Cee-Lo’s tremendous body of work, and those ignorant of Danger Mouse’s sonic rebellions, The Gorillaz, DangerDoom and The Grey Album. Their buzz has become a roar, but Cee-Lo hopes the noise is heard in the streets as readily as on Apple’s iTunes. The Goodie member unveils a saga of inspiration, intimacy, technology, and ingenuity that embodies Gnarls Barkley.

AllHipHop.com: Gnarls Barkley consists of you and Danger Mouse… what brought the two of you together for this?

Cee-Lo: Well the name Gnarls Barkley was actually borrowed from a good friend of ours by the same name; a gentleman who crossed our path and inspired us to poetry. So we were brought together about three years ago. Danger was then recording an album called Ghetto Pop Life with [MC partner], Jemini. During the session, I was doing a remix to a song called “What U Sittin’ On?” So towards the end of the session, he asked me, you know, could he play a couple of things for me he thought I’d be interested in. So he played about six or seven tracks which ultimately became what is now known as Gnarls Barkley’s St. Elsewhere.

AllHipHop.com: The first track we heard off that album is “Crazy”, and the song, especially in Europe, is about to make history…

Cee-Lo: That’s what they say…

AllHipHop.com: Number One on the charts without anything actually being released, correct? It charted from legal downloads alone.

Cee-Lo: Right.

AllHipHop.com: And did that come as a surprise to you?

Cee-Lo: It does. It comes as a great surprise to me… it’s quite awesome.

AllHipHop.com: Do you think that it’s going to pick up in the states as vastly as it did overseas?

Cee-Lo: Well… I’m not sure. Maybe. Hopefully. I don’t see why not; it’s a good song.

AllHipHop.com: Everyone that I’ve played it for loves it. The song’s quite infectious.

Cee-Lo: That’s nice… You know, I guess because lyrically it comes from a very private place. Something that you would think about, as opposed to writing down and performing. But, I believe that the relationship between the creator and the consumer has crossed quite a few people’s minds. To know that I’m not alone… that’s pretty gratifying.

AllHipHop.com: I read that you recorded that in one take, right?

Cee-Lo: Yup. A little over half of the album was done kinda via e-mail. We started working before the Gray Album, and actually before my last solo record, Soul Machine. So we kinda had our own prior obligations. So he would send me instrumentals, and whatever I gravitated towards, I would record it. We did a couple of songs like that. Towards the middle, the project began to pick up the pace and there was suddenly interest in the project as a whole—initially we were taking the independent approach, we were funding the sessions out of our own pockets. So I guess that’s where a lot of that freedom and range came from. There wasn’t any overseer; it was just us being ourselves. And of course with the inspiration of Mr. Barkley around us, how could we not be able to do such a thing? So anyway, we had about two weeks to record and get things dome before he had to move along. When he played the beat for “Crazy,” I was like ‘Whoa’… I definitely fell in love with the production and it looped for about three or four hours, as we sat there and talked. The melody started coming to me in my subconscious, and I jotted down the words; what I felt fit into a cadence. Then we went in and I roughed it, so basically it’s an idea. We were trying to be as productive as we could. I wouldn’t tell him I had an idea for a song called “Crazy,” I would just go in and do it and try to shock him and impress him as I was impressed with his work. We more or less went back and forth with each other like that. When I came out of the vocal booth, we listened to it, thought it was pretty cool… so we moved onto something else. Once it leaked and the reception from the people came out it was like, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” A great deal of the album, and most of the work throughout my career has been one takes.

AllHipHop.com: So you know what you’re doing, get in and get out?

Cee-Lo: There’s honesty in the rough. I do like the organic feel… when you go back in and have to do it again, do it again. When you write something down, there’s a healthy degree of premeditation. And of course you know everything premeditated isn’t innocent, ultimately. So when you go into the booth to sing, it’s like a reenactment of an emotion. The more tensions you have to deal with, the less sincere it becomes. A lot of things I say… I am them as I write them and I mean them as I sing them for the first time… so it usually just works out for me to just leave it the way it is.

AllHipHop.com: You’d say the first cut is the deepest?

Cee-Lo: Yeah.

AllHipHop.com: St. Elsewhere seems to exceed any genre that I’ve heard thus far. Was that a conscious intention?

Cee-Lo: I do defy category and genre; I feel when the music is divided then people are divided as well, and also vice versa. When the music is unified, the people are unified. I’m an advocate of unity and diversity and range and broadened horizons. That’s my sentiment and that’s my take on life and artistic endeavors. And anyone that sees it the same way is welcome. It’s really a “come as you are” basis.

AllHipHop.com: I know you guys are signed on for Coachella and Lollapalooza… once the album hits, is touring a possibility for you?

Cee-Lo: That remains to be seen, but there’s a good chance there’ll be a demand for a tour. So I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Again, it was initially meant to be a studio album and we didn’t quite know that all of this would happen. I knew cool people that kinda knew what time it was would like it. But we weren’t going for any demographic, like “Okay, let’s release it to the UK first, I know they’ll appreciate it.” We know they’ll appreciate it out that way. But I’m standing in the middle of Altanta, Georgia [right now], and I want my people to appreciate it too. I want us as a human race to broaden our horizons and better ourselves.

AllHipHop.com: Comparisons have been made to Andre 3000’s “Hey Ya.” How do you feel about being labeled to your Dungeon Family brethren?

