Archive for July, 2009
Young Buck - "Bury Me Alive"
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009Nipsey Hussle - "Strapped"
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009Colin Powell Takes Diplomatic Stance on Gates Arrest
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009The commentary on the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. continues as the nation awaits the outcome of the beer bash discussion over the incident between Gates, the officer in question, and President Obama. The latest person to sound off on the unwarranted arrest is former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Powell, who said he has also been a victim of racial profiling, believes both parties could have handled the situation better. He said Gates could have been more patient with the officer and the officer could have used some "adult supervision."
"I think Skip [Gates], perhaps in this instance, might have waited a while, come outside, talked to the officer and that might have been the end of it," Powell said, according to CNN.
"I think he should have reflected on whether or not this was the time to make that big a deal.
Ultimately, Powell blamed the Cambridge police for escalating the situation to irrationality.
"I think in this case the situation was made much more difficult on the part of the Cambridge Police Department," Powell said. "Once they felt they had to bring Dr.
Gates out of the house and to handcuff him, I would've thought at that point, some adult supervision would have stepped in and said 'OK look, it is his house. Let's not take this any further, take the handcuffs off, good night Dr. Gates.'"
The former Secretary of State went on to say that traveling may have had Gates in a mood, therefore not in the proper frame of thought to communicate with ease.
"He was just home from China, just home from New York. All he wanted to do was get to bed. His door was jammed and so he was in a mood where he said something," Powell said.
Gates, an acclaimed Harvard African-American studies professor, was arrested at his home on charges of disorderly conduct after police responded to a call reporting a possible burglary. The charge was later dropped, as Gates provided ample proof that he, in fact, owned the house but had to barge in a jammed door of his house.
Powell offered advice to his fellow colleague, a lesson he was taught as a child: "When you're faced with an officer who is trying to do his job and get to the bottom of something, this is not the time to get in an argument with him.
There is no African-American in this county who has not been exposed to this kind of situation," Powell said. "Do you get angry? Yes. Do you manifest that anger? Do you protest? Do you try to get things fixed? But it's the better course of action to try and take it easy and don't let your anger make the current situation worse."
Freeway - "Grinding"
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009Details on Slaughterhouse Debut Album Emerge
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009August 11th will be the date to mark on every Hip-Hop fans calendar as the super-group known as Slaughterhouse will be dropping their highly anticipated self-titled debut. Hip-Hop album releases have recently received more push-backs than a local barber could possibly give but this one seems concrete.
The movement known as Slaughterhouse first made noise on Joe Budden's digital release Halfway House in October on the track properly titled, “Slaughterhouse.” Due to the magnitude and immediate chemistry that the four rappers clearly have, they quickly jumped at the idea of forming a lyrical group that would be able to usher in a new day and restore the old school feel of Hip-Hop when it was more than a beat and a hook and actually had substance.
Composed of the lyrical giants known as (more...)
Israeli Rabbi Calls President Obama a "Slave"
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009A spiritual leader of Israel's Shas Party, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, referred to President Barack Obama as a "slave' with plans to rule the world and monopolize affairs in Tel Aviv.
"We live in a time when slaves are governing us and are trying to control us," he said. "American insidiousness tells us to build here and not to build there as though we were slaves working for them."
His remarks have been labeled racist by PressTV.com, a Middle Eastern newspaper, and goes on to detail the notion behind the statements that were made during Yosef's weekly sermon. The Rabbi expressed his resentment behind the Obama administration's efforts to apply pressure to Tel Aviv leadership over it's expansion settlement, an age-old mid-east territorial battle.
"We are not employees of the Americans… and Israel does not work for the United States," he shouted.
President Obama has been shunned by a mass of Israeli's over his hard-nose approach with the country in his strategy for peace in the region. The president's approach differs from many former U.S. presidents who had a tendency to comply with Israel's agenda.
The senior rabbi harshly criticized Obama for what he believes is a favoring of Arab states and mad claims that Obama has a personal gripe with the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.
The "spiritual leader" went on to attack Arabs.
“And where is our temple?! The situation there is a cause for grief! There is nothing there but evil Arabs who are occupying our lands… and I hope that the messiah will appear soon to destroy them," he was quoted by the Arab language daily al-Miesri al-Yaum (Egypt Today) as saying.
The rabbi's remarks come during a time when diplomatic conflict has risen between Israel and the Washington, who has called for the country to completely freeze all construction projects. Tel Aviv, however, is pushing for continuation to meet the needs caused by the Jewish communities "natural growth."
On July 27, a group of right-wing Israeli supporters took part in a an anti U.S. rally in Jerusalem.
Saigon Sending "Warning Shots 2"
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009The independent move seems to be working out for underground artists. Joe Budden ended his five-year hiatus with Padded Room in February and his Slaughterhouse group will be able to distribute their album and it's only been pushed back once.
