LeSean Thomas

Lesean Thomas is the Co-Director & Supervising Character Designer of "The Boondocks" on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Season 2 AIRING NOW! StoryBoard Artist on BEN10:ALIEN FORCE and artist extradonaire'

His Space
Deviant Art
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OBAMA Makes HISTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Obama Cinches the Nomination
A Great day for America, this nation has shown the world that it is ready for change

Davey D Fixes Fox

Journalist Davey D (the Edward R Murrow of hip hop) not only is a shrewed reporter but a damn fine citizen. Watch him give one of Fix news ambush reporters the same treatment, and then fix news response

Foxguy
by luvnews

Davey D myspace

Jaime Lerner: City evangelist

From building opera houses with wire to mapping the connection between the automobile and your mother-in-law, Jaime Lerner delights in discovering eccentric solutions to vexing urban problems. In the process he has transformed the face of cities worldwide.

The Real Story Behind How My “Fake” Publicist, Alan Chase, Landed me a Six Figure Publishing Deal

The New York Times has given me some light (I want to give a big thanks to Ann Farmer, her editor and Jan Legnitto for making that happen), but my recent article has sparked some controversy over my use of a “fake” publicist. This is a bit unexpected because using an alias (Troy CLE is also a semi alias–both Troy and Alan are my real names) when you do your own PR is quite common. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, I get endless support from teachers, librarians, and other educators when I tell the tale of my super publicist Alan Chase to middle and high school students. Often, it is their favorite part of my story. You see, what is wrong is if you lie about the information you give members of the press or whoever you are telling your story to. I have never lied about my story so I am totally proud of what I did and enjoy explaining my technique. So, this is the story of how I used my learned skills as a publicist to land a six figure deal with Simon and Schuster and an audio book deal with Random House Listening Library for The Marvelous Effect; Book 1 of The Marvelous World Saga. It was a hard, but fun task that took quite some time. Oh, and I did it all without a literary agent, which I still do not have (film rights are repped by CAA). This is the first of many stories I will post on self-publishing, dealing with a major publisher, self promotion, what to look for in a good publicist, ect… I hope that it can help aspiring writers, which I once was. So many people have helped me and i hope this is a way for me to pay it forward. Thanks for reading. Oh and, none of the events of this story have been changed eventhough it reads like fantasy. The whole thing started when I was nine and was inspired to write my book after seeing the movie “The Goonies” in 1985. So it was twenty years later in the Summer of ‘05 when I self published. I got my major book deal in ‘06 and the book was released in ‘07.

The New York Times December 23, 2007

The most important thing about my book is the way both kids who hate and love to read respond to it. They go crazy! When I first started kids would get rowdy and start heated arguments about who was going to get the limited copies of the self published version that I brought to schools with me to give away for free. Real fights almost happened. Not to mention that I only sold my book on the street for three days and moved a few hundred copies. With that being said I am proud to state that The Marvelous World Saga is built off of quality and not hype. I got my deals because the kids I did readings for loved my book and the press documented that. If it were all hype it would have been dead in the water because hype fades away. I think I have outlived the misnomer The Black H***y P****r.

Here is how it all went down…

I knew that if I could get a publisher to witness how kids loved my book there was no way i could not get a major book deal. I had no agent to vouch for me because none would rep me so I could not even get to an editor let alone a publisher. Even if I did i would have been just another author raving about my own book. So, I needed a special outside force to report what was happening in order for a publisher to take my book seriously. That force would be the press so I had to become my own publicist. First of all, the press that I got was a result of me calling people as myself. I used the name Alan Chase on the press release because no one in the publishing world would read it with an author’s name on it. (For more information on this please read this blog) My middle name is really Alan and the email address I used was chase.alan@marvelousworld.net. Get it? Chase Alan @ Marvelous World. You’d never really catch him. lol. I only spoke as this alias when Simon and Schuster and other publishers called to speak to Alan Chase. I need a new alias because of all of this press.

(I actually forgot who Alan Chase was for a second when I got the phone call from Simon and Schuster. Oh and let me mention that the call was placed on behalf of the former Vice Publisher of Simon and Schuster Books for Young readers– the great Elizabeth Law who along with Rubin Pheffer, Justin Chanda, and Tim Ditlow and Rebecca Bullene of Random House made my dream of becoming a published author come true.)

