In celebration of the event, Hip-Hop Wired has teamed with her label Epic Records to give away vinyl copies of the album which will also be available at retail on March 23^rd.

To register for your chance to win, send your  Hip-Hop Wired username  and an e-mail address you can be reached at to HipHopWired@gmail.com and put “Sade Vinyl” in the subject line.

And don't worry if you don't have a Hip-Hop Wired username, just click here to sign up.

Good luck and check out Sade's "Soldier Of Love" video.

Hailing from the North, up and coming rapper Don P is a newcomer with an old soul that looks to keep the torch lit for lyricists that came before him and pay homage to what made him become such a fan of the culture.

Some may not know his name now, but once he switches into 6^th gear, Don P will be a name mentioned amongst the greatest.

Whatever you do, never get him confused with that guy from Trillville.

[Listen and read more about the up and coming rapper after the jump]

"Intro"

HipHopWired: How long have you been in the rap game for?

Don P: Been rapping for about 6, 7 years now.

HipHopWired:  Where are you originally from?

Don P:  I'm originally from New Brunswick, New Jersey.  Exit 9 all day.  I've been living down in Atlanta though for some time.

HipHopwired: What initially inspired you to want to get into the game?

Don P: I've always been a fan of hip hop, it was more so like a hobby to me, the more I practicing, just fu@*ed around, I got a little better, and I been hearing people say for years you might as well try it and see how far you get so that's what I'm trying to do now.

HipHopWired: Coming from the North, but residing in the South, what kind of sound do you have when you rap?

Don P: I feel like my sound is a little different. I guess if you can compare it to anything, I'd say it'd be a blend with a little Fabolous, mixed in with Lil' Wayne and then a little bit of Jadakiss.  Stir it [all] up in one and you get me.

"We Can"

"Bodies" Feat. Big C

HipHopWired: How important do you think lyrics are in this day and age?

Don P: Not half as important as they should be. Now how the game is, a catchy hook and a nice beat, it doesn't really too much matter what you say in the verses.

HipHopWired: If people were trying to look for your latest or your past work, what type of cds, collaborations, what can they look forward to or have you done in the past.

Don P: 2005 I dropped my first CD/mixtape, called The Inferno. Since then I was featured on a couple songs, I did songs with artists by the name of Kyro, LK1, Young Legit, Young Shottah, from Talk Money, I've been around doing my thing for a minute.

HipHopWired: In talking about working with the group Talk Money, have you yourself been a part of a group before or were you always solo?

Don P: No I used to be a part of a group called the Regulators.

"Look At Me Now

HipHopWired: Do you guys have an official studio album or mixtape that people can look for?

Don P:We got several mixtapes, Secrets Out, Regulators. LK1 had a couple mixtapes, Young Legit has some mixtapes out. We probably had two mixtapes each and we had a couple group ones as well.

HipHopWired: What happened to the group?

Don P: Oh man, what happened to the group, that's a good question. Well, kind of my man LK1 is incarcerated, I'm trying to get that ni**a out.  I mean, we still cool, we're just not really making music together now.

Everybody is just doing their own separate thing, just in some different places in our lives right now. I don't want to say the group is over because it's really not.  We just kind of on pause right now, trying to branch out and do our own thing for a minute before we come back into the group.

HipHopWired: With the group on pause like you said, and you trying to push your own solo career, what can look forward to in the future?

Don P: I'm just grinding every day, continuing writing new sh*t, I'm looking to drop my mixtape probably about the next couple months, I'll have something out for you. I'm still working on the title, I got a couple, I want to give you something…..just be on the lookout.

HipHopWired: What do you think the state of music is right now?

Don P: Improving, for the last couple years, it's been relatively weak. To be honest, I feel like it's been a lack of effort and a lot of exploitation.

HipHopWired: Exploitation on whose part, is it new artists coming into the game or old artists just milking off their past work?

Don P: More so of a lot of the newer artists and the record labels. People more into not really putting together whole albums or making real music it's just about how a single, selling ring tones, it's all about the money and not about the art at all.

HipHopWired: With things like Twitter and the Internet, how do you think capitalizing on such markets has affected your music with you as an underground artist?  How have you been able to capitalize on it?

Don P: If you do it right you can get a lot of exposure that way, you got to look at people who just blown up from Myspace and Youtube and Twitter. Look at people like soulja boy, made a Youtube video, got a whole bunch of hits, a record deal and a million dollars.

HipHopWired: Have you ever felt as though if everybody else is doing it, why not me just try and get a quick buck, why do you feel though you'd rather put the extra effort and craft a masterpiece rather than take the easy way?

Don P: Honestly, I'm not that type of person.  That doesn't really coincide with my personality, I'd much rather look for the harder way then just the easy way out, it's too easy to come up with a dance, a catchy song, be a one hit wonder and get paid and then broke, the money gone, I don't want to do that, if im gonna be in it im gonna be in it for the right reasons and longevity.

HipHopWired: Speaking of longevity, you've already been in it for 6 to 7 years, how far do you see it going down the line in hip hop?

Don P: Like I said, it's always been something that's in me, I love hip hop, it's always been a hobby of mine, so until that changes, until I no longer love it an it's not a hobby of mine.

"DJ Play My Song"

"I'm Gon Make It"

But between pushing praises to the prince of peace, quoting scriptures and promoting abstinence before marriage, STC got you bobbing your head, clapping your hands and on your feet.