Adding onto the list of independent artists that have been long on the come up is New York rapper Saigon who will be releasing the sequel to Warning Shots through his venture with Amalgam Digital, which is regarded as Hip-Hop's first digital retail store. Amalgam Digital was the driving force behind (more...)
Police Taser/Pepper Spray Deaf Man
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009In Mobile, Alabama, a man was pepper sprayed and tasered by police after they were unsuccessful in trying to make him voluntarily come out of the restroom of a Dollar General store last Friday, according to authorities. The kicker is the fact that the man had his own problems as he was deaf and mentally disabled.
Antonio Love, 37, the man in the bathroom, had to be moved out of the restroom by authorities with force as he was charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and failure to obey a police officer. After police came to the realization that Love was actually disabled, but still proceeded to take him into custody and jail, the incident has been placed under investigation according to Police Department spokesman Christopher Levy. He added that the police that placed him in custody had found a card in his wallet that indicated that he was indeed deaf. According to the department's policy, however, the usage of both weapons is justifiable.
Police were brought to the scene of the store when a call was issued to them stating that a man had been in the bathroom for close to an hour, according to Cpl. Charles Bagsby. When authorities arrived on the scene, they proceeded to knock on the door, but they were given no answer.
According to Love, who could only tell his story in sign language, he was only in the bathroom for that amount of time due to the fact that he was actually sick and when he saw someone continuously pounding on the door he feared the worse and held the knob to ensure that the person could not get inside.
Love's movements, however, would prove to be his downfall as the police, like usual, made a presumption as to what type of situation it was. Figuring that the suspect inside was hostile, police shot pepper spray underneath the door. They then went to find an iron to use to pull the door open, according to an account by Bagsby.
As Love was washing his eyes of the spray, he stated that he was knocked down once they forced the door open and was tasered in the stomach, chest and his hand. He was then put into custody and taken to Mobile County Metro Jail. Fortunately, the jail magistrate was unwilling to accept any of the charges against the man refusing the sign the arrest warrant.
Director of the Mobile division of the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind, Michelle Jones, stated that in situations like these, it is required by federal disabilities law for law enforcement to obtain a translator when these types of scenarios are presented, which did not happen.
Love's loved ones stated that he has the mental capabilities of a 10-year-old. His mother, Phyllis Love, has highly considered obtaining a lawyer stating that Love has not been the same and fears anyone in a police uniform. Welcome to the club.
Well ladies and gentlemen, the boys in blue have done it again and shown their ability to serve and protect. Clearly there are no bounds to what the long arm of the law can do.
Men Convicted for Wal-Mart Hate Crime
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009Michael Bullard and Richard Armstrong have been convicted on charges of a federal hate crime as well as conspiracy and face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison each. The crime is related to an incident in July 2008 where they assaulted an African-American man.
According to District Attorney's Office, the men were convicted last Wednesday by a jury in Boise, Idaho. The third suspect, James Whitewater, who was also involved in the incident last year, chose the route of pleading guilty before the trial commenced and even testified against the other defendants. According to Deputy U.S. Attorney Wendy Olson, the lead prosecutor, Whitewater fully snitched on his co-horts and gave a detailed description of the events that transpired and why everything happened. His testimony may be rewarded with a lower sentence but a plea agreement has yet to be worked out.
A witness' testimony stated that Armstrong made an attempt to disrespect the man with racial remarks. Other witnesses pointed the three men out as all being active participants in the assault as one of their girlfriends, Jennifer, Hartpence, sat in the background cheering them on.
Loretta King, assistant attorney general, stated that the crime was clearly driven by the fact that the young man was Black and asserted that the court's decision reinforced the fact that hate crimes are intolerable in America. That statement, however, could be in question outside of good ole' Boise.
Raylen Smith, 25, was the victim of the “racially-driven” assault. According to reports, on July 4 Smith was jumped by the three on his way out of Wal-Mart and was chased and beaten by the three assailants. The victim was chased all the way to a ditch and was beaten unconscious. Prior to him exiting the store, it was reported that the three were making racial slurs while in the store.
Bullard, 22, and Armstrong, 24, will be in front of the court again on October 19 for violating Smith's civil rights.
The win is somewhat bitter-sweet as all three were not sentenced for the crime. But that goes to show kids that if you do stupid things with your friends, as long as you rat them out you might be let off the hook too.
Warren G Returns to the Rap Game with "The G Files"
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009Warren G is set to release his sixth studio LP this fall. The G Files will be released on September 29th and features fellow West Coast representatives Snoop Dogg and Ray J. Snoop Dogg is featured on the veteran's lead single, “Swagger Rich” and Ray J lends his soulful crooning to the next single, “Crush.”
The West Coast icon exploded onto the rap scene in 1994 with help and guidance from Def Jam in New York, a controversial decision when several of his West Coast counterparts had strict ties to Death Row. His debut album, Regulate…G Funk Era, certified him as a (more...)
