On this day in Hip-Hop History, Texas OGs The Geto Boys released their debut LP Making Trouble 31 years ago. Although the start of the career of one of the most prolific southern rap groups to ever grace the mic, this project may have been their least heard and most unknown album.
Coming at a time in the group’s history where they were referred to as the more conventionally spelled “Ghetto Boys”, this album showcased the lyrical ability of a then four-member underground group. At the time the group was composed of DJ Reddy Red of Trenton, NJ(RIP), Prince Johnny C, and the Slim Jukebox, with Bushwick Bill on the roster as a hypeman and a dancer. It wasn’t until after the release of this project that Rap-A-Lot Records dropped Reddy Red, Johnny C, and Slim Jukebox to add Scarface and Willie D.
On this project, the group used a style of rap and aesthetics that resembled the legends Run-DMC. The mimicry of the New York rap trio was deep. The group wore all black with top hats and thick gold chains, their music featured heavy rock influence with guitar riffs and high energy drum patterns, and their group dynamic of two emcees and a DJ is exactly what Run-DMC sported.
This album was not the most popular album from the Geto Boys camp, but it is, however, an interesting piece of the group’s history. This project shows the growth and development it took for the group to grow to become the legends that they are respected as today.
A recent report from TMZ has confirmed that R&B crooner Trey Songz is being sued by an anonymous woman who claims that Songz raped her back in 2016 and is now seeking a $20 million settlement.
The Jane Doe, who says she had a consensual sexual relationship with Songz before the alleged rape, claims the singer invited her to a house party and admittedly led her upstairs for consensual sex. Jane Doe claims Trey repeatedly asked her if he could “get that a**” as they headed to the bedroom, to which she says she repeatedly told him “no” and to stop asking.
In the suit, Doe claims that Songz’s attitude changed when they entered the room, claiming he threw her to the ground, ripped her clothes off, and forced himself into her anus without her consent. Doe contends that someone entered the room during the alleged incident but says they quickly left the room, and Songz continued raping her.
Doe claims that her only opportunity to escape was after Songz finished raping her, after which she gathered all her clothes except her underwear and ran outside to call an Uber. Her driver allegedly says she was in distress and took her to the hospital, where she claims a sexual assault exam was performed, and the police were summoned.
The suit claims that the exam showed “severe anal tearing that could require surgery” but alleges that she didn’t give Trey’s name to authorities out of fear for her life.
The woman’s attorney, Ariel Mitchell, also represents two women who are suing Trey for other alleged assaults in Miami and New York.
TheSource.com will update this story as details develop.
A recent report from TMZ has confirmed that R&B crooner Trey Songz is being sued by an anonymous woman who claims that Songz raped her back in 2016 and is now seeking a $20 million settlement.
The Jane Doe, who says she had a consensual sexual relationship with Songz before the alleged rape, claims the singer invited her to a house party and admittedly led her upstairs for consensual sex. Jane Doe claims Trey repeatedly asked her if he could “get that a**” as they headed to the bedroom, to which she says she repeatedly told him “no” and to stop asking.
In the suit, Doe claims that Songz’s attitude changed when they entered the room, claiming he threw her to the ground, ripped her clothes off, and forced himself into her anus without her consent. Doe contends that someone entered the room during the alleged incident but says they quickly left the room, and Songz continued raping her.
Doe claims that her only opportunity to escape was after Songz finished raping her, after which she gathered all her clothes except her underwear and ran outside to call an Uber. Her driver allegedly says she was in distress and took her to the hospital, where she claims a sexual assault exam was performed, and the police were summoned.
The suit claims that the exam showed “severe anal tearing that could require surgery” but alleges that she didn’t give Trey’s name to authorities out of fear for her life.
The woman’s attorney, Ariel Mitchell, also represents two women who are suing Trey for other alleged assaults in Miami and New York.
TheSource.com will update this story as details develop.
In a Clubhouse convo following Snoop Dogg’s announcement of his acquirement of Death Row Records, the label’s legendary first solo artist says that he wants to turn “the most dangerous record label” into an NFT imprint.
“Death Row will be an NFT label,” Snoop said. “We will be putting out artists through the metaverse. Just like we broke the industry when we was the first independent [label] to be major, I want to be the first major [label] in the metaverse.”
This was announced almost immediately following Snoop’s partnership with the blockchain gaming company Gala Games. The Dogg said of the merger, “If anything is constant, it’s that the music industry will always be changing. Blockchain tech has the power to change everything again and tip the table in favor of the artists and the fans, and we’re going to be right at the front of the pack with this Gala Music deal.”
According to a report from CBS News, the 2022 Coachella Festival will not require concertgoers to present a negative test, vaccination status or wear a mask in order to attend the festival.
The Coachella Festival guidelines for the 2022 festival read, “In accordance with local guidelines, there will be no vaccination, testing or masking requirements at Coachella 2022, however, the event shall be presented in accordance with applicable public health conditions as of the date of the event and which may change at any time as determined by federal, state or local government agencies or instrumentalities, artists or the promoter; such requirements may include, without limitation, changes to capacity, attendance procedures and entry requirements, such as proof of vaccination and/or negative COVID-19 test, and other protective measures such as requiring attendees to wear face coverings.”
