bigted

Well TI and David Banner are backing up what Kanye said, Will's probably gonna say something soon too I bet, Chuck D said something in his song too about Bush, to say that Kanye's wrong is dissin' the entire hip-hop community, I thought you loved hip-hop? If you listened to hip-hop music over the past few years you'd hear a lot of rappers criticising Bush! All men are created equal my ass, 400 years of blacks being on the plantation serving white people is equal? Black people selling crack to survive while Uncle Sam white conservatives and Uncle Tom blacks gets rich is equal? Our voice counts in society, white rock stars could speak up so why can't rappers? I just wanted to post this article here, if you want all my opinions just look at my other posts 'cause I'm done discussing this: "T.I., David Banner Get Behind Kanye's Bush Comments 09.06.2005 For years, rappers have been saying the same thing, Banner says. Kanye West on NBC's "A Concert for Hurricane Relief" on Friday Photo: Matt Peyton With seven words on live primetime TV, Kanye West pushed the world's attention to a new dimension of the tragedy surrounding Hurricane Katrina, sparking a flurry of debate and an army of support. "George Bush doesn't care about black people." Those words — spoken by Kanye during an emotional, unscripted rant during Friday night's hurricane benefit telethon on NBC — provided the crest of a growing wave of criticism against a relief effort that left hundreds of thousands without food, water, electricity or hope for five full days (see "Jay-Z, Diddy, Others Reach Out To Disaster Victims; Kanye West Attacks Bush During Telethon"). They also tapped into some long-standing concerns about the current administration. "We've been screaming this for five years," David Banner said Tuesday (September 6) of Kanye's remarks. "You listen to your David Banners, Dead Prez, listen to rap music period. This is what rappers have been screaming all the time. The problem is America concentrates more on our cuss words. They don't hear the pain in the music all the time. You just finally had somebody who has the power Kanye has, who said it at the right time." (What do you think about Kanye West's statement? Do you think the federal government's response has been adequate? Take our poll.) West certainly isn't the first member of the hip-hop community to speak out against the current administration. Many feel the "compassionate conservative" president has been uncaring and negligent in using federal resources to help Americans in need. "We can't wait around for the government to help. We're not waiting, we're taking action," Diddy told MTV News on Thursday after donating $1 million to the Red Cross with Jay-Z. "We can find money to bomb people oversees, but not to help our brothers and sisters?" "It's been seen that the government don't really give a f--- about our situation," T.I. said Tuesday, alleging that if rich white communities were hit as hard as the poor black communities have been, Bush would have ordered aid in a more timely manner. "All those people who are down there without homes and shelter, those are folks from the 'hood. That's the urban community." "I'm like, 'What is it?' " Twista said Tuesday. " 'What are we looked at as? Do you look at us as less than human?' The response said something. Any other people, people [suffering a catastrophe,] you get people from all over the world to come and jump right on [the problem]. But you get mostly poor and black people, and we get the slow response." Bush has responded to the growing criticism by conceding that the government's initial response to the disaster was unacceptable. And congressional officials said Bush intends to seek around $40 billion for the next phase of relief (Congress approved $10.5 billion in relief funding last week). Meanwhile, lawmakers are vowing to investigate what delayed aid in the first several days after the hurricane (see "New Orleans Begins Pump-Out Process; Mayor Says Death Toll May Reach 10,000"). T.I., Young Jeezy and hip-hop publication Juice are teaming up to help David Banner's own relief effort via his Heal the Hood Foundation. Banner has been in Mississippi personally giving out food, water and clothing he purchased himself. The hyperactive MC said he's witnessed the unimaginable, like dead babies floating in water. Banner, Jeezy and T.I. have been putting together an all-star fundraiser at Atlanta's Phillips Arena, and T.I. helped raise more than $265,000 Monday when he went on an Atlanta radio station and solicited donations. Among the contributors were Warner Music Group President Kevin Liles and producers Jermaine Dupri and Dallas Austin, who donated $25,000 apiece. "I called everybody's bluff who be talking all that ballin' sh--," T.I. said. "Popping all them bottles in the club ... talking about how much girls and jewelry and cars they got. Let's see how much money they've got for a good cause. Basically, I told everybody to put their money where their mouths are, and if you ain't got no money to give to the cause, I don't want to hear that sh-- no more." Twista is working with Budweiser to hold a benefit concert at the House of Blues in Chicago. Bump J and Do or Die will also be performing. The fastest-rapping MC in hip-hop said he feels it's up to black people to help their own rather than relying on the government. "They've been bogus, so what is everybody so shocked about?" he said. "I feel the response was real slow, but I look at my own harder than I look at them. I feel like us as black folks were supposed to stop what we was doing, put all that sh-- down and get these [disaster victims] straight." While Banner continues to help aid the survivors of Katrina, he's still seething over what he feels is a betrayal by his government. "I don't want to hear the national anthem, dude," he said. "Don't play the national anthem around me no more." Banner said people can donate to his Heal the Hood Foundation by credit card at HealTheHood.com, and checks can be mailed to P.O. Box 13185, Jackson, MS 39236