Made up of JT (Joshua Dillard, 23), ACE (Antawan Moore, 24), Prince AJ (Albert McQueen, 20) and Erupt (Elwyn Dillard, 24), the group has gone from performing their infectious lead single “No Sex” in churches around their home base of Houston to appearing as musical guests on BET's 106 & Park.

Listen & Read more after the jump. [More]

In the midst of awaiting the release of their independent debut album Trill As It Gets in the Spring, they are gearing up for a “No Tour” across the South.  The first stop is New Orleans, where the performance will be filmed for “Dr. Bobby Jones Gospel Show” on the Word Network.

Indeed this talented team has come a long way from the sleepy town of Humble, Texas where they first formed only four years ago. In a virtually short period time, STC has covered a lot of ground and got a lot more to go.  But nothing will stop them from saving souls.  They got an edge on the competition.

Hip-Hop Wired:  What type of reaction do you get when people see you perform or hear your music for the first time?

JT: It's more of like a mouth-dropping, wow type of reaction because people have never seen Christian rap with dudes that got swag, know how to rap and the production is on the same quality of those not doing Christian rap.  People don't realize that there are rappers that got swag, sending out a good message and can rap.  That's not known in a lot of places.

Ace: If the people haven't heard of us, they'll probably give us a hand because we're Christian artists.  But they're still in their seats.  But after they hear the music, the quality and the sound, they are on their feet, applauding.  A lot of people haven't heard gospel music done like this before.

Erupt: It's just an awe seeing a group of young men representing.  We're not holding back.   We're not sugar coating it.  We're telling it like it is. It's what people want.  It's truth.  We're relaying the word of God.  We're just doing it in a way that it's understandable to young people.  People are receiving it in churches and out of the churches.  Our job is to save souls, and they're loving it.

Prince AJ: When we get on stage, we're not doing any great revelation that has never been done.  We're doing what the Bible says, preaching the gospel to every man.  When we do that, it has no choice but to cause change.  It's like dynamite.  When you throw a stick of dynamite in a building, everything changes.  And that's what STC does when we step in the place.  We're going to cause change in the whole system because we're bringing the word of God, destroying deception and we're doing it in a swaged out way.

Hip-Hop Wired:  STC performed nationally on BET's 106 & Park, not as contestants but as special invited guests.  Even Fantasia gave the group props.  What was it like being the first gospel rap group to grace that stage?

JT: It was exciting. It was really a humbling experience for God to allow us the opportunity to be on there.  But then again, there are a lot of sexual things that are promoted on BET.  So for them to even consider putting us on there, it shows that people support us.

Ace: It was nobody but God.  “106” has been on the air for a while.  I used to watch videos all the time.  And now for me to be on the platform that's aired across America, that was a very powerful experience.

Erupt: It was amazing.  It was definitely a great opportunity to reach so many people.

Prince AJ: It was powerful.  We set a mark in history.  What made it more exciting is when God's work is being manifested.

Hip-Hop Wired:  How does Still Trill Christians plan to change the at-times negative perception of rap music and Hip-Hop culture?

JT: We plan on giving Hip-Hop a different look.  When you look at Hip-Hop now, it's more about money, cars and women. Hip-Hop can be a bad influence.  You have Hip-Hop artists trying to defend Hip-Hop but through us, you can say all Hip-Hop is not negative.  It's just some of the Hip-Hop is like that.  Hip-Hop is not just one thing. Hip-Hop is changing lives.

Ace: Like any secular artist who puts his all in his music, we put our all in our music.  We're doing this for God.  This is the way we're getting the gospel out.  It's more than just rapping.  A lot of rappers talk about how big gangsters they are but haven't seen a pistol a day in their life.  We're actually living what we're talking about.  I even see some secular artists who are household names… I see a lot of their lives being changed.

Erupt: Just sticking to the word of God.  There's nothing we can say.  We're strictly sticking to the word of God and giving it with knowledge and understanding.  There is no playing games with it.  We're going to tell you about the blessings. God desires every soul to be saved.

Hip-Hop Wired:  With artist like Mary Mary and Kirk Franklin making hits, are secular audiences becoming more receptive to gospel rap?

JT: A lot of people have a Christian background.  A lot of people were raised in the church or have some type of Christian background.  That's why I think a lot of people are receptive to it.

Ace: We'll be out passing out flyers and CDs, telling people about the music.  People say they don't listen to gospel music but when we let them hear it, they say ‘that go hard.'  People say it's not gospel because of the beat.  We got an up-tempo, urban sound.  But the anointing makes it gospel music along with the lyrics.

Erupt: It's not accepted the way it needs to be. It should be accepted more at a broader level.  Kirk Franklin and Mary Mary are more of an R&B-type of gospel.  But we are on the rap side. I don't think the rap side of gospel music is at the point where it needs to be.

Prince AJ: It's an acceptance… especially when you make it fun to live this lifestyle. To make it cool to be a Christian, it's accepted by all.  But we don't compromise. If we compromise, we lose our anointing.  It becomes tainted.  We don't adapt to the atmosphere; we change from the atmosphere.

Hip-Hop Wired:   How do other Christians feel about you doing gospel rap?  Is there support or opposition from other Christians?

JT: A lot of people are more receptive to it but some of the Christian community doesn't want to compromise.

