Free Republic

The Hip Hop Caucus works nationally, in part, to organize youth around social issues that impact their lives so it was natural that Hip Hop artists and the Caucus raised their voices in a unified response to Trayvon Martin’s death and the acquittal of George Zimmerman, his killer. The group and some artists are working on critical next steps in the movement for justice for the Florida teen, after a nearly all-White jury of six women freed Mr. Zimmerman in mid-July. Their agenda focuses on policy and legal strategies and street mobilizations, including supporting the August 24, 50th Anniversary March...

50 Cent, born Curtis Jackson, pleaded not guilty Monday in Los Angeles on domestic violence charges filed by his ex Daphne Narvaez. The video of the court proceedings, obtained by ABC News, shows Judge Bernard Kamins reading Jackson, 38, the criminal protective order, which becomes active in domestic violence cases. His next court date was set for Sept. 4. “The defendant, that’s Curtis Jackson, not harass, strike, threaten, assault, sexually or otherwise, follow, stalk, molest , destroy or damage personal or real property, disturb the peace, keep under surveillance, or block the movements of the protected persons named above,” Kamins...

Bill O’Reilly’s remarks on race last week drew heavy criticism from Chris Hayes, Bill Maher, Al Sharpton, Larry Wilmore, and more, but one unlikely person is agreeing with him: CNN host Don Lemon. Lemon addressed the wounds inflicted by black males onto their community on his “No Talking Points” segment Saturday afternoon, saying he was able to bring this up now that the George Zimmerman trial had concluded. Before the verdict, right wing media had consistently asked why the “liberal media” was fixating on Trayvon Martin while ignoring rampant black-on-black violence, a “deflection,” in Lemon’s words, from the injustices of...

In the wake of the George Zimmerman verdict, P. Diddy, Big Boi, Nicki Minaj, Busta Rhymes and countless other rappers are blasting America as racist or worse. Rapper Lupe Fiasco is taking a very different tack. He suggests, first, that there is reasonable doubt about what happened between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin. He notes that most perpetrators of violent crime against black people are themselves black. The true enemy of black Americans is not the George Zimmermans of the world, he argues, but “complacency and cowardice” in the black community. Unsurprisingly, this didn’t go down well with some Twitter...

Police in north Louisiana say a 36-year-old man is accused of killing the 18-year-old rapper known as Lil Snupe in an argument that broke out during a video game at a friend's apartment.

South Beach is synonymous with fun, and that experience has drawn tens of thousands to Miami Beach every Memorial Day holiday for Urban Beach Weekend. At a planning meeting Monday, officials said police will be right alongside beachgoers to ensure a safe celebration this year. "We do want everyone to come and have a good time," said Max Sklar, director of Miami Beach's Tourism, Culture & Economic Development office. "Follow the laws and have a good time, and we would say that on any other weekend." Miami Beach Police plan to close Ocean Drive all holiday weekend, and revive a...

Jay Harris, Downingtown East’s star wide receiver, said he phoned a Michigan State assistant two weeks ago and broke the news. He would not be a Spartan. “I wish we could’ve got you,” Harris said the coach told him. It was not a rival program that drew Harris, but instead a different career path. The 5-foot-11, 162-pound senior said he wants to make it as a rapper.

PepsiCo is bowing to public pressure for the second time in a week and cutting ties with Lil Wayne over the rapper's crude lyrical reference to civil rights martyr Emmett Till... The black teen from Chicago was in Mississippi visiting family in 1955 when he was killed, allegedly for whistling at a white woman. He was beaten, had his eyes gouged out and was shot in the head before his assailants tied a cotton gin fan to his body with barbed wire and tossed it into a river

Rapper-turned-reggae artist Snoop Lion shared his new approach to life Monday in an essay for an unlikely source. Snoop Doggy Dogg/Dogg/Lion —whose given name is actually Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. —is playing editor over at the Wall Street Journal‘s Speakeasy blog today, where he blogged about his transition to Snoop Lion and assigned a story about how sports keep teens in line.

Reebok has ended its relationship with Rick Ross following heavy criticism of lyrics by the rapper considered by some to be pro-rape.

