News-Press.com Reports
It was Sunday night, Sept. 6, and revelers fresh from rapper Plies’ concert at Harborside Event Center streamed into bars and clubs near downtown Fort Myers’ riverfront.
Outside Club Venu on First Street a few hours later, as open doors and shining white lights signaled closing time, a bouncer got into an argument while escorting a group of patrons outside. It escalated. When the bouncer felt a pain in his abdomen, he lifted his shirt and discovered he’d been stabbed.
It’s incidents such as this that Fort Myers Councilman Warren Wright is hoping to avoid. At Monday’s council meeting, he wants to discuss the possibility of banning events featuring hip-hop from Harborside Event Center and other downtown venues because, Wright said, the concerts attract violence and disruption.
“We know the surrounding nightclubs will cater to these events, and as the evening progresses, it becomes becomes more and more aggressive,” Wright said.
Banning hip-hop concerts doesn’t seem likely, said city attorney Grant Alley, because artistic expression is protected by state and federal constitutions.
“One person’s music is another person’s noise,” Alley said.
Last month, the city adopted a downtown development plan that aims to bring high-end restaurants and shops as well as conventions to the riverfront. The council hopes these ideas will blend with art galleries and events the city hosts.
What doesn’t fit are knife-toting clubgoers and performers screaming obscenities, council members say.
Newly elected Mayor Randy Henderson said he is offended by rap lyrics, which to him emphasize violence and vulgarity. He supports limiting this type of music and concerts.
“If there’s a legal way to do that, it’s a worthy idea,” Henderson said.
Fort Myers Police Department spokeswoman Maureen Buice said it’s difficult to distinguish if hip-hop themed events bring more violence downtown.
But Lashawnda Henderson, a local rap promoter, is concerned about the effect a ban would have on a thriving local rap industry.
“There’s so much emphasis put on rap music,” Henderson said. “It’s not rap music itself that causes it. Crime is just out of hand.”
Instead, the city should pay for increased security at clubs, or consider blocking off streets on concert nights, she said.
Downtown bar owners say they wouldn’t be forced to stage hip-hop concerts and similar events if business were better.
Raimond Aulen, owner of the Indigo Room on Main Street, said business is hurting because patrons who are younger than 21 aren’t allowed in bars. Plus, the city’s streetscape and utilities projects shut down portions of the roads for months.
“Clubs are scraping the bottom of the barrel,” Aulen said. “These are desperate times, and they call for desperate measures.”
Hip-hop concerts and themed nights are what bring Holli Hall to downtown.
Hall, a 32-year-old Fort Myers resident, attended the Plies concert and said she never felt unsafe. And she has never felt uneasy while grooving at local clubs.
“If they ban hip-hop music,” Hall said, “where will they stop?”
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Posted by Mr.I Get It on October 1, 2009 at 12:00pm
Be sure to look out for the Limited Editon Deluxe Package as well...Regular and Deluxe Copies of "Before I Self Destruct" will be available for pre-order on I-Tunes in October with Some Exclusive Bonus Tracks
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A booking mug shows Robert Higgins. Cops say he was naked and covered in feces when he broke into a backyard and jumped in the pool.
NY Daily News Reports
STUART, Fla. — A Florida man is facing charges after authorities say he was naked and covered in feces when he broke into a resident's backyard and jumped into the pool.
A Martin County Sheriff's Office report shows 21-year-old Robert Stark Higgins was charged with burglary to an occupied dwelling, disorderly conduct and misdemeanor theft.
The resident told deputies he heard Higgins crash through the screen of his pool and take a splash Saturday night. Authorities say Higgins took a towel and fled. Deputies used a K-9 to track Higgins to a home. Higgins told deputies he had been drinking.
He was being held at the Martin County Jail on $10,500 bail. Jail officials said he did not immediately have an attorney.