Ace: Some people who disagree with it and say that gospel Hip-Hop shouldn't be in the church. But there's a scripture in Acts 5 that speaks about these men preaching the gospel but there was a crowd of people disagreeing with him.  Then, another man stood up in the crowd and said leave these men alone because if they are not of God, they will fail.  If it is of God, then you may find yourself opposing God.  And if it is of God, then it's gonna manifest itself. So sit back and watch what happens. We're been going on for four years now. A lot of lives have been changed.  People are supporting this movement.

Erupt: They're accepting it.  They are open arms to it.  They're behind us and supporting us.

Prince AJ: The only opposition we get from the church is because a lot of people are scared of what they don't know.  The Christian community is starting to accept us now because no sex is a strong message.  We're humble but we have to say what God wants us to say.

Hip-Hop Wired:   Continuing to spread the word of no sex, the group is planning a tour of the Southern region.  Tell me a little more about that.

JT: We will be in your church, in your state spreading the gospel and hopefully bring some souls to the kingdom.

Ace: We are spreading the message of having no sex until marriage.  We are not ashamed and we will stand on any platform and let people know that we are promoting no sex until marriage.  It's a very powerful thing going on.  People's lives are being touched and changed.  We are four nice-looking young men talking about no sex until marriage.

Erupt: Since we started spreading the word of no sex, so many kids are grasping on to the message. It's something that they've never heard before.  We're making it cool not to have sex. We're taking this to the limit.  It's going to be life changing.

Prince AJ: Our main goal is to spread the word but do it in a way where we start a following.  People love to jump on something that's moving.  We're going city to city, state to state and let the world know about the word of God.  People are getting touched.  Lives are getting changed.  Souls are getting saved in a way they have no choice but to receive us.<

For more information on Still Trill Christians, log on to http://www.facebook.com/stilltrill and http://www.myspace.com/stilltrillchristian.

Currently in the lab recording his third album The DeAndre Way, the young mogul is also gearing to put his C.E.O. game in full affect with the summer release of his artist J-Bar.

Soulja Boy recently checked in with Hip-Hop Wired and brought his homeboy J-Bar along as he discussed his upcoming films with Nick Cannon, getting game from Snoop Dogg and the status of his partners Gucci Mane and Wacka Flocka who've recently had some incidents in the streets.

Peep the interview after the jump as the Stack On Deck Money Gang leader goes in. [More]

Hip-Hop Wired: When did you decide that you were going to be not just a rapper but a business man in this industry?

Soulja Boy: I guess when I was like 11 or 12, I wanted to jump off in the music industry and started setting my goals. I've always been an entrepreneur and I always had so many different creative ideas that I could flip.

Hip-Hop Wired: With J-Bbar on the come up, most rappers who put out their boys usually end up flopping.  So how are y'all preventing that from being the case with J-Bar's career?

Soulja Boy: J-Bar is a superstar within his own way, you feel me?  I feel if he would've came out not affiliated with me or signed to any other label, I think he still would've been successful without my co-sign.  J-Bar just got it, I wouldn't even waste my time if he didn't.

Soulja Boy & J-Bar

Hip-Hop Wired:  J-Bbar, give us a little information about the album and who you got on it.

Jabar: My album  is dropping  in April.   I'm working with some producers I worked with in high school, my home boy who did "Pronto" and "Daze" as well as a few other tracks on the album.  My homeboy who's a Canadian producer, he did "Cuddle Up" which might be my second single, and I might try to get into the studio with Polow Da Don soon. That's who I'm working with so far.

Hip-Hop Wired:  You've working with Soulja Boy who obviously has been in the game for a while now… what have you learned from Soulja Boy not only as a rapper but as a business man as well?

J-Bar: Business is business and you got to take care of it.  You have the music and then you got business.

Hip-Hop Wired:  Tell us about this first single you got out, elaborate on it a little bit.

J-Bar: The first single is  "Daze."   I wrote this song in one day and I was in the back of the tour bus thinking about all the stuff we've been doing and I came out with it. They going real heavy on the radio right now and I'm getting a lot of radio support.

Hip-Hop Wired:  Soulja Boy, can you tell us about your new album. I know you got The DeAndre Way coming out, you want to speak on that a little bit?

Soulja Boy: I'm in the studio right now finishing my album, The Deandre Way. The day that I'm trying to set a date for is July 28th.  This is my third album and it'll be my biggest album yet.  It'll be like one of the albums that's going to change my career and how you look at me as a rapper.

Hip-Hop Wired:  What can we expect from it, any different collabos, producers?

Soulja Boy: I'm going to be producing on my album.  As far as collabs go, we got Drake, Kanye  West, Nicki Minaj  and the whole S.O.D.  Money Gang. That comes with a lot of people with a lot of different talent.  Polow Da Don producing and I got a song with Chris Breezy as well.  I got a lot of songs with a lot of people  but as far as when I come to break down my album it'll probably be just 12 songs and it's going to be straight hit after hit.

Hip-Hop Wired: Let's switch gears for a minute. Have you spoken with your homeboy Gucci since he's been incarcerated?

Gucci Mane, Soulja Boy and Shawty Lo

Soulja Boy: I spoke to him and he's good.  He on lock down, but he's doing his bit.  I know when he gets back he's going to hit it hard again.

Hip-Hop Wired: Have you heard from Wacka Flocka since he got shot and how's his recovery?

Soulja Boy: I've  talked  to Frenchie.  Everything is good, he still got his chain, just the world is so cold.