I found this over on the okayplayer board, there's no mention of "Lost and Found", did it sell anything this week? I guess we'll never see the "Party Starter" video! :shrug: Kanye's more popular than ever now, even "College Dropout"'s selling still, he might be the highest selling rapper, I'd love to see somebody slow down 50 Cent and Eminem, maybe Will should do a remix with Kanye! "Kanye West's Late Registration Tops Albums Chart — By A Mile (swipe)" Kanye West's Late Registration Tops Albums Chart — By A Mile 09.07.2005 11:21 AM EDT Rapper's second album sells more than 860,000 its first week out. Kanye West's Late Registration Photo: Roc-a-fella First, Kanye West wowed the Miami audience assembled at the MTV Video Music Awards two weekends ago with his performance of "Gold Digger." He even walked away with the Best Male Video Moonman. Then, a handful of television talk shows later, West generated national headlines thanks to his appearance on NBC's "A Concert for Hurricane Relief" this past Friday, where he delivered a scathing assessment of President Bush for his response to the devastation and ruin wrought by Hurricane Katrina. The last week's been quite a doozy for Kanye (see "T.I., David Banner Get Behind Kanye's Bush Comments"), but one that'll be capped off by a crowning achievement: West's sophomore album, Late Registration, opens at #1 on next week's Billboard albums chart, having sold more than 860,000 copies during its first week on shelves. Kanye's debut LP, The College Dropout, entered the chart at #2 the week after it was released in early 2004, with first-week scans of close to 441,000. West ran away with the week's top honors, outselling the second-place debut from G-Unit member Tony Yayo, Thoughts of a Predicate Felon, by more than 600,000 copies. Late Registration slaughtered Hillbilly Deluxe, the new one from country duo Brooks & Dunn, which claims the chart's #3 slot with more than 111,000 units scanned. Kanye's Dropout, meanwhile, climbs more than 50 chart positions this week to #57, thanks to a 69 percent boost in sales that yielded scans of more than 9,500. It was a big week for debut offerings, with fresh releases taking the chart's top four positions. The major-label debut from Death Cab for Cutie, Plans, moved close to 90,000 copies in its first week, to grab fourth place. Rounding out the top five, with more than 85,000 scans, is the unstoppable Mariah Carey and her latest, The Emancipation of Mimi. After just 21 weeks in stores, the album has scored sales of nearly 3.2 million copies. The Black Eyed Peas' Monkey Business falls two spots to #6, with close to 84,000 in sales. The 19th installment in the Now That's What I Call Music! franchise descends five chart positions to #7, with more than 78,000 scans. Last week's #1 is this week's #8, as Hilary Duff's Most Wanted sustains a 23 percent deceleration in retail speed, resulting in sales of little more than 77,000. Christian pop act Casting Crowns' latest, Lifesong, opens at #9 with 71,000 scans, followed at #10 by yet another debut disc: Rihanna's Music of the Sun, which achieved opening-week scans of 68,000 and change. Other significant debut performances were turned in by Eric Clapton's Back Home (#13, with sales of 59,000 plus); Bob Dylan's No Direction Home: The Soundtrack - The Bootleg Series Vol. 7 (#16, 51,000); Cold's A Different Kind of Pain (#26, 36,000); 30 Seconds to Mars' A Beautiful Lie (#44, 21,000); Our Lady Peace's Healthy in Paranoid Times (#45, 21,000); From Autumn to Ashes' Abandon Your Friends (#58, 16,000) and Opeth's Ghost Reveries (#64, 15,000). Several VMA winners and performers benefited tremendously from their trips to Miami Beach (see "Green Day Clean Up, Kelly Clarkson Gets Wet, 50 Rips Into Fat Joe At VMAs" ). Green Day's American Idiot experienced a 20 percent rise in sales, but fell two chart positions to #12 with scans of close to 61,000; the veteran punks not only opened the festivities with a performance of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," but took home seven Moonmen, including Video of the Year. Kelly Clarkson braved gallons of water in her VMA closer, as she belted out her hit "Since U Been Gone," and took home Best Female Video and Best Pop Video honors. On next week's chart, her disc Breakaway finishes at #14 with 56,000 in sales — a 10 percent jump for that LP. Fall Out Boy's From Under the Cork Tree also enjoyed a 10 percent boost in sales, to take the chart's #18 spot; the band performed "Sugar, We're Goin Down" during the VMA pre-show, and walked away from the ceremony with the MTV2 Award. Meanwhile, My Chemical Romance, who'd been nominated in several categories but went home sans Moonman, were, aside from Kanye West, perhaps the biggest post-VMA winners. The band's Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge jumped 10 spots on the chart, thanks to a 40 percent surge in retail interest, to take #31 with close to 30,000 in sales. The Garden State rockers also performed during the event, as did belly-dancing bombshell Shakira. Sales of her latest, Fijación Oral, Vol. 1, swelled by 34 percent, earning her the chart's #36 with scans of more than 23,000. — Chris Harris @ MTV.COM organix-93 do you want more-95 illadelph halflife-96 things fall apart-99 the roots come alive-99 phrenology-02 the tipping point-04 home grown: a survival guide to the history of the roots-05 game theory-06

