Dr. Boyce Speaks on TI’s Arrest for Drugs

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

TI (aka Clifford Harris) is my favorite rapper, and the person I consider to be one of the most talented artists in America.  I've made no secret about my appreciation for his music, and from friends of mine who know him, I can say that he is genuine about reducing gun violence among our youth.  TI is also the artist that I would have gambled on to have the greatest likelihood of turning his life around.  He has a lot to live for, and people who love him.   He's made his mistakes, but I was convinced that he'd grown from them.

Now, after hearing about his arrest for drug possession, I'm not so sure if TI has learned a thing.  In fact, I'm having a hard time distinguishing TI from his self-destructive counterpart, Lil Wayne.  And yes, I will say this in public: I think Lil Wayne is an idiot.

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Drake is the Man - First Week Sales are Huge

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, AOL Black Voices

I took a poll of some of my industry homies last week to get a sense of how"Thank Me Later," the debut album for Drake, was going to sell. It turns out that out of those bold enough to make a prediction, my friends Michael Bivins (formerly of Belle, Biv, Devoe and New Edition) and Vigalantee (a rapper in Kansas City, MO), were closest. Vigalantee predicted 450,000 units and Mike Biv predicted 400,000. No matter how you slice it, Drake is now officially the shizzle.

It's not as if anyone is surprised by Drake's stellar debut. He and the rest of the Young Money clique did an outstanding job creating buzz for the album and Drake proved that even in the age of massive Internet pirating, he can still make his money.

 

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Hip Hop Artist Fat Joe Detained in Alleged Rape

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, AOL Black Voices

The rapper Fat Joe was detained by police Sunday night after he and his entourage were accused of sexually assaulting a woman in Madison, Wisconsin. According to TMZ, the woman is 33-years old and claims the assault occurred in a Cadillac Limousine after a concert at the Orpheum Theater.

Fat Joe (a.k.a.Joseph Antonio Cartagena) and his entourage were held for questioning, but he was released and not arrested. The details of the case are still being sorted out in the investigation. Relative to most artists, Fat Joe doesn't get into very much trouble. The 39-year old married father of two has not, to my knowledge been accused of any sexual assault, so I'd be surprised if he waited this long to get started. He has been arrested in some of the typical rapper non-sense in the past: In 1998, he and the deceased rapper Big Pun were arrested for assaulting a man with a baseball bat and stealing his gold chain. I'm not even going to try to explain that one.

 

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Dr. Boyce: Russell Simmons Rants on Banks

by Dr. Boyce Watkins 

Hip hop mogul Russell Simmons seems to feel that banks are not treating the poor in a proper fashion. This week, in a rant on his site, “The Global Grind,” Simmons had this to say:
“They trick customers into doing things that are not good for them through lack of transparency, and surprise them with new fees when they can least afford it. I’m learning an important lesson about ethics or lack of ethics in this industry. In fact, I’m fighting with a bank right now that doesn’t know what kind of ass whipping they are going to get when I expose them for the abusive practices and exuberant fees they are charging the poor. What they are doing is trying to double their already outrageously high fees in exchange for providing absolutely nothing to my customers.”
Simmons went on to try to create a “movement” by adding a call to action:

“Let’s start the biggest public discussion ever about how banks treat us and expose these banks for their unequal treatment and unconscionable conduct. The time is now.”

 

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News: TI’s out of Prison Now

Rapper T.I. got an early Christmas present Tuesday after authorities released him from a federal prison in Arkansas nearly seven months into a 366-day term.

His attorney, Steve Sadow, told the website xxlmag.com that T.I. would report to a halfway house in the Atlanta area later in the day to begin a stay of two or three months.

T.I., 28, was arrested after trying to buy unregistered machine guns and silencers from undercover federal agents in 2007. That came after the rapper's best friend was killed following a party in Cincinnati in 2006. The rapper has said the bullets that killed his friend were meant for him.

 

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Hip Hop Wired – 11/4/09

Beanie Sigel & 50 Cent Air Out Jay-Z, Beans To Possibly Sign With G-Unit

NEWS

» By MICHAEL ICEBLUE HARRIS   Nov 4 2009, 12:35 Pm

“He is a crumb and I'm gone put my foot on his neck until he responds. Please make a record because a week it's been out dog. I'm not taking nothing from Jay-Z as an artist. He ain't no walk in the park but all I'm saying is I don't got to jog to keep up to him.”

