KMEL ONLINE / HIP HOP NEWS TODAY

Just when you think we've gotten enough of our fill of Hip Hop artists running into trouble we are hit with two more disturbing incidents. The latest mishap involves Mr Fredro Starr. Folks may know him for his stint in the group Onyx and more recently for his acting prowess in movies like 'Sunset Park' and more recently 'Save The Last Dance'. According to reports Fredro was on a plane that was enroute to Los Angeles. After it landed Fredro decided to stand up and remain standing even after flight attendants requested he sit down. Fredro decided to follow his own rules which resulted in the police waiting for his for him as the plane taxied in. There was some sort struggle in which a cop got hurt and Fredro arrested. He was charged with resisting arrest among other things.. Maybe there's something in the water as far too many artists seem to be running into trouble..

Not to be outdone by mishaps- Sean Puffy Combs has some more craziness added to his plate. A Detroit video show host named Roger Mills has filed a lawsuit against Puffy claiming that he was assaulted and held against his will by members of Puff's entourage in an incident that took place in March of 1999..

.According to the story, Mills got Puff hot under the collar while doing an interview for his cable TV show. He asked Puff if he had anything to do with the shooting death of Notorious BIG. Needless to say Puff cut the interview short while a member of his crew demanded the tape. When the tape wasn't turned over Mills supposedly got roughed up leaving his shoulder and neck injured..

Puff's camp is denying the allegations although Detroit police reports do show that they did investigate an incident on the date in question. No arrests we re made. The prevailing sense is that this latest lawsuit may be an attempt to capitalize off of Puff's recent trouble. One of the glaring factors is that the incident took place almost two year s ago and we are now just hearing about it. Mills' camp is claiming that it took so long to file suit because they were seeking an apology from Puff with no avail and then his recent trial delayed their filing..

Lastly we have Mr Russell Jones who is better known to us as Ol' Dirty Bastard of the Wu-Tang Clan. He was recently offered a plea bargain for drug related charges from the Queens district attorney in New York which would result in him getting 2-4 years jail time..The charges ODB is fighting were based upon a traffic stop in July of '99 where police discovered 20 bags of crack and weed. The DA feels like they are being generous with their offer as they are attempting to match the charges ODB still faces in Cali which would amount to 4 years.. However, his lawyers are fighting and trying to get his sentenced reduced.. They feel that ODB's major crime is that he has a substance abuse problem and that jail would do him little good.. After all, drugs are a health problem..For ODB, time is running out.. and should he not accept the offer he will start trial in May and will be looking at a long prison sentenced if convicted..

Ja Rule is getting ready to follow in the footsteps of a guy who he often compared to-DMX. The deep voiced emcee who is blowing up the spot with his hit song 'Put It On Me' is about to hit the silver screen and try and make waves as actor.. His first of two films is 'The Fast and the Furious' in which Ja Rule will play a member of secret society of street car racers who is under investigation by the police. Look for this flick to drop in late June.

Later on this year, Ja Rule will make noise in the movie 'Paid In Full' which will feature fellow rapper Cam'ron. Its being produced by Roc-A-Fella Records CEO Damon Dash. If that's not enough Ja Rule is also slated to hook up with Snoop Dog and Ice T in a movie adaptation of Donald 'Iceberg Slim' Goines' novel 'Crime Partners'.

NAS HITS THE SILVER SCREEN-GIVE DMX HIS BOX OFFICE PROPS

Looks like Nas is getting ready to return to the silver screen. This time we will be able to find him starring alongside Isaiah Washington in a comedy flick called 'Sacred Is The Flesh'. The movie is about a talent agent which is played by Nas who comes from Gary Indiana and has aspirations of making it in Hollywood. The talent agent attempts to make things happen by hooking up with an old high school classmate [Isaiah Washington] who has made inroads as a music manager. The movie was co-written by Nas and is being financed by Alan Henderson who plays for the Atlanta Hawks...

