New York Times Reports
Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, the sluggers who propelled the Boston Red Sox to end an 86-year World Series championship drought and to capture another title three years later, were among the roughly 100 Major League Baseball players to test positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003, according to lawyers with knowledge of the results
Some of baseball’s most cherished storylines of the past decade have been tainted by performance-enhancing drugs, including the accomplishments of record-setting home run hitters and dominating pitchers. Now, players with Boston’s championship teams of 2004 and 2007 have also been linked to doping.
Baseball first tested for steroids in 2003, and the results from that season were supposed to remain anonymous. But for reasons that have never been made clear, the results were never destroyed and the first batch of positives has come to be known among fans and people in baseball as “the list.” The information was later seized by federal agents investigating the distribution of performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes, and the test results remain the subject of litigation between the baseball players union and the government.
Five others have been tied to positive tests from that year: Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, Jason Grimsley and David Segui. Bonds, baseball’s career home runs leader, was not on the original list, although federal agents seized his 2003 sample and had it retested. Those results showed the presence of steroids, according to court documents.
The information about Ramirez and Ortiz emerged through interviews with multiple lawyers and others connected to the pending litigation. The lawyers spoke anonymously because the testing information is under seal by a court order. The lawyers did not identify which drugs were detected.
Unlike Ramirez, who recently served a 50-game suspension for violating baseball’s drug policy, Ortiz had not previously been linked to performance-enhancing substances.
Scott Boras, the agent for Ramirez, would not comment Thursday.
Asked about the 2003 drug test on Thursday in Boston, Ortiz shrugged. “I’m not talking about that anymore,” he said. “I have no comment.”
The union has argued that the government illegally seized the 2003 test results, and judges at various levels of the federal court system have weighed whether the government can keep them. The government hopes to question every player on the list to determine where the drugs came from. An appeals court is deliberating the matter, and the losing side is likely to appeal to the United States Supreme Court.
A spokesman for the United States attorney’s office for the Northern District of California, which seized the tests, declined to comment on Thursday. Michael Weiner, the general counsel for the players union, also declined to comment.
One by one, the names of elite players tied to performance-enhancing drugs have surfaced this year. In February, it was Rodriguez and Bonds. In May, it was Ramirez — for the first time. In June, it was Sosa.
Rodriguez had been viewed by some as a clean player who could eventually overtake the career home run record established by Bonds, who had been linked to possible drug use through the federal investigation. Rodriguez subsequently admitted that he used a performance-enhancing substance from 2001 to 2003.
The Times reported in June that Sosa was among those who tested positive in 2003, the first time he had been publicly tied to performance-enhancing drugs. Sosa became a national figure with the Chicago Cubs in 1998, when he and Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals engaged in a celebrated race to overtake Roger Maris’s single-season home run record of 61. McGwire’s image suffered tremendously when, at a Congressional hearing in 2005, he refused to answer questions about steroid use.
By 2003, Ramirez had long since established himself as one of baseball’s best hitters. Ortiz, however, was less known. In 2002, the Minnesota Twins effectively cut him after failing to trade him. He signed a bargain contract with the Red Sox and began the 2003 season as a backup.
Ortiz quickly blossomed, setting personal highs in home runs (31) and runs batted in (101). He surpassed those numbers in each of the next four seasons.
Ramirez, with his dreadlocks and quirky behavior, and Ortiz, with his gregarious personality and portly build, formed a dynamic tandem on and off the field. They seemed to feed off each other — not to mention demoralize opponents — by hitting back-to-back in the heart of the lineup.
In 2004, they helped the Red Sox overcome a 3-0 series deficit against the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. The Red Sox then swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series to end decades of heartbreak in Boston. Ortiz had a game-winning home run and a game-winning hit against the Yankees and was named the most valuable player of that series. Ramirez was named the World Series M.V.P. after going 7 for 17 at the plate with a home run.
Three years after winning that first title, Ramirez and Ortiz returned Boston to another World Series, where they defeated the Colorado Rockies.
The pairing was split last season when the Red Sox traded Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers after team officials grew concerned that he was not playing hard in response to a contract dispute. In Los Angeles, Ramirez took off again, becoming popular among the fans and leading the Dodgers to the playoffs.
But Ramirez’s hero status in Los Angeles took a hit in May when he was suspended after baseball officials learned that he had been prescribed a fertility drug often used by bodybuilders after they stopped using steroids. When Ramirez was suspended, he issued a statement that appeared to maneuver around his 2003 test results.
