Rapper 2Eleven Speaks on Fight with Game; Says Game
“Sucker Punched” Him
by Jake Crates October 2nd, 2012 @ 10:00am
CTE affiliate and Inglewood, California rapper 2Eleven spoke with
AllHipHop.com to share the details of an altercation with Game, at Lil
Wayne’s birthday party last week in Hollywood.
Although the skirmish was caught on tape, details about what set off
the altercation are scarce, so 2Eleven decided to clear the air.
According to an article on September 29th published by TMZ , Game was in Hollywood Thursday night (September 25th) with Chris Brown, Sean Kingston and Lil’ Wayne, when 2Eleven reportedly approached Game and “started talking smack.”
2Eleven says things went down much differently than TMZ reported and says that he never approached Game to begin fighting.
“So I had seen one of my homies, I went to catch him. I walk out the
section right, I take five steps outside the section and someone comes
and hits me from the back of my head,”said 2Eleven
“I turn around and I could see the security like on the way, so I
tried to get one off on him,” 2Eleven said. “There wasn’t no fight, no
words. From what I heard and what I heard on the internet it’s like I
ran up to him and had some words. But man there wasn’t no words. Why
would I run up to a n**ga that 6’5” with two armed bodyguards with him,
talking some s**t, with me and my young homie. I’m not even that kind of
dude my n**ga.
“I sit back and play the cut, I’m on these b**ches. Plus we at
Wayne’s private party, like c’mon man, you just on some n***a s**t,”
2Eleven explained.
The two rappers have had well-known issues in the past, that stem from a late September 2011 incident.
2Eleven reportedly filmed Jomo “Rosemo700″ Zambia, an associate of
Waka Flocka’s 1017 Brick Squad movement, attacking fellow Inglewood
rapper Boskoe.
In addition to his beef with Boskoe, RoseMo also reportedly had
previous beef with Game, after a confrontation in Fox Hills Mall in
Culver City, as the rapper was shopping with his son.
Tragically RoseMo was killed just months after he posted videos of
himself bragging about knocking out Game in that same incident, although
police have not found any links to Game whatsoever stating that Game is not a suspect in the RoseMo homicide case.
At the time of press, 2Eleven has said that he will not press charges for being allegedly hit in the back of the head.
GET UPDATES FROM Freeway Rick Ross
GET UPDATES FROM Antonio Moore
How Hip-Hop Can Heal: A Message on the Rick Ross, Young Jeezy BET Altercation
"I've become a man of peace. My redemption keeps me strong." Stanley "Tookie" Williams founder of Crips
Freeway Rick Ross
This weekend the news that came out of the BET award show about the altercation between the rapper using my name "Rick Ross" and "Young Jeezy"
can only be described as disappointing. These are not fighters, they
are entertainers, as much as they build their image on criminality - it
is still an image. When art comes to imitate life it can become
dangerous, because while these young men act out filling the shoes of
their infamous heroes, they do so with out having walked in these shoes
to prison cells or worse. As such the only winner that comes out of such
a failure of celebration is the media that is able to characterize
these actions as violent, perpetuating imagery of Hip Hop that has
lasted far to long. In a moment of what is suppose to be a BET commemoration of achievement, these wealthy young men have created yet another stain on the American image of Hip Hop, black entertainment and young black men.
Young men by the millions tune in to see role models, and receive this
message of what to model themselves after for success. While this is
not a deathblow to either's career and through divine intervention no
one was hurt, this does call us to come together and evaluate to avoid
future incidents.
In the early 80's as I rose to power one thing I saw was real money caused gang fighting between the Crips and Bloods to simmer down,
in exchange for economic opportunity. The courts wanted to relate the
drugs to the violence but that wasn't the case. When we started selling
drugs it was the first time you could see a Crip on a Blood's block and
they're getting along because they're trying to get money. When you are
trying to get money you don't want any violence. You don't want violence
making the police come around because that interrupts your cash flow.
What seems to be happening in Hip Hop is the opposite; in some cases
these artist produce violence because it is awarded with exposure, which
validates their image of my life, and others like mine. The messages
these young men are starting to emit through song, fashion and
interviews is one of "get your weight up", rather than let me help you
up.
Rick Ross God Forgives I Don't - So Sophisticated:"To
get a verse from me, you gotta be initiated - To get a purse from me,
she gotta be sophisticated - Purchase a whip from me and never miss a
single payment -I'm from the city where the Muslims even Christians hate
it - Even the black folk hate to see another ni**a made it - Tell all
them p*ssies to chill, champagne refrigerated - Just bought a chopper
'cause the last one, got it confiscated - Counting a hundred mill so
many times, I contemplated - You wanna be the hottest but that sh*t get
complicated -I pull your card, I know you're p*ssies by your
conversation - Show you the safe, you'll have to kill me for that
combination... I'm the hottest and these other n*ggas cooling, ain't it -
I got a b*tch I'm f**ing that you see on BET -My lil' Haiti shooters
will have yo ass on TMZ."
William Roberts pka "Rick Ross" you accomplished the goal you're on TMZ, and BET
for all the wrong reasons. Inside of these song's lyrics is the
kindling of a brushfire for violence, because the starting point is
incorrect. It is a foundation built on low self esteem and selfish
statements of I have what you can't afford -from something as simple as a
Passport and its stamps, to some European item that's hard to pronounce
and can even include a man's mate in some of these songs. Hip-hop has
the power to be so much more than that simple. At my height I did not
make hundreds of millions
to belittle those around me, this is what elitism has driven rap into
becoming. A tool to marginalize the have-nots as rappers say what they
invented, how they will protect it and how your less than for not being
in the same class. The goal cannot be to have large sums of money to
marginalize your fans with diamonds they don't have, clothes they can't
afford or cars they have not seen.The goal must be to use money to fund our faith centers, educational
institutions and shelters for those in need. Black America today in mass
is impoverished, some 10 million blacks live below the poverty line making less than $11,000 a year, and another large mass of blacks are classified as "near poor"
by new census calculations. Likely making it around 2 in 3 blacks in
America that are either poor or the newly classified "near poor". Our
goal in wealth must be to enjoy it, share it in charity, be the vision
of our excluded great-grandparents and not allow it to destroy our purpose in achieving the American Dream of success for our community.
BET must also look to itself not only by saying that their failure was how they organized attendees. "Due
to some misjudgment of select attendees, it is unfortunate that certain
incidents took place. BET Networks does not condone any type of
violence." BET Network Statement. But in
addition the network must look harder at its programming and the role it
plays in creating an environment where social justice may not be a
large enough part of programming goals for the network and the networks
input on the artist it supports. A good step in the right direction by
BET is the new piece they have airing in October by Marc Levin "Second Coming Election of Barack Obama".
My partner Antonio Moore
is a former prosecutor from years ago, and we speak often coming from
entirely different sides of this thing called justice on what needs to
occur, and undoubtedly it ends with maturation, responsibility and a
call to social justice.
Look at the power of Jay Z's lyrics about my life story
"Can't you tell that I came from the dope game, Blame Reagan
for makin' me into a monster,...Blame Oliver North and Iran-contra/ I
ran contraband that they sponsored." Jay Z - Blue Magic
The power that can be wielded by our entertainers reaches so much
further than those of the 60's due to the globalization of their image.
It is time to call on Hip Hop to be more and grow up and mature. As I
attend the Emmys in New York this week for VH1 Planet Rock History of Crack and Hip Hop, I realize that Hip Hop can be a vehicle to explain how we survived a economic downturn.
Even in my current battle with the rapper Rick Ross my end goal is not
to destroy his career, but rather part of my goal for any resolution is
to have him become part of the Freeway Literacy Foundation
and teach positive messages to our youth across the nation. For that to
happen Hip Hop must change its focus and its artist must become more
oriented on the success of more than themselves (Ex:Dr. Dre Donates to Freeway Rick Ross Benefit Event by BET). Rap must heal itself by becoming a vanguard for social justice and causes that give purpose to idle resource.
My call today is for their to be peace and healing of
longstanding wounds, for that to happen we must begin to be honest about
why those wounds exist. Then truly come to the table to discuss how to
help them heal for all of our sake.
Freeway Rick Ross
Coauthored Antonio Moore.Esq
Follow Freeway Rick Ross on Twitter:
www.twitter.com/FreewayRicky
Rick Ross' MMG Clashes W/ Young Jeezy, Gunplay Faces Off W/ 50 Cent?
