FNV NEWSLETTER
August 28 2002
In this week's issue
*Snoop Gives Up Alcohol & Weed
*Michael Franti & Mystic Hook Up For Peace Concert
*Underground Poets Step Up
*KRS-One Makes Moves w/Prophets vs Profits
*Mountain Brothers Set to Blow Up
*[Foxy Brown, Lil Kim, Eve, Tribe Called Quest, Jahi]
*Boots Set to Teach at Oakland High School
*Riot at Rock Concert.. Will We Shut Them Down?
*Shorty of Da Lench Mob Speaks out by Craig Smith
SEE HHPN addition to this FNV newsletter...
The FNV Newsletter c 2002
Send comments to
mrdaveyd@aol.com
peep the websites
www.daveyd.com
www.rapstation.com
===========================
News Shorts...
SNOOP GIVES UP ALCOHOL & WEED
Snoop Dogg has gone on record to say that he will be giving up weed
and alcohol. He noted that these substance cloud his vision. He says
he has no regrets for what he's done in the past but now he's ready to
call it a day.... mmmmm. Now I'm not trying to hate or anything, but
we heard cats say all sorts of things about quitting or staying away
from drugs and the suddenly change their minds. The most glaring is
Snoop's rhyme partner Dr Dre. If folks recall he made that bold
statement about the dangers of smoking chronic and then went on to
make two classic albums with that as the theme as well as the hugely
successful 'Up In Smoke Tour'...Will Snoop eventually flip flop on
this issue? Also as he gives up alcohol and weed will he also give up
his 'pimp'/ Mack daddy persona? I'm sure there are a lot of sistas
who would be happy if he did....
=============================
SCARFACE SHUT DOWN BY HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
Speaking of giving up stuff, Mr. Scarface will have to give up the
hectic pace one often finds themselves in while partaking in the music
biz. He will also have to give up fatty foods and unhealthy eating
habits. Last week Scarface found himself sitting in a hospital with a
dangerously high blood pressure count. He was 194 over 127 [one
should be below 140] which means that he was close to having a stroke.
As we know High blood pressure is one of the leading causes of death
among African Americans. It often has no visible signs which means
one could have it and not know. In the past year there have been a
number of people connected to this music industry who have gotten sick
and even died due to complications connected to high blood pressure
and heart disease. All of us would do ourselves some good to take a
closer listen to some of the health oriented songs put out by artists
like dead prez and KRS-One. [remember that classic song 'Beef'?]
=========================
MICHAEL FRANTI & MYSTIC HOOK UP FOR PEACE CONCERT
Props go out to Michael Franti of Spearhead as he gets ready to
mobilize and bring people together for his 4th annual 9-11 Fest.
Every year in September he puts on a free concert in the Park to bring
attention to Peace and Social Justice causes as well as the fight to
Free Mumia... In the past it was known as 9-11 Festival. This year
his annual concert for will go on but the name 9-11 Fest is being
downplayed for obvious reasons. However the line up and the cause
'Power to the Peaceful' is being highlighted. On the bill will be
Mystic, Jello Biafra and some surprise superstar guests. In the past
everyone from The Coup to Digital Underground to Talib have performed.
The concert usually draws around 10 thousand people. Last year it was
so large as more then 15 thousand folks showed up. Hence the event
had to be moved from Dolores Park in San Francisco's historic Mission
District to Golden Gate Park which is the Bay's equivalent to Central
Park. Currently Franti is on tour with Tre Hard of the Pharcyde and
is promoting the event. An estimated 20 thousand people are expected
to show up.. All this is going down Sunday September 7th 11 am -6pm
at Speedway Meadows in Golden Gate Park For more info:
http://www.spearheadvibrations.com/
====================
UNDERGROUND POETS STEP UP
For those who wish to support some good causes and cannot attend 9-11
Power to the Peaceful Event, you may want to look out for the upcoming
'Underground Poets Railroad' tour. This tour will feature spoken word
artists and hip hop artists whop are hitting the road to raise money
for the families of African American firefighters who died during last
years terror attacks. The tour kicks off in Hattiesburg, Mississippi
with planned stops in Atlanta, Washington DC and NYC. Artist such as
Jazzy Jeff, Doug E Fresh, Biz Markie and Professor Griff are all
scheduled to participate... In addition to the tour will be a movie
that will feature Bubba Sparxx, Jermaine Dupri, Fabolous and many
others...
