Eric Garner's Wife Refuses Apology Delivered By Officer

Denied the right to a criminal trial after a Grand Jury decided not to pursue any charges in the death of Eric Garner, his family is determined to make their voices heard. Garner, who was killed on July 17 after being placed in a chokehold by Officer Daniel Pantaleo, a move that has been banned by the NYPD since 1993.

Following the decision earlier today, the family voiced their frustration with the verdict and the fact that Pantaleo has not been charged. While at a press conference earlier today, Garner’s wife Esaw Garner was asked whether she had accepted the apology offered by Pantaleo to which she replied, “Hell no. The time for remorse was when my husband was yelling to breathe. No, I don’t accept his apology. No, I could care less about his condolences. He’s still working. He’s still getting a paycheck. He’s still feeding his kids, when my husband is six feet under and I’m looking for a way to feed my kids now.” 

She added, “I’m determined to get justice for my husband. My husband’s death will not be in vain. I will fight till the end.”

A federal investigation launched by the Justice Department is now currently underway.

[Also Read: No Indictment For Officer Involved In Eric Garner’s Death]

Federal Investigation Launched In Chokehold Death Of Eric Garner

Following a Grand Jury decision not to bring charges against Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the choking death of Eric Garner, the Justice Department has advised that an investigation will now be launched on a federal level via a statement released by U.S. District Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta Lynch:

“Since the death of Eric Garner in July, our office has monitored this case carefully. At the outset, informed by prior experience and in keeping with the standard practice in these types of cases in New York, the local investigation proceeded first. As the Attorney General explained earlier tonight, because the local investigation has come to a close, the Justice Department will now move forward with its own independent inquiry to determine whether federal civil rights laws have been violated. The investigation will be conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. The investigation will be fair and thorough, and it will be conducted as expeditiously as possible.”

Another Unarmed Black Man Killed By Police In Phoenix

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Stand up for Rumain: Family and Friends of Police Murder Victim Defend His Character and Demand Justice

[Phoenix, AZ] Rumain Brisbon, father of four and resident of Phoenix, AZ was killed by an unnamed Phoenix Police Officer on Tuesday December 2, 2014. Police statements and mainstream media outlets allege that Mr. Brisbon was a drug dealer and threatened the officer, causing the officer to use deadly force. However, witnesses, family and friends present a different story. Rumain was a loved father, son, brother and neighborhood member. Phoenix community members and activists are rallying support to get the truth of how and why Rumain’s life was taken. The following is a heartfelt statement from family and friends.

In the wake of the Ferguson verdict, citizens across America have been questioning their safety amongst police officers. Specifically, those questioning have been members of the Black community. As a Black woman, Ferguson hit home for obvious reasons, as I’m a sister, daughter, cousin and friend of these “Black Male” victims that have been sweeping the nation in recent months.

Last night, I relived Ferguson all over again, with the murder of friend Rumain Brisbon, a Phoenix resident. Rumain is the father of four, in his mid-30s, a wonderful spirit who enjoyed spending time with his family, but his death came suddenly too soon.
The reason being, he was Living While Black.

His Blackness warranted a call to the Phoenix police department the night of December 2nd, from a resident in his apartment complex. The resident thought Rumain looked suspicious because he was sitting in his parked SUV in the apartment parking lot with his best friend; again, in front of his own home.

One simple call led police officers to bum rush the two young men, while accusing them of selling drugs. Panicked and rightfully confused, Rumain ran unarmed towards his home, only to be shot twice in the torso. His friend is now in police custody.

Questions have been raised by Phoenix’s Black community & activists because his family was not permitted to see the body of their slain son, brother, and cousin. His family was denied answers to their questions of concern about what happened to their loved one. The crime scene was blocked off for hours. Could he have been saved? Was he left to die on the scene? Most importantly, can someone explain WHY this happened? Why are police officers quick to shoot as if lives don’t matter? These are questions, that might painfully go unanswered.

While grieving, the family has to endure false media headlines, that accuse Rumain for being “a drug dealer and the cop as a hero.” This false accusation led to his death and his hero is nothing more than a murderer with a badge. As an open to carry firearms state (in Arizona), police found a small handgun in Rumain’s vehicle. He didn’t take the gun out to shoot back at any policemen. It was simply left behind and he ran away unarmed. It’s been reported, the drugs that claimed to have been found, was of no large amount for any type of distribution.

In these times, it’s important to question the integrity of our armed forces. Officers set-up crimes to make it appear, as they want it to be reported. As a community, we’re smarter than this. As an intelligent force of Black individuals we’re able to service our own media news and report truth. We’re able to be heard. If they aren’t looking out for us, its time the Black community looks out for each other.