Hip-Hop Wired:  I know you know a little about being robbed.  So are there any kind of precautions that you wish you would've done back then?

Soulja Boy: Everything basically is  the same precautions that I took before that.  Everything that I do today I did that night other than that I just need to be more on my P's and Q's out here.

Hip-Hop Wired:  When we talked to you a couple months ago you were telling us that you had some television and some movie things in the works, can you elaborate on that a little bit?

Soulja Boy: I'm currently shooting a film with Nick Cannon that should be good.   I've worked with Nick Cannon before and we filmed a movie last year that will hopefully be released before my tour.  The other thing I was talking about with theTV shows was a role on the TV show "The Game."  Im aslo going to be in two more movies.  One I'm starring in and one I am just in.  Make sure y'all see the one I am starring in.

Hip-Hop Wired:  You brought up the tour.  When's that going to start and who's going on the road with you?

Soulja Boy: Right now the way it's looking we still are trying to see how we going to jump it off.  The tour is going to be jumping regardless of whether or not we bring someone out, and we are going to have whoever is hot at that time.

Hip-Hop Wired:  Anybody in mind you want to tour with?

Soulja Boy: When I do my tour, it's going to have to be somebody who will bring out a lot of fans.   Some of the Young Money  squad.  Trey Songz because he can bring the R&B  side and that will be the best of both worlds.

Hip-Hop Wired:  What label is J-Bar's album going to be on. I know it's S.O.D., but will it be straight independent or be backed by a major?

Soulja Boy: It's S.O.D. Money Gang/Universal.

Hip-Hop Wired:  With the tragedy in Haiti, is there anything you doing to contribute, you doing any kind of charity?

Soulja Boy: I'm  doing a charity but I have donated money personally.  It's bad times right now.   I just pray it up all the time and I just think that anything can happen at any given time. You just got to stay prayed up.

Hip-Hop Wired: What happened to Arab?

Soulja Boy: Arab right now is in Chicago doing his little grind.  He got this single "Jelly" that he's out promoting and getting radio play in Chicago.  He's  doing shows and just hustling.  He's really just trying to solidify himself as an artist and not be linked with Soulja Boy all the time. We S.O.D. for life though, all of us.

soulja boy & Arab

Hip-Hop Wired:  Can we expect to hear him on your upcoming album?

Soulja Boy: He'll be on my album along with J-Bar and the whole S.O.D. Money Gang.

Hip-Hop Wired: Last question man, I know you were on Snoop's album and are in his new movie Malice N Wonderland. What's that like working with Snoop?  Did you learn anything from Snoop that you didn't already know about the game?

Soulja Boy: Snoop is an O.G., so of course he had words of wisdom for me.  When he embraced me in the studio while working together, he just broke down the game to me.  I know that Snoop Dogg is a legend in the game, he spit with Tupac and the best of them.  For me to be in the booth with him and talking to him on the phone when I need to, it's just amazing.  He embraced me.

In part 2 of our interview with DJ Skee, Skee speaks on allegations that he doesn't support local artists as well as his connection with the new pride of Gary, Indiana. This taste maker/ DJ/ Hip-Hop connoisseur also tells HipHopWired how he blends Hip-Hop with top 40 hits on KISS 102.7 FM and the freedom and pride he feels from his Sirius satellite radio show.

HipHopWired: Tell me a little bit about how you found Freddie Gibbs. He's from Gary, Indiana…you're out there in L.A. How did you even hear about him?

DJ Skee: Some of the people he was working with had been telling me about him for a minute. I never paid attention but then I listened to the music and I said, “Oh this is dope…I want to meet him.” So they brought him through and we decided to get down and make it happen.  In literally like five months look at all that we've been able to do with him. That's a testament to what we do. We've been getting him all this press and he's the new IT artist. I think we've really given Freddie that platform. We have that audience and that platform. He has the music, he's always had it. Now it's so much more than the music, it's about the platform. It's about showcasing the artist' personality and really doing it organically and authentically and I think we've been able to do that.

HipHopWired: So is that something that stood out about him? Was it his personality on top of his flows?

DJ Skee: The music was incredible but nowadays it's not just the music, it's about the full package. He definityley had it all when I met him.

HipHopWired: Okay cool. Now I know you put out Midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik but is there a full album between you two on the way?

DJ Skee: There definitely is. We're not necessarily following the old formula where you put out a mixtape and then automatically put out an album. We might do an EP or a special project or work with some producers and give out some more music for free.

HipHopWired: Alright so let's switch gears here….Now I heard there was this controversy going on where people were upset and saying that L.A. DJs don't support L.A. artists, and there was a protest outside of Power 106. Now I know you're not affiliated with Power anymore but your name somehow got caught up in the drama. What do you have to say to people who say you don't support L.A. artists?

DJ Skee: I mean that's just not true. When all that stuff came up I said listen to my radio show. In two hours on air with Sirius I played 32 records from West Coast artists. That's over supporting. At the same time I do think there's valid points to both sides. From the other side, like the radio side; at the end of the day it's still a business. No station is out to really blacklist artists. If an artist has a huge single they're gonna play it because it's all about getting ratings. It's the business, if they get more ratings and more listeners they get paid more by advertisers. They're not trying to black ball, they're trying to play what people wanna hear. With that being said, radio sometimes needs to look toward the future and set up a platform where they can put on and showcase the new artists even if they take a hit right now in ratings. They're gonna build flagship artists that way if there is the next Nipsey or Jay Rock, when they blow up they'll be tied to the station. Like I said, there are valid points to both sides. At the end of the day true artists have to have those records and the labels have to push them so they're getting those requests. I'm doing my best to support L.A. artists.