Will's too dope of an mc to get airplay, he needs to dumb down more to get more airplay so I don't care as long as I like it, I don't wanna see him dumb down! :stickpoke:

"Ready To Die" has more street credability than any of Em's of 50's albums and Diddy produced that album so I'd say Diddy's a better producer than Em and 50 are rappers, Em's producing is horrible too, he's actually a lil' better rapper than producer but half of his songs are annoying so you forget about his rap skills, at least Diddy's rapping and dancing is entertaining even though he ain't the master at them, you can't really put down Diddy too much for having people write songs for him 'cause even Will has had a few songs in between that're helped written by other rappers but most of them aren't although Diddy isn't credited for even writing parts of a lot of songs but producing "Ready To Die" makes him a legend 'cause that was the album that brought east coast hip-hop back, if it wasn't for that album Nas and Jay-Z wouldn't get any airplay, LL Cool J and Will Smith too, their fame was declining as well but thanks to Biggie's bringin' east coast hip-hop back "Big Willie Style" and "Mr. Smith" got huge sales and became LL's and Will's highest selling albums to date, even though I personally think all they made albums better than "Ready To Die" Biggie would rip most of these phony rappers if he were alive now.

btw, Cozmo D, did you ever talk to Common before since you're also a hip-hop artist, did you ever talk to JJFP before either since FP sampled one of your songs on "Born To Reign"?

The one thing that gets me mad about Eminem and 50 Cent is that they have to diss other rappers/entertainers just so they could they could sell more albums, none of the battles that they were in were entertaining, they were just an annoying gimmick to boost their sales and that's why they sold out in my opinion, Diddy is a real brother as much as I don't like his rappin' skills I have to admit that 'cause he's help start the careers of Biggie, Faith Evans, 112, and many other artists, he's gotten fame but helping other artists which is much better than getting fame for dissin' other artists in my opinion, plus he's involved in "Vote Or Die" and ran a marthon to raise money for AIDs I believe if I'm not mistaken plus now donating $1 million to Hurricane Katrina, he also did songs with some of my favorites like LL, Heavy D, and KRS is always a boost for my confidance in him since those songs are dope too, Em and 50 are selfish fools that only care about making money and they sign their foolish friends that're wack as them, Diddy got more street cred than both of them combined in my opinion, the hip-hop community hates Em and 50, it's just a bunch of ignorant white teenagers that're too immature to know better that think they're rap gods.