In the meantime the movie industry is clearly seeing the drawing power of Hip Hop. 'Exit Wounds' which stars Steven Seagal and DMX was number one at the box office this past weekend which should come as no surprise. It collected a hefty 18.5 million dollars. Surprisingly the film is being billed as a Steven Seagal film which it is...However, I can't help thinking that a major part of this movie's success was the presence of the mercurial DMX. That man, especially after all his recent legal troubles sparked a lot of curiosity and got folks to the theaters.. I just wish some of the major news agencies would start acknowledging that and give homeboy his props....

Lastly since we're on the subject of movies, it looks like Snoop Dogg is about to be featured in yet another flick.. According to Lee Bailey's EUR Report, the movie 'Bones' is about to be released. It stars Pam Grier and will also feature a cameo from Bad Azz. The story is about a murdered drug dealer named Jimmy Bones which is played by Snoop...
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NATE DOGG DRAMA

Looks like good ole Nate Dogg has some good news and bad news.. The good news for him is that up until last week he was facing charges that included kidnapping, terrorist threats, arson, battery and possession of a firearm by a felon. These charges were amassed last June after an unfortunate incident between Nate and his ex girlfriend where he wound up assaulting her and torching her mother's car. Last week in court 5 of the 6 charges were dropped for lack of evidence. Apparently Nate's ex-girlfriend refused to cooperate with authorities. She didn't wanna be responsible for sending her kids father to prison.. That's the good news.. The bad news is that Nate still may have to do some time because of the remaining charge which was firearms possession by a convicted felon. He goes to court next week for his arraignment..
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WACK and PHAT AWARDS

A PHAT Award goes out to Hip Hop Activist Erica Ford who many of know for all the excellent work she does with the New York based organization The CODE.. Home girl is about to step things up and make some major moves as next week she will officially announce her candidacy for New York City council.. Ms Ford will be vying for a seat to represent the 27th district of her native Queens. A press conference will be held at the Queensboro Hall [120-55 Queens Boulevard, Kew Gardens, NY] For more info hit her up at [718-528-6418] or drop her an mailto:THECODENY@aol.com . It'll be interesting to see how Erica's bid for City Council plays itself out.. We often hear cats complain about not having proper representation and how we need to get more folks who understand Hip Hop in some of these decision making positions.. Now we have some one who is down and has been active and involved for years..running for office.. Lets hope no one fronts on Erica Ford..

A PHAT Award goes out to Fabel of the Rocksteady Crew.. I ran into him the other day at Oberlin College which is right outside of Cleveland.. They deserve a PHAT Award for putting on a nice Hip Hop conference despite the snow.. Anyway I ran into Fabel and noticed he was wearing some fly gear which included a jean fit that harked back to Hip Hop's pioneering days in the early 70s. Fabel explained that what he was wearing was clothing that he designed himself.. The jean fit was a throwback to the styles that was sported back in the days by gang members that ran with the Savage Skulls or Black Spades before morphing into Hip Hop crews like Zulu Nation.. Fabel is apparently hard at work not only chronicling and documenting Hip Hop's old school fashions.. But he's also in the process of designing the gear and putting it out.. For more info on these old school styles hit Fabel up at mailto:toolsofwar@aol.com

A PHAT Award goes out to brother James Brown..He came rolling through the station yesterday while vacationing here in San Francisco. He got stuck on an elevator for a while, but after he got off I gotta chance to chop it up with him. He noted he's been working on a new project that focuses on all the school killings that have been taking place as of late. In fact, he brought with him a new slamming single called 'Killing Is Out School is In'. James attribute much of the violence to a depleted value system which is reflected in the negative lyrics of today's popular music. He also went off on the fact that more radio stations aren't playing positive music.. 'Just don't say it play it', he noted. He also went off on the fact that there have been other killings going on throughout the country that the media hasn't focused on. He doesn't think we are taking the problem seriously. James Brown also said he wanted to do a song with Puffy who he feels may have come out of his recent legal problems with a renewed understanding and positive outlook on life. James noted that he and Puffy together would be a force to be reckon with..

Speaking of Puffy.. A WACK Award goes out to all those critics and music executives who have attempted to blame Jennifer Lopez' lack of album sales on her association with Puffy.. Can you belive that?? Is that the real reason why she broke up with him, because of weak album sales? Did people really walk into the stores and say..'Hell naw she's with Puffy I ain't buying her album!"... There's a lot of things we can blame Puff for, but J-Lo's lack of album sales ain't one of them!..

