News
R.I.P. Muhammad Ali
As much as we want it not to be true, reporting from CBS Sports, BBC and myriad news media confirms that the man known worldwide as The Greatest, Muhammad Ali, has passed. He was 74 years old.
Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Ali stepped into the world’s spotlight by winning a gold medal as a light-heavyweight at the 1960 Rome Olympics. He would go on to defeat Sonny Liston in 1964 to claim his first world title and became the first boxer to capture a world heavyweight championship on three separate occasions. Retiring in 1981, Ali won 56 of his 61 fights as an active professional. However, his accolades do not stop there. Sports Illustrated recognized Ali as “Sportsman of the Century,” and the BBC named him “Sports Personality of the Century.”
Though later more understated as an elder statesman of sport, remembering Ali’s boldness and bigger-than-life presence over the years is what is likely driving the water from your tear ducts now. Even now you hear his braggadocio echo…
I float like a butterfly; sting like a bee.
I am The Greatest!
I shook up the WORLD!
I’m a bad man!
But he was also a champion for Civil Rights and Human Rights the world over. An outspoken member of the Nation Of Islam, a conscious objector to the war in Vietnam (convicted for his stance), a goodwill ambassador (notably meeting Fidel Castro when U.S. – Cuba relations were still very cold) and so much more. Too much more to do justice to his legacy in this Memoriam, but please, if you will, say one more time as he would, “The Champ is here!”
Then, in spirit, join with mourners around the world dealing with the reality that The Champ is with us no more. Hit the jump for some remembrances, quotes and video footage.
Rest Well, Champ.
– @ojones1
Going For Gold: While The Golden State Warriors Were Winning, So Was E-40 (Video)
Now that the Golden State Warriors have turned things around and made the series a fight – the Western Finals now being tied 3-3 when the team was facing elimination (down 3-1) days ago, can we talk about the fighting spirit of another Yay Area hero? Anybody hear how Indie rap legend E-40 just got certified Gold again for his “Choices” joint? Yessir, RIAA certified GOLD – 500,000 units sold!
Back in 2014, the single was out and pushing indie numbers. Fawty was working his music, per usual, and eating off his work. But E-40 was actually well into his forties by then, and there was limited expectation of commercial success. Just putting out the work and seeing some movement would be considered a ‘win’ to most in his position. But Fonzy stayed on the grind, and kept working ground, and kept eyes and ears out for rain… and in 2015, a partnership involving an Apple insider and some moves with the NBA Championship-bound Warriors, gave E-40’s music new life.
Farmer Fawty Water still kept tending the crop though. Then, just recently, came the harvest!
“Man I was looking at the numbers and I’m like ‘I think I’m close to gold!’ So my distributor sent a note to the RIAA and they did their accounting and everything and analyzed it and that shit was certified, bruh! Matter fact, “Tell Me When to Go†just went gold two months ago. And “U and Dat Booty†went platinum the same day that “Tell Me When to Go†went gold. That’s sick huh?”
– HipHopDX, quoting E-40
Time to celebrate that victory, and a hell of a comeback effort by the Warriors. Hit the jump, and join the party!
– @ojones1
Comedy: What Would You Buy If You Won The Powerball Lottery? (Video)
Ahahaaaaa! That’s what you get, reporter cutie, when you shove a mic in the face of a man playing his lottery numbers against all odds. Asking ’bout his biz…what would he do with the winnings? Gotta love LIVE TV!
60 Minutes: Football And The Brain (Video)
Well… with Frank Gifford’s post mortem diagnosis of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), we get yet another headline and reminder that football – like it or love it – is a dangerous COLLISION sport wrought with injuries…when playing and for the decades beyond. Try and try as American football’s flagship (the National Football League) might, no one has been able to reengineer injury out of the game. Look no further than comments from the NFL commish Roger Goodell in the 60 Minutes clip (embedded after the jump, or click the pic above) for a dose of football-injury reality.
Steve Kroft: You think the game is safer than it’s ever been before?