Sunday, Sep 30, 2012 1:49AM
Written by Cyrus Langhorne
Things got hot and heavy Saturday (September 29) night in Atlanta as
reports claim a brawl took place at the BET Hip Hop Awards 2012
festivities involving Rick Ross' camp, Young Jeezy's crew and 50 Cent's G-Unit.
Reports of what exactly went down hit the Internet late Saturday night.
During Saturday's (September 29) taping for BET's 2012
Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta Rozay and the Snowman reportedly got into a
shoving match backstage before the scuffle spilled outside into the
parking lot. Shots were fired and at least one man was said to be
arrested. That's not all. Multiple sources who witnessed the fray
confirmed to MTV News that Ross' protégé Gunplay was
also involved in fisticuffs with members of 50 Cent's G-Unit camp. Gun
was seen with visible wounds and a witness told us that the Miami MC was
put into handcuffs and detained, but a separate source close to Gunplay
told us that he was not arrested. (MTV)
Rick Ross and Young Jeezy, who previously made headlines for their renowned mysterious feud, reportedly performed during the evening.
Most of the crowd inside the Atlanta Civic Center, where the
taping took place were unaware of the drama that jumped off around the
same time that A Tribe Called Quest, Missy Elliott and Busta Rhymes paid tribute to fallen music mogul Chris Lighty. 50 Cent and Fat Joe,
who have quarreled repeatedly semed to have put their differences aside
for the moment as they too appeared on stage to honor Lighty. Both Rick
Ross and Jeezy also performed different sets during the award show. (MTV)
Hours after the smoke settled, a police representative cleared up what exactly took place.
A spokesperson for the Atlanta Police Department tells TMZ,
"Shortly after 7:15 pm Saturday, a fight broke out in the parking lot at
the Atlanta Civic Center (where the BET Awards were being taped)
between two groups. Atlanta Police Department officers on scene
responded to break up the fight and used OC spray in the process.
Individuals fled the scene. There were no arrests or reports of serious
injuries. Reports of shots fired appear to be untrue." Our sources
maintain shots were fired. We're also told that 50 Cent got into it with
a rapper named Gunplay, a protégé of Rick Ross. Can't we all just get
along? (TMZ)
Just last month, Ricky Rozay said he no longer had any rift toward Jeezy.
"I'm always 'bout business; that's why I'm here. I haven't
taken nothin' personal since I came in the game and I think if you in
this business and plan on having longevity in this you shouldn't take
nothin' personal," Ross said, noting that their differences never led to
any physical altercations. "Ain't nobody stepped on my Jordans yet, not
out here. As far as I'm concerned, bring that money bag, let's shake
the world up, that's what Double M-G is about." (RapFix)
Jay-Z’s Made In America fest may have come and went this
weekend– to raving reviews and surprises too – but not all of us were
able to catch the action in the flesh. Here goes a bunch of performance
clips to tide you over for a hot minute, consisting of full sets from
Jill Scott, Run DMC, Odd Future, Santigold, Maybach Music Group, Drake,
Rita Ora, G.O.O.D. Music, and of course, Jay-Z himself. Hit the deck for
all the goodies.
Beanie Sigel Immediately
Starts 2-Year Jail Bid
"Federal Authorities Will Take Him Into Custody" [VIDEO]
State Property's Beanie Sigel
no longer has the luxury of waiting nearly two weeks before starting
his two-year jail sentence on a tax evasion conviction and has been
forced to begin the bid immediately.
According to reports, Sigel's Wednesday (August 29) morning arrest on gun and drugs charges has forced the Federal authorities' hand.
"At this point, the Federal
authorities will take him into custody and he'll begin serving the
sentence that he was going to start on September 12 anyway," Sigel's
longtime attorney Fortunato N. Perri told XXL. "He had
bail set on the new charges, but the Federal authorities have issued a
detainer--a warrant, essentially--that will transfer him to Federal
custody and he'll start serving his sentence." (XXL Mag)
Fellow Philadelphia rapper Cassidy recently talked to SOHH about Sigel's publicized woes.
"Yeah, that's a sad situation
because you know Beanie is from my city. He was one of the first cats to
get on and get it popping and take it to a whole other level, and he's
really lyrical," Cass told SOHH. "It's sad that he has to go
away for the [tax evasion conviction] situation. Everything happens for a
reason, so hopefully he'll be able to build from the time where he's
sitting down. Be able to develop. Learn more about himself. Learn more
how to move when he finally gets the opportunity to get back out here,
so when he does get back out here he can take it to a whole other level.
That's definitely sad. I don't wish nobody to go to jail. I've been
there before. I know what that life's like, and it definitely ain't a
fun place to be so it's sad to see him have to go away." (SOHH)
Yesterday, Ruffhouse Records CEO Chris Schwartzissued a statement on Beans' takedown.
"Obviously, we're very
disappointed. However, Beanie has done nothing but display the utmost
professionalism in all the initiatives related to the promotion of his
new release. Beanie obviously has been struggling with some personal
issues, and we continue to support him now and throughout his impending
incarceration." (Statement)
RELATED POST:
Tags: 2-Year, Beanie, Bid, Federal Authorities Will Take Him Into Custody, Immediately, Jail, Sigel, Starts, UPDATE:, [VIDEO]
#LOOK...d(O_<)b
JaY-Z
PUTS NEW MUSIC ON HOLD iDEFiNiTELY
At the Made In America music festival in Philadelphia,
Jay-Z spoke briefly with Billboard in regard to creating new music. If
you’re expecting a new album soon, it might be a while.
Jay-Z:
“I
thought I would be more inspired to have all these new feelings to
talk about, but I really just want to hang out with my daughter. I want
to enjoy this time for what it is. I’m sure that bug to get back in
the studio will come back at some point.”
Industry News Tags: b.i.c., billboard, blue ivy, jay-z, made in america, Philadelphia —
|
|
Legendary DJ and producer Grandmaster Roc Raida filled our lives with
some of the best turntablism the game has ever seen thanks to body
tricks, including crossfading with his shoulder blade.
As a member of the legendary X-Ecutioners, Roc Raida’s career lead
him across the globe and back numerous times collecting awards and
winning championship titles in the process.
Aside from DJing, Roc also produced for the likes of Big L, Fat Joe, Ghostface Killah, Jungle Brothers and Linkin Park.
Unfortunately, he passed away on September 19, 2009 due to cardiac
arrest. From that day forward the music world has continued to embrace
the work of Roc Raida as he left us with some unforgettable memories
that are forever etched in our minds
.
BaBY Mama Carmen BLASTS Nas, Says "Daughters" Track
Is A FALSE Portrayal Of "Destiny"
We had a feeling Nas' ex-girlfriend and baby mama, Carmen Bryan,
would have something to say about his new "Daughters" track. And right
on cue, chick popped off saying the song falsely portrayed their daughter Destiny.
Her words inside...
Carmen apparently wasn't as touched by Nas' new "Daughters" track as
everyone else was. Despite Nas tweeting his love for his daughter and
explaining on the track that Destiny's mindset & misbehavior was
likely his fault, Carmen took to Twitter to express her anger tonight:
Just heard "Daughters" by Nas. What a disappointment! He
had nothing positive to say about our daughter and his depiction of her
is false!
...perhaps her father should be talking to her and spending more time with her so he can really get to know her.
...Destiny will be 18 in 2 months. Over it!
And when her followers asked what exactly was the problem with the song, she answered:
Ques? do u really think Destiny appreciated that song? Seriously.....Destiny is still a child-it was the wrong platform.
...he's not speaking on it-he's rapping about it. There's a huge difference and I don't respect it.
Destiny is extremely talented, caring and has a huge heart, none of those things were mentioned. I'm proud of her.
Well, that kinda ruined the sweet moment. Sounds like she's trying
to say Nas isn't as close to his daughter as the song makes it seem.
Carmen also seems to be saying that him admitting on the track that he
hasn't always been the best father (which led to his daughter's inappropriate tweets & behavior a while back) actually has a negative effect on Destiny.
Even so--wouldn't that be a convo better had via phone (or anywhere except Twitter) with Mr. Jones directly?
