Damn, Donna Summers was cold talent-wise and physically! Her voice was crisp but she was stunning at the same time. Ms. Summers, who didn’t put up much of a fight climbing the charts in her 40-year career, battled with cancer, as a lot of people her age are. At the age of 63, she succumbed to the disease. I wish we could lock cancer up in jail and throw away the key because it’s taking more lives than gun violence.

Donna Summers will be missed by many. There’s no doubt that she probably has inspired music by some of your favorite artists/groups. Below there are five artists that have benefited from her talented life. Peep!

 Sampled by Neyo & Fabolous “Ms. Independent”

Sampled by Beyonce “Naughty Gir”, Timbaland & Magoo “Luv 2 Luv Ya”, & Digital Underground “Freaks of the Industry”

Cancer is a beast! The American Cancer Society has recently stated that cancer has already taken 577,190 lives this year. It nevers gets old and you don’t have to be old to get it. Forty-seven-year-old Adam Yauch, better known as “MCA” of the crew that brought you the new style, Beastie Boys, has also lost his three-year battle with cancer. Our prayers are with his family as well as the many others who’ve lost a loved one due to this disease.

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

Mr. Peter Parker and DJ Whoo Kid have joined forces to produce for some and introduce to others, “FRATRAP.” Mac Miller is a perfect addition to the ensemble. While Jay-Z was so adamant about bringing death to auto-tune, Mac is more focused on the emcee. Don’t spoil your dinner, but get a taste of what’s more to come!

I hate to dwell on the past, especially in the brand new year but the recent incident that took place in Milwaukee costing the life of Andrew Damone Tyler, reminds me of the death of aspiring producer and artist, Koo Laid & LaLa Brown. Although, their assailant remains unknown, the scenario involves the production of music, in which a ton of residents in Milwaukee partake in.

Two Milwaukee men were recently charged for the murder of this young man that a lot of people in the city knew and held plenty positive sentiment in his regard. As a producer of many things, beats being one of them, I think that death over music production is extreme.

Were Jorge and Rowlando so dope as artists that they’d die or even kill to have the right beats that complimented their style of rhyming? Did they take their music careers that serious? Is the unemployment rate so high, that a rap career is the only thing that young people can look forward to as a means to a promising future? I have a feeling there is more to the plot behind the death of Andruw Damone Tyler.

Visit JSonline for more on this story.

Mumia Abu Jamal will not be executed. I repeat, Mumia Abu Jamal will not be executed! The former Black Panther turned prisoner whose name has rang bells for 30 years due to the death of a police officer, is being granted LIFE over DEATH. This is extraordinary news for the many that have followed this case and cases alike and since Troy Davis couldn’t be pardoned, the worse was expected.

Read Full Story HERE

Damn, he was a Panther not a monster! But I understand her sentiment.

It’s very troubling to know these young people are still not joking about taking the lives of other people. Like, I can imagine them saying, “I’ll kill that dude.” Then I ask, are we really that angry? There’s people in gov’t that’s doing much worse things to us and we aren’t even educated enough to get mad about it. That’s another sad story to weep about.

This morning, I woke up to friends of mine saying rest in peace and farewell to a person we all knew. It reminds me that one day you’re cool and then the next people could be talking about how cool you were. Andruw Damone, you were one cool dude! In high school, I enjoyed our back n forth banter but now you’re in a higher place.

Whether this unfortunate occurrence was over money, a girl, a mean mug in the club, a bad drug deal gone wrong, or two dudes that just didn’t get along, it still wasn’t worth taking the life of another.

“We gotta start makin’ changes. Learn to see me as a brother instead of 2 distant strangers. And that’s how it’s supposed to be. How can the Devil take a brother if he’s close to me? I’d love to go back to when we played as kids but things changed, and that’s the way it is…” Tupac Shakur

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 you may know, the Libyan Leader, Muammar Gaddafi’s 42-year rule was put to an immediate end as he was recently captured and slain. However, you may not have caught the airing of the 1987 sitcom, ‘Second Chance,’ that displays the date July 29th, 2011 where he is sitting before God and is sent to hell. 83 days off, but what a guess. God Bless The Dead!

Cancer has been around forever and has not shown any signs of leaving any time soon. It has killed so many. How much more will it take? How much more can we take?

Personally, I would rather be doing other things right now than to have to watch my grandmother on the frontlines battling cancer… again, from 2,000 miles away. In fact, I just got a call two days ago from my siblings telling me grandma was rushed to the hospital again for some issues due to her diagnosis. Cancer is a beast!

After the jump, the homie Chuck Creekmur from AllHipHop allows his mother Syliva, a survivor of 20 years, to give us all some rather inspiring advice on how to identify and defeat cancer…

(1) If you are a believer, ask God for what you desire, knowing that He will answer. If the answer is not the one you wanted, know that everything will still work out for your good.

