Archive for May, 2007
Cornel West Collaborates With Prince, Andre 3000 & KRS-One On New Album
0 Comments Published by oshun May 16th, 2007.Dr. Cornel West has teamed up with a gaggle of hip-hop and R&B stars, including Prince, Andre 3000 and KRS-One, on his upcoming “political” album called Never Forget: A Journey of Revelations.
The famed professor of Religion and African American Studies at Princeton University has long been an outspoken social figure and will use so-called “urban” music to air his views regarding the N-word, Sept. 11, racial profiling, the Bush administration and more.
“It isn’t a commentary on hip-hop. And I’m not coming in as a hip-hop scholar or critic,” West told Billboard. “This is an attempt to go back to hip-hop’s prophetic roots, which are about truth-telling, exposing lies and having fun. It’s what I call a danceable education or a singing paideia, the Greek word for deep education. If there is one person whose spirit I try to embody on this CD, it’s Curtis Mayfield. His music is about love and freedom and really informs.
Source: Billboard
Jadakiss Fundraiser Canceled By Black Church And Community Leaders
3 Comments Published by oshun May 8th, 2007.The Don Imus bandwagon is reaching full speed with the Black church and Black community leaders finally taking a real stand against negativity in rap music, most recently canceling a celebrity basketball fundraiser at Stamford’s Yerwood Center where rapper Jadakiss and his D-Block crew were scheduled to appear.
According to the Stamford Advocate, the rapper was dissed by Jere Eaton, a former Yerwood Center board member and a potential presidential candidate for the NAACP’s Stamford branch, who was concerned violence would break out at the event.
She was so concerned she hopped online to gather Web site links, articles and lyrics before sending out a warning email blast to community leaders and the media demanding Jadakiss be dropped.
“Under the leadership of Dr. Robert Perry (pastor of Union Baptist Church) and other clergy in Stamford,” she wrote, “we are demanding that the Celebrity Basketball Fundraiser is canceled or ‘CLEAN’ entertainment is provided by artists with ‘CLEAN’ reputations.”
Eaton had previously made her views crystal clear by saying, “All of these artists are the worst of the worst. They’re criminals, their favorite word is the N-word, and they demean women by calling them bitches and hos.”
Deborah Sewell, the Yerwood Center’s president and CEO, canceled the fundraiser after receiving over 60 phone calls expressing concern. There was no time to schedule a replacement.
One leader who spoke out against the event was Rev. Tommie Jackson, pastor of Faith Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church.
“It doesn’t make it right if it’s said by Don Imus or black rap artists,” Jackson opined. “It is antithetical to the morals and values that we’re trying to teach and impart to the sons and daughters of the community.
“The bottom line is we believe that the Yerwood Center needs to raise money, but there are better ways of doing it than bringing in Jadakiss.”