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Video After The JumpSpin.com Reports
From Karen O's star-studded Wild Things soundtrack to Thom Yorke's new band with Flea, it's an awesome year for supergroups and dream collabos. One of the best yet: Blakroc, a new project from blues-rock duo Black Keys, featuring rappers Jim Jones, Q-Tip, Wu-Tang's Raekwon and RZA, Ludacris, and Mos Def!
Sessions for their self-titled debut album, due Nov. 27, kicked off this summer in Brooklyn with Mos Def, and the smarty-pants boys of Black Keys brought along a video camera -- check out behind-the-scenes-footage from the studio below!
The nearly eight-minute clip -- the second in a series of webisodes to be unveiled at blakroc.com -- shows how one track was recorded. When Mos Def arrives at the studio, the Black Keys (yes, that's guitarist/vocalist Dan Auerbach; he shaved his beard) present the rapper with a hard-hitting blues track with rumbling bass -- and Def gets right to work. "Your pure heart / Is super cool / You're are elemental / You're sweet and you're true," he ad-libs in a soft croon (Def never writes down lyrics).
After a little mixing in the control room, the guys play the track back. Hip-hop magnate Damon Dash, who, according to Billboard, is releasing the album on BlakRoc records, his new venture with the Black Keys, approves of the song, dancing in circles and flinging his chain. It's a weird scene as he spins alongside a few quaint hipsters girls and the grizzly Keys. But the music is undeniable: "It's got a good beat, you can dance to it -- It's got that right feel!" Def shouts.
Below, watch footage of Mos Def and the Black Keys rocking out in the studio, and working on a second song with Def spitting a poetic rhymes about life and learning over sinister bass and screeching guitar.
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Posted by Mr.I Get It on October 1, 2009 at 5:12am
Video after the break..50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo were on Angie Martinez show on Hot 97They talk about Eminem, Jay-Z, Before I Self Destruct, Thisis50 fest and more"Jay-Z is the coolest punk in hip-hop"
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Posted by ChasinDatPaper on September 30, 2009 at 5:00pm
Demi Moore pictured above, is just one of many celebrities who have gotten so comfortable with Twitter they will post pretty much anything about themselves.Call me nuts, but I really don't care to see celebs toothless, without makeup and showing off their zitsCheck Out More Pics Below Of Celebs Sharing TMI .
Posted by ChasinDatPaper on September 30, 2009 at 4:30pm
AllHipHop Reports
Rapper 50 Cent addressed recent comments made by rapper Jay-Z during a radio interview on the BBC last week.
Jay-Z defended rapper Kanye West in an interview conducted by DJ Trevor Nelson’sBBC radio show last week.
Jay-Z became irritated when Nelson suggested that West would not have stormed the stage at the 2009 VMA’s, had 50 Cent been an accepting an award instead of country singer Taylor Swift.
“It wasn't 50 Cent [who made the comments],” 50 told Angie Martinez. “Hip-Hop has cool punk and Jay is the coolest punk in Hip-Hop. He’s big. And his take on it is [he’s] bigger than the art form and he won’t actually and compete. Battling has been a part of the culture.”
“I think he would have done that if that was 50 Cent," Jay-Z also told Nelson. "No one is scared of 50 Cent. I want everyone to be clear. No one is scared of 50 Cent."
Although 50 Cent went on to say that he did not have any problems with Jay-Z, he firmly stated that no one would storm his stage if put in the same situation.
“When he [Jay-Z] has to say no one is scared of 50 Cent, it’s because the public is responding to his punk presentation,” 50 Cent said. “Kanye wouldn’t take the trophy from me and neither would Jay-Z.”
The rapper took numerous shots at Kanye West during the interview, implying that Chicago emcee could be homosexual, due to his association with Lady GaGa’s upcoming “Fame Kills Tours.”
50 also revealed that Shady Records boss Eminem is not happy with the track “Forever,” which features Drake, Kanye West and Lil Wayne.
