New Technology and Hip Hop

This blog has previously discussed the impact that Twitter would have on the burgeoning social networking scene in general, predicting that Twitter would become an important tool in promoting artists and athletes and providing access never before seen. So, with the growing popularity of Twitter, the following was bound to happen: In this new age of Twitter, blogs and moment-to-moment updating access, a lawsuit has been threatened based on the content of a Twitter message sent to thousands of "following" fans.

In recent news, Mistah FAB received a cease-and-desist letter from publisher Julia Beverly after FAB posted unflattering comments about Beverly on his Twitter account. Beverly is the owner of the music publication Ozone Magazine. The comments that Mistah FAB posted on Twitter were reportedly his response to a two year old interview that Julia Beverly, owner of music publication Ozone Magazine, recently posted online. In the newly posted interview, Mistah FAB discusses his disinterest in dark-skinned women. After purportedly receiving severe backlash for this comment after the interview was posted online, Mistah FAB attacked Beverly through Twitter.

FAB referred to Beverly in derogatory terms (i.e., “b**ch” and “hoe”) also referencing her in unflattering sexual contexts, which resulted in her letter calling for the retraction of the false and defamatory statements. The letter claims that the statements by Mistah FAB on Twitter will “damage and cause irreparable harm to Ms. Beverly’s image and reputation.” While the cease and desist letter did not state when an actual lawsuit would be filed, it threatened FAB by stating that his failure to remove the statements would ultimately result in a defamation action against Mistah FAB for libel. While defamation and libel law is convoluted, particularly when it comes to celebrities, it is very likely that courts will struggle with defining traditional defamation law in the new context of social networking sites and Twitter in particular.

With the recent Tila Tequila - Shawne Merriman ordeal dominating the news, notorious Twitterer Tequila may have to use caution going forward. With a District Attorney weighing whether to file charges against Merriman for false imprisonment and battery and with Merriman denying Tequila's allegation of choking and restraining her, instead arguing that he was trying to keep her from leaving while intoxicated, what Tequila "tweets" may become a part of future court records.

The Bar Exam

Artist: GZA
Song: Fame
Album: Legend of the Liquid Sword

Larry's Bird flew outta Nicholas' Cage
Joe Tex messages from Satchel's Paige
Betty Wright+letters with ink from Sean's Penn
Infinite bars, you couldn't tell where the song end
Glenn Close enough to quickly duck the tapes
Richard Gere ripped while he was climbin' Bill Gates
He was a southerner, posing as a, native New Yorker
The Jason Kidd took his first steps in Jimmy's Walker
He stayed on line chattin' with rap celebs
Used Bernie's Mack to search Veronica's Webb
It cost them their life for the advice you gave
Now Pete Rose lay on Vanessa's Redgrave

With CREAM I ain't with the fame
Fame is the measure
Rap celebs
The place where stars are born
With CREAM I ain't with the fame
Fame is the measure
Rap celebs
The place where stars are born

Michael Jackson death ruled a murder, questions of culpability arise

As most people interested in entertainment news have heard, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office has ruled Michael Jackson's death a homicide. There's been a flood of well-written articles on this latest development that offer up opinions suggesting ideas as disparate as a conspiracy to the notion that Michael Jackson's suffering might excuse his doctor's actions.

A Baltimore Sun story offers some excellent writing. The Gainesville Sun provides solid information on the drug in question, Propofol. Also check out the Star-Ledger.

Is it possible to excuse Dr. Conrad Murray's actions if Michael Jackson was in fact suffering greatly? Are homicide or manslaughter charges appropriate? What about questions of negligence? We'll continue to follow this story closely.

-- Nick J. Sciullo

(Picture of Dr. Conrad Murray from the Associated Press)

The Fourth Circuit, a 3L, and thinking about Miranda

A recent column on HipHopDX.com was written by Chris Thomas, a third year law student at Brooklyn Law School that raises some interesting points about Miranda warnings. The article's thesis seems to be that alleged criminals should say nothing (something Thomas repeats throughout the article) to the authorities. This claim is not particularly controversial, as people accused of crimes are often tricked into confessing or otherwise incriminating themselves. It is not always easy to remember, especially when one believes they are innocent, but vitally important. There's no argument here that the state justice system is not looking out for the best interests of suspects.