Okay back to the story…

I wanted three pieces of press so I was on a mission to get in a magazine, a newspaper, and myself on TV. After a bunch of hard work I was totally successful. The thing is you have to be smart about it and go after people in the press who have done stories similar to your own. With that being the case I went after a hip hop magazine since my entire path that I was following was that of the independent hip hop artist. I did not think “The Source” or “XXL” would show me immediate love so I looked for one that was a bit newer that might take a chance on me. I went to a magazine shop on 23rd street in NYC and found RIME magazine…

Rime Magazine

I sent the editor an email and I hit pay dirt. The magazine did an excellent review of my book and I am still cool with the writer Sum Patten. That was one down, but that had a long run time so I needed something that would supposedly come out much quicker. So, I went after my local news paper The Star Ledger…

The Star Ledger April 10, 2006

One of my friends told me to go after reporter Carrie Stetler because she did a few stories on hip-hop and this was related. After I spoke to her on the phone in December of ‘05 she was really into it and set up a time to come to my reading at Orange High School in NJ. Mind you, it may take awhile for things to run. I contacted her in Dec ‘05 and the piece ran in April of ‘06. I had to wait, but that was what I needed to help me get ABC News interested…

ABC News June 6, 2006

Image copyright ABC News

I could not think of a better person to contact other than Kemberly Richardson. I took The Star Ledger piece as proof I was worth doing a story on and taped it to the outside of the package I sent to Kemberly. I knew that would get her attention. The package also contained a copy of my book. I also did some more research and figured I should go after the education producer Lila Corn. That helped a lot and Ms. Corn took to me and Ms. Richardson called me personally and said she was going to do my story. They were both angels. Remember, I spoke to them as myself with no alias about my story. Kemberly did my story at Wadleigh Secondary School in Harlem, NY. Please let me take the time to shout out Principal Watts and Amanda Funero–the teacher who let me do the reading. Thank you!!!!

Here is the piece. It was a rough day!

Now this is when super publicist Alan Chase comes into the picture. Not only did I want ABC News to come to my reading I wanted publishers to see the kids go crazy. So I drafted a press release (I will later go into detail how I learned how to write an effective one) and used a web site to locate many of the emails of the people in the publishing industry. I sent out hundreds of emails and only about eight people responded (its a numbers game). The good news was it was someone major from just about every publishing house, including Elizabeth Law, who as I said was they former Vice Publisher of Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. She came to the reading that ABC News reported on and the rest is history. The truth is that I signed with Simon and Schuster because Elizabeth did come and she even gave me a hug that day. Louis Proof is based on myself and my little brother. His world is my world and his family is my family, so I couldn’t do a deal with just anyone. Elizabeth and now Justin Chanda, Rubin Pheffer, Paul Chrichton, Kate Smyth, Karen Frangipane, Michelle Fadella, Jody Cohen, Jaime Feldman, Kiley Fitzsimons, and all of Simon Schuster are the best . Thank you so much for believing in me! Yes, I love Simon and Schuster but I also love my Random House family! I was also able to do an audio book deal with Random House because both Rebecca Bullene and Tim Ditlow believed in me. I am truly blessed to me with the biggest publishers in the world.

Please forward this blog to anyone trying to do anything creative and wants to get their work out into the world and thinks they may never make it.

Cedric the Conscious Entertainer

Considered one of the funniest comics in America, Actor/Comedian Cedric ‘The Entertainer’ is best known as one of the headlining stars of the hit feature film, The Original Kings of Comedy, directed by Spike Lee. Here h appears on Def Poetry and gives the Conscious crowd something to think about


Click here for his foundation

Ho Che Anderson

Born in London in 1969, Ho Che Anderson was named after the Vietnamese and Cuban revolutionaries Ho Chi Minh and Che Guevara. He's a jack of all trades, master of none type, having worked as a commercial illustrator, writer of fiction, radio producer, and newspaper reporter. And like many before him he has designs on going to Hollywood and becoming a waiter before making it big in the movies.
Anderson is primarily known for inflicting the world with the comics books, King, I Want To Be Your Dog, Wise Son, and Scream Queen.

Check out his interview here

The Return of Obama

The Speech that brought the house down

Watch and be inspired

Artists Band Together For 'Jena 6' Benefit

Hillary Crosley, N.Y.
Nick Cannon, Lloyd, Baby Boy, Sean P, Twista, Tank, Jagged Edge, Killer Mike, Bobby Brown, DTP's Small World and Hurricane Chris will perform at the "Jena 6 Empowerment Concert," to be held Sept. 29 in Birmingham, Ala.

