50 Cent Says Young Buck Out of G-Unit
Apparently 50 Cent went on Hot 97 to say Young Buck's out of the G-Unit crew but still on the label.
Miss Info has more commentary & stuff.
Audio of 50 Cent's call via Nah Right.
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Apparently 50 Cent went on Hot 97 to say Young Buck's out of the G-Unit crew but still on the label.
Miss Info has more commentary & stuff.
Audio of 50 Cent's call via Nah Right.
RZA's Response to Ghostface
Mixtape Monday brings all sorts of NY goodies, from Nas to Cam to American Gangster. Most importantly, they've got RZA's statement to Ghostface regarding the conflicting album dates and the news that the Wu-Tang Clan's 8 Diagrams album has been pushed back to December 11th.
RZA responds:
"The blame can't fall on me like that," RZA said about the dueling release dates. "Wu-Tang Clan is a bunch of brothers working on one common cause. ... We planned to put that record out in September, then October, and it kept getting pushed because it's just a lot of work, yo. ... I wasn't really conscious [Ghost] was dropping an album on December 4th, but yesterday we moved our [group] record from the 4th to the 11th. We gave that spot to Ghostface ... because of how he felt. ... I had to make that call. [SRC label head] Steve Rifkind also, he was getting bashed up by Ghost [in the Mixtape Monday interview]. So ... we moved.
"We didn't have him move, we moved," RZA continued. "I think that shows the kind of bigger men we could be. Ghost is my brother, [I] love him to death. But we're in this business, and it's hard to kind of discern what's right and what's wrong. ... But I will say that, when it comes to a Wu-Tang Clan album, I plan on making it a 60-, 90-day type of schedule. ... It turned out to be a 200-day schedule ... and I didn't want to wait until next year [to put out 8 Diagrams].
"But Ghostface, we moved it to the 11th. You got that 4th. Do your thing right then, double up [the] next week, make mad cream this year, family."
RZA remains the man.
Nas says Def Jam didn't have an issue with his album when it was called N*gga and they don't have an issue with his retitling it N*gger making me realize that my instinct was right when I thought that maybe we were being a bit quick to trust Fox News claims on this topic.
MTV interviewed Nas about the album and he has a lot of things to say about the title and his relationship to the NAACP and so forth.
Some of it's worthwhile:
You ain't got no business worrying about what the word 'n*gger' is or acting like you know what my album is about without talking to me. Whether you in the NAACP or you Jesse Jackson. I respect all of them ... I just want them to know: Never fall victim to Fox. Never fall victim to the sh-- they do. What they do is try to hurry up and get you on the phone and try to get you to talk about something you might not know about yet.
If Cornell West was making an album called N*gger, they would know he's got something intellectual to say...To think I'm gonna say something that's not intellectual is calling me a n*gger, and to be called a n*gger by Jesse Jackson and the NAACP is counterproductive, counter-revolutionary.
Some of it is delusional:
We're taking power from the word...No disrespect to none of them who were part of the civil-rights movement, but some of my n---as in the streets don't know who [civil-rights activist] Medgar Evers was. I love Medgar Evers, but some of the n---as in the streets don't know Medgar Evers, they know who Nas is. And to my older people who don't now who Nas is and who don't know what a street disciple is, stay outta this mutha----in' conversation. We'll talk to you when we're ready. Right now, we're on a whole new movement. We're taking power from that word.
After talking to so many writers about Nas' tendency to give less than a sentence at a time in response to questions it's always interesting to see what happens when he opens up.
You can decide for yourself or wait for this "whole new movement" to appear but, whatever you feel about all this, Nas' title game has it going on from a marketing perspective.
Ghostface is upset with the unspecified "hierarchy at Wu-Tang Clan" for the fact that Wu-Tang's 8 Diagrams got pushed back to his album date and that he allegedly still hasn't been paid for previous Wu-Tang touring.
Turns out that Ghostface had the December 4th release date for his own album, The Big Dough Rehab, for quite a while.
