Jay-Z and Pacquiao on Same-Sex Marriage

Boxer Manny Pacquiao was recently denied access to a scheduled-interview at the Grove Shopping Mall for his remarks about same-sex marriage, prompted by recent comments made by President Obama. Pacquiao stated that “I am against gay marriage, but I am not condeming gays.”

Unlike Pacquiao, many stars have recently come out not only in support of Obama’s statements, but also for same-sex marriage. Most notably, rapper Jay-Z publicly stated this week that it’s an issue of “discrimination, plain and simple.”

Boxers, hip-hop stars and incumbent presidents: these are not the usual suspects in the conversation about same-sex equality. Have LGBT rights gone mainstream in America? What do you think?

Posted by:

Ife

[INTERVIEW] Malik Yusef on Politics and Hip-Hop

Artist, poet, writer, musician, MC, rapper, and Chicago native, Malik Yusef is no stranger to success. This year, he won a Grammy with Kanye for the writing of “All of the Lights,” but this poet didn’t always have it so good.

Malik dropped out of high school because he had difficulty writing and speaking aloud in class.

“I used to crack a lot of jokes, distract the class, and get sent out all so I didn’t have to read out loud,” he said.

After dropping out of school, Malik decided to educate himself by spending a lot of time in the library. He started to write poetry about growing up on Chicago’s South Side as a coping mechanism.

“I had to learn ways to deal with people,” Malik said. “[young people should] figure out how to learn. They need to understand environmental literacy, and use context clues to inform themselves.”

… Continue Reading

Posted by:

Ife

Jasiri X “Trayvon”

Jasiri X does it once again.

Posted by:

DJWillieShakes

[WATCH] Gov’t Official Quotes Jay- Z “99Problems” and gets Corrected by the Moderator

Steve Stoute, Jay’s main man, framed this scenario best with his best-seller, ‘The Tanning of America.’ In this book, Stoute addresses the many occurrences in history where cultures clash and Elton John’s on stage with Eminem, while Jay-Z is on stage with Bono. These collaborations were most likely inspired by Run DMC & Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way,” a song that changed the collaboration culture in music.

By the way, Jay-Z at #SXSW last night, c/o American Express is definitely considered a tanning moment.

Posted by:

DJWillieShakes

#NewMusic: J. Cole “Visionz of Home”

To commemorate his hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina, which announced March 1st as “J. Cole Day,” Cole released this Elite-produced track “Visionz Of Home.”

Cole gets a day, so I guess we get a day off? If not, it’s a Cole World!

Posted by:

DJWillieShakes