I posted this long post yesterday in the Kanye West controversey post but I'm gonna post it here, these are my thoughts on Eminem: Let me make one point that'll justify my point further than what I said before, if the media hates negative rappers so much why is it that the most popular thug rapper of them all Eminem is white? I call him a thug 'cause everything he does is disrespectful, sure 2Pac had "Thug Life" tatooed on his chest but that was a philosophy of how blacks are treated in America and a lot of his music has substance, unlike Eminem's. The problem I have with Emimem is that he can't take anybody's criticism, I don't understand why he had to say "F*** Will Smith" just because Will said that rappers need to be role models for kids and not curse so much in their songs, he needs to respect his elders, that'd be like Will dissin' James Brown, it's true though hip-hop is supposed to be for everybody, James Brown started it off and yet Elvis took his style and outsold him too but I'd say Elvis has more substance than Eminem too though, this is what's wrong with society, our heroes are not shown in the mainstream, Eminem is not the definition of hip-hop to me, I think that it's messed up that his 4 albums have outsold LL's 11 albums when LL has kept his music tasteful and respresents everything society would accept as a rapper plus he never got arrested and Em went to jail for gun possesion? Wow if I judge white people off of Eminem like conservatives judge black men off of 50 Cent I'd say all white people are thugs but I know that's not true. Why hasn't any of LL's albums sold more than 2 million? It seems like too every since Will said rappers shouldn't curse in their songs, his sales have decreased dramatically from "Big Willie Style" to the point where Eminem has outsold Will in his career too and is set to outsell 2Pac soon who didn't start sellin' until he got shot, sure "Born To Reign" wasn't his best effort but it had more heart than any of Eminem's albums, I guess all the white kids musta been pissed that Will was saying something negative towards their new hero Eminem. This is ridiculous how all these white kids know the words to all Eminem's songs and yet they never heard of positive mcs like KRS, Public Enemy, or Nas? I know this for a fact 'cause when I told some of my white friends that I like Will Smith they were like, "F*** Will Smith he's a fag momma boy that's too scared to curse, why don't listen to rappers with real balls like Eminem?", lol, I found that funny, I remember those debates like it was yesterday but after I let them listen to some JJFP and KRS stuff they realised that they could rip a mic better than Em, a lot of white kids in the suburbs are ignorant of what real hip-hop is, if they'd open up their eyes then the real mcs like KRS would sell more, I think mostly white kids buy 50 Cent too 'cause he rolls with Em, I can't expect too many intelligent black men feelin' 50. I wouldn't mind if a positive white rapper came along and sold well like Aesop Rock who's put out the same output but better quality than Em, at least he'd be keepin' the essence of hip-hop alive, everybody wants to talk about how much skills he has but I'm sorry making songs about killing your mama, killing your wife, calling people fags, and dissing every popular recording artist doesn't take skills! Like I was tellin' fuq last night in the chatroom, Eminem is nothing but a corporate gimmick, he even says it for himself on that special about "Marshall Mathers LP" on VH1: "You wanna know the positive message of my music? F*** you", exactly so that means anybody who buys his music after hearing that is ignorant 'cause being positive is not sayin' f*** you Em, just retire now, I want Rakim back! If all these white kids worship Eminem, I don't even wanna think about what the future of America is gonna be like! Now imagine if a black rapper dissed Michael Jackson? Their video would be banned from BET, the only place that plays their videos the most and the song would be banned from the radio, and they'd lose their record deal, and yet Eminem sells 5 million since it hits #1 on TRL getting more airplay than LL's video "Hush" respecting women? You wonder why I'm mad, it's such a shame!

We try not to ban people that easily fuq we give warnings 1st if you say or post something inappropriate, unless you do something drastic like hack the board that's something different. :stickpoke:

It's WORSE in Australia! :stickpoke: ← Australia's pretty racist yeah.. in melbourne where I am.. its full of all kinds of people.. australian, philipino, asian, india, italian, croatian, we got the largest greek population outside of greece..one of the largest sri lankan populations.. etc etc thats the kind of australia i like.. ← Well then if I get money up one day I might move there if there's no racism and we'll hang out! Is it just me or did this forum turn into CNN? :word: It's all good 'cause I like intelligent convos.

Hey Chief it's aight for you to make jokes but you could see that we were in the middle of a heated discussion and since you don't post here that much we don't know about your sense of humor that's all, make love f*** war, peace!

:word: That's true, it's just life, you just gotta live with it that's all!

If I had money I'd move out of America myself, there's too much prejudice here, you try to do the right thing and they kick you down!