The event aims to raise national awareness of incidents that have occurred over the past year in and around a Jena, La., high school, involving violence between African-American and white students.

"What's happening to the Jena 6 is not an isolated incident -- it could happen to any of us," says Baby Boy. "We are asking men of all persuasions to stand on the front line with our young people and send a message demanding accountability of law enforcement officials and the judicial system."

In conjunction with the concert, Cannon and Danity Kane's Aubrey will host a Sept. 28 peace rally at Birmingham's Parker High School.

In related news, David Bowie today donated $10,000 to a legal defense fund for the African-American teens. The donation was announced by the NAACP, which is organizing protesters in advance of tomorrow's sentencing.
Commenting on his donation, David Bowie said: "There is clearly a separate and unequal judicial process going on in the town of Jena. A donation to the Jena Six Legal Defence Fund is my small gesture indicating my belief that a wrongful charge and sentence should be prevented."

Too Hot for HBO

Mos Def & Cornel West had one of the most honest and open discussion on race, religion, war ever to be seen on television in a long time So much so that it appears HBO refuses to show it On Demand (actually viewing the episode before and after
Offensive, Profanity laced and obnoxious, but brutally honest, our leaders could learn something from this discussion

Tim Story

"A few people called me about the black thing and said: 'This is major. You're a black director on "Fantastic Four." ' But all I was thinking was: 'I just don't want to screw up.' But then people were like, 'If you screw this up, we all got a problem,' and I said, 'Oh, man, I got that on me now?'"
Timothy Kevin Story was born on March 13, 1970 in Los Angeles, California. Attended Westchester High School in Los Angeles, California and recieved his BA in Film Production at University Of Southern California,Los Angeles,California
Like so many directors Tim got his start doing music videos for the likes of NSYNC, Tyrese Gibson and India Irie
Partial Film Directing credits

• Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer"
• Standoff"
• (1 episode, 2006 - Pilot (2006) TV Episode
• Fantastic Four (2005)
• Taxi (2004/I)
• Barbershop (2002)

Forget what the critic say Tim Story's Fantastic Four is a hit because it has found a place in the hearts and imagination of its viewers. Tim brought Silver Surfer, a character many comic fans wondered would ever be realized on the big screen and hired Laurence Fishburne to be the
voice. The final results is Wow!
Tim is also one the first directors to interact with his fan as his film was in production; check out his myspace page click here

Youssou N Dour

Youssou N'Dour (born October 1, 1959 in Dakar) is a Senegalese singer and percussionist. He helped develop popular music in Senegal, known in the Wolof language as mbalax, a blend of the country's traditional griot percussion and praise-singing with the Afro-Cuban arrangements and flavors which made the return trip from the Caribbean to West Africa in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s and have flourished in West Africa ever since.
for more click here

Samuel Eto'o

Eto'o seeks racism walk-off

Cameroon and Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o says players should walk off the pitch if they face racist abuse. Eto'o almost walked off the pitch last year at Real Zaragoza, who were merely fined US$11,000 for their fans abuse. The 26-year-old is furious with lack of action on racism. "Promises have been made for change - for sanctions to be enforced - but the first move needs to be made by those who are being subjected to the abuse," he said. "Part of me hopes that one day someone will manage to walk off the pitch in protest." With the new season in Europe fast approaching, Eto'o believes the general public also have a role to play in clamping down on the problem. (Racism) is just ignorance, that is all it is Samuel Eto'o Eto'o said: "If we experience this in football it means our society is rotten and that means we're in a dangerous situation. "That's what we need to be fighting against. I think that football is a small thing, but society - just imagine! "I am treated first and foremost as a footballer, as Samuel Eto'o, but away from the cameras a black man is suffering from racism and nobody cares. "That's the problem." Taking to www.feelfootball.com, Eto'o also criticised some members of the media for disregarding his comments on the racist attacks he has suffered. He added: "I think the media tried to shoot me down (in the past) as if I was making too much of it, but the whole time I was just expressing how I was feeling. "I think that education is the problem, and the media have a full role to play in this. "It is just ignorance, that is all it is."

Trevor Phillips

On 8 September 2006, Trevor was announced as chair of the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR), which will take over the work of Britain's three existing equality commissions in October 2007.

Trevor was appointed chair of the CRE on 1 March 2003 by the then home secretary David Blunkett.