====================
KRS-ONE MAKES MOVES w/ PROPHETS VS PROFITS
As KRS-One and the Temple of Hip Hop gear up for their 'Response to
9-11 Conference', folks may want to look out for what is obviously
KRS's best album in a long time. 'Prophets vs. Profits'. It's a 14
song underground LP where KRS simply shines.. He has two joints that
really stand out and make you appreciate his brilliance- 'My People'
and 'Womenology' which pays tribute to sistas and is a welcome breath
of fresh air at a time when so many women are being dissed. Lastly
KRS has updated his Declaration of Peace, which was a document that
more then 400 artists signed a couple of years ago and was unveiled
during Hip Hop Appreciation Week at the United Nations.
As for the 9-11 conference, here's the official invite:
Join us on September 11, 2002, for an informative Hiphop discussion
about the events of 9/11/01. The conference, entitled "An 'I' On
Terror," will feature discussions about Hiphop's responsibility toward
the prevention of terror. Prominent speakers from Hiphop Kulture,
political organizations, and mass media will assemble at the Roosevelt
Hotel on Wednesday, September 11, 2002 from 6-9 p.m., at 7000
Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, CA.
Let's come together to discuss Hiphop and its significance to the
world. Let 's examine the part we play regarding freedom from
violence. Let's establish advice and protection for the existence and
development of our Hiphop community. Please be sure to RSVP in order
to receive an official press pass. The contact information is above.
Also, please attend the post-press conference on the day of the event.
We are looking forward to seeing you there. There it is. The Temple
of Hiphop www.templeofhiphop.org/818-832-8355
======================
MOUNTAIN BROTHERS MAKING MOVES
Good news y'all!!! Mountain Brothers are in negotiations with a
number of labels, getting ready to release the follow up to their
critically acclaimed independent LP "Self, Vol. 1", hopefully by
year's end. After much hard work, the music is ready and the next
phase of global takeover is preparing for launch. New website, new
album, new label! We are looking for street team and online street
team members to help us get the word out!!! Reach out to
info@mountainbrothers.com for info!
Producer/lyricist CHOPS (phillyhiphop.com's Producer of the Year) has
been hard at work on his album for Vocab Records. This LP will focus
on CHOPS's unique behind-the-boards skills, complete with original
instrumental compositions as well as featured artists including
Raekwon, Mystic, Talib Kweli, Ras Kass, 2MC (Grand Agent and Chops),
Mountain Brothers of course, Bahamadia, and others!!!
CHOPS and Mountain Brothers are now managed by MBE, the same company
who handles DJ Jay-Ski (Philly's #1 DJ, WPHI mixshow director), and DJ
Spinbad (POWER 105, Moby, Dido). Expect BIG THINGS to come from this
new addition to the family...
For more info, PEEP some of the latest interviews with CHOPS, and see
what's crackin!!!
http://www.phillyhiphop.com/history/chopsinterview.htm
http://www.alphabeats.com/interviews/producers/chops.htm
============================
HIP HOP NEWS SHORTS...
Some things to check for....
Foxy Brown is back on the scene with a soon to be released new album
called 'Ill Na Na pt2 The Fever'. She is reported to to have hooked
up with Anita Baker to dothe song 'The Letter pt2'. As you recall she
did 'The Letter pt 1' with Ron Isley.