Cee-Lo: I’ve heard the “Hey Ya” comparison a couple of times. I think the only difference is I think Andre 3000’s sole purpose with “Hey Ya” was to entertain. I kinda have multiple intentions with it. It’s to encourage, and ultimately entertain you as well. It’ll feed you, it’s something you can turn to in a time of need, it’s a voice of reason for anybody who could possibly be at that point of questioning, “Am I living in fear, isolation, emotional detachment?” I’ve suffered from that quite a few times, for extensive periods of my life. So I can relate and I speak to them and I try to be therapeutic, which is what I think the origin and intention for music is anyway. I utilize my voice and the platform I’m standing on to the fullest.

AllHipHop.com: You stay pretty busy. Is Gnarls Barkley your main focus as of right now or are you working on something else?

Cee-Lo: Gnarls Barkley is done, so it’s not necessarily my main focus as of right now. I’m multitasking; concentrating on another solo record, we’ve already kinda begun work on another Goodie Mob record; I have a couple of artists I’ve been working with. Myself and a couple of my homies Metia Malone and the Fabulous Hank Holiday are The Good Time Guys, collectively. The machine and the morality are starting to align for me now. I don’t have a formal contract with anyone that would prohibit me to do as I wish. I am free… that’s a proclamation on freedom on “Go Go Gadget.” I did not realize how bound I was until I squeezed blood from a rock, with Soul Machine, with Perfect Imperfections. I was going through what I like to call the assembly line syndrome. I could only really release one album at a time so being that I’m so broadly influenced, I had to do those albums like that to truly try to come to terms with all that I am and summarize all my influences and aspirations. Now that I don’t have a formal contract to bind me, I can do more things simultaneously.

AllHipHop.com: That’s great news for everyone that’s going to be able to hear everything that you make.

Cee-Lo: For sure.

AllHipHop.com: You’ve had amazing collaborations with many artists, but in my opinion, I believe your songs with Common Sense are especially superior. “Gaining One’s Definition” is many one of the most inspiring songs ever recorded. Have you guys ever thought of working on an album together?

Cee-Lo: I don’t know… we’ve never spoke about it formally but I don’t think it would be something he wouldn’t be up for. I was just making a comment earlier today, because he asked me was I setting a trend by pairing up with other producers and things of that nature. And I said yeah, it might be something that people can adopt. I could see myself saying, “What it would sound like if Kanye produces me?” or something like that. And if he’s [Common’s] up for it, then I don’t think it’d be a problem. I’d give it a shot. I’m sure we’d come up with some wonderful things.

AllHipHop.com: I definitely think so. Let me be the first to vote for you and Common to make an album together. Because when you see things that are just consistently good, you feel like it will only get consistently greater.

Cee-Lo: Well, I’ll let him know because I just bumped into him in LA… I’ll let him know the people wanna see that.

AllHipHop.com: Will we ever see the face of the infamous Gnarls Barkley?

Cee-Lo: Well, he’s like the wind… he may show up in the form of something or someone else… he’s quite an elusive character. I wouldn’t be surprised if he were there, and I didn’t notice him at all.

Ray Cash: Cashing In

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: Features

C

leveland has never been thought of as a hotbed for musicians. Figures such as The O’Jays, Avant, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony have had profound impacts on music, but only through associations in bigger cities. With a Sony Records contract and a localized approach, Ray Cash envisions a change to this trend.

Using Lebron James’ young leadership with the Cavaliers as an guide, Ray Cash wants the city on his back in pursuit of rap revitalization. This undertaking his started with crossover hit, “Sex Appeal” and the grittier “Bumpin’ My Music” with Scarface. As both singles find airwaves in and outside Cleveland, Cash waits to release the debut, Cash On Delivery, that he largely completed before signing. With help from Rockwilder and Rick Rock, Ray has cosigns from respected MCs and producers. All that separates the artist from a chance at his dreams is a June 27th release date. After a career made of taking Greyhounds and trains to go to them, Ray Cash is ready for the masses to start coming to his city for him.

AllHipHop.com: I got to start off on the Cavaliers. Were you watching the games?

Ray Cash: Lebron [James] done did it again…it feels good to see them do their thing. He needs this point in his career.

AllHipHop.com: Were you expecting them to win the Detroit series?

Ray Cash: I’m realistic, so I knew it was possible to get past the Wizards, but to see him step up like that, that’s that killer instinct. When I saw them lose that first [Detroit] game, I just turned the TV off. I went to a couple of games this year, but it’s been kinda hard because we been on the road.

AllHipHop.com: Your mind has got to be in a good place, coming from the inner city of Cleveland, and being drafted by Sony. What’s going through your mind?

Ray Cash: I’ve been saying to myself, “Please don’t drop the ball.” I’m doing everything I can do, and it’s only so much to do with a machine like that. I feel like I been around the world before my album has even dropped. Then also, with my album, you can really feel my growth.

AllHipHop.com: With that machine, Clevelanders expected you to blow immediately…

Ray Cash: I knew it would be a long grind. [Sony is] really scared of Hip-Hop. They had 50 Cent and dropped him. It’s like, how the hell did you do that? [laughing] They are really good with Pop, but this is a whole different thing that I’m doing. I’m not a Pop rapper. I go hard with it. There ain’t no Pop or no bubble gum in me or my music.

AllHipHop.com: Coming from St. Clair, I know very well how our inner city life can be. What was it really like for you growing up here in the city? And what side of town were you on?

