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From ESSENCE

Stevie Wonder is not impressed with Lil’ Wayne’s controversial new verse equating a sexual act to the beating (and eventual murder) of Emmett Till.

In a recent interview with the Associated Press, the legendary musician let it be known he thought the verse was distasteful. “You can’t equate that to Emmett Till,” he said. “You just cannot do that. … I think you got to have someone around you that — even if they are the same age or older — is wiser to say, ‘Yo, that’s not happening. Don’t do that.’”

On a remix to rapper Future’s song “Karate Chop,” Wayne boasts that he’ll “Beat that p–sy up like Emmett Till,” referencing Till’s brutal beating for allegedly whistling at a White woman in 1955. Future’s record label has apologized to Till’s relatives and promised to pull the verse. Wayne has not.

You can read the rest over at Essence.  Wayne doesn’t appear to take a lot of things seriously so you have to wonder if he even cares that the Till family and many others were offended.

Do you think he should apologize for his lyrics?

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So, a stern “no” and maybe even a push off is no longer an option for some security guards, huh?

TMZ has learned that a lawsuit has been filed against Lil Wayne and his record company after a security allegedly attacked a fan trying to take a picture of the rapper.

In the lawsuit filed by attorney Craig Chisvin, his client Alfredo Marino ran into Lil Wayne and his crew on the streets of Los Angeles in May 2012.  He tried to take a picture of him but when a person with Wayne – presumably a security guard – saw what he was doing, he grabbed a skateboard and hit Marino in the back of the head with it.

It is pretty unclear where the skateboard came from, if it was owned by Wayne or the victim.

Marino claims he sustained a severe head injury from the attack. He is suing Wayne and the record label because he believes they were responsible for enabling him.

It’s also clear that if he wins this case, he’s likely to get more money out of Wayne and/or his record label versus the person who committed the alleged act.

No word from Wayne, the label or the alleged attacker. Marino is seeking unspecified damages.

Attacked with a skateboard…really? If this is true, that is really going a bit far. Perhaps the victim got too close for comfort and he needed to be removed from the situation but aren’t there ways to use a bit more force without possibly doing harm?

Oh Weezy, you have problems even when you had nothing to do with it.

Ashley & JaQuavis

Their story reads like a page-turning novel. But that’s probably because they write them.

Cash Money’s Ashley & JaQuavis  (aka Mr. and Mrs. JaQuavis Coleman) have hit the New York Times best seller list twice and have co-authored more than 37 novels, all before reaching the age of 27. They have turned street literature into a legit genre as their urban novels consistently sell.

But it is their life prior to being published authors that could be a plot in one of their books. The pair met when they were kids growing up on the streets of Flint, MI. They survived together by the participating in a life of drugs, violence, and crime.  Though addicted to the money they made from dealing, they knew they wanted out. They went to college and started writing about their past experiences. By the age of 17, during their freshman year, they were already on their way to ink a publishing deal.

Their street cred is part of the reason their novels have been hits. Among their more popular titles are the books in The Cartel series as well as Murder Mamas; Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang; and Black Friday. Ashley & JaQuavis have been publishing out of one of the giant publishing houses, Simon & Schuster. Together they have written 22 books and separately each has written five books. They have also ghost written more than 10 novels.

The Colemans are readying for the release of various books, including Prada Plan 3 and Murderville 3, the third installment in the Murderville series. The series centers around two youths from Sierra Leone who are trafficked into America — one is forced into the drug game; the other one is turned on to the L.A. sex trade.

Their popularity grabbed the attention of Cash Money Records, which was branching off into literary publishing. They signed on with Cash Money and now they are readying for a film version of one of their books, The Cartel.

Madame Noire spoke with the writing duo.

MadameNoire:  Are you surprised at the crossover success your books have enjoyed?

