Roc Nation: 150 Million Reasons to Leave Def Jam
Hip-Hop juggernaut/artist/mogul Jay-Z has stepped down as the President of Def Jam and is on the verge of signing a ridiculous partnership with Live Nation. The 10-year deal, which could include certain publishing and licensing rights, future touring, recordings, and other entrepreneurial ventures, will go down for no less than a whopping $150 million dollars. Wired.com provided the breakdown:
Jay-Z will get $25 million upfront, $5 million per year for his own label, publishing, and management business, and $10 million for each of three albums to be released over the next ten years. The remaining $45 million will presumably be used for what the New York Times calls “future acquisitions and expansion.”
4 Comments. Filed under entertainment, economy.
FBI’s MLKonspiracy
A CNN special report on the FBI’s conspiracy against Martin Luther King, Jr. will air this Thursday, April 3rd, at 9pm. Initially the FBI was concerned with Kings possible associations with the Communist party, but eventually the investigation turned personal. Several official memos from FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover have been uncovered, revealing his disgust for King. On a story about King receiving the St. Francis peace medal from the Catholic Church, Hoover wrote, “this is disgusting.” Other memos include Hoover referring to King as a “degenerate” and more deserving of the “top alley cat prize,” than the Nobel Peace Prize. Hoover’s obsession with King increased after the March on Washington in 1963, where King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. After the speech, an FBI memo referred to King as the “most dangerous and effective Negro leader in the country.” Shortly thereafter, the Bureau initiated “a complete analysis of the avenues of approach aimed at neutralizing King as an effective Negro leader.”
2 Comments. Filed under history, education.
Mumia Abu Jamal: Either Life Sentence or a New Hearing
Mumia Abu Jamal, a former memeber of the Black Panther Party was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1981 murder of police officer Daniel Faulkner by a (nearly) all white jury. This controversial trail has been the center of international debates on the death penalty, the prison industrial complex, and racism in the American justice system for the past three decades. Yesterday, an appeals court in Philadelphia upheld Mumia Abu-Jamal’s conviction for murdering Faulkner 27 years ago but rejected prosecutors’ request to reinstate the death penalty. The tree-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that because the jury that delivered Abu-Jamal’s death sentence was given flawed instructions in the penalty phase, he must either get a new sentencing hearing or be sentenced to life in prison. Neither side was pleased with this decision. Abu-Jamal’s lead attorney, Robert R. Bryan of San Francisco, said while he was glad the judges didn’t reinstate the death sentence, he will not stop fighting until his client a gets a new, fair trial,
3 Comments. Filed under racism, Prison Industrial Complex.
First Black Male EVER to Grace the Cover of Vogue.. Le’ Brawn James
The popular fashion magazine Vogue made history this month, placing an African American male on its cover for the first time of its illustrious 116 years of publication. The cover of Vogue’s annual “Shape” issue features basketball all-star, Lebron James alongside the beautiful Gisele Bündchen (see exhibit “A” in the upper left hand corner). At first glance I was comfortable with this photo, probably because I am used to seeing images of black males portrayed in this manner. Pick up any Basketball or Hip-Hop magazine, SLAM, XXL, Scratch - they often display images of Black males that exude energy, swagger, anger, even violence, as this photo does. However, this does not seem to be the standard with Vogue. Particularly unnerving in this photo is the drastic stereotypical contrast between the physically dominating, roaring James and the delicate, quaint Gisele - enter the King Kong comparison. This photo resurrects the centuries-old “Birth of a Nation” stereotype of an animalistic dark male and his lilly white female interest. I’m surprised none of the editors at Vogue raised the red flag on this one. They could have done something a little more tasteful, for their first cover featuring an African American male, ever. You don’t open up the league then put Jackie Robinson in minstrel suit! You might think we’re over analyzing this, but Jemele Hill over at ESPN.com makes a great point,
“it’s hard to believe Vogue would have made Brett Favre, Steve Nash or even David Beckham strike his best beast pose.” Read entire article here.
Can I get an Amen!? Inside the Shape Issue, Vogue also featured snowboarder Shawn White, speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno and swimmer Michael Phelps, all reserved and looking very stylish despite their professional outfits. Ain’t that some bull?