Ray Cash: I was on the east side off Euclid. I was right around Torberson. I used to hustle around by Indian Hills. I think it’s my [image] that makes people think I ain’t like that, or like I don’t come from where I’m from, ‘cause of the glasses and everything.

AllHipHop.com: What’s been your experience, coming back home and interacting with the people you came up with? Do you get time to do that, and how are their reactions?

Ray Cash: It’s cool. Most of my people didn’t change. Some people changed because they expected me to change, and I didn’t. I think that threw a lot of people off when they saw that I didn’t change. I’m home all the time though. I just left the crib yesterday. I got a son. This rap s**t is important, but it can f**k your family up. It hurts to get on the plane, and your son is crying because he wants you to stay. It’s a sacrifice that I have to make, but it pays off to know how good things will be for him. I’ll do anything for him.

AllHipHop.com: As a former hustler, was it your goal to one day have a career in Hip-Hop?

Ray Cash: Naw, I never said I would be a rapper one day, but I grew up listening to it constantly. I sit in my car driving, and b*tches will hop in my car. People try to follow me home to give me a CD. I pay attention to that, because people can be out to get me. You got a lot of hate, but it was more or less a rapper’s hate. I don’t think it was anything where people say I can’t rap. I think it’s just that people want my spot. But ain’t nobody going to get my spot, at least not by me giving it to them. To me, the listeners have to make that call. But I will never give anybody my spot.

AllHipHop.com: I know you must get a ton of friends and people just saying, “Can you put me on?”

Ray Cash: Oh yeah, it’s crazy. I got a lot of friends who want to get put on, but to me, nobody was getting on the Greyhound bus, or catching them trains with me when I was trying to get on. Now that I’m there, people are like, “I should have got on that train, man.”

AllHipHop.com: How did you get noticed enough to be taken seriously?

Ray Cash: I was f**kin’ with my man, Shaleek and Kevin. Shaleek is from Roc-A-Fella, and we all clicked up. Shaleek was so surprised to see a n***a from Cleveland rap like that. He would ask like, “You sure you from Cleveland?” I’ve just been putting in that grind. You can’t be scared to take a risk. I have it that shot, and it’s paying off. I fight for Cleveland everyday, and they f**k with me. I got to do it the right way. I can’t half ass.

AllHipHop.com: How are you going to promote Cleveland’s Hip-Hop image differently than say…Bone Thugs-N-Harmony?

Ray Cash: When people think of Bone, they think of the flannels, Dickies, and the braids. And then they see me, and say, “Who the f**k is this clean cut n***a?” I just wanna give them that hustling side of the game. I get comparisons, and I respect it. Somebody said I could be the Jay-Z of Cleveland. That’s not hard, and it’s nice that they say that, but it just shows you their mind frame. I’m shootin’ to be “Ray from Cleveland.” My whole swagger is a hustler’s swagger. I will show you what’s going on here.

AllHipHop.com: Talk to me about who your musical influences were, and what they did to mold you into the artist you are today?

Ray Cash: Jay had the class. He was real. He had a certain outlook, and you could tell that he didn’t just read The Source to get his information. He was really into learning, and it came across in his music. Biggie has crazy stories. Can’t nobody tell stories like he could. ‘Pac was the realest. Everybody need a little ‘Pac in them, but you can’t be Pac. You just need some of that “I don’t give a f**k” attitude. He had too much of it, and I think that’s where he went wrong. UGK, people thought they was new when “Big Pimpin’” came out. Jay knew what he was doing, and you had to respect him for getting them for the track. Nobody else East Coast would have ever thought to get UGK.

AllHipHop.com: Looking at your album as a whole, what do you want people to gain and walk away saying?

Ray Cash: I want people to get that Cleveland is back. I’m restoring the feeling. People are happy to hear people that rap, that’s why they f**k with TI. I want people to hear that we can do this. I got concept songs. On “Bumpin’ My Music”, Me and [Scarface] had a concept. I’m getting on songs with people to get a response. I’m not doing it just to be doing it. People should walk away happy, but keep coming back to catch what I say. Like XXL gave me an XL [rating] without hearing the beats. I’m doing this for the city.

Smiley the Ghetto Child: A Simple Twist of Fate

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: Features

S

ome people have all the luck while others get a raw deal. Smiley the Ghetto Child has been devoted to Hip-Hop for over two decades, and he just released his first album.

Fans may remember Smiley as the guest verse on Group Home’s#### 1995 single, “Tha Realness.” Just days before appearing in the video and expanding his success, Smiley was arrested for an altercation defending his mother. The Bronx-born artist looks back on the misstep not as a regret, but a sad twist of fate.

Eleven years later, after releasing a debut album, The Antidote, backed by DJ Premier, Showbiz, and Green Lantern, things finally seemed to turn up for the optimistic street veteran. Tragic fate arrived again. On May 15, after previously being out on bail, Smiley The Ghetto Child was re-arrested on drug related charges and is currently waiting to be arraigned. Just days before this turn of events, Smiley the Ghetto Child spoke hopefully about his future and his foundation. j

AllHipHop.com: For those who don’t already know, take it back to the beginning: when did you first become interested in music, and how did it begin for you?