HipHopWired: Okay cool. Tell me about how you made your transition over to 102.7

DJ Skee: With KISS the situation just happened to come up. When you think of KISS, you know it's Ryan Seacrest and only a couple of DJS. It's a straight pop, top 40 station but they saw what I did with my brand and how I produced myself as not just a traditional DJ but as a tastemaker. I have my shows where I have freedom to play whatever I want and they allowed me to have this platform where I can jump on artists early and utilize the websites we have with Skee TV and everything else. It's been exciting but they've almost given me more freedom than the other situation I was in. It was exciting but I was kind of nervous going from my roots being street and going with authentic, incredible Hip-Hop to making that transition. Now I'm getting a whole new audience and I get to expose them to new music where I might play a J.Cole record or a Wale super early before any other station. I just love music at the end of the day. It's been a great situation.

HipHopWired: Now I know you're doing thing too with the Sirius online radio show. Do you feel that's more of the traditional Hip-Hop format you're used to?

DJ Skee: With Sirius I can really play what I want. It's all Hip-Hop and I can play a bunch of street records and authentic Hip-Hop. I have a ton of fun with that show, I've been on Sirius for four or five years now. I love both shows for different reasons. I'm in a position where I can get my stuff out whether it's top 40/ pop radio or it's street Hip-Hop. I just play good music. That's what it's all about at the end of the day for me.

One of the things that led to the decline of the original Black Panther Party are some ideas associated with a Huey P. Newton associated concept known as “Survival Pending Revolution.” That working within the framework of capitalist society was a necessary evil until that society could be overthrown.

While the Black Panthers originally embraced armed struggle as a means of liberation for the oppressed in America, in the early 70's, the party embraced electoral politics as part of the Survival Pending Revolution way of thinking.

[Read Hip-Hop Wired's interview with Charles Barron as he explains how he's used those tactics as he sits on New York's City Council.] More

This led to those who held onto the philosophy of armed struggle, such as former Minister of Information, Eldridge Cleaver, criticizing the ideas as reformist rather than revolutionary and many slipped into the underground shadows of the Black Liberation Army to continue the war while Panthers ran for political office in Oakland.

While these ideas of electoral politics versus revolutionary tactics caused conflict and division in the Black Panther Party, they have found a working harmony in one of the Party's former members, New York City Councilman Charles Barron. While some may see a contradiction in an avowed socialist holding an office in the financial capital of New York City, for him it is a merely a matter of strategy, a means to an end. Internal infiltration coupled with external agitation.

For him, there is no either or. He wants full use of both the ballot and the bullet.

Hip-Hop Wired:  You were a member of the original Black Panther Party, is that not right?

Councilman Charles Barron: I was an 18-year-old member of the Harlem branch of the Black Panther Party. I was one of hundreds of supporters. I sold my papers, I wasn't known, no one knew me, but I knew people like Cetewayo Michael Tabor (Panther 21), and Afeni Shakur (Panther 21, Tupac's mother), Joanne Chesimard (Assata Shakur, Tupac's Aunt) was around then, a sister named Joan Bird (Panther 21) Jamal Joseph was there. The one who recruited me was a brother named Mark Holder. When I was in my Panther days, I was giving out my papers and I learned a lot about my politics was shaped and molded by the Black Panther Party.

I learned about the Cuban revolution, and more about the Algerian Revolution, Chinese, Revolution, Indian revolution, and independence movements in Africa. Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana), Sekou Toure of Guinea. So when I learned about all these movements and in the Black Panther Party you had to do Political Education. You had to read Axioms of Kwame Nkrumah.  The Little Red Book (Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse Tung) and learned a lot about Marxism and Leninism and Maoism and those things and it was strange because everybody that I was against, America was for. They claim they're fighting for democracy and regime change in Iraq and other places, but yet historically America supported the Duvaliers, Papa Doc and Baby Doc in Haiti. Murderers!

America supported (Augusto) Pinochet in Chile, a murderer of Salvador Allende, a socialist who was duly elected in Chile. (Ferdinand) Marcos in the Philippines and the Shah of Iran and the SAVAK where they [overthrew] (Mohammad) Mosaddegh in [1953] who was duly elected by the Iranian people and the CIA came and wiped him out and put in the Shah who was a murderer! And of course in Cuba, (Fulgencio) Batista, a murderer! Capitalist murderer! And here came Che Guevara and Fidel Castro. And then the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, they supported General Samoza in Nicaragua. A murderer! So America has always been on the side of murderous dictators, even Osama Bin Laden was Ronald Reagan's Afghani Freedom Fighter when Russia was in Afghanistan and Sadam Hussein was America's boy when they wanted him to fight against the Ayatollah Khomeini in the Iranian war.

So this is a hypocritical country and I've learned a lot of my political education from the Black Panther Party and that's why I still say I'm a Black Panther to my heart because in the 10-Point Program we talked about an immediate end to police brutality and exemption from us going to the military because we're not going to fight against countries and people of color abroad when we don't even have our freedom domestically and we fought for housing and clothing shelter and relevant education and this was all part of the 10-Point Program of the Black Panther Party which is still what I'm fighting for today.