According to MTV:
"I had December 4 for the longest," he explained. "But the Wu album, brothers was kinda late on doing whatever they were doing and pushed it back ... on my date. You can put this in there, I'm not [mad at] all the members. It's not based on the members, but the hierarchy at Wu-Tang Clan is on some bullsh--. They trying to f--- around and make me push my album back and doing all this. But n---as ain't f---ing around or give us money when we did them Wu-Tang tours. The first one, they paid us after a while, but this last one, n---as is holding onto a lot of money...It's a battle right now."
Though Ghostface did not specify who constitutes the "hierarchy", he did clarify who does not:
"It ain't got nothing to do with the regular members. 'Cause I love Raekwon, Masta Killa, U-God, Genius, all them. But it's on right now."
Apparently Ghostface also feels his album would already be complete if he had not chosen to join Wu-Tang for the Rock the Bells tour with Rage Against the Machine, the tour for which he says members have not been paid.
He also claims that Steve Rifkind, who's putting out 8 Diagrams on Loud Records, made some phone calls in hopes of getting label execs to change the date for The Big Dough Rehab.
Sounds like Ghostface was pretty much done with the topic by the end of the interview:
"N---as better pay my f---ing money. Matter of fact, they can keep the money — just get me out of their life right now. They can keep that money, it's all good now. I don't even wanna talk about it no more."
Wow, no wonder Miss Info is sad.
First off, the cops that are interpreting the following lines as "anti-snitching sentiments" are clearly off the mark as far as I'm concerned:
The city's police department has called for Swizz Beatz to renounce anti-snitching sentiments or it will drop sponsorship of a "Peace on the Streets" rally. In his current single, It's Me Snitches, Swizz raps: "Freeze, you know who it is/ It's me, snitches" and "I ain't gonna shoot ya/ I could just choke ya." It's lines like those that appear to advocate violence and silencing snitches — or police informants — that concern police in a city that is among the nation's most dangerous.
That seems more like a smack talk moment that's relatively gentle in a context of gangsta rap and hypermasculinity. That's been one of my favorite singles since it came out and I'm no advocate of the stop snitching movement.
You can check it out in low rez glory over at VidRap.
Sure, it's a fairly macho statement but the video as a whole is mostly fun and upbeat. There are beautiful women but they are presented in a context that most professional performers would be comfortable in. They're sexy and have on somewhat revealing clothes but nothing debasing or exploitative.
Plus, it's got some of the greatest dancing from both the woman on the platform and a kid that's just an awesome dancer.
But I don't know Swizz Beats body of work very well.
What do you think? Is this a fair reaction to Swizz Beats despite the fact that it misreads this song or is this another of what may be many incidents ahead where valid concerns about specific aspects of rap music are being turned on the wrong guy?
Given that I still regularly see news accounts of small clubs around the country getting shut down because people say they can't control certain elements that show up on hip hop nights, I'm concerned that this kind of thing has the potential to disrupt even more attempts to conduct legitimate business or even to promote peace as this event is intended to do.
Seriously, Swizz Beats fans in particular, what do you think? And how 'bout that awesome choreography. Anybody know who choreographed this?
Today Master P announced that the release date of Hip-Hop History will be September 4th, the same day as the new release date for 50 Cent's Curtis.
The press release stated:
The date was not chosen to compete with Curtis Jackson's delayed release, but rather to create balance in the marketplace and give kids a freedom of choice.
This announcement follows a previous statement in which Master P got all het up about 50 Cent's take on hip hop controversies or maybe it was 50 saying that poor record sales motivated Master P's embrace of the new hip hop order.
Come on, 50. Can't you see it's not always about the money?
Master P also announced the simultaneous release of Guaranteed Success, a "book on how people can achieve and maintain financial success".
Not only did NYOIL attend Al Sharpton's Glorious People's March for Decency but he blogged a response that others soon picked up and then put out a press release entitled:
Walk into a Record Store and Support Good Music...That would be a True March for Decency!!!
Sance, who bills himself as a "responsible rapper", is promoting his debut release 2829 as a Profanity Free Hip-Hop Invasion!!!.
It's interesting to see how the responses to controversies over rap lyrics and snitching quickly lead to marketing moves, whether self-protective or opportunistic.
