There are certain things in life which I’ll never agree with in any circumstance. Raping a woman is one. Having to force a woman to have sex with you speaks magnitudes towards your value as a person. Crimes against the elderly is another. I’m still shaken up about the death of this woman who attended my church. She had a heart attack after a guy attempted to rob her at gunpoint. Lastly, abuse against children ignites a fire in me I can’t truly explain. I still get pissed every time I see that one scene in “A Time To Kill.”

That all leads me to former NBA All-Star and 1984 gold medalist Alvin Roberston and a personal foul which will almost certainly lead to a stint on the “bench.” Ol’ boy was charged with sexual assault, trafficking an underage girl for sex and forcing her into a sexual performance. I’m getting pissed just typing this.

The charges were contained in an arrest warrant. Robertson was arrested Friday afternoon in Bentonville, Ark., according to the San Antonio Express-News, which cited Deputy Ino Badillo, a spokesman for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities claim the 47-year-old former Spurs star was part of a ring that kidnapped a 14-year-old girl from San Antonio, forced her to have sex with clients and to dance at a Corpus Christi strip club last year.

The girl escaped her alleged captors, prompting an investigation. Seven people have been charged, including Robertson’s girlfriend. Robertson was the last one to be apprehended and arrested. [Via]

Throughout the past 24 years, life has taught me one key lesson: there are three sides to a story, Person A’s account, Person B’s account and what actually happened. I couldn’t care less in this situation. Hell, I couldn’t care less if she WANTED to do it. The fact still remains I’d become a Redskins fan, endorse Sarah Palin and cuddle with Janet Reno long before I have sex with a minor. It’s a damn shame another child had to lose her innocence thanks in part to society’s ills.

This time we owe thanks to a role player whose most memorable assist is setting up his boys with underage sex. What a friend. They don’t make’em like that anymore. It’s easy to condition yourself into thinking most NBA players enjoy successful retirements à la Jalen Rose or Alonzo Mourning. You’d be amazed, however, how many pick up lives of crime.

In this case, whoever took part in the long cycle of rape of this young girl, have fun in the feds. Pedophiles always get treated with the utmost respect in there.

Alvin Robertson Apprehended, Charged With Sex Trafficking [NBA Fanhouse]

The virtual band that’s getting their fair share of real press as their upcoming album, Plastic Beach, gets ready to hit stores. Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett invited a lineup that features a great mix of rappers, indie artists and music legends including Snoop Dogg, Gruff Rhys, Little Dragon, Lou Reed, Mark E. Smith, De La Soul, Kano, Bashy, Mick Jones and Mos Def. Try the sample mix below in anticipation of the full retail, available on March 9th.

Download — Gorillaz – Plastic Beach (Album Mix)

Too Short is setting himself up to be the George Burns of rap. With refrigerator-hum consistency, he’s twenty five years in the game and still going, still adapting too as he’s set to try his hand @ his first digital release, Still Blowin’, and simultaneously tapping into his independent roots by dropping it on his Dangerous Music imprint. Hell, Short even did his own production for the lead single of the same name, utilizing buoyant synths and horns to hoist his rhymes about, oh, blow jobs & weed smoke. As much as things change, some things will always remain. Read the rest of this entry »

Courtney Young

The Blaxploitation Films “The Man” Didn’t Want You To See [The Urban Daily]

Olympics Receive Emergency Condom Supply [Yardbarker]

Walmart Underfire For Hip-Hop, Black History Month Selections [AHH]

Paps Try To Take Pictures Down Anna Kournikova’s Shirt [Don Chavez]

Anita Baker Avoids Jail In Royalty Dispute [AP]

The Online Dating Recession [Paid Content] Read the rest of this entry »

The concept of Black History Month may increasingly becoming an old-fashioned one, as many barriers have been broken down by the martyrs of yesteryear. But even still, the meshing of the notion into non-segregated culture doesn’t decrease its significance one bit. When looking back in time, one has to consider that the music you enjoy and consume today had to be run through the ringer, much like the artists who created it. Read the rest of this entry »

When it was announced Tiger’s goods were all up in the entire female race, most media outlets discussed whether or not the Blasian Sensation would get sponsor dropped. Many cited his long-standing earning-power as reason enough to keep him and simply put the one-man conglomerate on the back-burner. (“The Kobe,” I believe it’s called.) However, others said there was no way reputable companies like Nike and Gatorade could keep the soft-spoken, sex-addict on board. Read the rest of this entry »

As fresh music Friday continues on, nothing like some new Mike music to help keep things moving right along. Maurice says this is unfinished and wasn’t supposed to feature Game (*whew*) but the two Peach State emcees featured share a certain chemistry that I hope makes it the finished version. Read the rest of this entry »

Funny how it takes a great song to make you realize how average everything else is that’s coming out.

