Who Buys This Stuff???

Is The Following Painting Worth 73 Million Dollars???

$73 Million Rothko Sets Postwar Art Record At Sotheby's

By Christopher MichaudTue May 15, 11:28 PM ET

Records were shattered on Tuesday at Sotheby's $255 million auction of contemporary and postwar art, the biggest in history, which was led by a $73 million Rothko and a $53 million Bacon.

Both works obliterated the old mark for any postwar work at auction of $27.1 million set last November and far exceeded their pre-sale estimates, ushering in a new world of higher prices for contemporary art.

"We're obviously thrilled with the results," said Tobias Meyer, Sotheby's worldwide head of contemporary art who also served as auctioneer.

The record results "showed how aggressive and strong the contemporary art market is," Meyer said, adding that like last week's Impressionist and modern art sales, the auction was marked by "lots of international bidding."

Records were set for 15 artists in all, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose untitled work from 1981 fetched $14.6 million including commission, about twice its estimate and nearly three times the artist's old record. The work was being sold by the Israel Museum.

The sale, with 88 percent of its 74 offerings finding buyers, took in $254,874,000, or just under its high pre-sale estimate.

Roughly half of that came from the top two lots: Rothko's 1950 Abstract Expressionist "White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose)," and Bacon's "Study from Pope Innocent X," which sold for $72.84 million and $52.68 million respectively.

Both Sotheby's and rival Christie's had set unprecedented, and seemingly aggressive, prices in excess of $30 million for its top postwar works this season, but those turned out to be conservative on Tuesday.

The astounding prices surprised even Sotheby's officials. "We didn't expect them to sell as well as they did," Meyer said of the Rothko and Bacon paintings.

But the spike in prices for top works "means that there clearly exists a huge interest in this field, and in the icons of contemporary art," senior international specialist for contemporary art Anthony Grant told Reuters.

"When we can identify those icons, the sky can be the limit," Grant said.

Among the evening's few casualties were two works by Jackson Pollock, neither of which approached its estimates and which the auction house ended up owning. "We perhaps moved ahead of the market," said Grant, "and it illustrates the difference between the icons and 'just good' works."

The Rothko was sold by philanthropist David Rockefeller, who attended the sale.

Other artists setting new records included Robert Rauschenberg, Richard Prince, Tom Wesselmann, Hans Hofmann, Morris Louis and Dan Flavin.

The spring sales wrap up on Wednesday with Christie's contemporary and post-war sale led by a $35 million Warhol from the late pop artist's Death and Disaster series.

R.I.P. Yolanda King...

Yolanda King, Daughter Of CSK & MLK, Dies At Age 51

ATLANTA (AP) — Yolanda King, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s eldest child who pursued her father's dream of racial harmony through drama and motivational speaking, collapsed and died. She was 51.

King died late Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., said Steve Klein, a spokesman for the King Center. The family did not know the cause of death, but relatives think it might have been a heart problem, he said.

AUDIO: MLK's voice 'lives on in all of us,' Yolanda said

"She was an actress, author, producer, advocate for peace and nonviolence, who was known and loved for her motivational and inspirational contributions to society," the King family said in a statement.

Former Mayor Andrew Young, a lieutenant of her father's who has remained close to the family, said King was going to her brother Dexter's home when she collapsed in the doorway.

Her death came less than a year and a half after her mother, Coretta Scott King, died in January 2006 after battling ovarian cancer and the effects of a stroke. Her struggle prompted her daughter to work with the American Heart Association to raise awareness about strokes, especially among blacks.

Yolanda King, who lived in California, was an actress, ran a production company and appeared in numerous films, including Ghosts of Mississippi. She played Rosa Parks in the 1978 miniseries King.

"Yolanda was lovely. She wore the mantle of princess, and she wore it with dignity and charm," said the Rev. Joseph Lowery, one of her father's close aides in the civil rights movement. He added she was "thoroughly committed to the movement and found her own means of expressing that commitment through drama."

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who also worked with her father, said: "She lived with a lot of the trauma of our struggle. The movement was in her DNA." The Rev. Al Sharpton called her a "torch bearer for her parents and a committed activist in her own right."

VIDEO: Yolanda King called an inspiration

White House press secretary Tony Snow said President Bush and the first lady were sad to learn of King's death, adding, "Our thoughts are with the King family today."

Yolanda King founded and led Higher Ground Productions, billed as a "gateway for inner peace, unity and global transformation." On her company's website, she described her mission as encouraging personal growth and positive social change.

The flag at The King Center, where she was a board member, flew at half-staff on Wednesday.

Yolanda Denise King — nicknamed Yoki by the family — was born Nov. 17, 1955, in Montgomery, Ala., where her father was then preaching. Her brother Martin III was born in 1957; brother Dexter in 1961; and sister Bernice in 1963.

She was just two weeks old when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus there, leading to the Montgomery bus boycott spearheaded by her father.

When she was 10 weeks old, the King family home was bombed in Jan. 30, 1956, as her father attended a boycott rally. Neither she nor her mother was injured when the device exploded on the front porch.

In 1963, when she was 7, her father mentioned her and her siblings at the March on Washington, saying: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

She was 12 when her father was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., in 1968.

King was a 1976 graduate of Smith College in Northampton, Mass., where she majored in theater and Afro-American studies. She also earned a master's degree in theater from New York University.

Yolanda King was the most visible of the four children during this year's Martin Luther King Day in January, the first since her mother's death.

When asked by The Associated Press at that event how she was dealing with the loss of her mother, she responded: "I connected with her spirit so strongly. I am in direct contact with her spirit, and that has given me so much peace and so much strength."

At her father's Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, she performed a series of solo skits that told stories including a girl's first ride on a desegregated bus and a college student's recollection of the 1963 campaign to desegregate Birmingham, Ala.

She also urged the audience to be a force for peace and love, and to use the King holiday each year to ask tough questions about their own beliefs about prejudice.

"We must keep reaching across the table and, in the tradition of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, feed each other," she said.

Funeral arrangements would be announced later, the family said in a brief statement.

Farewell To Rev. Falwell...

TV Evangelist Jerry Falwell Dies At 73

By SUE LINDSEY, Associated Press Writer 1 minute ago

The Rev. Jerry Falwell was stricken at his campus office and died Tuesday after a career in which the evangelist used the power of television to transform the religious right into a mighty force in American politics. He was 73.

