Source: Instagram

It was only a matter of time before a petition like this was created and, truthfully, I’m surprised it took this long, but Girls Like Me Project, Inc. is finally taking a strong stand against Chicago teen rapper Chief Keef.

The 18-year-old is no stranger to controversy, having been as much on the radar of rap fans as the police since Kanye took his local song “Don’t Like” and made it a global hit. Not long after he became a recognized name, there was concern that he may have ordered the death of another Chicago teen, Lil Jojo, due to some things he said on Twitter, and now the rap newcomer’s words have him in hot water yet again — the Rick Ross kind. Chief Keef just dropped a new single, “You” which has listeners up in arms due to this threatening lyric:

“You aint gonna let me f**k and I feel you, but you gone suck my d**k or I’ll kill you.”

Immediately Girls Like Me Project sprung into action and drafted a petition calling on Chicago Public School officials to ban this young man’s songs from all school functions, writing.

As an artist on a national label, Interscope Records, Chief Keef and his label mates have the ability to mass-produce messages that glorify rape and murder of girls. His platforms allows him access to influence minds and psyches of impressionable  students in CPS. While it may be a challenge to stop radio stations from promoting this message, school officials have the authority to exercise their moral obligation which calls for the boycott of music that promotes rape or any kind of gender violence. Many DJ’s claim students aggressively demand Chief Keef be played, however, you can set the boundaries to the type of music your students are exposed to.

Therefore, we are asking CPS to take a stand and limit the exposure your students have to this destructive music. In a city where violence disproportionately halts the potential of our young people, we cannot afford this type of influence in our schools. If no where else in this city, our girls deserve to feel safe from sexual violence and misogyny in their school communities.

We are pleading with you to ban DJ’s from playing this music during your assemblies, dances, proms, sports activities, or any variation of school functions.

Honestly, that’s the least school officials could and should do and I’d like to see radio stations, like 103.7 The Beat which recently banned Lil Wayne and Rick Ross, follow suit. It’s been apparent to me since day one that Chief Keef is a guy who has zero concern for his own life, not to mention that of those around him and that’s just not an approach to living that impressionable teen boys need to be encouraged to follow — let alone the blatant threat this poses to young girls.

So far, the petition only has a little more than 100 supporters. Here’s hoping more people get behind this act and incite real change behind the DJ booth.

Source: Instagram

It’s unfortunate that at seventeen years old, rapper Chief Keef aka Keith Cozart makes headlines for being in the midst of trouble and controversy more than he does for his actual music. His most recent drama comes in the form of a child support battle with a girl who still appears to be in middle school. According to TMZ, the unnamed girl filed court documents in Chicago, claiming that Cozart is the father of a baby girl whom she gave birth to back in 2011.

The age of the young woman who filed the petition has not been disclosed; however, according to the filed documents, she still currently attends a Chicago junior high school. She is reported to be taking Cozart to court for an unspecified amount of unpaid child support as well as health insurance costs and other medical expenses.

So far there has been no word as to whether or not a DNA test has been conducted proving whether or not Keith is actually the father of her child. This doesn’t appear to be the only legal battle that the troubled rapper has found himself in recently. According to Complex Magazine, he was just sentenced to two months in a juvenile detention center for probation violation. It seems that he was filmed at a gun range, holding a rifle during an interview from last July and this of course, was in direct violation of his probation.

It’s really sad that a teen his age has to deal with issues that many full grown adults have a hard time handling. But, of course, with pretending to be an adult comes adult responsibilities. Hopefully he utilizes this time to regroup and get his mind right because he appears to be on a pretty destructive path right now.

Jazmine Denise is a new writer for Madame Noire. Follow her on Twitter @jazminedenise

As I read through the latest outrage at the moment, aka, the hoopla over new rapper Chief Keef, I keep hearing Georgia Anne Muldrow and Erykah Badu lyrically asking, “what if there were no n****rs, only master teachers?”

For those who don’t know, Chief Keef is the Chicago teenager (above photo, to the left), who started out of as just another YouTube rapper and has now become one of hip-hop’s most buzzed about artists. Not only has he just inked a deal with Interscope Records, but he also has caught the attention of such hip hop mavericks as Kanye West, who hopped on a remix of his song, “I Don’t Like.” He is also being investigated for a possible connection in the shooting death of fellow Chicago rapper, Joesph ‘Lil JoJo’ Coleman (above, to the right), who may I add, was only 16.

Keef, who was born Keith Cozart, drew the attention of law enforcement after laughing off the murder of Lil JoJo by saying via Twitter, “Its Sad Cuz Dat N—– Jojo Wanted to Be Jus Like Us #LMAO.” He is also known for promoting and supporting gang culture including dancing around in his music videos with what appears to be automatic weapons and tweeting the hashtag “#300” — a known reference to the Black Disciples. And at 17 years old, Keef has already faced numerous criminal charges, including a weapons charge, which has already landed him on house arrest.

The response to the rise of Keef has been rather swift, most notably from fellow Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco, who publicly criticized Keef for perpetrating the hoodlum lifestyle, which runs parallel to the culture of violence already running amok in the streets of Chicago.  Many folks I have encountered have agreed with Lupe, claiming that Keef, and others of his elk, are a burden to the community. “These n****rs are the reason why our community is the way it is,” has become a commonplace mantra in the minds of some black folks.  But truth be told, I see plenty of Chief Keefs in my community all the time. And when it comes to what’s wrong with the community, there is enough of that blame to be shared all around.