What strikes me as particularly problematic about the column is that Mr. Thomas makes some gross generalizations about a very complex area of law. I know, I know... It's a blog post not a law review article, but the article seems more geared toward eliciting blogger comments than it does about thoughtfully engaging a serious problem. There are no easy answers when discussing the finer points of Mirandizing suspects or even when, how, and if a police officer can continue to talk with a suspect after they assert their right to remain silent and/or to counsel.

Thomas describes a discussion he had with rapper Prodigy, about Prodigy's recent arrest, and proceeds to list a litany of constitutional violations that stem from improper conduct by police officers after Prodigy allegedly (by Mr. Thomas) invoked his write to remain silent. The facts are simply too unclear in prodigy's story to make some of the logical leaps Thomas does.

The problem with Thomas' analysis is that it makes broad assumptions about a factual scenario about which he has little knowledge. It also too broadly asserts these alleged Constitutional violations, which in the light of the somewhat cryptic progression of Maryland v. Blake, 571 F.3d 331, 2009 U.S. App LEXIS 14609 (2009), just does not seem that clear. If anything, or more appropriately if we read Maryland V. Blake plainly, the Fourth Circuit has clearly upheld the legality of certain communications after an invocation of one's right to counsel. And the Supreme Court dismissed the case after certiorari was improperly granted. See Maryland v. Blake, 546 U.S. 72 (2005).

In an earlier case the Supreme Court wrote:

"[T]he Miranda safeguards come into play whenever a person in custody is subjected to either express questioning or its functional equivalent. That is to say, the term 'interrogation' under Miranda refers not only to express questioning, but also to any words or actions on the part of the police (other than those normally attendant to arrest and custody) that the police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect. The latter portion of this definition focuses primarily upon the perceptions of the suspect, rather than the intent of the police. This focus reflects the fact that the Miranda safeguards were designed to vest a suspect in custody with an added measure of protection against coercive police practices, without regard to objective proof of the underlying intent of the police." Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 300-1 (1980) (footnotes omitted).

Applying this test to the facts of Blake (which again are too long to list here, but are linked above), the Fourth Circuit decided that an officer's handing of a piece of piece of paper with a list of the charges and penalties for the accused's alleged conduct and the off-hand comment by the officer,"I bet you want to talk now, huh!" after a suspect invoked his rights, was not violative of the suspects right to counsel, essentially because such communication did not rise to the level of an interrogation. Blake, at 14-19.

I'm not saying that we ought to give law enforcement a free pass or even the benefit of the doubt, but that if we don't slow down and think more clearly about arrests, Miranda rights, etc.; we may come to conclusions that miss the mark. Furthermore we may erode the progress that more thorough criticism has made on the atrocities perpetrated by law enforcement. The facts as Thomas lays them out are not clear cut. We do not know if Prodigy invoked his right to counsel. We do not know what the officer's words were, or the facts surrounding the totality of the communications between the officer and Prodigy. With such an incomplete picture, it is difficult to make thoughtful legal analysis.

The seesawing of protecting a suspects rights and the ability of law enforcement to engage in productive interrogation continues. Thomas argues, "Say Nothing!" This part of the analysis is well placed. As to the analysis of constitutional wrongs, we need a much clearer picture and more thorough analysis given the recent decision of the Fourth Circuit.


-- Nick J. Sciullo

Artist: Wyclef Jean
Track: The PJs
Album: Masquerade

Before I was signed, I used to move on the block
All I wanted to do was rhyme, rhyme, rhyme
Line for line, I make the blind man walk in a straight line
to prison and take a message to Shyne
Peace God from the PJs to Ground Zero
It’s a “Hardknock Life” but “The Sun’ll Come Out Tomorrow”
Walk with a shadow through ghettos, playin’ in every borough
You would think rap was rock they way I carry heavy metal
It such a shame, cocaine in ya veins, screamin’
“Teen Spirit” grippin’ the shotty like Kurt Cobaine
In the projects God, nuttin’ come easy
Gotta deal with the grimy, greasy, the sleazy
Move like a professional, young thug funeral
What chu thought this was another Pepsi commercial?
Nah it’s the art of war, when you least expected it
Wyclef the president, the PJ’s elected him

