It’s been an interesting ride over the past few months in the career of Amy Winehouse. The jazzy UK soul siren has doubled as a media maven amidst rumors swarming of failed interviews, performance absences, and flirtations with the diabolical Mr. Booze. So when her second successful showcase in New York was about to commence […]

“I’m not here to work for the accolades of no man…artist singing about ‘signal di plane’ when poor people suffering all over di world…what kinda f*ckrey dat” roared Buju Banton to the sold out Theatre at Madison Square Garden on Sunday May 6th 2007.  The Gargamel along side legendary Dancehall King, Shabba Ranks, tore down […]

Right when critics thought they were making great strides in tightening the lips of the Hip-Hop community, a great film takes a stand.  Executive produced by Bruce Willis and Queen Latifah, The Hip-Hop Project (ThinkFilm) tells the story of how Kazi, an abandoned child, pushed through life’s trials to become a leader and great inspiration […]

  Tony Award winner and Dreamgirls co-star Anika Noni Rose has embarked upon a new era of success through the hit motion picture. For Anika, playing the third member of the trio meant she had to work harder than just studying the material from the 1981 Broadway musical on which the film’s foundation was based. […]

Publisher: Rockstar GamesThe Warriors, the quintessential Hip-Hop flick with no actual Hip-Hop in it, save for a graffiti tagging character named Rembrandt. When word of its getting the video game treatment initially spread, a mixture of excitement and dread hit most aficionados of the classic B-movie. Thankfully, Rockstar Games spared no detail in bringing the […]

  Dr. Ian Smith’s middle name might as well be multi-task. While millions of people know the young doctor as the intensely polite nutrition expert on VH-1’s Celebrity Fit Club, he is also a scholar (Harvard, Columbia University, Dartmouth and Chicago University’s Pritzker School of medicine), author (five books and contributing editor for Men’s Health […]

While Def Jam MCs are complaining left and right about slow release schedules and lackluster marketing, the label’s R&B artists don’t seem to be having any problems. Like labelmate Rihanna, singer/songwriter Ne-Yo is quickly following up his successful debut with Because of You (Def Jam), a focused and mature look at the artist that puts […]

“Shots go off mothers cry, death since rise, homicide Black On Black crime needs to stop, Y’all can’t blame it on Hip-Hop” – Wyclef Jean, “The Industry” I could tell by the way the media were pumpin’ up the Cam’ron 60 Minutes interview days prior to the airing that this wasn’t going to be one […]

You have to love the code of ethics that some rappers abide by. If you don’t, you are subject to go batty. Cam’ron is of the streets in a way that I clearly cannot relate to. When he informed 60 Minutes that he adheres to a strict diet of no snitching, I knew a new […]

To all the people who are trying to stop Hip-Hop, you can’t do it, because you don’t have the wherewithal to truly do what it takes. Hip-Hop is the voice of a generation, in all its violent, misogynist, deviant and self-destructive glory. We’re still here, y’all, and you posh, spicy types need an assassin like […]

This doesn’t feel right. It just doesn’t feel right. Long after Don Imus gets his show up and running on a newly consolidated satellite radio company, Hip-Hop will still be put through the ringer over comments similar to “nappy headed hoes.” An art form, put under pressure to censor it’s expression due to an inappropriate […]

Not Tavis, Not Reverends Al or Jesse, but a sports reporter out of Kansas City will lead Black folk to the promised land. Or, at the very least, save us from rap music. At face value, Jason Whitlock appears to be a very intelligent, thoughtful, and charismatic individual genuinely concerned with the Black American crisis. […]

The recent media frenzy around national radio and talk show host Don Imus’ sexist-racist comments about the women’s basketball team at Rutgers University (New Brunswick) is one more item in the evidence column of how women are regarded by men. With a natural fluidity, Imus casually referred to the Rutgers players as nappy-headed hos. Two […]

By the mid 1990s, Mayor Giuliani had already begun his mission to clean up Times Square. A few p### theaters and peep shows remained (Show World Center hadn’t yet been turned into a comedy club), but the remnants of the world depicted in Martin Scorcese’s Taxi Driver were swept away. Grindhouse (Dimension Films), the new […]

  If ever it were possible to use the words “underrated” and “overexposed” to describe the same person, Marques “MH” Houston would be the strongest example. MH has been entertaining us since he was 12, and still his level of skill as a singer and songwriter remains in question. Veteran (Universal Motown) is his attempt […]

  Many may assume that Keith Robinson’s first taste of stardom came from his role as C.C. White in the Oscar winning film Dreamgirls. However, Mr. White aka Black Keith’s resume is far more extensive than that. The Kentucky-born singer-turned-actor made his way to L.A. from his hometown in Augusta, Georgia. Despite his success in […]

APOLOGY: a·pol·o·gy (_-p_l’_-j_) pronunciation 1. An acknowledgment expressing regret or asking pardon for a fault or offense. An apology can mean so many different things for people, both the giver and recipient(s). So, I’ve been thinking a bit. I believe it’s high time that Hip-Hop offered an apology to its women, in particular the females […]

I know it’s been a minute since I added an entry to my journal, but there’s been a whole lot going on lately, and I’ll admit I got a little bit caught up. Right now I’m caught up in crunch time. My second mixtape comes out on March 26th, which is less than a week […]

  In 1986, Dennis Hopper’s Colors depicted gang violence in gripping terms that made people far removed from south and eastern Los Angeles see the microcosm of the ghetto. Although it introduced the world to today’s stars Don Cheadle and Damon Wayans, the film bent to fit the heartstrings of a Hollywood audience. Cle Sloan […]

“Nowadays, rappers are comin’ half-hearted / Commercial like Pop, or underground like Black markets / Where were you the day Hip-Hop died? / Is it too early to mourn, is it too late to ride? “ – Talib Kweli, “Too Late” (2000, Rawkus) Less than a month after Little Brother moved away from 9th Wonder’s […]