Smiley the Ghetto Child: A lot of people probably won’t know, or even consider, but I’m a fossil in the game. I mean, I started…wow, [in the day] KRS-One days. I was running after KRS-One and [Kool DJ] Red Alert, when they were doing shows and functions. I’ll give you an example. My moms used to have me grounded at times, for like 90 days, maybe 120 days, like in my room — no TV, man, seriously. I would sneak out. I had older dudes that I used to run with, like the New York City Breakers, and s**t like that. I used to be called “Baby Wave.” I could wave like a muthaf**ka! To answer the question, I started during the development of Hip-Hop; you’re talking like ’84-’85. To this day, man, I see Red Alert and he remembers me from back then.

AllHipHop.com: How did it go from Baby Wave to Smiley the Ghetto Child?

Smiley the Ghetto Child: Well, that whole Smiley thing came up, it was Smiley first. I was a cheesin’ little boy, a cheesin’ muthaf**ka! I was smilin’ on muthaf**kas. And, it was always Smiley. The Smiley thing came about even more when I started wearing gold fronts, and s**t like that. The Ghetto Child came in after, when I was gonna take myself seriously as a, basically, warrior for this s**t.

AllHipHop.com: You’ve run with other warriors. Tell me how the Gang Starr affiliation came into fruition…

Smiley the Ghetto Child: As far as that situation, we met on a personal note first. We were friends first. We know the music didn’t introduce us to be friends. It was basically a mutual friendship. They used to live around my neighborhood, right up the block, and we would basically hang, go out to parties, and stuff like that. Eventually, a relationship for the music developed, ’cause that’s when Guru and Premier got serious on being a duo.

AllHipHop.com: Realistically speaking, that was a long time ago. You could’ve dropped your debut easily over ten years ago. Why did you opt to wait so long?

Smiley the Ghetto Child: Yeah, pretty much, and that’s ill…that’s a deep question. It’s like, I could just put it in one word: life – trials and tribulations, and s**t like that. I’ll break it down and define it easier: incarceration. Just being involved in the streets, when I knew I should’ve just kept a focus on this. At the time, it wasn’t any money coming out of this, so it was hard to stay focused. I was a young father, so there were other things in my life that distracted me from this.

AllHipHop.com: What exactly contributed to your incarceration?

Smiley the Ghetto Child: That’s when we were supposed to do “Tha Realness” video, for the song that was on the Group Home album [Livin’ Proof]. That was like my first real verbal acclaim. I really had world acclaim for that verse; it was only 16 bars. I couldn’t believe it. But, we were supposed to do a video for that s**t, and that was gonna be my first visual, but I got locked up for protecting my moms. Cops maced my moms in the face, and, you know, I did what I had to do and I got locked up for that. S**t f**ked up my first visual. That s**t was crazy, so that stopped the whole s**t. When you, say, like 10 years, that s**t played a big part, word!

AHH: The ‘Original’ Gang Starr Foundation was an integral part of Hip-Hop, a major force if you will. What happened, what caused the group’s disintegration?

Smiley the Ghetto Child: You said a magic word. It was a “major force” in that era. That was the real golden age. Like Preme and Jeru, they wanted to do what they wanted to do. I’m not the type of person to elaborate, and hang wet clothes out to dry in public. The politics of the game, and the typical s**t that’ll probably separate people – people wanna go do their own thing. People get mature in their growth, and they want to achieve, and pursue other s**t.

AllHipHop.com: So, are there any relationships left, albeit personal or professional, in existence to this day?

Smiley the Ghetto Child: Yeah, of course, there’s still personal relationships, that’s always gonna go on. Everybody is like trying to get some money to do their own thing. All of us were a big family, and [are still] big to this day. We still family. I did some s**t with Big Shug last year. We’re still family, but we’re just like all fulfilling our growth, and we’re just trying to do other s**t, that’s how I perceive it.

AllHipHop.com: Any chance then of a Foundation reunion project?

Smiley the Ghetto Child: I don’t think that’s happening, homey.

AllHipHop.com: The Antidote is a rather fitting title for your long overdue debut. Tell me what that name represents…

Smiley the Ghetto Child: I’m the antidote to this. I’m the antidote to a lot of sickness that’s going on, and it’s just not you and me, I’m pretty sure there’s a lot of people, collectively, that agree. The game needs a new turn, and it’s like for the better. It’s like I’m the antidote for that, ‘cause the pureness is gone. Hip-Hop ain’t pure no more. And, not saying we gotta go back to ’86 or ’88, I’m not saying that, I’m just saying like the way Hip-Hop is being projected now, it’s all about sex, it’s all about materialistic items and s**t like that. That’s a part of life, and that’s a segment of people’s living, but there’s other things involved in life – people are struggling, too. Everybody in the world is not partying 24 hours a day. Everybody is not in the Maybach 24 hours a day. There’s other serious s**t going on.

AllHipHop.com: In your own struggle, what’s kept you in it?

Smiley the Ghetto Child: Well, the key to my success right now, is me staying focused, having a good work ethic, and keeping an open mind. Always be optimistic about this s**t, ‘cause that’s the key. When you’re open minded about s**t, you see everything. I gotta stay strong with this because one slip up and it could go. Like you said, I was supposed to been doing this 10 years ago, but it’s like right now what people gonna see is somebody that’s focused, that’s dedicated, that’s disciplined, and that’s just gonna put out music that’s timeless.