Ethan Brown, whose work I'm just getting up to speed on now, makes the argument that 60 Minutes Stop Snitchin' show strongly ties together corporate profits from hip hop and hip hop's connection with the stop snitching perspective:
I think that the fanatical emphasis on hip-hop and its “corporate” backers was meant to put the music in the shaky spot occupied by Death Row in the mid-1990s. Remember that back then (1997 to be exact) Interscope actually sold off its interest in Death Row under pressure from hip-hop critics like the late C. DeLores Tucker...Hip-hop execs need to think fast about how to counter this sort of criticism.
It's important to remember that Imus wouldn't have gotten fired if corporate advertisers didn't withdraw support. On a related note, Brown points out that "Geoffrey Canada wonders what the shareholders of major corporations would think if they were played hip-hop records which used the 'N Word' liberally."
Though the widely noted closed door meeting of industry bigwigs regarding rap lyrics seemed to lead nowhere and initial pr was badly fumbled, I think the HSAN statement from Russell Simmons and Ben Chavis was the initial outcome under another name. It's pretty clear who they're protecting with the banning words approach.
Lots of rappers have joined in the discussion regarding rap lyrics but the first truly opportunistic business move in that discussion seems to be from Chamillionaire who stated:
On my new album I don’t say the word n***a, I don’t curse nowhere on my whole album...People are not even gonna know it. I guarantee if I don’t go out and say it in the media they’re not even gonna realize that. People go back and listen to all of my old mixtapes and don’t even realize that I wasn’t even doing all that type of stuff. I was saying n***a, but I wasn’t saying the 'f' word or [the] 'b' word. I was never saying those types of things...I hear that so much and it restricts your creativity and how far it can go.
However, opportunistic may be the wrong word here, since he's simply pointing out that he's tended to use less profanity and now will let it all go. The response will be interesting but it also seems to fit his public image.
In response to reporters at the Plymouth Jazz Festival, LL Cool J put the depiction of women in videos directly on the women who are paid or even volunteer to perform and have the least power on a set, letting artists, directors and execs off the hook:
I have always been respectful of women. I am a lover of women and I always uplift them in my music . . . but I also would love to see the women who are in the videos take responsibility for their actions.
I think that women got cut out of the loop and somewhere along the line someone said women cannot make decisions on their own. I am wondering why rappers have to be responsible for the decisions women make when they decide to get in vidoes and do certain things. I definitely think women are intelligent and strong enough as human beings to decide whether they want to be in videos that portray them in a certain way.
LL Cool J smartly couches his approach in a seeming respect for women as a whole that will appeal to many of his fans while doing nothing for any kind of improvement for the situation. He also suggests that everyone needs to take more responsiblity, effectively cutting off attacks and continuing with business as usual since he's unlikely to be a big target in this whole affair.
It sounds like he's pretty good off the cuff but it's looking like there will have to be a much bigger response from hip hop business people, especially those tied to mainstream outlets. In addition, if the industry starts policing itself further or is generally reined in, that will open up a lot of possibilities for uncensored products.
Interesting times, to say the least.
I'm amazed at the reactions to Kathy Sierra's exposure of the a-holes who have been harassing and threatening her online. If she were a hip hop blogger, she'd be ignored or ridiculed with folks discussing it privately.
But she's not a hip hop blogger, she's a tech blogger. And though tech bloggers have a long history of ignoring racist and sexist commentary on tech websites, apparently a lot of folks feel it's time to step up.
You can check Sierra's post for the story but be sure to check the comments. I've never seen anything like this in hip hop unless it was something like Katrina [i.e. a no-brainer, though I'm glad folks cared].
Robert Scoble is not blogging for a week in protest. Though silence is not typically the best response, in Scoble's case, the post will remain at the top of a highly trafficked and influential blog. Again, the comments in Scoble's blog are amazing in their support for Sierra.
I shared part of my response at Brand Destruction Research where Ron E. of brandcurve informed me of their zero violence blog graphic and campaign in response. I can't honestly post a zero violence graphic at ProHipHop but it's a good thing to see.
If you do read the comments on Scoble's blog, you'll notice that a lot of people are talking about taking action and it sounds like Scoble's in.
I think this is going to be kind of fun.
Via Seth Godin.
