Under Constructx

If you didn’t already notice….we’re under hard body construction (hence the delay in posts). We making some changes and in due time expect to see a great site pop up within the next month….until then tune into beauty & the beatbox and act like u got some sense in these streets.

“Proof” that Hip Hop Lives

West Coast rapper Crooked I has been releasing a freestyle every Wed. for the last year. He’s gone to every beat imaginable and for the last one, week 52, he went all out. Rather than doin the same old jackin for beats he set out to prove that hip-hop isn’t dead by jackin a beat from every fallen soldier in the game and rippin each one. If this doesn’t do it for you, maybe hip hop isn’t for you…

I should add that Crooked’s list of quotables from this weekly series is better than most rapper’s entire catalogues…”picture me rolling, still living like a pimp when he strolling/still, lyrics sicker than the s**t in your colon/ still gutter like OBAMA when the ni**a was bowling…”- Crooked I, “Week 52, The Finale”

Smoking Section has a nice analysis of the whole series. 

And for those of you who prefer conscious rappers peep Week 4 , it gets serious at 3:03

I’ll Give You The Purple Joints For Park Place and Boardwalk…

As if rich white guys weren’t already eating better than everyone else…

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The U.S. Justice Department approved the merger between satellite radio companies Sirius and XM Monday, more than a year after the two companies first announced their deal.But for fans of Howard Stern, Opie & Anthony and other Sirius and XM on-air personalities, there are still many questions about how much a combined Sirius-XM service will cost and what programs they’ll be able to hear. Plus, Sirius and XM face one more regulatory hurdle before the deal can officially be completed.

 If it looks like a monopoly, smells like a monopoly, walks like a monopoly and talks like a monopoly…guess what? IT’S A MONOPOLY!

Eliot Spitzer, Sub-Prime Mortgage Loans, and more proof Bush “doesn’t care about black people”

I came across the following on puppetgov.com:

Here’s the link to Elliot Spitzer’s editorial in the Washington Post. 

So why does this all matter? The article Eliot Spitzer wrote attacked the Bush administration for helping banks participate in predatory lending. And guess who predatory lending affects most? That’s right you guessed it: minorities. So basically, the Bush Administration got the FBI to release the info about the prostitution scandal and get him out of office because he attacked Bush for helping banks f**k over black people in a public forum. Not to say Eliot Spitzer didn’t do what he admitted to but what a coincidence the scandal was revealed right after he wrote the editorial. 

To read more about how companies profit from the poor go here. 

Obama’s Pastor: What you won’t see on the news

Full videos of the sermons Rev Wright gave:

 

This isn’t about defending or condemning Rev. Wright’s speeches or views, its about providing the context for the clips being played by mainstream media. The problem here is that the news being given to most people is not objective, they’ve already condemned the sermon before they play them. Rather than showing the whole clip and letting people form their own opinions about it, they take a small part and make the decision for you. If you listen to the whole sermon you’ll see that what Rev Wright is saying is true: America is run by rich whites who have no concern for people of color, hence the problem here is racism and white supremacy.

And just in case you missed it like me, here’s Obama’s full speech on race and politics:

This was a nice speech. There’s really no denying that, and I agree with his view that we have to confront the problem of racism if we’re ever going to truly unite as a country. But one thing I don’t agree with is that by condemning the Reverend’s comments, Obama is basically saying he doesn’t agree with the fact that white elites control this country. He talks about corporations and special interest groups, but who do you think owns these corporations and pays lobbyists? Rich whites. (and if you need proof just look at the top of the organizational charts for the big corporations where it says “board of directors”). I don’t expect Obama to agree with the pastor because that would cost him the election. But its sad that everybody says what a great speech this is without considering the fact that Obama is rejecting the idea of white supremacy, a concept that is so clear to see and really essential to understanding most of the problems that exist in this country (like poor education, the economy and sub-prime mortgage rate loan defaults, ect.) including slavery, which he spoke about throughout the speech. Not once did he even mention white supremacy…

Full Banned Boondocks BET Episode!!!!

“A Just Realeyez Exclusive…”

Vodpod videos no longer available. from blog.vodpod.com posted with vodpod

University of Maryland Alum Aaron McGruder has done it once again…another memorable, classic Boondocks Episode. Maybe not quite as strong as the Dr. King Episode, but “The Huey Freeman Hunger Strike” is a little too real. The episode from Season 2 has been banned from being shown on Comedy Central along with another episode which supposedly satirically attacks BET.

In this episode, BET’s CEO, Debra Lee, “Debra Lee-vil,” a sinister Dr. Evil clone who kills underlings and rants about creating a network “that would accomplish what hundreds of years of slavery, Jim Crow and malt liquor couldn’t – the destruction of black people.” BET entertainment president Reggie Hudlin – once a “Boondocks” executive producer and mentor to McGruder is depicted as Dr. Lee-vil’s Harvard-educated sidekick who propses stealing five-year-old reality show ideas from MTV and making them black for BET (hmmm seems familiar….)

