Coming Soon

Michael Kiwanuka Home Again July 17, 2012 July 17 Nas Life Is Good July 24 The Gaslight Anthem Handwritten July 31 Joss Stone The Soul Sessions, Vol. 2 July 31 Rick Ross God Forgives, I Don’t

Insane in the Brain: Did Hip-Hop Drive Us Crazy ?

“I keep lookin’ over my shoulders/ and peepin’ ‘round corners/ my mind’s playin’ tricks on me” – “Mind Playin’ Tricks on Me”, Geto Boys

For a time, up and coming attorney, Beauford Jenkins, of the prestigious law firm, Black, Rock and Ron, seemed perfectly normal. Even when he legally changed his name to B-Dawg and got a lollipop tatted on his face, his coworkers thought it was just the stress from his new position as a junior partner. However, when during the weekly staff meeting, he jumped up on the conference room table and broke into an impromptu rendition of Nicki Minaj’s “Beez in the Trap”, while tryin’ to twerk, they knew it was time for him to seek professional help from Dr. Feel. After a few sessions , Beauford’s behavior was diagnosed as the effect of a lifetime of over-exposure to Hip-Hop…

One of the most difficult issues to discuss, especially in the Black community, is mental illness. No one wants to believe that Uncle Leroy, who comes to the family reunion picnic every year in a bathrobe and biker shorts, is really crazy. (No, that’s just his swag.) But in a period in Hip-Hop when it is becoming harder and harder to distinguish fantasy from reality, this issue must be addressed, ASAP.

Historically, there have been those who have, purposely, misdiagnosed normal Black behavior as abnormal. According to Dr. Harriett Washington, in her book, Medical Apartheid, during the mid-19th century, Dr. Samuel Cartwright concocted some diseases to diagnose those who resisted slavery. He came up with diseases like drapetomania, which made slaves want to run away, and dysaethesia aethiopica which, supposedly, made the slaves tear stuff up on the plantation.

Also, Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary and others have used the term “Post Traumatic Slavery Disorder” to describe the mental distress that results from centuries of slavery and oppression.

However, as for what is happening in Hip-Hop right now…well, normal people just don’t do that kind of stuff.

To be fair, over the years, Hip-Hop has dealt with its insanity in different ways – some funny, some not so funny.

UTFO had a humorous rap hit in the ’80s called “Split Personality”, which was a spoof on dissociative identity disorder. However, in the real rap world, that could explain why rappers like 50 Cent can make CDs that make them seem like homicidal maniacs, but when they are interviewed by Oprah or Pierce Brosnan, appear to be astute, well-mannered businessmen.

Some of the most graphic tales of mental disorder have come courtesy of Scarface and the Geto Boys, as the “Mind of a Lunatic” was a recurring theme in many of their songs. Scarface once described himself as “a homicidal maniac with suicidal tendencies.”

Perhaps , the most telling mental breakdown moment that best exemplifies Hip-Hop’s current state is the classic scene from the movie, Juice, when “Bishop“(Tupac Shakur) admits to “Q” (Omar Epps), “You’re right, I am crazy and I don’t give a …”, as insanity has become standard Hip-Hop protocol.

So, the major question is, what makes some Hip-Hop artists actually lose their minds in real life?

The most convenient answer may be alcohol and drug abuse abuse. After all, rap music does promote the use of marijuana, sizzurp, and X as forms of self-medication to ease the pain. Although the pharmacist at the drug store requires a prescription from a doctor, the neighborhood “street pharmacist” has no such requirement. Remember, back in 1991, Geto Boy, Bushwick Bill lost his eye, allegedly, after drowning his sorrows in a bottle of Everclear. Also, years before the current hysteria of people turning into cannibals after getting high on bath salt, back in 2002, rapper Big Lurch is said to have eaten a woman’s body parts because of PCP.

However, there can be other factors as well.