Here are a couple of the verses from "Daughters":
[Verse 1]
I saw my daughter send a letter to some boy her age
Who locked up, first I regretted it then caught my rage, like
How could I not protect her from this awful phase
Never tried to hide who I was, she was taught and raised like
A princess, but while I'm on stage I can't leave her defenseless
Plus she's seen me switching women, pops was on some pimp shit
She heard stories of her daddy thuggin'
So if her husband is a gangster can't be mad, I love him
Never, for her I want better, homie in jail- dead that
Wait till he come home, you can see where his head's at
Niggas got game, they be tryna live
He seen your mama crib, plus I'm sure he know who your father is
Although you real, plus a honest kid
Don't think I'm slow, I know you probably had that chronic lit
You 17, I got a problem with it
She looked at me like I'm not the cleanest father figure but she rocking with it
[Verse 2]
This morning I got a call, nearly split my wig
This social network said "Nas go and get ya kid"
She's on Twitter, I know she ain't gon post no pic
Of herself underdressed, no inappropriate shit, right
Her mother cried when she answered
Said she don't know what got inside this child's mind, she planted
A box of condoms on her dresser then she Instagrammed it
At this point I realized I ain't the strictest parent
I'm too loose, I'm too cool with her
Shoulda drove on time to school with her
I thought I dropped enough jewels on her
Took her from private school, so she can get a balance
To public school, they too nurture teen talents
They grow fast, one day she's ya little princess
Next day she talking boy business, what is this
They say the coolest playas and foulest heart breakers in the world
God gets us back, he makes us have precious little girls
We doubt he'll respond. Meanwhile, Nas' video for his single "The Don" premieres tomorrow night at 6p ET on VEVO.
BONUS: Here's a pic Destiny tweeted of herself all grown up. She also tweeted the throwback above with her mom and dad saying, "When we were a family":
DNA iNFO
POSTED By :Serena Solomon EAST VILLAGE
— Ask Viki Stevenson the quickest way to tell a fake Marc Jacobs bag, and she'll tell you it's all about the demeanor of the person trying to sell it to her.
"When they are trying to sell fake things and they know it, they are just really quiet," said Stevenson, the manager of Chelsea fashion consignment store the Buffalo Exchange.
The quality of the leather
and stitching, the strange zipper and off center nameplate all
confirmed Stevenson’s suspicions as a recent seller tried to pass off a
fake bag as real in the West 26th Street store.
It happens so often — about three times a week, says Stevenson — that being able to spot counterfeits is a crucial part of business at consignment stores that specialize in trading second hand items.
It's
so important that Buffalo Exchange staff are trained to spot subtle
differences between fake and genuine items, and even go on field trips
to see the real thing.
Stevenson and other experts fall back on telltale signs
such as zipper types, leather quality and trademark workmanship of
different fashion houses to authenticate or dismiss an item.
While many prospective sellers are not aware the possessions they put up for sale are counterfeit, occasionally some knowingly attempt to pass off a fake designer item for a real one, to get a higher price.
"It could be anybody. It could be a girl who has a mix of really high
end things," said Stevenson. "She has great stuff and then 'that' will
sneak in."
At the Buffalo Exchange, those pawning items can either receive 30
percent of what the items will be resold for or 50 percent of that
price in store credit. The store has a zero tolerance policy towards
counterfeit items. Managers such as Stevenson have only moments to
establish an item's authenticity and, if there is any doubt, sellers
are turned away.
"There are so many different levels of fake bags," said Stevenson, who also rejects many bogus shoes and the occasional clothing piece.
"There are cheap plastic ones, then there are the ones that have real leather."
Stevenson produced a baby pink Chloe bag. The soft leather, the heavy
buckle and nameplate made a strong case for authenticity, but the bag
was a fake.
A
woman who admitted it was a fake while attempting to sell the bag to
Buffalo Exchange ended up donating this one to the store. Stevenson
held onto it to educate her staff.
"Once you have been around real bags, the fake ones are easy to tell,” said Tania Anthony, 42, from the online consignment store Resale Riches.
Once a woman attempted to sell her a fake Fendi Spy bag, assuring Anthony it was purchased from the brand’s store in Italy.
“I assume that they don’t know themselves," she said, believing many people are convinced their item is real.
Staying one step ahead of the counterfeits can be difficult, according
to Anthony. People can produce a fake receipt in an attempt to prove a
purchase that never happened. Lucy Haslewood from the Secret Stylist blog has even encountered counterfeits that are sprayed with a leather scent to cover up synthetic materials.
When judging a resale item’s authenticity, New York-based makeup and fashion consultant Suresh from Suresh Beauty, who often calls out fake items through his Twitter feed @sureshbeauty, advises shoppers that a real item can get better with age.
“Authentic products often wear very well,” wrote Suresh in an email to
DNAinfo.com. “The way the materials fold and crease is very symbolic
of the brand's heritage.”
The artist, who has a celebrity rich clientele and considers himself a
huge advocate for anti-fake, also suggested slinging a bag on your
shoulder.
“A well-made designer bag is weighed and balanced so that it always
appears perfectly stable on a shoulder or arm,” wrote Suresh, who
spends his work days surrounded by designer items.
Amanda Garrett, the 33-year-old store manager at another Buffalo
Exchange on East 11th Street, would not be surprised if she was
presented with a couple of counterfeit items each week.
"Sometimes people will argue with you and we will just say ‘I can’t
buy it if I have questions about the authenticity,’" said Garrett.
For her and her team, copies of contemporary high-end brands such as
Alexander Wang are proving difficult to detect because they don’t have
the established traditions like older brands.
"If the Coach bag has a pattern on the outside, it should have a solid
[color] on the inside lining and vice versa," she said as an example.
Recently Garrett turned away a woman who attempted pawning an
Alexander Wang bag given to her by her boyfriend. She delicately told
the woman the bag was counterfeit.
"She said, 'I can’t believe it is fake, I am going to kill him,'" said Garrett. ...d(>_o)b
HARLEM IN TIME LAPSE PHOTOGRAPHY
By HOLLAND COTTER
Published: May 29, 2009 Correction Appended
REPublished:JAN.22 2012 BY*BLACKMONEY848PAGES
From the time he arrived in the United States from Chile as a college
student in 1965, the photographer Camilo José Vergara has been
haunting, and haunted by, American cities.
He lives in New York but has spent the better part of the past four
decades in Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles, urban centers
with big, poor, largely segregated minority neighborhoods. He has also
frequented smaller, fallen-apart industrial cities like Camden, N.J.,
and Gary, Ind., places he calls “permanent ghettos.”
By his own estimate he has returned to Gary more than a hundred times.
On each visit he has done the same thing: take pictures, mostly of
buildings, often the same ones, recording over decades their
abandonment, disintegration, demolition and replacement by cheaper
structures, or parking lots, or by nothing at all.
This vigilance has produced several books, among them two great,
generative visual essays in architectural anthropology, “The New
American Ghetto” (1995) and “American Ruins” (1999), and exhibitions
like “Harlem, 1970-2009: Photographs by Camilo José Vergara” now at the
New-York Historical Society.
His self-created job as documenter is demanding. It can require the
fearlessness of a reporter in a war zone and the solicitous detachment
of a doctor doing rounds, though Mr. Vergara doesn’t claim these
qualities. He has said in interviews that he goes where he goes and does
what he does because he needs to.
Focusing on images of constant material change distracts him from
anxieties, transports him back to the decaying, now disappeared world of
his childhood, and connects him empathetically to an American culture
from which he otherwise feels removed. Far from being a brash
photographic adventurer, he is more like a ghost haunting ghosts.
The ghosts are unusually vivacious in the 100 pictures of Harlem at
the New-York Historical Society. Mr. Vergara first visited that
neighborhood soon after he arrived in New York in 1968, at the age of
24. Urban poverty and ill-conceived urban renewal had already done
irreparable damage. New York was jittery with change. He started taking
pictures.
At the time he was exploring a genre broadly known as street
photography. (Helen Levitt was an artist he particularly admired. An
exhibition of her work at Laurence Miller Gallery is reviewed on Page
29.) And the earliest pictures in the historical society exhibition are
shots of people going about their lives on Harlem sidewalks: black
children playing with white Barbies on a stoop, a nervous wedding party
gathered in front of a church.
Although tied down by a Midtown desk job, Mr. Vergara returned
regularly to Harlem on his lunch hours, establishing a repeat-visit
pattern that would lead to time-lapse architectural sequences stretching
over years.