Rumain lost his life for being in the right place at the right time. Simply sitting in front of his home spending time with his best friend.

The community is coming together to stand up for Rumain. Details have not been set-up but are sure to follow.
RIP Rumain. Phoenix loved you.

To be involved in rallying contact organizer: Tia Oso, BAJI (Black Alliance For Just Immigration) 480-382-1753

Media Contact: Kisha Scott: ki*******@***il.com

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ALTERNATIVE PICK – Arima Ederra – "Crystal Blue"

Returning with the first single since her debut EP Earth To Arima, the radiant soulstress – Arima Ederra – is excited to premiere her new track, “crystal blue.”

The single is accompanied by original artwork from New York based artist Kiki Elice. The Telephobia-produced track is the first snippet off Ederra’s upcoming project, Temporary Fixes, set to release early 2015.

FRESH HEAT – Franc Grams ft The Game And Jus Cuz – "Power Of The Dollar" [p### By. Joe Milly

Since bursting onto the scene, Connecticut spitter Fran Grams has shown a hunger that is already turning heads. With his upcoming The Premonition project due in December, he’s released a string of heat including the Trae Tha Truth assisted “Deadly Sins.”  Keeping up the grind, he’s linked up with Compton’s own The Game and Jus Cuz, for a Joe Milly produced track titled “Power of the Dollar.”

No Indictment For Officer Involved In Eric Garner's Death; Officer & Family Release Statements

A grand jury has decided not to indict a NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo in the choke hold death of an unarmed Staten Island man Eric Garner.

Garner died on Jul. 17th after officer Pantaleo put him in a choke hold after he and seven other officers wrestled Garner to the ground. Garner’s death was ruled a homicide by the city examiner after it was ruled that the compression on his chest and choke hold was the cause of his death.

The grand jury consisted of 23 people and required a vote from 12 in order to pursue criminal charges against Pantaleo. Pantaleo along with his partner Justin D’Amico testified in front of the grand jury.

The Garner family had hope that justice would be served due to a bystander recording the whole ordeal on video, but that was not the case.

“We’re astounded by the outcome of the grand jury process and that after hearing months of evidence and having deliberated that they would find no true bill as to any potential criminal charge,” said the family’s lawyer Jonathan C. Moore in a brief phone interview with the New York Times.

Officer Pantaleo has expressed his sympathy for the Garner family.

“I became a police officer to help people and to protect those who can’t protect themselves,” Officer Pantaleo said. “It is never my intention to harm anyone and I feel very bad about the death of Mr. Garner. My family and I include him and his family in our prayers and I hope that they will accept my personal condolences for their loss.”

Though there will be no criminal charges brought against the officers, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said that there may be up to three investigations into the incident that could lead to federal charges and a civil case.

The family is still pursuing a $75 million wrongful death lawsuit against the city.

 

Hip-Hop Rumors: Erica Mena Tattoos Bow Wow's Name?

Tat my name on you girl so I know its real…

A few days ago Bow Wow hinted that his girl Erica Mena showed just how much she adores him, by forever imprinting his name somewhere on her body.

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Photo: Faceboook

Not new to resorting to ink to show love, Mena has yet to post a pic of the artwork and Bow hasn’t either.

Maybe we have to wait until the ink dries on the marriage license as well.

Black COAL Ft. KYLE – "Don't Wanna Fall In Love"

The DMV trio Black COAL has been making alot of noise on soundcloud these past couple of months. Since dropping their single “Gold Caskets” in early march, their page has amassed a whopping 2.6 million plays. About a month ago, the group released a free album entitled “THR-O-NE”, receiving great reviews from numerous listeners and blogs. Today they decide to add some verses to rapper Kyle’s latest offering. Check out “Don’t Wanna Fall In Love” below.

Police May Charge Mike Brown's Stepfather With Inciting A Riot

When the grand jury decided not to indict officer Darren Wilson on charges for shooting and killing unarmed teen Michael Brown, emotions were riding high, especially for his family. After the decision was announced (Nov. 24) that Wilson would not face charges, Brown’s stepfather Louis Head erupted with anger. While in the crowd outside of the courthouse in Clayton, MO, he could be seen yelling “burn this b#### down!” several times.

Now authorities are debating on whether to charge Head with inciting a riot or not.

“We are pursuing those comments and there is a lot of discussion going on about that right now,” Ferguson police Chief Tom Jackson told television host Sean Hannity. “But I really can’t get into that right now.”

In a statement released to NBC, Head says he let his emotions get the best of him.

“I was so angry and full of raw emotions, as so many others were, and granted, I screamed out words that I shouldn’t have screamed in the heat of the moment,” Head said.

The grand jury’s decision lead to another night of looting, riots and residents clashing with the police in Ferguson.