Perhaps the least talked about reason for odd behavior among rappers is explored on Cee Lo Green’s (Gnarls Barkley) song “Crazy”, where he seems to be feeling the pressure of one of the most talented intellectual minds that Hip-Hop has ever produced when he was with the Goodie Mob, being transformed into a cross-dressing, pop cultural oddity.

What must not be forgotten is that, in some ways, the themes that are prevalent in much of rap music are also present in ‘hoods across America.

Although the theme of gun shots flyin’, people dyin’, and babies cryin’ is talked about, extensively, in rap music, what is rarely discussed is how living in that type of environment affects one mentally. Could it be that the millionaire rapper from the ‘hood who now lives in a mansion on the hill still has unresolved childhood issues that are reflected in his music ?

When multi-national corporations get a hold of this type of behavior and glamorize it, they make even the most irrational type of behavior a requirement for being “down with the culture.” And if they can make a quick buck sellin’ insanity, so be it.

So the youth become victims of what Coach Alfred Powell, author of the book Hip-Hop Hypocrisy, calls “psycho media perpetrator disorder,” mirroring the behaviors exhibited by their favorite rappers.

While there are economic incentives to promote rap insanity, there are other entities that may have a vested interest in keeping us out of our minds as well.

Psychologist Bobby E. Wright argued in his book, The Psychopathic Racial Personality, that the pathologies plaguing the ‘hood and, therefore, Hip-Hop, are no accidents but are a result of what he termed “Mentacide.” He said that Mentacide was a way for the power structure to combat Black nationalism.

If Einstein was correct, and insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,” perhaps the most insane are not the rappers, but the conscious ones of us, who consider ourselves in our right minds, as we have used the same formulas to “cure the insanity in Hip-Hop” for two decades. Maybe it’s time to find a new cure. As they say, “desperate times call for drastic measures.”

As a Public Service Announcement, if you are a 30-something-year-old man and find yourself unable to stop repeating Lil Wayne’s “A Milli”, or a 40-year-old woman who decides to dye your hair pink and get booty injections, seek help, immediately!

Like Ice Cube once said: “You better check yourself before you wreck yourself.”

Hip-Hop Rumors: Did Waka Flocka Fire His Manager Mother?

Looks like Waka Flocka and his mogul manager mother are going their separate ways, says blogger Sandra Rose. Well, Rose didn’t actually say it, but she sparked it. In a not-so-blind item, she says that Waka let his mother Deb Antney go on Monday as his longterm manager. 

What is rumored to have happened is Waka cold went on tour with Drake and when he got back, he expected to have about $350K. Only problem is that he never got it. They are trying to say that she spent it all on various things, including handbags and shoes. 

Apparently, said rumor may lead to actual litigation against the mother. The person that spilled the beans? The office manager did. 

Just so you know, there are no names named, but what other rapper has a mother for a manager? I can’t think of one off the top. I think Waka may want to chill because his mother is a real G. Like a female Suge Knight before the KO.

Hip-Hop Icon Lord Finesse Suing Mac Miller

Founder of the legendary D.I.T.C. rap crew, Lord Finesse, is suing Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller for $10 million for reportedly using his beat from “Hip 2 the Game," which Finesse released in 1995. Mac used the beat for the title track on his breakout mixtape Kool-Aid and Frozen Pizza, which Finesse and many other rap critics feel launched his career.

According to reports, the $10 million suit, which alleges “copyright infringement, unfair competition, unjust enrichment, interference, deceptive trade practices, and a number of related state law claims, was filed in a New York federal court on Monday (July 9) against Mac,

Scan now for digital distribution

Allhiphop:
The suit states that the case is “about a teenage rapper – Mac Miller -copying the music from a song written, produced and performed by Lord Finesse, a Hip-Hop legend, changing the title and then distributing it under his own name in order to launch his music career.”Robert “Lord Finesse” Hall has also sued DatPiff.com, the website which initially made the mixtape available for download upon its release as well as the independent label of Rostrum Records which signed Mac Miller in 2010.