AllHipHop.com: Everyone either already knows, or will know, Smiley the MC or a street dude. Tell me something that no one knows about you personally…

Smiley the Ghetto Child: Put it like this, there’s two sides. Smiley is like the warrior of this, to the rap — Smiley, like the soldier from God. As far as like me, as an individual, I’m human. I go through s**t. I got issues that I’m ironing out. I ain’t perfect. I’m a funny muthaf**ka, too. I’m funny as hell. You’ll get a lil’ humor on the LP, but like I’m really funny, dog. Like, I can be a comedian and s**t like that – That’s another side of Smiley people probably won’t get through the music.

AllHipHop.com: Thus far, what has been your biggest career highlight?

Smiley the Ghetto Child: When me and Chi-Ali was in the Octagon Club, ‘cause I used to co-write for Chi-Ali, Black Sheep, and s**t of that nature, but, when we chilled with ‘Pac that night in the Octagon, ‘cause Chi already knew him, God rest his soul, when he introduced me to ‘Pac, it wasn’t like just no introducing, we chilled, we kicked it.

Beenie Man: It’s All Good

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: Alternatives

While Beenie Man is one of the most musically recognized artists in the world, his strong opinions and dynamic personality often garner him as much attention as his music. His rise to fame started in his home of Kingston, Jamaica, and led him to pop icon status in the United States after two decades of hard work.

Beenie Man made his recording debut in Jamaica at the tender age of eight, and released a slew of overseas hits from the Caribbean to the U.K. He finally made his U.S. debut in 1998 with The Doctor, followed by The Art and Life in 2000. The latter spawned the hit songs “Girls Dem Sugar” and “Who Am I,” making Beenie Man a household name.

The Dancehall King stirred up a huge controversy in 2004 when his song lyrics regarding homosexuality, particularly on the song “Damn,” brought him some harsh criticism from every direction. Despite the trials he went through with the public and press, Beenie Man maintained his focus, and is readying his new album Undisputed for a July 2006 release.

We sat down with him in New York for a few minutes on the set of the Lil X-directed video for his new single with Akon, “Girls.” He didn’t have much time due to the hectic pace of the day, but Beenie Man did have a lot to say about his roots, and his passion for reggae and dancehall culture.

AllHipHop.com Alternatives: How did you get introduced to deejaying dancehall music so early?

Beenie Man: I started without trying – the day I was born. I started doing music professionally at age five, and from then you know the rest, the rest is history. I’ve been through many deejay contests, like battles against other artists. As a kid I was kicking the most conscious and the most deadly lyrics at the time so I never [had much] competition back in the days. Age eight I did my first single because of a competition that I won [at a] talent show, it’s still going on in Jamaica right now. So that’s back in the ‘70s, ’79 coming up to’89…

All of this production was going on [where the] sound system was making live albums, so artists like me who [were] usually easy on the sound system, I was the man on the microphone for [selectors] like Volcano, Lee’s Unlimited, King Jammy’s. All of these veteran sounds from back in the day, [like] Black Star. So this is how I came to -. I’ve been through four decades, and I’m not 40.

AHHA: You mentioned deejaying battles. The call and response is so huge in Jamaican culture, and just Caribbean culture in general. How important do you feel that those battles were to your development of your art, and how important do you think they are now to new artists?

Beenie Man: Back in the days [in] battles never was a man bad minded [where he would] hate you because you were living a better life than [he was] at the time. A battle was all about who was the best artist, who was the toughest artist that had the toughest lyrics and could last [the longest]. That was nice back in the days when you had Ninjaman clashing with Shabba Ranks, Supercat clashing with Ninjaman. It was always Ninjaman that pushed the war.

Now when I busted forth on the scene and started getting popular within the music I got competition from Bounty Killa, Capleton and Sizzla. They say the hotter the battle the sweeter the obituary, [so] I just laugh at them. The problem is I come from a foundation of the music, they just came into the music. They see me and they want to fight me, that makes no sense. This is my thing, this is not your thing. The way I respond to them is experience, experience teaches wisdom. I come from the soundclash days, so how can you come in late and try to clash with a man who knows what clash is, where clash comes from and what it can cost? You can’t clash with a man like that.

AHHA: How has your conversion to Rastafarianism influenced your music?

Beenie Man: It’s not a conversion, I was born this way. I just never grew my locks out. I’m always a Rasta man – never a Luciferian, never a Christian, never none of those things. I have been given limited time, and I’m blessed to know what life is – what the world is and what the world is made of. Religion is a mind thinking, it’s a belief thing and I don’t believe I know what I’m doing in life, because to believe you have to think about it and I don’t think about nothing. I just go ahead and do it.

So I can not be tricked, I want to be one of the few chosen that might be chose to lead us. I can not be tricked, I’m not gonna follow a man who’s [been preaching] religion. I dig [the] Muslim [religion] because they are older than Christianity. Christianity is 6000 years of age… one year in the God almighty cycle and that’s one just like the 7000 years. It’s good that I know these things, and that I’ve rised up my mind to be strong and [stopped living in that mindset].

That’s how I do and this is my life. I believe in my ancestors from Ethiopia and Ghana, I believe in those things. I believe in the ancestors, I believe that they are the ones that built up the earth. I believe that they are the ones that protect us and are responsible for us. I believe that if a man is living the right way, the almighty is God and if he’s living the wrong way under the almighty is a God. That’s my life, I don’t need to go to a church for me to think that.