The founder of the Moral Majority was discovered without a pulse at Liberty University and pronounced dead at a hospital an hour later. Dr. Carl Moore, Falwell's physician, said he had a heart condition and presumably died of a heart rhythm abnormality.

Driven into politics by the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that established the right to an abortion, Falwell founded the Moral Majority in 1979. One of the conservative lobbying group's greatest triumphs came just a year later, when Ronald Reagan was elected president.

Falwell credited the Moral Majority with getting millions of conservative voters registered, aiding in Reagan's victory and giving Republicans control of the Senate.

"I shudder to think where the country would be right now if the religious right had not evolved," he said when he stepped down as Moral Majority president in 1987.

Fellow TV evangelist Pat Robertson, himself a one-time GOP candidate for president, declared Falwell "a tower of strength on many of the moral issues which have confronted our nation."

The rise of Christian conservatism — and the Moral Majority's full-throated condemnation of homosexuality, abortion and pornography — made Falwell perhaps the most recognizable figure on the evangelical right, and one of the most controversial ones, too.

Over the years, Falwell waged a landmark libel case against Hustler magazine founder Larry Flynt over a raunchy parody ad, and created a furor in 1999 when one of his publications suggested that the purse-carrying "Teletubbies" character Tinky Winky was gay.

Matt Foreman, executive director of National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, extended condolences to those close to Falwell, but added: "Unfortunately, we will always remember him as a founder and leader of America's anti-gay industry, someone who exacerbated the nation's appalling response to the onslaught of the AIDS epidemic, someone who demonized and vilified us for political gain and someone who used religion to divide rather than unite our nation."

The 1980s marked the religious conservative movement's high-water mark. In more recent years, Falwell had become a problematic figure for the GOP. His remarks a few days after Sept. 11, 2001, essentially blaming feminists, gays and liberals for bringing on the terrorist attacks drew a rebuke from the White House, and he apologized.

Falwell's declining political star seemed apparent when he was quietly led in and out of the Republican Party's 2004 national convention. Just four years earlier, he was invited to pray from the rostrum.

The big, blue-eyed preacher with a booming voice started a fundamentalist church in an abandoned bottling plant in Lynchburg in 1956 with just 35 members. He built it into a religious empire that included the 24,000-member Thomas Road Baptist Church, the "Old Time Gospel Hour" carried on TV stations around the country and 9,600-student Liberty University, which Falwell founded in 1971 as Lynchburg Baptist College.

From his living room, he broadcast his message of salvation and raised the donations that helped his ministry grow.

"He was one of the first to come up with ways to use television to expand his ministry," said Robert Alley, a retired University of Richmond religion professor who studied and criticized Falwell's career. Alley died last summer.

Falwell had once opposed mixing preaching with politics, but changed his views. The Moral Majority grew to 6.5 million members and raised $69 million as it supported conservative politicians and railed against abortion, homosexuality, pornography and bans on school prayer.

Falwell became the face of the religious right, appearing on national magazine covers and on talk shows. In 1983, U.S. News & World Report named him one of 25 most influential people in America.

"Jerry's passions and convictions changed the course of our country for the better over the last 20 years," said James Dobson, founder of the conservative Christian Focus on the Family ministry. "It was Jerry who led an entire wing of Christianity, the fundamentalist wing, away from isolation and into a direct confrontation with the culture."

"Dr. Falwell was a man of distinguished accomplishment who devoted his life to serving his faith and country," said Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), a GOP presidential contender who during the 2000 primaries referred to Falwell and Robertson as "agents of intolerance." McCain has since distanced himself from those comments.

In 1984, Falwell sued Hustler for $45 million, charging that he was libeled by an liquor-ad parody that quoted him as saying he lost his virginity to his mother in an outhouse.

A federal jury found the fake ad did not libel him, but awarded him $200,000 for emotional distress. The verdict was overturned in a landmark 1988 U.S. Supreme Court decision that held that even pornographic spoofs about a public figure enjoy First Amendment protection.

With Falwell's high profile came frequent criticism, even from fellow ministers. The Rev. Billy Graham once rebuked him for political sermonizing on "non-moral issues."

Falwell quit the Moral Majority in 1987, saying he was tired of being "a lightning rod" and wanted to devote his time to his ministry and Liberty University. But he remained outspoken and continued to draw criticism for his remarks.

In 1999, he told an evangelical conference that the Antichrist was a male Jew who was probably already alive. Falwell later apologized for the remark but not for holding the belief. A month later, his National Liberty Journal warned parents that Tinky Winky, the children's TV character, was a gay role model and morally damaging to children.

Falwell was re-energized after family values proved important in the 2004 presidential election. He formed the Faith and Values Coalition as the "21st Century resurrection of the Moral Majority," to seek anti-abortion judges, a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and more conservative elected officials.

In 1987, Falwell took over the PTL (Praise the Lord) ministry in South Carolina after the Rev. Jim Bakker got caught in a sex and money scandal. Falwell slid fully clothed down a theme park water slide after donors met his fundraising goal to help rescue the rival ministry. He gave it up seven months later after learning the depth of PTL's financial problems.

Largely because of the sex scandals involving Bakker and fellow evangelist Jimmy Swaggart, donations to Falwell's ministry dropped from $135 million in 1986 to less than $100 million the following year. Hundreds of workers were laid off and viewers of his television show dwindled.

Liberty University was $73 million in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy, and his "Old Time Gospel Hour" was $16 million in debt. By the mid-1990s, two local businessmen with long ties to Falwell began overseeing the finances and helped get companies to forgive debts or write them off.

Falwell dreamed that Liberty would grow to 50,000 students and be to fundamentalist Christians what Notre Dame is to Roman Catholics and Brigham Young University is to Mormons.

Falwell's father and his grandfather were militant atheists, he wrote in his autobiography. He said his father made a fortune off his businesses — including bootlegging during Prohibition.

As a student, Falwell was a star athlete and a prankster who was barred from giving his high school valedictorian's speech after he was caught using counterfeit lunch tickets.

He ran with a gang of juvenile delinquents before becoming a born-again Christian at 19. He turned down an offer to play professional baseball and transferred from Lynchburg College to Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Mo.

"My heart was burning to serve Christ," he once said in an interview. "I knew nothing would ever be the same again."