“I don’t think Em knew everyone was going to be on the record,” 50 Cent said. “Initially I think he just did a verse with it. He mixed his records and then they remixed it. I don’t think he’s happy with that at all.”
50 Cent is currently preparing for his upcoming Thisis50 Festival, which takes place October 3 at The Beach on Governors Island.
The rapper said he will debut new music from his upcoming album Before I Self Destruct during the festival this weekend.
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Posted by ChasinDatPaper on September 30, 2009 at 1:30pm
BoomBox.com Reports
The original mad rappers, Onyx, are back, and they're not happy about Damon Dash's 'Blak Roc' collaboration album with The Black Keys. In a recent interview on Angela Yee and Leah Rose's Lip Service radio show on Shade 45, the baldhead rappers discussed yelled about Dash's project, which features notable MC's like Ludacris, Jim Jones, Mos Def, Pharoahe Monch and more.
"N----s is biting the whole f---in' movement," explained a ticked off Fredro Starr. "The 'Black Rock' s---, we been rocking with that. Now I'm hearing other n----s coming out with it...I ain't sayin' no f---in' names. You know what it is man, holla at me n----, 100 mad n----s with guns n----, stop playing games with me!"
While Dash's 'Blak Roc' project was only recently announced, Onyx have been talking about their forthcoming studio album, 'Black Rock' since 2008. "Black Rock is a hybrid album -- rock influenced with hip-hop underneath it," Fredro said at the time. "It's us repping for the rebels of the world, the rebels of the street who Onyx represents. It's a where hip-hop meets the mosh pit."
Dame's collaboration with the Black Keys is scheduled for a Nov. 27 release, unless Sticky Fingaz has something to say about it. "Onyx is putting out a 'Black Rock' project, and that's it! And anybody else, tryna put putting out a black rock project, you biting!" blustered Sticky, who then proceeded to threaten to put "trademarks around your f-----' eyes" and "do to y'all n----s like the f---in' candyman, come find y'all n-----s one at a f---in' time!"
As for approaching Dame about the similarity of their projects, Onyx isn't interested in such acts of diplomacy. "It ain't about who put it out first, it's about who getting punched in they f---in' eye first," Sticky Fingaz concluded.
Check The Lip Service Interview Here
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Posted by ChasinDatPaper on September 30, 2009 at 12:45pm
AllHipHop Reports
Rapper Bump J was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday (Sept. 29) after admitting to guilt in a 2007 local bank robbery in August.
The artist, real name Terrence Boykin, received the minimum sentence for both charges, according to Chicago Hip-Hop blog Fake Shore Drive. The Chicago native will serve seven years for an illegal gun and 37 months for the bank robbery.
The jail terms will be served consecutively, and the rapper will also get credit for the time he has already served in jail.
In November 2008, the former Atlantic Recordsartist was arrested during a routine traffic stop in Carbondale, Illinois, about two hours east of St. Louis, Missouri.
He was charged as one of two gunmen suspected of robbing a Chicago Chase Bank on January 4, 2007.
The robbery, during which no one was injured, was captured on a surveillance camera.
At the end of his sentence Bump J will be eligible for placement in a halfway house.
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Posted by ChasinDatPaper on September 30, 2009 at 12:39pm
AllHipHop Reports
Hip-Hop will be represented during the Nobel Peace Prize Concert this year in Oslo, Norway.
Rapper/actor Will Smith will host The Nobel Peace Prize Concert this year with his wife and actress, Jada Pinkett Smith, while Wyclef Jean will be one of the feature performers.
“The opportunity to recognise the laureate’s contributions to the world peace movement will be an awe-inspiring experience - we are both humbled and honoured to take part in the Nobel Peace Prize Concert this year,” The Smiths said in a joint statement released to media today (September 29).
The Nobel Peace Prize Concert will take place December 10 in Oslo.
Other performers include Toby Keith, Donna Summer, Luis Fonsi and Amadou and Mariam.
According to reports, US President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy were among the record 205 nominees this year.
The Peace Prize was created by dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel.