Roger Goodell: I do. I’m convinced of it. I think the changes that we’ve made have had real results. And we’re seeing that.
Steve Kroft: But do you believe it’s safe?
Roger Goodell: I do believe it’s safer. But injuries are part of active sports and they’re certainly part of football. Football is a contact sport.
Or you could boil it down to retired Ravens’ linebacker Ed Reed’s response…
Steve Kroft: Can you take the violence out of football?
Ed Reed: No.
Truly engaging treatment of the the topic in “Football And The Brain” on CBS News’ 60 Minutes.
Odell’s Roundtable: Love, Sex, & “Cuffin’ Season” (Video)
On this episode of Odell’s RoundTable the topic is “Cuffing Season”. It is getting colder and people are going out less and want to snuggle up with someone. What goes in to cuffing season? Is this really a scenario where you are only dating someone for a Season rather than a Reason? Do you let the person you know that this is temporary and not to catch any feelings? What about you do you catch feelings or what happens if someone tells you this was only temporary? The panel consists of host Odell along with Alita, Brittany (from ATL Remix show) & guest BoxMann. Funny but informative discussion like always on the Round Table. Follow the show on Twitter/Instagram and email them at ortshow@gmail.com
“Hansen vs. Predator” To Pick Up Where “To Catch A Predator” Left Off (Video)
Yoooooo! Remember that “To Catch A Predator” show with Chris Hansen – where he’d catch the pervy pedophiles trying to set up trysts with preteens? Well, thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, it’s coming back! Reminisce with the above clip of another dude caught nearly in the act from a throwback episode.
Fundraising for Hansen’s new show, “Hansen vs. Predator,” surpassed its goal of $75,000 to reach $85,685. Learn more here.
Call It A Comeback: Music Has Gone Digital, But Many People Still Want Vinyl (Video)
In a world where everything is electronic, and media is going more and more digital, is it a surprise that there is a growing demand for music on vinyl records?
Well, yeah. Yeah it is. But growth could mean one record a week to two; so how big a growth trend are we talking (you ask)? Oh, just enough to keep the few remaining plants worldwide backed up to up to six months or so delivery turnaround on a vinyl order.
Interesting right? Watch the NY Times video clip on it above, and read the full write-up (linked below) for more.
Japanese Television Show Features A “Handjob Competition” (Video)
Another crazy Japanese game show has come to light featuring women who give hand jobs to men to see who can be jerked off the fastest.
– The Point with Ana Kasparian
Wait WHAT??? Yeah, this is real. Maybe get one-way plane tickets to Japan, huh? So, what about this story is the craziest… that there is such a competition, that this is NOT the only such competition, or maybe Mélia Mills’ VERY in-depth analysis of how some may have a ‘competitive advantage’ in the ummm race. Wowww.
You’ve gotta watch.
Dr. Umar Johnson Gets Detailed on ‘The Breakfast Club’ About Issues Affecting the Black Community (Video)
Although I don’t speak with Dr. Umar Johnson on a regular basis I still consider him a friend. I went to school with Umar Johnson before he became “Dr. Umar” & it wasn’t uncommon for us to have many conversations years ago about what’s going on within the black community. Not only are we both from North Philly, but we have both served as the President of our school’s Black Student Union at different times. We’ve organized & traveled to the historic Million Man March in D.C. with a large group of brothers as well has having mentored young students through an organization called ‘Positive Images’ back in Pennsylvania for a few years. He was always an avid debater on a variety of issues & always held true to his convictions. Rarely have I’ve seen him back down from a heated debate even if it centered on something as simple as hip hop music or sports during lunch in the cafeteria. One thing that I can co-sign is that Umar has always been consistent in who he was & in his beliefs.