Young people, particularly young black people, have longed played witness to serious and lethal violence within their own communities. When I graduated from high school, the murder rate in Philadelphia was around 4oo deaths per year.  My nephews and niece, who only a month ago, learned of the shooting death of a teenager only steps away from their front door have already grasped the finality of death, even before they can mature enough to witness adulthood. Recently, I saw a bunch of little kids, between the ages of 9 to 11, roaming the street around 12:30 in the morning like a bunch of aimless orphans. Unfortunately, seeing hordes of parentless children at odd hours of the night has become so much of the norm that I didn’t even bother to flinch. The reality is that long after Chief Keef’s moment in the limelight has faded – whether it be from gang violence, the prison industrial complex or crossing over to the mainstream – the community will still have a violence problems. If we don’t get a handle on it, there will be someone else, someone younger, to take his place. Exhibit 1: 13-year old Lil Mouse.

But even as the threat of losing an entire generation (i.e. the children) grows uncomfortably near, many of us have become stagnated in prayer, hope, apathy and the wait for change to come.  I noticed this much last week when all eyes were fixated on the Democratic National Convention. Collectively, African-Americans are more involved in the political process than most other minority groups, supporting a one-party system by as much as 90 percent. However, we have yet to see the fruits from all of our labor or loyalty.  Nevertheless, when Rahm Emanuel asked us whose leadership we wanted in event of “an unforeseen crisis, challenge or conflict,” we don’t bother to question whose leadership is in charge as a teachers strike looms and blood runs red in the streets of Chicago. We smirked and laughed alongside former President Bill Clinton, who worked his arithmetic mojo while reaffirming President Obama’s commitment to the work requirement in welfare reform, a policy called by most a dismal failure.  And as the RNC’s mantra/question – “Are you better now than four years ago?” – blared from our television sets, many of us couldn’t wait to nod our heads in the affirmative, even when the reality – at least for us – suggests otherwise.

Source: nahright.com

Nicki Minaj’s endorsement of Mitt Romney instigated some of the splashiest headlines following the Labor Day weekend. Head scratching and eye rolls accompanied readers’ mouse clicks, racking up traffic numbers for news and gossip websites. “I’m a Republican voting for Mitt Romney,” she said on her mentor Lil Wayne’s mixtape. “You lazy b***** are f****** up the economy.”

Later in the week, panicked tweets began to surface. Chicago is losing its mind. A sixteen-year-old rapper named JoJo was killed after being shot twice on Tuesday. The incident occurred hours after a video emerged of JoJo taunting a rival named Lil Reese, an associate of popular rapper Chief Keef, making the violent lifestyle Chicago’s drill music glorifies that much more real. Keef’s notoriety stems from “I Don’t Like,” a local anthem made popular nationwide when Kanye West remixed the song with his G.O.O.D. labelmates.

With her closet full of wigs and the wardrobe of a teen in Tokyo, Nicki Minaj doesn’t present herself as someone to be taken seriously for her political views. Perhaps that’s why she felt she could get away with an easy punch line that puts down others to illustrate her supremacy. Most of her fans aren’t old enough to vote. What harm could it do?

What harm could a remix do either? West repeatedly partners with rappers who have grittier followings (including G.O.O.D. signees 2 Chainz and Pusha T) to appropriate buzz in the streets that his “luxury rap” distances him from. Not only that, he was able to bring attention to emerging music in his hometown. Everybody wins, right?

Everybody except for the impressionable young fans that take Minaj’s demonization of poor people as gospel. Except for kids like JoJo, certainly not the last to get swept up in a scene that produces music videos with kids as young as thirteen brandishing automatic weapons and throwing up gang signs. A scene that the music industry had already started to monetize.

As an immigrant raised in Queens, I doubt Minaj believes the poor are to blame for the nation’s ills and that the wealthy are better than the class she was born into. As a native of Chicago, I doubt West wants to promote music that fuels the killing of black youth. But their endorsements, ironic or otherwise, send a different message.

Whether Minaj took herself seriously or not, she used her influence to champion an elitist mindset without offering the slightest critique. Whether West intended to or not, he validated and publicized art that encourages violence, without the critical thinking artists like Lupe Fiasco have brought to the table. These messages are now tied to their brand, whether they like it or not.

Minaj and West’s missteps are unfortunate, and reflect a lesson we all should learn. An endorsement is not something to be taken lightly. Up-and-coming artists and politicians clamor for the stamp of approval of popular artists and publications for a reason. An endorsement transfers over a portion of the co-signers resources, influence, and reputation without signing a single contract. It doesn’t take an official partnership to endorse something; your words and actions speak just as loudly.

Before you align yourself with an outside person, brand, cause, or organization, do your research. It is important to have a solid understanding of what you are supporting and why you are supporting it. Your co-sign should do more than bolster your ego; it should promote your values.

The public wants the people and organizations they support to stand for something of value. Eighty-three percent of Americans say they wish brands would support causes, and 41 percent have bought a product because it was associated with a cause. With success comes an increase in power and responsibility. Ask yourself, what are you using your influence to promote?

Cortney Cleveland is a freelance writer and content strategist in New York City. You can follow her on Twitter @CleveInTheCity and visit her personal column The Red Read.