Why is public option for the health care reform plan being debated?

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Sly Fox On Obama

To all those who pay attention to the news itself and not just Nas Lyrics, this your proof. No offense to Nas in fact, I thank him for putting this type of biased BS out there once again. Watch this clip I found on youtube.com and we can see where FOX and other news stories distort things to serve as a means to get ratings and viewers by any means needed. Watch, listen, and take note, then get off your ass and do something....other then shake it at the club.




Get registered to vote and find out how you get your point across!!!

Los Angeles County is Taken to Task

Los Angeles County is Taken to Task
AMW !.e. Talent: Dj Single Handed
Oct. 1 2007

I have written several stories about concerts featuring rap artists getting cancelled by venue management due to "offensive music," "security hazards," and other prejudice-driven reasons. I now have the pleasure of writing about one of these firms being taken to task.

Los Angeles County has been hit with an $800,000 lawsuit by Imagine Media Group LLC, a concert promotions firm in San Diego. The Imagine Media-promoted Funkmaster Flex Car & Bike Show was supposed to take place this past August at the L.A. County Fair Association-operated Pomona Fairplex. Along with the car and bike expo, the show was to feature performances, most likely by rap artists like the ones Funkmaster Flex plays in the clubs and on his radio show on New York City's Hot 97.

The lawsuit claims that the concert was cancelled by L.A. County Fair Association COO James Henwood because he finds rap music "offensive." He along with VP of Sales and Marketing Dwight Richards are said to have cancelled the concert "under the guise of unjustifiable public safety grounds."

Imagine Media lost over $800,000 because of the cancellation and are suing on the grounds of First and Fourteenth Amendment violations.

Allow me to explain why this case could be huge if it is taken to court and use the United States Constitution to explain why.

The first amendment prohibits, among other things, laws that infringe the freedom of speech and limit the right to assemble peaceably. I am in agreement that the cancellation of the concert and contractual agreement did violate these rights.

The fourteenth amendment makes the stakes in this case even higher. The Constitution says that "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Imagine Media is asserting that their civil rights where violated. The L.A. County Fair Association's decision to cancel the show was made in the same prejudiced spirit as all other organizations canceling concerts with rap artists involved. Equal rights and equal protection should apply even to the purveyors of "offensive" music.

If justice is served in this case, then it should send a message to all the other venues who have reneged on a contractual agreement on the grounds of baseless blanket critiques of hip-hop music. I hope to be the bearer of a good news-filled update in a future column.

Sources: Allhiphop.com, United States Constitution

Rev. Yearwood: Another Victim of Democracy

Rev. Yearwood: Another Victim of Democracy
AMW !.e. Talent: Single Handed
Sept. 15, 2007


On Monday, September 10, the current version of “democracy” in this great country of ours scored another point by breaking the legs of and arresting a voice of peace.

A Congressional hearing on Capitol Hill took place, and one of the attendees was Rev. Lennox Yearwood, the president of the Hip Hop Caucus. According to a televised interview conducted by activist organization Democracy Now!, Rev. Yearwood explained that he was there to report back the results of the hearing to his community. His overarching goal was to make the actions of the government visible to his younger constituents to encourage them to get involved and work within the system, such as registering to vote. He pointed out that many of his younger supporters don’t trust the system to begin with.



YouTube displayed the results of his actions for all to see: he was wrestled to the ground by Capitol Hill police, which resulted in him tearing ligaments in his legs, arrested, and charged with “assaulting an officer.”

The video showed Rev. Yearwood repeatedly asking the police officers who confronted him: “why am I being singled out?” His conduct was not what could be considered by any means of the word “disorderly.” He did not use any form of violence, and he was not showing any form of resistance even when the police repeatedly told him to “stop resisting.” His only resistance came in the form of questioning why the officers were doing this to him to begin with.

I can tell you what he did wrong. He was a familiar face to the police, which he admitted during the aforementioned interview, and known to them as a peace activist. He was wearing a white button that read “I love the people of Iraq.” He is a black man. Let’s put that all together now: a black man known for expressing dissent towards the government. Peaceful tactics or not, that’s still illegal in today’s version of democracy.

Normally, I would feel slightly redundant since this apparently happened almost a week before I’m reporting on it. I just flat out didn’t find out about it until today, Saturday, September 15. I’m a regular viewer of the news, mostly from the networks and newspapers, and I searched on Google for this story. I only found coverage on independent media outlets and people’s blogs. I find it amazing that this injustice didn’t get the widespread coverage that it deserves, but on the other hand, I’m not naïve enough to be surprised.

One thing that I noticed in the video that hasn’t been pointed out in other articles was the arrest of someone else while Rev. Yearwood was on the ground. People started yelling out “Arrest Bush, not the Rev.!” After a few rounds of chants, the camera cut away to a woman in a yellow shirt with a big peace sign being taken away in handcuffs. Though I can’t substantiate it for sure, it looked as though another woman was handcuffed as well.

So folks, this is what democracy looks like. I’m sorry I was unable to bring myself to cover the 50 Cent vs. Kanye West phenomenon (even though I’ve been rooting for Kanye). I just don’t care anymore. There are more important things to worry about. Spread the word, and feel free to leave a comment on this article.