The news that Steve Rifkind's SRC and Joseph Safina's Pure Games are partnering on what seems to be a new version of Battlerap.com is kind of interesting, especially since questions raised about Battlerap.com remain unanswered.
What's doubly odd is that the press release is claiming this as the "debut of Battle Rap" though it's certainly not.
In other SRC news, BeatPhone is now offering over the phone previews of SRC singles via the SRC Hotline.
Jin The Emcee f/Donald Trump - You're Fired
The sparse graphics for the above tune were added by the YouTube uploader and the disses are mostly fat jokes but Jin's Rosie O'Donnell diss track You're Fired featuring Donald Trump is worth a listen, if only for the cruelty of the Donald's soundbites. I know fat jokes are weak but so is mocking folk's language when you're fronting as a comedian with a socially progressive agenda.
Look for the real video appearing soon as part of the buildup to the release of Jin's upcoming album ABC. You can download the audio now at abcjin.com.
Adisa Banjoko Chokes Opponent Out at Gracie Open
I was checking out the above footage off the 101 Submissions: Chapter 2 DVD and I remembered a surprising discovery, after losing yet another blog battle, Kris Ex ditched yet another blog and nobody even noticed [because nobody really cared].
But it also reminds me of Adisa's exchange at Stanford with KRS-One.
While most of what I know I can't share publically, I can say that after the incident in which KRS-One talked a lot of junk from behind the table in a crowded room but refused to talk with Adisa one on one without a group, a number of serious martial artists contacted Adisa to express their admiration for his ability to keep himself in check because they realized what Adisa was capable of doing to KRS-One.
In the above video, in which the choke out is shown from two different angles, the details are rather difficult to see but you'll notice that Adisa, who is on his back throughout, has a grip on his competitor's gi with the right forearm behind his neck, frees up his left arm and snakes it in front of his competitor's neck getting a hold on the other side and proceeds to crush the guy's windpipe and both major arteries cutting off blood and oxygen to the brain.
Adisa could tell the guy was going under but he refused to tap out so Adisa kept the Ezekial or loop choke in place until the ref ended the match. Note that the competitor who is on top rolls off with a goofy look and a weird arm shape because he was going into some kind of seizure. He then passed out but came to before the EMTs arrived and was able to make it home ok.
Adisa felt bad about that. I say the fool should have tapped out.
Coming in 2007:
The Year of the Poison Hand
I was referencing ProHipHop coverage of the encounter between KRS-One and Adisa Banjoko at Stanford earlier this year and realized that I hadn't tied the posts together so, here we go:
2006: The Year Of The Choke Out
Adisa Banjoko On Doing Business Right
Looking for KRS-One Audio Via East Bay Express Article?
KRS-One/Adisa Banjoko Truce Emerging
You Be The Judge: KRS-One Stanford Session Posted
KRS-One's Sanity Questioned in Web Forums
So Many Styles on KRS-One at Stanford
More KRS-One Audio, Silence From Writers on the Scene
"KRS-One Threatening Adisa Banjoko at Stanford Univ."
KRS-One Melts Down at Stanford Hip Hop Archives
Disclaimer:
Adisa's one of my closest friends and I've got his back.
Adisa Banjoko has a nice piece on Bay Area hip hop's need to get its business right, if the Bay wants to take advantage of this moment in time. Actually, it's a series of points on doing business well and for the long haul, something that is difficult for hustlers to understand. And you know hip hop is full of hustlers.
Here's his first point:
1. You must learn to see what you are d oing beyond the hustle and turn what you are doing into a business. E-40 and Too Short’s success did not happen overnight. It was the result of many years of recording, doing shows, selling tapes outta the trunk, learning the in’s and out’s of distributio n, learning how to use the media to your advantage, etc. At some point, they made the actual transition from the hustle into the business. If you fail to do that, you can expect failure period.
Point 5 on marketing is pretty good too, especially sin ce he mentions me!:
5. Look at yourself, and your group. Are you marketable? Why should someone buy your music over the next rappers CD? If your only response is, “’Cause I’m hella raw”, that’s not enough. Do you know what a brand is? Do you know what your company’s position is? Do you know what messaging is? What does your press kit look like? What is the difference between public relations and advertising? Do you know what kind of habits build and destroy brands? In an oversaturated market you need very edge you can have. Do you visit sites like www.prohiphop.com ? Knowledge is the key. But there is no better branding than making good music, and conducting positive business.