A PHAT Award goes out to MC Lyte, The Goodie Mob and the Race Relations Institute at Fisk University in Nashville Tennessee. This weekend [March 22-24] they will be hosting a Hip Hop conference that focuses on Hip Hop's role in race relations and youth activism..The line up they have amassed is incredible and quite provocative.. It includes author and poet Haki Madhubuti, psychiatrist Francess Cress Welsing who wrote the Isis Papers, scholar Oba T'Shaka of San Francisco State, Neely Fuller who authored the Code, poet Jessica Care Moore, author Kevin Powell and of course MC Lyte and the Goodie Mob.. Anyone who recognizes some of these names clearly understands this conference will be featuring some serious hard hitters who have long been on the front line holding it down when it comes to the issue of race..

The theories developed by Neely Fuller and Francess Cress Welsing were key components in the Public Enemy landmark album 'Fear of a Black Planet'.. Folks should seriously re-listen to that album... Conference organizers noted that "Hip-hop is one of the most popular forms of music in the US and worldwide, and we want to interrogate the role it plays in socializing young people. We believe that there is a lot of good that can come when we feel that our voices and experiences are heard. However, much of what is heard in the main stream media from hip-hop artists seems to be about violence and misogyny." For further details and registration information on the conference call Theeda Murphy, Race Relations Institute, 615-329-2312 - -Big shout out to HYPE media for getting the word out..

We sincerely hope that NY Post columnist Steve Dunleavy was lying when he wrote in his column over the weekend, that Puffy, after the verdict in his case was announced, thanked Dunleavy and referred to him as his "uncle". If he wasn't at least joking and Puffy did in fact thank Dunleavy for the articles he wrote during the trial and for the tough love they provided for Puffy, then Hip-Hop indeed has hit a new low. You know things are bad when Dunleavy, who couldn't care less about Hip-Hop or the Black community, is viewed by a Hip-Hop mogul as source of wise counsel.

The problem with the scenario as we see it, is that for years many in Hip-Hop and the Black community have made themselves available to Puffy and numerous Hip-Hop artists, in an effort to mediate disputes; to offer advice and moral support; and yes, to offer constructive criticism.

Sometimes the offers have been accepted but many more times than not they have been rejected or ignored.

The crisis in Hip-Hop today is one of an art form and community that is nearly 30 years old but which, over time, seems to learn less and less from its past and increasingly is unable to discern its friends from its enemies.We can only think of it as maturity reversal, where with each passing year we collectively approach the thinking of an adolescent.

That is partly why Puffy and Shyne were in court, and partly why Shyne is headed for jail while Puffy walks. The younger man of barely 20 years of life who should have learned from the mistakes of the older man who is touching 30, has made an even costlier mistake than the one who walked before him and who took him under his wing.

This is not progress.

By most accounts the case against Puffy was weak, and the jury recognized this and found that he was not guilty of the charges against him.

But the most important question for the Hip-Hop community to ask itself is why were these young men in the position they were in to begin with and why would Shyne be found guilty of the crimes that he was convicted of?

Shouldn't Shyne, the protégé and artist who is under the tutelage and guidance of Puffy know better and shouldn't his mentor and employer Puffy have advised him better?

After all, what Shyne was convicted of took place in Puffy's presence.

If Shyne really did what he was convicted of the question has to be asked why? Why is it so important for artists to never suffer an insult and never tolerate being offended? And why isn't part of grooming young Hip-Hop artists preparing them for the fact that they will have to control their emotions in public and private settings as they will undoubtedly be approached by fans and others who will on numerous occasions hurl insults their way?

Interestingly, the need for Hip-Hop artists to protect their egos and honor seems to dissipate when these same artists find themselves on the other end of disrespectful treatment coming from non-Blacks and non-Latinos who work at the record labels that quite often are robbing them blind and shortening the length of their careers through poor decision-making and deceit.