Charles Barron Speaks On President Obama

Hip-Hop Wired:  How would you compare back then to now?

Councilman Charles Barron: That's an excellent question, I was just talking to my wife Inez, (New York) Assemblywoman. Where is the Black consciousness? Where is the conscious Rhythm & Blues stars?  We don't hear the message in the music, as much as people get on Hip-Hop.   Hip-Hop has some of the most radical revolutionary messages of all the music along with Reggae and even Calypso has more message than Rhythm & Blues.

There's no M-1's, there's no dead prez in Rhythm and Blues.  And then look at the athletes now, we don't have the John Carloses and the Tommie Smiths now.  Look at the actors, we don't some of the actors who, even Sammy Davis, Jr. was part of the Civil Rights Movement and Harry Belafonte. Now we have Danny Glover and that's about it.

And look at the elected officials, we don't have any more Adam Clayton Powells and Ben Smith who was a Black communist and was the second Black City Council member elected, so the mood today is that there aren't any movements that are prominent like a Civil Rights Movement, Black Power Movement.  Those don't exist so it's not influencing sports, entertainment and music and all those industries.

James Brown had to say: “I'm Black and I'm proud” because we had a Black Power Movement; a cultural nationalist movement, a Black pride movement.  Aretha Franklin had to say R-E-S-P-E-C-T calling for respect because that's what we were saying: “Respect our sisters, they're queens!”  And the music was reflective of the movements of those times. We don't have those kinds of movements. We need a Black consciousness movement in America in all our communities.

We need a cultural, Black arts movement, a cultural revolutionary movement. We can't be a post-racial society, we got to be pro our race, we got to be proud. We got to say we're a Black doctor, not a doctor that happens to be Black. We got to be a Black president, not a president that happens to be Black. This is a different time and I think we need to raise more Black consciousness and commitment to our liberation.

Charles Barron Fights To Have Street Named After Sonny Carson

Hip-Hop Wired:  During that time the Black Panthers were known to reach out directly to the artists, to be there at their concerts. Were you as aware of this practice, and what do you think that has as far as lessons today?

Councilman Charles Barron: That's what we need to do more of instead of just criticizing them on TV, making speeches against them. Call them up, sit down and talk to them. Like Cornel West does.  Like Michael Eric Dyson.  Sometimes different people are reaching out to the artists.  We need to do more of that because there's no movement that can influence them by themselves, so individuals have to reach out to them. Even in the Black Panther Party, Leonard Bernstein, he was a white man who was the conductor of the symphony orchestra in New York, gave the Panthers $10,000.

Marlon Brando went to the funeral of Little Bobby Hutton.   Little Bobby Hutton was the first Panther to die, 17-years-old.  He was shot by Oakland cops.  Jane Fonda was around the Panther movement. Sammy Davis Jr. respected the Panthers, couldn't do what they did but he respected them. So a lot of artists identified with the Black Panthers. We had a lot of that. What's missing today is that movement. People need to be proud to be Black.  Back to being proud to be African people. And then making sure that when we're in politics that you don't deemphasize your Blackness to quote unquote get over to make it, because when you lose your soul and your Africanness, no matter how much money you get, you're not making it.

Hip-Hop Wired:  What motivated you to run for office to begin with?

Councilman Charles Barron: Power. I was tired of demonstrating and screaming and hollering and watching people in power ignore us or do a little bit for us, give us some crumbs off the table.   I was in East New York protesting against them building a movie theater on Linden Boulevard, I had 200 people out there, media all over the place. ‘No Justice! No Peace!' Every day I came out here another brick went up. How did this happen? Well, the city councilman has the power to determine what's built on city owned property, and the city councilman signed off on it while we were demonstrating. To me, that's power and if we would've gotten the city council member to support us and not signed off on it, it still wouldn't have been our power that would've been influence.

There's a difference between influence and power when you have to march and scream and holler to persuade people in power to make decisions that are in your best interest, that's influence. When you have that seat, that's power.  When I found out that, I went for that seat, got the seat now I got me a little power.  They have to respect me differently. They don't care if I'm a Panther.  When I said I'm not an Ex-Panther, I'm still a Panther to my heart, no matter what I say and do.  White men with money that want to develop something in East New York have to come see me with respect and affordable housing or else it won't get done because I got a little power to influence that.

Charles Barron Speaks On Visit To Gaza

Hip-Hop Wired:  You've always referred to yourself as an elected activist, how did you come about embracing this title as opposed to being an “elected official?”

Councilman Charles Barron: Whatever I do in life I am first and foremost a revolutionary, an activist, a freedom fighter.  Whatever profession I ever would have gotten into, if I were to become a doctor I would be a revolutionary doctor, a freedom fighter doctor, a radical doctor, an activist doctor.

Because I think that whatever we do in life, (unless we get involved in this movement to radically change America so that we have a foreign policy that is not imperialistic and have a domestic policy that is not an exploitative capitalistic policy and unless we embrace the continuation of our Black Power movement, our Civil Rights Movement, our Black Nationalist Movement our Cultural Nationalist Movement,) every generation has to have these movements or else we're in trouble.

It'll be a misguided generation. So when you come into this 21^st century and you look at the artists, you don't see the same connections to the Black Power Movement and the Civil Rights Movement that some of the artists were in the 60's.  And when you look at our athletes you don't see them raising their black glove clenched fists to the American flag, they're wrapping themselves in the American flag as they run around an take their little victory trots. So I want to continue to always be an activist to always be revolutionary and to always be radical no matter what I do.