Nice to hear that Kanye selling that much, it's been a long time since a positive rap album sold that much in the 1st week! :kekeke: It's unfortunate though that Yayo had a better 1st week than Will Smith and a lot of other positive rappers but I think his album will struggle to go platinum too, it'd be nice to see one garbage album not go platinum!

Michael Jackson is a good guy, he doesn't deserve all the criticism he gets, he was declared innocent, the media should leave him alone and let him live his life, he never went to jail for rape, there's other celebrities that do things and go to jail so money doesn't mean you're gonna get away with it, he's always been a positive influence through his music and this song will prove that once again, I wish more people could talk about that, Will should get on the song too with him, they need to look at the "Man In The Mirror" like one of MJ's songs said before they criticise other people, none of us are perfect! :word:

I think it's also ignorant though when white men tell their daughters not to go out with black guys though too, it works both ways remember, not saying that Common was right but you gotta consider that too 'cause I'd go out with white girls and their parents would get on them for going out with me and I wasn't doing anything wrong, I mean why go through the drama if I could go out with a black girl with parents to could accept me, but I always give everybody a chance if I care about them but their family gotta respect me too, it's just like when Malcolm X said white people are devils in one of his earlier speeches, he realised he was wrong and that're some good ones when he went to the Pilgimige at Mecca but there's a lot of them that discriminate us and we might wanna call them devils 'cause I don't call it godly when you judge somebody for what they look like instead of the character they really are, it's obvious their parents hated me 'cause of what I look like and that's wrong so I might wanna call them devils myself! :shake:

It's embarassment for hip-hop that a white rapper like Eminem with no subject matter has sold as much as 2Pac has in his career who only started selling till he died and his music had heart and a lot of people in the public never heard of KRS-ONE and Common, Em's buddy 50 Cent is also an embarassment, even with all the world problems he still wants to beef with other rappers just to sell records, I'd like to see the day that positive rappers LL Cool J and Nas could sell 10 million, 50 and Em are the reason why the media criticises hip-hop so much, we need better role models to top the chart.

I know I go off topic sometimes but how do you link Lance Johnson's accusations of doping to looters of Hurricane Katrina? :lolsign: btw, I don't think they could charge him guilty yet, they were just rumors, there's no evidance to prove he did so don't say that he was using steroids until he's guilty! :topic: Kanye has criticised Bush several times in his songs like a lot of conscious rappers do since Bush ignores the black community constantly, they just don't do it for fashion, we don't wanna sell crack, go into prostitution, or rob people but he doesn't give jobs to the inner cities and come up with a plan to rebuild schools so wtf are we supposed to do if nothing's there? The government Uncle Sams and Uncle Toms need to spend time in the 'hood and see how they survive just like we need to see what they'd do without food/water for 4 days watching their people die around them, would they really stay calm like they tell us "refugees" to? It's easy to say if they got an 20-room mansion and were born with a spoon in thier mouth! "drug dealin' just to get by/stack your money till it gets sky high/'cause we don't care what people say/we wasn't supposed to make it past 25/jokes on you we're still alive/we don't care what people say"(Kanye West-"We Don't Care) A lot of rappers know 'cause they made it from the 'hood and're now having success but it's like the government wants to throw us back there again by ruining our careers. This been there long before him but if you ain't part of the problem, you're part of the solution. It's the truth that us brothers in hip-hop are letting it out, too bad it takes a tragedy for people to realise this, he'd rather go to a party than to help the black people there, if you can't see that you must be blind, if this was a surburban area of Florida with mostly whites he'd cancel his party and run down there even if a lot of the people down there would have money to escape since they got better jobs than us n****rs, I bet my whole life that he would still run though! :sick:

Boyz II Men feat. Mariah "One Sweet Day"(1995)