Falwell had made careful preparations for a transition of his leadership to his two sons, Jerry Falwell, Jr., now vice chancellor of Liberty University, and Jonathan Falwell, executive the pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church.

Falwell is survived by his wife, Macel, his two sons and a daughter, Jeannie Falwell Savas. Funeral arrangements were not immediately known.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Mormon whose own faith has become an issue during his run for the presidency, said Falwell "built and led a movement based on strong principles and strong faith," and "the legacy of his important work will continue through his many ministries where he put his faith into action."

More Falwell News:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18679412/

Check Out W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio This Sunday May 20 @ 4PM Central/5PM Eastern...

This Month's Theme Is "WE THE PEOPLE..."
Please Join Us This Sunday May 20 @ 4PM Central/5PM Eastern For The Special Hip Hop Edition Of Tha Artivist Presents...W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio ...Our Scheduled Guests Are:

1.) Well Known Hip Hop Scholar, Author And Activist Yvonne Bynoe

Yvonne Bynoe is a Senior Fellow at the Future Focus 2020 Center, a part of the Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University. As an author and lecturer, her work combines the relevant issues of politics, culture and economics within the context of American popular culture. Bynoe has been called one of the most important voices of her generation. Famed scholar Manning Marable called Bynoe, "one of Hip Hop Culture's most insightful observers." Duke University professor Mark Anthony Neal, author of several books on popular culture including, That's The Joint: Hip Hop Studies Reader, said that Bynoe is a member of "the Hip Hop intelligentsia." Cultural critic Stanley Crouch says, "Bynoe earns a place as a Thomas Paine in the movement against female degradation."

Bynoe is nationally recognized as an expert on the intersection between popular culture and politics. She is the author of the book Stand and Deliver: Political Activism, Leadership and Hip Hop Culture (Soft Skull Press, 2004), which is used in college courses across the country. Her second book, The Encyclopedia of Rap and Hip Hop Culture (Greenwood Press), published in December, 2005, holds the distinction of being a 2005-2006 College & Research Libraries Selected Reference Work (see more comments).

Her writings have been included in university curricula across the country.
http://www.yvonnebynoe.com

2.) Hip Hop Enthusiast And Rap Phenom WOO Child

Born and raised in Flint, MI, this exceptional emcee has been killing instrumentals since his 1st semester @ Washington University in St. Louis, where he decided to put down the poetry pen and pad, to perform is lyrical pieces. After successfully garnering attention through MP3.com by being selected to their "Best Of Spring" compilation in 2001 as well as numerous weeks @ ..1 amongst the likes of Eminem, Snoop Dog, and Dr. Dre, he self-released his demo through MP3.com, entitled "Double U Double Oh", which is W-O-O, spelled out. The demo spent many months in the top 10 sellers list for Hip Hop on MP3.com before it officially closed and changed owners, disallowing unsigned artist to promote through the site.

Around that time Woo began preparing what he'd hope would be his first major release and was picked up by Angel Magic Music, an indy label out of Madision, WI. The album, "Bridge The Gap", received critical acclaim around the internet, and Woo Child toured around Madison, Detroit, and St. Louis promoting the album.

Moving on from Angel Magic Music, Woo signed with new manager, Derrick Chatman, out of Macon, GA, and began workin on a new project titled, "Under Rated Over Achiever", and toured through out middle Georgia promoting its coming. During the recording process, Woo found a fan in And 1 Streetball legend Sik Wit It, and traveled to Kansas City to kick it with the team, and received a drop for the album from Sik Wit It himself.

Woo Child has continued to make music, continued to satisfy his ever growing fan base with random releases of tracks and a mixtape that recorded over 3,000 downloads of the ENTIRE CD entitled, "Woo Child presents:Industry Takeover" (click here to download). He later released a critically acclaimed song entitled "Guilty" for the Katrina victims.

Stay Tuned...2007 is gonna get RIDICULOUS...

http://www.woochild.com

http://www.myspace.com/woochild1

3.) Author Extraordinaire, Entrepreneur And Enamored With The Culture Of Hip Hop Shamontiel L. Vaughn a.k.a. Maroon Sista
http://www.myspace.com/shamontiel_maroonsista

ABOUT THE NOVEL Change For A Twenty:
Growing up is hard enough, but when six completely opposite people meet to argue, cry, laugh, pledge, fight, and hang together on a Historically Black College campus, a bond is formed. Seleste is a college junior with her own place, no boyfriend, and determined to hold on to her virginity. Her best friend, Cara, is a college junior who lives in the dorms, has an on-again off-again boyfriend, Arnez, and thinks sex is the answer to all her problems. Travis, nicknamed Memo, is a troubled senior from New York who came to Chicago, running from his fathers past as a crooked cop. Jermaine wants to join a fraternity and O wants to get rid of the Super Senior trait hes earned. Change for a Twenty is a fiction novel set in Chicago about six college friends, two nemeses, and the path to adulthood.

Check out Shamontiel L. Vaughn's previous radio interview: Part 1 and Part 2.

Also, feel free to visit the Geocities page to find out more background information on the author and the book.

4.) YOU!!!

Please Feel Free To Join In This Conversation By Calling 646-652-4593 And/Or E-mailing Us @ r2c2h2@gmail.com

Also Check Out The Show Live Via Internet By Clicking On The Following Link:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe

If You Have Problems Accessing The Show From That Link Please Go To http://www.blogtalkradio.com ...Normally When A Show Is On Live A Link Is Provided To The Show Towards The Bottom Of The Page So That You Can Listen To The Show...My Apologies To Mac Users If You Are Unable To Access The Show...

As Always Please Spread The GOOD News!!!

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Waiting For You

Eco-Business Revolutionary Provided "Poop For Thought" On W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio...

Tha Artivist Says: This Was A Very Informative And Entertaining Interview...Mr. Szaky Is Very Inspiring And Engaging...I Look Forward To Seeing What The Future Has In Store For Him And His Magnum Opus TerraCycle!!! I Encourage Everyone To Take A Listen For Themselves And Pass It On:
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/blogtalkradio/show_22841.wax


This Month's Theme On W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio Is "We The People..."

One Man's Garbage Is Another Man's Fortune...

Meet This Generation's Bill Gates And Ben & Jerry's Rolled Into One, Mr. Tom Szaky the Visionary And Founder Of TerraCycle...In 2005 Mr. Szaky Was Named The No. 1 Entrepreneur Under Thirty By Inc. Magazine...

