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FNV NEWSLETTER #106
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November 5 2002
In This Week's Issue
* It's Going Down Today-Get Your Vote On
*Rappers Set to Remake Anti-Violence Song 'Self Destruction'
*NY Senate Honors Zulu Nation and Hip Hop Culture
*Feds Set To Intervene in Jam Master Jay Slayings
The FNV Newsletter c 2002
Send comments to
misterdaveyd@earthlink.net
peep the websites
www.daveyd.com
www.rapstation.com
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ITS GOING DOWN TODAY-GET YOUR VOTE ON!
by Davey D
Well folks... Today is Tuesday, November 5th 2002..
All I'm gonna say today is PLEASE VOTE.
I realize for many of y'all reading this the act of voting appears to
be a waste of time. Who wouldn't think that after the 2000 election?
Unfortunately, by NOT participating things will definitely get worse.
As I always say Being Non political is political. I often remind
those who are skeptical and like to point to the 2000 election as
their reason for not voting, that part of the problem was only 50% of
the folks bothered to show up and cast their ballots...The outcome
should've never been that close...There were a whole lot of folks
complaining that never bothered to go vote..
It's not like society's rules get changed and folks in power stop
pushing their agenda if we don't vote. They simply look out and say..
'Hey if these Hip Hoppers don't vote too bad.. more power for me. It
means they will not even consider your opinion when they start doing
crazy stuff like assembling Rap Task Forces in their police
departments or instructing the Federal government to start monitoring
our activities. [Note what is now happening with respect to Hip Hop
in the aftermath of the Jam Master Jay shooting and the Beltway sniper
shootings..].
Yes, we may not think it makes a difference and therefore it's a waste
of time, but guess what? When the few people who did vote put a guy
into office who wants us to go to war in Iraq, guess who's going to
fight? You! It don't matter whether you voted or not.. Whatever
laws get put on the books are gonna impact you. You can combat this
by either resisting these new laws and face going to jail where you
will possibly deal with stiffer sentences and longer jail time. Or
you can chin check cats by voting them in or out of office. Remember,
nowadays there are lots of elected officials who you never bothered to
vote against who are now passing new laws to make life harder for
you..I say be a straight up Playa Hater and make life hard for them.
Don't let them into office.
For example, here in Oakland we have Measure FF on the ballot. It
will allow the city to add 100 more cops to the city's ranks and use
70 million dollars to pay for it. Cats is already complaining about
police brutality.. and now we have mayor who's pushing to add more
police. Very little money will go toward after school programs and
other services that will help keep cats off the streets.. Last
election only 26% of the people in Oakland bothered to vote, even
after the current Mayor said 'I'm gonna try and get more police'. He
promised to pass stricter laws to take away people's cars who were
caught attending Side Show Gatherings [Oakland 's version of crusing]
Guess who's gonna catch hell and is now catching hell. Its us. How
sad when you considered 75% of the people did not vote, but are now
complaining. But now laws are on the books and people are being
impacted.
In LA a lot of cats decided to sit on their butts and not vote in the
last Mayoral election... They said it didn't matter and things were
already bad.. Well, now the new Mayor James Hahn just hooked up with
a new police chief who headed the NYPD under Mayor Guliani. This new
cat who's name is Bratton wants to bring all his hard edged police
tactics to LA. It's gonna be Darryl Gates all over again.. Folks in
LA better get ready cause its about to go down for real. Guess what?
He's gonna have jurisdiction over you even if you did not vote.. Soon
people in LA are gonna be wishing they voted a new cat into office
once this new police chief starts getting into gear.
Oh yeah, and for Hip Hoppers who think him being the chief doesn't
apply to you.. Guess what his first line of business will be? He's
putting together a grafitti task force. He said LA was the grafitti
capital of the world and he wants to change that. What group of
people are associated with graf? Hip Hoppers. That means you start
coming down on show cases, start monitoring Hip Hop activities etc.
He's about to turn up the heat for real and Hip Hop is his first
target. It baffles me that we have cats sitting back, puffing a blunt
and saying it don't matter. Y'all best get your vote on..
In closing here's what's at stake.. We have a bunch of conservative
reactionary Federal judges waiting to be pushed through by George Bush
and his crew. He hasn't been able to seat them because he doesn't
have enough votes in the Senate. There are close Senate races all
over the country in places like Minnesota, New Jersey, Colorado,
Missouri and Arkansas to name a few. Folks are gonna be mad as hell
if this cat gets his way and starts seating a bunch of Clarence Thomas
type judges all over the country.. Who do you think its gonna impact
the most? Yep you guessed folks from the Hip Hop generation who
bothered not to vote.