Slum Lords Run Rampant in ’08

Slum Lord King Pins D.C.’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs has been fucking up at the expense of HUMAN BEINGS. No not at the expense of bubble gum, rats, roaches, teapots or the deficit! The lives and living conditions of people living in the District are being tampered with and overlooked….wtf is next?!

The District agency entrusted with protecting tenants has routinely overlooked decrepit and dangerous conditions at rent-controlled apartment buildings in recent years despite claims that landlords were letting buildings rot to force families out.At the same time, the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs helped landlords profit once tenants had left — approving more than 200 requests to begin converting newly emptied rental buildings into condominiums worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The agency regularly failed to conduct even the most cursory investigations, which in dozens of cases would have revealed filthy conditions, questionable evictions and letters urging tenants to leave.”It’s a total abdication of DCRA’s responsibilities,” said Julie Becker, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia. “It’s not just betraying tenants. It’s betraying the law.” At a troubled Southeast apartment complex, tenants have reported no heat or gas, a falling ceiling, cracked walls, mice and a defective water heater in recent years. The owner says he’s made repairs in recent months, but wants tenants to leave so that he can sell the building.

There goes the neighborhood….again

Harlem is going to get a makeover whether we like it or not. Rich NY socialites have been trying to takeover the Black Mecca since X and Garvey were trottin around…this just takes the cake. NYC’s planning commission recently announced plans to rezone the infamous 125th St. of HarlemWorld. Plans to “enhance” Harlem’s main street go into effect if the City Council approves the proposal on April 30th. Charlie Rangel is gunna have to use the muscle sooner or later, this is going too far. Tough times in NY….and shit just continues to get worse….no tellin whats going to happen to our 5% homies who are stationed in Harlem…

Critics charge the plan would price longtime residents out of the neighborhood by allowing market-rate housing to be developed and would replace an iconic African-American locale with chain stores, hotels, luxury housing and high-rises. The plan also could squeeze out 71 small neighborhood businesses, according to city estimates.”They want it to look like 86th St.,” said Bella Yarra, 35, who owns Yara International, an African fabric and arts store on E. 125th St. near Fifth Ave. “It’s not good for us small businesses.”Steve Johnson, 53, a lifelong Harlem resident, said the rezoning would “take away from the core of the community.”

There Really is Something in the Water….

AP probe found traces of meds in water supplies of 41 million Americans

A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.

To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe.

But the presence of so many prescription drugs — and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen — in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health.

From California to New Jersey
In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas — from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit to Louisville, Ky.

Water providers rarely disclose results of pharmaceutical screenings, unless pressed, the AP found. For example, the head of a group representing major California suppliers said the public “doesn’t know how to interpret the information” and might be unduly alarmed.

How do the drugs get into the water?

People take pills. Their bodies absorb some of the medication, but the rest of it passes through and is flushed down the toilet. The wastewater is treated before it is discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes. Then, some of the water is cleansed again at drinking water treatment plants and piped to consumers. But most treatments do not remove all drug residue.

And while researchers do not yet understand the exact risks from decades of persistent exposure to random combinations of low levels of pharmaceuticals, recent studies — which have gone virtually unnoticed by the general public — have found alarming effects on human cells and wildlife.

“We recognize it is a growing concern and we’re taking it very seriously,” said Benjamin H. Grumbles, assistant administrator for water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Members of the AP National Investigative Team reviewed hundreds of scientific reports, analyzed federal drinking water databases, visited environmental study sites and treatment plants and interviewed more than 230 officials, academics and scientists. They also surveyed the nation’s 50 largest cities and a dozen other major water providers, as well as smaller community water providers in all 50 states.

Hip Hop Get’s The Heimlich

As if it ever really needed it…..A3C will be one of the most beasty Hip Hop Festivals of the year besides the Brooklyn joint. March 20-23rd will without a doubt see a few of the greatest artists ever to bless Hip Hop. For one the Infamous JUICE CREW reunites (I think I’m getting an ulcer…). After damn near 85 years, the Juice Crew is making a comeback for the A3C Hip Hop Festival this month in ATL….For all you youngin’s the crew included Roxanne Shante, Marley Marl, MC Shan, Craig G, Big Daddy Kane and Biz Markie. Other artists include, the Re-Up Gang/Clipse, Jeru the Damaja, Little Brother, Wale, B.o.B, Aceyalone, Afrobatik and plenty more. Get this, it’s only $45 for a 3day pass. Roadtrip to ATL anyone?! Catch Juice Crew goodness and other artists’ clips after the jump…