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 […]

“They killed the teacher!” said Snoop Dogg at the funeral services for Stanley Tookie Williams December 20 at the Bethel A.M.E. Church in Los Angeles. Rev. Jesse Jackson, Bruce Gordon, Minister Tony Muhammad, Stan Muhammad, Rev. Dr. Lewis E. Logan II, Minister Lewis Farrakhan and Tony Robbins all listened as Snoop Dogg brought the packed […]

I admit, I’m not a criminal and I don’t know all the laws of criminality. Despite that, there is one notion that has domineered this year. In 2005, Hip-Hop and the streets demand that you all STOP SNITCHING. There is a website devoted to it, every gangster rapper on Earth denies being one and rightfully […]

The debate over lyrics that promote the worst in our culture is an ongoing affair that we all secretly deal with. It can be difficult to define the line between intentions to either sound the alarm or glorify atrocious acts of violence. As such controversy drives what the music industry seems to expect from Hip-Hop, […]

Victory Against Hip-Hop Profiling: Trial and Triumph of Irv and Chris Gotti December 2, 2005, New York City: The Federal jury that unanimously cut Irv and Chris Gotti free of bogus money laundering charges sent a tumultuous shockwave up the prejudicial spine of the government prosecutors who were confident that this latest case of “Hip-Hop […]

A Woman’s Fashion Sense on the NBA Dress Code… I love a man in a suit! No offense to the short brothers out there but there is nothing like a tall specimen of a man, draped in something tailored, pressed and pinstriped. Egyptian cotton shirt and silk tie, Ferragamos on his feet – you just […]

Dear Mixshow/Mixtape DJ Family, We’ve got a serious problem within the DJ community and we’re going to have to find a way to solve quick because we’ve got more pressing matters than the issue I’m about to address. First things first, effective immediately, I am officially withdrawing my affiliations with The Core DJs & The […]

While there had been numerous atrocities and injustices such as the murder of Emmett Till up to and preceding 1955, December 1st became an active catalyst to a movement that forever changed the plight of American culture. Who would’ve thought that the simple act of remaining seated on a segregated bus would come to, ironically, […]

Do you know what a predicate felon is? According to New York State law, a predicate felon is “a defendant convicted of a felony in a New York State court who has a prior felony conviction within 10 years.” The notion of a predicate felon has everything to do with sentencing guidelines and if felonies […]