Hiphop/ rap
neglected? kanye 180?
includes Yearwood HH CAUCUS
https://hiphopcaucus.org/
https://hiphopcaucus.org/contact/
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PHONE: 310.800.6519
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Phone: 202.502.5882
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Mat Staver Wages Spiritual Warfare Against Opposing Attorneys In Masterpiece Cakeshop Case
Read More
Mat Staver Says Jay-Z Has 'Been A Satanic Follower For Some Time'
city arts 6/30/19
1:00PM - CITY ARTS AND LECTURES “Combating Climate Change With Bill Mckibben & Mustafa Santiago Ali
Mustafa Santiago Ali is the senior vice president of Climate, Environmental Justice & Community Revitalization for theHip Hop Caucus
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uber1
https://webbrain.com/brainpage/brain/6950F840-FB80-FCB0-D505-8AB1FA685F08#-536
https://www.alternet.org/2019/02/watch-drug-company-execs-used-rap-video-parody-to-push-high-dose-fentanyl-sales/
article was produced by Drug Reporter, a project of the Independent Media Institute.
Back in 2015, as the country was deep in the midst of the ongoing opioid crisis, at least one major pharmaceutical company thought its sales reps weren’t doing enough to push higher doses of its highly potent fentanyl product, so company executives produced a parody rap video to spur them on.
The video emerged last week during the trial in Boston of Insys Therapeutics Inc. founder John Kapoor and four of his former executives on charges they conspired to pay bribes and kickbacks to doctors to get them to prescribe the company’s fentanyl spray, which was designed to treat cancer patients with severe pain.
One of those executives was a former stripper hired as a regional sales manager even though prosecutors said she had no pharmaceutical experience. She was good at providing lap dances for doctors, though.
More than 900 people have died from Insys’ fentanyl spray since it was approved in 2012.
The video, “Great by Choice,” features suit-and-tie wearing sales reps rapping to the tune of an A$AP Rocky song, but with lyrics focused on getting doctors to gradually increase the doses of fentanyl spray they prescribed to patients, a process known as titration.
“I love titrations, yeah, that’s not a problem. I got new patients and I got a lot of ’em,” the sales reps rap. “Build relationships that are healthy. Got more docs than Janelle’s got selfies.”
And, of course, a shout-out to the boss:
“What we built here can’t be debated. Shout to Kapoor for what you’ve created,” they rap. “While the competition just making noise. We’re making history because we’re great by choice.”
The video also includes a cameo from former Insys vice-president of sales Alec Burlakoff. He pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy in November and is expected to testify against Kapoor in the current trial. He enters dressed up as a bottle of fentanyl spray before unveiling himself as the company’s hard-charging sales cheerleader. [vid]
the video is just the latest explosive revelation from the trial, which is expected to last for several more weeks, and, while not as titillating as the lap-dancing sales exec, does as much to demonstrate the craven corporate culture fostered by Kapoor in his bid to turn a profit off pain medications.
And now, Kapoor and his former top execs are turning on each other. Burlakoff and another key witness, former CEO Michael Babich, who pleaded guilty last month, are pointing fingers at Kapoor. Babich testified last week that Kapoor pushed sales reps to get doctors to put patients on higher doses, and Burlakoff is expected to echo that testimony.
Kapoor’s attorneys, though, are portraying Burlakoff and Babich as liars seeking reduced sentences and blaming Burlakoff for any criminal activity. Is there no honor among pharma execs?
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https://www.alternet.org/2019/01/the-40th-anniversary-of-hip-hop-here-are-6-of-the-genres-most-political-moments-from-grandmaster-flash-to-cardi-b/
2019 marks the 40th anniversary of recorded hip-hop, which started attracting national attention in 1979 with early singles by pioneers like Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Kurtis Blow and the Sugarhill Gang (“Rappers’ Delight”). Hip-hop has often been highly political over the years, and in 2019, hip-hop’s political topics have ranged from Kanye West reaffirming his support for President Donald Trump to Bronx rapper Cardi B’s Twitter feud with far-right agitator Tomi Lahren.
But hip-hop was political long before 2019; Blow, now 59, was rapping about economic anxiety as far back as 1980 on his song “Hard Times.”
Here are some of hip-hop’s most memorable political moments, past and present.
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez weighs in on Cardi B/Tomi Lahren feud
Cardi B has been addressing a variety of political subjects, from Sen. Bernie Sanders’ democratic socialist movement to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal of the 1930s. And when the Bronx rapper got into a Twitter feud with Tomi Lahren this month, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez weighed in—siding with Cardi and tweeting, “Why do people think they can mess with Bronx women without getting roasted? They act as though our borough hasn’t been perfecting the clapback game since the Sugarhill Gang.”
- Kanye West reaffirms support for Trump, while Jay-Z and Eminem remain anti-Trump
When he was more of a Blue Dog Democrat and starred on the hit reality show “The Apprentice” back in the 2000s, Donald Trump was praised in various hip-hop recordings. Rappers Jeezy and Rae Sremmurd, for example, viewed him as a symbol of financial success and admired his flamboyance. But after Trump went far-right politically and ran for president as a Republican, he became the target of anti-Trump rappers ranging from Cardi B to Eminem and Jay Z. Kanye West, however, has remained an unapologetic Trump supporter.
