Seen on Los Angeles Times:

Pinpoint the moment cops killed Kelly Thomas, the defense argued. Prove it wasn’t just near-to-death assault:

“Is there a particular act that actually had the effect?” asked John Barnett, the attorney for Manuel Ramos, one of the two officers charged in the case.

Was it the fists that Officer Manuel Ramos (pictured at left, next to Corporal Jay Cicinelli, right) said “are gonna f*ck you up” when he first swung at Kelly Thomas, R.I.P.? Or the baton from the second cop that put Thomas to the ground? Or the flashlight assault from a third, the taser to the head from a fourth, the knees-on-chest from a fifth, the raw and unfiltered fury from the sixth police officer that a security camera caught on July 5th, 2011?

New video of the death of Kelly Thomas was released today, and the world wide web recoiled in horror. Hit the jump for what is, HUGE WARNING, one of the sickest and most depressing videos I’ve seen in a year that has already been marked by horrendous vigilantism and the kind of heinous police-on-public brutality that is slowly, surely, and seriously eroding any of the miniscule trust we still have in the Boys in Blue.

The untimely death of a soul so angelic left so many people wondering, who, what, when, where, and why – but only God truly knows. Yesterday evening, a select group of family, friends, and mourners in the community gathered to remember the life and legacy of Alori Joh.

Online the outpour of love and disbelief is endless. Her last tweet was of her promoting her sister’s Tumblr. And if you happen to visit her sister’s Twitter page, you’ll witness her reaching out to one of the TDE affiliates asking about Alori’s whereabouts. And as you digest that, you might be able to imagine the emotions of Alori’s sibling.

“The Love Religion” is the last official project of the late Alori Joh. Get familiar and download HERE

This morning I got word that Alori Joh passed away and like most people who knew of her work or knew her personally, I’m speechless. The lovely songstress was known most for her connection to T.D.E., the collective that houses talent such as Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, SchoolBoy Q and Ab-Soul.

I met her at the 2DopeBoyz BBQ in L.A. and upon introduction I expressed how beautiful her music was. We interacted on Twitter about upcoming music. While discovering her music for the first time, I’d reached out to her and bigged her up on the “Brazil” record with D Tonez.

If you ask me, she was well on her way. I don’t get how such a beautiful soul could leave so mysteriously. If the cause of death below is true, my mind will be a scattered puzzle for a while.

More on the story HERE

Check out another homie that’s buzzing on the West, Brian James. The Compton-bred emcee brought a couple of friends with em as well and on this track, the trio explores a series of struggles and overcoming them. With our country still trying to come back from one of it’s greatest recessions, this message shouldn’t be hard digest. Listen and leave a comment if you’re feeling this!

http://www.facebook.com/brianjamesvision
Follow em on Twitter @brianjamesmusic

I stumbled upon this record today and I had to share it with you! Yancy Deron is reppin Pasadena and the haters are as aktive there as they are everywhere else. Dude go hard on this one.

This gangbanging sh!! never gets old in LA but for some reason I feel like hip-hop has made it even more cool.

A negative Twitter dialogue could possibly be the cause of the unconfirmed death of @Rosemo700, whom is identified as a known Blood in Inglewood, CA. Over the weekend, videos on Worldstar have surfaced featuring @Rosemo700 as the main character in the assault of another young man because of an exchange of words on the major social platform that never sleeps. A couple days later, Twitter has claimed he’s been slain. This is said to be the same guy that allegedly knocked out The Game in the FoxHills mall a few weeks back.

Idk if this guy is dead or not, but its shocking to me that he could be. There are thousands of videos on Worldstar of young people getting knocked out, shot at, stabbed, jumped, etc. We watch them and laugh. How often do we sit back and analyze what happens next? One thing is for sure, they’re still banging in LA HARD!

This supposedly took place in Inglewood, my new home.

“I’m getting the f* outta LA, can’t go nowhere without it getting all shot up and sh**”

As a follow up to the original LA Vs. WAR show held in April 2008, the PEACE Photo Project is collaborating again with LA Vs. WAR II to bring another revolutionary three-day experiential art exhibition and cultural event to Los Angeles. LA Vs. War II: Art for Peace in the Hope Era returns from September 9th through the  11th, commemorating the ten-year anniversary of the September 11 attacks with a massive group art exhibition in Downtown Los Angeles at the Vortex Philanthropic Space.

America is considered to be the “melting pot” of the world. Though times have changed and people are able to move around, America still has the widest variety of people, cultures and lifestyles. We come from all walks of life, sharing a common purpose, to achieve the so-called American Dream of success and happiness.

