Popular rapper/actor
Ice-T will speak at Teachers College at Columbia University, one of the United
States’ leading graduate schools. The rapper will be featured during a two-day
gathering called "Teach, Think, Play: Popular Culture in the Classroom."
According to organizers, the conference is designed to explore challenges and
power of integrating pop culture into the classroom curricula. Other speakers
include Art Spiegelman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning comic book artist of Maus,
who also created The Garbage Pail Kids trading cards. Spiegelman’s wife Françoise
Mouly, poet Taylor Mali, Danny Simmons, Popmaster Fabel, mental_floss magazine
founder Will Pearson and others are also expected to attend. The conference takes
place at Teachers College, Columbia University, on Sat. Mar. 24 from 8:15 am –
7 pm and Sunday, Mar. 25, from 8:15 am – 4 PMEnergizer
has enlisted the help of rapper Chamillionaire, will judge the company’s "Energizer
Titanium Technology Freestylin’ Music Contest.” The contest returns
after after hundreds of hip-hop hopefuls entered their freestyle submission in
2006 for celebrity judge Slim Thug, who helped pick the 2006 winner. This year,
one winner of the contest will have the opportunity to meet Chamillionaire and
perform live with the rapper on stage at the 2007 DUB Magazine’s Custom Auto
Show and Concert in Atlanta, GA, on May 20. Between now and Apr. 21, hopefuls
can submit their verses by visiting www.mySpace.com/energizer to enter the online
music contest. There contestants will be given the opportunity to download beats
(created by breakthrough producers Mysto and Pizzi), record their original lyrics,
as well as upload their completed song to enter into the contest. The entry should
be no longer than two minutes and no larger than five mega bytes. Starting April
29, five semi-finalists will have their songs featured on the contest site for
their peers to vote down to the top two finalists. The grand prize winner will
be selected by Chamillionaire on May 7.J-Bo,
one half of the popular Atlanta-based group Young Bloodz, is dropping a solo mixtape
this week featuring artists like Lil Jon, Jazze Pha, T.I., Lil Scrappy and more.
J-Bo’s STILL Against the Grain mixtape, hosted by DJ Rip, is the result
of a recent joint venture deal with Ball or Fall Records. The mixtape was predominantly
produced in house by his own ‘Fully Focus Camp’ production team. The
21-track mixtape features songs with 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Too $hort, Pimp C,
Lil Scrappy and others. Two bonus tracks, including Michael Jackson’s ‘Give
It To Me’ remix, are also featured on the album.