---------------
Foxy's rival Lil Kim is also working on her new album 'HollyHood' She
is reported to have completed 18 tracks and will feature guests
appearances from Jay-Z, Method Man, DR Dre and Styles. We also hear
that Eminem may also be on this LP as well. If thats not enough Lil
Kim is set to do a movie called 'Guns & Roses'. She also has a
clothing line that's about to drop.
-------------------------
Eve has been making moves. Fiest we got a chance to see her for a
couple of lines in the movie XXX starring Vin Diesel. Then we get to
her do her 'do tha damn thang' in the new Ice Cube flick Barbershop.
Her new album 'Evolution' is making noise and if thats not enough
she's featured on the cover of Essence magazine talking about her new
clothing line 'Fetish'.
---------------------
Word around town is that Tribe Called Quest have gotten back together
and have thus far completed 7 cuts on their reunion project...
Arrested Development has gotten back together .. In fact they
performed here in San Francisco last weekend and stopped through the
show. Speech has just released a new album called Spiritual People...
Now if we can just get X-Clan, NWA and Organized Konfusion to
return....
------------------
Major shout outs are in order to Jahi who is based in Washington DC.
He's been putting it down for a number of years and now all is hard
work is starting to bubble over. For those who don't know, Jahi in
addition to being one of DC's most talented and gifted artists, has
also been a community activist who has designed curriculm that deals
with Hip Hop and HIV/AIDs Prevention. In fact he was part of the
successful BET campaign to 'Wrap It Up'.
Currently Jahi is making noise with popular songs like 'Neva The Same'
which addresses issues related to 9-11. He also has another song
called 'Beautiful One's' which pays tribute to Black women. If that's
not enough he's just finished filming a documentary titled
"Redefinitions" which focuses on street life, Hip Hop and politics.
He will be premiering the documentary this upcoming weekend in DC.
For more info peep out his website at Jahiphop.com or drop him an
email at onefament@hotmail.com
Upcoming Shows September 19th, 2002 w/Public Enemy, Dilated Peoples,
and Blackalicious at Nation in Washington, DC September 20th, 2002
w/Dead Prez at the Interactive Hop Hop conference in Boston, Ma
September 27th, 2002 Jahi live at The Ritz in Washington, DC (national
act to be announced) Listening Party at Benefit Concert for Justice.
========================
RIOT AT ROCK CONCERT WILL WE SHUT THEM DOWN
Is it me or did anyone notice endless articles and zealous news
reporting about the riots that took place at the Leeds Music Festival
last week? This was a concert that drew 50 thousand people and
featured acts like Pulp, The Strokes, Ash, Foo Fighters and Guns N'
Roses. As the concert ended fans began rioting, and torching the
place. There are reports that the flames reached as high as 40
feet... and that more then 200 police were called. Some of the
police got injured and one man was found dead. This was the second
year in a row that violence has plagued the music festival...
While the fans were rioting at rock concerts in Leeds halfway around
the world in Argentina, fans were rioting at a soceer match. The game
between was interrupted twice as police squadrons were called in to
quell things down.. Since 1930 more then 150 people have been killed
at Argetinian soceer matches.
Now I will be interested in seeing if Atlantic City officials would be
'concerned about the safety of concert goers' and try and ban any
event that includes the acts that were featured during the Leeds
Musical festival riots...? Will we have long winded editorials in
local newspapers dissing Hip Hop and all its violent tendancies while
turning a blind eye and a def ear to violence that seems to take place
on large scale levels at rock concerts?
=========================
BOOTS TO TEACH AT OAKLAND HIGH SCHOOL
As the start of the school year draws closer, the city of Oakland is
buzzing with the new teacher set to join the ranks and help turn
things around for the students. Boots Riley, lead rapper of the Coup
will be doing double duty this year. On weekends you may find him in
the studio or on stage turning out a show. During the week from
8am-3pm you will find Boots wiping chalk from his huge afro as he
teaches his high school class 'The Social Justice Issues of Hip Hop'.
