R&B Soulstress Etta James Dies @ 73

Etta James, the powerful voice behind the timeless classic, “At Last” has lost her battle with leukemia this morning. In 2010, it was first announced that the singer had been diagnosed with dementia and leukemia.

She was portrayed by Beyonce Knowles in the film, Cadillac Records, which was based on the rise and fall of her record label, Chess. However, I remember her for lashing out at Beyonce because she [Beyonce] was asked to sing, “At Last” for President Obama at his Inaugural Ball, a tantrum of which was attributed to her Alzheimer’s disease that she acquired in 2008. Ms. James was discovered by Johnny Otis, who died three days ago at age 90. Time is winding up!

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DJWillieShakes

Raekwon Names His Fave NBA Players, Who Would Be On His Dream Team

Superbowl conversations are fading in the distance and not too much talk is filtering over from the Grammy’s. It’s apparent that All-Star Weekend is close-by, right around the corner to be exact. Personally, I’m more of a skill fanatic than an analyst. Defense wins games, but offense wins my attention. If I could, I’d have the Lower-Merrion Kobe and Tarheel Jordan on the same team w/ damn near 6 ring Champion Jordan and 6 ring Champion Kobe & then just throw Orlando Shaq in the mix.

Raekwon The Chef of the Dream Team Wu-Tang sits down and elaborates on his favorite players as well as the line-up he’d prefer to see in the league. I wouldn’t mind seeing the WU play a 6 on 6 with themselves, lol. VIDEO INSIDE

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DJWillieShakes

The Black Male Re-Imagined|99Problems.org

Last week, I was in New York where I spent a few days in the mix with some of the non-profit sectors and Hip Hop’s elite such as American Values Institute, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Open Society Foundations, as well as Geoffrey Canada of The Harlem Children’s Zone who kicked off the conference by being the host facility of the panel that featured Russell Simmons, Nick Cannon, & Lupe Fiasco. The conference focused on trying to create a better portrayal of blacks, males in particular, on the big screen and in the music. I wanted to be a fly on the wall. On one hand, I have every right to be in that room but I represent a demographic that don’t even know that room exists.

PEEP THE REST OF MY OPINIONS INSIDE

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DJWillieShakes

The 99th Problem: Teaching Our Kids to Dream

There is something we can do to save our public education system and ensure that not only the arts and music programs we care about are sustained, but that every qualified young person can seamlessly attend college for little to no cost.

This week call your Congressmen and tell them that YOU support President Obama’s stance on education in his proposed budget by calling 1-888-299-1447 or go to www.unionvoice.org/campaigns/studentloans and write a letter. Every little bit counts to save our public education system to benefit US!

For more info on organizing around education issues, check out www.usstudents.org

Posted by:

Heather Box