After meeting with Trump in the White House in October, West reaffirmed his support for Trump with a series of January tweets. West posted “Trump all day,” stressed that being African-American doesn’t mean he is obligated to be a Democrat and declared that he would continue to wear his “Make America Great Again” hat.
- N.W.A’s ‘F*** tha Police’ inspires FBI letter
N.W.A’s Straight Outta Compton album of 1988 was a blistering audio-documentary that described, in painfully blunt terms, the social problems affecting South-Central Los Angeles and other urban areas. And one of its songs, “Fuck the Police,” attracted the attention of the FBI—which, on August 1, 1989, sent a letter to Priority Records (the label that released Straight Outta Compton) complaining that the song “encourages violence against and disrespect for the law enforcement officer.” After the letter was made public, Danny Goldberg (the ACLU’s Southern California chairman at the time) weighed in—and his criticism was with the FBI, not N.W.A.
Goldberg told the Los Angeles Times, “It is completely inappropriate for any government agency to try to influence what artists do. It is completely against the American tradition of free speech and government non-interference for government agencies to criticize art, because such criticism carries with it an implied threat.”
- Jay-Z decries Trump’s ‘s******e countries’ comment during CNN interview
Trump showed his racism in January 2018 when he asserted that he would prefer immigration from Norway over immigration from “shithole countries” such as Haiti and El Salvador. And Jay-Z called the president out during an interview with CNN’s Van Jones, saying, “Everyone feels anger; but after the anger, it’s real hurtful because it’s looking down at a whole population of people—and it’s so misinformed because these places have beautiful people…. This is the leader of the free world speaking like this.” And on January 28, 2018, Trump responded to Jay-Z on Twitter, posting, “Somebody please inform Jay-Z that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has just been reported to be at the LOWEST RATE EVER RECORDED!”
- Grandmaster Flash’s ‘The Message’ captures Reagan-era angst
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five brought political hip-hop to the forefront with their landmark 1982 single, “The Message,” which brilliantly captured the angst of the early 1980s recession and addressed everything from poverty and violent crime to suicide in prison. In contrast to President Ronald Reagan’s morning-in-America rhetoric, “The Message” contained the painfully cynical lyrics, “It’s all about money/Ain’t a damn thing funny/You got to have a con in this land of milk and honey.”
- Ice-T’s ‘Cop Killer’ followed by Time Warner boycott
Hip-hop had many political voices in the 1980s and 1990s, from KRS-1, Public Enemy and Paris to Ice-T—a seminal gangsta rapper who went on to have a successful acting career. Ice-T is well known for portraying a police officer on the hit crime drama “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit,” which is ironic in light of the fact that his most controversial song was 1992’s “Cop Killer.” Recorded with his rap-metal band Body Count, “Cop Killer” was attacked by everyone from Vice President Dan Quayle to Democrat Tipper Gore and led to a boycott of Time Warner. Ice, however, stressed that he wasn’t anti-police: he was simply anti-police brutality. And the 60-year-old rapper’s success portraying a cop on “Law and Order” hasn’t prevented him from voicing his support of Black Lives Matter.
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Jay z dems? see uber
https://www.alternet.org/2019/01/rapper-cardi-b-shuts-down-tomi-lahren-in-a-single-tweet-for-mocking-her-call-to-end-the-government-shutdown/
hmmn, correlation is not cause?
11.02.18
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https://www.thedailybeast.com/russian-propaganda-veterans-push-candace-owens-blexit-campaign
no lnx
We’re not saying that Russia helped make #Blexit trend, but Twitter accounts with a history of pushing Kremlin fake news are playing a disproportionate role in amplifying the call for African-American voters to hop on the Trump Train.
Blexit, the brainchild of right-wing personality Candace Owens, is a nascent movement meant to urge black voters to leave the Democratic Party.
Owens, the communications director for campus conservative group Turning Point USA, announced the campaign last Saturday at a Turning Point conference in Washington. But while Blexit is less than a week old, it’s already been beset with controversies. Owens initially claimed that rapper Kanye West, who praised her politics earlier this year on Twitter, designed Blexit’s “X” logo and the 90’s-style colors of its merchandise. But West claimed in a series of tweets Tuesday that he had nothing to do with Blexit, distancing himself from Owens and her group. Owens eventually apologized to West, but insisted that Blexit will continue.
Additionally, a pre-existing organization also called Blexit is threatening to sue over Owens’ use of the name. (Owens didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story)
Despite the hiccups, the torrent of tweets pushing the Blexit hashtag on Twitter gives the impression that African-Americans are rejecting the Democratic party in droves. Over 15 hours ending Friday afternoon, the Daily Beast captured more than 250,000 tweets amplifying the Blexit movement.
“40,000, or16 percent, of the Blexit tweets we collected came from accounts that previously pushed Kremlin propaganda.”