President Obama, the NAACP and Flow

President Barack Obama spoke at the NAACP convention during the celebration of its 100th year last month. President Obama, in a wide ranging speech, touched on a number of issues confronting the African American community. Specifically, his message included an admonition to parents of young African American children. President Obama stated in referring to young black youth:

"They might think they've got a pretty good jump shot or a pretty good flow, but our kids can't all aspire to be the next LeBron or Lil Wayne. I want them aspiring to be scientists and engineers, doctors and teachers, not just ballers and rappers. I want them aspiring to be a Supreme Court justice. I want them aspiring to be president of the United States."













President Obama identifies a curious diffusion created in some ways by the media. Often, inner city communities are inundated with the notion that the career path that offers the most promise includes basketball or rhyming. Often, superstar black athletes and artists are overrepresented in the media while high acheivement in non-sports or non-entertainment careers are less highlighted. The truth is that many African Americans have acheived in spectacular ways including doctors, lawyers, engineers, Supreme Court Justices and Presidents of the United States. President Obama would like to see this focus become clearer.

Florida Rapper Gets Two Years In Prison For Threatening Lyrics

Antavio Johnson, a 20-year old rapper from Lakeland, Florida, was sentenced to two years in prison on July 24 for threatening a pair of police officers in his song, “Kill Me a Cop.”

Johnson, who was already on probation stemming from cocaine possession charges, received his sentence after pleading no contest to two counts of corruption by threat against a public servant under Chapter 838.021 of the Florida Criminal Code.

In the first verse of “Kill Me a Cop”, Johnson raps: “If Officer Bailey care at all/ Get my timing wrong/ Im’ma be puttin’ one in his dome/ Mr. Officer, Mr. Officer/ Try me on the wrong day/ And I’m offin’ ya …” In his next verse, Johnson makes a similar threat against another officer, rapping: “If Officer Campbell/ The Wonder Woman/ Get my timing wrong/ Im’ma be puttin’ one in her dome/ Mrs. Officer, Mrs. Officer/ Try me on the wrong day/ And I’m offin’ ya …” Johnson concludes both verses with: “Call me crazy but I think I fell in love with the sound/ Of hearing the dispatcher saying, ‘Officer Down’ …” You can listen to the full song here.

A handful of lawyers in central Florida have joined the American Civil Liberties Union in looking into Johnson’s case. While it remains unclear whether they will take up Johnson’s cause, any legal action on the rapper’s behalf will require yet another reexamination of just how much protection the First Amendment provides free speech when it is delivered via threatening song lyrics.

Prior Supreme Court decisions have established that the freedom of speech guaranteed under the First Amendment is not absolute. For instance, speech amounting to solicitation of crime or conspiracy is outside the scope of constitutional protection according to Konigsberg v. State Bar, 366 U.S. 36 (1961). Also, speech which is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action, and which is likely to incite or produce such action, is outside the scope of First Amendment protection under Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444-448 (1969). Furthermore, the constitutional freedom for speech does not immunize “speech used as an integral part of conduct in violation of a valid criminal statute.” Giboney v. Empire Storage Co., 336 U.S. 490 (1949).

Of course, Giboney seems to represent the strongest rebuke to any constitutional challenge Johnson may mount over the state of Florida’s punishment of his speech. From this writer’s viewpoint, the specificity of Johnson’s threats will make it very difficult for him to successfully assert protection under the First Amendment.

How An Electronic Device May Be Eradicating Hip Hop Radio

Basking in the glow of the Steelers sixth Super Bowl title and the Penguins’ march to their first Stanley Cup since 1992, Pittsburgh natives were brimming with civic pride this spring. That glow dulled ever so slightly on May 15, when Steel City residents learned they were about to lose a local institution that some cherished as much as the city’s illustrious professional sports franchises.

