UN 'peacemakers' are not bringing peace to Haiti

When I read this story, I was disgusted. But, as we are fighting police brutality and miscarriages of justice here in America, countries around the world are going through the same struggles with authority. Got this story from HipHop Wired:

The allegations of abuse by invading imperialists have been reconfirmed when a video of three male members of the United Nations ‘peacekeeping' forces raping a young Haitian man was recently revealed.

The video appears to have been captured on a cell phone camera, and it shows a U.N. worker from Uruguay raping 18 years-young Johnny Jean, while a few other colleagues hold him down and watch, laughing. The assault occurred in the town of Port-Salut, back on July 28th 2011.

The victim and his mother, Rose Marie Jean, are said to have testified in front of a judge and gone on local radio stations revealing the homosexual practices of the filthy occupying U.N. operatives.

Although initial reports of the assault were denied, the video proves otherwise.

It has not been proven yet, but the assailant is said to have been dismissed from his military duties, and Uruguay claims to be continuing its investigative efforts.

U.N. forces have long been accused of… looting, raping, robbing and murdering victims; as well as spreading diseases like… cholera, gonorrhea, syphilis and H.I.V.; throughout its global colonizing conquests of other countries.

Check out the video:

Rap Beef!!!

Seems that this week rappers are back to firing up the beef again. Virgina MC fired some shots at what seemed to be Drake and possibly even J. Cole Here's what Pusha had to say in his "Don't F*** With Me (Dreams Money Can Buy Freestyle)":

“Rappers on their sophomores, actin’ like they boss lords/ Fame such a funny thing for sure, when ni**as start believing all them encores/ I’m just the one to send you off, bonjour/ See yourself as I pull up in that mirror tint/ Skins vs. blouses, you mirror Prince, ‘Chappelle’s Show,’ all of you Neal Brennans, sketch comedy, who is for real penning?” He later goes on to say, “The talk don’t match the leather, the swag don’t match the sweaters, the wolves don’t walk with shepherds/ These Margiela verses all you mall dwellers, off the rack suits looking like pallbearers.”

We already know Pusha T and Lil Wayne don't get along, so we'll see what come of this.

But, it would also seem that Wayne has his own problems. Earlier this week, 50 Cent dropped a song called "Love, Hate, Love" he sent a few subliminal lines in Wayne's and Games direction. Here's what 50 had to say:

“Acting like a white boy bored/Now you want to jump a flight of stairs on a skateboard/
n***a, why the f**k is your pants so tight/
You trying to show n***as your ass your alternative life.” He added: “You forgot about me b***h I write your hits/“You Know How We Do”, “You Hate it or Love it”/N***a f**k it I’m “special” that’s why your ass say my verse."

I'm sure there's going to be a rebuttal soon.

R&B singer Tyrese gets kicked out of a radio station over 'disrespectful' comments

Earlier this week, news broke that Tyrese was kicked out of a radio station in Delaware after making comments about liquor stores operating so close to elementary schools. Tyrese went on a rant during the show saying:

"Get them cats out of here...selling alcohol right across from your kids school, homie -- put the pressure on them homie...you know how to put pressure on dudes selling in your 'hood."

During the commercial break , Tyrese was asked to leave the building by the owner of the radio station because he felt Tyrese was "disrespecting" the Delaware community.

Tyrese tweeted, "I just kicked out of a radio station from a [program director] who had a problem with me speaking on liquor stores that are by elementary schools in Delaware." Then later added, "If you don't STAND for something...you will damn near fall for anything."

Ice-T isn't just another bitter old rapper

As usual, rap legend Ice-T has been very vocal about his disappointment with the new generation of rappers. Well recently, Ice-T expressed his support for a young up-and-coming rapper from Brooklyn named Knight. AllHipHop.com reports:

“When I met Knight he was a really good kid, positive and not trying to be no one other than himself," Ice-T told AllHipHop.com in a statement. "He told me he was a rapper and I told him to let me hear some of his music. I listened to it, I heard it and I liked it and I said let’s do it”.

