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IN THIS ISSUE OF FNV 11-19-99 *Rosa Parks Loses Lawsuit To Outkast *Pam the Funkstress is Pam the Chef *NWA Song On Upcoming Soundtrack *Eminem gets Dissed By The NFL *Willie D Of The Geto Boys Is Boxing *Hip Hop Conventions-They're Going Global
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The judges ruling comes at a day after a study from the Burrell Communications group in Chicago was released that showed that Black teens are swayed by Hip Hop celebrities more then any one else. How we in Black America allowed Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg to become bigger heroes then Jessie Jackson and other Civil Right leaders is a discussion on to itself.. The larger question is who is the one controlling the presentation, defining and imaging of these Hip Hop heroes and celebrities? If you are a parent I suggest asking your child who their heroes and sheroes are.. If you ain't in the top 5.. You might want to really find out why...
Last week we told you about how Boots of The Coup has been making major moves by creating workshops and organizing Hip Hop artists and getting them politically active. We'll his partner in crime DJ Pam The Funkstress has been making moves herself. In addition to holding down club gigs and a spot on KPFA's Friday Nite Vibe Hip Hop Show, home girl has been socking away her money and has finally opened up her own business. Pam is now the proud owner of Picadilly Catering which is located in Foster City which is right outside San Francisco. On Sundays she has a slamming all you can eat Cajun Brunch which is off the hook. The person who throwing down on the stoves is Pam herself. Now most of us who know Pam, know her for her superb djaying skillz. She's been on the scene for years and there's been many a 'fool' who've gotten eaten up alive in battles with her. She has all the tricks mastered but her patented maneuver is cutting records with her breasts.. [No folks she doesn't take off her blouse]. People knew that when Pam wasn't on the road with The Coup that she was would spend her time working for a catering company. No one had any idea she had intended to buy out the business and it caught all of us by surprise to find out she could throw down on the stove top like she can on the turntables. After all, Pam hardly showcased her cooking skillz on the road. In any case, Pam explained that she spent time working in the catering business so she could learn the ins and outs of the professional. At the same time she was also spending time learning how to run a restaurant and take care of a business. She kept her plans on the 'DL' and when the time was right, she went out and brought the very company she was working for.. Pam gets mad props. Its always good to see Hip Hop artist make wise investments like opening businesses as opposed to buying new diamonds or luxury cars. It's also good to see Hip Hop artists take time to really learn about the things they are investing in. So its not like Pam is just throwing money into a business or putting her name on the doorway. She owns , operates and runs the joint. She really understands what's this whole venture is about. . If you happen to be in the SF Bay Area be sure to stop on through Picadilly Catering especially for her Sunday Cajun Brunch.. It goes from 10-4 and is located on 1072 Shell Blvd in Foster City, Cali.. If you need to get a hold of Pam drop her a line at: mailto:PamTheFunkstress@www.daveyd.com . You may also want to wish her a Happy Birthday.. She turned ** this past Wednesday:) On a side note; Pam may be reaching out to another well known Hip Hop DJ who has well established cooking skillz. DJ Fuze of Digital Underground has held down quite a few jobs at some of the Bay's finest establishments including Chez Panez which is very chic and expensive. Fuze told me that he recently decided to put away his knives and skillets and put his cooking skillz on hold. It was too stressful he noted plus, he discovered that he prefers meeting and greeting folks. So when he's not on the road with Digital or The Luniz, he's the head waiter at a 4 star restaurant in Berkeley. It would be great if DJ Pam and DJ Fuze hooked up.. Then we really would have a true Hip Hop Restaurant..They would give new meaning to the phrase 'put it in the mix'. I wonder whose the better cook.
A few weeks back we profiled Ice Cube and let you know that he was on a mission to reunite NWA his original group. Such a reunion had not taken place earlier because producer Dr Dre was in a 'Been There Done That' move and hence wasn't trying to get down with the project. Recently Dre changed his mind which is evident by the content in his new album 'Dr Dre 2001'. Now Dre has taken things a step further by publicly announcing that there will be a new NWA track on the upcoming soundtrack to the movie 'Next Friday'. The song is called 'Chin Check'. From what I'm hearing its the absolute bomb. There is still no word as to who will take the place of Eazy E. The popular rumors keep pointing to Snoop Dogg. But now stories are surfacing that it may be Xzibit or a number of rotating guest emcees. Who do you think should be the fifth member of NWA should they reunite?