“I do want to say one other thing,” Ramirez said. “I’ve taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons.”
That five-year period extended back to 2004, which excludes the 2003 test.
Since returning from his suspension, Ramirez has been widely accepted by the home fans. In 48 games this season, he has compiled a .327 average and has hit 11 home runs.
Ortiz, meanwhile, has been in a sharp decline. He had an operation on his wrist last year and missed nearly a third of the season. He started this year in a slump and did not hit his first home run until a month and a half into the season. Since June 1, however, he has hit 12 more home runs.
In 2007, Ortiz said that he used to buy a protein shake in the Dominican Republic when he was younger and did not know if it contained a performance-enhancing drug.
“I don’t do that anymore because they don’t have the approval for that here, so I know that, so I’m off buying things at the GNC back in the Dominican Republic,” Ortiz told The Boston Herald. He added: “I don’t know if I drank something in my youth, not knowing it.”
In February, he said that players who tested positive for steroids should be suspended for an entire season — about 100 games more than the current policy requires for a first offense.
Read more…
Boston police officer Justin Barrett was suspended Wednesday, July 29, 2009, for using a racial slur to describe black Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.
NYDailyNews Reports
The Boston cop suspended for calling Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates a "banana-eating jungle monkey" in a mass e-mail was turned in by fellow cops.
The revelation that Officer Justin Barrett's brothers in blue were also revolted by his hateful words came as the police commissioner tried to repair to reputation of Beantown's police department.
"This type of venomous rhetoric is severely damaging," Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis declared Thursday.
"We will not allow the unacceptable actions of one member to define who we are."
Davis said he has apologized to Gates on behalf of the department and they are now checking whether Barrett had any run-ins with blacks while on the job.
Barrett is also not getting any love from the local police union, which has denounced his remarks as "offensive and hurtful."
"He's gone," Boston Mayor Tom Menino said of Barrett, who has already been suspended. "G-o-n-e. I don't care, it's like cancer. You don't keep those cancers around."
Barrett, 36, a cop for two years, has also been suspended by the National Guard, where he holds the rank of captain.
Earlier, Barrett insisted he was not a racist and "did not mean to offend anyone."
"The words were being used to characterize behavior, not describe anyone," Barrett told WCVB-TV.
Barrett conceded it was a "poor choice of words."
"I didn't mean it in a racist way," he added. "I treat everyone with dignity and respect."
Barrett said he was "just venting" about the July 16 arrest of Gates by a white Cambridge cop that became a national discussion about race when President Obama said the officers acted "stupidly."
"People are making it about race," said Barrett, who vowed to fight any attempt to fire him. "It is not about race."
But it may be about whether Barrett has any sense.
Barrett got into hot water after he fired off the note to his buddies on the force, in the Guard - and, inexplicably, The Boston Globe.
In the email, Barrett called the Globe story "jungle monkey gibberish" and wrote that Gates' "first priority should be to get off the phone and comply with police."
"For if I was the officer he verbally assaulted like a ... jungle monkey, I would have sprayed him in the face with OC deserving of his belligerent non-compliance," Barrett wrote.
OC is pepper spray.
Barrett went on to question Gates' credentials, called him a "God damned fool," and twice challenged the paper to "ax" him what he thinks.
"I am not a racist, but I am prejudice [sic] towards people who are stupid and pretend to stand up and preach for something they claim is freedom," Barrett wrote.
Read more…
NYDailyNews Reports
Boxing star Arturo Gatti wasn't murdered - he killed himself in a Brazil seaside resort three weeks ago, authorities said Thursday.
The rough-and-tumble fighter's wife was released from jail after the ruling that Gatti, 37, committed suicide, the Associated Press reported.
Former exotic dancer Amanda Rodrigues, who discovered the body on July 11, was arrested after police theorized she had strangled the former world champion with her purse strap.
Police suggested Gatti was too drunk to defend himself when he was killed.
But Brazilian state court Judge Ildete Verissimo de Lima in the city of Recife ordered Rodrigues' immediate release after the new finding.
The 23-year-old was on a second honeymoon with Gatti and their 10-month-old baby when he was found dead inside their hotel room in Porto de Galinhas.
Gatti, born in Montreal, trained in Jersey City, N.J., and found stardom on the boardwalk in Atlantic City. He captured his first title in 1995, by defeating junior welterweight champion Tracy Harris Patterson.