The family’s attorney Benjamin Crump has called Head’s comments “indefensible.”

“We don’t condone people acting on emotion calling for people to do irresponsible things at all,” Crump told CNN.” And so we want his family, his mother and father’s message to come across louder than anybody who might be associated with them … And they can’t control what others do.”

Read the rest of Head’s statement below.

But to place blame solely on me for the conditions of our community, and country, after the grand jury decision goes way too far and is as wrong as the decision itself. To declare a state of emergency and send a message of war, and not peace, before a grand jury decision was announced is also wrong. In the end, I’ve lived in this community for a long time. The last thing I truly wanted was to see it go up in flames. In spite of my frustration, it really hurt to see that. Now it’s time to rebuild. If we are to honor Michael Brown’s memory, we need to work together to make rebuilding happen.

A$AP Ferg Is Releasing A Limited Edition Syracuse University Inspired Clothing Line

A$AP Ferg is giving school fashion an upgrade.

The Hood Pope is teaming up with Virgin Mega to revamp Syracuse University’s school style. In a limited edition of threads deemed the “TrapLord Takeover,” A$AP Ferg is releasing a clothing line that mixes collegiate vibes and street swag that college students won’t find on campus. While sticking to SU’s  signature orange and blue color scheme, the line boasts camouflage bucket hats, snapbacks, long sleeve crewnecks, shorts and jerseys all with celtic fonts stamped onto the meshed fabric to give it an edgy feel.

Instead of waiting on line to cop, fans have to download the Virgin Mega app in the iTunes store on their phones to virtually wait on line while also connecting with other users to purchase the gear. On Dec. 5th at 5 p.m, the “Traplord Takeover” begins with the release of the Trap Lord Jersey and Shorts, while the Trap Lord Snapback Hat will drop Dec. 8th at 5 p.m.  The Trap Lord Long Sleeve Tee and Cropped Crewneck will release on Dec. 10th at 5 p.m and the Trap Lord Bucket Hat and Crewneck Sweatshirt will round out the releases, becoming available on Jan. 26th at 5 p.m.

The prices range from $40 to $55 with proceeds of the funds going towards a scholarship for students at each school Ferg and Virgin Mega visit. By tweeting #traplordtakeover, Ferg may take notice and come to a school near you. Take a look at the threads below.

 

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Paul Wall – "Po-Up Poet" (Album Stream)

Nearly a year after the release of “Check Season” The People’s Champ, Paul Wall, drops his third independent album “Po-Up Poet”.

The 14-track street album features appearances by fellow Down South favorites Z-Ro, Slim Thug, C-Stone, BeatKing, Young Dolph and more. Cop Paul Wall’s “Po-Up Poet” now on iTunes.

Washington Man Arrested For Making Deaths Threats To Darren Wilson Via Facebook

A Washington man has been charged with threatening to kill officer Darren Wilson, who recently resigned from the Ferguson police force after shooting and killing Michael Brown.

According to reports, Jaleel Tariq Abdul-Jabbaar is charged with three counts of making interstate threats to Wilson, his family and other officers via Facebook statuses. With each count carrying up to five years in prison, he is facing 15 years behind bars. The 48-year-old was arrested by federal authorities at his Kirkland, WA home and has faced a judge in U.S. District Court in Seattle.

“Although we each have the right to express our views about the decision reached by the state grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri, we cannot tolerate violence or threats of violence that are intended to intimidate, and ultimately silence debate,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes in a statement. “Such threats are crimes, and the individuals who make them must be held to account.”

According to court documents where Wilson was identified as ‘D.W’, shortly after Brown’s death on Aug. 9th, Abdul-Jabbaar used Facebook to threaten Wilson and continued until late November. In these statuses, he would make statements like “We need to kill (the officer) and anything that has a badge on” and asked how many “REAL BLACK MEN” willing to go to Ferguson and “give back those bullets that [D.W.] fired into the body of Michael Brown. If we’re unable to locate Officer [D.W.] then we’ll return them to his wife and if not her then to his children.”

Abdul-Jabbaar also used Facebook in efforts to get a gun asking someone, who was not identified, to “hook a ninja up on the connect” in October. He then messaged this same person saying “Time to kill a cop” after the grand jury decided not to indict Darren Wilson.

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Post by Jaleel Tariq Abdul-Jabbaar.

Hip-Hop Rumors: J.Cole Goes For Eminem, Iggy, Macklemore And Justin Timberlake!

Uh-oh.

Less than a week away from dropping his new album, J. Cole is stirring up controversy with a song leaked from 2014 Forest Hills Drive.

On the leaked track, “Fire Squad,” Cole sends a shots at a few big name white artists including Elvis, Eminem and Iggy Azalea.

