Is Rikers Island Doing Purges?

Word is that Rikers Island Correctional Institute is doing big things in the wrong way! Knife fights and ugly brawls between inmates, even attacks on officers, often end up airbrushed in the records as routine “log book entries.” The main culprit, critics say, is Security Chief Turhan Gumusdere, a man who has faced scandal in the past for distorting data in the jails by deleting hundreds of fights among inmates from the records when he was a deputy warden.

They also have questions, they say, about Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte, a touted reformer who nonetheless promoted Gumusdere into his job, even after the jail investigator recommended he be demoted. While vowing to alter the culture of violence, Ponte has done nothing to address flaws in the record-keeping process, either exerting pressure or looking the other way, all to placate City Hall.

Now the City Council, citing computations that don’t add up, is demanding answers, starting with Elizabeth Crowley, who heads the committee overseeing the jails. She is calling on city Controller Scott Stringer to run an audit of the records.

This is not the first time jail brass, particularly Gumusdere, have come under fire for juking figures. The Correction Department's internal Investigation Division found in 2011 that Gumusdere, while running a Rikers facility for troubled teens, “abdicated all responsibility” in documenting incidents. A department investigator recommended he be demoted.

In reviewing 11 specific cases, The News found nine downgrades. But according to several jails bosses, this number represents just a fraction of the cases that are skewed. Incidents are often not logged at all, with Gumusdere telling supervisors to “make it go away.”

Correction officers labeled the incidents as “slashings” only to see them later downgraded. That catch-all category, a holdover from precomputer times, is not included in data on violence.

How hip hop introduces a cultural variety

 

Let’s look at three other examples of how cinema glorifies hip hop to expand your understanding of principal human values. These works can be used to study cultures, sociology, psychology, and other important disciplines.

“Take the Lead.” This 2006 film directed by Liz Friedlander tells about the classical ball dancing teacher and a bunch of teenage ruffians forming an unbreakable bond and creating a whole new style. It’s not a cheap drama but a powerful work with remixes of famous jazz songs that can truly make you dance. It encourages youngsters to rely on themselves, not someone else’s assistance.

George Clinton Talks Donald Trump

CNN caught up with funk legend George Clinton during a recent show at BB King Blues Club in New York City, and picked his brain about everything from his legacy with Parliament and Funkadelic, to his take on Donald Trump's presidency.

The 75-year-old "godfather of funk" recalled the impact P-Funk made on the world but was sure to avoid pivoting from a time capsule, as he spoke in the present, saying, "We're here. We ain't going nowhere. We are a movement," in spite of the group's half a century long history in the music business. It is an assertion that Parliament fans can expound upon, beyond the fact that the band continues to perform in its present incarnation. True fans of hip-hop would concur, in having heard samples from Clinton's past woven into some of the genre's most prolific songs, whether they knew what they were listening to at the moment or not.

It is in bringing the party together, regardless of culture or creed that Clinton's music is often cited for, and he touched on how they bore the intention to convey that message with the classic "One Nation," saying, "That's the holy grail of the funk. It's ... our anthem and that binding force." And it is Clinton's absolute faith that the music actually facilitates unity, that prompts him to direct anyone searching for answers right back to the funk, as was the case when the CNN reporter inquired about whether he had any thoughts on Donald Trump's first 100 days in office.

"Ain't no funk in the Trump," said Clinton. "You can't be that against everything and everybody and be funky -- that's hard to do. He needs to go to a good funk concert a few times. He'd probably change his mind about a lot of things. I'm going to send him a copy of 'One Nation Under a Groove' -- maybe that'll help."

Hip-Hop Mixtape Site Being Sued

A number of the largest record labels have sued Spinrilla, a popular hip-hop mixtape website and app. Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Bros. Records and Universal Music Group accuse Spinrilla’s operators of copyright infringement and claim damages that could reach millions of dollars.

Mixtapes have been part of the hip-hop culture for years, and one of such most popular online services today is Spinrilla. It allows users to stream and download tracks from its site or mobile app and accounts for hundreds of thousands of monthly users. The service got sued by the music labels, which claim that Spinrilla facilitates copyright infringement, allegedly offering over 21,000 tracks of music artists such as Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West.

The plaintiffs estimated that the Spinrilla Android app had been downloaded and installed several million times and was among the most popular music apps offered on the Google Play store. However, Spinrilla is not just another pirate website: the service was incorporated in the US, earns money through advertising and recently partnered with AOL.