So of course it’s difficult for me to believe any of his recent detractors who try to say he’s anything less than authentic. Dr. Umar Johnson didn’t just pop up overnight because he’s been doing this for as long than I’ve known him. I’m excited yet not surprised to see him finally breaking through with his greater message to better the situation for African-Americans & others around the world through a Pan-Africanist viewpoint. Although he continues to travel around the globe delivering his message & through a variety of grassroots lectures that most people have posted on youtube, I feel proud & happy to finally see him start to reach the audiences who best need to hear his message. It was always his life work to do what he’s doing at this very moment. Check the interview with Dr. Umar Johnson with “The Breakfast Club” at Power 105 in New York above & get some food for thought.
R.I.P. Sean Price
The Source, Rolling Stone, People, AllHipHop, Vibe, and NY Daily News all confirm that Sean Price (aka Ruck, one-half of Heltah Skeltah) died Saturday morning (August 8, 2015) in his sleep. He was 43 years old.
Sure, the comforting thing to say is that we should ‘celebrate the life of Price‘ or ‘remember him fondly.’ And I will; but right now, I am going to allow myself to feel a bit sad. I am going to watch vids and listen to all kinds of P (as Price would call himself) as my “Therapy” (yep, going all the way back to Heltah Skeltah’s early hits, too) to help me push through. I expect I will circle right back around what I was thinking just a couple of days ago: Sean Price was a beast in the booth, a lyrical weight champion (Mic Tyson) and so much more to Hip-Hop.
Sean Price was a crazy uncle to the Hip-Hop fam, but he had his own family, too. He gave us peeks and pieces of life with his wife and kids his rhymes and in video. We got close to P, so it’ll hurt a bit more; but we should also remember the joy that came with that closeness. I never personally met the man; but beyond rap skills, his zaniness would crack me up. The clowning that Price got into – like that Mic Tyson ‘live from Hurricane Sandy’ piece or the recent Tyrese spoof – is proof of just how far dude would go to get a laugh. I hope you got to laugh with him, too; at his antics from afar or maybe up close and personal. Yeah, I plan on laughing at some quality Sean Price craziness later; but now I am going to be sad.
Just now thinking about how I’ll miss posting those off-the-wall, no-advance-notice quick-hit rhymes and dope features. Those were pleasant surprises to be enjoyed, like his solo work. But there will be no more. A great chapter in Hip-Hop ends because the author is now gone from us.
Rest In Peace, Sean Price. We will miss you.
(Hit the jump for sentiments from around the Twitterverse.)
– @ojones1
Sandra Bland: How Did An Improper Turn Signal Lead to Her Death? (Video)
Recently the country has had their eyes on Texas yet again for another encounter of cops and the treatment of Black Women. Â A couple months back there was the incident of cops in McKinney TX violently attacking young black children and a young sista was slammed to the ground and sat on by a Race Soldier I mean officer of the law. Â Now in Waller County, TX the sad story of Sandra Bland who was found dead in her jail cell after she was arrested for a turn signal violation. Â The local cops have claimed it is suicide but the Bland family disagrees and thinks their is foul play. Â A lot of people across the country thought the same especially since Sandra Bland was an outgoing 28 year old who just landed her dream job at her alma mater Prairie View A&M University. Â That doesn’t strike me as someone who wants to kill themselves over a traffic stop. Â Dr Boyce Watkins uses his platform to speak on this topic and invites Yvette Carnell founder of ( BreakingBrown.com ) & Benjamin Dixon ( TheBenjaminDixonShow.com ) to join him and go deeper into this incident and what it represents. Â The sad reality is this traffic stop led to this woman’s death and the officer who is paid to protect and serve did his part to ignite confrontation. Â This is great discussion by free thinkers not controlled by corporate media. Â Video of the officer pulling Sandra Bland over after the jump.
-ArtByOdell Twitter/SoundCloud
The Red Cross Raised $500 Million Dollars For Haiti Earthquake Relief But Only Built 6 Homes (Video)
We are all aware of the tragedy of the 2010 Earthquake that hit Haiti and ravaged the country.  The relief funds started to pop up everywhere  and one of the main organizations waiving the flag was the Red Cross.  The organization raised around $500 Million dollars to help rebuild Haiti.  A recent NPR report though has shown that the Red Cross has only built 6 new permanent homes with all of that money.  So this has people asking where did the money go?  Yvette Carnell of BreakingBrown.com along with Ben Dixon speak about what happened and the controversy surrounding this.  Here is a link to the full NPR Report that details more on this headline.