5 Comments. Filed under fashion, black image.
March Interview: Bomani Armah
The March interview is with the poet and emcee, Bomani “D’mite” Armah, creator of the controversial Read a Book single. This month, the interview was conducted by Weusi Baraka one of Blackademics’ founding contributors. Check it out HERE or through the youtube below and let us know what you think!
Comments Off. Filed under interviews.
Stuff Educated Black People Like.
There is a new ridiculous and controversial blog on our blogroll, that is worth taking a look at. The blog is called, Stuff Educated Black People Like. Based on a similar site, called Stuff White People Like, this black counterpart is a self-described, “amalgamation of reality, comedy and parody”. At first glance I was offended as I read down the list, which included everything from baked chicken (#3) and natural hair (#4), to business cards (#8) and Barak Obama (#12), but when I actually started identifying with some of the categories, I lightened up a little bit. Is this a brilliant satirical critique on Black bourgeois, or just controversial entertainment? Check it out and let us know what you think.
9 Comments. Filed under ridiculousness, black image, racial rhetoric.
Tropic Blunder?
Tropic Thunder is the title of a new film, written and directed by Ben Stiller - starring, Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. (shown above). For those of you who don’t recognize Downey, he’s the character in the middle.. Uh oh. It’s the 21st Century and Black face is back in full effect!
9 Comments. Filed under entertainment, film.
Super-Duper Tuesday
Tomorrow will be one of the biggest days in the history of the Democratic primaries. Both democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama have been on their grind, working towards securing delegates, primarily in Ohio and Texas. This is a must win situation for Hillary Clinton, who has lost the last 11 nominating contests to her rival, Senator Obama. If she doesn’t take home both states, by large margins it will be very difficult for her lock down the democratic nomination at this year’s convention. I can’t remember a time where there has been so much electricity and passion surrounding a primary (granted, I’ve only been around for 6). Almost every state is setting records for voter turnout. For example in Ohio, absentee voters have quadrupled since the last election. In the 2000 primaries, about 10,000 votes were cast before election day. In the 2004 primaries the number was 9,500. This year, in the Cincinnati area alone, 40,000 people filed for absentee ballots. Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said Friday that she expected a 52-percent voter turnout rate for the primaries. These numbers are unheard of. Tomorrow, primaries are also scheduled in Rhode Island and Vermont but all eyes are on Texas and Ohio. This could decide the next president of the United States. Thoughts?
2 Comments. Filed under news/politics.
Greg Oden Endorses Barack Obama
*It’s been a while, but that’s what marriage, work and graduate school will do to a brother.
You may think it’s insignificant that Mr. Greg “Still Think A Big Man Can’t Sell?” Oden recently endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president, but it’s always a big deal when young people become active in the political process. Check the knowledge from Mr. Oden:
He is a very nice man and I am a big fan. I got the chance to go to his website (www.barackobama.com) and read up on some of his beliefs and there are things he is doing that I really support like his plan with education, civil rights, and health care. That’s why Senator Obama is getting my vote.
Sure, Oden is a basketball player who hasn’t played a minute of NBA basketball. But in the political arena, he’s already done more than Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods have over the course of their illustrious athletic careers. Could we possibly be seeing a renaissance of the politically outspoken black athlete? Will Oden’s stance influence others to make their beliefs a matter of public record, even at the peril of losing endorsements?
4 Comments. Filed under news/politics, sports.
The Black History Front
Black History Month is a beautiful thing. It’s so nice to see all of the colleges, universities, community centers, museums and churches putting on programs that embrace African American history and culture for a change. I enjoy seeing commercials, fliers, billboards and other cultural artifacts that validate the Black experience, just as much as the next person. But much of what I’m seeing today is a little out of line with the principals inherit in the spirit of Black History Month founder, Dr. Carter G. Woodson. For example there is nothing about McDonald’s, with their “da-da-da-da, dum” theme hummed by a gospel choir over a montage of black children sinking their teeth into big macs that celebrates Black History (especially when one considers the increasing rates of obesity, heart disease and diabetes in Black communities that McDonalds, directly or indirectly, contributes to). However this is only one small example of the corporate appropriation of Black History Month.
1 Comment. Filed under Uncategorized, black culture, history, education.