Knight comments on receiving support from the west coast legend:

"I’m blessed to get to know a great man who not only works with me on my music project but also kicks it with me about life in general and helps me to understand what it takes to stay grounded as individual."

"The knowledge and wisdom that he [Ice-T] shares is definitely appreciated, I’m so motivated, inspired and I can’t wait until the people see what we’re about to put out”, Knight concluded.

Mid Knight Thoughts the EP is due in stores in early 2012.

T.I. is officially a free man

Well it looks like Atlanta bred-emcee is finally free and back on the streets after a year in prison, and a month after being sent back to prison from a half-way house. AllHipHop.com reports:

Rap star T.I. is officially a free man, after he was released from an Atlanta area halfway house today (September 29th).

T.I. was released from a Forrest City, Arkansas prison on August 31st, but was sent back to a federal prison in Atlanta, after authorities took issue with his mode of transportation to the halfway house.

The rapper, born Clifford Harris Jr., was sent back to the halfway house to complete his sentence on September 15th.

On Sunday (October 2nd), T.I. will host an exclusive brunch at a private location in Atlanta, to celebrate the success of his AKOO Clothing brand, as well as his release from prison.

Violence haunts the Cali Swag District once again

If you remember earlier this year, Cali Sway District lost group member Montae "M-Bone" Talbert when he was shot in a drive-by shooting in Inglewood.

Well early this morning, another incident took place involving the group. Allhiphop.com reports:

According to witnesses, an argument broke out amongst audience members. The crowd begin to rush towards the doors when a fight broke out, and in the ensuing fracas, two shots were fired.

One of the shots struck a road crew member of one of the groups in the upper back.

The unnamed individual was transported to a local Los Angeles area hospital, in critical condition.

Police are still seeking suspects in the shooting this morning, as well as the drive-by shooting back in May.

Jay-Z announces the Nets are now officially the Brooklyn Nets

Hip-Hop mogul Jay-Z held a press conference this morning to announce that the New Jersey Nets are now officially the Brooklyn Nets. The team has been planning the move since 2004, when Jay-Z along with other investors, namely Bruce Ratner, put up a $300 million bid for the team. In 2009, Russian businessman Mikhail Prokhorov, put up $200 million, became the Nets principal owner and decided to move forward with the plans to relocate. The name change will be final after the completion of the 2011-2012 season.

Jay-Z sat down with Good Day New York to discuss the team's plans.

Though he didn't announce the team's new colors, something tells me 'Jay-Z Blue" will be somewhere in the mix.

Police get "exceedingly violent" during the peaceful, "Occupy Wall Street" protests

In the same week of the execution of Troy Davis, a peaceful protest in New York turns violent after police arrive on the scene. In the second week of "Occupy Wall Street", demonstrators took to the streets to protest against bank bailouts and the mortgage crisis, some carrying signs in memory of Troy Davis. Though the protests were peaceful, things took an ugly turn when police responded to the disturbance. As reported by the Associated Press:

At Manhattan's Union Square, police tried to corral the demonstrators using orange plastic netting. Some of the arrests were filmed and activists posted the videos online. One video appears to show officers using pepper spray on women who already were cordoned off; another shows officers handcuffing a man after pulling him up off the ground, blood trickling down his face.

Police say the arrests were mostly for blocking traffic. Charges include disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. But one demonstrator was charged with assaulting a police officer. Police say the officer involved suffered a shoulder injury.

Protest spokesman Patrick Bruner criticized the police response as "exceedingly violent" and said the demonstrators sought to remain peaceful.

A police spokesman had no comment about the videos or the arrests.

R.I.P. to 80s R&B singer Vesta Williams

Today, it's being reported that 80s R&B singer was found dead in a hotel room in Los Angeles, California. Currently, the cause of death is unknown, though, rumors of what caused her death are beginning to circulate. In reporting her death, The Urban Advocate chooses not to indulge in any of these rumors. However, we will like to celebrate her career.

So as a salute, we will leave you with one of her biggest hits, "Congratulations"! R.I.P. Vesta Williams!

