Monday, August 23, 2010
Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Dead Prez, Others To Be Featured In "Black August" Documentary
by Slava Kuperstein
A bevy of artists and activists will be the centerpieces for "Black August."
This Thursday (August 26) will see the release of "Black August: A Hip-Hop Benefit Concert," a documentary about the annual event produced by the nonprofit Malcolm X Grassroots Movement.
The event, which raises awareness about and support for the political prisoners in the U.S., features highlights of performances in New York, Cuba and South Africa, featuring Mos Def, Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, David Banner, Common, Erykah Badu and more.
The evening will culminate in a panel discussion featuring director Dream Hampton, co-founder Lumumba Bandele, Professor Marc Lamont Hill of Columbia University, former political prisoner Dhoruba Bin Wahaad, Talib Kweli and M1 of Dead Prez.
Blitz the Ambassador will perform at the screening event. The film also features activists Assata Shakur, former Black Panther Kathleen Cleaver, political prisoner Mutulu Shakur and others.
The screening will be at the Walter Reade Theater Licoln Center in New York. Tickets can be purchased here - HIPHOPDX.COM.
HIPHOPDX.COM
A bevy of artists and activists will be the centerpieces for "Black August."
This Thursday (August 26) will see the release of "Black August: A Hip-Hop Benefit Concert," a documentary about the annual event produced by the nonprofit Malcolm X Grassroots Movement.
The event, which raises awareness about and support for the political prisoners in the U.S., features highlights of performances in New York, Cuba and South Africa, featuring Mos Def, Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, David Banner, Common, Erykah Badu and more.
The evening will culminate in a panel discussion featuring director Dream Hampton, co-founder Lumumba Bandele, Professor Marc Lamont Hill of Columbia University, former political prisoner Dhoruba Bin Wahaad, Talib Kweli and M1 of Dead Prez.
Blitz the Ambassador will perform at the screening event. The film also features activists Assata Shakur, former Black Panther Kathleen Cleaver, political prisoner Mutulu Shakur and others.
The screening will be at the Walter Reade Theater Licoln Center in New York. Tickets can be purchased here - HIPHOPDX.COM.
HIPHOPDX.COM
Crooked I Talks Next Album, Death Row, Shady Records
by Slava Kuperstein
Crooked I discusses everything under the sun, including his next solo venture and his former and future labels.
Slaughterhouse emcee Crooked I recently sat down with Conspiracy Worldwide Radio to discuss a myriad of topics, including his next solo album.
"I have a lot of albums," said Crooked, laughing. "I probably could put out an album a day for thirty days...This Million Dollar Story is very close to me. What I'm doing is I'm working on it right now...a lot of people hear the title, and they're like, 'Million Dollar Story? Is this another dude talking about bling?' It's not really about that. It's more about the story of my life, and some of the priceless experiences that I've gone through, and some of the priceless inspiration that people can get when they can hear about all the struggles and adversity that I've been through, and that I'm continuing to push. Sometimes that's all you need to hear - that somebody's going through some of the similar things that you're going through. To me, those are the million dollar stories."
Crooked I added that the album would drop at the beginning of next year, though material from it would be leaked beforehand.
The west coast rapper also discussed the infamous label he was formerly signed to, Death Row. "One thing that people don't know though...that there was a good side [to Death Row]. There's Yin and Yang. We regularly [performed] acts of being positive in the community. Suge [Knight] had Mother's Day dinners where he would get all these mothers out of the ghetto, in low-income neighborhoods, bring them to Beverly Hills...and just feed them [and the kids] all day, give out prizes and have guest artists perform. Even on Father's Day, he would bring around this bus, get a lot of the kids who had fathers in prison and don't get a chance to see their fathers, go get the kids and get them clothed, get them to the penitentiary to see their fathers."
Finally, Crooked discussed his current status with regards to Shady Records, as it was reported that Slaughterhouse would be signing to the label. "I'mma tell you like this," said Crooked when asked whether the deal had been officially completed. "I don't know about the rest of the group, but I'm on Shady!" he said, before breaking out laughing. "I'm just playin'. This is a note to any up-and-coming artist who's out there...any aspiring rapper or producer: when you sign a contract with a label, make sure that you have certain freedoms. Try to negotiate."
"We got four dudes, we got separate contracts with different labels, and some labels kinda blocking. They kinda blocking. But we're getting over those obstacles now, and we're negotiating...It's worse than LeBron going to The Heat. It's crazy how long it's taking, but it's going to happen. Absolutely it's gonna happen, and absolutely we will be in the studio with Eminem, recording probably the greatest music of our lifetime."
hiphopdx.com
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