Gatti's career also included a trio of brutally memorable battles against Micky Ward, along with fights against Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Merriweather.
Read more…
Fox411 Reports
Kim Kardashian and Reggie Bush’s split wasn’t as amicable as they’re making it out to be.
An insider told FOXNews.com’s Pop Tarts that their relationship had been “been rocky for a little while ” because the two weren’t seeing as much of each other as they once had, with Kim’s increasing fame and their separate business commitments keeping them apart most of the time.
Now another source tells FOX411 that there was another, bigger reason behind the split: Kanye West.
“Reggie saw text messages on Kim’s phone from Kanye West and flipped out on her,” the source tells FOX411.
And these weren’t your average friendly messages.
“The texts referenced a night they hung out, how much fun he had, how hot Kim was, and more racy things that got Reggie’s imagination running,” says the source.
When Reggie confronted Kim about it, the couple had a huge blow-up, and jealousy issues, which had been pretty much kept out of their relationship until this incident ,surfaced, according to the insider.
“They realized there were trust issues on both sides, and couldn’t go forward,” says the source.
Reps for West and Kardashian did not respond to requests for comment.
At least both will be keeping busy in the coming months. Bush is starting NFL training camp with the New Orleans Saints, while Kardashian is filming new episodes of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”
Read more…
AllHipHop Reports
Fresh off the positive reception of All In a Day’s Work, Saigon has confirmed with AllHipHop.com the release of Warning Shots 2.
Working again with label Amalgam Digital, the project will be marketed as a full-length album distributed through CD and digital formats.
Saigon’s previous 2009 LP, the Statik Selektah collaboration All In a Day’s Work, was recorded in 24 hours and released in just a week.
With the funds for traditional promotional campaigns shrinking, Saigon feels his recent projects offer a blueprint for artists on how to break the divide between mixtapes and albums.
“I’m enjoying my experience with Amalgam Digital and being creative to give music to my fans without all the bullsh*t,” Saigon explained to AllHipHop.com. “It’s a new way of thinking and it feels good to partner with an innovative company that’s ahead of its curve. I’m excited to get this album out!”
Saigon’s recent explosion of work is the result of a recommitment to his career following years of stagnation on Atlantic Records, where he remained under contract from 2004-2008.
Warning Shots 2 features an array of guests in Grand Puba (“Who Can Get Busy”), Lil Fame of MOP (“Rusy Gunz”), Ransom (“F*ck Me, F*ck You”), Quan, and O.J. Da Juiceman (“For Some P*ssy”).
The latter offering is the lead single, with a clean version ready for radio outlets.
The album also has production from Just Blaze, and will serve as a lead-in to their oft-delayed, but still highly anticipated project The Greatest Story Never Told.
Warning Shots 2 will be available at retail outlets on September 29.
A full tracklisting is available below:
01. Nothing Comes Easy
02. That's Not What’s Up Feat. G.Soul
03. Fatherhood (Rayne Dior) feat Lokz
04. All Around The World Feat G.Soul
05. For Some P*ssy Part 1 feat O.J. Da Juiceman
06. Cookies & Milk Introducing Young Boombaya & A.P.
07. Be On Time
08. G Optified (Tommy Tee's Theme Sampler)
09. F*ck Me, F*ck You Feat Quan And Ransom
10. Rusty Gunz feat. Lil Fame from M.O.P.
11. Aye Aye Aye N*gga
12. Who Can Get Busy feat Grand Puba
13. Copping Pleas
14. For Some P*ssy Part 2
15. Saiiiiii Outro
16. Gotta Believe It
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The baby taken from the womb of a murder victim has been found alive, and a female suspect has been taken into custody.
Police identified the suspect as Julie A. Corey, 35, an acquaintance of Darlene Haynes, 23, whose body was discovered in her New Hampshire apartment on Monday, The Boston Globe reports.
Haynes had been eight months pregnant at the time of her death, medical authorities said, and her unborn baby was missing.
Her body was found after her landlord went to investigate reports of a strong odour coming from her apartment, TV station WCVB-TV reported.
Haynes body was found dumped in a closet with her abdomen cut open and her unborn child removed. She was wrapped in bedding and had been dead for several days, police said.
Detective Captain Edward J. McGinn Jr said the autopsy indicated Haynes suffered head injuries, Associated Press has reported.
Haynes has a one-year-old daughter who is safe with relatives.