In 1977 he photographed the exotic-looking exterior of a
nightclub-bar called the Purple Manor at 65 East 125th Street, the wide
facade, with sets of double doors, painted a very 1970s lavender; the
windows, fitted with decorative paper borders, had a jazzy hourglass
shape. The club’s clientele was reputed to move in upper levels of the
drug trade.
By 1980 much had changed. In a picture Mr. Vergara took that year,
the bar is gone and its premises divided into two small storefronts
painted different colors: the one on the left baby blue, the one on the
right fire-engine red. Over several years the storefronts also took on
different functions, each of which Mr. Vergara photographed.
In 1980 the left-hand storefront was a fish-and-chips shop, a year
later a discount variety store. After an initial lag in activity, the
storefront on the right began selling women’s clothes before turning
into a smoke shop, an identity it retained for some years, even as its
neighbor morphed from furniture store to unisex boutique to beauty
salon, with superficial alterations at each change.
Both stores hit hard times in the recession-plagued 1990s. The
facades are marked up, the sidewalk cluttered. Then in 2004 the two
stores were reunited to accommodate a Sleepy’s mattress showroom. But
within a few years that franchise moved on. In 2008 the space that had
been the Purple Manor 30 years earlier was plate-glass-fronted,
accessible to the disabled, and for rent.
Mr. Vergara takes us through all these dramatic shifts in function,
fashion and fortune with an attitude of studied neutrality. He shoots
storefronts always straight on, from the same distance, in unmoody
light. The results are urban photography as archaeological field work.
Over the span of eight images we see many changes, but we aren’t asked
to feel good or bad about them. We’re meant to think: Look what life
does.
By contrast an unmistakably elegiac current flows through Mr.
Vergara’s single pictures of Harlem architecture. The Renaissance
Ballroom and Casino on West 137th Street, built in the 1920s as a
showcase for performers like Count Basie and Duke Ellington, is now a
moldering pile. A 19th-century fire watchtower in Marcus Garvey Park,
the only surviving example of its kind, looks rickety and vulnerable.
A group of buildings on Madison Avenue near 127th Street that Mr.
Vergara shot in 1982 is, we learn from his terse wall label, long gone.
“There is now an empty lot in this space.”
And yet, however ambivalently, an upbeat note comes through. Harlem
is, after all, an economic success story. Old town houses, once
derelict, are being preserved. Tenements abandoned in the 1990s have
been rehabilitated. Churches are flourishing. Storefronts have paying
occupants.
That the occupants may be McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken, and
that portions of 125th Street are now corporate-brand shopping malls,
may not be unalloyed good news. But the neighborhood around them
suggests a degree of material security that its equivalents in Camden,
Detroit and Gary can, at this point, not even dream of.
The show’s true source of warmth, though, lies in the unusually high
number — for Mr. Vergara — of pictures of people, of a kind that bring
him full circle to the street photographer he was 40 years ago.
He made some wonderful portraits back then: one of a Bolivian Indian
in traditional clothes in East Harlem in 1970 is in the show. And he’s
making some beauties now, as in his 2008 picture of the street
evangelist Pierre Gaspar, known as the Hallelujah Man, and a 2009 shot
of a man and child walking past billboard-size portraits of Malcolm X
and Barack Obama on West 125th Street.
But in portraits, as in architectural pictures, time marches on. A
man wearing overalls poses for the camera in what looks like a densely
planted sunlit field. The year is 1990. From a wall label we learn that
the man’s name was Eddie; that he was originally from Selma, Ala.; and
that he farmed an empty lot on Frederick Douglass Boulevard between
118th and 119th Streets. We further learn that today, almost two decades
later, a luxury apartment occupies the lot and “a Starbucks has opened
on the exact spot where Eddie stands.”
In “American Ruins” Mr. Vergara lists works of art in various mediums
that have influenced him deeply. He mentions the photographs of
Levitt, Eugène Atget and Walker Evans. From literature he cites the
death-obsessed novels of Dostoyevsky and the apparition-filled stories
of that connoisseur of decay, Edgar Allan Poe.
Miles Davis, Mahler and the British composer John Dowland, who wrote
his sad songs of longing from exile in France, are on the list. Among
artists, he singles out Piranesi, the Dutch landscapist Jacob van
Ruisdael, and Claude Monet, particularly Monet’s images of Rouen
Cathedral with its facade disintegrating into light.
The reason for Mr. Vergara’s attraction to Ruisdael — painter of
crumbling towers, castles and cemeteries — seems obvious. And he
specifically likens Piranesi’s vast, hollow, exitless prisons to the
bombed-out American cities in which he has spent so many years. He makes
no direct connection between Monet’s spectral cathedral — is it
falling down or coming together? — and the facades morphing, dying and
resurrecting in the Harlem photographs, but I think he could.
“Harlem, 1970-2009: Photographs by Camilo José Vergara” is at the
New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, through July 12.
“Storefront Churches: Photographs by Camilo José Vergara” opens at the
National Building Museum in Washington on June 20.
Correction: June 04, 2009
A photograph on Friday with an art review of “Harlem, 1970-2009:
Photographs by Camilo José Vergara” at the New-York Historical Society,
using information provided by Mr. Vergara, was published in error.
While three of the photographs in a series showed the storefront at
2038 Fifth Avenue in 1992, 1996 and 2007, the fourth photograph,
showing a laundry, was of an adjacent building. It did not show 2038
Fifth Avenue in 1999.
LADY GaGa.NEWz...!
posted by Follow Laura on Twitter
“Mother
Monster” Lady Gaga attended a $35,800-per-couple fundraiser for
President Barack Obama in northern California over the
weekend. The 25-year-old Grammy winner didn’t sing, but she reportedly
asked Obama a question during the Q&A, thanked him for all he’s
done for the country, and read a letter about her late fan Jamey
Rodemeyer.
“[Lady Gaga] thanked Obama for hosting his anti-bullying conference
with Michelle Obama, and then made a general plea to everyone in the
room, including the president, to do what they can to prevent
bullying,” a source told ABC.
Obama reportedly talked about “his administration’s anti-bullying
campaign, and then more generally about the importance of values and
who we are as Americans.”
Though ABC reports that the performance artist spoke with Obama for
two whole minutes, the White House press pool report from the event
states that it’s unclear whether the pop sensation and politician met up
with each other.
“POTUS spoke for about 8 minutes, with Lady Gaga sitting front and
center,” reads the report. “And although he never acknowledged her
obvious presence, it seems likely the two crossed paths during
greetings inside the house before the dinner.”
Also according to the pool report, Lady Gaga sported “sky-high heels
(she towered over everyone, a good 2 feet taller than POTUS)…[and] a
floor-length sleeveless lacy black dress.” At the presidential
gathering, the “Born This Way” singer also had a bouffant hair up-do
“with a black hair piece with a black veil down the back.”
If she and the president didn’t talk, she broke her word. Last week,
the pop singer tweeted that she would meet with Obama to discuss the
bullying issue.
“I am meeting with our President,” Lady Gaga tweeted following the
suicide of bullied fan Rodemeyer. “I will not stop fighting. This must
end. Our generation has the power to end it. Trend it
#MakeALawForJamey.” (MORE: Lady Gaga: Bullying must become illegal)
After Rodemeyer’s tragic suicide, Lady Gaga wrote that she believes bullying should become a federal offense.
“Jamey Rodemeyer, 14 yrs old, took his life because of bullying,” Lady Gaga tweeted Wednesday. “Bullying must become be [sic] illegal. It is a hate crime.”
Rodemeyer, a 14-year-old gay male from Buffalo, made an “It Gets
Better” YouTube video earlier this summer to urge outcasts and the
bullied to keep going and brush off the mean kids.
“It gets better,” Rodemeyer advised YouTube users in May. “Look at me,
I’m doing fine. I went to the Monster ball and now I’m liberated, so
it gets better.”
Rodemeyer took his life a little more than a week ago. In his last
blog posts he wrote about wanting to see his late great-grandmother,
and thanked Lady Gaga.
Follow Laura on Twitter
NOT SAYING.........!.....(O_<)b
???????.ITS A MOVIE
PEOPLE......d(-_O)b
Photos from the concert don’t appear to show any visible bruising, but you be the judge.