The weekend, which is scheduled for April 15-24, includes performances from Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, Kanye West, and Swedish House Mafia.
On this date in 1993, Tupac Shakur released his second full-length studio album, Strictly For My N.I.G.G.A.Z… on Jive Records and T.N.T. Recordings. With the ‘N-word always having a negative connotation, ‘Pac flipped it to an acronym, meaning Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished, with the “Z” in the title making it plural.
This album continued on the same wavelength as his debut, with his sociopolitical viewpoint as the basis of the album’s overall subject matter. The most recognizable singles from the album are “I Get Around,” “Holler If Ya Hear Me,” and the inspirational “Keep Ya Head Up,” which helped to propel the album to platinum status.
This year’s Super Bowl was filled with a weekend of after-parties, which often got out of control and often result in people getting hurt or worse. On Friday, Kodak Black was shot in the leg along with three other people at Justin Bieber’s party and it was revealed that on Super Bowl Sunday, Love And Hip Hop: Hollywood‘s Tricia Ana was a victim of a brutal assault and robbery at a party in Hollywood Hills,
Ana, who was once married to international recording star Akon, was allegedly involved in a brawl with another woman at the party, according to TMZ. Witnesses say that the fight spilled outside, in which another individual got involved and Ana ended up with a cut to her face and a $15K chain which was missing after the fight.
Ana was taken to a local hospital, where she received twenty stitches for the cut on her face. The incident s under investigation, but no arrests have been made.
50 Cent made a surprise appearance during this year’s Super Bowl halftime show hanging upside down, recreating the video scene from his 2002 smash “In Da Club”, but critical fans were quick to point out Fif’s obvious weight gain from his former 28-year-old self.
Despite looking fairly fit for a 46-year-old, critics immediately started flinging fat jokes, to some people, who didn’t care for 50 Cent either way, felt the Power creator was being judged by people who were way more out of shape than he’s ever been.
Some people even felt that Fif deserved the online lashing, with so many people that he’s managed to embarrass on social media. One critic said, “Typically I would be against the body shaming of 50 Cent but the way his misogynistic vitriol is targeted towards Black women and their bodies the majority of the time, this fat Black girl gonna get some full belly laughs at his expense.”
Everyone talking about how fat 50 is now I bet none of y’all could get up there, hang upside down & rap. GTFOH.. y’all can’t even do a pull up BE REAL @50centpic.twitter.com/zKAQSWC0U4
What psychological delusion leads some to believe 50 Cent is FAT!? I don’t even give a f**k about Fifty, but this is ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/q247ltNiWB
You could use two hands to count the number of rappers who currently would rather be spitting bars on the microphone than living behind them. We have ten fingers, so lets count 10 notable rappers who are currently incarcerated.
In no particular order, YNW Melly, YFN Lucci, Pooh Shiesty, Casanova, Tay-K, Q Money, Hoodrich Pablo Juan, RondoNumbaNine, and Fam Goon Ralo are all locked up. This is just the list that we’ve accumulated. With more research, we could easily extend this list.
Tay K Casanova YFN Lucci
From Generation X to Generation Z, almost every era of Hip-Hop has had its share of rappers run into legal battles with the law. The judicial system has never been Hip-Hop friendly.
In the late ’80s, Slick Rick did a five year bid during the prime of his career. Snoop Dogg signed to Death Row Records just before being acquitted for first degree murder in 1993.
Snoop Dogg acquittal
Two years later, one of the most influential rappers ever, Tupac Shakur, served eight months in prison on sexual abuse charges.
In 2001, Bad Boy artist Shyne Po went to jail for 10 years for his involvement in a night club shooting. In 2009, Lil Wayne sat down at Rikers Island for two years for possession of an illegal firearm.
Meek Mill was arrested and hit with reckless-endangerment charges for popping wheelies in 2017. He had to serve five months of his two-four year sentence. 34-year-old, Meek Mill, has been fighting the justice system since 19-years old.
This reoccurring history of America’s criminal justice system resenting rappers, who are mostly Black people, is a reflection of the cruel history of the relationship between the American government and the Black community.
Black history in the United States is well known to be connected with violent, unfair, and biased treatment against people of color. Slavery, segregation, and a broken economic infrastructure including the prison system all aided in the prevention of Black progression.
People of color were denied civil rights and liberties. Black people were socially discriminated against, and struggled to advance financially.
If Black people didn’t suffer from those living conditions, there wouldn’t be a need to listen to Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power.” Unfortunately, POC did suffer, but they took the struggle and expressed it through sound. As a result, the birth of Hip-Hop.
In the late ’70s, during the genesis of the genre, artist mostly used music as a rhythmic way to not only entertain and uplift people, but also a way to lyrically protest the problematic issues plaguing low-income Black communities.
