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Rappers Might Start Going To Jail Because Of Their Lyrics

Rappers Might Start Going To Jail Because Of Their Lyrics

Rap music is often an art that imitates life. However, there appear to be new legal lines surrounding that freedom of expression. Today, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear the case of Jamal Knox v. Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania. That case surrounds Cox, who is a Pittsburgh rapper also... Read more
April 15, 2019 Food for Thought, News
Aloe Blacc Remembers Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Paris & More This Christmas (Video)

Aloe Blacc Remembers Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Paris & More This Christmas (Video)

Aloe Blacc has released a stunning and powerful video for his song, "Merry Christmas Mr. Brown." The song is a wistful reflection about a number of the tragic losses that have become emblazoned in our minds over the last few years. Specifically, he pays tribute to Michael Brown, Eric Garner,... Read more
December 10, 2015 Video
15 Years Ago, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Common & More Used Hip-Hop for Justice. The Fight Continues.

15 Years Ago, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Common & More Used Hip-Hop for Justice. The Fight Continues.

Police officers (and law enforcement officials) murdering unarmed people of color has been a resounding issue, especially since the 2012 death of Trayvon Martin. However, while mainstream media has not always looked at the issue that extends back throughout the United States' history, other media has. One of those sources... Read more
September 7, 2015 Food for Thought
On the 1-Year Anniversary of Mike Brown’s Death, Run the Jewels Explain Why Riots Work.

On the 1-Year Anniversary of Mike Brown’s Death, Run the Jewels Explain Why Riots Work.

One year ago today, Michael Brown, an 18-year old unarmed Black man, was shot and killed by officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, MO. The event, and the subsequent failure to indict Wilson for the shooting, set off widespread rioting in Ferguson and across the country, and also marked the commencement... Read more
August 9, 2015 Video
Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch & Bun B To Perform Free Concert One Year After Michael Brown’s Murder

Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch & Bun B To Perform Free Concert One Year After Michael Brown’s Murder

August 9, 2014 was Michael Brown's last day alive. The 18 year-old Ferguson, Missouri man had graduated high school eight days earlier, before an altercation with Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson that would ultimately leave Brown murdered in the street. One year later, August 9, 2015, Talib Kweli will perform... Read more
July 26, 2015 News
What Do Cole & Kendrick’s Hair Have to Do With Progress? Talib Kweli Explains In A New Essay

What Do Cole & Kendrick’s Hair Have to Do With Progress? Talib Kweli Explains In A New Essay

With a long history of being socially and politically critical, not only in his lyrics but also outside of the studio, Brooklyn, New York MC Talib Kweli has shared his strong beliefs on a vast array of topics including racism, police brutality, and the prison industrial complex. In addition, he... Read more
June 30, 2015 Lifestyle
Prince’s Guitar Cries For Baltimore, With A Retro Sound & Current Issues (Audio)

Prince’s Guitar Cries For Baltimore, With A Retro Sound & Current Issues (Audio)

Gearing up for tomorrow's (May 10) Rally 4 Peace in Baltimore, Maryland, Prince has released the song he made in response to the city's social unrest. The Paisley Park founder joined his band 3rd Eye Girl for a song that gives focus to the value of art and expression amidst... Read more
May 9, 2015 Audio
Phonte & Oddisee Channel Pain Into Beautiful Art, Reacting To The World Today (Audio)

Phonte & Oddisee Channel Pain Into Beautiful Art, Reacting To The World Today (Audio)

In the wake of the 2014 murders of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and so many other Black men at the hands of law enforcement, there was a large outcry for artists to react, reflect, and somehow find the words we, the people, could not. Those expressions are indeed... Read more
January 13, 2015 Audio
You Maybe Missed Ali Shaheed’s “Black Lives Matter” Commentary, But It Stands Tall (Video)

You Maybe Missed Ali Shaheed’s “Black Lives Matter” Commentary, But It Stands Tall (Video)

Earlier this month, Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest, Lucy Pearl, NPR Hip-Hop) made a song in support of the Black Lives Matter protests. The highly-respected Queens, New Yorker works as he was portrayed in Beats, Rhymes & Life: quietly. However, in making "CPR" with Merna, JaPoet and David... Read more
December 31, 2014 Fresh, Video
Kendrick Lamar Addresses Ferguson, Eric Garner and Instilling Self Esteem (Video)

Kendrick Lamar Addresses Ferguson, Eric Garner and Instilling Self Esteem (Video)

Over the last five years, Kendrick Lamar as been one of Hip-Hop's leading social commentators through his music. Songs like "Vanity Slaves," "Keisha's Song" and "Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst" address various issues plaguing the community. So, when MTV recently asked Kendrick about the events around the country... Read more
December 13, 2014 Video
Yasiin Bey On Recent US Events: “We Are At A Watershed Moment For Humanity”

Yasiin Bey On Recent US Events: “We Are At A Watershed Moment For Humanity”

Besides rapping, singing, and acting, Yasiin Bey (f/k/a Mos Def) is a Spoken Word artist and a self-proclaimed humanitarian. Deliberately out of the spotlight for much of the last five years, Yasiin opted to put his thoughts to audio, surrounding the murders of Michael Brown and Eric Garner (among others),... Read more
December 5, 2014 Audio, Fresh
Spike Lee Speaks on Eric Garner and Americans Doing the Right Thing (Video)

Spike Lee Speaks on Eric Garner and Americans Doing the Right Thing (Video)

I will never forget the scene in Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing where the character Radio Raheem was savagely choked to death by a police officer. The brutality was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. The life was literally sucked out of Raheem as one officer did the choking... Read more
December 4, 2014 Video
Nipsey Hussle Uses Gangsta Rap As An Indictment Of The Court’s Double Standards (Audio)