R.I.P. Troy Davis

I'm sure you've all heard about the Troy Davis execution by now. We here at The Urban Advocate decided to salute him with an editorial God Have Mercy On Your Souls! Check out the editorial here:

http://theurbanadvocate.com/God_Have_Mercy.html

Remember, an injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere...Peace!

50 Cent recounts what happened between Fabolous and Ray-J

You know how people say there's always 3 sides to a story: your side, their side, and then there's the truth, which is normally told by a neutral 3rd party. Well, in the incident involving Fab and Ray-J, the one person who showed up in both versions of the story that hadn't said anything up to this point is 50 Cent...that is until Tuesday night when he called in to Hot97 in New York to discuss what went down: Here's what he had to say:

50 Cent and boxer Floyd Mayweather took their celebratory spirit to the Palms to support rappers Jadakiss and Stlyes P who were sharing a bill with Fabolous at the luxurious casino. Fif and Floyd sectioned off a few balcony areas of the hotel inviting friends to hang out and enjoy the show. Following the LOX set, Fif and Floyd made a beeline backstage of the venue to chop it up with the Yonkers boys. According to 50, after a few words with Jada and SP, Fab appeared in the same corridor with Ray J close by when the singer immediately approached the Brooklyn rapper.

"Ray J taps Fab on the shoulders and says 'I told you my peoples wasn't going to be happy about that' " 50 said of Ray J. "And Fab is looking at him like hes crazy cause he looking at me, 'cause Fab was saying wassup to me. He said 'Whoa, you lost your mind?' " 50 recalled Fab warning Ray J after the singer began to get testy, touching the rapper.

Sharing similarities with Fabolous' story, 50 Cent also confirmed the MC was never harmed.

"If he would have got punched in the face, Flex, Fab wouldn't have went onstage with no glasses" 50 recalled. When asked if Fabolous was punched, 50 bluntly responded "Nah he didn't. If he got punched in the face it ain't enough to call it a fight ... Ray J did swing at him but it didn't connect."

Here is the audio from 50's interview with Funk Flex. He not only discusses the altercation, but he also discusses Street Kings and working with the United Nations:


And here's some video footage of the incident:

Alright Fab...make it make sense!

In case you haven't heard by now, Fabolous and Ray-J had a little confrontation over the weekend after the Mayweather/Ortiz fight. Supposedly, Kevin Hart, 50 Cent and Floyd Mayweather himself were all present while this was going on. So, Monday morning Ray-J called into The Breakfast Club to air out what happened Saturday night.

The only reason we're not posting Ray-J's interview is because, well...we don't believe him. Any way, Fab waited until later in the day to respond. He called into Dj Clue's show to tell his side of the story. And well, now it makes sense. Listen to the interview below:

John Singleton and Ice Cube might join forces on another hood classic

Ice Cube has already approached the Boyz N The Hood director to bring the film to life and at a press junket for Singleton’s new movie Abduction, he revealed the following bit of information when asked about his involvement with the biopic:

“I can’t talk too prematurely about the stuff I’m doing because nothing’s come to fruition yet, but Cube and I are talking about doing the N.W.A. story… The script is really, really good, and so we’re just figuring it out. New Line really wants to make it.”

Other than Cube’s blessing and involvement, the only other person to sign off on the film has been Eazy-E’s wife, Tomica Woods.

Live Nation and Universal Music Group's new joint venture

As we all know, dues to declining record sales and a hurting economy, music industry executives have been trying to find new ways to keep their companies afloat. Well...

Live Nation and Universal Music Group have announced a new strategic partnership, that aims to benefit artists associated with both companies.

Live Nation, which is the world's leading live entertainment E-commerce company, also runs Frontline Management Group, the world's top artist management.

UMG and Frontline are launching a joint venture management company, aimed at strengthening the direct-to-consumer relationship with artists signed to UMG, any of their associated management companies, or artists who are managed by Frontline.

The artists also stand to benefit from Live Nation's myriad of holdings in the entertainment business, which includes House of Blues and Ticketmaster.