Students will be presented a rigorous course that will examine the
economic and social conditions here in the US that have accompanied
and impacted the development of Hip Hop.
The school Boots will be teaching at is a new school set up by the
city of Oakland called 'The School for Social Justice and Community
Development'. It is located at the Family Life Center in the heart of
East Oakland on the campus grounds owned by Allen Temple Baptist
Church. For those who are unfamiliar Allen Temple is one of the
city's largest churches and most influential churches in the Bay Area.
The Principal of this new school is recent Mayoral candidate and
former Oakland City Council member Wilson Riles Jr.
Boots and Riles will have their hands full as this new school will be
dealing with some of Oakland's hardest to reach, 'at risk' kids. Many
will be coming from neighboring Castlemont High which in recent years
has been deemed one of Oakland's most notorious schools. Riles
explained that the curriculum will take a deeper look at the subject
matter the youth are required to study and it will be made relevant to
the political and social realities facing them. This new school will
not be a place where folks simply remember facts and figures and
regurgitate them out to the teacher. They intend to really develop
self sustaining thinking and analytical skillz.
Now many are probably wondering if Boots the rapper can handle the
challenge of teaching. For those who know Boots it's an emphatic
'Hell Yeah'. I remember a few years ago when Hip Hop and youth
organizations came together and fight against California's Juvenile
Crime Bill-Prop 21, Boots was a main organizer who did what many
politicians and even activist simply refused to do. He would go into
some of Oakland's roughest neighborhoods and spend time talking to
young 'thugged out' cats. He would give 'political education
classes'. I bore witness as he managed to get hardened street cats
politicized and active in the struggle. Boots noted that he did not
want people joining any sort of struggle ill prepared, so he along
with cats like the late graf artist Mike 'Dream' and members of the
Black Dot Collective put in hard work reaching out to the
'unreachable' with teach ins, community forums, one on one mentoring
sessions and a community newsletter. They spent a considerable amount
of time working with local street rappers.
After these young artist were brought up to speed and familiar with
the issues at hand, Boots rented out a flat bed truck and would take
these young artist and do impromptu concerts in the streets of West
Oakland. Many of the cats that were taught went on to be viable,
articulate dynamic spokes people during the Prop 21 fight. Many of
the guys Boots reached out to, permanently changed their lives and to
this day they are out and about trying to make a change in their
community.
Prior to the Prop 21 fight, Boots had struck a major chord when he
organized the Mau Mau Rhythm Collective. This was a popular
edutainment/academic/ social justice program which used the arts and
Hip Hop as a tool to educate people. This was all being done in the
late 80s early 90s and was one of the first programs of its type in
entire the country. Over the years Boots has done everything from
organize Book drives to put together community forums to organize
large scale rallies all in the name of educating the community. He
also taught classes over at the La Pena Cultural Center called Art and
Organizing. As he gears up to bring put all this wisdom to a formal
classroom setting, I see the subject matter he discusses resonating with his
students. If we look at the political conditions and climate that initially
gave birth to Hip Hop expression in the of the early 70s, then you see
that Boots will have more then enough to talk about.
For starters,during that time period in the early 70s, we're talking
about New York City experiencing the worse fiscal crisis in American
history, the passing of the Rockefeller drug laws and President Nixon
declaring a 'War on Youth'. Very few kids will turn a deaf hear to
the discussions around those aforementioned topics. If Boots decides
to look at the social political conditions that gave rise to Hip Hop
here in Cali, he will have them eating out the palm of his hand. As
he examines the politics during the time we had our 'Paid In Full era'
the 'Afrocentric/Message Rap era and now our Bling Bling era', he will
change lives for the better. Heck there are cats who are trying to
figure out how to simply audit this class just so they can be better
informed. Boots' class looks to be ground breaking. It also looks to
be a bright spot in a city that has now experienced a horrific crime
wave with more than 70 murders.