Moments after squaring off with Ray J backstage at his show in Las
Vegas, Fabolous took the stage to perform at the Pearl Theater at the
Palms on Sunday night. Their fight erupted over a tweet where Fabolous
joked about Ray J’s performance of “One Wish” at Floyd Mayweather’s
house.
Ray J claimed that he was unscathed in the brawl and that Fab was the one who got punched. Photos from the concert don’t appear to show any visible bruising, but you be the judge.
“When I seen him, I was with Floyd and 50 and he tried to say don’t
touch me and I touched that ni**a,” Ray J told Power 105.1’s “The Breakfast Club.”
“I swear to God he runnin’ from me right now. I had a hundred fools
outside of Moon [nightclub]. He never left the club. He was scared up in
there. He tried to call the police.”
Mavado charged, Bounty released - Manager complains of false reports following shooting incident
Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter
Mavado was yesterday charged with assault and given bail following an incident at a nightclub in New Kingston.
According
to reports, the deejay was charged with assault and given $30,000
station bail while fellow deejay Bounty Killer was questioned and
released. This was after both of them were named as persons of interest
and asked to report to the Half-Way Tree Police Station.
During
initial checks with the police, it was said that a member of Mavado's
entourage was involved in an altercation with a police officer on the
steps of the Quad nightclub in New Kingston. It is alleged that the
officer was slapped in the face after which the man was shot.
However, Mavado and Killer's manager, Julian Jones-Griffiths, disputed the reports that were being circulated yesterday.
"Obviously,
we can't say too much at this point in time as it's the subject of an
ongoing investigation but we need to clarify one thing; false reports
have been circulated by the media that this incident stemmed from
Mavado refusing a search upon entry to Quad nightclub," he said.
He
further said; "That is completely untrue, Mavado and his party were
already inside the club, past the search area where there was no issue
with anyone. We are asking for fair and balanced reporting of this
incident, there is always a lot of false information propagated when
these stories break but that doesn't mean to say we must blame Mavado
automatically."
The manager said that Mavado was not travelling
with 20 or 30 people, as is being reported. "He was with his
girlfriend, a couple of family members and a handful of friends," he
said.
He added that the man who was shot, underwent surgery
yesterday morning in order to stabilise his condition. However, "he
lost a lot of blood and the bullet is lodged in him. His condition is
very serious and doctors hope to try and remove the bullet once he is
well enough."
disappointment
He
also expressed disappointment with Bounty Killer being named as a
person of interest and being asked to report to the police.
"As
it relates to Bounty Killer it's incomprehensible as to why he has
been made a person of interest by the police. He was nowhere near the
vicinity where the incident happened and it's very regrettable that he
has been caught up in this situation, especially on his birthday," he
added.
The Quad nighclub also issued a statement. However, they said the incident occurred outside the establishment.
"According
to preliminary police reports, a member of the entourage of a popular
entertainer was shot outside the nightclub. We regret the incident,
however, the shooting happened as a direct result of an altercation
between a member of the security forces and the entertainer's
entourage. The management of the club continues to go to great lengths
to ensure the safety of patrons inside the nightclub, and ask members
of the public to respect our policy that all patrons must be searched
before entering the club," the release stated.
Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter
David Lohr Contributor :Facebook Diaper Feud Ends in Young Woman's Fatal Stabbing
Mar 2, 2011 – 1:10 PM
A Teenage
mother is charged with second-degree murder for allegedly stabbing her
friend over a dispute over a $20 loan that escalated into a Facebook
feud.
Kamisha
Richards, 22, died after being stabbed in the chest with a steak knife
Monday night inside an apartment in the east New York neighborhood of
Brooklyn, police said.
Kayla
Henriques, 18, was arrested early Tuesday and charged with
second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon, police said.
Investigators
are still trying to determine what exactly happened between the two
young women, who were described as lifelong friends. Richards was dating
Henriques' brother, Ramel.
Facebook
Kamisha
Richards, left, and Kayla Henriques are shown in photos from their
Facebook profiles. Henriques has been charged with stabbing Richards to
death after the two argued over a $20 loan, police said.
"We
cannot comment on what is going on in the investigation," a New York
Police Department spokeswoman told AOL News today. However, a heated
exchange on Facebook offers a glimpse into a possible motive.
About
three days before the stabbing, the two women had gotten into a dispute
that started with a $20 loan, according to The New York Times. Richards
had lent her friend the money so Henriques could buy Pampers for her
11-month-old son, but Richards became furious when she found out that
Henriques had spent the cash on something else, the report said.
Over the weekend, the argument escalated via Facebook comments and text messages.
"U
don't do 4no 1. ... I have no kids and I refuse 2take care of any1
elses so yeah I will be needing that $20. ... this the last time u will
con me into giving u money," Richards posted at about 5:44 p.m. Sunday,
according to London's Daily Mail.
Henriques replied, "Dnt try to expose me mama but I'm not tha type to thug it ova facebook see u wen u get frm wrk."
The argument continued, and at 8:52 p.m., Richards said, "Ima have the last laugh," to which Henriques replied: "We will see."
Roughly
24 hours after the last message was posted, Richards reportedly went to
Henriques' apartment and confronted her about the money. The argument
began in the kitchen and continued in a bedroom, where Richards was
stabbed, police said.
Richards stumbled out into a hallway, where she was found by one of Henriques' relatives.
"She
wasn't panicking," the relative told the New York Daily News. "She was
calm. I called the ambulance and put pressure on [the wound]. I did
everything I could to try to save the girl."
Responding paramedics transported Richards to Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
Investigators
reportedly found the steak knife at the crime scene and followed a
blood trail to a neighboring apartment building, where Henriques was
arrested.
According
to the Times, Henriques is an 11th-grader at John Adams High School.
The newspaper said Richards had graduated from John Jay College in May
with a degree in criminal justice. She worked as a security guard at
JPMorgan Chase in Manhattan and planned to attend Brooklyn Law School.
"We
are very saddened by this tragic situation, and our thoughts and
prayers are with Kamisha's family and friends," JPMorgan Chase said in a
statement to The Wall Street Journal. "She was an extraordinary
employee who had a wonderful reputation among her colleagues, and she
will be deeply missed."
Contributor
David Lohr
DIVORCE COURT: GARCELLE BEAUVAIS-NILON DIVORCES YELLOW TOOTH
CHEATING HUSBAND
Love
is blind Love is blind. Remember when Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon had to
put her husband Michael Nilon blast for cheating while back. She was a
ryder and sent his whole company emails exposing him at work. Well
news is in this morning that she has also filed for divorce..
BUS IT OPEN FOR DETAILSVia TMZ:Garcelle
Beauvais-Nilon may drop a few letters from her name in the near future
— TMZ has learned she’s filed for divorce from her husband Michael
Nilon. Garcelle — who once graced the cover of Playboy Magazine — filed
the documents in L.A. County Superior Court on May 10 — just two days
before their 9-year wedding anniversary. Garcelle and Michael have
2-year-old twins together — she is seeking joint legal and physical
custody. As for spousal support — Garcelle has requested that the judge
not award anything to Michael.Spousal support? Oh hell!! He was ugly and broke… Love is blind !
Jamaica cops battle gangsters in Don's stronghold
By DAVID McFADDEN, Associated Press Writer David Mcfadden, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 48 mins ago Jamaican gang leader facing extradition to the United States and sporadic gunfire could be heard late into Monday night.
More than 1,000 police officers and soliders attacked
heavily armed gang members defending the West Kingston base of
Christopher "Dudus" Coke, who has been indicted in the U.S. on drug and
arms trafficking charges. Military helicopters flying with their lights off could be heard buzzing above the darkened slums, where authorities cut off power.
As security forces broke through barbed-wire
barricades Monday afternoon to begin their offensive in Coke's Tivoli
Garden neighborhood, clashes with masked gunmen spread to other volatile
slums close to the capital on Jamaica's southeastern coast, far from the tourist resorts on the north shore.
It was not immediately clear what was happening inside
the virtual fortresses where Coke's supporters had massed since last
week, when Prime Minister Bruce Golding dropped his nine-month stonewalling against extraditing the Jamaican "don," who has ties to his governing party.
Exact details were not known about casualties.
Authorities said two officers had been killed and at least six wounded
since Sunday, and at least one Jamaican soldier was shot dead during
Monday's fighting at Tivoli Gardens, the Caribbean island's first housing project.