The piece is also up at Davey D's house of knowledge but, unfortunately, what could have been a highly productive discussion got redirected by Kris Kringle cultists.
I'll say this about the issues between KRS-One and Adisa. Adisa's worked really hard to honor the peace and to keep his people cool while folks claiming to be KRS-One supporters keep trying to stir things up. Not a smart m ove in the long run unless these supposed supporters of KRS-One are actually undercover agitator brothers whose job it is to create disturbances. That's a well-established technique of the FBI so it raises some interesting questions about various individuals' actual agendas.
Think about it.
I was just thinking about the fact that, critical concerns notwithstanding, I've always loved New York. Not just because of hip hop, but because of all the arts, especially dance, performance and visual arts. I had a subscription to The Village Voice from the late 1970s through the late 1980s because it kept me up, not just on arts happenings there, but also on the gentrification struggles in the East Village, the conflicts in Central America (which were a big focus of my activist work in the 80s) and VV even had the first serious major coverage of the murder of Communist Workers Party members by the Klan in Greensboro, NC with what still looks like local police support (I was a student in Greensboro at the time).
Of course, the Village Voice is just a shadow of its former self, but it was once a major internationally respected newspaper. More importantly, it was one of my connections to things that meant something to me on a deep level. And while a lot of my feelings about New York relate to the past, I generally have had positive thoughts about the city over the years.
But the recent statements by 50 Cent and Immortal Technique combined with the defensiveness and arrogance of many of NY's "defenders" combined with the retched behavior of power figures at The Source and XXL combined with all the nonsense at Hot 97 are starting to make me feel a bit sick about not only New York, but about being professionally associated with hip hop. And that's a sad thing.
That's right. And Jay Smooth wrote it.
If you're looking for information and audio related to the KRS-One/Adisa Banjoko drama, please check ProHipHop's Controversy category. Everything I've written on the topic is in there, including audio links.
If you haven't seen Eric K. Arnold's article in the East Bay Express, it's worth a look to consider one take on how KRS-One has damaged his reputation.
Update: Adisa corrects a detail in Arnold's article that may be of importance to folks familiar with the Muslim communities in Los Angeles in a post whose title caught me by surprise with its humor:
We ain't no saints and we ain't no monks...But make no mistake Muhammad didn't make no punks...
Some kind of resolution is emerging from the KRS-One/Adisa Banjoko encounter at Stanford with the intervention of Afrika Bambaataa. Can't find the reference at Davey D but I'm sure it will be appearing soon.
Update: Here are the heartwarming details.
Up till now we've been responding to what I've assumed to be the more outrageous moments in KRS-One's appearance at Stanford with a series of audio clips. Now Davey-D is in the process of posting audio from the day's events, including full audio from the KRS-One panel.
The audio is in two parts which are available with a format that Windows users may have a better time with though I played it ok on Mac OS X:
Section 1
Section 2
The first part, that should include the accusations/threats made by KRS-One against Adisa Banjoko, has also been made available on Odeo:
Section 1 at Odeo
I may have to wait and listen to the whole thing because I have to be honest, my eyes glaze over when people start making these detailed distinctions between what is and what isn't hip hop. But, honestly, I'm not buying the "hip hoppa" label and related in-group language as just a form of respect for the past and a warm hearted attempt to define values. It's got this weird, made up, cultish vibe to it that makes me want to look more closely at what Kris is actually attempting to build now that his performing career is over.
So I am going to be listening to the whole thing because I'm not convinced that this incident is just some nutty acting out by KRS-One. For earlier posts regarding this event, see ProHipHop's new Controversy category.
Not to belabor a point, but anyone see a pattern in the response to recent events from blogs and forums?
Actually a number of these recirculate material posted at the Cocaine Blunts forum entitled:
KRS: Crazier Than Crazy
But forum participants add their own perspectives:
KRS-One Loses His Mind at Stanford Debate
KRS is f*cking nuts
KRS-One Loses His Mind at Stanford Debate [b]
KRS-One Wilds Out At Stanford
KRS loses his mind
And at AllHipHop.com: KRS-ONE SPAZZES AT STANFORD?