The viral music video for Mac's “Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza” has been viewed over 24 million times on YouTube.

Nielsen BDS How to Submit Music

Copyright © 2009 The Nielsen Company. All rights reserved. Nielsen and Nielsen logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of CZT/ACN Trademarks, L.L.C.

Submit CD’s and MP3’s free of charge, electronically through our secure Virtual Encode website.

Virtual Encode Access:

Please send an email with “Virtual Encode” as the subject to our Client Services Department at
clientservices@bdsonline.com for a username and password.

PLEASE include the following information in the body of your email:

• Your Full Name
• Company or Label Name
• Contact Number
• Primary Email Address
• Any Additional Contact Information

You will then receive login information and instructions via email for the Virtual Encode website
to upload your music.

Register Music by Mail:
Send all mixes of your single releases (preferably on CD) to:
Nielsen
8100 N.W. 101st Terrace
Kansas City, MO 64153

Attn: Encoding Department
Click to fill out and email us a Media Information Form or include the following information with your media:
• Your Full Name
• Company or Label Name
• Contact Number
• Primary Email Address

For each piece of media submitted include
• Artist Name
• Song titles with specific mix names, if applicable
• Label

Run-DMC Reunites For The First Time In 10 Years

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- They haven’t performed together in over a decade, but the surviving members of Run-DMC are set to reunite this fall at the Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Texas.

Joseph Simmons, now known as Rev. Run, and Darryl “DMC” McDaniels retired the group after their DJ, Jam Master Jay, was killed in 2002. But it was announced Tuesday that the band will be among the performers for the Nov. 2-4 event. 

Festival organizers say they plan to donate some of the proceeds to the JMJ Foundation for Music, which works to give youth access to the arts.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group is best known for hits like “Walk This Way,” '‘It’s Like That” and “My Adidas.”

Judge Seeks Audit Of Chris Brown’s Community Work

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Caption A judge ordered an audit of Chris Brown’s community service progress Tuesday after a prosecutor handling his felony assault case cited a possible discrepancy in the amount of work he has performed.

Deputy District Attorney Mary Murray requested the audit because she says the records are not clear on how many hours Brown performed and where the work has been done. Brown had been allowed to perform six months’ worth of community labor in his home state of Virginia, but a judge said probation officials in Los Angeles should review detailed records to ascertain how much work he has actually done.

Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg said Brown had completed a significant number of hours, but did not elaborate.

Brown’s attorney Pat Harris did not object to the audit, and said after the hearing the issue was related to which jurisdiction his client performed his community service in.

The judge said part of the issue was that the court hadn’t received detailed logs of Brown’s community service, which is supposed to comprise of graffiti removal, roadside cleanup and other manual labor. Schnegg said those logs had previously been provided, butnot for recent updates.

Brown, 23, remains on probation for beating his then-girlfriend Rihanna in February 2009. He has completed domestic violence and anger management counseling.

Schnegg ordered Brown to appear at the next hearing, tentatively scheduled for Aug. 21. It will be the first time Brown has had to appear in court in several months, and the R&B singer has generally received favorable reports from probation officials and Schnegg.

wwww.palacemusicgroup.com

There was no mention of the recent New York City bottle-throwing nightclub brawl that left Brown with a cut on his chin, or a woman’s claim that the singer had snatched her cellphone in Miami after she tried to take a picture of him. The melee occurred members of singer Drake’s entourage stopped Brown and his group from leaving the club W.i.P., though neither entertainer has been arrested. Drake has said he was leaving the club when the fight began.

Brown’s attorney Mark Geragos asked that the singer’s probation be terminated in February. But a judge declined, stating that the Grammy nominee should complete more of his community service obligations.

At the time, officials reported that Brown had completed half of the six months’ worth of roadside cleanup, graffiti removal and other manual labor that he was ordered to do after pleading guilty.

Brown is serving a five year probation sentence.