“Resurrecting Black Wall Street” (Trailer)
The term “Black Wall Street” has been thrown around by a lot of rappers from time to time. The reality is the term Black Wall Street speaks to the amazing times of Black Prosperity in Tulsa Oklahoma in the 1920’s. The Greenwood neighborhood located in Tulsa had a number of Black doctors, dentists, bankers, and business owners. They spent money amongst themselves had their own bus companies and were doing better than most of the whites in Tulsa. It all came to a crashing bloody ending when false accusations were made regarding a white woman saying she was attacked by black men from the neighborhood. This led to the first time the US government bombed it’s own people yes you read that correctly the Feds dropped a bomb and destroyed the neighborhood. If you didn’t know the GAP Band is from Tulsa, OK one of their famous songs is “You dropped the Bomb on me” and you thought that was just talking about the ladies.
Well Your Black World Films has a documentary coming out detailing Black Wall Street and how we can make our modern day Black Wall Street. Check out the trailer and CLICK HEREÂ to Pre- order the movie!
Jon Stewart Calling Bullsh!t On Media’s Baltimore Protest Coverage: ‘Kids Blowing Off Steam’ Versus ‘Urban Kids Rioting’ (Video)
This episode of The Daily Show, hosted Jon Stewart, takes some funny-but-true shots at CNN and Wolf Blitzer’s coverage of ongoing protests and riots in Baltimore. Blitzer said the events there are “unbelievable†and never-before-seen…Really? What about the RECENT events in Ferguson? And unbelievable? C’mon… college kids do much damage after big games. Of course, the Baltimore situation is not a game; and indeed there is more to the outbursts in Baltimore (if only the news would cover it).
The heavier coverage of the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner compared to the riots in Baltimore (sparked by the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who died days after suffering a spinal cord injury while in police custody) was more than fair. The governor calling in the National Guard, properties and cars were set on fire citywide…all less than an hour’s drive away??? Yeah, CNN [and Today Show and other news media], you’re slipping. And blowing on the flames on the fires now, to keep your ratings stoked, instead of fanning out and covering the fullness of the story (including root causes like poverty, lack of economic opportunity in the community, issues related to youth disenfranchisement) is not helping.
Dr. Boyce Watkins talks Finance, Black Masculinity, Racism & More on The Breakfast Club (Video)
There has been a lot of talk about Black ownership and financial freedom sparked from the Damon Dash interview he did on The Breakfast Club. Â It set off a firestorm on social media some people being inspired and some comical moments with the hashtag #TweetLikeDameDash. Â With all of that said Dame brought up some good topics and Dr Boyce Watkins helped to bring some perspective to the conversation. Â He has a PhD in finance and owns his own business Financial Juneteenth. Â Dr Boyce discussed obstacles like Racism & White Supremacy that play a part in blacks becoming financially independent. Â He does not make excuses though and agrees with Dame Dash in regards to Black Men & Women having the be their own Boss mindset. Â Overall it is a great discussion between Angela Yee, Envy, Charlagmagne & Dr Boyce Watkins a breath of fresh air rather than mindless gossip talk.
Hidden Colors 4: The Religion of White Supremacy (Trailer)
Well when it comes to movies or documentaries about Black History a majority of them deal with the same Civil Rights struggle or blacks in slavery stories. Â Both are part of Black history but not the only story and the Hidden Colors documentary series has done a great job covering information/history. Â The first three have been critically acclaimed with subtitles like “The Triumph of Melanin” & “The Rules of Racism” with the latest installment titled “The Religion of White Supremacy” that should be released later this year. Â Tariq Nasheed the creator & director of the Hidden Colors series has already confirmed speakers like Dr. Umar Johnson, Dr. Francis Cress Welding & Phil Valentine who have all participated in the first three. Â He has promise some new speakers with this upcoming edition. Â If you watched Hidden Colors three you saw how he surprised us by having the rappers Nas & David Banner discussing Racism. Â Who know he might have them back and other surprise rappers. Â Here is a link to a kickstarter that he has for the funding of volume 4 Click Here.