Here's some news of NBA players giving back to help out the victims of Hurricane Katina! : "NBA Players Association to Donate $2.5 Million to Aid Hurricane Victims Marbury and Houston Join Players Association to Help Hurricane Victims by Tom Kertes NEW YORK, September 6, 2005 -- “When I see all those babies float in the river…I think about the kids…My kids…I just hug my own son….He doesn’t even know why….” With these words, Stephon Marbury broke down in uncontrollable sobs and simply could not continue. This occurred at an unbelievably emotional Tuesday noon press conference given by the NBA Players Association, with the New York Knicks star point guard, backcourt-mate Allan Houston, NBAPA President Antonio Davis, and NBAPA Secretary-Treasurer Pat Garrity participating. New Orlerans Hornets forward P.J. Brown, whose new house in Slidell, Louisiana was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, and NBAPA Director of Player Programs Purvis Short were on the telephone from the location of the disaster. “Last week I was authorized by the NBAPA to announce a contribution of at least one million dollars to the victims of Hurricane Katrina,” NBAPA Executive Director Billy Hunter said. “I am proud to announce that we will not only meet that obligation but our contribution will match our donation to the victims of the World Trade Center tragedy. This number was never previously publicized before but we actually gave 2.5 million dollars.” The NBAPA, in conjunction with the Feed The Children Foundation, “will also maintain a continuous effort to provide help,” added Hunter. “This will not be a onetime thing, I assure you. We will help as long as help is needed. Nor does this amount include any individual contributions players may want to make.” According to Hunter, Kobe Bryant has already given $100,000, Baron Davis $60,000, Mavs forward Alan Henderson $100,000, and second-year Bulls’ guard Chris Duhon $30,000. “Our players are stepping up,” Hunter said. “They are anxious and willing to contribute not only their finances but also their time.” HOW TO HELP On behalf of our teams and players, the NBA sends its thoughts and prayers to victims of Hurricane Katrina. We encourage fans to support the relief efforts by visiting RedCross.org or calling the Red Cross help line at 1-800-HELP-NOW. A group of players are traveling to the site of the disaster to distribute food and other necessaries. NBA announcer Kenny Smith is also organizing a charity game to be held this Sunday in Houston with 35 NBA players participating and making further financial contributions. Hunter stressed the importance of “our partnership with Feed The Children, an organization that we worked with before and an organization that as of today has 90 tractor-trailers on the road to deliver food to the Gulf Coast.” “We know from our past association that Feed The Children has the capacity, has the know-how, and has the will to help,” added Hunter. “They’ve got the manpower, the resources, and the trucks.” “The most important thing is that we don’t just give money and walk away,” said Davis. “We want people to know that we are willing to give our time. We want to be there to help people who lost everything to build a new home and find a new life. We want to be there in every way we can throughout what we know is going to be a long and arduous process.” “These are times when we realize we are so fortunate just to breathe and walk,” Marbury attempted to continue. “We’ve got to come together…try to live as one…think about the way we treat people…I just keep looking at my kids…hold them so tight…” Marbury, who kept sobbing uncontrollably throughout the entire press conference, once again had to stop. In his stead, Hunter announced that “Stephon told me that he will donate somewhere between $500,000 and 1 million dollars.” “My friend Lindsey Hunter just called me,” said Houston. “He’s already got a couple of trucks and went down to New Orleans to help with food, clothes, and whatever else people may need.” Brown told of “an overwhelming situation here in Slidell, Louisiana. People basically lost everything. There is no water. There is no electricity. There is no gas. Entire communities look completely devastated, like someone dropped the bomb.” “The devastation is unimaginable,” Short reported from Mississippi. “Television can’t possibly do it justice. We will have to stay in this effort in order to provide real help -- it’s going to take YEARS for people to get back on their feet.” “I have 55 more semi-trucks,” Feed The Children President Larry Jones said. “And warehouses all over the country. So tell your TV stations, newspapers, corporations, maybe you have a truckload of socks, or tee-shorts, or water. We’ll have to give these people water for months and months to come. It’s going to be a long haul. We’re not going to go the second mile, we’re going to have to go the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth mile to help these people. Like Stephon said, we all need to pull together right now. We are going to do just that. And we are going to work literally night and day to do everything that we can.” -Milwaukee Bucks Contribute $500,000 To Hurricane Relief September 3, 2005 - The Milwaukee Bucks will contribute $500,000 to the efforts to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina, the organization announced Saturday. The commitment includes $l00,000 to the American Red Cross, through the cooperation of the Milwaukee chapter, and $l00,000 to the United Way’s national hurricane relief efforts, through the United Way of Greater Milwaukee. Both Milwaukee chapters are cooperating with the national affiliates’ efforts to address the massive aid project by directing local contributions to their parent organizations. “United Way is doing what we do best, mobilizing resources,” Sue Dragisic, United Way of Greater Milwaukee President said Saturday. “By directing their funds to the United Way Hurricane Katrina Response Fund, the Bucks are investing in frontline disaster relief and long-term recovery needs. The local United Ways in affected areas will now be able to coordinate relief through their vast network of agencies and volunteer centers,” Dragisic said. “The response to Hurricane Katrina is the largest mobilization of resources in the history of the American