Hip-Hop Wired:  What advice would you give to the Hip-Hop generation?

Councilman Charles Barron: Hip-Hop generation, I would encourage them to be like Andre T. Mitchell.  He has a group called Hip-Hop Stand Up and Vote (Hip Hop SUV). Get involved in American electoral politics. We need to have Hip-Hop candidates, Hip-Hop congressmen, Hip-Hop councilmen, Hip-Hop assemblymen.  I think the Hip-Hop community needs to get in seats of power, raise the consciousness fight for those things like jobs, health care, education and housing for our youth because I'm so fearful that our youth are out here.

How are they going to afford a house and get a living wage job and get beyond survival so they can fight for their liberation? We have a dual struggle out here; a struggle for survival and a struggle for liberation. Most of our people are in the struggle for survival they don't even want to hear about no liberation. So, the Hip-Hop community can reach millions of people that many of us can't reach and if they empower them to get involved in electoral politics and I'm not talking about supporting somebody else: support yourself!

Run candidates, we have this organization called Operation P.O.W.E.R. (People Organizing and Working for Empowerment and Respect) where we're training people on how to win elections. We've done that. And how to deliver to your community after you've won.  We've done that also.  And how to stay Black, radical and conscious and still be involved in this process. We've done that as well. So that would be my message to the Hip-Hop community, we need to seize power and seize the time that we're in and one of the best ways, I think, is through the electoral arena.

“Probably the most honest and true to kids in the hall album.” - Double O

Debuting back in 2006 with School Was My Hustle, the duo known as Kidz In The Hall have continued to find more innovative ways to establish their particular stance within Hip-Hop.

Emerging during the hipster movement, the two were misrepresented and thrown in that circle due to Chicago rapper Naledge's thought-provoking lyrics and New Jersey producer Double-O's, against the grain, selection in beats.

On the third outing, however, KITH look to finally present themselves in their truest form.  Dropping Land Of Make Believe today, it is as though they are back for the first time.

Peep the interview after the jump. [More]

HipHopWired was able to speak with Kidz In The Hall to get some insight on their project with Naledge comparing the process to meeting a girl on Facebook.

“My synopsis; First album was a picture on Facebook of a girl. You look at the thumbnail, she's cute, let me send a friend request.  Second album, alright I've seen her at a party, the pictures are real she actually is cute in person. This album is like [you got her], you woke up in the morning, what happened? After that, now it's like now what, once you get past the superficialness of just liking someone?  It's like, to have longevity you have to have something that stands out for people to connect with and we do have personalities, we do have lives and a story to tell.”

With the first single, the duo has gone in different directions for each album and Double O spoke on the process in finding that first single.

“Honestly, the first, it's always whatever speaks to us, it's that intangible magic that you find in that record and that's kind of what begins the process.”

Starting from “Wheelz Fall Off” to “Drivin Down The Block” and now with “Jukebox”, each album has been set up for the next and the duo promises that the third offering will no longer leave any questions as to who they actually are.

Call it full circle

]]> http://hiphopwired.com/2010/03/10/hhwired-exclusive-kidz-in-the-hall-drop-%e2%80%9cland-of-make-believe%e2%80%9d-today/feed/ 0 Justin T. Stewart http://hiphopwired.com/2010/03/10/industry-spotlight-matt-alonzo/ http://hiphopwired.com/2010/03/10/industry-spotlight-matt-alonzo/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:43:01 +0000 Danielle Canada http://hiphopwired.com/?p=31001 ]]> Matt Alonzo is a video director, producer and Skee TV affiliate well known for the colorful visions he brings to life in his cinematic masterpieces.

Responsible for the likes of videos like Soulja Boy's "Turn My Swag On" and the New Boyz' "You're A Jerk", Matt Alonzo manages to mesh the essence of the artist with the message in the music.

This visionary sat down with HipHopWired to tell us how he studied his craft, his plans to make his first feature film and how he met DJ Skee, the man that would change his life forever.

Peep the interview after the jump

HipHopWired: What made you want to get into being a video director?

Matt Alonzo: Basically I wanted to bring the song, elevate songs to another level, I had written in my head when I was listening to music and I always wanted to put those images to canvas and he happened to find me and it all worked out.

HipHopWired: Tell me about your initial meeting with Skee, how'd you get hooked up with Skee TV?

Matt Alonzo: I had put out a Lil Wayne concert video got about a million views on you tube, Skee saw that, he actually hit me up, we connected and had a good meeting and I think two weeks after that we were shooting our fist video for Snoop Dogg and Korrupt and Terrance Martin.

HipHopWired: A lot of people think it's kind of easy to get into being a video director, but would you agree that it takes years to really study to at least get good at like you are.

Matt Alonzo: Definitely, before I went to film school I thought the exact same thing. I thought it was just grab a camera and film but once I went to film school and broke it all down and studied motion pictures, I realized it's so much harder than that, there's so much that goes into it. A lot of people take it for granted but like you said it's something that's really hard. Some people out there with god given talent but you definitely have to study.

HipHopWired: How many years did you study?

Matt Alonzo: I started when I was about seven years old, my dad had a camera, I stayed home from school one day and I made my own movie with myself in it. I edited it with two VCRs and then it was over since then.

HipHopWired: For people that aren't familiar could you really break it down, in house music director, what does that entail?

