Nah Right

I hope Dave Mays is happy now. Dude built this damn magazine from a newsletter only to throw it all away because of some lame ass psuedo-gangster.

The state Supreme Court ruled yesterday in favor of the magazine’s investor, Black Enterprise/Greenwich Street Corporate Growth Partners, which last month took control of the magazine from its founder David Mays and its president, Ray “Benzino” Scott.

The Source has had problems with both circulation and advertising in recent years. Mr. Mays began losing his grip on the magazine after defaulting on an $18 million loan from Textron Financial Corp. last year.

The court denied Mr. Mays’ demands that he be reinstated at the magazine, citing the Greenwich Street fund’s right to take control of The Source if he defaulted on his debt. That ruling opens the door for the Greenwich Street group to buy Mr. Mays’ shares in The Source, which now belongs to Textron. 

I don’t know why but I kinda feel relieved myself, as if this has anything to do with me. I’ve held off on buying any of the new issues, even though they’ve been certified Benzino Free, lest any of my money finds it’s way into Ray’s grubby little hands, but I think I might just go out and cop the April issue when it drops. Actually, Nah, I’ll wait until some East Coast dudes are on the cover…..I’m kidding!

*Ducks*

Lorenzo "Fat Cat Nichols, James "Wall" Corley and Supreme in their heyday 

Damn, I knew the Feds wanted to put ‘Preme under the jail, but I didn’t think it was this serious:

The federal government is officially seeking the death penalty against Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff in his upcoming murder and racketeering case.

Prosecutor Roslynn R. Mauskopf filed a death penalty request notice yesterday (March 22) in the case, which charges McGriff with the murder of Queens, New York, rapper Eric "E Money Bags" Smith and Smith’s associate, Troy Singleton.

"The defendant [McGriff] possesses a risk of future dangerousness as manifested by a continued pattern of violence, lack of remorse and contemporaneous convictions for multiple murders," Mauskopf said.

McGriff is also facing charges for a drug-related double slaying in Owings Mills, Maryland, where police found $30,000 in cash in a stash house allegedly used by McGriff. 

For more on Supreme, his influence on hip hop, and his legacy in Southside Queens see my interview with Ethan Brown author of Queens Reigns Supreme: Fat Cat, 50 Cent, and the Rise of the Hip Hop Hustler.

Other recent related news:

Feds Hit Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff With New Murder Charge

Kenneth ‘Supreme’ McGriff Charged With Another Attempted Murder

April ‘06 Source cover. The Confessions from Inside the Hip Hop Bible looks like it could be interesting…

Jay-Z says he has forgotten 4 or 5 albums worth of material because he doesn’t write anything down.

Raekwon, Ballerina P, Mike Jones and others play golf.  

Kind of old, but the rumor is Nas’s baby moms will be putting her tell all book out with the help of 40 Cent.

I’d like to shout out T.I. for being the first rapper since the birth of the internet to not have his album bootleged.

EDIT: About an hour after I posted this, King leaked. DO NOT post links to download it in the comments section. I am aware that it leaked, I probably knew before you, but there will be no linking to retail albums on this site.  

Check out this documentary that will be dropping sometime in the near future about the battle between rappers and the hip hop police:

Rap Sheet: Hip-Hop and the Cops is a documentary that claims U.S. police have been keeping secret dossiers on rappers and hip-hop executives.

Filmmaker Don Sikorski interviews Russell Simmons, Kanye West, Busta Rhymes, Ja Rule, Snoop Dogg and Damon Dash for his film, which also includes performance footage from Eminem, Fat Joe, Judakiss and Lloyd Banks, Daily Variety reports.

Police in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Agency have compiled an amazing amount of intimate, private information, Sikorski told Variety.

I was amazed at the volume of intimate, private information that this national network of police had gathered, Sikorski said. But the more I talked to artists and cops, the more I understood that this is a situation with few heroes and plenty of villains on both sides.

You always hear about these guys, but it really hit home when I was watching Game’s Stop Snitching Stop Lying DVD. Those dudes were following homey around the whole time he was in NY, I couldn’t believe it was really that serious. 