Sources: Democracy Now, Hiphopdx.com, YouTube

The Most Disgusting and Embarrassing Beef of All Time

The Most Disgusting and Embarrassing Beef of All Time
AMW !.e. Talent: Andrea M. White
August 15, 2007


A few weeks ago I wrote and article expressing my admiration for rapper David Banner and the work that he has done and is currently doing for the youth in his Mississippi hometown. And although I do not wish to retract that statement, I do wish that I had known about the statements made between the rapper and political activist and pastor, Rev. Al Sharpton.

Apparently, during an interview with SOHH.com, Banner was asked to comment on the civil rights leader’s plan for protests, calling for public divestment from the music industry until rappers stop using the words “bitch,” “ho” and “nigger” in rap lyrics. This is direct backlash from what I call The Imus Effect and it seems to be turning our political activists against our rappers and entertainers.

In response to Sharpton’s plan for protest, Banner was quoted as saying, “The next time you see Al Sharpton, tell him I said f*ck him and he can suck my di*k, I might change the name of my album from ‘The Greatest Story Never Told’ to ‘F*ck Al Sharpton.” What?! Is he serious? I’m scratching my head as I read on. He continues to talk about how they’re trying to crucify rappers and how Sharpton is a ‘permed out pimp’, etc, etc. The more I read, the more my stomach curls into a knot; and just when I think I can’t take anymore, someone from Sharpton’s camp issues one of the most ignorant responses ever recorded.

Kirsten John-Foy, a self-proclaimed leader of Sharpton’s National Action Network refers to Banner by his real name, Levell Crump, in the following:

“From time to time we do encounter people that have sexual fantasies about Reverend Al Sharpton, but they are always women and Crump’s proposition is a first,” says Foy. “However, in keeping with the National Action Network’s Decency Initiative, I am sure Rev. Sharpton would not call Crump the “N” “B” or “H” word. And, despite Crump’s personal request, I am sure Reverend Sharpton would not call him a f-g--t. He would just pray for him. We at NAN are pro civil rights for everyone, even Levell Crump who has not had a banner year since his debut album in 2003.”

Did I really just read this? Is this a lame joke? This is not only an intellectually weak response, it is an embarrassment that THIS statement is coming from a Civil Rights Organization whose role should be to rise above any naysayer and not wallow with them in times of ignorance.

It’s amazing that African Americans have such a hard time combating crime, violence and poverty but we do such a great job combating ourselves. We are our own worse enemy. We are our own dirty laundry.

Music artists and civil rights leaders and politicians are some of the black community’s most influential communicators of today; and until WE all get on the same page and move in the same direction, 20 years from now they’ll be calling my daughter a ho and we will continue this road to destruction; then who will we blame?

Rock the Vote….Somewhere Else

Rock the Vote….Somewhere Else
AMW !.e. Talent: DJ Single Handed
August 15, 2007

As much as I can’t stand continually writing about this issue, I feel a responsibility to keep on bringing it up since something has to be done about it. Another rapper has caused a show to be cancelled because of a “blanket condemnation of hip-hop” (words used by author of The Hip Hop Generation Bakari Kitwana on a segment with Bill O’Reilly).

Nas was supposed to headline a Rock the Vote concert in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada which was to encourage attendees to vote in the October 10 Ontario elections. The concert was scheduled to take place October 1 at the Ottawa Congress Centre. However, Rock the Vote and student sponsors from Carleton University and the University of Ottawa are looking for a new venue since the Congress Centre no longer wishes to host the event.

Conflicting stories have been given to student representatives from the universities. Spokeswoman Lynne Martichenko said the centre is designed for meetings, trade shows, conventions, and congresses of that nature. A concert would not be suitable for the set-up of the building. This explanation makes the most sense.

Peter Seguin, the vice president of food and beverage, spoke of the Congress Centre’s internal policy banning rappers altogether due to them bringing “an increased security risk” and “a vulnerability that the Congress Centre was not willing to take on.”

Paul Keogh, vice president of client services, reasoned that because Nas’ lyrics “promote gun violence,” the centre could not hold the show. I know that somewhere right now, Bill O’Reilly is smiling. Obviously somebody not only heard his tirade about Nas’ scheduled appearance at a concert at Virginia Tech honoring the shooting victims, but also took it to heart.

Banning one of the most positive rap artists left in the industry is a fantastic idea. O’Reilly cited the songs “Got Urself a Gun” (which was all braggadocio and no actual encouragement of violence) and “Ether” (a battle rap which by nature is all braggadocio and contains no actual encouragement of violence). This type of song makes the occasional appearance in a catalog filled with positive, uplifting songs (see “Black Girl Lost”, “If I Ruled the World”, and “I Can”) and compositions painting unbiased pictures of life on the streets (see “New York State of Mind”, “One Love”, and “One Mic”).

So, where are the songs that actually encourage gun violence? And why on earth would anyone think Nas would be dumb enough to perform “Got Urself a Gun” at a memorial to shooting victims?

Rock the Vote organizers are currently looking for another venue to hold the show in Canada, and Nas is still scheduled to perform at Virginia Tech despite complaints to university officials from families of the shooting victims. Score two victories for the Illmatic one.

The next time a rapper gets banned from a show due to lyrics that promote gun violence, I hope the rapper actually spits lyrics that promote gun violence. Gangsta rap has been out of the mainstream for quite sometime now. Hopefully anti-rap protesters and conservative pundits alike will leave that issue alone and complain about crass commercialism in hip-hop. Now that’s a constructive idea!