Nipsey Hussle Uses Gangsta Rap As An Indictment Of The Court’s Double Standards (Audio)

Nipsey Hussle has announced that he will release an album, Mailbox Money, before year's end (December 20 to be exact). The California MC sets the project up with "50 Niggaz." The song looks at the 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin, and compares it to... Read more
December 4, 2014 Audio, Fresh
Q-Tip Walks the Walk in Protest for Michael Brown in New York (Video)

Q-Tip Walks the Walk in Protest for Michael Brown in New York (Video)

As protests break out across the nation in light of last night's decision by the grand jury in Ferguson, MO to not indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown, prominent members of the Hip-Hop community continue to take a stand. Last night, Killer Mike spoke passionately... Read more
November 25, 2014 Video
Killer Mike Speaks from the Heart About the Michael Brown Verdict (Video)

Killer Mike Speaks from the Heart About the Michael Brown Verdict (Video)

"I have a 20-year old son and I have a 12-year old son, and I'm so afraid for them." --Killer Mike Wow. If you heard Killer Mike, the son of a policeman, speak on the killing of Michael Brown and the events in Ferguson on CNN, Fox and other outlets... Read more
November 25, 2014 Featured-homepage, Video
J-Live Turns An Open Letter Protesting Police Violence Into Song (Audio)

J-Live Turns An Open Letter Protesting Police Violence Into Song (Audio)

In the wake of ongoing deaths of Black men at the hands of police in America, J-Live has something to say. The Brooklyn, New York native wrote down his thoughts in an essay called "I Am A Man (American Justice)," focusing on the hypocrisy in the discourse around this issue,... Read more
October 28, 2014 Audio, Fresh
Dr. Cornel West Arrested At Ferguson Protests On Moral Monday (Video)

Dr. Cornel West Arrested At Ferguson Protests On Moral Monday (Video)

Several years ago, Dr. Cornel West of Princeton University opted to make a Rap album. The Ivy League professor, author, and social activist made 2007's Never Forget: A Journey Of My Revelations, an effort to featured Andre 3000, KRS-One, Black Thought, and Killer Mike, among many others. Today (October 13),... Read more
October 13, 2014 Fresh, Video
Dizzy Wright Looks At Headlines With Questions, He Needs Answers (Video)

Dizzy Wright Looks At Headlines With Questions, He Needs Answers (Video)

After "State Of Mind" diverted its visual focus to the murder of Michael Brown, Dizzy Wright's latest video, "I Need Answers" pushes harder. The video follows police officers, with Dizzy (rapping in the church and also behind bars) speaking up for Black men being targeted, arrested, and murdered. Power, evocative... Read more
September 9, 2014 Fresh, Video
Killer Mike Wants More Police Athletic Leagues, Less Armored Tanks (Video)

Killer Mike Wants More Police Athletic Leagues, Less Armored Tanks (Video)

Suddenly a de-facto spokesman for a subset of reactions to Ferguson, Missouri, Killer Mike continues to bring his unique, evocative, and thoughtful opinions to the media following the murder of Michael Brown earlier this month. Mike recently appeared on FOX Business, alongside Kennedy (of '90s MTV fame). Entering with some... Read more
August 29, 2014 Fresh, Video
Killer Mike Expounds On Ferguson, Police Brutality & Looting (Video)

Killer Mike Expounds On Ferguson, Police Brutality & Looting (Video)

Following Killer Mike's writing and televised appearances, the Atlanta, Georgia veteran continues to speak about the murder of Michael Brown. Given Mike's unique background (his father was a longtime officer of the law) and the Run The Jewels "Rap villain" persona, Mike Bigga expounded on his views for Power 105's... Read more
August 26, 2014 Fresh, Video
Dizzy Wright’s State Of Mind Is The State Of The Union (Video)

Dizzy Wright’s State Of Mind Is The State Of The Union (Video)

One of Hip-Hop's busiest sensations of the last 36 months is easily Dizzy Wright. The Las Vegas MC released his State Of Mind EP back around Tax Day. However, for the visual, the Funk Volume MC takes recent events—especially those surrounding Michael Brown's murder in Ferguson, Missouri, and weaves them... Read more
August 25, 2014 Fresh, Video
Talib Kweli BLASTS CNN for Skewed Media Coverage on Ferguson (Video)

Talib Kweli BLASTS CNN for Skewed Media Coverage on Ferguson (Video)

Talib Kweli and CNN's Don Lemon got into a very heated exchange on national TV. Kweli expressed a high level of frustration at what he perceives to be skewed coverage by the media of the events in Ferguson, MO, and the "narrative and language of the oppressors taking over." Kweli... Read more
August 21, 2014 Video
J. Cole Pays Respect To Michael Brown In Ferguson (Video)

J. Cole Pays Respect To Michael Brown In Ferguson (Video)

Just a few days ago, J. Cole released an incredibly heartfelt track, "Be Free," dedicated to the recent passing of Michael Brown and the tragic events that continue to unfold in Ferguson, Missouri. But that wasn't enough for Cole. Making his way to the scene of Brown's passing, J. Cole... Read more
August 18, 2014 Fresh, Video
Punch Reacts To Michael Brown’s Murder With Historical Illustrations (Audio)

Punch Reacts To Michael Brown’s Murder With Historical Illustrations (Audio)

Deeply affected by this week's tragic news of the killing of teenager Michael Brown by Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson, Top Dawg Entertainment President Punch joined label collaborator J. Cole in reacting through music. Born in the post-riots Watts, Punch made a Steinski-like audio-essay remembering the 1965 Watts Riots. Set... Read more
August 15, 2014 Audio, Fresh