Tom Szaky is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of TerraCycle, Inc., producer of the world's first product made from and packaged in waste. TerraCycle Plant Food has been recently named the most eco-friendly product in Home Depot, and received a number of awards for business model and environmental stewardship.

Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1982, Mr. Szaky emigrated from Hungary to Holland. In 1989 he and his family emigrated again from Holland to Canada. At 14 he started his first business, a web design company called Flyte Design, which employed three associates and earned its young proprietor a five-figure income. Flyte Design also earned a number of Canadian national design awards. Mr. Szaky then engaged in the start-up of three small 'dot.com' companies: Werehome.com (an online home improvement site), piority.com (an online fundraising school), and studentmarks.com (an online grade tracking software).

While in secondary school, Mr. Szaky was also active in community service and philanthropy. As a third-year student, he cycled solo from Toronto to Vancouver to raise $4000 for the environmental organization Ontario Naturalists, setting a national speed record of 21 days for such a bike ride. As a fourth-year student, he organized and directed a full-scale fashion show, managing a volunteer staff of 200 people, which raised $35,000.

Mr. Szaky came to the United States in 2001 when he matriculated as a freshman at Princeton University. In 2002, Mr. Szaky took a leave of absence to dedicate himself full-time to starting TerraCycle, Inc., beginning as a 2 man outfit in the crowded basement of an old office building in Princeton.

Learn How This Princeton University Dropout Was Able To Start One Of The Fastest Growing And Environmentally Friendly Companies In The World...Find Out How He Was Able To Walk Away From One Million Dollars But Was Still Able To Build An Empire On Worm Poop...

Check Out TerraCycle's Official Website:

http://www.terracycle.net

Check Out This CBS Evening News Special Featuring Tom Szaky And TerraCycle...Very Edutaining:
http://www.terracycle.net/story.htm

As Always Please Spread The Good News!!!

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Waiting For You!!!

Black Girl Speaks!!! On W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio This Thurs. May 17 @ 9PM Central/10PM Eastern

This Month's Theme Is "WE THE PEOPLE..."

Please Join Us This Thursday May 17 @ 9PM Central/10PM Eastern As We Talk To One Of The Up And Coming Defining Creative Voices Of This Hip Hop Generation...The Young, Black , Gifted And Beautiful Ms. Talitha Coverson The Creative Force Behind The Critically Acclaimed

Black Girl Speaks
http://www.blackgirlspeaks.com

Photography By Tellis Rodgers

Black Girl Speaks was originally written as individual pieces and later threaded to create one performance. The show itself is constantly evolving as I do. Each piece is one that is held close to my heart, because it was either my own experience, the experience of someone dear to me, or the experience of someone that has spoken through me. The purpose of this show is to be a vehicle for artistic expression and the projection of our stories. It is to allow the “black girl” that has touched all of us to voice her triumphs, sorrows, thoughts, and history. “Black Girl Speaks” would not exist if it were not for the many women who came before me that were unafraid of speaking out in various forms. Through this venue, I honor these women...
- Talitha V. Coverson
Poet, Playwright, Producer

Please Feel Free To Join In This Conversation By Calling 646-652-4593 And/Or E-mailing Us @ r2c2h2@gmail.com

Also Check Out The Show Live Via Internet By Clicking On The Following Link:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe

If You Have Problems Accessing The Show From That Link Please Go To http://www.blogtalkradio.com ...Normally When A Show Is On Live A Link Is Provided To The Show Towards The Bottom Of The Page So That You Can Listen To The Show...My Apologies To Mac Users If You Are Unable To Access The Show...

As Always Please Spread The GOOD News!!!

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Waiting For You

He Pops The Culture, The Culture Don't Pop Him!!!

Robert Thompson poses in his office at Syracuse University in Syracuse, N.Y., Monday, May 7, 2007. Thompson, is the founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University, where he is also a Trustee Professor of Television and Popular Culture at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. He is often sought out by the media for comments on pop culture news.(AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli)

Syracuse Prof. Is Pop Culture Ambassador

By JOCELYN NOVECK, AP National Writer

Last week was pretty slow in the world of pop culture news. But the media sought out Robert Thompson just the same.

The Syracuse University professor was quoted on the image of motherhood on TV. On the phenomenon of animal shows on cable. The danger of Hollywood trilogies. Rosie O'Donnell's future. The hipness of being a nerd.

Such exposure is nothing unusual for Thompson, a font of pop culture knowledge like few others. There may well be an expert somewhere who has a more wide-ranging, obsessive knowledge of this highly amorphous subject. But if so, they're keeping quiet about it.

And it would be hard for the amiable, 47-year-old Thompson to keep quiet at this point, even if he wanted to. Because reporters from all over the world would keep calling — to get his witty analysis of Katie Couric's debut on CBS, of vintage furniture, of the growth of barbecue culture. He's been called, half-jokingly, the most quoted man in America. That's not exactly true; we do have a president. But on certain days, when the pop culture firmament is busy, well, just Google his name.

"I've seen Bob get 60, 70, 80 media calls in one day," says the man who hired him at Syracuse, David Rubin, dean of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. "I've seen him in a hallway on his cell phone for hours. You could go so far as to say Bob is the most quoted academic in the United States."

So often has Thompson been quoted, over 17 years at Syracuse, that some news organizations (including The Associated Press) have lately tried consciously NOT to quote him.

But nobody said we couldn't write ABOUT him. So while Syracuse, the seat of Onondaga County, about 250 miles from New York City, would hardly seem a mecca of pop culture, it seems a worthwhile journey to meet one of the only men on the planet capable of riffing rhapsodically, on cue, about the history of the aluminum lawn chair.

___

The first thing you notice in Thompson's office are the TV sets. Not because three in one office is so unusual — though this office does seem rather spacious for an academic, not to mention the view — but because of what's playing. Not CNN or Fox News, but an episode of "The Andy Griffith Show" on TV Land.

TV is Thompson's passion; his office shelves are lined with old VHS tapes filled with countless hours of shows. A short walk away is the lecture hall where he teaches his spring undergraduate class. On this, the last day of the semester, Thompson has three hours to wrap up the history of television.