A woman in the besieged slum told Radio Jamaica that
she and her terrified family were hunkered down in their apartment as a
firefight raged outside.
"I really pray that
somebody will find the love in their heart and stop this right now. It
is just too much, my brother," the woman told the station, the sound of
a gunbattle nearby.
Gangsters loyal to Coke
began barricading streets and preparing for battle immediately after
Golding caved in to a growing public outcry over his opposition to
extradition. Jamaica's leader, whose represents West Kingston in Parliament, had claimed the U.S. indictment relied on illegal wiretap evidence.
West Kingston, which includes the Trenchtown slum where reggae superstar Bob Marley
was raised, is the epicenter of the violence. But on Monday, security
forces also came under fire in areas outside that patchwork of gritty
slums.
Gunmen shot at police while trying to
erect barricades in a poor section of St. Catherine parish, which is
just outside the two parishes where the government on Sunday
implemented a monthlong state of emergency.
A
police station in an outlying area of Kingston parish also was showered
with bullets by a roving band of gunmen with high-powered rifles.
Security Minister Dwight Nelson
said "police are on top of the situation," but gunfire was reported in
several poor communities and brazen gunmen even shot up Kingston's central police station.
The drug trade is deeply entrenched in Jamaica, which
is the largest producer of marijuana in the region and where gangs have
become powerful organized crime networks involved in international gun
smuggling. It fuels one of the world's highest murder rates; the island of 2.8 million people had about 1,660 homicides in 2009.
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Security forces
fought their way into the warren-like complex that is the slum
stronghold of a Police Commissioner Owen Ellington said "scores of criminals" from drug gangs across the Caribbean island had joined the fighting in the Kingston area, where the fear of gun violence has driven many to live behind gated walls with keypad entry systems and 24-hour security.
In a sun-splashed island known more for reggae music and all-inclusive resorts,
the violence erupted Sunday afternoon after nearly a week of rising
tensions over the possible extradition of Coke to the United States,
where he faces a possible sentence of life in prison.
Coke is described as one of the world's most dangerous drug lords by the U.S. Justice Department.
He leads one of the gangs that control politicized
slums known as "garrisons." Political parties created the gangs in the
1970s to rustle up votes. The gangs have since turned to drug trafficking, but each remains closely tied to a political party. Coke's gang is tied to the governing Labor Party.
Civil aviation officials said some flights to Kingston were diverted Monday to the north coast tourist mecca of Montego Bay
and a few flights were canceled altogether. U.S. officials have warned
that access roads to the airport could be blocked by unrest.
The U.S. State Department
said Monday it was "the responsibility of the Jamaican government to
locate and arrest Mr. Coke." A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman denied
widespread rumors that U.S. officials were meeting with Coke's lawyers.
Coke's lead attorney, Don Foote, told reporters his legal team had
planned to have talks with U.S. officials at the embassy but the meeting
was canceled.
Foote refused to say whether Coke was hunkered down in the barricaded Tivoli Gardens slum or was somewhere else in the country.
In a national address Sunday night, Golding said the state of emergency
order for Kingston and St. Andrew parish gives authorities the power
to restrict movement. Security forces will also be able to conduct
searches and detain people without warrants.
The U.S.
extradition controversy and the ensuing violence has brought to the
fore issues that have been simmering for a long time in Jamaica,
specifically the links between the political parties and volatile slums
that are virtually one-party garrisons.
Amid the escalating tension, the country's civil society has been demanding through talk shows, blogs and Facebook
"If Coke is somehow able to hold out and formally establish his community as a state within a state, then Jamaica's future is bleak," said Brian Meeks, a professor of government at Jamaica's Mona campus of the groups that the government sever all links with powerful "community dons" like Coke. University of the West Indies.
SWIZZEY, Alicia Keys', Mashonda ! NOWWHUT?
Writing on his daily Twitter page, Swizz said he did not understand why his personal life has drawn so much attention.
"Much love To all the real fans out there that support
that real sh*t love y'all," he wrote. "Let the hate take you to the
next level! Oh yeah get that album on the 15th it's Firreeeeeee yeah I
said it and what!!!!!!!!!!!! That's my bo!!!!!! 4 life! People done lost
there minds I been in this game for 11 plus years since I was 17 and
all people want to talk about is my divorce Wow! F*ck what they say or
said I'm a good man but when it's time to move on it's just time! I'm
also so a great f*cking Dad but nobody give a sh*t!" (Swizz Beat'z Twitter) Mashonda also voiced her issues via Twitter.
"Here's
the bottom line u were married when u started ur affair, ur married
now," she wrote. "And both of u knew wht it was. Separation came after
the fact. Now peps, this is why its important to keep God 1st! I'm not
gona battle my sons father on twitter
about his mistress. Yall WON! But just know! I never lied and NEVER
will. Thank God we are doing this b4 2010. My new year will not involve
this scandol. That all folks." (Mashonda's Twitter) The singer also released an open letterto Alicia Keys last September.
"If
you are reading this Alicia, let me start by saying, you know what you
did," she wrote over the weekend. "You know the role you played and you
know how you contributed to the ending of my marriage. You know that I
asked you to step back and let me handle my family issues. Issues that
you helped to create...I read your tweets tonight and I felt they were
very insensitive. You have no idea how much pain I was caused because of
this affair. Its baffling to me that you don't understand what I might
have gone through with this situation. I dont consider myself a victim
anymore, Ive learned alot from this! I just ask you to try and be a bit
more realistic and delicate to the situation, at least until my divorce
is final...If its so, that you and my husband
are meant to be together, then God bless you both and I hope you never
have to deal with what I did. I would not wish it on my worst enemy. If
you two being together forever is the case, its more of a reason for us
to get along, because I'm not going anywhere. Theres a child to be
raised." (Rap-Up) In late September, Keys wrote via Twitter on matters relating to "love."
"evn
the things u might b ashamed of,love is feelin comfort&safe wit
some1,but still gettin weak knees whn they walk n2 a room & smile at
u"....love is knowin all abt some1, & still wantin 2 b wit thm more
thn any other persn. love is trustin the enuf 2 tell thm everythin abt
urself, "I don't pretend 2 no wht luv is 4 every1, I can tell u wht it
is for me;" (Alicia Keys' Twitter) (=_=)*
Jay-Z, Nas, and 50~>
Empire State of MindRemix
In
the WTF? category: Rap rivals Jay-Z and 50 Cent, along with Nas, are
all reportedly set to appear on an upcoming "Empire State Of Mind"
remix. While an exact source has not been identified, reports suggest
the collaboration will be documented. Despite 50 Cent calling Jay-Z
Beyonce's husband and more recently jabbing that he thinks he's Jesus,
rumor has it that the two may actually be working together behind the
scenes. A source who recently found himself eavesdropping on a
conversation at a certain New York Giant's office, recently told BET.com
that Hov may be unifying the big apple by featuring Fif and Nas on the
"Empire State of Mind" remix. Word is the entire recording as well as
conversations between the NY juggernauts will be documented. In addition
to continually jabbing Jay, Fif has had issues with Nas for a while.
Former friends, the Queens MCs became at odds after Fif called Nas out
on The Massacre's "Piggy Bank." Word has already been spreading that
Nas, who was reportedly slated to appear on the original track, is on
deck for the remix. (BET)
Beanie Sigel has suggested Jay recruited Nas for an "Empire" diss record going at him and 50 Cent.
I'm
nice at chess too," Sigel told radio personality DJ On & On. "They
say he got a record supposed to come out, the remix to the New York
sh*t, he's poppin' shots at me, poppin' shots at 50 but he pulled Nas on
the record hoping that a n*gga will respond to it and come at Nas and
Nas is gonna come right back, he ain't gonna hold no punches, he's gonna
come right back. He should come right back but look at the moves. I see
that. I'm not worried about Nas, I did that already. I did that
already. In defense of him I did that already. I was there when dude was
in the studio on the couch scratching his head under pressure." (Jump
The Turn Style)
50, as of late, has been talking down upon Jay's business habits with former Roc-A-Fella artists like Beans and Freeway.