Principal Wilson Riles noted that; "Boots teaching a class is
phenomenal. His class the 'social justice issues of Hip Hop' are at
the core of young people learning things that are relevant and that
they are interested in and will be faced with in life." With Boots
becoming an Oakland school teacher, he joins the growing ranks of Hip
Hop artist turned teacher. Here in Oakland we have a number of folks
like; Hodari Davis of the group Bas Bombing Sounds. He used to teach
Afro studies as well as Hip Hop over at Berkeley High School. He now
teaches the Making Waves Program over at the Marin County school
district. Like Boots, Hodari deals with at risk kids.
Big Frank Red teaches class over in San Francisco to third graders...
A few years ago he put out an album 'I Smoke Mics'. He also works as
a sports reporter and he does a Hip Hop/Sports Talk show called The
Dungeon up in Sacramento. Supastar Quam Allah who has released a
number of songs on ABB Records, worked as a TA at UC Berkeley.
Another Oakland rapper Naru who released 3 albums including the
critically acclaimed 'Never Again Project' is an Oakland elementary
school teacher. Another school teacher is Rob Jackson is not only a
member of the Hip Hop Spoken Word group Black Dot Collective, he also
is down with the Oakland based rap crew Renaissance.
Juan Carlos aka The Original Aztec is another cat who was putting out
records while holding it down in the public schools of Hayward which
is right outside of Oakland. He worked as a counselor both for the
school district as well as La Familia Counseling center.
Kalil Jacob Fantuizzi although has never released an album is a long
time fixture on the Bay's Hip Hop scene. Not only is he a school
teacher, but while attending UC Berkeley he established the campus Hip
Hop club as well as its first Hip Hop class. Long time Hip Hopper
Brooklyn Williams runs her OGMC Hip Hop Education Program at
Castlemont High. before she came to there she was over at Berkeley
High. In addition to her on campus work, her organization OGMC has
held several annual Hip Hop Education Youth Conferences.
Nina Kahori another Hip Hopper was down with the Asian Hip Hop group
OS [Overseas Artists]. Before she hooked up with OS she ran for
Berkeley School Board during her senior year in high school and won
making her one of the city's youngest elected officials. This was
done in addition to her being a student teacher.
Aisha Bilal who is sister to Muhammed Bilal of MTV's Real World and
the rap group Midnight Voices, used to run the city of Oakland's
Edutainment Department. Here she put on forums and ran all sorts of
programs for youth that required her to teach and mentor...
Of course we have other established Hip Hop artists who are also
teachers like Defari who attended UC Berkeley along with Hodari Davis,
Superstar Quam Allah, and Beni B of ABB Records. We have Asheru out
of Washington DC as well as Jahi another DC based rapper who teaches.
If memory serves me correctly J-Live is also a school teacher. I'm
sure there are other Hip Hop artists who are rocking microphones as
well as holding it down in our nation's school system. There are
dozens of people all over the country who are down with Hip Hop who
teach class. I simply can not name them all off at this time...But we
give them much props for being on the front line with our kids and we
give props to Boots for stepping up and doing the hard work that so
many of us complain about but never ever do.. Boots will began
teaching his course sometime next week.
==================================
SHORTY OF DA LENCH MOB SPEAKS OUT
Ice Cube abruptly departed N.W.A in 1989 and embarked one of rap's
most remarkable solo journeys. Although his persona on record and
film was frequently that of a politically minded, grizzled L.A.
gangbanging vet, just like the hot-tempered character Doughboy he
portrayed in 1991's Boyz N' The Hood, the menacing individual Cube
produced on record was fictional. According to one man who knew him
during his 1990's heyday, O'Shea Jackson was often quiet and
reflective away from the microphone and never went through the
gangland battles claimed to experience in his recordings.
