by Cortney Cleveland

While the rest of us were battling crowds for last minute holiday gifts, some of our favorite rappers were gift-wrapping subliminal shots at their rivals. Common released a track titled “Sweet” that takes aim at rappers who sing. Days later, Nicki Minaj debuted the buzz track “Stupid Hoe” targeting unnamed promiscuous women with sub-standard intelligence.

The two fiery tracks barely made a ripple in pop culture. Common’s attacks were largely written off as the cries of a broken-heart, given gossip of singer/rapper Drake getting cozy with his ex-fling, Serena Williams. People have surmised that Nicki is beating a dead horse to death, namely Lil’ Kim’s career.

The lackluster response reflects the overall decline of beef – or rivalries – in hip-hop. The genre has played host to legendary battles. But in recent years, rappers have largely stayed to themselves. There has been a diss record here, a subliminal shot there, but nothing that has come close to the battles of yore. Since the tragic conclusion of the East Coat-West Coast feud of the 1990s, you could even say it has been discouraged. However, beef is a hip-hop tradition for a reason. Healthy competition allows rappers to generate buzz while demonstrating their lyrical prowess. As 50 Cent proves, it can even launch a career. When done correctly, beef can be good for business, any business.

Brands were beefing long before hip-hop got into the game. Competition can serve to improve a product, as is the case with the Ferrari vs. Lamborghini rivalry. Ferrucchio Lamborghini was a successful tractor engineer who enjoyed cruising in Ferraris, but felt the cars had design issues that his tractor expertise could remedy. Lamborghini once claimed that Ferrari (the man) told him he would never be able to handle a Ferrari (the car) properly. That was before Lamborghini produced cars that many consider comparable, if not better than Ferrari’s, initiating an over 50-year rivalry.

Read the rest of this entry »

“I am on a drug – it’s called Charlie Sheen. It’s not available because if you try it, you will die. Your face will melt off and your children will weep over your exploded body.”

That statement came out the mouth of the King of Coke himself, Mr. Charlie Sheen in all his glory. While his outrageous quotes can be seen in top 10 lists of most outrageous things said in 2011, one must ask the question “are we laughing with Charlie Sheen or at him?” And if we are indeed laughing at him, because none of us would dare come off as half the lunatic he has been, why do we find humor in his addiction?

I too am guilty of watching his rants well into the wee hours of the morning, cracking up at the crazy things that come out of his mouth. But something Dr. Drew said really resonated with me, he said “this type of manic behavior results in someone going to jail or ending up dead.” Countless Hollywood alums have died from drug overdoses so that wouldn’t surprise us much. But I’m afraid that if Charlie Sheen were to succumb to death by drug overdose our hands would be dirty with his blood.

It’s “us” who have not only tolerated his rants, moreover we have encouraged them by overwhelmingly supporting his erratic behavior. Charlie Sheen is now in the Guinness Book of World Records for the shortest period of time for a twitter user to amass one million followers. I’m following him, are you? If so, we’re definitely part of his problem and not the solution.

Charlie needs some help, clearly! Should we abandon him during this trying time, a tactic that may drive him into further depression causing him to endanger himself? We abandoned Whitney, El DeBarge and Darryl Strawberry much to their own demise, why not Sheen? Do we support him but overwhelmingly send a message that he needs to get some help? Or should we mind our business and fight real battles, like the war on education in Detroit and not be bothered with these celebrities who have all this money yet squander it while there are millions of Americans living in poverty?

Would Charlie Sheen be such a media darling if his name were Martin Lawrence or Eddie Murphy? What do you think, should we roll with Charlie or kick him to the curb like Lindsay Lohan?

(Businessweek) — Piles of trash are burning outside the Mamakamau Shop in Uthiru, a suburb of Nairobi, Kenya. Sewage trickles by in an open trench. Across the street, a worker at a bar gets ready for the lunch rush by scraping the hair off a couple of roasted goat heads. It’s about 70 degrees, the sun is beating down, it smells like decay, and it’s time for Coke to move some product. Annual per capita consumption of Coca-Cola (KO) in Kenya is 39 servings. In more developed countries like Mexico, which consumes more Coca-Cola than any other country, it runs 665 servings per year. One does not need an MBA to see the possibilities.

Read More…