"I think he completely has his best interests in mind," 50 said about
Hov. "When you commit to working with other artists -- I have to be
passionate about it. Of course, you want to make money, so you only
commit to the things that you're excited about, that you feel you have
the chemistry with or has something there, but after you get past that
point, it should be something that you actually want to see win. I tried
to collaborate with him on the Freeway project. What I did was Freeway
went out and found his publishing deal, and we started the album, and
Jay did 'Big Spender' and I did 'Take You to the Top,' and when it came
time to put the record out, he didn't want to shoot his video, so I'm
like, 'Why am I going to shoot mine? I'm not shooting it. It's on your
label.' He has a king complex, he thinks he's f*cking Jesus, you know
what I mean? This J-Hova sh*t." (=_=)*
-Diddy recently discussed his short-lived career as a drug dealer during his youth and revealed what made him give up the crack game for the rap game.
Bad Boy Records CEO Diddy
recently discussed his short-lived career as a drug dealer during his
youth and revealed what made him give up the crack game for the rap
game. While speaking in an exclusive interview with Playboy Magazine, Puff dished about his fear of being caught by law enforcement.
"Some of my friends were selling drugs in the Maryland and (Washington)
D.C. area. I remember them having all this jewelery and new BMWs. I was
eating Romain noodles, stealing from the 7-Eleven to get some food. I
thought, 'I need to get some money like y'all have.' I thought, 'I need
to get some money like y'all have.' So I go out on the block, the strip
where they're selling drugs, and my man says, 'OK, I'm going to give you
this. You wait there. They'll come up to you.' I'm out there five
minutes when three cop cars pull up and officers jump out and start
chasing me. I ran and got away... God was sending me signals. I told my
friends, 'Thanks, y'all, but no thanks. This game is not for me.' I
walked out that door, and I ain't been around nobody with no drugs. I
don't want to see no drugs. I'm probably the shortest-duration drug
dealer in history. That's why you never heard me talk about it in my
rhymes." (Contact Music) Diddy's late father was reportedly involved in drug operations with famed kingpin Frank Lucas.
Combs was born in the public housing projects of the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, the son of Janice and Melvin Combs.
He grew up in Mount Vernon. When Combs was a child, his father, aged
33, an associate of Frank Lucas the New York drug lord, was shot dead in
his car at a Manhattan park after attending a party. Lucas and rival
gangster Nicky Barnes both publicly state that they were close to Melvin. (Wikipedia) Around 2007, Lucas also confirmed his association with Puff's father.
"I
know Melvin Combs ... He was a [hustler] Big Time ... I'm sorry Puff,
but I gotta tell it like it is," he said in an interview. "Yeah ... he
was right there [on my level]. I remember one time he got locked up on
3rd Avenue and 139th St ... He got locked up with like a kilo of cocaine
... I had to pay like $36,000 to get him out of jail, you know. Shortly
after that [Diddy's father] got killed. (Media Take Out) Diddy also co-starred in the drug-based film, Carlito's Way; Rise to Power around 2005.
In
the 60's, the Puerto Rican Carlito Brigante, the Afro-American Earl and
the Italian Rocco become best friends while in prison. When they are
released, Rocco intermediates a heroin business with a family of the
Italian Mafia leaded by Artie Badalato Sr. Carlito negotiates with the
lord Leroy "Hollywood Nicky" Barnes the area where the trio could
operate in his neighborhood and sooner the three friends become
powerful. Later, Carlito dates and has an affair with the beautiful
Leticia. When Earl decides to move to Barbados with his girlfriend and
leave the heroin business, his stupid younger brother causes a situation
with the Italian mobsters, and Carlito and Rocco have to resolve the
mess to save their lives. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil (IMDb) (=_=)*
_ Nicki Minaj
Nicki
Minaj is the new chick for an upcoming issue of Complex Magazine. Wanna
talk about a come up? Here are some highlights from the interview:
On transforming when she’s about to get it in:
Thigh-high boots or some real crazy pumps, some thongs, and curly hair,
that’s it. [Laughs.] Nothing else—nothing less, nothing more.One romance and seduction:
I don’t like romancing and I don’t like seduction. It’s corny to me. I
like role-playing, but that’s not one of my characters. [Laughs.]On her dating life:
I
have no dating life, I can only hope and wish and imagine and
fantasize. They demand too much. In life there’s always going to be one
thing that takes precedence, and when you’re as hungry as I am you have
tunnel vision. So I can’t really cater to a dude right now—I love them
and I think they’re cute, but I can’t do what they want me to do for
them right now.(=_=)*
MS.Toya
Antonia
Thursday, October 11, 2007 Vibe INTERVIEW
Current mood: calm
Category: Life After
checking out Weezy's interview in the November 2007 issue of Vibe
magazine, Antonia "Toya" Carter talked to Vibe.com about the
relationship from her perspective. Despite Wayne's attempts to downplay their relationship, Toya says the two were junior high school sweethearts.
"Me
and [Dwayne] were crazy in love. We were inseperable. I would say I was
one of his best friends at the time, up until now," she said. "I'm
still a good friend of Dwayne. We have a good relationship. I really
don't know why he said these negative things."
Toya went on to
reveal that she and Wayne remained together through the ups-and-downs,
including his public relationship with singer Nivea and Trina. But Toya
says things with Trina didn't heat up until shortly after the couple's
2006 divorce. She admits that while their relationship was off-and-on at
times, she was taken by surprise when he began dating Nivea.
"When
he started dating Nivea, I didn't know anything about it. Then I found
out and he admitted to me that he was dating her and that's when the
marriage came apart," she admitted. "We were planning a wedding, and he
was with Nivea. Him and Nivea split up and six months later me and him
were married. It was crazy."
Despite the fact that the two
finally made it to the altar on Valentine's Day 2004, Toya says the
union did little to keep Weezy faithful.
"Wayne is the type who
likes to have his cake and eat it too. So we were together, but that
didn't stop him from doing what he had to do and I wasn't happy with
that. A person can only take so much," she said. Toya filed for divorce
less than two years later.
Although Karrine "Supahead" Steffans
speaks highly of her bond with the New Orleans rapper, Toya downplays
the relationship, saying, "All I have to say about that is that for some
people, the word 'love' is loose terminology. Everybody: Trina, Nivea,
Karrine, whoever it may be." (=_=)*
_SKEEM'IN IN THE LOU*Nelly's St. Louis Mansion Got Robbed!
A 911 call
was made at 7:00 am from a St. Louis mansion reporting a burglary, was
made from the one and only St. Louis native rapper Nelly's mansion.
According to new police reports, one of the men inside the home
confronted the intruder who fled with a duffel bag full of electronics, video games
other items belonging to Nelly. The Police have also gone to say: “The
man fled in a black GMC Yukon and witnesses reported seeing a vehicle
matching the description in the area a short time later.” It has been
reported that Nelly was not at home during the robbery and is in Atlanta
this weekend at Lenox Mall. Fans that make purchases more than $75 of
stuff at the Macy's located in Lenox Mall, are eligible to meet the
rapper/actor as well as receive an autograph. As far as the robbery, no
other information has been released and the burglar is still loose. Out
of all the things a rich celebrity would have in his house, you steal electronics and video games? Sounds like the culprit could be a Geek Squad worker. (=_=)*
_Gangsta Boo !
Gangsta Boo Arrested For Robbing The Dollar Store
Gangsta Boo was arrested by Memphis police Tuesday after turning herself
in for armed robbery. The arrest of the ex-member of Three Six Mafia is
in connection with the heist of a local dollar store. Boo, real name,
Lola Mitchell is tied to the main suspect in the crime, 28-year-old
Marcus Curtis. According to police, Marcus Curtis stormed into a Dollar
General store on July 28 armed with a gun and forced employees to give
him bags of the store's money. He is currently in jail under $100,000
bond. (=_=)*
_.
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& LISTEN 4FREE..
SOHH INTERVIEW: HELL RELL
SOHH Exclusive: Hell Rell Talks Jim Jones/50 Cent Connection, "I'd Never Sleep With The Enemy"
by Anthony Roberts
Diplomats
clean-up man Hell Rell is ready to show the world why he's the next to
blow out of his Harlem crew. SOHH recently caught up with the Dips'
street enforcer as he broke down the science behind his new disc, For
The Hell Of It, and his feelings on Dipset Capo Jim Jones cozying up
with Cam'ron's rival 50 Cent.
When Jones appeared alongside 50
Cent on BET's "Rap City" earlier this week, in a show of support and
respect for the G-Unit boss, Rell didn't approve.