At the same time, the RIAA believes that Spinrilla has crossed a line by offering copyrighted music without permission and hopes that the record labels will be compensated through the lawsuit and that an injunction will take Spinrilla offline. The copyright holders point out that consumers have access to millions of music tracks from innovative legitimate platforms and services that pay creators, and Spinrilla’s way of business has no place in today’s music marketplace.

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Complex Conversation

Conversation about mumble rap vs hip hop topic still goes on about today's rappers not respecting the culture of hip hop then talks from how it got started. This is the golden era of hip hop opinions don't but the work do what i mean is you can't hurt the system on what's hot or not. 

Top 5 Best Ice Cube Movies

Ice Cube

I guess we don't have to guess who is the best producer out of the music industry that make movies. Of course Ice Cube name rings the loudest out of all. It's hard to determine which movies is the best by Ice Cube after a huge collections of titles made through his career.

People from all over fell in love with Ice Cube and the movies he produced and starred in from day one. The Wrap-Up Magazine believes they have chosen the Top 5 movies from Ice Cube the creator.

Letoya Luckett Hot Photo Shoot

+Letoya Luckett releases a super hot sizzling photo shoot for all the single ladies.

They can't deny that these photos are what a lady represents for today's culture.    

To sexy for one eye to look at, she is making a stand for all the single ladies. Thanks +Latoya Luckett 

Did Lil Wayne Betray His Young Money Crew?

 

It was recently reported that Lil Wayne sold his masters to Universal Music Group for $100 million back in June of this year. After documents of the deal were revealed, the sale reportedly included the master of Young Money artists as well. The three prominent artists on that list are Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Tyga. Given all of the work and culture shifts that the four artists have created, $100 million seems pretty cheap for ownership of their sound recorded copyrights.

This news led fans to speculate which albums were sold within the deal. According to the documents, the masters include every Drake album aside from his 2020 releases. Every 2020 release from the OVO CEO is under his OVO imprint in conjunction with Republic Records. Republic is also a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Every project from 2009’s So Far Gone to 2018’s Scorpion is reportedly included in Wayne’s Universal deal. On the other hand, all of Nicki Minaj’s albums have fallen under the Young Money/Cash Money imprint since her debut release, Pink Friday.

John Lennon's Killer Just Revealed His Motive at New Hearing

 

Chapman pled guilty to killing Lennon and was sentenced in 1981. His lawyers wanted to prove that he was not responsible "by reason of mental disease or defect," but Chapman said that God told him to plead guilty, as reported by The New York Times. 

Method Man added to Godfather of Harlem season 2 cast

 

Wu-Tang members Method Man has been added to Godfather of Harlem season 2. Hip Hop icon Method Man, who also stars on Power Book II, will play Sam Christian, the head of the Philadelphia Black Mafia, and a longtime friend of Bumpy Johnson’s.

From Epix: Godfather of Harlem Season 2 finds Bumpy Johnson battling the New York Crime Families for control of the lucrative and murderous “French Connection,” the pipeline for heroin that runs from Marseilles to New York Harbor. With a distribution syndicate that includes black crime bosses from other major U.S. cities, Bumpy takes a cue from his friend Malcolm X’s message of black economic nationalism. 

Yo Gotti Now Co-Owner Of MLS Team D.C. United

 

Along with being a chart-topping artist, Yo Gotti pushed into the business world, closing what appears to be a massive deal with DC United. Reports surfaced noting the rapper is now co-owner of the D.C. United soccer team.

SiX - OOOUUU Remix

With a true passion for story telling and lyricism, London’s very own “SiX” has cemented himself as a true “narrator for the younger generation”. With pure honesty and transparency, he takes you into his world, sharing life through his eyes, with the hopes that people relate to his struggles and together are inspired. 

WHY YOU SHOULD MASTER THE ART OF STORYTELLING

New York being his second home has allowed him to soak up culture from both sides of the Atlantic and these influences are evident in his flows, rhyming patterns and in his over all Hip-Hop style. With his street narrative perspective he believes, people’s struggles, once shared, are halved and this is the cornerstone of his brand and the legacy he hopes to leave behind. “Mavro” is the team; “All Black Always” is the motto.