He whips into action, starting with the early '50s and Lucy and Desi. Before you can say "Hill Street Blues" he's up to the '80s — the second "Golden Age" of television — by way of "Quincy" and "Barnaby Jones." At the turn of the century, Thompson argues, television is at its all-time best, with HBO the crown jewel. "The Larry Sanders Show." "Oz." "Sex and the City." "The Sopranos." "Rome." And so on.

He turns to reality TV, which, in a typically sweeping yet concise Thompson-ism, he calls "the most interesting new way to tell a story since the invention of the novel." It began in Britain, he explains, and then "the virus jumped over the Atlantic and spread."

"Survivor" is dissected. So is "Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?" and "Temptation Island." Have you ever noticed how conservative "The Bachelor" is, he muses, with all these girls waiting for a kiss? Stephanie from South Carolina has recently been rejected by bachelor Andy, he notes. Yes, he does watch all this stuff.

Now he broaches the "single biggest event in all of TV history" — coverage of the 9/11 terror attacks. He plays a good hour of CNN from that awful morning, reminding the students, most of whom were about 14 then, how it felt to watch the twin towers collapse on live TV. When he later plays segments of an MTV documentary on pop culture post-9/11, no one flinches when one of its featured commentators turns out to be Thompson. The students are used to it.

The class ends with society's current fixation on YouTube, the wildly popular video-sharing site. And one lesson from that, he notes, is how our collective attention span has shrunk. We can't watch a YouTube clip that's more than a few minutes long. To prove it, he plays a tedious clip of someone's pet cat playing the piano. "Seven minutes," another Thompson-ism goes, "is the new 'War and Peace.'"

___

Back in his office later that evening, Thompson explains the genesis of his interest in pop culture. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Chicago, where he initially planned to be an art history professor. But on Sunday nights, when the dorms didn't serve food, he would eat takeout in front of the TV. He found that he chose "CHiPs," with Erik Estrada, over PBS, and became fascinated with the question: "Why do smart people watch dumb TV?"

He did his thesis on Dante's "Divine Comedy," but came to believe that "art could be something that came out of a TV set." That led to a broader interest in popular culture. "I realized that to understand TV you needed to understand the network radio era. And vaudeville. And the circus. And comic strips. Every year I would binge on something."

He did his masters and doctorate at Northwestern, and arrived in 1990 at Syracuse, where he now heads the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture. Over the years, reaction from traditional academics to his chosen field has become much less hostile, he says. "Now, there isn't a university that doesn't have a course on the history of rock 'n' roll," he notes.

Thompson, who's written or edited six books of his own, gets up each day at five to read; he consumes three new books a week, not to mention uncounted hours of TV. (He also has a family that he spends time with.) He's constantly becoming enamored with new areas of pop culture.

A couple years ago, for example, he realized he didn't know enough about Shakespeare — a pop culture figure of his time, after all. He decided to watch all existing plays on VHS or DVD. In three months he watched 113 plays and read 25 books on the bard. "I was crazed," he says contentedly.

Then there's his interest in the webbed aluminum lawn chair. "They're really taken for granted," he says. He's happy to explain how the phenomenon began with extra metal from wartime scrap drives, combined with explosive growth in America's suburbs.

Right now, Thompson's focusing his pop-culture lens on ancient times. "I'm interested in the celebrity culture of ancient Rome," he says. "Back then, as now, it was who you knew that got you into parties."

It dovetails with a broader Thompson thesis: So many things that we think are new, really aren't. "American Idol," you say? Nothing new, he replies. Remember Ted Mack's "Original Amateur Hour?"

____

It's not just the breadth of Thompson's interests that make him so quotable. It's his accessibility — he returns phone calls promptly — and the un-academic way he speaks: in snappy sentences that are easy to digest. "I don't speak in clauses," he acknowledges. "I believe in periods." Some might actually say he speaks in soundbites — the media gossip site Jossip.com has in fact drily called him "Mr. Soundbite," and Thompson himself notes he's been called a "quote whore." But reporters point out that he thinks hard to come up with something different and interesting.

"Unlike many people in his position, he almost always finds an angle or perspective that I hadn't thought about," says AP Television Writer David Bauder.

Angela Nelson, a professor at Bowling Green State University, says Thompson is "performing a great service for the discipline. Television in particular has been seen to be trivial, and his paying attention to it and preserving it is good for the culture." Nelson is the head of her university's Popular Culture department — the only full department in the country devoted to the subject, established in the 1970s. (Most pop culture courses are nestled in other departments like English, communications, or sociology.)

Thompson has been quoted so often, at least one reporter has told him of a "moratorium" at their newspaper on quoting him. One can see why editors would notice. At The New York Times alone, an archive search shows Thompson quoted more than 40 times in the last four years, by writers in a wide range of areas. At the AP, he's been quoted close to 20 times in the past year.

"These days, answers are so predictable, crafted and cliche," says journalism teacher Roy Clark, of the Poynter Institute in Florida. "Somebody who thinks on their feet, relies on a well of knowledge and is curious about the world at large can be an invaluable resource." Clark, who notes he's unfamiliar with Thompson, adds: "As long as it doesn't turn journalists into lazybones."

Thompson says he's weary of the most-quoted-guy label, but Rubin, his dean, says: "Bob is very proud of his status. He's just got a certain modesty about him." He adds that Thompson is not at all hierarchical: If a school paper calls before a major news organization, they'll get the return call first.

As a teacher, Thompson is said to be generous with his time, though he's known as a tough grader — something that can disappoint a student hoping to get an easy ride in a pop culture class. "He really has a lot of time for his students," says Carolyn Davis, a doctoral student in media studies who assisted Thompson this semester. "People will come in just to talk, and he'll order lunch."

In any case, the university loves his star status. "My job is to keep Bob happy," says Rubin.

Thompson says he learns from the give-and-take with the media. Besides, it's a teacher's job to preach what he knows — and Thompson feels Americans need a basic working knowledge of their own pop culture.

"To understand the history of this nation," he says, leaving you with one last Thompson-ism, "you have to understand its presidents and its wars.

"But you also need to understand its lawn ornaments and its cheeseburgers."

Michael Holman On Jean Michel Basquiat...