Cole raps:

“History repeats itself and that’s just how it goes,

Same way that these rappers always bite each other’s flows,

Same thing that my ni**a Elvis did with rock ‘n’ roll,

Justin Timberlake, Eminem, and then Macklemore…”

Cole’s album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive drops next Tuesday. Listen to the song in its entirety below:

J.Cole-“Fire Squad”

 

 

PREMIERE: Havoc Ft. Prodigy "Uncut Raw" (Explicit)

Havoc drops his new video “Uncut Raw” off Havoc’s latest solo album Thirteen Reloaded. This video was shot in Canada during Mobb Deep’s Canadian sold out tour that wrapped on November 16. Prodigy is featured on the track, so you are getting that classic, rugged Mobb Deep feel on this track.

Get Havoc’s new album Thirteen Reloaded on iTunes today.

Photographer Says 'Ferguson Hug' Photo With Young Black Child And White Officer Was Staged

The Ferguson protests and demonstrations going on in other cities in honor of Mike Brown have garnered some iconic photos that depict many emotions and calls for action and peace. Recently, one picture surfaced that showed unity between a black child and a white officer.

In the picture, a teary-eyed 12-year-old Devonte Hart is hugging officer Brett Barnum during a demonstration in Portland, OR. Hart was carrying a sign that said he was giving out free hugs. The touching picture can evoke much emotion and spark unity, but what if it was fake?

Oregon photographer Alex Reidlinger told the Visionary Futures that the pictures is cropped so it doesn’t show the  photographers waiting to capture the staged photo. Riedlinger snapped these two pics before Hart hugged Barnum.

 

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In the first picture, Riedlinger says Hart is talking to his guardian before he approached Barnum and the second photo shows photographers preparing to snap the arranged moment.

Here’s what Riedlinger told Visionary Futures about what he saw:

“The cropping of an image is everything when it comes to its subjectivity and the way ideas are projected unto it.

Every picture I’ve seen of this crops out the circus of photographers that surrounded these two creating a captive audience. With such a captive audience I can’t really say that the officer did anything that his superiors wouldn’t have told him to do. They were there just as much for public relations as to keep the peace otherwise the dept. wouldn’t have sent every queer looking, POC and female cop on the force.

The way this image has been propagandized is highly disturbing to me because it distracts from the real issues. This has never been about the relationship between individual officers and young Black men, but about the way in which our institutions and society protect cops, granting them license to use lethal force in ANY circumstance. Whether they do use it or decide to demonstrate “love” is irrelevant.’

I would like to add that Devonte was crying before approaching the officer while he was talking to his guardian, presumably because he was terrified. This brings the question of coercion to my mind, but I’ll let ya’ll debate over it.”

Woman Says Bill Cosby Sexually Assaulted Her When She Was 15 Years Old

Another woman has come forward saying that Bill Cosby sexually assaulted her 40 years ago and has filed a lawsuit against him in the L.A. County Superior Court.

TMZ reports that 55-year-old Judy Huth says that she met Cosby back in 1974 when she was 15-years-old on the set of a movie being filmed in L.A. She says a week later, Cosby invited her and her friend, who was 16, to his tennis club where he served them alcohol and said they had to drink every time he won a game.

[ALSO READ: Bill Cosby Resigns From Temple University’s Board of Trustees; Jill Scott Defends Him]

Huth then claims that they went to the Playboy Mansion and Cosby instructed her and her friend to say that they were 19 upon entry. Once inside, she says that she and Cosby went into a bedroom where he began to”sexually m##### her by attempting to put his hand down her pants, and then taking her hand in his hand and performing a sex act on himself without her consent,” according to court documents obtained by TMZ.

Huth says she is revealing what happened to her now because she is now realizing that her psychological issues are related to that incident.

Huth is the first woman who says Cosby sexually assaulted her when she was underage.

 

Tim Gent – "Don't Let Up"

Clarksville, TN native, Tim Gent, just released his newest track entitled “Don’t Let Up”. There is still no announcement of a project from Gent yet, but we do know one is in the works and coming soon. You can expect new visuals from the kid in the near future as well.

Thaitanium – "Wake Up" ft. Snoop Dogg, Traphik, Rob Campman, J-Reyez, Lil Crazed

International award-winning hip-hop group Thaitanium recruit Asian-American YouTube all stars to remix their U.S. debut single “Wake Up (Bangkok City)” featuring hip-hop heavy weight Snoop Dogg. With brand new verses from Thaitanium, the remix features Traphik (aka Timothy DeLaGhetto), J-Reyez, Lil Crazed and Rob Campman who altogether have accumulated over 3 million YouTube channel subscribers.