I don't need to tell you how many important issues get decided in
court. Lets say you get arrested in LA at the hands of this new Hip
Hop Grafitti Task Force they are setting up.. Wouldn't it be nice to
have a judge on the bench who will not be reactionary and try and give
you 20 years? Bush has a lot of cats lined up in the wings ready to
ride shot gun for him and they get down like that for real. Doesn't
it make sense to cast a vote to check him? It's not like voting is
costing you money? It might take an hour or sop out of your day.. I
should also note your employer is obligated to let you take time off
to go vote..
In Texas, we have a cat named Ron Kirk who's running for US Senate.
Dude caught heat from his opponent Coryn because he attended a Hip Hop
summit. That's not a smack to just Ron Kirk, that's a smack to you in
the Hip Hop audience. If this cat Coryn wins and we already knows he
hates Hip Hop and thinks its beneath him, what sort of friend do you
think you'll have on Capitol Hill. Who in Texas is gonna check that?
Folks in Florida, you have a chance to knock off the cat who helped
cheat in the last election Jeb Bush.. He's in a close race in his
reelection bid for governor. I would hope that cats in Miami,
Jacksonville, Tallahassee and all those other spots rise up and put
dude in check. All it takes is your vote..IF THE SAME AMOUNT OF
PEOPLE WHO BROUGHT TRINA AND TRICK DADDY ALBUMS VOTE TODAY, IT COULD
SEND OLE JEB BUSH BACK HOME TO THAT TEXAS RANCH
Enough said on the matter.. We vote for Best Record.. We vote for
Best Hip Hop Artist? We call up radio stations and vote for the song
of the night? etc.. We vote for everything except who's gonna make
rules to control our lives. We can change that. We should change
that.. There's only a few hours left.. So I encourage you to vote..
If folks have any concerns or problems at the polls call
1-866-OUR-VOTE
1-800-784-2577
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RAPPERS SET TO DO SELF DESTRUCTION 2
by - Davey D
If you happened to be listening to Hot 97/New York the morning after
Jam Master Jay's murder, long time rapper Daddy O (Stetsasonic /MCA/
NocOnWood.com) challenged the status quo among MC's, producers and
labels by positively changing the entire image of hip hop and working
toward more responsibility and personal accountability within the
industry. He announced that he would like to see fellow rappers
change their names and drop the monikors that suggest gangsta
affiliations and images. Ie Fat Joe would stop calling himself Joey
Crack. Daddy O then announced plans for the Self Destruction2
compilation.
This morning on Vashon Island, Washington State, Daddy O elaborated on
this groundbreaking effort. "I have a meeting with Lyor Cohen this
week and am not sure yet if I should bring up the subject at Jay's
funeral (Nov. 5th), I'm working on it".
Busta Rhymes and Chuck D. have already committed to Self Destruction2
on the strength of Daddy O's outline. "After my meeting with Lyor, I
need help from promoters, video directors, everybody" to achieve his
goal of bringing this project to the world's doorstep.
All proceeds from this project will benefit various charities and
programs against family violence throughout the United States. "We
will be developing this very soon" says Daddy O.
For further information please contact Nasty Nes at NastyNes1@aol.com
or Gene Dexter at Hiphop206@aol.com or feel free to reach Daddy O
personally if you got it like that!
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NY SENTAOR HONORS HIP HOP...
Bronx, NY-State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. recognized Hip Hop History
Month and paid tribute to those who laid the foundation and paved the
way for, as well as to those who preserved the rich traditions of, Hip
Hop culture with a proclamation he presented at 1 pm on Monday, Nov.
4th at the Bronx River Houses Community Center (1619 East 174 St.
Bronx NY).
"The foundation of Hip Hop culture is peace, love, unity, and fun,"
said Senator Espada. "And I am proud to say that this great cultural
movement was born right here in the 70's, in my own district, in the
South Bronx." In his proclamation, Senator Espada quoted the
godfather of Hip Hop Culture, Afrika Bambaataa, who said: "Hip Hop
culture was created to get away from the negativity that plagues our
streets. and to play a role in conflict resolution."
Given the wholesome tradition of Hip Hop Culture, Senator Espada
pointed out, it is unfortunate that violence among several rap artists
has reflected negatively on Hip Hop culture as a whole. The main
elements of this culture are emcee'ing (also known as rapping),
DJ'ing, writing (aerosol art), several dance forms (which include
breaking, up-rocking, popping, and locking) and the element which
holds the rest together: KNOWLEDGE. There are also other elements
such as Vocal Percussion, also known as beat boxing, fashion, etc.