It looks like the union between Dwight Grant and Curtis Jackson is official as the two lyrical titans stood side by side on Philly radio airwaves with radio personalities The Hot Boyz.  Putting the rats in the fire, Sigel held no punches as he spit his truth about Roc-A-Fella and how Damon Dash and Jay-Z both played one of their most loyal soldiers.

Beanie Sigel discussed his plans to sign with 50 Cent

Comments 1 Tags 50 cent, beanie sigel, damon dash, jay-z,rapper freeway

Common Joins Maya Angelou to Discuss State of Black America

NEWS

» By JUSTIN STEWART   Nov 4 2009, 12:20 Pm

America has been in a state of emergency for some time as of late.  With the recession and the swine flu running rampant and leaving their marks, the country has been in a mad dash searching for some sort of order out of this madness.

The same situation is present in the Black community, but the effect has been one that has been going on for even longer.

African-American communities have continued to be ravaged with violence, drugs, poverty and more as the race has slowly been destroying itself with so much inner turmoil with the intentions of just surviving.

Heavily influenced by images that seem to generally promote more ignorance and without having

Comments 1 Tags black america, chicago, common, maya angelou, saving the race: the human race, the believer, tom joyner

Lupe Says Hip-Hop Was A Factor in Derrion Albert Murder

NEWS

» By JUSTIN STEWART   Nov 4 2009, 11:38 Am

Since the murder of Derrion Albert, many rappers have weighed in to say that action needs to be taken as the aggression  in the African-American community has escalated.

It was reported earlier that Twista had made a more direct approach by visiting those that were friends of Albert.

With such a heavy influence in the community, it has been in the hands of rap artists to gear these young minds into the right direction and provide positive imagery to show that there is a way to enjoy life without having to resort to violence.

As a Chicago native, rapper Lupe Fiasco recently stepped up to the plate and

Comments 2 Tags chicago, Derrion Albert, hip-hop, leaks,lupe fiasco, remember the smile: a restrospective of lupe fiasco, teen violence, the cool

Roccett Releasing “The Free Agent” With DJ Drama

NEWS

» By JUSTIN STEWART   Nov 4 2009, 11:07 Am

Once an artist that was given the support from Young Jeezy, West Coast artist Roccett has since stepped away from CTE and decided to go about things on his own.

Releasing a slew of mixtapes, including Another Day, Another Dollar, the rapper has built up anticipation for the big band, which comes in the form of his official street album, The Free Agent.

With assistance from DJ Drama, the two will release the album to iTunes and all other digital online retailers this month.  Noted features include

Comments 0 Tags another day another dollar, cte, dj drama,itunes, roccett, the free agent, young jeezy

Game's R.E.D. Pushed Back

NEWS

» By DANIELLE CANADA   Nov 4 2009, 11:07 Am

Game is becoming the latest victim of an always frustrating, always unfortunate trend in hip-hop; album push backs. Hurricane Game confirmed to his fans via Twitter that his latest installment, R.E.D., would be put on hold.

Originally set to drop in December, a new release date has yet to be confirmed. He tweeted about the mishap saying,

Comments 0 Tags dj drama, DJ Haze, DJ Kris Stylez, game,Nu Jersey Devil, R.E.D., R.E.D. Pushed Back, the game

Shyne Finally Speaks

NEWS

» By JUSTIN STEWART   Nov 4 2009, 10:50 Am

“Nobody's perfect and a lot of us grow up in imperfect situations, as myself, and our lives continue to be imperfect, but there are no excuses.”

Life after prison has been quite the road for rapper Shyne.  Shortly after being released from prison having served almost a decade, he was quickly swept up by immigration and was informed of the fact that there was a possibility that he would be deported back to Belize.

Deemed his homeland, many know that the rapper grew up and was raised in New York, but due to his criminal activity, his free passport for America was

Charlamagne Tha God Gets a Pink Slip

Radio personality, Charlamagne Tha God, was fired from his post at Philadelphia radio station 100.3 The Beat this week, following an interview with Beanie Sigel where he explained his recent Jay-Z diss track.

Charlamagne revealed the termination via Twitter (@CThaGod) on Monday (November 2) morning.

While he says the station said they wanted to "move in a different direction," many speculate whether Jay-Z may have had a hand in the matter.

"I just got fired from 100.3 The Beat in Philly. Salute to Philly I hope you all enjoyed me the past six months," Charlamagne wrote.