On Thursday, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill requiring all public schools in the state to teach students about the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans, as well as providing instruction on the role of people with disabilities. Even though there is a lot of controversy surrounding the issue and this bill is a first for the nation, I do agree with Gov. Brown when he said, “History should be honest.”

Beginning in January, the California school system’s curriculum will take a big turn. Although textbooks will not change until 2015, teachers will start the teaching process. Unlike the Traditional Values Coalition and other religious groups who oppose this change, I’m all for it. I have nothing against LGBT Americans and like I mentioned earlier, Gov. Brown is absolutely correct that history should be honest.

Students are already learning about the contributions of African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Native Americans, and Mexican-Americans so why not teach them about the contributions of LGBT and disabled Americans? America was founded on the principle that anyone can make it here because everyone is welcome and supposed to be treated equally. Though we often forget this principle, it’s still the foundation of our country and it should not be forgotten. Who you love or choose to have relations with should not affect how you’re treated anywhere. America is a place where differences are supposed to be accepted instead of frowned-upon.

In a sense, I understand where the religious and conservative groups are coming from, but I feel that as times change, our minds should open up more. Whether you’re black, white, gay, or straight we all bleed red. We shouldn’t discriminate against one another because of what we are. Instead, we should come together to save our country because of who we are.

Cali residents were hoaxed into believing that the scheduled maintenance on the 405 freeway would back up traffic so bad that the best place you’d want to be is at home, hence the name CAR-MAGEDDON. To put things into perspective, the 405 is the biggest and most utilized freeway in the nation. It’s also the same freeway that the OJ Simpson’s turtle race car chase and Bill Cosby’s son’s homicide took place. With the freeway congestion being so legendary, people often joke that the interstate was numbered 405 because traffic moves at “four or five” miles per hour, or because drivers need “four or five” hours to get anywhere.

Apparently, that promotion of this event frightened everyone because as the dreaded weekend approached, employers let their staff leave early or call in. Some churches aren’t even having service today. However, it was reported that traffic was the lightest that residents had seen in years. This false prophecy might’ve been just as bad as ‘The Rapture’ occurring on May 21st. What a jip. What was your escape route? We’d love to know how you survived Carmageddon!

Prison is not supposed to be equivalent to your stay at a five-star hotel but at least treat the inmates that occupy the space as human beings. Even animals are treated better than the inmates in more than a dozen California prisons which is why they’re participating in a hunger strike that has lasted more than a week, risking death in the process.

For more on this story, Continue HERE

Not only is Tupac Back but so is all of your favorite cultural icons from the ’90s. Rodney King wishes he was having a dream when he saw those cherries and berries in his rearview this week.

Apparently, this guy was busted in Cali after cops said he appeared to be high or drunk. They could easily just be making excuses but obviously this guy is struggling with his addiction more than others. He’s even appeared on celebrity rehab shows but this is the reality: Speeding or on speed, slow down son, you’re killing yourself!

Brief Black History For 21 and Under: All four officers that were charged in the beating of Rodney King were acquitted, sparking riots across L.A. that killed 55 people and caused more than $1 billion in property damage. Two of the officers were later found guilty of federal civil rights violations; two were acquitted. King was awarded $3.8 million in damages. He became engaged last year to a juror from that federal trial.

Cali Swag is now releasing the visual to their song that pays homage to their fallen member and brother. #PutTheGunsDown!!!

Besides further establishing himself in the rap industry, G. Malone is now on a mission to speak up and acquire rights for those currently incarcerated in the California prison system. According to XXLMAG, the L.A. based lyricist has teamed up with Matt Gray, a lobbyist in the state of California, to go before the Assembly and the Senate and advocate for prisoners’ [health] rights. Hmmmm….I wonder how he feels about their voting rights when they’re released back in to society.

See Story in Full HERE

UPDATE: Mother admits the entire thing was a hoax to get tabloid money. Looks like we got another Balloon Boy situation…

A mom in California, has been injecting her 8-year-old daughter with Botox. According to Good Morning America, she claimed that she was giving her young daughter Botox at home to rid face of wrinkles.

Brittany, the kid, is getting a horrible dose of “how to make up things to hate yourself for” – poor girl. In an interview on Good Morning America, Brittany was asked the reason for getting the Botox shots.

“Um, I don’t know,” she said cluelessly.