Born in London in 1953, Trevor attended secondary school in Georgetown, Guyana, and then studied chemistry at Imperial College London. Between 1978 and 1980, he was president of The National Union of Students. He then went into broadcasting, becoming Head of Current Affairs at LWT in 1992. From 1987 to 2000, he was alternately the editor or the presenter of The London Programme. Trevor received awards from the Royal Television Society in 1988, 1993 and 1998.

He was elected as a member of the Greater London Authority in May 2000, and became chair of the Assembly later that month.

Trevor is a director of Pepper Productions, founded in 1995, and was the executive producer on Windrush (which won the Royal Television Society Documentary Series of the Year award in 1998), Britain's Slave Trade, Second Chance and When Black Became Beautiful. He is a vice president of the Royal Television Society.

At present, he is chair of the Young Adults Working Group of the Financial Services Authority, and a board member of the Almeida Theatre in Islington, Aldeburgh Productions and The Bernie Grant Centre in Tottenham. He is a patron of The Sickle Cell Society. Between 1993 and 1998 Trevor was chair of the Runnymede Trust.

In addition to many newspaper articles and comment pieces, Trevor has co-written Windrush: The Irresistible Rise of Multiracial Britain (with Mike Phillips), published in 1998, and Britain's Slave Trade (with S.I. Martin) published the following year.

Joe Jeannette

Joe Jeannette
(Joseph Jennette)
BORN August 26 1879; North Bergen, New Jersey
DIED July 2 1958; Weehawken, New Jersey (Some sources report 1956)
HEIGHT 5-10
WEIGHT 185-205 lbs
MANAGER Dan McKetrick

Jeannette was an extremely talented fighter; On defense, he was slippery and elusive; On offense, he was a dangerous inside puncher; He was a member of the outstanding "black" foursome of the teens, along with Jack Johnson, Sam Langford and Sam McVea; Jeannette was elected to the Ring Boxing Hall of Fame in 1967 anwill be like d the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1998

During his career, Jeannette defeated such men as Jack Johnson, Sam Langford, Sam McVea, Georges Carpentier, Black Bill (Claude Brooks), Jim Jeffords, George Cole, Al Kubiak, "Big" Bill Tate, Arthur Pelkey and Bartley Madden click here for more

Andre Ward Olympic boxer aims for king of the world

ONE SPORTS HERO in Oakland could own this city, and he's already piling up the points. If he someday combines a championship with his celebrity, he'll be a knockout winner for sure in Oaktown.

Andre Ward is everything you'd want in an athlete. He's a special talent, but not full of himself. He's young, but respectful of elders. His record is clean inside and outside the ring.

Oakland can hold up this Olympic champion as an example of the type of athlete we could revere and respect. He is a devoted husband and father. He's spiritual, polite and worldly wise at 23.

And if Ward becomes the middleweight champion of the world, which is his goal, he could cast a shadow in Oakland wider than Lake Merritt, the body of water around which he does his roadwork.

Right now, this hometown kid is more promise than proven. Oakland has adopted him, but hasn't yet embraced him the way it would if a title belt graced his middle. The target date is two more years.

In the meantime, something heartwarming is occurring between Ward and Oakland, even though he has yet to box here professionally. His next bout is March 29 in San Jose. Meanwhile, his bonding with Oakland continues.

An eclectic coffee shop — Coffee With a Beat — is near the lake. Ward's godfather and trainer, Virgil Hunter, has known owner Nate Smith for 30 years. So Ward has a place to come to after his early morning workout.

Young, old, white, African American, Hispanic, Asian, male, female, West Coast, East Coast, everywhere else, joggers, walkers — Coffee With A Beat is a melting pot of humanity.

They all admire the smiling young man with the flashing fists.

"Andre Ward represents the best of Oakland, black or white," said Adrian Harper. "But as it relates to the African-American community, he is what we want our young people to strive to be. He's a nice guy, he's dedicated, he's humble. He's not afraid to intermingle with Oakland and he has not allowed celebrity to ruin his outlook."

Coffee With A Beat is where politics is discussed as heavily as sports. And celebrities who turn up are given their space by the locals.

"He's such a nice gentleman," T.C. Culberson said of Ward. "You can just feel that he's very kind-hearted, extremely polite, and very generous with his time to the people who come up to him. He's very modest."

Smith has owned Coffee With A Beat for six years, but has known Ward since he was a little tyke.

"He's a great kid and I'm proud to know him," Smith said. "He does these interviews and he knows how to speak, like he's been there before. Hewatches his diet here. He gets salmon, vegetable dishes; he doesn't eat anything fatty."