This Past Wednesday (May 9, 2007) On Tha Artivist Presents...W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio I Had The Honor And The Privilege Of Interviewing Renaissance Man Extraordinaire Michael Holman http://www.michaelholman.com...He Was Very Close Friends With Another Phenomenal Renaissance Artist Jean Michel Basquiat...He Wrote The Film Screen Play For The Biopic About Jean Michel Basquiat Entitled "Basquiat"...He Also Produced, Wrote And Recorded Music For As Well As Acted In The Classic Art Film "Downtown 81" Which Starred The Real Jean Michel Basquiat...Please Listen To This Important Interview By Clicking On The Following Link:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe/2007/05/10/michael-holman-on-jean-michel-b

*Check Out Mr. Holman's Classic Debut On W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio*
Also Please Listen To The Instant Classic Sunday May 6, 2007 Installment Of Tha Artivist Presents... W.E. A.L.L. B.E Radio Where The Brilliant And Loquacious Mr. Michael Holman "Broke Bread" With His Peers, Planted Seeds And Discovered Jewels!!! This Show Was Two Hours "Short"And Is Considered By Many To Be One Of The Best Shows Tha Artivist Presents...W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio Has Ever Produced!!!
You Can Check Out The Show By Clicking On The Following Link:
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/blogtalkradio/show_22840.wax

As Always Please Spread The Good News...

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Waiting For You!!!

Check Out This Dear Momma Love Day Special On W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio Sun. May 13,2007 @ 4PM Central

This Month's Theme On W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio Is "We The People..."

One Man's Garbage Is Another Man's Fortune...

Meet This Generation's Bill Gates And Ben & Jerry's Rolled Into One, Mr. Tom Szaky the Visionary And Founder Of TerraCycle...In 2005 Mr. Szaky Was Named The No. 1 Entrepreneur Under Thirty By Inc. Magazine...

Tom Szaky is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of TerraCycle, Inc., producer of the world's first product made from and packaged in waste. TerraCycle Plant Food has been recently named the most eco-friendly product in Home Depot, and received a number of awards for business model and environmental stewardship.

Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1982, Mr. Szaky emigrated from Hungary to Holland. In 1989 he and his family emigrated again from Holland to Canada. At 14 he started his first business, a web design company called Flyte Design, which employed three associates and earned its young proprietor a five-figure income. Flyte Design also earned a number of Canadian national design awards. Mr. Szaky then engaged in the start-up of three small 'dot.com' companies: Werehome.com (an online home improvement site), piority.com (an online fundraising school), and studentmarks.com (an online grade tracking software).

While in secondary school, Mr. Szaky was also active in community service and philanthropy. As a third-year student, he cycled solo from Toronto to Vancouver to raise $4000 for the environmental organization Ontario Naturalists, setting a national speed record of 21 days for such a bike ride. As a fourth-year student, he organized and directed a full-scale fashion show, managing a volunteer staff of 200 people, which raised $35,000.

Mr. Szaky came to the United States in 2001 when he matriculated as a freshman at Princeton University. In 2002, Mr. Szaky took a leave of absence to dedicate himself full-time to starting TerraCycle, Inc., beginning as a 2 man outfit in the crowded basement of an old office building in Princeton.

Learn How This Princeton University Dropout Was Able To Start One Of The Fastest Growing And Environmentally Friendly Companies In The World...Find Out How He Was Able To Walk Away From One Million Dollars But Was Still Able To Build An Empire On Worm Poop...

Find All Of This Out And More By Tuning Into Tha Artivist Presents...W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Radio This Sunday, Dear Momma Love Day @ 4PM Central/5PM Eastern...

Listen To The Show Live By Clicking On The Following Link:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe

If You have Problem Accessing The Show Please Go To http://www.blogtalkradio.com When The Show Is Live A Link Appears On The Page Which You Can Click On To Listen In On The Show...Unfortunately, From What I Hear The Listening Format For The Show Is Not Setup For Mac Computer Users As Of Yet...

Mr. Tom Szaky's Story Is Very Inspirational So Please Feel Inspired To Join In The Conversation By Calling 646-652-4593 And /Or E-mailing Us With Your Questions/Comments @ r2c2h2@gmail.com

Check Out TerraCycle's Official Website:

http://www.terracycle.net

Check Out This CBS Evening News Special Featuring Tom Szaky And TerraCycle...Very Edutaining:
http://www.terracycle.net/story.htm

So On Mother's Day Don't Forget About Mother Earth The Mother Of Us All!!!

As Always Please Spread The Good News!!!

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Waiting For You!!!

Condiology 101

The Cultivation of Condi

HISTORY MAKER-In every facet of her life (her schooling, her tenure at Stanford, her political service) Condoleezza Rice, our 66th Secretary of State, has stood out. The guidance of proud, progressive parents has taken the Birmingham, Alabama native very far.

A Limelight Exclusive
By Byron Lee

IN SHARP RELIEF-This illustration, from Time/CNN.com, depicts Rice as stoic and determined.

She is one of the most controversial figures in our community, the significance of her achievements overshadowed by her allegiance to a faltering, misguided regime. In this issue of the limelight, we explore the background of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Born on Nov. 14, 1954 in Birmingham, Alabama, her father John, a pastor, and her mother Angelena, an organist and science teacher, instilled in Condoleezza (named after the Italian musical expression con dolcezza ("with sweetness")) both the idea that she was special and the idea that she would have to work much harder than others to ensure success..

Her parents took what may seem to some blacks as controversial measures en route to having the young girl fight oppression. Instead of getting involved in the marches of the time, The Rices, like many parents in Birmingham's black middle class Titusville subdivision, opted to take the child directly home from school, immersing Condi in a regimented schedule of school work and extracurricular activities. John Rice is said to have taken this approach in order to prepare his children for the future, saying to them, "Things will not always be this way." As Rice stated in a 1993 interview with the Chicago Tribune, "I remember it as a time when...my parents had to try to explain why we had to drive all the way to Washington D.C., before we could stay in a hotel. And they had to explain why I could not have a hamburger in a restaurant but I could be president anyway, which was the way they chose to handle the situation." (An additional, more visceral reminder of racism occurred on September 15, 1963, when four girls were killed in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, just down the street from John Rice's church. One of the girls killed was Denise McNair, a classmate of Rice's.)

In addition to helping their only daughter, The Rices were extremely progressive for their time. John organized college fairs through his church at a time when very few blacks considered college as an option. Furthermore, when Condi enrolled in school, her mother, dissatisfied with the second-hand books being used at the school, bought new textbooks for Condi's class. Condi sped through these books (she is still a speed reader today) and was soon tutoring her classmates.