Contrary to his often rough and tumble guise, Ice Cube had a fairly
uneventful suburban upbringing in South Central Los Angeles, was a
solid student and short of some minor criminal acts, never joined a
gang. This information leads to the question of how Ice Cube
maintained his gangster image for legions of frequently rugged fans
that accepted his tales of urban violence as first hand accounts. Was
it the well-ironed khakis, glistening jheri curls, black baseball cap
and ominous scowl? Perhaps, but more importantly it was the people he
surrounded himself with.
In the post N.W.A. days, Ice Cube recruited folks who lived the life
he portrayed in song. One of these people was Shorty of the gold
selling rap trio Da Lench Mob, a one-time gangbanger who began his
criminal career as a teen and became a feared presence in L.A.'s
notorious Marvin Gangster Crips. Weed smoking, guzzling 40s, skirt
chasing and of course, hardcore violence were normal activities in his
existence.
After finishing up a robbery bid in California's Corcoran maximum
security state pen--also home to Charles Manson--Shorty got back with
an old pal, future Da Lench Mob member J-Dee. J-Dee had just returned
from a trip with Ice Cube to New York to record Cube's solo
full-length debut, Amerikkka's Most Wanted. Soon after in 1991,
Shorty finally met with Ice Cube through J-Dee who fraudulently told
Cube the two gangbangers were cousins. Not knowing much more than
what he saw on Yo! MTV Raps, Shorty assumed Cube was a gangbanger
like himself. "The style of dress that they had, you'd think, damn,
these niggaz gangbanging," Shorty said about N.W.A. and Cube from his
West Side L.A. home. "We went over to Cube's momma's house and I'm
sizing him up. I'm looking like, 'O.K.,'I don't know. It's a trip
how TV can lie to you. I'm like damn.
This dude is square as hell."
Square or not, Shorty leapt at an opportunity to tour with Cube as a
member of his security team on Cube's first series of solo concerts.
The early touring crew was deep-sometimes as many as twenty--and full
of Cube's Street Knowledge posse including Yo Yo, Sir Jinx, J-Dee,
T-Bone and Chilly Chill.
As Shorty tells it, a typical tour stop went like this: Shorty and
J-Dee would venture into the hoods and hang with local ghetto dwellers
representing Ice Cube, thereby validating Cube's gangster persona in
the absence of Cube himself. "This is something I grew up with all my
life," Shorty said. "Hanging around cutthroats and weed smokers and
heroin addicts, alcoholics. This is all we knew. So of course, any
state we go to, that's what we comfortable with.but Cube, it was
uncomfortable for him."
Shorty maintains that he and his pals legitimized Cube's gangster
character on tour. "We made it comfortable for Cube to go to these
states man. Because, now they seeing tattoos all over my back. They
seeing J-Dee's tattoos. They like damn. Keep in mind, everyone hear
about Crips and Bloods, but damn, when you like in Oklahoma or in
fucking Nebraska, they up front close talking to a Crip.It's like
damn. These Lench Mob niggaz is real."
According to Shorty, future thespian Ice Cube kept his rep through
what might be described as stellar acting. "Brother was never a
street dude man," he said. "He would never let nobody see him out of
character. Hear me? He would always be in character when you see
him."
Despite serving as Cube's shield from the public, Shorty didn't have a
problem with his methodology. "We wasn't really trippin' like 'Damn
homie, you using our image to capitalize on. We didn't trip because
we felt that it was family."
And of course, it was business. Shorty admits to being cool with the
situation because he was promised a record deal (Da Lench Mob released
two LPs on East West records) and the allure of seeing all of America
was too great to pass up for someone that rarely crossed the
California border.
Not only did Ice Cube utilize Shorty and J-Dee's gangland image, but
their battle tales as well. Shorty says during a flight from Dallas
after a gig with the Geto Boys, he and J-Dee told Cube about how some
of their out of town Crip brethren got into a St. Louis gang brawl.