Bobby Warren trained George Cooper, a popular Oakland middleweight in the 1960s and'70s, and he expects big things from Ward, who's 10-0 as a pro.

"He's always in condition and he listens," Warren said. "He's a good kid and he's serious about religion. You don't find too much of that today, not among the youngsters. You hope the best for him."

Ward is respectful of his elders, but only to a point.

"I do a lot of cursing," said Warren. "And he always tells me, 'Bobby, don't curse.'"

Ward arrived this particular morning, changed out of his workout clothes and sat down with lox and bagels layered with cream cheese and onions. Someone kidded him about being Bar Mitzvahed.

"I've always had an old soul," he said. "I come around the older gentlemen; they have a lot of wisdom. There's a lot of history here. I listen to the old stories about life. I'm a good listener."

Ward's wife, Tiffany, and children, Andre Jr. and Malachi, occasionally join him at Coffee With a Beat. Ward is there once a week depending on his training schedule.

"It's great to know there's a place like this — a good, clean place — that supports what I'm doing," he said. "I'm a people-watcher. I watch body language and mannerisms. I sit back and soak in what these guys are talking about, then I go about my day.

"There's a beat going on in here that's real laid back. I'm that kind of person. I'm not into hoopla."

Andre Ward — a credit to Oakland, but mostly a credit to himself.

Dave Newhouse's column appears Monday, Thursday and Sunday, usually in the Metro section. Know any Good Neighbors? Phone (510) 208-6466 or e-mail dnewhouse@angnewspapers.com.

D L Hughgly (Heroe)

Darryl Lynn "D.L." Hughley (born March 6, 1963 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, and star of the television sitcom The Hughleys, which ran from 1998 to 2002 on ABC and then on UPN.

D.L. Hughley grew up in South Central Los Angeles and had a difficult upbringing, getting kicked out of high school and becoming a member of the Bloods gang. After his cousin was shot, Hughley turned his life around, got a GED and a job and, after prompting by his wife, LaDonna, tried his hand at stand-up comedy. His comedy was a huge success and in 1992 he was picked to be the first host of BET's Comicview. He also appeared in the 3rd season of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as an old friend of Will Smith trying out for an audition as a comedian.

By 1997, Hughley went on a nationwide stand-up comedy tour with Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and Bernie Mac as the Kings of Comedy. The comedy act was later put into a film by Spike Lee called The Original Kings of Comedy.Smart funny, and topical check him out

Get Ready to Watch History in the Making

For the first time in the big game's 41-year history, not one but two black head coaches will be on the sidelines. Click here for more





No matter if its Chicago's Lovie Smith or Tony Dungy that wins we get 2 heroes for the price of one

Alfred Tatum (Hero)

NIU literacy professor works
to close reading achievement gap
for African-American adolescent males

DeKalb — As a young teen in the Chicago Public Schools, growing up in a poverty-stricken neighborhood a few yards from a federal housing project, Alfred Tatum became one of the fortunate ones.

He was blessed with empowering teachers who understood his surroundings. They cared about his life and not only his test scores. They encouraged him to read Dick Gregory's “Nigger” and “The Autobiography of Malcolm X.”

Such passion for teaching – “Harvard dreams for kids living in hellish conditions,” Tatum says – made a difference: Tatum is now an NIU professor of literacy education with a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction.

Yet his good fortune “is part of the problem,” Tatum says. “Children should not be fortunate to have quality teachers. We're not playing the lottery with lives.”

Tatum's book, “Teaching Reading to Black Adolescent Males: Closing the Achievement Gap,” released in May by Portland, Maine-based Stenhouse Publishers, is earning great attention among U.S. educators and netting several speaking engagements for the busy author.

Meanwhile, the mounting weight of the federal No Child Left Behind law and its focus on test scores is fueling Tatum's insistence that a successful school experience involves more than good grades.

“My phones have been lighting up since this book came out,” says Tatum, who also is an NIU alum. “Teachers want to know how to address these issues, but they feel handicapped by limited experience … or they feel powerless because they attribute it to factors they cannot control, such as parental involvement or poverty. They shift the responsibility.”

Tatum already has spoken to school teachers and administrators in Michigan , New York , New Jersey and Ohio .

In his home state, he has visited his alma mater Chicago Public Schools, where he began his career teaching eighth-grade for five years on the city's South Side. He also accepted an invitation to speak from the suburban Oswego school district, where “the other students” are succeeding.

He also has written a two-part article for Middle Level News, published by the California League of Middle Schools.

