Rappers and Athletes: Targets for Violence

More and more examples of how hip-hop/rap artists and athletes are targets for violence, especially armed robberies and attempted murders. Most hip/hop artists and athletes are black, too - and therefore, the reality of the situation is that it isn't the easiest path for them to get a firearm for protection without a gun permit that only allows that firearm to stay within a particular amount of distance from their properties. The latest example of this happened Monday night to hit producer, Pollow the Don. According to reports and allhiphop.com, Pollow was in his Atlanta recording studio when some masked gunmen broke in and robbed everyone of their jewelry and money. But Pollow, who didn't have much of anything concrete to say, said this to the hip-hop based website, "These crack head a** ni***s I guess called themselves robbing me, but we robbed them…I wasn't scared I was mad. I was likes "these dumb a** weak ass n****s."

I can digg the shirt

The ambiguity of the statement has me wondering, not only was this an inside job but maybe Pollow isn't telling the whole truth, he also added this: "You gone have to shoot me because until then, I dont believe you. I am a man…and nine times out of ten a n***a calling himself a ‘robba‘, a ‘thug’ or a ‘gangsta’ is a cover up for being too weak (weather it be physically, spiritually or mentally) to be a man. It's hard to learn how to be a man…luckily my teacher stuck with me....thanks Dad, I love you! Kids…do you know where your father is right now?" Although what the previous quote indicates is true, the influence of a father in a young man's life speaks measures, it still sounds like he might have been set up but the perps couldn't carry through with their plan. Sticking to Pollow the Don, he is apparently producing a number of tracks for a new T-Boz album, who is rumored to have Pharell Williams on some tracks, too. In other news and acts of violence, a couple of weeks ago, I'm sure you heard, Juvenile's four year old daughter was gunned down by her own stepbrother who then took the life of his 11 year old sister and his own mother. The 17-year-old, Anthony Tyrone Terell Jr. is charged with 3 counts of murder and aggravated assault. Juvenile apparently missed his own daughter's funeral because he didn't want to take away from it because of his star power. This baffles me, because not only is Juvenile no longer nor ever was a "star" - it is his daughter's funeral. To me, you have to show up and show respect to her, fans, and family, regardless of the conditions. In a twist, it is rumored according to allhiphop.com that Juvenile showed up to a concert party in Augusta, Georgia. In more violence-related issues, Prodigy finally started serving his three-year sentence for a gun charge. One of Lil Wayne's felonies included a drug charge for cocaine, now Wayne is claiming that he didn't have that much on him and foul play might be involved - stay tuned. The rumors about a movie about the late Christopher Wallace, titled "Notorious" are true and a Brooklyn rapper got the gig to play Biggie, peep the article from the Hollywood Reporter, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i9a2f1e72ad0ce6f3129f803f2158d362 Check out the casting video, provided by the New York Times >> that's how you know it's a big deal! Peep the comical twist toward the end of video, too http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=f72f587b2389953a17c08be0f46299bc2ca0fad9 More on the way, until then...

Eliot the Trick & History in NY

As I pay attention to the news wire each and every day in news, sports, music, culture, and lifestyle I'm noticing that it is pretty difficult to keep up with daily occurrences in each respective category. With that said, I'm willing to try my best - but help is more than appreciated to take it to the top...digg me!? Lets begin with important issues first, and there is so much going on I might have to split the post up into two or three separate ones. Politics I bet you know what I'm going to write about first. Unless you've been hibernating, you know about the sex scandal that is surrounding NY Governor, Eliot Spitzer - engulfing and ultimately ending his political career as we know it. To make an exceedingly long story a tad bit shorter, Spitzer, shortly after he began his run as governor, implemented a law that allowed the FBI to monitor bank transactions that suspiciously exceed $10,000 all at once or within an specific amount of days. A bank reported suspicious activity by none other than the Spitz-man. His apparent arrogance allowed him to ignore the chance that the Feds might be on to the same man that implemented the law. Even more ironic, is that his entire campaign was devoted to having and maintaining a clean slate in a time where politicians get their dirty laundry aired out like times before dry cleaners. The feds were on to him for money laundering of taxpayer dollars but it wasn't exactly money laundering - he was using the money to spend on high-end prostitutes/call girls. Investigators said that Spitzer could have spend as much as $80,000 on prostitutes over an extend period of time. Monday, investigators reported that according to a wiretap, Spitzer threw $4,300 towards the Emperor Club VIP, a call girl service in Washington and for a night with a call girl, Kristen. Reports also indicate that this isn't the first time for Spitzer, instead he's a consistent customer. To make matters worse, reports indicate that Spitzer preferred not to wear protection as he ran up in the prostitutes (how backwards is that!?) However, it should be noted that the money could have been Spitzer's own, however, as he is an heir to a successful New York based real estate developer and reported about $1.9 million in earned income to the IRS in 2006. He has not been charged just yet. According to MSNBC, "On Wall Street, where Spitzer built his reputation as a crusader against shady practices and overly generous compensation, cheers and laughter erupted Monday from the trading floor when news broke of his potential ruin." Spitzer resigned on Wednesday morning and his replacement, Lt. Gov. David Patterson make history as the first Black Governor in New York history (I'm sure some NY folk [especially some central/upstate] residents aren't going to like that and can't wait until it's election time in 2010). A Brief Introduction of Gov. Patterson

Gov. Patterson (left), Sptizer (right)

• Patterson is 53 years old and blind in one eye, buy can still walk/do work unaided
• Elected out of Harlem and has served as an elected official since 1985
• Gov. Patterson is well respected by all politicians and is a lot less partisan than is predecessor, which might allow for work to actually get done
• Former NYC mayor Ed Koch called Patterson very capable and mentioned how his near-sightedness has never allowed him not to get his work done
• Is one of only 3 Black Governors since Reconstruction
• Good relationship whit Sen Joe Bruno (R-NY) - who was Spitzer's main opponent

On a side note, it's possible that Patterson's respect and apparent work ethic and diplomacy will actually allow good things to pop off for the state of New York - one can only hope.