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The Latest from Hip Hop Wired – 10/12/09

Tony Yayo's Man Killed, Cops Look 2007 Assault For Clues

NEWS

» by Madam Toussaint   Oct 11 2009, 11:26 am

2 years ago Tony Yayo caught charges for the assault of a 14 year old child. The kid was James Rosemond, the son of Jimmy "Henchman" Rosemond, the head of Czar Entertainment. Czar Entertainment repped Game at the time G-Unit who had beef with G-Unit.

Yayo's man and employee Lowell Fletcher, a.k.a. Lodi Mack, allegedly flashed a gun at the kid then ended up taking the rap. Fletcher, who was also

Comments 0 Tags Bloods, g-unit, Lodi Mack, Lowell Fletcher, the game, tony yayo, twitter

DJ Don Cannon Drops Mixtape Konsole Kingz & Xbox 360

NEWS

» by moguldom   Oct 10 2009, 14:08 pm

Konsole Kingz (KKZ) has teamed up with mega-producer Don Cannon to release a new mixtape inspired by their mutual adoration for the love of sports games. Released on I - Tunes today, this new age mixtape features production from Don Cannon and exclusive tracks from Wale, Cool Kids, Pac Div and Currency.

Ludacris, Slim Thug, Freeway and Bonecrusher also make appearances as well. Solid relationships with the top gaming

Comments 0 Tags cool kids, dj don cannon, dj drama, konsole kingz, ludacris, pac div, the Aphilliates, wale

Everlast To Give Career Retrospective Performance

NEWS

» by moguldom   Oct 10 2009, 14:00 pm

On October 17th, 2009 Whitey Ford, aka Everlast, will hold a special career retrospective performance at The Key Club in Hollywood, CA. The performance will look back at Everlast's musical career over the past two decades and feature the versatile singer/songwriter/rapper performing tracks from all of his recorded works.

Everlast has been a fixture within the rap and rock communities for over 20 years now. From his early

Comments 0 Tags dj quik, everlast, house of pain, rapper everlast, the rhyme syndicate, whitey ford, whitey ford sings the blues

Shyne Claims Diddy Lied About "Alleged" Conversation

NEWS

» by MICHAEL ICEBLUE HARRIS   Oct 10 2009, 11:50 am

Somebody's lying… Former Bad Boy Recording artist Shyne has denied speaking with his former boss Sean Combs. Diddy had claimed that he spoke with his Shyne several weeks ago and that it was blessing that he was finally coming home. He also claimed that “Shyne was in good spirits and couldn't wait to get home and heat the whole scene up.”

Well Shyne has stated other wise in a press release from his attorney Oscar Michelen. The statement read:

“My client wants to make it very clear that no such conversation between Mr. Combs and he ever occurred. I want it known that this supposed

Comments 0 Tags club new york shooting, diddy, jennifer lopez, sean "puffy" combs, shyne

Horrocore Rapper Esham Readies Halloween Release

NEWS

» by moguldom   Oct 10 2009, 8:53 am

Hip-Hop horrocore Detroit rap veteran Esham will be returning to engrave his name on this year's Halloween season with a new hour long creep show experience, Hellaween: Pure Horror. Dropping on CD and digital download on October 13 through Aknu Media, the new album features 17 tracks juxtaposed with gore-laden sound effects and a host of classic horror villains hell bent on terrorizing audiences worldwide. Esham stated,

"The vision was to manifest a project framed around the psyche of these characters while loosely paying homage to the

Comments 0 Tags D12, detroit rappers, eminem, esham, Insane Clown Posse, Kid Rock, Twiztid

Roscoe Dash Clears The Air About Travis Porter

NEWS

» by DANIELLE CANADA   Oct 9 2009, 14:18 pm

The young Atlanta rap scene is getting ‘turnt up' by controversy. A song booming on the underground scene titled “All The Way Turnt Up” caused a rift between the eastside Atlanta group, Travis Porter and upcoming ATL artist, Roscoe Dash. Both Dash and Porter claim that the song belongs to them. In order to clear the air, young Roscoe took to the internet to defend his artistic integrity and

Comments 0 Tags All The Way Turnt Up, atlanta, beef, Eastside Atlanta, greg street, Roscoe, Roscoe Dash, soulja boy, Travis Porter, V-103

Preview of Kanye's New Book Hits The Net

NEWS

» by DANIELLE CANADA   Oct 9 2009, 12:15 pm

Although his latest tour was cancelled, Kanye West's 2008 ‘Glow In The Dark' tour was a huge success. The national tour raked in millions in sales and featured Ye working alongside Rihanna, N.E.R.D. and Lupe Fiasco. Now Ye's preparing to release a new book cataloging