[My music comes from] an open mind, it’s not a conversion. It’s not for me to take my thing to you, you live a different thing. I deal with life you deal with belief, your mind is gonna say, “That’s not the right thing to follow that man there,” because you know that I don’t need a man to lead me. I have my own mind and my own settings. I know that every man wakes up and sees the sun, and every night he sees the moon………I believe in the nature, if water’s not there [you will be] thirsty. I believe in those things. If a man can’t have any conversation with me [without talking] about things and places, then me and him can’t talk. I talk about nature; this is real life, love of self and not politics.

AHHA: We all know about the role that Bob Marley played in introducing the world to the music of Jamaica. On May 11th it [was] the 25th anniversary of his untimely death. Do you think that the music has evolved any in these last 25 years since his passing and if so, how?

Beenie Man: The music got bigger, we have all types of reggae music. reggaeton, R. Kelly reggae, all types of reggae. Nobody can surpass [what Bob Marley did] and nobody can do [what he did] because it’s been done already. You have to do what you do, and when you do what you do everything [will be] good.

Yo Gotti’s CD Release/Birthday Party Interrupted By Shooting

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

A birthday and CD release party for North Memphis rapper Yo Gotti was interrupted on Friday (May 19) morning by a shooting at a Beale Street nightclub.

Police are investigating if an alleged feud between Yo Gotti rivals may have sparked the shooting just after 3:00 am, inside of the Plush Club.

Witnesses said one shot was fired, but the single bullet managed to strike three different people.

“A shot was fired and one individual was shot in the abdomen,” Said Memphis Police Sgt. Vince Higgins, “He’s now in stable condition at The Med. The investigation is ongoing, but this one bullet managed to injure three people.”

Police have yet to identify a suspect in the shooting, which took place in front up to 800 people.

“Let’s face it there were hundreds of witnesses,” Higgins said. “Someone saw what happened someone saw who fired the round we’d like for them to come forward.”

According to witnesses, several men allegedly left the club after a dispute and returned armed and over ran security, which had been beefed up due to anticipated violence.

While details are sketchy, reports said a rival group also appeared in the club wearing shirts that featured degrading remarks about Yo Gotti.

Initial reports said the root of the rappers’ feud may be over a song named “Memphis Walk.”

Memphis rapper Miscellaneous released a version of the song two years ago, while Yo Gotti recently recorded a song by the same title.

Miscellaneous’ manager denied the charges and said the two rappers spoke before the event at Club Plush and resolved their differences.

Yo Gotti’s attorney denied his client was involved in the shooting as well.

“Yo Gotti’s very dismayed at what happened the other night,” Gotti’s attorney Arthur Horne told reporters. “He doesn’t condone that type of behavior and feels as though it was irresponsible, but does not have any control over what individuals do in that kind of setting.”

Yo Gotti was featured on the soundtrack to the Oscar Award winning film Hustle & Flow and has been a longtime fixture in the Memphis rap scene.

Yo Gotti’s Back 2 Da Basics hits stores on Tuesday (May 23) and features production by Mannie Fresh, DJ Toomp, Street Tunes, Carlos Broady and features appearances by Baby, Lil’ Wayne, Bun B. and others.

Kanye West and Common Named Honorary Global Mixx DJ Retreat Co-Chairs

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

Rapper/producer Kanye West and his G.O.O.D. Music associate Common have been chosen as honorary co-chairs for this year’s Global Mixx DJ Retreat.

The annual event, scheduled for Aug. 10-13 at the House of Blues Hotel in downtown Chicago, celebrates urban DJ music, culture, and lifestyle.

The Retreat will highlight a series of music events and seminars, which will be held at the hotel and other venues throughout Chicago.

The country’s top DJ coalitions are expected to participate in the event, as well as spotlight key honors Aug. 12 at the 2nd Annual Global Mixx DJ Awards.

The retreat is the latest in a string of accomplishments for Common and West, who will release his Pastelle Clothing line this spring and spend the year in the studio working on new projects from the stable of artists signed to his G.O.O.D. Music record label.

“I’m working on a film right now with New Line. We had a title, but we just switched it,” West told AllHipHop.com. “I’m working on it with Stephen Gaghan who wrote Traffic. I’ll be kind of like Quentin Tarantino or Spike Lee where I’ll be directing, editing, and producing.”

West is also prepping the follow-up to his critically acclaimed sophomore album, Late Registration.

“My new album Graduation, I’m not sure when I’m dropping it,” West said. “I’m working on it very diligently right now and it’s very incredible and very scary to anyone that’s not involved with it.”

Common is gearing up to begin work on his seventh album, tentatively titled Finding Forever.

The Grammy Award winning lyricist has voiced plans to work with West on the project, as well as a desire to collaborate with Dr. Dre.

To register for the Retreat or receive more information, visit www.globalmixx.com or [email protected].

Keyshia Cole Tapped To Serve In Akademiks Ladies 2006 Advertising Campaign

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

R&B songstress

Keyshia Cole has been tapped to serve as the face of the new Akademiks Ladies

2006 Fall/Holiday advertising campaign.

Cole, who recently

wrapped up her national headlining tour, will promote and tout the new women’s

line in a series of print ads in the upcoming months.

The yearlong campaign

will be featured in a variety of publications including Vibe , Teen

Vogue, Essence and Latina.

"I’m really

excited about being apart of the new Akademiks campaign," Keyshia Cole

told AllHipHop.com. "Akademiks has been very supportive of my career and

I respect their vision and cutting edge creativity. They are definitely taking

it to the next level."