Read more…
NYDailyNews Reports
You’d think Eva Mendes would be comfortable with her looks. But the smoldering actress admits she went to therapy to work through her body issues.
“I love my curves, I embrace them, but I have to walk a fine line,” Mendes told Marie Claire magazine. “I think it comes down to being voluptuous, and if your body’s a certain way, then things can go distasteful in a second.”
The sexpot star, whose nearly-naked ad campaign for Calvin Klein was so racy it was banned in the U.S., confessed to seeking help for her struggles with her self-image.
“I love therapy!” she said. “I’m very in touch with my feelings... there’s nothing like going in and sitting down and talking to someone who has no emotional tie to your life.”
Meanwhile, the 35-year old beauty is also busy delving into her creative side. Last weekend Mendes launched her newest home décor line for the bedroom, Vida, at Macy’s in New York.
This is Mendes’s second home collection for Macy’s, featuring five designs with prices ranging from $100 for a decorative pillow set to $209 for a four-piece comforter set, on sale now at macys.com.
Read more…
NYDailyNews Reports
Glenn Beck Wednesday defended calling President Obama a "racist” and saying the President must be held accountable for his actions.
Beck told his radio audience that he would exercise his right to free speech whether or not he had a radio or television show.
"Just know, you are never going to shut me up,” Beck told his listeners.
The comments came after the combustible host ignited a firestorm Tuesday, when, during an appearance on FNC's freewheeling "Fox and Friends,” he said the President's reaction to the Henry Gates Jr. arrest situation in Cambridge, Mass., suggested a "deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture."
"Fox & Friends" co-host Brian Kilmeade immediately responded, saying that most of the faces people see of the Obama administration are white, such as spokesman Robert Gibbs or chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.
"I'm not saying he doesn't like white people. I'm saying he has a problem," Beck responded. "This guy is, I believe, a racist."
Beck took to the radio airwaves Wednesday with an emotional defense of his comments. "Ever notice the one making the charge of racism is never the one on trial until it's a conservative making the charge,” Beck said.
"I am not willing to bow before the king, I will never bow before the king. In America, we do not have kings,” Beck said.
"The President of the United States is not above the law, or above criticism. I will never, ever say the emperor is wearing clothes — if he's not.”
Since the story emerged, Fox executives have made it clear that although they encourage free speech, the "racist” remark was Beck's and his alone.
"During Fox & Friends" [Tuesday] morning, Glenn Beck expressed a personal opinion which represented his own views, not those of the Fox News Channel," Bill Shine, senior vice president of programming for Fox News, said in a statement. "And as with all commentators in the cable news arena, he is given the freedom to express his opinions."
Reaction to Beck's comments on the Daily News Web site ranged from outright approval to dismissing them as coming from a conservative white commentator trying to drum up an audience.
"Glenn Beck is another example of showboating, mostly male, mostly conservative radio and TV commentators who don't speak from fact but rather from their well-considered opinion of how much what they say will rile up their fan base and make them more famous and make them more money," wrote one reader.
Beck was reacting to Obama's initial handling of the Gates case.
Read more…
NYDailyNews Reports
Kevin Federline drew stares when he attended a celebrity sporting event Monday, but it wasn't for his golfing skills.
The former dancer stunned onlookers with his massive new size.
According to Usmagazine.com, when an employee at the Ryan Sheckler X Games Celebrity Classic saw the large-and-in-charge Federline, he reportedly said, "Man, that's a belly on him! That's K-Fed?!"
Celebs like Verne Troyer, Frankie Delgado and Josh Henderson participated in the physical sport, while Federline, 31, apparently took it easy and spent time with girlfriend Victoria Prince in the shade sipping cocktails and smoking cigarettes.
This isn't the first time the expanding father of four has packed on the pounds.
Federline was mocked for flaunting a fuller figure last spring. However his ex Shar Jackson was quick to come to his defense.
"It's daddy weight!" said Jackson, the mother of Federline's two oldest children. "When you are a full-time parent, sometimes you can't focus on you. If gaining a few pounds is your only problem, life's not too bad!"
Maybe there is some truth to rumors his other ex Britney Spears has been calling him "K-Fatter-line" behind his burgeoning back!
Someone may need to remind Federline, who is reportedly angling for a reality show about his life as a father and with Prince, that the camera adds 10 pounds.
That is, unless the reality show K-Fed is looking to join is "Celebrity Fit Club."