"However people
want to interpret that, they can interpret it that way, but my loyalty
lies with Cam and I would never sleep with the enemy," he says. " Jim is
an executive, he can do what he wants to do. That don't mean I have to
agree with it. But there's no problem between us. We are a movement.
It's not based on one artist. We can all function on our own. We're not
on the decline, business is just getting much deeper."
Building
off the momentum that his Dipset family has undoubtedly set in motion,
Hell Rell is ready to step into the forefront with his new album, For
The Hell Of It.
"This is a New York street album," Rell told
SOHH. "That's how I'm doing things, I'm coming with that hardcore, grimy
flow. I'm catering to my hardcore fans, they know what I do out here."
The
album, which features guest spots from the entire DipSet roster as well
as Young Dro and Styles P, will also be followed up with a book by the
same name that details the atmosphere and environment that inspired each
song on the album.
"Every chapter of the book is a name to a
song on my album" Rell explains. "Have you ever wondered what Marvin
Gaye was thinking when he made 'What's Going on?' There was a war going
on and all of these different things, what was going on in his head? I
pretty much wrote out a blueprint of what was going on for each record,
where I was, what was happening, my whole thought process. A lot of
people might not like certain records, but they'll be able to understand
what I was going through on each one."
With several other
projects in the works, including a collaborative album with Cam'ron
tentatively titled Uptown Boys, and his own label, Top Gunners, Rell is
definitely striking while the iron is hot. He also has a few tips for
those in the industry who want to be smart and avoid the same fate as MC
Hammer.
"You gotta be around young, black entrepreneurs, you
have to invest your money," Rell said. "Nobody wants to be on VH1
talking about, 'Where are they now.' You gotta capitalize on lucrative
business opportunities and stay focused. I always have more than one
means of income."
For The Hell Of It is set to hit stores on September 25 on Koch Records.(=_=)*
_DJ Miss Behavior *┌П┐(=_=)*┌П┐
- Sunday, December 07, 2008 YOU’LL FEEL ME ON THIS
Current mood: tested Category: Romance and Relationships
fuck love.
TIGER !
DAMM MY N!G^@
_ TIGER
As
this Tiger Woods story grows, race is becoming and will become a bigger
issue. For Tiger and Elin, race has nothing to do with it. But, for
many, many onlookers, race is becoming the central theme for discussion.
Proof that we are not in a post racial society is hearing a lot of
people and a lot of gossip sites saying…”if Tiger was with a black girl”
or “if Tiger was married to a Puerto Rican.” I don’t care who Tiger is
married to. A woman, no matter what race, will smash your windshield if
she finds out that you got girls all over the country. Whether they use a
golf club, a football helmet, a baseball bat or a preacher’s wife using
a heavy cross…you can say hello to the guys at auto body shop for me.
Not for a second do I think that Tiger and Elin are thinking about race.
The pain is not a racial pain, but it is a human pain. A pain to
reconcile or split. A pain to discuss why mommy and daddy are in the
news. A pain to go out in public again. Hearing people say that “this
white girl is gonna take him to the cleaners,” is absurd. This has
nothing to do with the fact that Elin is white, this is all about
lawyers, accountants, agents and business advisors. That little pocket
change he is negotiating with his wife right now, $55m to stay for 2
years or $5m to leave, is offensive. Tiger’s lucky he’s not negotiating
with Kimora Lee.
with great love
all things are possible,
Russell ...(=_=)*
_ Beyonce
Beyonce
could be making moves to leave her record label (Columbia Records) to
become an independent artist! Word on the street is that Columbia might
be S.O.L
when Beyonce’s contract ends. Tentatively the biggest chick in music is
to complete two more albums – and I hear she’s currently already at
work on her next one. My sources close to the situation and her team, is
telling me that Jay-Z is wooing Beyonce to break away from Columbia and
go completely independent.
Bey has fulfilled her three-record
contract with Columbia. Now all that’s left for her is to sign another
contract or, of course, go independent, a move that we believe would
only help her. She has enough money and fame to do so and she will be
able to have a lot more input on the type of music that she wants to do.
Let's
be real. Beyonce could sell many, many records independently. She no
longer needs a major label. She could sell big on iTunes alone and her
publicity is on high already. (=_=)*
Waitresses sue SoHo hotspot Cafe Habana over alleged demands to show skin, look 'sexy'
Manhattan's
Cafe Habana is being sued by four waitresses who balked at spicing up
the celebrity hotspot's sex appeal by refusing to show more skin.
The women claim there was a "sexually charged environment" at the Elizabeth St. eatery in a new federal lawsuit. They
charge that managers ordered them to show up looking "sexy," flash more
cleavage, and strike risque poses for the "Habana Girls" calendar. "I don't have anything against strippers or cocktail waitresses, but that's not the job these women took," said lawyer Maimon Kirschenbaum. "They basically were encouraged to sex it up." Janiela Johnson, Xiomara Fernandez and Teliza Adams
say they were canned after complaining about overheated antics which
included a chef smooching a waitress on the neck while peering down her
shirt. A fourth waitress, Monica Mateo, says her hours were severely cut after she refused to strike suggestive poses for the calendar. The calendar, which in 2008 featured a leggy beauty flashing plaid panties on the cover, raises money for restaurant owner Sean Meenan's eco-charity. "These women are not skanks," Kirschenbaum said. "They are just regular women who took a regular job. They didn't really expect to be taking pictures in their underwear." The suit says management at Cafe Habana - a big draw for the likes of Josh Hartnett, Serena Williams and Adrien Grenier- promised better shifts to workers who posed. "Your
schedule can look like whatever you want if you're in the calendar,"
Meenan allegedly told Adams after asking her to be its cover girl. Mateo
contends she went from working five nights a week to a couple of days a
week because she dared to say no to a photo shoot - and a date from
"Wedding Crashers" star and restaurant regular Owen Wilson. "Don't screw this up," Leslie Meenan, the owner's sister, is accused of saying. "Owen's a good customer." Sean Meenan did not return calls seeking comment on the lawsuit, filed in Manhattan Federal Court. jmartinez@edit.nydailynews.com
(=_=)*
*_HARLEM.
Frienemies
D*mn, remember all that Dipset sh*t I said last week about there never being a Diplomat reunion? Yeah, all of those remarks, well doggy, turns out I was even more correct. While I f*cks with the whole team (especially JR Writer'til he got shot the f*ck up) from Juelz Santana to Freekey Zeeky,
I gotta admit, it's too hard (no h*mo) to choose between Jim Jones and
Cam'ron. Even when I think Cam'ron is on his A-game and makes you feel
stupid for even breathing, Jones comes through asking you if you "smell
him"
Now
look, I know how some of y'all get tight with my "loose" writing and
labeling of sh*t, but when I say Jones "clowned" and "dissed" Cam,
doggy, you better believe it. From the shopping carts reference
to saying there's a thin line between love and hate, what more proof do
you need? D*mn, that YouTube line was hard-body though, Jones. Don't
hate on Capo, y'all remember what Killa said:
"When I shake somebody's hand, [my Diplomat tattoo] is what you see,"
Cam said in an interview. "Shake hands. The only thing that bothers me
is when n*ggas be like, 'Oh, so you can be down with Dipset? They gonna
put you back down?' How can you put somebody back down for something
that they own? Keepin' it a hundred, Dipset is Dipset but Dipset is
over. They gotta get over it." In all fairness, Cam was high as f*ck during that video!
LMFAO. But let me just explain to y'all why Jones comes out on top of
this. First off, this ain't 2001-2002, meaning, Cam's last three solo
projects have declined in order. Punchy as f*ck and still one of the
slang originators from the Big Apple, that sh*t isn't playing well going
into 2010. Now this is why Jones > Cam. Jones is radio-friendly
(shout-out to @FunkmasterFlex, @AngelaYee, @MissInfo),
doesn't have "amnesia" during interviews, makes you feel dumb for
thinking his album sales have anything to do with his paper, is an
entrepreneur-turned-rapper (*See Koch/E-1 Music), has a working
relationship with 50, Diddy and almost anyone except Jay-Z, gets radio play, etc... "I Am Dipset." LMFAO. Classic sh*t, get 'em Capo. (=_=)* .
How Does Beyoncé Calm Her Nerves? She Bangs Jay-Z, That's How!
PSTROW ->