Her mother, Kelly Campbell,  then reminded her of why she was getting the Botox treatments. It was difficult for me to watch the GMA interview.  My heart dropped looking at the face of that beautiful young lady who is being subjected to cosmetic alterations to  look “acceptable” in the exploitative world of child pageants (some call them beauty pageants).

The mom , Kelly,  justified the use of Botox on her baby by saying that her and Brittany “discussed it” and that Brittany “wanted to” do the Botox to keep up with the other girls. It’s an outright tragedy. Poor Brittany is potentially scared for life and describes her face after the injections as, “way better,” “pretty” and “all those nice words.” GTFOH! #FAIL

Check out the video.

When schools are bad enough that a kid has a higher chance of ending up in jail than college, something’s got to be done. California is trying a new approach to place the power in the hands of parents.

In 2010, California passed the “parent trigger” law, which allowed for parents whose kids attend failing schools to organize to shut down the school and replace it with a charter school. If 51 percent of the parents sign a petition, a charter school can be established.

Charter schools are playing an important role in education reform today. Some of them have become wildly successful, while many have also failed to perform better than the public schools. They are naturally controversial because they are still an experiment, and when it comes to their future, no one wants to use kids as guinea pigs.

Parent Revolution is the non-profit managing the effort to get parents organized and pushing back in their communities. They’ve faced a lot of opposition since supporting the parent-trigger law.

Mother Jones reports:

“The bill, backed by Parent Revolution and other charter school believers, squeaked through the state legislature last year and was opposed fiercely by teacher unions. (California Teachers Association’s Frank Wells argues that it was an ill-considered, last-minute attempt to qualify California for federal Race to the Top funding, which the Golden State didn’t win.) Similar legislation is now popping up in at least five other states, and it’s no exaggeration to say that what happens here could someday be mirrored across the country.”

Check out the rest of the controversial article at Mother Jones.

Recently, footage surfaced of the Funkmaster Flexing on a crowd in New York. He pissed off a lot of people but is standing by every word. That doesn’t mean this is going to sit well with some of the many loyal 2pac supporters.

I agree, Pac was a rebel but he doesn’t deserve a “Fuck You” of any sort. He addressed so many social issues in and out of his music which is why so many people were emotionally attached to him. Biggie repped for Brooklyn hard! Pac was powerful enough to rep for us all.

In my opinion, nothing should be said about Pac or the situations that took place. This shit is old but powerful enough to be what we don’t want it to be.

Rock the Vote launches a new high school civics program, Democracy Class, at Arleta High School in Los Angeles. California. Secretary of State Debra Bowen, Councilman Tony Cardenas and Cali Swag District come into the classroom to talk to the students about the importance of voting. Chuuch!

See, I knew my theory was correct. Those dudes you assume are up are up to no good because they’re standing on the corner are really dancers. Ha! It’s called Turf Dancing (or Turfing) and Wikipedia describes it as an improvisational, free-flowing form of dance that focuses on storytelling, the creation of optical illusions, and the display of distinctive personal style. Dance elements include popping, locking, and Miming. Sounds like Crip Walking to me but no gang origins have caught my attention when in relation to Turf Dancing. Although, in Oakland Turf Daning can be used as dispute resolutions. There is a very interesting video attached to this text below. CHECK IT OUT

This is interesting. A home-made video surfaces with a self-proclaimed meteorologist predicting a massive earthquake that’s supposed to affect the entire West-Coast, emphasis on California.

“The earthquake will be sooo powerful in California, it may destroy lots of pas *cough cough”

Appearing to be a goofball who a hold of a camera on the set of Twister, should this messenger be taken seriously? Yes! Did we not learn anything from Raymond Babbitt, a man with autism, with superb recall but little understanding of subject matter.

As a person who deals with messaging on a daily basis, I understand the power of messaging and strength in repetition. This guy Frankie Mc ?? (lets just say McDonald) or whoever is working through him is familiar with this method as well. As you can see, MC Frankie is very accurate in the information that he gives out, no matter how many times he loses you, the messaging is still the same. The question is, How many times has this guy been right? Like, what was the last thing he’s been right about. Maybe that’ll make a difference when measuring the possibilities.

If this guy IS right, Someones gonna have a BIG problem on their hands!

updated

Just spotted this video at WSHH. Apparently, some folks in California think that Obama is “miserly” and “stingy” because they had the gumption to throw up this sign. Isn’t free speech amazing?! Our first amendment rights protect racists and rappers.

I love how the word niggardly has been creating so many controversies lately. I think it’s one of the funniest words in the dictionary. Maybe one day we will know what it means.