In addition to classwork, Rice found another passion growing up: the piano. Her grandmother, tired of hearing the young girl bang on the keys, decided to teach her how to play. (Condoleezza claims that she learned how to read music before she learned how to read; She continues to play the piano to this day and, years later, astounded a piano teacher at Stanford with both her dedication and memorization skills.)


Rice skipped both the first and seventh grades and graduated from high school at the age of 15. She enrolled in Denver's Lamont School of Music (her father had become vice chancellor at the University of Denver and moved the family to Colorado during Condi's high school years). She felt intimidated by her classmates and changed her major to political science after taking an international politics course taught by Josef Korbel, the father of future Secretary of State Madeline Albright. The Washingtonian reports that, when her father warned her that, "Blacks don't make money in political science." Condi casually responded "Music either."



FOR THE BOYS (AND GIRLS)-Condoleezza Rice, along with other members of the Cabinet, greet our troops. Ms. Rice’s accomplishments have caused her to receive several e-mails and letters daily from young girls looking for inspiration.
Condoleezza became fascinated with Soviet politics and culture. She received a bachelors in International Relations in 1974, earned her masters in Economics at Notre Dame and earned her PhD in International Studies, with an emphasis in Soviet studies, in 1981 from the University of Stanford. This same year, she was awarded a fellowship and became an assistant professor of political science at the university. She was the only black woman on the faculty. (It was during her extensive studies that Rice had a political conversion; She voted for Jimmy Carter in 1976, but was disillusioned by Carter's handling of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.)

Rice would see a change in scenery when former national security adviser Brent Scowcroft, remembering the way Rice discussed foreign policy at a dinner several years earlier, drafts her for several positions in the George H.W. Bush Administration, many concerning Soviet, European and national security affairs. She serves for an historical three years (during which the Berlin Wall fell, Germany became one once more, and Russia became a supporter of the U.S. in the Persian Gulf War) and returns to Stanford with a telling observation: "You go to Washington with whatever knowledge you have, and then you burn it down. The problem is that sometimes people stay beyond the time that they have any intellectual capital left," she told the Washingtonian.

INTELLECTUAL AND ELEGANT-Rice at an informal meeting.

Rice was chosen as Stanford University's Provost (chief financial and academic officer) in 1993, the youngest in the school's history. Her tenure is widely remembered for various reasons. She started a program to help eradicate the school's deficit and balance the institution's budget. She also earned practice being loyal to a polarizing figure, in this case university president Gerhard Casper. She was also derided for restructuring the undergraduate program, chiefly with regard to the multicultural studies component. (The situation came to a head with the dismissal of a popular chicana studies professor, which led some students to go on a hunger strike; She finally decided on an "Introduction to Humanities" curriculum that would incorporate the history of many cultures into the core of american history.) In support of the unification of the history program, Rice stated in an interview that, "If you're going to read and understand Frederick Douglass, then you'd better understand Thomas Jefferson, because that is who he was referencing."

BEST FACE FORWARD-Some say that Ms. Rice’s presence in the Cabinet has added a much needed humanity to our current administration.

George H.W. Bush, having struck a rapport with Rice during her time in his administration, invited her to Kennebunkport, Maine in 1998 to be George W. Bush's foreign policy coach. Rice and the younger Bush hit it off over sports and fishing. She joined Bush's campaign and became national security adviser after the 2000 election. (According to the Washingtonian, John Rice, in the hospital with stokelike symptoms, saw his daughter sworn in via television; he died six days later on Christmas Eve. (Her mother Angelena died in 1984.)

GRACE UNDER FIRE-While Rice has drawn criticism for her allegiance to the stances of The Bush Administration, she has been lauded for her poise under pressure.

After the resignation of Colin Powell, Rice was weary about taking the Secretary of State job, due to her perceived lack of qualifications for the position and fatigue after the draining re-election campaign. The second term president, however, talked her into it. As the body count for the Iraqi War rises and our country breaks free from the ideological stranglehold employed by pro-war forces after the 9/11 attacks, Rice faces a great deal of adversity. Her trip to New York during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was deemed by many to be horribly insensitive. (She reportedly shopped for shoes and was booed when she took her seat during a performance of the Monty Python musical "Spamalot.") Ms. Rice has not been helped by the perception that she replaced someone thought to have left The Bush Administration chiefly because he was tired of being the lone dissenter in the cabinet.

FUTURE IN THE AIR-Rice, a football fanatic, has toyed with the idea of being NFL Commissioner, once her time in the Presidential Cabinet is up. Others say that she will move back west, due to her personal and professional roots there.

Regarding her future plans, Rice has kicked around the idea of being commissioner for the National Football League. (Her office finds a portrait of War general/Secretary of State George Marshall sharing space with Cleveland Browns memorabilia.) Many, however, believe that she will make her way back westward, due to her personal and professional roots there. As far as her personal life is concerned, Rice, who dated football players in college, claims that she is too busy to maintain a relationship.


NewsMaker And NewsMan- Condi with George Curry.

Wherever she goes, and whatever we think of her allegiances, Condoleezza Rice is someone who has, and will continue to, leave her mark on history.

For More Insightful Writings By Byron Lee Please go To The Following Website:
http://byron-lee.blogspot.com/

Verizon Drops Akon and Gwen Stefanie Cuz Nobody Wants To See Them Together???

Verizon Pulls Out Of Stefani Tour Over Akon Flap

Gwen Stefani
May 08, 2007, 12:00 AM ET
Michael Paoletta, N.Y. and Ray Waddell, Nashville
Verizon Wireless has abruptly pulled out as the presenting sponsor on Gwen Stefani's current Sweet Escape tour due to an incident involving the trek's opening act, Akon.

Last month, during a concert in Trinidad, Akon danced provocatively with a 15-year-old fan. When footage of the onstage dance found its way online, Verizon got cold feet. (Akon's show in Trinidad was unrelated to and not part of the Sweet Escape tour, which commenced April 21 in Phoenix.)

In addition to ending its affiliation with the Sweet Escape trek, Verizon has also removed Akon ringtones and music from its stores and handsets. The Verizon Wireless V Cast TV spots featuring Akon are also history.

Industry sources put the cash value of a tour sponsorship package like the one between Stefani and Verizon in the $1.5-$2 million range in cash, which artists typically use to finance production, startup costs and other tour expenses.