 Bad news for rap superstar Slim Shady aka Eminem. He recently caught some major flack from NFL officials who saw fit to pull some popular TV ads which featured his popular song 'My Name Is..'. The NFL used the track in a commercial entitled 'My Name Is Joe' which was intended to highlight the football careers of football greats Joe Montana, Joe Gibbs, Joe Namath and Mean Joe Green. The problem was the NFL found his lyrics to the original song to be lacking wholesome family values so they pulled it. This was done in spite of the fact no one ever complained about the spots and the song was a big hit. The fact that the NFL got 'Holy' on Eminem is puzzling when you consider the nature of the sport and some of troubling antics put forth by both players, coaches and fans. It's like the pot calling the kettle black. Em is currently on tour in Europe. In the meantime his lawyers headed to court the other day to try and quell another problem Em was facing which was a lawsuit from his moms Debbie Mathers-Briggs who felt like he defamed her character in several interviews as well as songs.. Do you think Eminem could be the 5th member of NWA? Think about it for a second..Don't you think that could work? Em and Eazy E had similar tones in voice..? Em won't need anyone to write his rhymes like they had to do for Eazy. Em being in the group could set off controversy and bring notoriety to the group. He's a sick writer. Can you imagine Em collaborating with Cube and Ren and helping pen a graphic NWA song? i think it could work.. Snoop, Xzibit or Eminem..who would you pick?
Everyone knows that Heavy D has supposedly hung up his microphone and will be doing other ventures. Among them is acting. He's set to star in a film alongside Ms Erykah Badu and Michael Caine entitled 'The Cider House Rules'. The film is based upon a novel and its about a guy name Homer Wells who raised in an orphanage and all the adventure he encounters once he gets out into the world on his own. The film is set to be opening during Thanksgiving Weekend on November 24th.
Folks are buzzing about Snoop Dogg and him making some new moves in the upcoming year. One such move involves him hooking up with TVT records to distribute his new label Dogghouse records. Snoop has hooked up with his crew Tha Eastsidaz which features is child hood friend Tray D and Goldie Loc. The first single which I got today is called 'G'd Up' and is produced by longtime producer, the legendary Battlecat. The track has a definite West Coast [LA] feel that will definitely get heads boppin'. The album which is called Snoop Dogg Presents Tha Eastsidaz is due to drop in stores on January 18th..It will feature such notables like Daz, Kurupt, Xzibit, Quik, Nate Dogg and Suga Free. Where's Master P? Mystikal and the rest of the No Limit Posse on this album? If the first single is any indication.. Snoop should have a dope album on his hands.. Reach out to my man Ron for more information about the project.. mailto:ron@tvtrecords.com
 The word around town is that Willie D of the Geto Boys is gearing up to both set the boxing world straight when he climbs into the ring on December 18th and squares off against former Light Heavyweight and Middleweight champ Reggie Johnson. [*Note it has since been corrected that Willie will not be fighting Reggie.. The two will be fighting on the same ticket in seperate bouts.] It will be Willie's professional boxing debut and it will take place in Houston. [Boy I tell ya everyone who's a rapper wants to be an athlete and everyone who's an athlete wants to rap.. ] In Willie's case, he's no slouch in the ring. He won a celebrity boxing match among rappers a few years back. he had the dubious distinction of knocking out a very buff Mele-Mel. I'm not sure who he faced in the championship round. It might've been Freddie Fox. In any case.. i tried calling Willie to get the full 4-1-1. I'll let you know his thoughts. Willie for those who don't know is not only gifted in the ring and on the mic, but he's also sharp and politically conscious. he used to do a talk show on one of the stations in Houston. I'm not quite sure what happened to it. Perhaps some one from the Houston area can fill me in. I know he was always sparking off heated debates and dropping science. Since we're on the subject of boxing, folks may want to note that James Prince who is the founder and CEO of Willie D's label Rap-A-Lot Records has just signed Super Featherweight Champ Floyd Mayweather Jr and two time World Champ Michael Nunn to a management contract for Prince's newly formed Prince Promotions. Looks like Willie D will have some sparring partners close to home.