Ashley: I’m actually not surprised. As an artist of any form you have to have the utmost confidence in your work. From day one I knew that we had tapped into a special talent. We don’t just make up hood stories. We convey them intelligently while still keeping it authentic to the streets that birthed us. From the very first book I knew that we were writing classics, but I also knew we had to put in work before we earned our place. I was just waiting for the rest of the world to catch on.

MN:  Is it hard not to fall back into that former lifestyle?

Ashley: We’ve never looked back to that lifestyle. There isn’t even the temptation to go back. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to go legit and make a life for yourself without taking any risks. There was a certain appeal to the fast life because it was easy money…but we’re still applying the same principles that we learned coming up in Flint. We’re just applying them to a different game, a business game. There is no temptation because we were never addicted to the lifestyle. We were addicted to the money and our novels and upcoming films have been very lucrative.

MN: If someone wants to make a life transition such as you two have done, what would your advice be?

JaQuavis: If you’re into anything negative, get out of it quick. Use us as an example and turn a negative into a positive. The game ain’t for everybody.

MN:  Why do you think so many people can relate to your books?

JaQuavis: We come from a dark place. We know how to intelligently depict what a young child, man, or woman sees in the ghetto. It comes from a real place, that’s why they feel us. They feel the authenticity.

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As the saying goes, I don’t have a dog in this fight, but I think I can hear many of you cheering through the internet as you read the title.

Allhiphop.com is reporting that during a new MTv Special titled MTV First: Lil Wayne, he spoke candidly with host Sway and gave him the real truth on what’s going on with his music and how much longer he’s going to be putting out albums. He told Sway:

“I’ve been rapping since I was eight years old. That’s a long time. I’d like to do so many more things, and when I like to do something, I end up loving to do it real quick. When I love to do something, I’m fully focused on it and it only. Music is sometimes not that it.

“I know ya’ll want me around for a little bit and Carter V is my last album.”

Well, when you look at it like that, Wayne has been rapping for like 20 years and with any other job, you want to retire (no, he didn’t have an album out at age 8 but he’s been hanging with Cash Money since he was about 13).  AHH does report, however, that he also has the I Am Not A Human Being 2 album coming out in February so for all the fans, don’t get too scared because that means you have two more albums coming from Weezy F. Baby.

Something tells me he’ll pull a Jay-Z and be back to music without ever even really leaving.

Since the new millennium artists have emerged that rival the popularity of legends that spent decades building their careers. They are reaching audiences worldwide due in large part to their abilities to blur the lines between genres and generate cross-cultural appeal. Whether by signing them or producing monster hits, many seasoned African-American artists are behind these megastars.  The Atlanta Post rounds up six:

Lady Gaga and Akon

Lady Gaga is currently the biggest music star in the world.  Her latest album “Born This Way” recently sold over 1 million records in less than a week.  Much of her success can be accredited to Akon.  Recognizing her vocal ability Akon convinced Interscope records to sign Gaga in a joint deal with his record label, Kon Live Distribution.  In the past he has referred to her as his “franchise player” and recently admitted to considering retirement due to the income the “Mother Monster” is bringing in.

When it comes to books, Birdman says he’s into the “hood Isht.” It’s no wonder then that he founded Cash Money Content to publish books that cater to Street Lit fans with titles like “Justify My Thug” by Wahida Clark, “Raw Law: An Urban Guide to Criminal Justice” and Ice Berg Slim’s classic “Pimp” (a re-released version).

TAP correspondent Eno Alfred attended the Cash Money Content event at the Chelsea Art Museum in New York, where the publishing company introduced their roster of authors. She caught up with Birdman to talk about his vision for his new Cash Money spinoff, Busta Rhymes about his love of literature, and more. Check it out!

(SOHH) — I think the influence of my father’s books really comes from [courtesy of] the Internet. If it wasn’t for the Internet, we would have never really taken hold of his book catalogue. His royalties weren’t really good. My father passed away in 1992 and not too much later, around 199, my sister started doing a little bit of research.  It seemed like my father was already out there but the Internet definitely helped spread his works out a lot. I was very pleased and a bit surprised to see there was so much about him out there, especially in different languages. So we started realizing my father had a big thing going on. I was very proud. He was a great writer and a really good dad, something he never writes about. That story was never told.