(2) Be positive. Don’t dwell on the negative. Read encouraging articles about those who have survived. Read the scriptures or anything that will encourage your spirit.

(3) Never question God with “why me?” Rather say, “why not me?” If you are a believer, you have the armor you need to conquer this challenge. If you are not a believer, you have probably lived long enough to know that life is filled with adversity and everyone will experience it at some point in time. Who are you to be exempt?

(4) When I wanted to continue revisiting what had happened to me, my surgeon said, “ Stop ruminating. If you have to ruminate, do it for about five minutes and then focus on living.” That was profound advice for me. It made me realize that I was wasting energy concentrating on the past. Don’t live in the past. Live in the present. Embrace life.

(5) Surround yourself with positive people. There are people who will immediately start to inform you about how sick you will be from the therapy (chemo, radiation, etc.). Everyone’s experience is not the same. I never missed a day from work because of chemotherapy . Even if you experience some discomfort, it will not last forever.

My husband was my greatest encourager. He was telling people from the very outset that it was an early diagnosis, and I was going to be fine. The doctor had not given us that prognosis, but my husband wanted me to internalize that I would be healed. After recovering, his coworkers at school shared with me that he was “worried sick” about losing me. Yet, he knew that conveying his fear was not going to contribute to my survival. He used his coworkers to vent.

Once you survive, use your experience to help someone else. Be an encourager. Share any literature, words of wisdom, medical information or other resources that might help another individual.

(6) Adjust your lifestyle to reflect habits that may contribute to a healthy body. Diet and exercise have proven to be invaluable for “good” health.

(7) Get regular checkups to know how you are progressing. Even if you survive and feel well, you want a competent physical to monitor your vital signs.

(8) Be informed. Read, read, read. Ask questions. Don’t leave everything up to your doctor.

(9) Do something everyday, regardless of how small it is, that makes you happy. Don’t allow the routine of your day to contribute to a stressful existence.

(10) Love and PUSH (Pray Until Something Happens). Use the time you have and share it with those you love. Life will throw us some curve balls, but it is our response to those curves balls that will make the difference. When faced with life’s challenges, continue to PUSH.

You can check the full article from on AllHipHop HERE.

Someone needs to expose the #Truth4Troy. We owe him that!

It’s funny, when you see Martin Luther King marching in Selma, seldom do we acknowledge those who marched alongside him. In reality, there were a lot of ‘Kings’ that we don’t pay tribute to. We only remember the figures that are in the forefront, which is unfortunate.

Because of my own ignorance and lack of knowledge as well, those that were hired to inform me in public education, I knew nothing of Fred Shuttlesworth, until his passing today. However, he was a ‘king’ throughout the movements of the civil rights, in his own right. So I write this, hopefully, to educate another young person about a man as great as Mr. Shuttlesworth! And truth-be-told, everyone won’t make the spotlight but that shouldn’t discourage you from being active.

Check out Cord Jefferson’s post @ Good.is for the 5 Things You Should Know About Fred Shuttlesworth.

Yep, Milwaukee is on the map. We’re definitely killing em… Our own, that is! I woke up to a text from my mom asking me if I knew Dwight McCoy, followed by a tweet with the link to the story. When I saw the headlines, “Milwaukee Producer Murdered,” Koo-Laid & Lala is the first thing that came to mind. After meeting fam a few times at events and talking about collaborating, I gathered that homie was sincere about coming up by way of music in MKE. Team Loyalty Ent is the label he managed with Cincere being their main artist.

I don’t know the motives behind Dwight’s death but I know MKE is full of haters so I’m curious to know, Are we taking music too serious or are we not taking life serious enough??? How long will we allow our music scene to turn into a murder scene? One thing is for sure, once the yellow tape plays, there is no stopping or rewinding it! TLE Keep Ya Heads Up! MKE #PutTheGunsDown

View Video & Full Story HERE

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

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

Inglewood is up to no good once again! A city native who happens to be M-Bone of Cali Swag District (known for their successful debut single, “Teach me How To Dougie”), was gunned down this weekend by an assailant in a moving vehicle and no one has any details that can close the case. PUT THE DAMN GUNS DOWN!!!! Read more HERE

Jadakiss interviews are almost as entertaining as his music. While pleading guilty of being a semi-hip-hop-head, I love reminiscing on where we’ve come from. Kiss takes us on an exclusive trip down memory lane, highlighting the moments he spent with the late, great Frank White!

The body of Frederick Jermaine Carter was found hanging from a tree and local authorities ruled the death a suicide. His family and Blacks, however, don’t believe the young man took his own life. Click HERE for the Final Call’s take on this unfortunate loss of a life, no matter what the cause.