Red Cross,” Bud McKonly, Chapter Executive of the American Red Cross Greater Milwaukee Chapter said. “We could not provide the services that the victims of this disaster need without the support of organizations like the Milwaukee Bucks. We thank the Bucks on behalf of all who we will be able to help with their support.” The Bucks organization will continue to work with both the Milwaukee chapter of the Red Cross and The United Way of Greater Milwaukee, as well as the National Basketball Association, to assist with efforts both locally and nationally to respond to the needs of victims of the Gulf Coast disaster. -Duhon Lends Hand to Gulf Region Aug. 31, 2005 -- An update from Bulls.com: Chris Duhon sends his extreme gratitude to everyone who has expressed interest in assisting the victims in his hometown of Slidell. If you would like to contribute in this effort, you may do so in either of the following ways: MONETARY DONATIONS: All monetary donations may be submitted by sending a check payable to Stand Tall Foundation to the following address: Stand Tall Foundation C/O Chris Duhon 1151 N. State St. Box 249 Chicago, IL 60610 CLOTHING AND NON-PERISHABLE FOOD DONATIONS: A drop-off date and location are currently being organized. Please check back right here for updated information. Duhon's Standing Tall Foundation is organizing relief efforts for the residents of Slidell, La. impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Jonathan Daniel/NBAE/Getty Images Aug. 30, 2005 -- As officials and residents in the U.S. Gulf Coast states continue to search for survivors and assess the damage from Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is warning that recovery could take weeks, if not months. Once the water levels recede and roadways become passable again, relief is sure to come in many forms – including from Slidell, La. native and Chicago Bulls second-year guard Chris Duhon – for those who suffered losses in the storm. “We’re just working with FEMA,” Duhon said by phone from Chicago Tuesday, “and trying to donate and give as much money and food and clothes, as much as we can, to just help people get back on their feet.” Duhon’s relief effort, Standing Tall Foundation, in conjunction with FEMA, is accepting monetary donations, food and clothing, which will be delivered as soon as possible. Fellow-NBA players Raymond Felton, former Bulls guard Jay Williams and Vin Baker have already pledged their support. Located only a short distance across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans, Slidell is situated in St. Tammany Parish, where Duhon attended Salmen High School, before spending four years at Duke. Many of his family members, friends and coaches still call Slidell home. “I have my aunt and her family and kids there,” Duhon said, “everybody I grew up with in high school, coaches. That was home.” Reaching survivors by telephone has proven nearly as impossible as navigating the roads, which remain covered with water or have been destroyed by the storms powerful forces. “I got in contact with a few (friends and family),” Duhon said. “We haven’t gotten in contact with (everybody). The phone lines are real bad right now. We can continue to try but hopefully everybody is okay.” The damage and death toll from Katarina – the most powerful such storm to hit the area since Hurricane Camille left 256 people dead in 1969 – remain unknown, and Duhon is limited to the media reports and few accounts he has received from friends and family. “(Slidell is) right next to Lake Pontchartrain,” Duhon said describing the damage inflicted by Katrina, which “pretty much destroyed or put holes in one of our highways and there’s been reports of (the water level) being eight feet above rooftops. They had an explosion and there’s bodies just floating all around. They just ordered 500 body bags today for people that are in that area. So, a lot of the city is pretty much destroyed.” Returning home to offer assistance will prove difficult for Duhon as training camp quickly approaches, however, he is organizing the delivery of any supplies and monetary donations. Those wishing to make any contributions may do so in either of the following ways: MONETARY DONATIONS: All monetary donations may be submitted by sending a check payable to Stand Tall Foundation to the following address: Stand Tall Foundation C/O Chris Duhon 1151 N. State St. Box 249 Chicago, IL 60610 CLOTHING AND NON-PERISHABLE FOOD DONATIONS: A drop-off date and location are currently being organized. Please check back later for updated information. You may also visit RedCross.org or call 1 800.HELP.NOW to make a donation. -Warriors Guard Baron Davis Contributes $50,000 To Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund Baron Davis Foundation Makes Donation To Help Those In The New Orleans Region Golden State Warriors All-Star guard Baron Davis is assisting relief efforts by contributing $50,000 from the Baron Davis Foundation to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. “I played for the New Orleans Hornets for three years,” Davis said. “The damage to the city from Hurricane Katrina is irreplaceable. The news coverage has been devastating to watch and my heart goes out to everyone impacted. Thousands of people are homeless. We all know someone who needs help right now. Everyone can make a difference, even $5, just by calling the Red Cross help line.” Davis has also reached out to his Warriors teammate, Monta Ellis, whose family has been impacted by Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi. About the Baron Davis Foundation The Baron Davis Foundation was established to maintain and /or aid educational, social and charitable activities serving the common welfare of youth. The Foundation's mission is to positively impact the quality of life for underprivileged and at-risk youth in the New Orleans, Bay area and Los Angeles metropolitan communities. The National Basketball Players Association also announced that it is launching an immediate effort, on behalf of every player in the NBA, to assist in the relief effort for victims of Hurricane Katrina. The union will be actively involved in procuring and delivering supplies, including food and clothing, to the hardest hit areas of the devastating storm that ripped through Louisiana, Mississippi and other areas.