Read more…
Ok, I'm just chillin on twitter yesterday tweeting or whatever. Next thing I know I'm witnessing a full on out in the open twitter beef.Between bay area rapper Mistah F.A.B.and Ozone Magazine founder Julia Beverly. Here's a blow by blow of their e-beef.
MistahFAB@juliabeverly u get to much Dick as it Is!!!! give yo pussy a Rest
about 21 hours ago from mobile web
JuliaBeverly@MistahFAB there U go w that bullshit again. U know as well as anyone how hard it is to get @ me. Tell the ppl how long U been trying
about 21 hours ago from UberTwitter in reply to MistahFAB
MistahFAB@juliabeverly it was over due I let u slide on a few things I had to say something.. Kisses Boo
about 21 hours ago from mobile web
JuliaBeverlyI'm officially not fuckin with @mistahfab. He's always making false defamatory statements about me just cuz I wouldn't fuck him. Lame
about 21 hours ago from UberTwitter
MistahFAB@juliabeverly aw u mad after that bull shit I let u get away fo this pass week Fuck it then don't fuck with me!Mad about her pussy visitors
JuliaBeverly@MistahFAB no Kisses. I'm not playing. You took this "I'm just joking" shit too far
about 21 hours ago from UberTwitter in reply to MistahFAB
JuliaBeverly@MistahFAB you're the one begging a different girl to fuck you every time I see you. You have no dirt on me stop playing
about 21 hours ago from UberTwitter in reply to MistahFAB
MistahFAB@juliabeverly U can be sensitive if u want to I don't care u know what u said .Peace my Nigga
about 21 hours ago from mobile web
JuliaBeverly@MistahFAB i said you're fat & need to work out. that's TRUE homeboy. i didn't make up LIES about u & spread false rumors in a public forum
about 20 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to MistahFAB
MistahFAB@juliabeverly beggin a different girl.. Come J be forreal. an this is Fabby ur talkin to I have a lot of dirt of u . but I would nvr air it
about 20 hours ago from mobile web
MistahFAB@juliabeverly don't make me out to b some desperate Guy. ur killin me Right now an that's not all u say u say yo sneak shit. y u get mad
about 20 hours ago from mobile web
MistahFAB@juliabeverly something much touch the Heart
about 20 hours ago from mobile web
JuliaBeverly@MistahFAB u have nothing on me, i behave myself. just leave me alone & stop slandering my name
about 20 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to MistahFAB
MistahFAB@juliabeverly I been told u stop sayin Funny sneak dissing shit an I won't say nothin but if u wana continue playin I got u
about 20 hours ago from mobile web
JuliaBeverly@mistahfab no i'm done this time boo. i'm leaving u for @bigvon
about 20 hours ago from TweetDeck
JuliaBeverly "Successfully blocked @mistahfab"
about 20 hours ago from TweetDeck
MistahFAB okay yall blowin this way outta the water. @juliabeverly yo whole existence is built off jokes an rumors u can't take yo own medicine
about 20 hours ago from mobile web
MistahFAB u say hella shit about people I'm the only one who got the nuts to say something back u wana call an text people u hella fake @juliabeverly
about 20 hours ago from mobile web
MistahFAB YALL KISS ASS IF U WANT ME, MY LIPS WASNT MADE FOR THAT!! SO FUCK ANYBODY I OFFEND ON TWITTER R N LIFE DO LIKE @JULIABEVERLY DID AN BLOCK ME
about 19 hours ago from web
Fox News pundit Glenn Beck (r.) called President Obama a 'racist' during a 'Fox and Friends' morning show on Tuesday.
NYDailyNews Reports
Fox News Channel executives are distancing themselves from controversial — and popular — host Glenn Beck, who Tuesday morning branded President Obama a "racist."
The combustable Beck ignited a firestorm when, during a Tuesday morning appearance on FNC's freewheeling "Fox and Friends," he said the President's reaction to the Henry Louis Gates Jr. arrest situation in Cambridge, Mass., suggested a "deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture."
To his credit, "Fox & Friends" co-host Brian Kilmeade — who recently had to apologize for comments he made about racial issues — immediately responded, saying that most of the faces people see of the Obama administration are white, such as spokesman Robert Gibbs or chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.
"I'm not saying he doesn't like white people. I'm saying he has a problem," Beck responded. "This guy is, I believe, a racist."
Beck did not address the point further in his own show on FNC Tuesday night.
A Fox representative said there was no comment from Beck.