WAMO 106.7 FM, Pittsburgh’s only hip-hop radio station, had unexpectedly been sold to a Catholic organization. Founded in 1948 by a white Navy cadet who dreamed of providing a voice for all of the city’s races and ethnicities, WAMO was to be rededicated to religious programming by its new owners.

But why, many asked, would a radio station that had so ably filled a niche in Pittsburgh for more than half a century suddenly decide to give up on itself and its listeners and cash out for a modest $8.9 million?

The answer was just as mysterious: according to WAMO management, a cell phone-sized device known as the Portable People Meter (PPM) was mostly to blame for the station’s demise. Although many listeners had never heard of the PPM, radio executives around the country were already engaged in a pitched battle against a device they claim is slowly driving out of business radio stations that enjoy popularity with minorities.

The PPM is used by media marketing research firm Arbitron, Inc., to compile listener data relied upon by advertisers wishing to reach the largest audience possible. Introduced earlier this decade, the PPM is given to select individuals by Arbitron so that the company can track and record the radio stations they listen to over an extended time period. The PPM achieves its purpose by collecting inaudible codes embedded in the audio of the programming to which the listener is exposed and relaying the data back to Arbitron. The use of PPMs replaced the previous method of collecting such data, which was based on the more unreliable written journals kept by selected listeners.

Although one would expect PPMs to produce more accurate marketing data than the paper journals, critics argue that Arbitron’s deployment of the devices has resulted in discrimination and dire financial consequences for radio stations with audiences comprised largely of minorities.

Specifically, critics point to Arbitron’s heavy reliance on public telephone directories for solicitation of potential PPM carriers. Statistics show that Hispanics and African-Americans represent the largest number of cell phone-only households, which means that members of these households are more often excluded from participation in Arbitron’s studies than other ethnic groups. That wouldn’t seem to bode well for radio stations such as WAMO, whose listeners are less likely to show up in the Arbitron ratings used by advertisers to determine which radio stations will receive their lifeblood revenue. For its part, Arbitron claims that it has instituted a “Feet on the Street” campaign in an effort to attract more minority participants for its data collections.

In response to the controversy, the Federal Communications Commission opened an official inquiry (read the full inquiry here) into Arbitron’s use of PPMs. Comments by interested parties (akin to administrative amicus briefs) were filed on July 1, and comments on the initial round of comments are due to the FCC today.

As for WAMO (named after Pittsburgh’s three rivers, the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio), the station could still be heard broadcasting hip hop to the masses on Thursday night despite its recent change in ownership. However, other American radio stations enjoyed by a large number of minority listeners could face a more unceremonious end without changes to Arbitron’s PPM regime.

Marc Lynch, Hip-Hop, and Foreign Policy

Hip-Hop and law took a new direction recently with some astute analysis on hip-hop and international relations theory. In the most recent Foreign Policy, readers will find an article by Marc Lynch, a professor of international relations at George Washington University. You can find the link here. In this article he applies international relations theories as diverse as "rogue nations," "hegemony," and "unipolarity" to the Jay-Z/The Game feud. In my experience with the literature on hip-hop, this is an exciting new direction for scholarship.

Prof. Lynch's work isn't a complete tome on the subject, but does move hip-hop scholarship forward. He provides insightful commentary on the beef between Jay-Z and The Game, while perhaps providing an opening for those who might be interested in international relations to read up on hip-hop.

Lynch's work isn't without fault or beyond inquiry, however. One wonders if the theory could be applied to other artists and if it should. One also wonders where message-oriented rappers fit into the puzzle. Is Common Canada? An important ally of mainstream hip-hop (the hegemonic US), but with a soulful introspective stance (perhaps akin to Canada's environmental and social welfare policies) that often positions him at odds with mainstream commercial success (US hegemonic discourse). Do countries that veer toward more socialistic or environmental policies equate with message-oriented artists? If we take Lynch's analysis and apply it to early hip-hop does it still hold true?

You can listen to Marc Lynch's interview on NPR here. The theory might not be complete, but Lynch has the ball in his proverbial court. It will be interesting to see what develops from this new discussion.