“It's a point of urgency. We cannot continue to stay the course we have been on for African-American adolescent males,” he said. “We need to rally people around the complexity of addressing the literacy needs, not only of African-American adolescent males, but of all students in the face of national legislation.”

Tatum's concerns are many.

No clear strategy has emerged for addressing the needs of African-American adolescent males, including the lack of a clear definition for the role of reading in their education.

Policy makers and educators focus more on instructional strategies and ignore other issues that affect learning, such as poverty or the cultural disconnect of the classroom.

Such a lapse makes for an “anatomically incomplete” body of teaching, he says, missing the head (the theoretical) and the legs (the professional development).

Many African-American adolescent males also experience an “out-of-school literacy overload and an in-school literacy under-load,” he says. They live amidst race- and class-based “turmoil” before and after school while their teachers fail to provide the texts that could “serve as road maps” to better life outcomes.

As a result, Tatum posits, the disengagement of these young minds and their disproportionate (and often inappropriate) referrals to special education services lead to their 50-percent high school dropout rate in some of the nation's largest urban school districts.

Their resistance to reading anything – whether to satisfy academic, culture, social or emotional needs – rises as they are assigned texts “that inadvertently contribute to their diminished status in schools and society.”

Rather, Tatum says, teachers should encourage interest in school through reading assignments that reflect their own situation and provide them hope to rise above their circumstances. “Young African-American men need to be reading more text,” he says, “not less.”

Teachers of African-American adolescent males need “the 4 Cs,” he says: compassion, competence, commitment and cultural responsiveness.

He urges these considerations in the selection and discussion of texts with African-American adolescent males:

• Establish a broader definition of literacy instruction that guides the selection of text. It must focus on skill and strategy knowledge, content knowledge and identity development. “It is imperative that these young men have the requisite skills to read text independently. It is also imperative that they become ‘smarter' as a result of their reading,” he says. “It is essential that literacy instruction helps these young men form an identity that allows them to resist some of the negative community forces that are part of their day-to-day realities.”
• Identify a core of “must-read” texts for African-American adolescent males. These include James Baldwin's “The Fire Next Time” and Ralph Ellison's “Invisible Man.”
• Discuss texts in culturally responsive ways. “Students benefit when they can extend the ideas contained in texts into their own lives,” he says.
• Identify texts that balance the out-of-school literacy overload. “Most of the texts they should be exposed to are co-opted by schools' focus to improve reading scores,” he says. “Black males are not exposed to text that leads to academic, cultural, economic and social uplift.”
• Examine your disposition toward using texts with African-American adolescent males. Many teachers back down when they encounter resistance from their students to read beyond the required material, Tatum says. “However, no research currently shows that having students read less advances their academic and other literacy needs.”

In Tatum's case, reading the works of Dick Gregory, Richard Wright, Booker T. Washington and others “released me from a stigmatic trapping of poverty. My teachers connected text to my life,” he says. “It's really something I didn't forget.”

# # #

Heroes (KRS1)

For over a decade, KRS-One has campaigned that “I Am Hip-Hop” in part of his “Rap is something you do, Hip-Hop is something you live” mantra. With that conviction, The Teacha had to feel some kind of way when friend and associate Nas declared Hip-Hop’s death with his recent album title.

"I would start there. Of course Hip-Hop cannot be dead. We're looking at poetry, we're looking at symbolism, we're looking at vision even. I think Nas is warning us. I think one of the best ways to warn a culture is to shock it. I think Nas shocked Hip-Hop culture by declaring its death. By declaring its death, it means that it will live now. A lot of people don't like the term "Hip-Hop is dead." The people that I know, grassroots organizations, universities, and cats that's livin' the culture for real, they're like, "Nah, this is crazy! This is actually the epitome of the apathy, complacency, and money-grabbin', and bling bling, and pimpin' – this is the height of it. Nas is pointing it out.

The actual song "Hip Hop is Dead" says "Go to the stations and murder the DJ," That kind of sums it up. Really, Hip-Hop is dead 'cause nobody is takin' responsibility for it. DJs have lost their sense of responsibility to the culture. They're just employees now. They're not culture-bearers. Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Flash, Grand Wizard Theodore, Kid Capri, Brucie Bee – these are the priests of the culture – Red Alert, Chuck Chillout – they made us who we are, they broke my records. Chuck Chillout did not wanna sound like Marley Marl [and vice versa]. Both of 'em didn't wanna sound like Red Alert, and the three of 'em didn't wanna sound like Jazzy Jay. click here to read the entire article