Common ‘Keeps It 100’ on Black Women & Fatherhood on ‘The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore’ (Video)
Common recently appeared on the panel revolving around Black Fatherhood on ‘The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore’ that airs on Comedy Central. New York Times columnist Charles Blow, founder of the Center for URban Families Joe Jones and comedian Mike Yard also take part in this discussion that began with the simple statement that ’72 percent of black children are born to unwed mothers.’
Although they tackle serious issues in this discussion, things get hilariously uncomfortable fast as Larry poses questions about whether they’d play in the Super Bowl instead of witnessing the birth of their first child & their opinions on whether or not black women are too domineering in relationships. Check out more video from the discussion below……
BLITZ – 12/16/14: Watch The News
HEADLINES
Beverly Johnson Appears On ‘The View’; Says Bill Cosby Drugged Her
Camille Cosby Defends Her Husband Bill Describing Him As ‘Kind, Generous’
Parents Of North Carolina Teen Found Hanging Believes He Was ‘Lynched’
Dr. Dre Leads Forbes’ 2014 List Of World’s Highest-Paid Musicians
Comedian Dave Chappelle Says He Was Choked By The Police In New Orleans
A Guide To Philadelphia Brothels – Circa 1849
The Mysterious Rise Of The Non-Working Man
Inside The Lifetime Whitney Houston Movie’s Lesbian Lover Storyline
People Can Clone Their Dogs In South Korea For $100,000
How School Suspensions Disproportionately Target Black Girls
UK Singer Sam Smith & Taylor Swift Are The Only Performers To Go Platinum In 2014
Al Pacino Speaks On His Great Roles, Frustrations With Fame, & His Return in ‘The Humbling’
Former Philadelphia Eagles WR DeSean Jackson Says He Doesn’t Miss Playing For The Team
BMW to Demonstrate ‘Remote Valet’ Self-Parking Car
Undocumented Immigrants Flock To Get Driver’s Licenses Under New California Law
How Runaway Economic Inequality & Racism Are Linked To Police Killings
Scientists Develop A Soft, ‘Smart’ Skin That Could Revolutionize Prosthetics
BLITZ – 12/15/14: Tailgate Party
Kool & The Gang – “Funky Stuff”
HEADLINES
Detroit Lions Fan Caught On Camera At Tailgate Eating A Live Butt Burger
Saturday Night Live’s Edgiest Night: The Inside Story Of Richard Pryor’s Brilliant Evening
Bill Cosby Breaks His Silence & Asks ‘Black Media’ To Stay Neutral On Rape Allegations
Spelman College Puts Bill Cosby’s Endowed Professorship On Hold
Noam Chomsky on Ferguson: “This Is A Very Racist Society; it’s pretty Shocking”
President Of Cleveland Police Union Demands Apology From Cleveland Browns For Protests
How Undercover Cops Are Infiltrating The Current Protest Movements In The U.S.
17-Year-Old High School Student Scores $72 Million In The Stock Market
R&B Star Jeremih & Two Others Facing Charges For Incident At NJ Airport
7 Chaotic Hours Behind-The-Scenes At The NFL’s RedZone Channel
Kobe Bryant Passes Michael Jordan For Third On The NBA’s All-Time Scorer’s List
Black Fraternities & Sororities Are Split On Protest Policies
Texas Cop Tasers 76-Year-Old Man with Expired Inspection
Pizza Hut Introduces Tobii, A New Order Menu That Tracks Their Customers’ Eyes
20 Ways To Travel Smart: How To Get Paid For A Flight Delay
NFL Considering Experimenting With Narrowing The Goal Posts During The Pro Bowl
Inventor Of The Internet in 1989 Says It Should Be Seen As A Human Right