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Musicis another way in which poor whites and poor blacks can receive radically different messages. The fact that Kanye West said some favorable things about President Trump earlier this year was controversial in the hip-hop community, where Immortal Technique, Public Enemy, Ice-T, KRS-1, Paris, N.W.A, Ice Cube and countless other rappers have been known for their left-of-center views. But modern country-rock is full of right-wing activists who think former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin represents “the real America.” The Dixie Chicks became pariahs in the country music community after Natalie Maines criticized President George W. Bush and the Iraq War in 2003; Maines found out the hard way that being openly liberal can seriously damage one’s career in country music.
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~ alford pro CPP?
Statement of Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., President and CEO, Hip Hop Caucus:
“This report fools no one. The EPA’s Clean Power Plan will avoid up to 6,600 premature deaths and 150,000 asthma attacks in children, and for every dollar invested through the Clean Power Plan, American families will get up to $7 in health benefits. With 60% of African Americans living within 30 miles of a power plant, the Clean Power Plan will save American lives, especially the lives of Black and Brown folks. It is deeply disappointing to see the National Black Chamber of Commerce champion a report full of dangerous lies promoted by the fossil fuel industry. Opposing the Clean Power Plan threatens the health and wealth of our communities and our businesses."
A reverend quietly walked on stage at the Brookhaven College Sustainability Summit early April. Reverend Lennox Yearwood, Jr. wore the obligatory black suit with the bright white clerical collar, but his converse sneakers and flat-billed baseball cap sparked the interest of the crowd. His Keynote Address started off calm, cool and soft spoken. He hit his stride a few minutes in, and the crowd responded to his rhythmic spoken words with clapping and cheers of “Yes!” throughout his hour-long speech.
:{ :(style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;display:block;max-width:650px;max-height:653px"):}:Reverend Yearwood and I after his Keynote Speech at Brookhaven College’s Sustainability Summit.
Reverend Yearwood is the president and CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus, a civil and human rights organization based out of Washington, DC that works with musicians to engage people and influence people to use their political and social voice. Reverend Yearwood’s phone rang in the media room, pumping out the Pharell song “Happy” as his ringtone, emphasizing his roots in hip hop. Utilizing hip hop allows climate change to be discussed in a different way, gets to the heart of the matter and uses art and culture to reach people.
“When the movement is strong, the music is strong” says Reverend Yearwood. And it showed in late 2014 when the likes of Common, Ne-Yo and Kanye West’s producer Malik Yusef put together the album “Home” in response to the People’s Climate March in New York City that drew more than 400,000 people. Proceeds from “Home,” which stands for Heal Our Mother Earth, go to organizing communities impacted by climate change.
At first glance, Reverend Yearwood isn’t the stereotypical hippie we normally think of leading the green movement. That is exactly the point. His speech emphasized the need of all people to get involved in reducing climate change because it’s a human issue, not just one particular group’s problem. He saw the need to diversify the movement and stepped up.
“The kind of people (community) that I want to be a part of is a people that loves to create change, that love this country, and loves to come together, doesn’t care about republican or democrat, if you’re rich or poor, if you’re black or white, that we come together to figure out and listen to hey we have a problem here in regards to climate change” Reverend Yearwood said.
Reverend Yearwood warned of playing the middle of the road through examples of our past in slavery, asbestos and cigarette smoking. At some point our culture accepted these issues and it took a long time to take a hard stand against them. Reverend Yearwood urged us that this is our time, now is not the time to play middle of the road on this issue, if we fail, we have no second chances.
It was inspiring and refreshing to watch someone deliver the climate change message in a non-traditional way. Whether you like hip hop music or not, there was a message for you in his speech. A lot of students who attend Dallas County Community Colleges are preparing for a future nursing career and Reverend Yearwood did his homework reaching out to those students. He emphasized the role nurses play on the front lines of climate change witnessing pollution induced diseases on a daily basis. He encouraged students not to sit back and watch more people get sick without getting to one of the roots of the problem.
Reverend Yearwood’s powerful words mixed with his infectious giggle led the audience through an encouraging way to tackle climate change. His cap read, “DIVEST” meaning to divest from the fossil fuel industry. He strongly stated, “It is morally wrong to continue to pollute and corrupt our planet. It is wrong for us to continue on this path of not moving from fossil fuels toclean energy and we must stop the madness now.” Urge policy makers, school and company boards, and community leaders to stand strong and make changes away from fossil fuels.
The crowd erupted the loudest after Reverend Yearwood led us in his vision of a fossil free future. “What I now say, 50 years later, with our work together that one day … they will rejoice in what you have done and they will say that we are fossil free at least, fossil free at last, thank God oh mighty we are fossil free at last!” The strength and volume of his “fossil free at last” energized the crowd and left us all with a hope and inspiration that together, we can make it happen.
Being a lover of hip hop, I was surprised I had not heard of the album “Home.” I immediately downloaded it from iTunes and started listening as I left the summit. The remake of the song “A Big Yellow Taxi” really hits home for all of us here in Dallas. The famous line is, “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”