Flipp Dinero Signs New Record Deal

Flipp Dinero

Haitian-American rapper Flipp Dinero has inked a deal with DJ Khaled's label. The “Leave Me Alone” spitter joins We The Best Music Group, an imprint of Epic Records.

“I knew Flipp was a special type of artist from the minute I heard him. He had a certain vibe to him that I knew the world would gravitate to and I’m proud to work with tomorrow’s brightest superstar," says Khaled.

Epic President Sylvia Rhone adds, "It’s an incredible opportunity to partner with two of the best music men who have their ear to the ground and their pulse on the culture. Flip Dinero is undeniable!”

The Guala Way EP creator is now part of an Epic Records roster that includes DJ Khaled, Travis Scott, Rick Ross, Future, 21 Savage, Yo Gotti, Blac Youngsta, Kodie Shane, Nick Grant, and other acts. Dinero is also associated with Johnny Shipes' Cinematic Music Group.

Shipes states, "I’m extremely excited to be partnering up with Khaled, he’s one of the best hit makers of our time. We are about to make a movie with Flipp."

Cinematic Music Group is set to highlight Flipp Dinero in his hometown next month. On September 30, "The Smokers Club" concert - headlined by Juice WRLD and YoungBoy Never Broke Again - will take place at the Brooklyn Mirage in NYC.

O.J. Simpson Is Back

Twenty years later, there’s no question that the so-called “Trial of the Century” was indeed that. It was America’s first true reality TV show, altering pop culture and the media in a way that no other event has since. Without O.J., there probably would have been no wall-to-wall coverage of the trials of Casey Anthony or George Zimmerman or Oscar Pistorius. There might not even be a “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” a reality show that has its own strange connection to the Simpson drama.

The O.J. Simpson saga was part Shakespearean tragedy and part trashy daytime soap opera, with an unlikely cast of characters and a juicy plot so strange and twisted that few dared to look away. Debating whether O.J. was guilty or not became a national pastime — encouraged by the fact that nearly every second of his trial was broadcast on television. And that debate was often divided along racial lines, underscoring the painful truth that blacks and whites continue to have drastically different views of justice in modern-day America.

It was a story that captivated the world: a beloved former football star accused of killing his glamorous ex-wife and her handsome friend in a grisly crime of passion. But whatever happened to the strange cast of characters that made up the O.J. saga? Here’s a look at some of the more memorable players of the O.J. show and what happened to them.

A Revolution In Learning

A revolution in learning has already begun. Revolution and has been giving great impacts on all kinds of human activities. Educational and learning support activities are not exception.

Established teaching methodologies are reaching their limits in most developed countries. New requirements are needed. In the search for solutions, technology is playing an increasingly prominent role — allowing for new approaches such as the “inverted classroom,” Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS) and “mobile learning”.

Real changes and disruptions usually come “from below”: through the individual decisions of the many rather than through sweeping decrees from the government. From the car to the internet to the tablet to the iPhone — that is, in all the great upheavals that new technologies have created in our lifestyle, culture, and working environment.

SHOULD YOU GET A PSYCHOLOGY DEGREE? HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

We all know that everyone has different talents and different interests. We celebrate personal uniqueness in so many places, and yet our schools still follow a factory model that forces both teachers and students into routines that engage and reward certain learners while marginalizing others.

The fact is that recent research from neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and related fields has uncovered that each of us has a range of strengths and weaknesses among the numerous brain functions that influence learning, as well particular subjects, ideas, and pursuits we’re drawn to – our affinities. Collectively, these strengths, weaknesses and affinities shape both how we learn and what engages us – which in turn both influence how much we actually learn and thrive in a given situation.

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Kendrick Lamar Named "Greatest Rapper of His Generation"

 

Drake, J. Cole, and Kendrick Lamar were three of the best-selling rappers of the 2010s. They released their debut albums in succession (2010, 2011, and 2012), and the age difference between the iconic emcees is only two years. Each of the thought-provoking recording artists has Grammy awards on their resume, with legions of fans who will vouch for their superiority as lyricists. 

However, when it comes to the writers and editors at the New York Times, they have determined that Kendrick Lamar reigns supreme, which is an accomplishment considering that media outlets on the East Coast, whether they're hip-hop based, pop culture magazines or daily newspapers, have historically heaped such praise on rappers in their region, for the most part.