After the civil rights movement, Hip-Hop stood as a united voice for issues like poverty, racism, inequality, criminal justice, police brutality, and anything else that oppressed Black communities.
While Black artist non-violently protested with lyrics, the American government developed its prison industrial complex. The prison system is an industrial sector, just as slavery was considered an agriculture and labor business.
The evolution of Hip-Hop happened simultaneous to the mass incarceration of people of color in America’s prison system. Is the parallel of this phenomena coincidental or is it systematic? We’re not here to determine that, but let me leave you with some facts.
According to a 2012 report from the Death Penalty Information Center, there have been at least 1276 executions in the United States since 1976. There are approximately 3,251 inmates on death row and Blacks represent 42% of these inmates (Death Penalty Information Center, 2011). This statistic is quite disproportional because African-Americans only represented 9.7 percent of the population back then.
So again, is this systematic or coincidental? Is the unpopular opinion true about rappers being targets by America’s criminal justice system? We are uncertain in every case, but if rappers are not targeted, many make themselves easy to become targets.
Many artist deviated from reciting the same unhealed stories of civil struggles. They became more aggressive with their approach, and the music went from peaceful to painful.
The emergence of rap music gradually made Hip-Hop more dangerous. The kumbaya rap era ended, and transitioned to “Wa da da dang Wa da da da dang (Ay!) Listen to my 9 millimeter go bang!”
Sadly, this created a new parallel.
The increase of violent music, increased Hip-Hop’s popularity. Rappers became cultural icons and their unruly substance made everybody want to listen to rap. In 2017, Hip-Hop officially became America’s number one music genre, and all eyes were on the culture. This put the culture under a microscope, or better yet, put the culture on social media.
Artists should be able to utilize technology and use social media as a promotional tool. Instead we’ve seen more then a few rappers expose and document their alleged involvement in criminal activity online.
Tekashi 69 YNW Melly
The culture began to see more glorification of street life, rising criminal activity and dismissive attitudes towards the law. New-aged rappers seemingly love to display their rebellious behavior. Coincidentally, the feds love it too. It makes their job easier.
The Hip-Hop community fed up with the Hip-Hop police and blatant discrimination that rappers receive from the criminal justice system decided to take action.
In an effort to protect the artistic liberty of rappers, Jay-Z teamed up with other powerful leaders in Hip-Hop to push “Rap Music on Trial” (S.7527/A.8681)
“Rap Music on Trial” is a proposal of a new law in New York that will prevent the usages of lyrics on trial. The bill was written by Democratic Senator Brad Hoylman, Jamaal Bailey, and Catalina Cruz.
Jay-Z’s lawyer, Alex Spiro and University of Richmond Professor Erik Nielson co-wrote a letter to New York lawmakers in favor of the approval of this bill.
Hov along with superstars such as Meek Mill, Big Sean, Fat Joe, Kelly Rowland, Yo Gotti, Killer Mike, Robin Thicke, and more have all petitioned the letter.
New York rapper, Fat Joe said he is passionate about change and desires Hip-Hop to be treated fairly in the future.
“Our lyrics are a creative form of self-expression and entertainment – just like any other genre,” Fat Joe told Rolling Stone. “We want our words to be recognized as art rather than being weaponized to get convictions in court. I hope the governor and all the lawmakers in New York take our letter into consideration, protect our artistic rights and make the right decision to pass this bill.”
In 2017, the late South Central rapper, Drakeo the Ruler served three years in Los Angeles County Jail after the content of his songs and videos were used to prosecute him.
Drakeo the Ruler
“They rap about their crimes,” said the prosecutor Shannon Cooley. Detective Hardiman agreed and told the court he used “the greatest crime-fighting tools on earth – Google and social media.”
Hardiman cited Drakeo’s lyrics where he allegedly spoke about driving around with a rival rapper “tied up in the back”.
The judge indicted Drakeo on multiple felonies. Charges included murder, conspiracy murder, criminal gang conspiracy, shooting from a vehicle, illegal possession of a firearm and a number of other charges. He faced a life sentence.
In 2020, Drakeo accepted a plea deal that helped acquit his murder charges. His lawyer, John Hamasaki spoke on the judges initial decision to prosecute his client.
“It really makes no sense, logically, from a criminal justice perspective,” Hamasaki said. “Their main crime was making music, videos, and raps. And those raps were offensive to the [lead] detective.”
Erik Nielson, is the co-author of a book on discrimination in Hip-Hop, Rap On Trial; Race, Lyrics, and Guilt in America. Nielson said he’s identified more than 500 total cases since 1991 in which rap has been used as evidence.
“Police rely on rappers’ music because it’s easy to watch YouTube videos and it’s often effective,” Nielson shared. “You don’t have to do police work, and you get convictions. It makes it very easy to pin crimes on people who were not involved.”
Hip-Hop is aware of this biased behavior by America’s criminal justice system, and it’s taking steps towards changing it. In no way should your bars lead you to a life behind them.