The new campaign

featuring Cole marks the first time that Akademiks has enlisted a celebrity

to help promote their products in an ad campaign.

"Keyshia Cole

projects a lifestyle that is in tune with our creative direction," said

Byron Kirkland, Akademiks’ director of marketing. "She represents the strong

young women of today; intelligent, confident, fashionable, sexy and vibrant.

Akademiks Ladies is creating a movement focusing on female empowerment…we

feel Keyshia Cole is that spark."

Cole scored platinum

success with the release of her 2005 debut album The Way It Is.

The Oakland, California-bred

singer can currently be heard on the theme song to Mission Impossible III

with Kanye West and Twista.

The new Akademiks

Ladies Fall 2006 collection is scheduled to hit stores in August.

For more, view

http://www.akademiks.com/

AHH Stray News: Nas, Supernatural, DMC Battlegrounds

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

Nas will release

his highly anticipated first album for Def Jam in late September. The Queens-bred

MC made the announcement during a 15-minute performance that took place during

the first night of the Roots’ two-night concert at Radio City Music Hall in

New York. Def Jam representatives told Billboard that the album will be titled

Hip-Hop Is Dead, while Nas told MTV.com after the concert that the title

is Hip-Hop Is Dead…The N. The new set will be the follow up to his

2004 double album Streets Disciple.

Rapper Supernatural

will attempt to break the world record for the longest freestyle, which was

set by Toronto rapper D.O. in July 2003. Supernatural will attempt the feat

during the annual Rock The Bells IV festival at the NOS Event Center in San

Bernardino, Calif. D.O. set the record by rapping for eight hours and 45minutes.

One 15-minute break was enforced on D.O. and in order to verify the freestyles,

spectators wrote a variety of topics on a white board for the rapper to rap

about. Rock The Bells IV takes place Aug. 5, with Wu-Tang Clan as the headlining

act. Mos Def, De Las Soul, Redman, Immortal Technique, Aesop Rock, Talib Kweli,

Planet Asia and others are also slated to perform.

The American Battleground

2006 tour kicked off last month in Austin, Tex., in search of the world’s top

battle DJ. Local competitions commenced with Donnie D advancing in Austin, while

Etronik won the heat held in Albuquerque, N.M. The American Battleground is

part of The DMC/Technics World DJ Championships, an annual competition that

features thousands of DJ’s competing for the worldwide DMC DJ title. The finalists

are chosen through various competitions held worldwide. Winners from individual

heats then compete for the title at a final competition. The acclaimed competition

was created in 1986 and has produced such legendary DJ’s as DJ Cheese, DJ Q-bert,

A-Trak, Cash Money, and Roc Raida. "Various cities will host day events

allowing young spectators to experience DMC direct– and inspire new members

to preserve this vital art-form," DMC American Chapter GM, George Cabrera

said in a statement. The DMC competition US Finals will be held in Chicago in

August, while the World DJ Championship takes place in France in September.

The next heat takes place May 21 in Wilmington, Delaware and will be hosted

by Flipmode’s Rampage and DJ Street Treatz. For more information, click

here.

Yung Joc Does Double Duty as Artist and Label Head

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

With the success of his first single “It’s Goin’ Down,” Atlanta rapper Yung Joc is riding high as an artist.

But the Block Entertainment/Bad Boy lyricist is not resting as he expands his resume with his new role as president of Mastermind Music, a new label he created with his friend Chino Dollar.

“We did a deal with Block Entertainment and they have the major distribution through Bad Boy South and Warner Music Group,” Joc told AllHipHop.com. “That means that when the checks get cut I get an advance check for being an artist, and I also got a big check for being the president of Mastermind and doing that deal with Block.”

Being an artist and a businessman at a young age has allowed Joc the opportunity to further his professional growth in the music industry.

“Being 23 don’t mean I’m just wet behind the ears and fresh off of a college campus,” he said. “It means I’m ready to spread my wings and fly. There’s a whole world out here of nothing but space and opportunity and I’m taking advantage of every opportunity to get it…beware.”

Yung Joc’s debut album New Joc City hits stores on June 6.

Mos Def, Fat Joe, Jadakiss and Busta Rhymes Go “Beyond Beats and Rhymes”

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

An independent filmmaker has crafted a film that enlists the likes of Mos Def, Fat Joe, Chuck D, Jadakiss, Busta Rhymes, Russell Simmons, and activists such as Michael Eric Dyson, Beverly Guy-Sheftall, and aspiring Congressional candidate Kevin Powell, who offer earnest critique about Hip-Hop lifestyle.

Beyond Beats and Rhymes: A Hip-Hop Head Weighs in on Manhood in Rap Music is a 2006 Sundance Film Festival selection that was produced and directed by Byron Hurt, a gender violence prevention educator.

With his film, Hurt is bent on confronting the societal concerns and community interests as it pertains to the influential culture.

“My film challenges the idea that in order to be a successful rapper in Hip-Hop you have to be hard, tough, violent, sexist, and homophobic,” Hurt told AllHipHop.com. “I’ve shown this film to audiences all over the country, and the first thing people say to me afterward are ‘Thank you so much for making this film’ or, ‘This film needs to be seen everywhere, especially in the hood.'”

Beyond Beats and Rhymes made its debut in New York City last night at the “Sundance at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) Film Series” and will offer more screenings on May 19 and 21. Additionally, the acclaimed film will air nationally on PBS in early 2007.

