Nah Right

Production is sparse, but damn he kills it.  

Nas - Where Ya’ll At

Game rides for Oprah: "I love Oprah. My grandmomma loves Oprah. My momma loves Oprah. We should all love her. Oprah is Earth’s Queen. She helps all races, all kinds of people. I might be beefin with anybody that’s got beef with her. No one knows her struggle like she does. She’s a black woman and she has a right to her opinion. We need to respect that."

50 in talks with Apple Computers to produce a low cost computer for inner city kids - I can’t be mad at that. But why Apple rather than a PC company? I’m sure it has nothing to do with the company’s dominance in the digital music market.

Even though he won’t say what label he plans on signing with, the fact that Ras Kass’s next mixtape will be in conjunction with DJ Whoo Kid might offer a clue.  

Did you know that the guy who drove Proof to the hospital on the night of his murder, was found shot to death a month later? 

J. Period Presents Official Kevin Powell for Congress Mixtape - "revolutionary hip hop mixed in with old Martin Luther King and Malcolm X speeches"

Democrats eyeing Obama for 2008

Authorities concentrate on Compton to cut gang deaths 

New AZ produced by Premier - The Format (unfortunatley this is a Real Player stream from Hip Hop Game. I’ll put up an mp3 when I find it, but for now step your Real Alternative game up.) EDIT: Here’s an mp3 (props to spotrusherz)

Crispy new Joe Budden freestlye from last night on 104.1 in Hartford

"Hot iron, get popped tryin’/I’m Bill Cowher, I thought I told you stop riding"

Damn, I’m slipping. I almost forgot today was Mr. Shakur’s bornday. I figured a little Cali love was in order (even though he’s Brooklyn’s own.)

Last year’s post.

BONUS: Pac’s appearance on In Living Color

It has come to my attention that one of the quotes from Frédéric Rouzaud of Cristal was incorrectly attributed to him, when the words were actually those of the article’s author. Apparently the "unwelcomed attention" statemant was not in fact made by Rouzaud. This leaves the two sentences that he did utter when asked whether he felt the relationship between hip hop and the high priced champagne could be detrimental to his company:

"What can we do? We can’t forbid people from buying it. I’m sure Dom Perignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business." 

Like I said over in the comments of Clyde’s post about the misquotation, the lack of the phrase "unwelcomed attention" does somewhat minimize the impact of the allegation. However, I still feel like a company who has reaped millions of dollars in revenue, plus enjoyed God only knows how much free advertising could at least sound a little more welcoming of our patronage. (Of course when I say ‘our’ I mean the ballers who actually buy this stuff.)

Some people have suggested that the comments were perfectly reasonable when you take the product’s  reputation and upscale clientele into consideration. To those people I say: bullshit. When I look at rappers nowadays, I see just as many wearing Gucci suits and being chauffeured around in Rolls Royce’s as I do guys in baggy jeans shooting at one another outside radio stations.

Does hip hop have issues? Of course it does, but you can’t tell me that the wealthy businessmen and socialites that also purchase this stuff are squeeky clean. I’m sure if we were all aware of some of the stuff these guys are guilty of, they’d make people like 50 Cent and Suge Knight look like altar boys.

Anyway, I say that to say this: I could care less about the image of your brand. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like the activities that your customers are involved in, at the very least you should show some appreciation for their patronage or else keep your mouth shut. The idea that people can spend money on a product and then be talked down to because of the actions of a few is wholly absurd.

Anyway, today Louis Roederer Cristal issued the following statement:

"A house like Louis Roederer would not have existed since 1776 without being totally open and tolerant to all forms of culture and art, including the most recent musical and fashion styles which — like hiphop — keep us in touch with modernity."

Fat Joe is in the studio making "the most phenomenal album on the planet Earth" We’ll see about that.

50 Cent is the only rapper to make Forbes magazines annual Celebrity 100 Power List

DJ Kay Slay And Greg Street Link For "North Meets South" Compilation

Report on Alcohol Advertising Says African-American Youth Saw/Heard More Ads Than Peers But Government Data Show They Drink Less (Thanks T Nelson)

Yeah, that Jacob:

Jacob the Jeweler, well known for providing hip-hop’s biggest names with high-end custom jewelry, was arrested on federal charges outside his flagship store in New York on Thursday morning (June 15).

According to reports, Jacob (born Jacob Arobo) was indicted along with 16 other individuals by a Michigan district attorney in May for violating federal drug laws and laundering in excess of $270 million.

The indictment, which is part of a previous indictment that alleges that Terry Flenory, Demetrius Flenory and 23 others operated a Atlanta based drug organization called the Black Mafia Family in the 90’s, also seeks criminal forfeiture of more than 30 pieces of jewelry, in addition to a number of residences and cars. 

See what hobnobbing with rappers and drug lords will get you? If you ask me they should’ve locked his ass up for those god awful iced out sneakers he was trying to sell people for $7500.  More info here.

Hip-hop’s next big stop: Capitol Hill 

Papoose On The Brink of Signing Deal

Hoops From Flav’s Show Arrested 

U.S. displays picture of it’s new strawman the "new face of terror." 

Bush Disses Blind Reporter 

Naked man takes ‘risk’, gets shot at 

Here’s a new Saigon track called Don’t Do That produced by Just Blaze.

Inside ?uestlove’s record library (via Spinemag)

The trailer for that Jim Jones DVD that’s coming out is pure comedy.  

I guess some people may be interested in this: Gucci Mane - 745 dissing Jeezy and Hov. Whatever. I didn’t even listen to it.

Update: Unfinished version of the video for Mr. Me Too from the Clipse. I wasn’t feeling this song too tough before, but now that I saw the video I kinda like it. Funny how that works. (thanks Berkani)

Today it was announced that, moving forward, Cristal will no longer be served in either of the two 40/40 Club locations. I think it’s pretty obvious that Jay saw my post from last week and ran with my idea. It’s common knowledge that these superstar/high power executive types steal all their ideas from the little guy and then claim all the glory.

Jay-Z Responds to Comments From Champagne Brand Director

NEW YORK, June 14 /PRNewswire/ — In response to comments made by Frederic Rouzaud, the managing director of Louis Roderer Cristal, Jay-Z and his upscale sports lounge, The 40/40 Club, have announced that they will no longer be serving Cristal Champagne and Jay-Z will further help lead the boycott against Cristal Champagne in the world of hip-hop.

Despite loyal patronage by Jay-Z, his clientele, and the entire hip-hop community, Rouzaud said in a special edition of The Economist magazine that the company observes its association with the rap world with "curiosity and serenity." Even though Jay and other rappers continually support the brand by including Cristal in their lyrics, as Jay did in his number 1 hit "Hard Knock Life," Rouzaud has labeled the name-checks as "unwelcome attention."

"It has come to my attention that the managing director of Cristal, Frederic Rouzaud views the ‘hip-hop’ culture as "unwelcome attention." I view his comments as racist and will no longer support any of his products through any of my various brands including The 40/40 Club nor in my personal life," said Jay-Z.

This move was pretty much mandatory, especially from this guy, considering the amount of this stuff he’s responsible for selling over the past 10 years. At the end of the press release it says he’s available for interviews on the subject, so I emailed the PR dude because I have some questions. For instance: How do you jack my idea and not even mention Nah Right in the press release?

I’ll let you know how that goes.