Before Asking Your Boss For A Raise

Unsurprisingly, women's hesitance to fight for their worth has become a troubling hallmark of corporate culture. According to a recent survey by Glassdoor, 68% of women accept the first offer made by future employers, versus 52% of men. Compound these stats with the austere realities of entrenched wage inequality, in which women earned as little as 83% of what men did in 2015 (that gap becomes even larger when applied to women of color), and you've got quite an upward climb towards shaping the conversation surrounding money.

Professional women's reluctance to initiate these tricky dialogues is a predictable symptom of the broader ways that we're socialized: We're taught to accommodate others before tending to our own desires. Of course, these deep-rooted feelings influence our approach at the office, where women are significantly less likely to tackle large assignments with murky probabilities for success.

"We may gravitate towards those projects that we know we'll finish on time and complete perfectly. But we're hesitant about tasks that we could possibly fail at, though those are of course the ones that stretch our talents and challenge us to develop new skills." These factors naturally amplify the maddening double-bind that has plagued trailblazers both real and fictional — from Miranda Priestly to HRC: an impossible dichotomy that denounces women who ask for more as "pushy" or "bossy," but simultaneously scorns those who don't speak up and are inevitably passed over for advancement.

"It's difficult to talk about earning because we don't want to feel less worthy than other people, who potentially make more than we do, and vice versa," she observes. "We've gotten into this destructive pattern of collapsing our self-worth with our net worth, but really your salary is just how your services are valued in the market right now." And when you strip money of its power to dictate your worth as a person, it's suddenly much easier to share your wealth of professional knowledge with other women.

Never sacrifice your own earning potential to preserve a relationship with an employer who isn't willing to competitively reward your talents. One pivotal benefit of having robust savings is the freedom to leave a stagnant position and test your value in the marketplace. "If you feel confident in your financial wellness, and you know that you're not getting paid what you deserve, it's very powerful to have the confidence to walk away. You shouldn't have to settle for less."

Cardi B Wins Best Female Hip-Hop Artist

Sorry for all the Nicki Minaj fans as Cardi B has been pronounced the best female rapper of 2018.

Minaj officially announced her fourth album, Queen, on the red carpet at the 2018 Met Gala; the album was scheduled to be released on June 15, 2018. Its lead single, "Chun-Li", was released on April 12, 2018, and peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Every since Nicki released her Pink Friday album, she has been on top of the world until now. BET has announced that Cardi B will be leading the award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist in 2018.

Cardi B was added to Celebrity Net Worth on January 12, 2016 with a net worth of $400 thousand. Her net worth was updated to $1.5 million on February 9, 2017 and then again to $4 million on September 25 2017.

Cardi B is an up and coming hip hop artist; and in 2018, Cardi B's net worth is estimated to be $8 million. This figure is 400% higher than 2016, and guaranteed to increase during 2018.

Cardi B hit the big screen with Bodak Yellow and took off from their. Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar (born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an .... On January 18, 2018, Cardi B became the first woman to have five top 10 singles simultaneously on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart.

The culture of music sure has changed throughout the years. Take a look at some other articles thats also trending below.

Drake Named Best Male Pop Artist 2018

Lil Wayne Tops All Mixtapes For 2018

R. Kelly Named King Of R&B

RZA and GZA of Wu-Tang Talk 'The Game Of Life'

For as long as the two leaders of the Wu-Tang Clan have known each other, it still shocks GZA that he never played chess with RZA as a kid.

The pair are busy practicing this week for their Twitch debut on Saturday, where they will play and compete in a chess tournament hosted by Chess.com and Hennessy. It’s to benefit Black, Latinx and Asian small businesses struggling with the pandemic. GZA says he still remembers vividly to this day when his cousin taught his 9-year-old self how to play chess.

“I guess I remember it well because he had a black and red checkerboard, but the pieces were like clear plastic neon,” GZA tells The Washington Post in a video interview, who said he never forgot the lesson. “And they were weird colored, and they were caked in green. And he showed me the names of the pieces and how they moved.”

Independent Record Labels You Should Know

From independent icons like XL Recordings and Sub Pop to newer teams like 88 Rising and Mind of a Genius, here are some of the essential labels you should know. As always, we encourage you to do your own digging and share your own favorites with us, but as long as you discovered just one new label, artist, or piece of music that you love from this list, then we did our job.

From legendary indies to internet-based upstarts, these labels are all doing something special.