Brad Paisley’s new album Wheelhouse isn’t even in stores yet (it’s set for release tomorrow), but already one of the songs is causing controversy for its lyrics that attempt to address racial tensions in the South. Called “Accidental Racist,” the song appears aimed at helping to bridge misunderstandings. The song starts out with a guy apologizing for the Confederate flag on his T-shirt to a a worker he encountered at the local Starbucks. As his protagonist sings, “when I put on that T-shirt, the only thing I meant to say, is I’m a Skynyrd fan.” “I’m proud of where I’m...

The state’s child protection agency has found that the family of a 9-year-old Brockton rapper did not abuse or neglect him by allowing the boy to star in several videos posted online showing him in club scenes and simulating sexually suggestive activity with women. The controversy surrounding Luie Rivera Jr., whose stage name is “Lil Poopy,” began in February, when Brockton police filed a child abuse and neglect complaint against Luis Rivera, the boy’s father. After a month of investigation, the state Department of Children and Families has closed the case without taking any action against the father. “After a...

In 2010... the estimated rate of new HIV infections for black women (38.1/100,000 population) was 20 times as high as the rate for white women...

Seven people were injured in an overnight shooting at a record release party at a nightclub in Chicago's South Side Gresham neighborhood. Police said three men opened fire inside Mr. G's Supperclub on the 1500 block of West 87th Street around 1:15 a.m. A fight had started at the release party for a local rapper, police said, and three men pulled out handguns and fired into the crowd.A 19-year-old woman was struck and taken to Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn. Six men, mostly in their 20s, were also wounded. Only one was transported by ambulance.

CNN on Sunday aggressively covered the breaking news of the verdict in the Steubenville rape case. Star football players Trent Mays, 17, and Ma’lik Richmond, 16, were found guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl. Propelled by social media and mainstream media, the Steubenville case has long held a high profile. The scrutiny that comes with its profile descended on CNN. In repeated segments yesterday, CNN featured reports from reporter Poppy Harlow, who was in Ohio for the verdict. Here’s the transcript of some of the coverage at the 11 a.m. hour: snip POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: "I’ve never experienced anything...

VIDEO OF ONE OF THE JERKS (not one of the convicted perps) WHO MOCK A POOR TEENAGE GIRL WHO WAS DRUNK AND ASSAULTEDMoms and dads, watch your girls and warn them about getting so drunk that they don't know what is happening to them. What happened to her went viral on the internet. At least three teenagers whose lives will never be the same.

Schools across Beaver County were placed on lockdown Thursday after one person misheard a student's voicemail. Police said a worker calling to confirm a doctor's appointment with an Ambridge High School student heard the theme song to the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" when she attempted to call. The worker said she called police when she misheard the lyrics -- which she claimed said "shooting people outside of school." The actual lyrics to the song say "shooting some b-ball outside of school." The call to 911 forced the entire district into lockdown for about 30 minutes and police said they detained...

The father of controversial 9-year-old hip-hop sensation Lil Poopy — who is under investigation for child neglect over the mini-rapper’s raunchy videos — told the Herald last night his son isn’t doing anything wrong: It’s all an act. “I love my son, I adore my son,” a fired-up Luie Rivera said after Brockton police filed a 51A — child abuse or neglect complaint — against him. “He’s not doing anything wrong. He’s not doing drugs, he’s not drinking alcohol. There are other kids out there killing kids, doing drugs, molesting. He’s just singing hooks. He’s not hurting anyone.” The Herald...

There was something special about the energy in Emerson Suites last Thursday as Talib Kweli took up the mic not to rap, as some students had expected, but to discuss the hip-hop industry and the role of the artist in society. Some students arrived nearly an hour early, worried they wouldn’t be able to get a seat, only to walk into an empty Emerson Suites where they camped out with laptops, spreading scarves and jackets across seats to save places for friends. I was one of them, perched amongst a group of girls who, for the most part, knew only...

One of the main barriers to putting in place anti-bullying policies in middle schools is the simple fact that middle-schoolers think bullies are cool. A recent study of 2,000 students at 11 middle schools around Los Angeles found that when students were asked to identify their most respected peers and those engaging in nasty behavior, the lists were often quite similar.