-- Nick J. Sciullo

henry louis gates and hip hop

Perhaps the most consistent theme in hip hop discourse is its bold critique of the criminal justice system in the United States. From its roots in the South Bronx through today, hip hop artists and culture have denounced crime and punishment in the United States in a way that essentially defies the underlying penal philosophy that has been adopted and championed by U.S. legislators for decades. Since the inception of hip hop as a musical genre, hip hop artists have rhymed in a narrative format that starkly informs listeners and fans that the entire fundamental regime of law and order in the United States is suspect, illegitimate and profane. Another example of U.S. law and order as unequal, illegitimate and suspect is currently before the American public yet again.

In another dreadful example of race and profiling in America, we learned yesterday that perhaps THE most respected African American public intellectual in the United States, Skip Gates, had been pulled from his own home and arrested. Returning home after filming a documentary in China, the renowned Harvard Professor found his front door jammed and forced his way into his house. Neighbors called police. When the police arrived, they questioned Gates, requested identification, and then, according to Gates, refused to acknowledge that his home address on his ID matched the address at the home they were tipped to respond. Once Gates became upset and repeatedly asked for the officer's name and badge number, calling the police line of questioning what it was, harassment, racial profiling and modern day bullying, the police arrested him for disorderly conduct. Police claim that Gates exhibited "loud and tumultuous behavior." According to Gates, the loud and tumultuous behavior was the repeated requests for names and badge numbers of police officers.

The news today is that the Cambridge police have dropped the charges against Professor Gates, but we are left with vexing questions:

First, if Professor Gates can be pulled from his home and arrested, based on a neighbor's call (how did the neighbor not know Gates?), then that essentially proves what the hip hop nation has proclaimed all along -- no black or brown face is safe from racism, profiling or discrimination in the United States. Henry Louis Gates was ARRESTED IN HIS OWN HOME for alleged disorderly conduct.

Second, while we listen to unending loops of U.S. citizens claiming that we have entered a post-racial place in America, we witness a hugely important African American intellectual, that spends his life examining and writing about issues of equality and justice, arrested, handcuffed and dragged down to the police station on what charge? Breaking and entering? No, he was inside his own home. Burglary or theft? No, again, he was inside his own place. Assault or battery upon a police officer? No, merely challenged the police verbally and requested their identification. No, he was arrested, charged and detained for disorderly conduct. And, on this charge, you can add Skip Gates to the number of African American citizens in the United States that have encountered the criminal justice system from the inside. Gates himself said:

"There are one million black men in jail in this country and last Thursday I was one of them," he said in an interview with The Washington Post Tuesday morning. "This is outrageous and that this is how poor black men across the country are treated everyday in the criminal justice system. It's one thing to write about it, but altogether another to experience it."

Arrested for loud and tumultuous behavior?!

Third, the Cambridge police have dropped charges against Gates, but have unequivocally claimed that race had nothing to do with the arrest. Of course, the police must claim that the arrest had nothing to do with race, but who are they kidding? A black man using his shoulder to free a jammed door in Harvard Square in Cambridge? A neighbor not recognizing one of the most important public intellectuals in the United States? The police refusing to leave as soon as Gates provided them his identification where the address on the ID matched the address at the home? The police refusing to leave once Gates started giving it to them for racially profiling him, but instead asking him out of his house so that they could arrest him? All of this has nothing to do with race?

Last, the hip hop nation knows all too well what Professor Gates experienced last Thursday. To a person, my money says that those among us with brown or black faces, have experienced something very much like Gates just has. Hip hop describes this discrimination in raw and exacting detail. Henry Louis Gates, a fan and supporter of the hip hop nation, has now experienced what the nation knows. He said:

"I am appalled that any American could be treated as capriciously by an individual police officer. He should look into his soul and he should apologize to me," Gates said. "If so, I will be prepared to forgive him. I think that poor people in general and black people in general are vulnerable to the whims of rogue cops, and we all have to fight to protect the weakest among us. No matter how bad it was going to get, I knew that sooner or later I would get to a phone and one of my friends would be there to help. . . . I want to be a figure for prison reform. I think that criminal justice system is rotten."

We have so much more work to do before we can claim that we have arrived at a post-racial America.