Matt Alonzo: With Skee TV I do everything from directing music videos, editing music videos, also pre production get the song, sit down you write your visions, give them to the artist, go back and forth until you get something concrete. Hopefully they don't cancel and move around the dates but they always do, you shoot the video and I take it back and I edit and color it so it's a full package. I try to be as cohesive as possible, with everything that we do at Skee from the videos to the commercials to the trailers, everything.

HipHopWired: Tell me more about this full length feature film you guys are working on.

Matt Alonzo: Me and my buddy, Mike, assistant director, we're writing this movie it's basically an urban crash, it's about five people on the verge of hitting rock bottom and they all come to separate crossroads where they make a decision that they think is rational at the time and each person's decision affects the next person's outcome. It's like an urban “Crash”, we're definitely going to star some rap artists in it, hopefully some models and familiar faces, hopefully we can hit theatres, but if not worse case scenario straight to video and get something about there.

HipHopWired: Do you have an idea of who you want to cast in it?

Matt Alonzo: Any of the artists that we work with I'd love to work with, from Soujla boy to The Game, to Be Real, just to have all these faces in there, it'd be fun, and it'd be good for the urban society right now.

HipHopWired: You really kicked things off with the New Boyz with “You're A Jerk” video and Soulja Boy's “Turn My Swag On”, tell me a little bit about how you got started working with these younger artists.

Matt Alonzo: Well I've got to thank Skee and Skee TV for that, plus being able to work with all these young guys, they had a lot of good ideas; they were so much fun to work with. They bought so much energy to the set that it made our jobs easier, they're having fun we're having fun and the next thing you know the day is over with, so when that happens, usually it's magic. Those three videos were by far my favorite sets.

HipHopWired: What would be the difference in approach you would take with the New Boyz video or Soulja Boy or one you would do with The Game or The Clique?

Matt Alonzo: What we try to do at Skee TV we try to make sure that we figure out who the target market is, New Boyz we knew that a lot of the younger kids were looking at it, they like the bright colors. For Game we knew that a lot of the urban crowd would be looking at it so we gave them a little bit more gritty hard core film grain. With the Clipse and Kardinall it was very clean and flashy for the club people, so we give everybody a spectrum of videos that meet everybody's tastes.

HipHopWired: In the coming yer who are the other artists that you want to work with this year for videos?

Matt Alonzo: I would definitely like to work with Soulja Boy, Game and New Boyz, when they're ready, we're ready for them. Drake, Young money we'll take it all. We'll just take it as it comes and hopefully we'll get some big names as the year progresses.

HipHopWired: A lot of people argue that videos aren't really helping record sales these days especially with all the leaks and illegal downloads. So with that being said, how important do you feel videos still are to the music?

Matt Alonzo: Personally, I don't think anything is selling records right now but if anything is going to get a buzz about a song, it's going to be the video or the trailer. If you listen to some songs you might not even like them the first time you hear them but if you match them with some dope visuals, people start getting into it. They start forwarding it to their friends and the whole movement takes off from there, so a good video can go really far. Obviously like I said records are not selling but it can still do a lot for your ring tones and anything else that you're selling.

HipHopWired: When you're coming up for a treatment for a video, what do you take into account when you're putting it all together?

Matt Alonzo: You listen to the song and you try to go with whatever comes first to mind, we like to break it down and see who the audience is and who's going to be watching it and make sure they like it. We try to make sure we target it for the right audience. That's my main focus. Try to make the best video that we can for the budget and the limitations that we have.

HipHopWired: For 2010, what is your ultimate goal for your videos?

Matt Alonzo: For music videos or just overall?

HipHopWired: Music videos.

Matt Alonzo: For Skee TV to win an MTV music video award, that would make the year worthwhile.

HipHopWired: And the ultimate goal for yourself?

Matt Alonzo: To get on the feature film train as soon as possible, that's the overall goal.

]]> http://hiphopwired.com/2010/03/10/industry-spotlight-matt-alonzo/feed/ 0 Danielle Canada MattAlonzoReel MattAlonzoCloseup MattAlonzoandTheNewBoyz MattAlonzoCamera MattAlonzoScarf http://hiphopwired.com/2010/03/09/birdman-speaks-on-lil-waynes-jail-sentence-speaks-on-cash-moneys-dominance/ http://hiphopwired.com/2010/03/09/birdman-speaks-on-lil-waynes-jail-sentence-speaks-on-cash-moneys-dominance/#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:10:21 +0000 Michael "Ice-Blue" Harris http://hiphopwired.com/?p=31041 ]]> Hip-Hop Wired recently caught up with The Birdman as he discussed his new project “Priceless” as well as Cash Money being a dominant force in Hip-Hop now for over 15 years.

He also speaks on their game plan and how Cash Money and Young Money plan to move and hold Lil Wayne down while on his forced vacation.

Also click here as Mack Maine weighs in on running Young Money while Weezy is away.

Peep more footage after the jump. [More]

The iam Hip-Hop Showcase also featured performances by former Outkast protege Slimm Calhoun, Cali Stylz, Playboy Tre and J. Wells.

100% of the proceeds were donated to UigNite Haiti. Peep some of the show footage below of Rock City and Archie as well as UigNite Haiti President/Founder Jenny Marie Madere speaking on the event and the cause being used to help the earthquake victims.

Peep More Video Footage After the Jump. [More]