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Posted by ChasinDatPaper on September 30, 2009 at 6:30am
Ballerstatus Reports
Sizzurp is a mixture prescription-strength cough syrup containing codeine and soda. Although, the concoction originated in the south, rappers like Dipset and Lil Wayne have popularized it across the nation.
The drink, or drank as it's also referred to, has gotten so big in the south that two different beverage companies are trying to capitalize on its popularity with newly released beverages -- one called "Drank" and the other labeled "Sippin' Syrup."
Both drinks labels themselves as "anti-energy" drinks that provide "extreme relaxation."
However, the ingredients are not harmful. They contain Melatonin, a natural substance that helps you sleep; and Valerian Root, which is used medicinally for insomnia and other disorders.
On the official website for Drank (DrankBeverage.com), it says: "The first EXTREME RELAXATION drink to hit the market. DRANK, the new drink design to calm and relax you."
According to local news station KBMT12, stores in Southeast Texas have started to stock their shelves with them, and local law enforcement and parents are concerned, calling both products a gateway to using other harmful and illegal substances.
"It is such an obvious gateway product to one of the most dangerous drugs in our area," Major Jim Singletary who works in the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, told the new channel. "We got enough problems with kids experimenting with the real thing," he added, "now the younger kids will be able to buy something like this until they can buy the real thing."
Parents seem to agree with Singletary. Johnny Davison, who has four kids, says he is making sure his children stay away from the drink. "You hear it all the time on the rap tapes," he said. "If kids see it they're going to think it's something good."
They just may have a point too. 18-year-old Jackie Robinson told the news station that he just started drink "Sippin' Syrup" just because of its name. "I ain't gonna lie it really do," Robinson said, as he sipped his drink. "It probably attracts a lot of people from the name too.
"To put sippin syrup they're going to make some money," he added.
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Posted by RAPPERS I.Q ? on September 29, 2009 at 5:35pm
Mafia princess Victoria Gotti is preparing to release a sensational new tell-all about her mafia family -- and she says the decision to release the book was prompted by her brother John "Junior" Gotti's current racketeering trial. Victoria Gotti, daughter of the late mob kingpin John Gotti, told CBS's 48 Hours Mystery that she "loved the man....loathed the life." The interview will air Saturday at 10 p.m. and exerpts of the book, "This Family of Mine: What It Was Like Growing Up Gotti," will be published in the New York Post beginning Sunday.The memoir dishes on her parents' abusive childhoods and her father's notorious career in organized crime. She also writes candidly about her traumatizing marriage to a mobster her father warned her against and her father's death in prison, the Post said.Victoria concedes her father was head of the Gambino crime family, the nation's most powerful mob syndicate. But, when she was asked if he ordered the assassination of his predecessor, Paul Castellano, she said: "Absolutely not."She also acknowledges that her father may have played a role in the death of a Queens neighbor who accidentally killed her 12-year-old brother, Frank in 1980.The neighbor, John Favara, was driving near the Gottis' home in Howard Beach when Frank, Gotti's youngest son, darted into the street on a motorized bicycle, and was struck by Favara's car. Police found Favara was not to blame in the accident and no charges were filed.Victoria admits she asked her father to extract revenge, the Post reports."You're supposed to be a tough guy. How can you let somebody kill my brother?" Victoria recalled asking her father. "And he just looked at me and he said, 'It was an accident.' "Favara met an ominous end. According the FBI, serveral witnesses saw him be shoved into a van by several men about three months after Frank's death. Favara's body has never been found.Victori Gotti says she believes her brother has gotten out of organized crime, as he has maintained in recent years.She said her brother went against his father's wishes by pleading guilty in 1999 to racketeering charges as a way to say he wanted out of the mob. Junior was released from prison in 2005."Father was dead set against it . . . and he said, 'Tell your brother, I will never tell him how to live his life. Tell him I will support whatever he does," Victoria said.Source: NBCLA.
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