It is as if no Hip-Hop artist can stand an insult from anyone who looks like him or her. And so, otherwise rational human beings who know where reality and art end in their personal lives, are compelled to blur the lines when someone of their same ethnicity verbally but not violently challenges their stage image or street credibility as an artist.

The unassuming Hip-Hop artist who is humble and respectful to his White or Jewish accountant, lawyer and record label executive, is arrogant and disrespectful to his Black or Latino peers whether they are fans or even other artists.

In my years in the music industry I can recall several violent encounters between Black Hip-hop artists and those who offended them of like skin color but I can only remember one White person ever threatened physically by a Hip-Hop artist and this person had actually stolen money from the artist. Something is not right about that ratio if this is really only about "being offended" or being disrespected.

And it also points to the fact that the behavior of Hip-Hop artists, like the behavior of some of those in the communities that they come from, can only be considered as pathological in nature, with a root that one can only trace back to slavery and/or self-hatred.

And we are very specifically speaking about the jealousy and envy, which contaminates the relationships between artists in the music industry who fall victim to listening to invidious comparisons made by those around them or who make money off of them. Quite often, the money to be made increases if a fight can be instigated or tensions heightened between two popular artists.

Along these lines, we were further saddened to pick up the current edition of The Source magazine which features an interview with Jay-Z's protégé Memphis Bleek who indicates, in a very poorly put together article, that he has a problem with Nas because he believes that Nas has a problem with Jay-Z and himself. All of which, according to The Source, stems from each artist's interpretation of the other's lyrics, which they believe are referring to them, in a disrespectful manner.

Jay-Z and Nas are multi-platinum artists who on paper, should both be millionaires. Bleek is a twice gold-selling artist who is at the top of his career, at the age of 22. And The Source Magazine is the most respected magazine in Hip-Hop, in existence for over a decade. Something is wrong with this picture.

Why is The Source, which has seen firsthand the results of earlier rap feuds, playing up a relatively minor problem if it does exist between Jay-Z and Nas, two of the greatest rappers in Hip-hop history? And why doesn't the magazine wait until they have developed the story if there is one, or wait until they have the principal parties, allegedly involved, Jay-Z and Nas, quoted on the record in order to verify or deny the rumors.

Instead The Source cobbles together some questionable circumstantial evidence from Nas and Jay-Z's lyrics and uses Bleek's opinion to create heavy innuendo that would leave unsuspecting fans believing that Jay-Z and Nas are headed in the direction of Biggie and Tupac.

And sure enough The Source promotes its interview with Memphis Bleek on its cover with the following heading, " Memphis Bleek Breaks Down Bangin' With Jay & His Beef With Nas".

We guess it should come as no surprise that the next story promoted on The Source cover is "West Indians Vs. African Americans".

One of the greatest signs of the fall of a nation or community is when it ignores the lessons of those nations and communities that came before it, as well as the lessons of its own history. Another sign is when that nation begins to make alliances with those who are not their friends at all and who do not share their values.

We saw all of that over the weekend in Puffy's trial, the Steve Dunleavy's article and Memphis Bleek's interview in The Source.

With Puffy, Shyne, Eminem and Jay-Z all on trial on violent charges and with rap feuds reportedly growing between Lil'Kim and Foxy Brown/ Capone-N-Noreaga and Jay-Z and Nas there isn't any doubt that Hip-Hop artists are not learning the lessons of the communities, art form, culture and industry, which produced them.

Maybe all of this madness is enough to make Puffy think that his family members are columnists for the anti-rap and anti-Black NY Post.

We would think that Puffy's logical "uncles" would be men like Hip-Hop legends and wise men like Afrika Bambaatta or Chuck D. and KRS-One but that would only be the case if it was a fact that Hip-Hop artists, as a community, knew their history and were guiding their lives and those of younger artists, according to the lessons contained within that history. And it would also only be the case if Black Hip-Hop artists were able to respect Black people who walked before them, who may not have the millions that they have but who have more understanding of life.

Let's hope that Hip-Hop, unlike many Black and Latino males, lives to see its 30th Birthday.

Because the way we are acting right now, tomorrow is certainly not guaranteed.

Cedric Muhammad

March 19, 2001

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The FNV Newsletter
written by Davey D
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FNV March 15 2001