The Bar Exam

Artist: Nas featuring Lauryn Hill
Track: If I Rule the World
Album: It Was Written

Yo, it'll be paradise life relaxin' Black, Latino and Anglo-Saxon
Armani Exchange to Range
Cash, Lost Tribe of Shabazz, free at last
Brand new whips to crash then we laugh in the iller path
The Villa house is for the crew, how we do
Trees for breakfast, dime sexes and Benz stretches
So many years of depression make me vision
The better livin', type of place to raise kids in
Open they eyes to the lies history's told foul
But I'm as wise as the old owl, plus the Gold Child
Seeing things like I was controlling, click rollin'
Trickin' six digits on kicks and still holdin'
Trips to Paris, I civilized every savage
Gimme one shot I turn trife life to lavish
Political prisoner set free, stress free
No work release purple M3's and jet skis
Feel the wind breeze in West Indies
I make Coretta Scott-King mayor the cities and reverse fiends to Willies
It sounds foul but every girl I meet to go downtown
I'd open every cell in Attica send 'em to Africa

TNT – Tiny N Toya are Dynamite

We have yet another reality show that is not reflective of how most of us live. Do we have to continue to be inundated by the excess and carelessness of the celebrity lifestyle? We get a glimpse inside hip hop star T.I.’s mansion as his girlfriend, who is now rumored to be his wife, capitalizes on his incarceration. Tameka “Tiny” Cottle, a former member of the 90s hip hop soul female singing group Xscape, is talented in her own right, but for the most part was forgotten. With renewed media interest in all of the “T.I. goes to jail” hoopla, Tiny is back in the spotlight. Antonia “Toya” Carter, the ex-wife of Wayne Carter a.k.a. superstar rapper Lil’ Wayne, uncovers the unknown side of the musician’s family.

As much as I despised that Black Entertainment Television was airing a program that would hurt rather than uplift the community it was created to serve, I decided to watch the sneak preview out of pure curiosity. I was apprehensive at first that the Tiny and Toya show would only enforce the stereotypes that Black women often fall victim to in the media, especially the baby mama, gold digger persona. I discovered that while the show had its ignorant moments, the stars surprisingly shared their personal stories with the audience – including the good and the bad. It showed that celebrities and their families are not invincible, nor immune to everyday problems. It made clear that money cannot buy happiness. As Toya drove a Honda through the streets of New Orleans searching for her mother, I was pleased that we were viewing her conservative and practical side in this economic recession. The display of raw emotion was also refreshing.

In the first episode, we witness Tiny coming to terms with her father who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, and Toya who is battling with her drug addicted mother to get off the streets. The story begins with Tiny who recounts losing the father of her first child to a ten year prison sentence while she was left all alone to raise their daughter. We also find out that Tiny was a sugar mama to T.I. before he was discovered. To contrary belief, Tiny was initially the one with the money in their relationship due to her songwriting and performance royalties. Then Toya goes back into her childhood to explain how and why she became a pregnant teen with Lil’ Wayne’s child at the age of 14. These young ladies displayed courage and opened their hearts to let us in. The topics are relevant – real love, real life.

Both Tiny and Toya appeared to honestly divulge the details of their failed relationships right before our very eyes while uncovering their human side. We have yet to see what is to come in subsequent episodes, but they are off to a good start. Even if you do not agree with their approach, Tiny and Toya are explosive in that they allow the cameras to film their joy and pain. Let us hope for the best, as the haters are already on the horizon.

Microphone check 1-2, 1-2…is this thing on?

- Kamille Wolff

The Bar Exam

Artist: Joe Budden
Track: If I Die Tommorrow
Album: Mood Muzik 2: Can It get Any Worse?

