Media Chin-Check

School Bans Students from MySpace

2006-05-24T16:34:47Z

A school near Chicago is making students sign a pledge promising that they won't engage in illegal or inappropriate actions on MySpace. ABC News has a video on the story.

Though it sounds like an invasion of privacy, schools have the legal right to to punish students who are creating an "unsafe environment" even if it's outside of the school. However, just because the school has the right, doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

]]> I went on to some of the MySpace pages from high school students in that district to see what type of "unsafe environments" they were creating. First I saw that The Wifehas (probably not her real name) from Vernon Hills High School called Jeremy a "trifflin' hoe" in his comment section. That's certainly not the type of behavior that should be tolerated in Community High School District 128.

On The Wifehas' page another student name "Jigga" left this comment: "Im sure it has, ive been doing some whicked squats lately". I'm not sure what all that slang means, but it's probably code for, "Let's have unprotected sex tonight, then pray". District 128 shouldn't tolerate either of those actions. I suggest suspending both students.

Dear, Rime Magazine - Pay Your Writers!

2006-05-22T16:35:45Z

I don't have anything personal against Rime Magazine, but I feel comfortable putting them on blast, because they don't pay my bills. Y'see, according to a few of their hip-hop writers, Rime doesn't pay anyone's bills.

Read the thread on MySpace where they reveal which magazines have yet to pay them. Rime gets name checked about 4 times as a perpetual no-pay line stepper.

]]> I understand that they're going through money issues, but they need to be upfront with their writers while asking for a story to be written. I hope the mag stays in business, and all the contributors get their fair share.

Nike Goes Overboard With Lebron James Commercials

2006-05-18T17:14:16Z

Somehow Lebron James' Cavs have the Detroit Pistons on the brink of elimination from the NBA Playoffs. Yet even though their series ain't over yet, there is a clear winner in this game - Nike Basketball.

With all their "We are all witnesses" spots during every game break, I feel like this playoff broadcast is really a long Nike commercial, featuring a basketball game every once in a while. In typical Nike fashion the commercial is way over the top and dramatic. They show the city of Cleveland preparing for the Cavs in the playoffs by painting their children's faces with Lebron's jersey number and proudly showing off their "witness" t-shirts. Walk into the living room at the wrong moment and you'd think this was a religious cult prepping for the arrival of their saviour.

But that's probably what Nike's trying to get across.

]]>

What do ya'll think of this commercial?

Power 105 Fires Star, But That's Not Enough

2006-05-11T04:56:40Z

One of the worst dirty tricks in media is when a company purposely tries to create a volatile situation that will offend people and boost ratings, only to publicly apologize for it later and fire the person who they hired to stir up the controversy. Some call this disgusting game an "apologevent", and it's practiced by a range of "ratings over reason" media outlets, including television networks, and the online versions of some hiphop magazines. Now, New York's new #1 hiphop station, Power 105 is the latest to be guilty of it.

Last year Power 105 hired shock jocks Star and Buc Wild to use their toilet humor bring up the ratings for their morning show. Star delivered, and his show carried the rest of Power to the top spot for urban radio in New York. Now, SOHH reports Star has been fired for making racist and threatening comments about DJ Envy, a rival morning show DJ at Hot 97, who has an Asian American wife and child.

The blame can't rest on Star alone. The execs at Power knew what they were getting into when they hired homey. Star used to sling his grime at Hot 97 a few years ago, and was suspended from the air multiple times for antics like running skits that made fun of Aaliyah's tragic death. Power wasn't just aware of Star's low brow humor. Instead, his coarse joking was the very reason they hired him. And now that he's done their dirt, they want to sacrifice him and expect the public to be satisfied with that.

]]> Instead, the management at Power 105 should also be held responsible, ~~starting with the firing of their program director, Michael Saunders~~. Until that happens, you can expect Star to be replaced by another host who will come in with the same raunchy agenda, or be coaxed into it by ~~Saunders himself~~ the management.

Let's be clear about this - Star was fired because of the community pressure that's coming against Hot 97. DJ Envy's wife, Gia Casey and New York City Councilman John Liu, along with other local leaders put out a media advisory arguing that Power broke FCC regulations and called for Star to take the hit. If not for that, Star wouldn't have just slided, but probably would have gotten a bonus from Power 105 managment. He's said worse things on air since he's been at the station, and it didn't seem like Saunders or anyone else there really cared. Until now.

For those of you who haven't heard the remarks that got Star in trouble, read it on today's Ya Heard.

What do you guys think? Who should be held responsible for this mess?

UPDATE: It seems that their old program director Saunder was already fired for a payola scandal.

Sean "Diddy" Combs On Time's 100 Influential People List

2006-05-01T16:49:18Z

Sometimes I forget just how rich and just how young Diddy is. So says Time Magazine:

"Combs, known these days as Diddy, has been on the forefront of pushing hip-hop culture into the mainstream. He is a record producer, entertainment mogul, writer, arranger, designer, actor, singer and three-time Grammy Awardâ€"winning rapper. And at age 36, Combs is worth an estimated $315 million."