Once upon a time it seemed like all the worthwhile Hip Hop Conventions took place only in New York City. I'm thinking back to the days late 80s during the legendary New Music Seminar where damn near everyone and their grandma would come to Hip Hop's birthplace and attempt to break through. As Hip Hop evolved conventions began popping up in other cities where Hip Hop was flourishing. First it was Los Angeles then other spots like San Francisco, New Orleans, Miami and Atlanta played host. Over the years I've been to all sorts of conventions like Urban Network, Impact, Rap Sheet, Jack The Rapper and The Gavin Convention to name a select few. In all these seminars I always noticed scores of people from other countries spending tons of money and taking time to come over here attempting to breakthrough. I also noticed a similar 'elitist' and sometimes disdainful attitude toward our foreign visitors as it was back in the days for non New York Hip Hop artist visiting the Big Apple. Folks really didn't time out to acknowledge and note that there are indeed thriving Hip Hop scenes outside of the US. We got caught up in thinking that life begins and ends at our shores. I recall going to Seminars back in the '80s and folks from The Big Apple just outright refusing to except the fact that Hip Hop existed beyond the 5 boroughs. Even folks from nearby Jersey or Philly had a rough time finding acceptance. The prevailing thought was if it wasn't from New York it wasn't real. If it wasn't from New York it wasn't even Hip Hop. Every so often some one would come along and exude some skillz that would shatter the myth of NY being the only place for Hip Hop. In those days it was usually the deejays who made strides. Most notable was in 1987 DJ Joe Cooley of Los Angeles going up against DJ Cash Money of Philadelphia in what is still a legendary Battle for Hip Hop World Supremacy. It was one of the first times two finalist competed in either the emcee or dj battles who weren't from New York. It wasn't until some of these seminar took the show on the road and folks got to see Hip Hop in other cities. The Gavin Conventions held in SF during the early 90s help refocus and redefine the boundaries. That was later followed by Atlanta, New Orleans and other spots.. But again aside from a few cats here and there like DJ Honda..folks were not really giving acknowledgement to the scenes outside the states. But now Hip Hop as evolved to be a global force and all that is about to change.. One of the more notable Hip Hop Conventions 'How Can I be Down' is about to touch down in London. It's all taking place from May 11th-14th 2000. There are an expected 1200 delegates from all over and the focus will be not just on the American Hip Hop scene but Hip Hop from around the globe. For the first time in quite a while folks will have an opportunity to see artist showcases which are dominated by international acts. It won't be a token representation here and there as is often the case here in the US. There will be more global acknowledgement. In fact there is scheduled to be a special awards ceremony that will honor Hip Hoppers from UK, Canada, France and Japan. Now if waiting to May of 2000 is to long a wait for you to get some international Hip Hop flava, you may wanna rush on down to the nearest travel agent and get set to peep out the upcoming AFRICAN BATTLE CRY 1999 - 3RD ANNUAL 17 DAY HIP HOP/YOUTH EXPO. This is gonna take place from November 26th-December 12th 1999 in South Africa. Black Noise and The South African Hip Hop & Youth Network will be hosting 17 days of hip hop workshops, concerts, jols and appearances throughout the Western Cape. African Battle Cry is aimed at exposing the positive alternatives and talents of youth. This years events will start in the Western Cape and move northwards to P.E. and Guateng. The event was developed to supply youth with positive activities because gang violence and drug dealing have left youth with very little positive choices during the December vacation. They wish to focus on anti-racism and anti-violence in communities by having discussions and interaction. We will also have Swedish & French Capoeira artists doing workshops at these events. The City of Cape Towns, Arts & Culture Forum, Spectra Spray paint & National Arts Council are funding the daily workshops. The opening event is at the Observatory Recreation Centre on the 26th November 1999 and hosts the Semi-finals of the breakdancing competition. The workshops at the same venue will kick off at 15:30. Each day will have hourly workshops on breakdancing, spray can art, capoeira, DJ'ing, MC'ing and panel discussions on the music industry and artist management etc. At 8 o'clock a jol, competition and performances will take place. Winners of the competitions will win clothing, videos, magazines, CDs and boxes of Spectra Spra ypaint. Each day has a cover charge for the jol/shows. Here's a breakdown of the events: 26th November 1999 Observatory Recreation Centre Opening / B-boy Semis For more information you may wanna drop a line to: Emile Jansen at mailto:emiley@mweb.co.za
For all my Bay Area folks this just came in...It is some more activity around the Juvenile Crime Bill... Ground Swell of Youth Activism Rising to Defeat Proposition 21, Pete Wilson's "Youth Incarceration" Ballot Measure Four Hundred Northern California Youth Will Gather at "UPSET THE SETUP" The gathering is part of the growing youth movement to defeat Proposition 21 and is building up to a statewide youth summit. Prop. 21, the March ballot measure would incarcerate more California youth at younger ages and in more Draconian condition. On Saturday, November 20th hundreds of middle and high school students from across the Bay Area will converge at a day long organizing and strategy session called "UPSET THE SETUP." It will all be taking place from 10am-6pm on the UC Berkeley campus at Wheeler Hall.. For more info call: CRYF, ph:(510)444-0484 or Chloe Osmer, ph:(415)970-0535
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Good news for Outkast as a Detroit Federal judge ruled yesterday that Civil Rights pioneer Rosa Parks did not have her rights violated when Outkast used her name as the title of a song. The judge stated that Outkast was protected by the First Amendment and they are not obligated to compensate her. So that about takes care of this little contentious 25 thousand dollar lawsuit that was filed by Ms P.arks and her lawyers. The real key to this whole thing was that Outkast did not slander Ms Parks in anyway shape or form. The sad part about this is that for many young people who are only familiar with Parks through history books which are all too often limited, she is not seen in such high regards. For many the lawsuit came across as petty and just further showed how divided the Hip Hop generation is from it's Civil Rights era predecessors.