Aloe Blacc has been experimenting with different sounds and styles for a while now, and it appears he has found his stride. Produced by Truth and Soul, and backed by the Expressions and El Michels Affair, “I Need A Dollar” is captivating from first strike of the piano to the pristine horn sections closing. Aloe himself has never sounded better; his voice more bold and comfortable as he rides the swinging rhythm. Penned with a humanistic eye for detail, “I Need A Dollar” has pop aspirations but resonates on much more profound level. Far from a contrived modern twist of the retro vibe, Aloe has created an authentic hit. Just ask HBO. Read the rest of this entry »

To put a little promo down for the Crowd Control Tour, KITH, Donnis, 88-Keys and Izza gather for a track of the same name, co-produced by Double O and 88. I’ve never been overwhelmed by Donnis, but I usually check his material just to keep track of his progress. Score points for the kid here for the line “It’s just me and my team, We don’t get no sleep sleep, so we have no dreams.” I may just adopt that as my working mantra. Read the rest of this entry »

1017 Brick Squad. They’re not the heir apparents to Slaughterhouse. But that’s just it; they don’t try to be. The pill popping, bottle pouring, weed smoking, pistol toting lyrics they spew have helped the entire group garner an insane amount of love in the streets, with Gucci leading the charge. The good thing? Even with Radric living off three hots and a cot, his lil’ homies are more than holding their own.

OJ? Well, he’s 32 mixtapes in and allegedly well on his way to becoming the next great wordsmith of our generation.

Waka? Deny it all you want, but “O Let’s Do It” could go down as one of the better anthems in recent memory. At the very least, it kills time until Gucci is released back into the free world sometime later this year. Thankfully, those bullets weren’t his final scene and it’s apparently done nothing but bolster his work ethic.

I don’t know too much about about the other two members, Wooh Da Kid and Frenchie. Regardless, I’m sure they’re hood stars too. That said, one of my favorite Brick Squad tracks has been their classy ode gangsta girls nationwide. I’m referring to “Candy Lady,” originally found on Gucci’s BurrrPrint. The homie Haze recently did the honors and dropped the NO DJ version. A great addition as they days of riding with the windows down march closer and closer.

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Download — Brick Squad – “Candy Lady” (Remix) (No DJ)

[Via]

While you’re here, enjoy the visual as well. Video vixen drug dealers and all.

No sugarcoating here. Off the top of my head, Donny Goines is the first, and one of very few rappers still holding true to that traditional New York sound. That’s not to say his fellow Tri-State associates aren’t holding true to their roots, but everything he does (and wears) has those distinctive NYC characteristics. Read the rest of this entry »

A few months ago, after the Clipse show in Chicago, a few guys huddled up outside and joined in on what the kids call a cipher. It was pretty much your standard fare until one guy took over and murked the whole scene.

The guy’s name was Dave Coresh.

I’ve been waiting on some music from him and apparently he has a mixtape called Formal Introduction. This video, liberated by the big homie Drew, shows Dave spitting some serious (in the “holy hell this guy can rap” sort of way) bars that will be found on the project.

Get familiar now before it’s too late.

As we keep this fresh tunes Friday moving along, tabi gets it in with the percussion-driven “Get Me.” Read the rest of this entry »

I’m from the South. We don’t have that much variety in our white people. Generally, they’re either vanilla or redneck. Therefore my experiences with Jewish people have been very limited but always pleasurable. But I saw the whole East Coast gang having a grand time blowing up the #jewishrapnames thing as a trending topic last weekend on Twitter. As I sat on the sidelines lost, I now know how a gang of people felt when Brand Nubian and PRT were speaking using the 120°.

Anyways, once the dust settled, what was left was the Kings of Schlock, “a humorous tongue in cheek take on Judaism’s role in hip-hop music.”

“Once you get past the glitz and glamor, everybody in hip-hop wishes they were a little bit Jewish,” says Paul Cantor. “It behooves you to be a stand-up guy in rap, a mensch. Still, times are tough in the record business, and it pays to be tight with your money, a miser. So there’s a bunch of different Jewish characteristics or stereotypes, which we’re actually poking fun at, that lend themselves to thriving in the rap game.”

“What we did was basically curate the top #jewishrapnames, the ones that tweeters kept repeating, and compiled them on one long-playing mix,” says Cantor. “The mixtape name and artwork is a play on Run DMC’s classic ‘King Of Rock’ LP cover, and then we added some skits to sort of create this Jewish rap narrative. The thing to keep in mind is that it’s all in good fun. Definitely for comedic purposes first and foremost.”

Please, direct all kudos/hate mail to Paul Cantor, UpNorthTrips, and Trackstar as they were all the creative hands behind this project.

Shalom & Allah U Akbar.

Download — Paul Cantor, Up North Trips & Trackstar The DJ Present Kings Of Schlock: The #Jewishrapnames Mixtape (Mixed by Trackstar The DJ)

In our last installment of PBT’s Look At This Shit, he had the unfortunate task of walking us through his crib which had been ransacked by geekers and wannabe thugs. And just like the last recount, he makes the most depressing of situations into a comical ordeal. I wouldn’t doubt for a moment that Tre could turn a eulogy into a stand-up routine and still get a standing ovation. Read the rest of this entry »