If I died tomorrow then what would it mean
Already feel like I'm livin' my dream
Came across some pretty interesting folk
I met some new people
Ain't move a lot of units, but touched a few people
So I might get frustrated fuckin' wit' the hood son
But everyday above ground is a good one
Walk out the door and leave it in God's hands
If I go it's just part of God's plan
If I died tomorrow
Will life carry out the same?
Well at least my little man can carry out the name
And look, I can say I lived my life without stress
If I died tomorrow, I'm fine, I been blessed, Yes!
I made some money, and true I could've had more
But he's happy and what more could he ask for?
If it was no diamonds and no begets
I still would have no worries, I got no regrets
I made my mom proud, and pop feels the same way
But he's a man so he probably got too much pride to say
Can't count my blessings on one hand, more than a handful
And God ain't send nothin' my way I couldn't handle

Where's my money? Jay-Z didn't pay his lawyers

News recently broke that Jay-Z, who is embroiled in legal troubles stemming from alleged New York labor law violations, is in need of legal representation. The law firm representing him in his wage dispute with his 40/40 club employees has asked to be withdrawn from the case. It's seldom that an attorney asks to be withdrawn and when it happens it's usually because there's a serious issue at play.

Too often attorneys, agents, and consultants have to track down the money they are rightfully owed. It's not simply attorneys waiting for court appointed work fees. It's not only solo practitioners representing everyone who comes through the door. Even large firms with well paid clients (Jay-Z makes about 80 million dollars a year) are sometimes in the weeds when it comes to collecting on bills.

Attorney Michael DiMattia wrote the letter asking to withdraw to Manhattan Federal Court Judge Loretta Preska. No decision has been made at this time.

Will Jay-Z pay? We'll have to wait and see.

Today's lesson: Pay your professional.


-- Nick J. Sciullo

My Reflections on Michael

Icon. Legend. Visionary. All of these words describe this generation’s number one show stopper – none other than Michael Jackson. As the world mourns his death and the courts sift through his estate, we are left to savor all that MJ left behind. In witnessing the marathon of tributes to his songs on the radio and his videos on MTV, we finally realize the true impact that Michael had across decades. His half-century of life was filled with intrigue and turmoil, but he never left us hanging. There was always a hot MJ tune to shake my body down to the ground to. We are all indebted to Michael for his musical genius. As a friend stated, he gave up his childhood so that we could be entertained throughout ours. He was a true entertainer as he dazzled us with his performances, leaving us in awe.

The songs that comprise Michael Jackson’s catalogue of music are for the most part all classics. With his portfolio of winners, questions are surfacing as to why we no longer have artists who are true performers in every sense of the word. Who is our next Michael Jackson? How will anyone ever match the star power of the number one selling artist of all time? Will we ever have another album to play all the way from the first song to the last? Can any music video in this day and age ever match the creative cinematography of Thriller? All of these questions have us asking, where is the real music? The unknown leaves us suffering from our loss. As I reminisce about the moonwalk and the white glove, I’m holding back the tears. He was magical, our very own Peter Pan.

It is undeniable that Michael changed the world, but he had a particularly strong impact on hip hop artists, music, and culture. From the “ABC” Jackson 5 sample that Naughty by Nature used for “You Down Wit OPP” to the “Human Nature” sample used by Nas in “It Aint Hard to Tell,” Michael Jackson had a direct and indirect influence on hip hop. Michael was the first to bring edgy, street-inspired dance moves to MTV as the only Black artist to be in heavy rotation during the early eighties on the network. Like hip hop music and culture, Michael broke through racial and economic barriers as people from all walks of life listened to and enjoyed his music. Michael was international, just like hip hop. At his concerts, there were faces of all hues, much like a Jay-Z concert in middle America.

Like a hip hop artist at heart, Michael Jackson was not afraid to be vocal about oppression and the need for equality in tunes such as “Black or White” and “Man in the Mirror.” Michael was about peace and love. He was compassionate and giving. Michael made a “better place for you and for me” along with the entire human race while toppling racial stereotypes. We could all come together to enjoy great music – every race and ethnicity. Michael Jackson was a visionary. He was before his time as he seamlessly reinvented himself with every album. We were glued to the television for his video premiers as he stayed relevant throughout time. He was always fresh and ground-breaking. He was a leader, not a follower. In other words, he was and still is a trend setter. His originality was priceless and he always gave back. A true humanitarian, he never forgot where he came from. Michael Jackson is hip hop. Microphone check 1-2, 1-2…is this thing on?

- Kamille Wolff