Of course, there is always dissent:
Gotta respect KRS's gangsta
So Many Styles provides an eyewitness view of events at Stanford and finds great meaning in the words and actions of KRS-One:
As he was getting ready to go I was able to slip in one question. I questioned how I, as a DJ, could help in this void of leadership. He told me that as a DJ, “I am Hip Hop,” then said I am his equal, and that I should keep going out teaching. I was honored the man who defines himself as “Hip Hop” told me I am “Hip Hop” too and bequethed that I am equal with the man who brought us “The Bridge Is Over.” I’m speechless and just might go ghostride my whip to keep it real in celebration.
For the record, I've published three bits of audio at ourmedia from KRS-One's controversial appearance at Stanford this weekend.
Since my previous post, I've discovered that the audio of KRS-One to which Jay Smooth links is the opening gambit in Kris's startling play rather than the close [actually it's labeled but I missed that!]. Oddly enough, after calling Adisa Banjoko an FBI agent, that topic did not resurface, as far as I know.
What we have so far:
Opening gambit
This series of 3 segments seems to be near or at the end:
Audio 1 of 3
Audio 2 of 3
Audio 3 of 3
I personally feel that this is a bad look for Kris but my understanding is that the situation is rather volatile and that the current silence of so many of the academics and journalists present, many of them considered leaders in their fields, is not a good thing. It's a more serious situation than they may wish to believe.
However, in addition to Jay Smooth's coverage, the story has been picked up by Coolfer.
Haven't had a chance to listen to what Jay Smooth's got but it's entitled:
AUDIO: KRS-One Threatening Adisa Banjoko at Stanford University
Jay's referring to it at "KRSgate". Apparently it broke on his weekend show.
Update:
I'm listening to the audio now. This is where KRS-One accuses Adisa Banjoko of being an FBI agent and then making extremely threatening statements and, possibly, shutting down the panel at that point. From earlier audio I've heard and that I assume will be released, since the most damaging material has been posted, KRS had already seriously disrupted the meeting, refusing to really listen to anyone else and going on bizarre tangents related to hip hop history.
One thing that you miss on this closing segment to which Jay Smooth links is the powerful leadership role Davey D took as things were sliding. He did his best to focus discussion and try to keep folks cool but the audio currently available covers only the final disintegration. Interestingly, Kris got agitated earlier and appears to have entered a strangely calm state when making his most violent accusations in this audio segment.
Previous coverage:
KRS-One Melts Down at Stanford Hip Hop Archives
My understanding is that multiple people were audio and, possibly, videotaping the conference session at which KRS-One appeared. Please let me know if it goes up anywhere:
clyde(at)prohiphop(dot)com
What should have been another great event for hip hop in the wake of the Smithsonian's embrace was marred Saturday. The Stanford Hip Hop Archives held an event in which my friend Adisa Banjoko participated.
I don't have official news, though I hope to have a statement from Adisa before too long, but my understanding is that during a panel appearance KRS-One freaked out and started accusing Adisa of various things including being an FBI agent. A variety of things were said and it looks like an ugly scene ensued, though there was no violence at the event.
Obviously, given my longstanding relationship with Adisa, I won't be covering this from anything like an objective position. However, beyond individual positions, this doesn't seem to be a good look for hip hop or for Kris. More when I have it.
Update:
Since it looks like I won't get anything substantial for awhile, let me fill in some background from what I already know about some prior issues between Adisa and Kris.
Adisa Banjoko has had a long standing challenge to debate KRS-One over what Adisa terms philosophical differences. It goes back so far he even wrote about Kris ducking him in his first blog post.
Apparently that didn't go over well with some folks and oddness ensued.
Although he generally speaks of KRS-One with respect, perhaps Adisa's recent comments got things stirred up again:
KRS-ONE is a good brother. I love him but he ducked me. But I know why. . . [KRS-ONE] has too much to lose. He would get broke by me on the podium.
Of course, Adisa has also always been clear that his aim is a fair debate rather than a bout of mudslinging. Hopefully Kris will recognize that fact as well.
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