However, Fox executives made it clear that although they encourage free speech, the "racist" remark was Beck's and his alone.
"During Fox & Friends" [Tuesday] morning, Glenn Beck expressed a personal opinion which represented his own views, not those of the Fox News Channel," Bill Shine, senior vice president of programming for Fox News said in a statement. "And as with all commentators in the cable news arena, he is given the freedom to express his opinions."
Reaction to Beck's comments on the Daily News Web site ranged from outright approval to dismissing them as coming from a conservative white commentator trying to drum up an audience.
"Glenn Beck is another example of showboating, mostly male, mostly conservative radio and TV commentators who don't speak from fact but rather from their well-considered opinion of how much what they say will rile up their fan base and make them more famous and make them more money," wrote one reader.
"Beck just exposed himself as a racist to the whole world," wrote another. "Half of President Obama's family is white. I hardly think he hates white people. It is clear that Beck is insecure with himself as a white man if all he sees is color in people and not just a person. Many people still need to grow up."
Beck's comments on Obama came out of a discussion another President might have reacted to when asked about the Gates case.
Gates, a renowned Harvard professor was arrested July 16 on disorderly-conduct charges by Cambridge police who had responded to his home after a report of a break-in in progress. Gates and the police disagree on what happened next. The charges were dropped. But the case took on an elevated level of scruitiny after the
President, on prime-time television, said the police acted "stupidly."
After realizing he had inflamed the discussion, Obama backtracked and then invited Gates and the arresting officer, Sgt. James Crowley, to the White House for a beer.
The Gates-Crowley incident — heightened by the Obama comment — has raised the discussion of racial relations in the United States to a larger level.
Gates, who said he hopes to use his experience as part of a study of racial profiling for a PBS documentary, said he was pleased the President wanted to use the incident to create a teachable moment.
"If my experience leads to the lessening of the occurrence of racial profiling, then I would find that enormously gratifying," Gates said in a statement posted at Theroot.com. "Because, in the end, this is not about me at all; it is about the creation of a society in which 'equal justice before law' is a lived reality."
Read more…
AllHipHop Reports
Thirteen years after his death, Tupac Shakur’s first Hip-Hop recordings will now become available through a forthcoming album entitled Shakurspeare.
The project is the brainchild of Darrin Keith Bastfield, CEO of Born Busy Records. Bastfield was one of Shakur’s early collaborators, and the two formed a group together called Born Busy when a 16-year old Tupac first began to rap.
For long-time fans, the album will offer the first glimpses of Tupac’s Hip-Hop journey, back when he was known by his first rap name of MC New York.
"I was there when Tupac heard himself for the first time rapping on a recording. As he sat in the cafeteria of the Baltimore School for the Arts it was as if he couldn’t believe that he was listening to himself,” Bastfield told AllHipHop.com. “Just as Tupac was quietly amazed by hearing himself, I want people to hear Tupac as a young artist in his very first recordings ever having fun, rapping about issues that concerned us, and most importantly giving a cautionary and timely ‘Message of Peace’ in his own voice as if he was already a big rap star with a reputation to uphold.”
The title Shakurspeare is an allusion to a conversation between Bastfield and a 17 year-old Shakur, where the aspiring emcee revealed that he dreamed of becoming as renowned Shakespearean actor.
The LP cover will illuminate this motif by having a Bastfield oil painting depicting Shakur as Shakespeare.
"This project was a very spiritual undertaking for me, but most importantly it is about creating art and being educational. The vocals to the songs we wrote were all recorded accapella in 1988 on a cassette tape,” Bastfield explained. “Through technology the vocals were able be extracted, digitally mastered, and put to contemporary music that was produced in 2008. I wanted to keep the recordings as close to the vein of our ideas from back in the day. As far as new material to assist with the concept of the album as being like an audio documentary, I chose to work with producers and artists in my own backyard which are native of Baltimore, Maryland which includes International Jazz recording artist Maysa. My life and times with Tupac Shakur all happened in Baltimore, so I wanted the spirit of the Shakurspeare album, just as the book, to stay consistent.”
The new album will mark Bastifield’s second Tupac Shakur project. In 2002, he released the book Back in the Day: My Life and Times with Tupac Shakur through One World/Ballantine.
At press time, Shakurspeare will be released digitally on September 13 through Born Busy Records.
Read more…
International cancer experts have moved tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation into the top cancer risk category, deeming both to be as deadly as arsenic and mustard gas.
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}