"This is an unprecedented partnership that unites the world's top music artists with the world's leading artist management, live entertainment, event ticketing and sponsorship resources to drive innovation across our industry," Live Nation's CEO Irving Azoff said in a press release. "We see tremendous opportunities to work together to create a broad range of products built on the power of music and the direct connection between artists and fans. We look forward to working closely with Lucian Grainge [UMG Chairman/CEO] and the talented UMG team in this new and exciting chapter of the music industry."

Rap artists like Eminem, Jay-Z, and Lil Wayne could be among the artists who may prosper from the new deal, which will also help merge concert ticket sales and other music products offerings through Ticketmaster, along with the artists websites.

Rap labels that are distributed by UMG include Island Def Jam, Cash Money Records, Eminem's Shady Records, Interscope, and numerous others.

I guess we'll have to wait to see what kind of impact this has on the rest of the industry.

Record company and shipping company involved in drug distibution case issue statements!

We've been following this story since for the past year or so and it looks like this like there won't be a resolution any time soon.

Last week, TheSmokingGun.com reported that federal prosecutors had found evidence that Interscope's Los Angeles office was used to funnel millions of dollars worth of cocaine and drug proceeds.

According to a rep for the label, the information that is being reported is very inaccurate.While the statement stopped short of denying that the office was used by Rosemond, the rep stated that Interscope Records, nor any of their employees, were being targeted in the ongoing investigation.

"The information being reported in the press regarding Interscope Records' involvement with the ongoing criminal prosecution of James Rosemond is both erroneous and completely unsupported," Interscope told Billboard Magazine in a statement. "Interscope Records has been informed by the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York that there is no evidence that any employee of UMG or Interscope Records had any involvement in the drug trafficking ring being prosecuted by that office, nor any knowledge of the contents of any of the packages that were purportedly shipped to its offices. Further, neither UMG nor Interscope Record are a subject or target of the investigation. UMG and Interscope will continue to cooperate with the United States Attorney's Office regarding this matter."

Rosemond is accused of using Rock-It Cargo to ship hundreds of kilos of cocaine per month to various recording studios and then sending the illegal proceeds back to the West Coast, in vacuum sealed bags stuffed with $20 and $50 dollar bills.

Rock-It Cargo, was founded in 1978, employs over 300 people and has 23 offices throughout the United States and the world.

"Rock-It Cargo is neither the subject of the investigation, nor implicated in any way. The Company has provided the U.S. Attorney with all the documentation it has requested,” Rock-It Cargo's CEO told AllHipHop.com in a statement.

The company, which specializes in handling complex itineraries mainly for the global music and touring industry, assured its customers that it was committed to maintaining the highest levels of transportation security throughout the world.

"With regard to the current investigation, the company followed all of the government's and its own required procedures and remains in compliance with all Federal and state regulations.”

James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond is facing a life sentence for allegedly heading up a cocaine dealing operation that distributed hundreds of kilos of cocaine per month and raked in over $10 million annually, since the investigation began in 2007.

Listen when the OG's speak!

As of late, Ice-T has found it to be difficult to hold his tongue. Just as he did a few years ago with Soulja Boy, Ice-T has been putting these young rappers in check.

Ice-T told Vibe Magazine: “I want to see some little motherf**kers get together like a Public Enemy and give these fools a wake up call like, “F**k this jewelry and cars bulls**t,’ and bring it back to Armageddon! Don’t get it twisted – the people that are making music now, I’m not mad at them. People think I’m mad at pop music (but) I’m not. I’m just saying the conscious music is lacking. There’s no roots… Where are those kids that are gonna come out and really push the envelope? N.W.A did F**k tha Police, we were going hard, we were getting arrested. Now everybody is trying to stay in their nice little safe bubble and I miss the edgy music. That’s all I’m saying. Saying you sell drugs, that’s not edgy to me, let’s talk about some issues…Lupe Fiasco does it. I’ve listened to some of his stuff. He’s not afraid…”