No wonder why they just named him as one of this year's "100 Most Influential People". The profile is written by fashion designer Vivienne Tam, a good look since most of Diddy's fortune and credibility comes from his clothing company and cologne.

]]> Now here's the question of the day - sure Diddy hasn't done anything spectac' on the music side lately, but are we in hip-hop frontin on dude too much?

Shots Fired at Hot 97, Something's Got to Give

2006-04-27T16:31:59Z

SOHH reports: mixtape rapper Gravy was shot in the behind outside of the ~~Shot 97~~ Hot 97 radio station last night. Gravy survived and seems to be doing OK, since he showed up for an interview at Hot 97 afterwards.

Now, this is the third rapper related shooting near the Hot 97 building in the last few years. I love hip-hop and everything, but if I worked in that building I would have asked for a transfer long ago.

Last year the landlord complained about the violent atmosphere Hot 97 was creating and asked to limit their number of visitors to 2 at a time. Fair deal. We all know it's the artist's huge, uncontrollable entourage that causes all the mess. Now, this detail in the story jumped out at me:

"Word is Gravy went to the station with an entourage of approximately 30 people sporting T-shirts with his moniker on it."

]]> Why are 30 people rolling with him to an interview? I bet Gravy doesn't even know all them dudes.

Even though Hot 97 isn't directly responsible for any of the shootings, someone has to be held accountable for what's going on. I'm surprised the White folks in their neighborhood has let it go on for this long.

Reebok Gives Up On Hip-Hop, Or The Other Way Around

2006-04-26T20:04:50Z

Now that Reebok has been brought by Adidas they will go back to being focused on athletic shoes, instead of the lifestyle sneakers that boosted their brand years ago. So says the CEO:

"We've been a little bit too lifestyle-focused maybe over the past couple years, and we want to shift actually more toward the performance side of our business"

In other words, they're dropping the Jay-Z's and 50 Cent's and going after more Allen Iverson's. Hmm...seems like they've been reading my blog.

]]> After you sign up the top teir of rappers with sneaker deals, I don't think it's worth dealing with the B-listers, like they've done this year. Nike proabably already understands this, which is probably why they didn't blink even after the S. Carter's and G5's did so well.

(via GrandGood.)

The Clipse on the Cover of Mass Appeal

2006-04-24T14:54:31Z

Mass Appeal, in its tenth year and 39th issue, has them Clipse boys on the cover this month. What a good look.

I haven't purchased a Mass Appeal off the stands since they had Eminem and Rakim share a cover. Next month they went with Nas and Large Professor, but after that they gave up using popular artists to sell issues, for whatever reason.

Jon Caraminica gets the Clipse to speak on their frustations with being in rapper limbo, even though the first album did well. It's not just their wack label deal that has them in that floating state. Their Virginia location also has them outside the mixtape and tour circuit that New York, Atlanta, and Houston enjoys. So, even though they can make crack rap anthems with the best of them, it's dudes like Juelz, Jeezy, and Weezy getting all the shine.

]]> On the cover, notice how they take the stars on their jeans and sprinkle them around the photo. Also, as an inside joke for those familiar with the recent drug dealer t-shirts controversy, they blur out the "snow" on the shirt as if Mass Appeal isn't allowed to show it. It's those type of details that makes a cover like this pop.

What do ya'll think?

Lupe Fiasco's Leaky Food and Liquor

2006-04-17T16:55:30Z

Late last week Lupe Fiasco's debut album got the Yousendit treatment and was leaked via dozens of message boards, blogs, and backroom AIM convos. Atlantic, the label set to profit from a proper release of the "Food and Liquor" album in May has been going bananas trying to put the genie back in the bottle, while Lupe has been resigned that his career will be further stalled by a scrapped release date.

I say stop the nonsense. Common's platinum album was "freed" on the net wires weeks before the real one dropped. And I had a Kanye mixtape of "College Dropout" that included pre-mix versions of almost all the album tracks, plus some that didn't make the sample clearance cut. Yet I still went out to buy the official-official.

So far the leak has created insta-buzz for Lupe, even more so than his sneaker deal or the snore-worthy "Kick, Push" video. How could this be a bad thing?

]]> All Atlantic has to do to make kids buy the album is include a DVD with some of his videos, an interview, and footage of him skateboarding and buying something from a local Chicago food and liquor. That ain't so hard to do, and it's not original either. For years Interscope has been including throwaway DVD's with their important releases to secure top first week spots on the charts, word to Eminem and 50 Cent.

The folks at Atlantic need to get their Elliott-on and swagger jack that strategy from Interscope, instead of kick, pushing Lupe's album date back. If the album is good, it will sell. What do ya'll think?

Eminem and Obie Trice In Complex Magazine

2006-04-13T15:20:07Z

Complex Magazine has a great cover story this month on Eminem and Obie Trice. Rereading the interview after Proof's death makes it eerie because they dive into what happened with Obie's own shooting and Em's frantic reaction to it.