"Jackson Writes Song for Katrina Victims NEW YORK - Michael Jackson has written a song to help raise funds for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and will soon record it. Tentatively titled, "From the Bottom of My Heart," the singer plans to ask other musicians to join him in recording it, his spokeswoman, Raymone K. Bain, said Tuesday. Jackson hopes to record the song within two weeks in the style of "We Are the World," which he co-wrote and produced in 1985 to raise money for famine relief efforts in Africa. "It pains me to watch the human suffering taking place in the gulf region of my country," Jackson, 47, said in a statement. "I will be reaching out to others within the music industry to join me in helping to bring relief and hope to these resilient people who have lost everything." Jackson has been mostly reclusive since he was acquitted of child molestation charges in California on June 13. He has been spending much of his time in Bahrain as the guest of Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, whose label, 2 Seas Records, will produce the single"

"The babies, we gotta teach em, and hold em Send em to school, so we can teach em, and mold em Shape em, and make em take form Cause their mind is like a ball of clay when it's wet and warm Harmless and innocent Until they're taught to be violent, and militant This mentality gotta be erased by faith The 12th hour is comin, we're close to the 8th Get a chapter, and gain some knowledge If not from the Bible or Koran, get a book from college It's not about bein black or white It's about everybody bein a right I pulled out my mic, and the devil got hit hard He felt the power of God"-LL Cool J "Power Of God" yeah it's a shame how many people just want to stick to the G Unit and D12 bandwagons even though they suck with each song they make sounding worse and worse, people have bad taste in music these days! :damnlorettas:

I was just trying to find my last post to edit it but I'm gonna say this as my last post in this topic, no matter what anybody here says I'm sticking by what Kanye West said, 98% of black people feel this way so it's not just a trend, the government doesn't care about us and like Kanye says in "Jesus Walks": "We're at war with terrorism/racism", it might take you longer to realise this but one day you will, it goes beyond just statistics too since sometimes the media might change them so they could hold onto their jobs, you could see for yourself on TV how messed up it is, I don't need to see a stat sheet to tell me that this is caious and people are pissed about it, people of all color are frustrated right now, hey if somebody doesn't help you what are you supposed to do? Violence ain't the answer but you can't just lie down and die if nobody tries to help you, it's good to know that government is slowly gettin' their act together over the last day or so 'cause this could've lead to violence if it went on like this further, people have been dying by the minute and when you see people dying around you you won't be thinking clearly that's for damn sure, it's easy for us to say that now since we haven't experienced it for ourselves. I think this issue is bigger beyond what Kanye said, that's a small factor right now, they ignore the hip-hop community anyway but at least he gave an effort to show the streets that he does care he risked his career by even saying anything and they give him more respect for that now, he could've said something even more controversial but he kept his composure and I admire that but the main goal is to get everybody out of there safe as possible, hopefully the government learns something from this so they won't screw up if it happens again, peace!

Nice review, "Be"'s definately one of the best albums this year, I didn't like it that much at 1st but it's grown on me, I agree with you on the most part except for "Go" I'd give 7/10 and "Testify" 10/10, anyway nuff props for posting this homie! :thumbsup:

I hope "Lost and Found" makes the top 200 this week! :sipread: