Everyone needs to calm down. Everything is going to be okay. Hip-Hop is alive and well, and here to stay. I know I’m not the only one who is tired of people complaining about the "State of Hip-Hop." Hip-Hop is doing just fine. Actually, it’s doing better than just fine. Why is it that every […]

With all the discontent, b####### and town hall meetings that people participate in, I figured it was my civic duty to offer some concrete solutions that people can follow to make quantifiable change. This sucks, that sucks, the music, Black people, White people, the industry, the "man" – it all sucks. All our effort is […]

The Lost Boyz in the Hood In light of the recent launch of the new Blade miniseries on Spike TV, a striking metaphor exists between that of its protagonist and the plight of today’s African-American male. Due to the fact that Blade is a vampire (therefore casting no reflection) as well as of obvious African […]

Dear Mr. Creekmur: Thank you for writing to share with me your concerns regarding internet neutrality. As you may know, I support net neutrality. The open architecture of the Internet has been the critical element that has made it the most revolutionary communications medium since the advent of the television. Each day on the Internet, […]

George Orwell was right. A close friend of mine hit me up and he was seriously concerned. To frame this properly, I have to say this brother is one of the most apathetic street dudes I know, but he was worried about the United States of America. Here is why. Over the years, slowly but […]

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 […]

His eyes turned a pretty shade of brown when light hit them. Especially the light of the sun or of a camera’s flash. On his high cheeks, like his father’s, were dozens of freckles, like his mother’s. Between the freckles, were two barely noticeable places where his deep honey brown complexion lightened. I loved those […]

With death seemingly lying dormant beneath the surface of Hip-Hop, is there any hope in sight for the victims that lay in the aftermath of its wake? The answer, for Hip-Hop artists at least, would appear to be yes. Immortalized by lyrics that stereotypically glorify death, we all but deify our cultural martyrs. And while […]

I read the recent New York Times cover story, “Plight Deepens for Black Men, Studies Warn,” with a great deal of pain and sadness. As a Black man who is in his late 30s, I have literally encountered every dilemma documented: I am the product of a single-mother led household, fatherlessness, horrific poverty, omnipresent violence […]

Below is a speech I gave in Watsonville, CA on April 17th 2006. I was invited to come down and speak by the Watsonville Brown Berets. Fred Hampton Jr. of the P.O.C.C. and Immortal Technique also represented HARD that day. It was an amazing display of racial, political, religious and Hip Hop unity. There were […]

OK, I have to admit, I got Lupe Fiasco’s album, Food & Liquor. When it was first leaked, I resisted the urge to download it all of 24 hours before I caved into the impulse to see what this Chicago native had to offer. See, I had already snatched up his mixtapes and I was […]

Shots Fired * DISCLAIMER * The words expressed here to NOT condone or advocate any violence that should be directed towards any government officials. It is to be strictly considered as allegorical and artistic expression interpreted as social commentary. * DISCLAIMER * You’ve got to love the American government. If it deem something or someone […]

Over the past year, the hip-hop community has come under intense scrutiny and criticism for the wildly popular “Stop Snitching” campaign. The movement, which has been accompanied by a flurry of t- shirts, songs, websites, and DVDs, is ideologically grounded in the belief that people should not cooperate with law enforcement authorities under any circumstances. […]

When I first learned that rapper Christopher “Cool C” Roney was set to die by lethal injection on (ironically) March 9, 2006, I was shocked and saddened. Like most Hip-Hoppers, I knew exactly who Cool C was and growing up in Pittsburgh, PA, I was quite familiar with his music. Even at 24 years old, […]

A visionary sees what is and what will be. Lives tomorrow in the present tense. Truly understands contemporary for what it is: temporary. Gordon Parks was a visionary in the truest sense of the word. A visionary sees obstacles to achieving goals and makes them into examples of how to win. Mr. Parks was responsible […]

A Hip-Hop Salute to Coretta Scott King: Continuing the Struggle for Freedom, Justice and Equality February 8, 2006 Across America and throughout the world, millions of people have taken the time to say a prayer, to utter a word of condolence, or to make some expression of gratitude for the living legacy of Coretta Scott […]

How does it feel to always have to be strong?  To be forced into a role as the calm in the midst of a raging maelstrom?  Coretta Scott King knew.  How do you share your husband with an entire people at a time when your life and the lives of your children are at risk? […]

Irregardless of how much I happen to dislike many of these pop rappers, you’d be hard pressed to find me in the club these days. It’s hard enough to tell the difference between women with bangin’ bodies and men with bang-up operations in broad daylight let alone ‘in the pale moonlight’ of nightclubs. For those […]

Here we are, another King celebration has come and gone. Already removed from celebrating the birthday of arguably our greatest civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and I am still searching for our next one. For a minute, we all thought Rev. Jesse Jackson would be it, especially since he was in the […]

Legacy. Something handed down from the past for the benefit of the future. Never has there been a more precious gift than a life laid down so that others may enjoy liberties you were denied. Such is the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As we near what would have been Dr. King’s 77th […]