At some point I’m gonna do a more in depth post about the hip hop cops, but not today.

On another note, while I was looking for more info on this documentary I came across this story about a DA in Arkansas who not only spits, but actually battles dudes, some of whom he put in jail at one time or another. What could possibly be next.

This seems like the kind of inflammatory post that will spawn 700 comments. XXL has part 1 of a two part Rakim interview up and a couple of statements from the god jumped out at me:

Are you a Dipset fan?
No doubt. I like the Diplomats’ swagger, man. Juelz, Cam’ron, Jim Jones—they bring a lot of swagger back to the game. New York needs somebody right now to hold New York down.

So when will there be a Rakim/Diplomats collaboration?
Probably soon, man. They one of the cats in the game that I got a lot of respect for, music respect and street respect as well. And when I do do collabos, it’s gotta be respect. I’m not doing it because they sell records or just because they own a certain part of the market. I call ’em “smart collabos” because at the end of the day they makes sense. I don’t want people do be like, Why did Ra do a joint with this dude?…(cont’d)

Damn, Flav, Kane, now Rakim. I had no intention of this being old school day at Nah Right, but what the hell.

You need another helpin hand to swing on
I stand alone, but still you gotta bring on
your Batman and Robin, Cagney and Lacey
Starsky and Hutch, but they still can’t face me
And if may make this one thing here clear
that’s for you not to come near, PERIOD
So I ain’t buggin or delirious
My swift tongue’s like a sword, that’s how severe it is
And I can slice and dice a Fisher Price MC
that thought he was nice into Minute Rice
Single-handed, I ain’t with that band stuff
Cause Cee’ll scratch a record like flakes of dandruff
And the mic I ravage, not like a savage
but in my own way of doin damage
As I design the genuine line
Now who flattop rules in eighty-nine?

Flat Top Shirt from Scifen 

…Movado, all black Eldorado/
all that and a Bottle of Dom P.

I’m so mad he’s rocking that.

Courtesy of alltheparties.com as seen @ Concrete Loop

Check out this Cassidy freestyle recorded while he was locked up. Sorry, but it’s a Hiphopgame RealPlayer stream. Of course, once I find it on mp3 I’ll up it. 

Cassidy freestyle from jail 

Look at this pic of Game, it looks like there’s now an ‘LA’ tat covering the butterfly that was previously there. I don’t know if it’s real, I guess it could be for one of the movies he’s been filming, but he also appears to have it in this other pic of him onstage. Whatever, but if you’re gonna get a butterfly tat on your mug in the first place saying that it symbolizes change and all that nonsense, you’re seriously playing yourself if you turn around cover it up. Then again this is the same guy that squashes his G-Unit beef every two weeks just to turn around and dis them in a freestyle the next day.

Remember when I posted my review of the Papoose show at S.O.B.S. and I mentioned that there was a little shit talking incident followed by some trash talk and a minor scuffle? Well here’s video of the incident from about when Pap finishes his set and Kay Slay does his little dance.

Someone emailed me this earlier, and I forgot to watch it, until I saw it on Jay Smooth’s site (via Straight Banging) and remembered about it. While Jay pretty much just posted it for review, Joey at SB seems to think that Pap and Slay were in the wrong for their reaction. Go to either site or the Youtube page to read the mic grabber’s personal account of the incident.

Now, in a perfect world, Pap and Slay would’ve ignored dude and let security handle him, drama would’ve been avoided, and we all would have went home happy little Papoose fans. Of course this isn’t a perfect world, this is a rap show at cramped ass S.O.B.S where audience members, artists, and artists entourages alike are tanked up and rowdy.

If I was going to talk to this guy I’d have to ask him what in the hell would posess somebody to go to a show like this, grab the mic and rant about stopping the violence? Seriously homey, I know you saw the 20 hardcore brooklyn dudes on stage, because you mentioned them, so what would make you think you’re gonna talk shit to them and then walk out of the venue like everything’s candy and you’re Willie Wonka? 

Was it an ignorant situation? Maybe. Surprising or out of the ordinary? Not even a little bit. I’m curious though, now that you can all see for yourselves what went down, who do you think was wrong in this situation?