"After landing, we walked through that tunnel thing," remembered
Shorty. "We walking. [Cube's] like 'Listen to this.' This dude's
like busts a whole rhyme. I'm like 'Damn nigga, you write pretty
fast. The story that we told, he just put it on paper."
That story became Cube's graphic gang laced track "My Summer Vacation"
on his Death Certificate LP. Shorty didn't have a problem with how
Cube got his info at the time, but now reconsiders, "I'm not tripping
on that shit. But I wish I would have man [laughs]. You know. I
would have cashed in on it.then I started really looking to the other
stuff and like damn. We're hustling, [he's] taking shit and writing,
putting our story on paper and capitalizing on it man. But that's
just how he was. None of the things that he ever kicked as far as in
the street, the ghetto stuff, he never did none of that man. None of
that."
Even with the way Cube used Shorty's background for his benefit,
Shorty remains thankful for his experience and the two LPs his group
Da Lench Mob put out. "I learned a lot from that dude," Shorty
admitted. "I love him to this day even though we got some unfinished
business we have got to deal on. By going on tour with him, it
changed my life completely around."
It was a change that involved becoming a Muslim in 1991 after a
lifetime of not even knowing what a Muslim was. The transformation
came after he befriended a Public Enemy soundman that toured with Cube
who introduced him to the Nation of Islam. This ultimately led to the
end of his gangbanging days and taking on the name of Jerome Muhammad.
On the music side, Da Lench Mob enjoyed gold selling success in 1992
with their first album Guerillas In Tha Mist, largely written by Ice
Cube. According to Shorty, their money wasn't properly divided
because other Ice Cube prot g s Yo Yo and Kam released albums that
didn't fare nearly as well. Additionally, the crew went through heavy
turmoil when J-Dee was arrested for attempted murder and eventually
landed in prison. Instead of disbanding, Da Lench Mob returned in
1994 with the poorly marketed and disappointingly received Planet of
Da Apes featuring a new member, Oakland based rhymer Maulkie. Shorty
says someone may have been trying to break up the group and one day
his anger over the unforgiving record biz and woes over music
friendships gone sour led him to want to "kill everybody at Street
Knowledge" with 100 rounds of ammunition at his side. Instead, he was
coincidentally called to his mosque and reflected on the situation in
tears.
Now in his mid thirties and having often scraped by financially in his
post Da Lench Mob days, Shorty is aiming for a comeback. He spent
several years in the late 90s learning the music business from people
like producer QDIII and Wendy Day of the Rap Coaltion. After a
lengthy industry education, he's releasing a solo album in September
called Short Stories on his own imprint, Bow Tie Entertainment. Among
the guests slated to appear are Coolio, one time Cube pal (and
frequent Cube critic) Kam, Boo Ya Tribe and RBX. His former partner
J-Dee continues to be housed in same California state prison that
Shorty himself was in and isn't due to come home until 2004. Shorty
has also commissioned L.A. marketing firm The Radio Bums to create a
website at http://www.dalenchmob.com and has multiple documentary film
projects in the works.
Although Shorty claims Da Lench Mob is owed over 1.5 million dollars
by Ice Cube and his former boss turned his back on the group when the
chips were down, he still has love for the man who put him in the
game. "If none of this had went down and J-Dee never went to jail,
we'd probably be some arrogant ass rappers to this day. It really
humbled me," Shorty said thankfully. Even with years of acrimonious
rap game experiences in tow, Shorty remains optimistic. "I'm not
bitter because I'm gonna get mine regardless."
Unfortunately, Cube's high profile perch has prevented the two from
speaking since L.A.'s 1997 hip-hop summit after the death of the
Notorious B.I.G. Nonetheless, he'd still like to see Cube dish out
some well-earned payback and "do what's right and take care of those
who helped you."
============================
The FNV Newsletter c 2002
Send comments to
mrdaveyd@aol.com
peep the websites
www.daveyd.com
www.rapstation.com
