TresSugar

Lighten Up: Rappers - They're Just Like Republicans! Right?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:30:03 -0700

Who loves Hummers? Rappers and Republicans apparently! After Rep. Virgil Goode took to his Fourth of July parade a gassy Hummer perhaps cementing his pimpness, The Daily Show took note and cooked up this game "Republican or Rapper?"

How are they alike? A love of money and guns (and some dicier reasons) according to the clip, but then this little parallel I uncovered: A prominent place on court dockets:

Rapper DMX (yep, the same one who recently learned a very important fact about the election) just pleaded not guilty to charges of theft and then plugged his upcoming album, in rap-form. Brilliant!

To see the rest of the Rapper/Republican trifecta, read more.

Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Stevens is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court tomorrow on seven felony charges, including taking $250,000 in unreported gifts. Maybe DMX trumps though - he's also facing animal cruelty charges?

Then to complete the Rapper/Republican trifecta, the ultimate combo: Bill O'Reilly just branded Nas a "vile rapper." Who do you know better? Republicans or rappers? Is there a commonality? Perhaps we're all just mavericks deep down, and that's how we roll?

Rapper Makes Swindling Record Company Fund Her PhD

TresSugar — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:01:46 -0700

"This is a story that needs to be told. I'm an example that you can be a teenage mom, come from the projects, and be raised by a single parent, and you can still come out of it a doctor."

Stories about record companies screwing musicians out of royalties are standard news, but Roxanne Shante's struggle with her former label has a happy ending.

In 1984 at age 14, Shante had a hit called “Roxanne’s Revenge,” a response to UTFO’s hit “Roxanne, Roxanne.” Considered hip hop’s first female celeb, Shante came before Lil’ Kim, Salt-N-Pepa and Queen Latifah, but did not get as big as they did, and in addition, shady record contracts meant she saw few royalties.

Instead of despairing or giving up, 19-year-old Shante remembered a clause in her Warner Music record contract: the company offered to pay for her education for life. Although she struggled to get them to hold up their end of the deal (Shante figures it was a clause they probably threw in never thinking a teenage mother from the projects would care about education), they finally relented. $217,000 later, she got her PhD in psychology from Cornell in 2001. Shante, now 38, focuses her therapy practice on urban African-Americans who tend to balk at seeking mental health help.

In addition to being a therapist, she offers $5,000 college scholarships each semester to female rappers and gives advice to aspiring female musicians on her MySpace page. Roxanne’s revenge, indeed!

Headline of the Day

GiggleSugar — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 13:00:00 -0800

Man Shoots at Rappers Over 'Cranky Old Man' Lyrics

A 70-year-old man in Dakar, Senegal was not in the mood to listen to rappers singing their song "Cranky Old Man" at a concert this weekend. He warned them that if they sang the insulting lyrics again, he was going to shoot. Sure enough, as soon as they sang, he opened fire with his hunting rifle, wounding five people (presumably in the audience). I have some advice for the rappers. If an angry old dude with a rifle tells you not to do something or he'll shoot, you should probably not do it. And to the guy with the rifle? Not being a cranky old man: You're doing it wrong! Click here to read more.

Source

Rapper Nas Gives Petition to "Propaganda Machine" Fox News

CitizenSugar — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:55:15 -0700

Rapper Nas joined with the Color of Change and MoveOn to deliver a petition to the offices of Fox News yesterday. Just after his controversial album hit number one, Nas took the podium protesting the racist attacks he sees coming from Fox against Black Americans and Barack Obama.

Delivering over 600,000 signatures to the network, Nas delivered a prepared speech saying, "We already knew that Fox is not a news network; they are a propaganda machine . . . Fox poisons this country every time they air racist propaganda and try to call it news. This should outrage every American that Fox uses hateful language to talk about the person that may be the first black president."

Fox declined receipt of the signatures, but issued a statement: "Fox News believes in all protesters exercising their right to free speech, including Nas, who has an album to promote."

That album now called Untitled had an original, much more controversial title. Does this affect his statement against Fox?

To see clips of the Fox language Nas finds offensive - served up on last night's Colbert Report (where the petition was delivered after Fox refused to accept it) - plus Nas's interview with Stephen, read more.

Nas was in studio with Stephen too - see the episode with his interview including talk of his feud with Bill O'Reilly.

Does Nas and the Color of Change/MoveOn petition have a point? Is Fox racist?

Source

Rapper Says: I'm Bi-Curious

GiggleSugar — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 13:40:50 -0700

Rappers are pretty notorious for cartoon-like displays of machismo. So it's a bit refreshing to hear rapping from a guy who claims he's bi-curious, or curious about bisexuality. AC/DC, bi-coastal, swinging both ways--whatever you want to call it, you all probably know some women who find other women hot. But dudes who are otherwise "straight"? I know none. (Matthew McConaughey and Justin Timberlake--it's all your fault!)

Before there was K-Fed, there was Malibu Rapper

GiggleSugar — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 07:02:00 -0800

And before Ashton Kutscher hosted "Punk'd"--Jamie Kennedy played pranks on people. Here, with his "girlfriend" as an accomplice in on the joke, he plays my fave of his characters: the K-Fed-esque "Malibu Rapper." In this skit, his girlfriend's horrified sister and mother are meeting him for the first time. Enjoy the train wreck...

President Obama Gets Auto-Tuned

TresSugar — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:00:00 -0700

When I came across this video from last night's Jimmy Kimmel Live, I watched it over and over again. I thought I'd share it with you guys, in case you needed a good laugh to start off your weekend! In the clip, rapper T-Pain gives President Obama's healthcare rhetoric the auto-tune treatment. If you've found the healthcare reform debate to be a little dry, this video will surely keep your attention. The good stuff happens about a minute in!

Rapper Inspired Math

GiggleSugar — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 04:00:00 -0800

What if Snoop and Jay-Z were math teachers back in grade school? What if DJ Unk taught algebra, and Fat Joe taught linear equations? What if rap music inspired word problems? Well, wonder no more.

View 10 Photos ›

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America's Next Top Rapper Reject

GiggleSugar — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 10:00:00 -0700

What happens when ANTM rejects are no longer in the running towards becoming America's Next Top Model? You're lookin' at it, and it is not pretty. (Does anyone remember which "cycle" Lisa Damato was on? I couldn't bring myself to look it up...) Thanks, JessNess!

Do, Dump, or Marry? Jason Jones

TresSugar — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:30:00 -0700

The Daily Show ~~faux~~ reporter Jason Jones has traded in his green screen for the backdrop of election-time Iran. Footage recorded by the curly-haired hottie recorded for 10 days in late May and early June will air next week. For the segment called "Jason Jones in Iran: Access of Evil," not only did Jones attend a speech by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he also interviewed an underground rapper and a feminist blogger.

Some little known facts about the adventurous Jason? He grew up in Canada, minored in botany in college, and is married to fellow Daily Show correspondent Samantha Bee. (We can forget that fact for our purposes).

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