]]> Also, the Eminem portion of the interview gives me the feeling that he's done for good, whether he knows it or not. For instance, he already talks about being "half retired" and he's still concerned about the safety of his family and entourage, as he showed in the "Like Toy Soldiers" video. With Proof now gone, I can imagine Marshall will step out of the limelight for good.

Also, according to his own admission, he's gained a bunch of weight, a sure sign that a pop star is about to take a break.

I wish the best for Em. He's one of my top 5, dead or alive, no matter what MTV says. And props to Complex for landing that tragically timely interview.

New York Newspaper Disses Proof's Death

2006-04-12T16:00:00Z

Today the NY Post ran an article about Proof's murder that began:

"Red-hot rapper Proof - a close pal of Eminem - was executed in a Detroit nightclub early yesterday when a gunman blew his brains out during a heated argument."

"Blew his brains out"? Holy hell. This so-called journalist, Bill Hoffman scribbled a description of Proof's murder that is more than just disrespectful - it's tasteless. I plan to email him about this at "bill.hoffmann@nypost.com" and I suggest you do the same.

]]> And this isn't just an isolated slight. When ODB died, the Post ran the headline, "Dead Dirty Bastard" as if our heroes in hip-hop don't deserve the same respect as any other artist who dies.

In another display of how inadequate Hoffman was a a choice to write this article, he ends with:

"It was not immediately known what the argument was about or whether it was part of the ongoing East Coast-West Coast rap war that has claimed such hip-hop greats as the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur."

Somebody fire this guy.

For real coverage of Proof's tragic passing, read SOHH's latest article and our Talkin' Videos tribute to him with a review of Eminem's Like Toy Soldiers.

R.I.P. Deshaun Holton aka Proof of D-12

2006-04-11T15:09:09Z

SOHH reports: Proof was murdered early this morning.

The news has hit me hard, but I didn't know I would feel any emotions towards a dead rapper. But that's the thing. I'm not seeing Proof as a rapper anymore. Instead he's Deshaun Holton, the black dude who loved rap music, and repped his hood. Just like me.

Remembering that there's a real person behind this murder story, I have some hopes for the media coverage of this in the next few weeks:

]]> 1. Rap doesn't kill people. So let's not bring that back up.

2. The beef between Detroit's "Chedda Boyz" and the murder of Blade Icewood seems like it could be related to Proof's shooting, so it's worth mentioning. However, the press should tread lightly - a misunderstanding about who killed Proof could lead to more violence at the Detroit street level.

3. There's no need to overstate Proof's importance to hip-hop or label him as the most underrated emcee, or anything silly like that. He was a man, and his life was taken from him, tragically. That's enough reason for him to be remembered and mourned.

R.I.P. Proof.

What Would You Change About Hip Hop?

2006-04-07T21:05:08Z

What if you woke up one morning and a genie was your room, offering you three wishes for the next three years in the future of hip hop. What would you make happen in this music of ours? A grip of well known hip hop writers are gethering at NYU on Saturday to answer that question (see more info. I'll be there, so come through and holla at me.)

Here's my three:

1. More Just Blaze

2. Less Mr. Collipark

3. Proper album releases for Killer Mike and Sleepy Brown

]]> What would your three wishes be?

Does Rap Music Make Kids Have Sex?

2006-04-04T17:41:17Z

SOHH reports: “A new study published in Pediatrics Magazine has revealed that raunchy rap lyrics are likely to push teenagers to have sex before the age of 16.”

Yeah, right. Lust is what urges teenagers to have sex at a young age.

However, let’s be real, my hip-hop people. Radio and TV outlets need to regulate the songs with raunchier lyrics to late night time slots, when kids are supposed to be asleep.

]]> BET played Marcus Houston’s naked video on 106^th & Park, a show targeted to kids. And I can’t pick on Houston or BET because it happens across the industry.

I know that studies like the one quoted above are off in who they assign blame too, but it’s time for hip-hop to take responsibility, and it needs to start from within our own community.

April Fools! SOHH Made You Look!

2006-04-03T16:45:14Z

Over the weekend SOHH wrote up their annual April Fools Day joke and caught a bunch of bloggers and news outlets with their fact checker pants down.

The fake story claimed that Diddy was suing Proactive for failure to even out his bumpy face and "preserve his sexy". The story further claimed Proactive was blaming Diddy's love of Diet Pepsi as the real cause for his acne. Not until you get to the end of the story and click the link, does the story reveal itself as a joke.

]]> Now, who would believe such a crazy story? Eurweb did. Crunk and Disorderly also picked it up (sorry, Ms. Fresh!), as well as Juicy Juice and Prof. GQ.

VH1's Best Week Ever blog mentioned the story, and linked to us. I'm hoping the story ends up on the TV show.

So, if you didn't know it before, understand it now - don't believe everything you read, especially on April Fools!

UPDATE: MuchMusic, ya'll are late, but we got you too!