Hurt also said that while his movie has been years in the making, the subject matter and examination are only becoming more relevant.

“The recent shooting deaths of Proof, Busta Rhymes’ bodyguard Israel Ramirez, T.I.’s personal assistant Philant Johnson, as well as rapper Gravy getting shot in the butt outside of New York’s Hot 97 sadly reminds us in the Hip-Hop community [that] manhood and Hip-Hop are too closely associated with senseless violence,” Hurt continued.  “Morning shock jock Star’s comments directed toward D.J. Envy’s wife and daughter, which led to his well-publicized firing at New York City’s Power 105.1, clearly reveal that some men’s attitudes about girls and women in mainstream Hip-Hop are raging out of control.”

While the 60-minute film examines Hip-Hop, it doesn’t ignore the overall scope of the Black male experience in the United States, as it addresses misogyny, violence, and homophobia.

“I know that Byron’s current project on Hip-Hop is close to his heart. It reflects his on-going effort to use film to address essential concerns on the intent and impact of popular youth culture,” said filmmaker Orlando Bagwell in a statement. “His film will pose fundamental questions about how Hip-Hop culture represents and expresses basic attitudes in our society about love, violence, and compassion.” 

The Brooklyn Academy of Music is screening the film.

To see a short on the film, visit www.BHurt.com.

New Joe Budden Album Coming in October

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

After months of being shelved, rapper Joe Budden’s sophomore opus The Growth will finally see the light of day later this year.

“The album will be out in October…It’s crack,” an excited Budden told AllHipHop.com. “The music is definitely nuts. The people will forget I was even gone. I been gone for so long I done worked with just about every producer there is, from Cool & Dre to Swizz to Timbaland, the list can go on and on.”

Budden may have been off the mainstream radar for awhile, but the Jersey-bred rapper has remained busy on the mixtape circuit.

Until his official return, he plans to tide fans over with another underground offering.

“I’m actually gonna put Mood Muzik Part 3 out before [The Growth ],” said Budden. “I gotta do that.”

The Growth will feature production from Just Blaze, as well as Dub B (aka White Boy), who handled the majority of tracks on Budden’s self-titled debut.

The new offering will be released under Def Jam.

But while Budden’s love-hate relationship with his label has been well documented, the rapper continues to remain diplomatic, simply stating “I love Def Jam.”

Despite his solid rap career, fans may be surprised to learn of Budden’s initial entry into the world of entertainment.

“I did used to sing long ago,” Budden admitted. “I was twelve or thirteen years old when my mom used to make me go in the choir to keep me out of trouble.”

But don’t expect Budden to exercise his singing pipes anytime soon.

“I smoked too much weed and all types of stuff to have that going on today. No more singing,” he said. “There’s no chance of me singing. I don’t think I sound as good as I used to. I used to be nice though.”

Mo’ Mega

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: Reviews / Music

Artist: Mr. LifTitle: Mo’ MegaRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Jessica Dufresne

Chances are if you’re not familiar with Def Jux, or prefer your rap via mainstream radio, you haven’t heard of Mr. Lif. A subterranean favorite, the Beantown MC has been steadily grinding the past nine years. His most recent coup was the highly regarded Perceptionists collabo with Akrobatik last year (Black Dialogue), which was preceded by two EPs and a 2002 full-length. Now, Lif presents the well-balanced Mo’ Mega (Def Jux), which combines just the right amounts of humor, political and social consciousness and sensitivity for your aural pleasure.

Lif gets personal early in the first song, “Collapse”, on which he talks about the pressures of being a rapper over El-P’s hard electric guitar and distant Christmas bells. That edgy, hard rock-like sound is pervasive throughout most of the tracks helmed by El Producto, lacing Mega with a futuristic-type feel, which works until you notice the songs begin sounding alike.

You won’t mind that, however, on the outstanding “Brothaz” where Lif drops some serious knowledge. Bush (“The Bush administration’s worth nothing…”), Clinton (“You ain’t really down cause you live uptown…”), Katrina (“You ain’t know those flood waters was coming/You can’t smell that African blood running?”), cloning (“Evil moves to grow flesh in test tubes…”), greed (“America don‒t give a f### about you so get off it/I’m not a prophet/They just want the profit…”), and the crisis in Darfur, Sudan all get time. Over the frantic guitar, Lif spits perhaps the most socially aware (and on point) verse yet of this year: “Darfur’s in a state of emergency/It’s genocide code red classified/If this was Kosovo/It’d be over bro/But it’s brothers, so it equals no coverage/ More suffrage…”

Lighter fare awaits both on the production tip and lyrics with “Murs Iz My Manager”, where acting as Lif’s biz representative, Murs tries to get him to be more proactive in the industry hustle. The playful bounce provided by Edan evokes the feeling of late 80s/early 90s rap as Murs praises Lif for putting Kanye up to making that infamous statement about Bush so as to distract the government from true political rap. The fun continues with the PSA, “Washitup!”, produced by Lif, in which he discusses hygiene in his Bajan patois.

An honorable mention goes to the finale, “For You”. A poignant and alternate take on the typical ode-to-my-kids joint, Lif breaks down to his unborn seed why it’s not time yet for him/her to be created. Clocking in at less than 41 minutes, Mo’ Mega is a quick ride through life in the eyes of an average brother in present day America, who happens to be an ill lyricist.