Hip Hop can be used as a positive tool for social change as well as
for breaking down racial barriers worldwide. "It is important to
note-especially in these days of screaming headlines about shoot-outs
and murders," said Senator Espada, "that violence is not what Hip Hop
is about."
"Hip Hop is a celebration of life. And that is why I, and thousands
upon thousands of Bronxites and peace loving people from all over the
world, will come together to celebrate Hip Hop's inception and
continuing vitality-by declaring this Hip Hop History Month,"
concluded Senator Espada.
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FEDS SET TO INTERVENE IN THE WAKE OF JMJ SLAYINGS
The Hip Hop world has come together in mass both yesterday and later
on today to pay tribute for the late Jam Master Jay. First today
[Monday November 3 2002] there was a public and private wake.. People
showed up by the thousands. Tomorrow will be the funeral. Even
bigger crowds are expected..Along with those large crowds were NYPD
including members of their Rap Task Force who positioned themselves on
nearby rooftops near the Church where the Wake and Funeral were and is
being held in St Albans Queens.
As the Hip Hop world grieves there have been a number of developments.
First, we now know that the police have a video tape. Its unclear as
to whether or not they have been able to get a clear image from the
tape. Shortly after the slaying newspapers and other media outlets
reported that there was no video tape which aroused suspicion because
the studio where the killing took place regularly recorded people
coming and going. Media outlets were quick to jump on this facet and
as a result implied that JMJ may have been involved with some sort of
'rap war' which led to him being killed.
NYPD say they have have gotten a small break in the case from eye
witnesses and have issued a description of the suspect. It's not
much, he's described as a dark skin black male who is 6'2" and 180-210
lbs and was wearing a black hoody.. There's no word as to whether or
not they will have some sort of sketch. Thus far they are saying they
got the description from eye witnesses. We'll keep you posted on what
the they find on the video tape.The police are seeking to interview a
couple of possible suspects including an man named Curtis Scoon who
supposedly was owed a lot of money by Jam Master Jay and was recently
quoted as saying he was intending on connecting his loot. There were
reports circulating that this cat named Scoon was beefing with Jay.
As a result, Scoon has put a lawyer in place who issued a statement
saying his client would have to be arrested before he speaks.
Another disturbing development is a cat named Kenneth Walker was shot
and killed in the Bronx over the weekend. Walker was a promoter for
rap star 50 Cent. The NYPD has been trying to see if there's any sort
of connection between JMJ and beefs involving 50 Cent.For those who
don't know, over the past couple of years 50 Cent has gotten under
people's skin for doing songs where he calls out so called 'gangsta
rappers'. His new album has all sorts of dis songs.. As of Thursday
last week, 50 Cent has reported to have left town because there have
been a number of threats on his life. JMJ was friends with 50 Cent
and produced some of music.
While all this is going on, the press has had a field day lambasting
JMJ and trashing his image. The NY Daily News ran a disturbing
article over the weekend pointing out that JMJ owed close to 500
million dollars in back taxes. They also reported that he owed one
cat 10 thousand dollars. They noted that him being killed may have
been because he owed so much money.
The NY Daily News article included callous quotes from a NY Franchise
Tax Board representative stating that they intend to collect their
money from JMJ's estate. It's like he hasn't even been buried yet and
already their lining up to get paid. The story also has everyone
wondering, if these allegations are true, how in the world does a cat
who belongs to a group as famous as Run-DMC which has more
multi-platinum albums then we can count and is responsible for running
his own label and for discovering and putting out multi-platinum acts
like Onyx, be broke and in that type of serious debt?
All sorts of other media outlets from USA Today to the NY Times have
jumped on the rap war/rap feud bandwagon. In spite of vehement
denials from those closest to JMJ including Russell Simmons, the
coverage from that angle has been relentless. This is now resulting
in The Federal government intervening and using this as an excuse to
probe the relationships that exists within the rap world. In fact the
NY Post has a huge headline screaming this fact... All this is coming
at the heels of disturbing accusations suggesting that the recent
killings by the accused Beltway snipers John Muhammed and Lee Malvo
were inspired by rap songs and rap groups who belong to the 5 Percent
Nation. Acts like Wu-Tang's Killarmy have been cited as the
influence... Folks may wanna peep this latest article..
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/61299.htm
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The FNV Newsletter c 2002
Send comments to
misterdaveyd@earthlink.net
peep the websites
www.daveyd.com
www.rapstation.com
The FNV Newsletter c 2002
Send comments to
mrdaveyd@earthlink.net
peep the websites
www.daveyd.com
www.rapstation.com