But marketing value can be worth as much as $1 million or more. Stefani manager Jim Guerinot, of Rebel Waltz, declined to discuss the financial terms, but does tell Billboard.com that "we're just in the beginning stages of evaluating" the impact of Verizon's move. Regarding the presenting sponsorship, Guerinot says, "We're surprised and shocked they've backed out of it."

As for Akon, Guerinot says, "Akon has been a perfect gentleman on this tour. His show has at best been a PG show. Children of all ages have been attending. We have had no complaints -- nothing but satisfied people. And I would say that we're shocked that Verizon would drop Gwen Stefani as part of this whole debate."

Industry observers say it will be difficult for Stefani and her team to pull another sponsor into the Sweet Escape tour, which has North American dates on the books through June 30 in Las Vegas. To this point, no dates have been cancelled and Akon remains on the tour.

Akon and Verizon spokespeople were unavailable for comment.

Update Below

Akon Apologizes For 'Sexual Dance' Act With Underage Clubber
Posted on Thursday, May 10, 2007 (EST)
http://news.sawf.org/Gossip/36928.aspx

Rapper Akon has apologized for engaging in sexually explicit dance moves with an underage girl at a club in the Caribbean.

A video that was put on You Tube, and later on TV channels, showed the artists engaged in the explicit act with a fifteen-year-old girl in Zen night club in Trinidad.

As a result of the row, Akin was dropped by Verizon as a featured talent, and also terminated sponsorship of Gwen Stefani's latest tour, where the"Smack That" rapper was to perform an opening act.

Akon apologized for the embarrassment he caused to the girl, her family and the Trinidad community

"I want to sincerely apologize for the embarrassment and any pain I've caused to the young woman who joined me onstage, her family and the Trinidad community for the events at my concert," E! Online quoted Akon's statement.

He added that he did not want to take advantage of his fame, and that it was assumed that the club did not admit anyone below 18 years of age.

"It was never my intention to embarrass or take advantage of my fans in any way, especially those under the age of 18. That is why we tried to make sure that the club did not admit anyone under 18 in the audience. Somehow, that standard was not met," he added.

Last month, the girl, Danah Alleyne, had said that she was shocked when the rapper pulled her to dance , and that she did not know what to do.

She had admitted that she got carried away, but insisted that she could have done nothing about it.

"I was shocked when Akon pulled me to dance,"I did not know what to do and with the crowd cheering and stuff I guess I got a little carried away. But there was nothing I could have done about it. I was in a state of real shock. I am so sorry for everything," she said.(ANI)

'Hip Hop Project' Is A Certified Hit...

`Hip Hop Project' Is A Long Time Coming

By Davey D
Special to the Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News

One of the things I love about hip-hop is its resilience.

Recently, we've heard countless arguments about what's wrong with the music, and relentless assertions that it's almost dead. But under these conditions, hip-hop flourishes, defying the odds to become "a rose that grows from concrete," in the words of Tupac Shakur.

Enter "The Hip Hop Project," a new documentary that touches and inspires viewers. Directed by Matt Ruskin and produced by Bruce Willis and Queen Latifah, it has generated quite a buzz - at New York's Tribeca Film Festival, where it premiered, and in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, where it recently screened to packed houses.

No, it isn't a tearjerker where someone dies or a corny, "Kumbaya"-style, feel-good story that assures us that everything's all right. The film seriously touches the soul by shining a light on the stark challenges faced by young people in our inner cities.

It focuses on Chris Rolle, a.k.a. Kazi, a former homeless youth from the Bahamas who bears the emotional scars of abandonment by his mother. As a teenager, he lived a rugged life on the streets of Brooklyn, but he eventually "found his way," thanks to hip-hop and a dream of becoming a rapper.

As a young adult, however, Kazi set aside that dream to dedicate his life to helping wayward teens. He launched a mentoring program named the Hip Hop Project, with the goal of getting youngsters to write, record and release a compilation album. Another goal was to get the young musicians to move beyond the all-too-familiar themes of sex, violence and misogyny. Kazi challenged them to dig deep and find their inner voices.

The process became a four- or five-year journey, as Kazi explored the deep-seated issues these teens faced, which went way beyond lyrics. In a recent interview, he explained that most young people lack the confidence to open up and express themselves, instead displaying only anger and a facade of callousness. He soon realized that they had developed callouses to protect the tender parts - their hearts and spirits.

Kazi understood that their lyrics initially reflected the pain resulting from a fatalistic view of life. The album became a secondary concern, as he realized that the kids needed healing to get on with their mental and spiritual development. And while dedicating every waking hour to assisting them, Kazi confronted his own issues over abandonment.

The journey of Kazi and the teens is moving beyond words. I have attended several screenings followed by appearances by Kazi and some of the young people. At each one, the audience was extraordinarily touched - everyone from hardened gangbangers to adults transported back to their own teen years by the stories.

For example, at the New York screening, which attracted Ice T, Al Sharpton and others from the rap community, a contrite Busta Rhymes stood up to tell Kazi that the film was a powerful reminder of what hip-hop is really about and of what Rhymes himself needs to be doing.

In our interview, Kazi noted that hip-hop has always given a voice to those who lacked it. He insisted that we must encourage people to express themselves, and we must create safe spaces where they can do that. It is only when we take such steps that we will see a change in the themes young people embrace.

In short, we have to answer their cries for help. And we must challenge ourselves not to follow the dictates of a music industry concerned only with profit.

Of all the hip-hop films I've seen or been a part of, "The Hip Hop Project" is by far the most powerful. I strongly encourage young people - and their parents - to see it.

The initial MPAA rating was R for language, but Kazi and director Ruskin appealed it, arguing that youngsters really need to see this film. The result was a PG-13 without alterations in the content.

Critics have demanded that hip-hop start reaching for higher goals. They have only to watch this film to see that's already happening.

About Davey D:
Davey D's hip-hop column is published biweekly in Eye. Contact him at mrdaveyd@aol.com.
Check Out Davey D's Informative Official Website On Hip Hop Culture:
http://www.daveyd.com

Visit The Official Website For The Hip Hop Project Movie:
http://www.hiphopproject.com/thehiphopproject.html

Visit The Hip Hop Project Movie Official Myspace Page:
http://www.myspace.com/hiphopprojectmovie