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by R. Asmerom

Lil Wayne is everywhere. By many counts, he’s the hottest rapper in the game and it’s clear he’s not reserving any of that talent exclusively for himself and his Cash Money crew. The best-selling artist spreads his lyrics far and wide, to the point that you’d be hard pressed to find an R&B crooner or rapper who hasn’t worked with him in the past two years. His ubiquity is unquestionable but his commercial strategy does beg the question: is he spreading himself too thin?

We can assume that Young Jeezy, Kelly Rowland and J.Lo  paid big bucks to have Weezy do a guest verse on their new singles but how much will Lil Wayne’s appearances on those tracks really boost the popularity of those singles, considering getting Weezy doesn’t appear to be a hard feat.

“By definition, Lil Wayne is overexposed,” said Mic Sean, lawyer and CEO of artist management firm Soul Rebel NYC. “But in hip-hop and the music industry in general, you’re perceived based on your most recent successes. For Lil Wayne, having recently been released from Rikers Island, it was necessary for him to re-establish himself as the hitmaker that he is.”

He certainly has established himself as the hardest working rapper in the business but definitely not the most selective. His counterparts, like Jay-Z for example, appear less frequently on tracks, which may very well help feed their demand.

(HipHopDX) — Over the years, Cash Money Records’ unprecendented $30 million pressing and distribution deal with Universal has become the stuff of Hip Hop lore. No matter how you rephrase it, the question essentially always comes down to people wondering how a relatively unknown New Orleans label leveraged a more lucrative deal than Ruff Ryders, Roc-A-Fella or any other boutique Rap label around at the time.  AlLindstrom.com found the man who brokered the deal which brought Lil Wayne, Juvenile and Birdman (then known as Baby) to the nation’s collective consciousness. Dino Delvaille—then the A&R at Universal—says he was looking for some local Hip Hop during a casual visit to New Orleans. One thing led to another, and he ended up in a meeting at Brian “Baby” Williams’ home.

Read More…

By Sheryl Nance-Nash

Somebody had to tell the truth and Muhammad Ibn Bashir, Esq. decided it had to be him. In his newly released book, Raw Law: An Urban Guide to Criminal Justice, Bashir, who served as a public defender and co-counsel on the defense during the World Trade Center bombing trial, details the raw and honest experience of serving in the legal arena for 20 years. The father of five who grew up in the housing projects in Elizabeth, NJ, has seen much to break his heart. He reflects on his thoughts and experiences that are in his book with TAP.

Why did you decide to write this book?

It evolved from anger. Criminal justice is never addressed as a civil rights issue. Our communities are under siege, but we don’t recognize this. We need to find ways to keep our kids out of the system. There is not enough education about the realities of the system. I’ve seen generations of families and it didn’t seem like anybody was getting it. I went to law school hoping to change the world, but it didn’t happen fast enough. I’m hoping the book creates dialogue.

What is one of the biggest myths about the criminal justice system?

That you can get a fair trial. If you’re charged by a police officer, there’s an assumption that you must be guilty of something. There isn’t a presumption of innocence. In order to get a fair trial you need a prosecutor who is fair. You need a good lawyer, and if you don’t have the money to hire one, you must rely on a legal aid attorney who is likely overburdened, yet you face the state that can bring many resources into the court room. Then there’s the judge that probably doesn’t know your world. The jury often votes on emotion. There are so many layers in the trial process. You’re guilty until proven innocent.

What is one truth about the criminal justice system?

Perception is bigger than fact. Perception is as important as the facts of the case. Two defendants in a suit, one black and one white; the white man will be the one who gets the benefit of doubt and that’s just the reality. I’ve often had people in the court room assume that because I am a black man I must be the defendant.