"The Carter"

Lil’ Wayne’s attempt to block Quincy Jones and Jones’ production company from releasing the 2009 documentary “The Carter” has been rejected. Lil Wayne sued Quincy Jones and QD3 Entertainment seeking an injunction from the Los Angeles Superior Court on March 23, 2009 asking the Court to enjoin the release of The Carter by alleging Breach of Contract, Fraud by Intentional Misrepresentation, Constructive Fraud and Invasion of Privacy.

Lil Wayne’s lawsuit arises from presentation of “The Carter” at this year’s Sundance Film Festival in January 2009, with plans for nationwide theatrical release of the documentary to follow this year. The documentary was shot over several months in 2008 and brings the audience into the controversial rappers life through concert and studio footage, interviews and behind-the-scenes access originally granted by Lil Wayne.

The complaint states that in 2007, Lil Wayne was approached about the documentary, which QD3 claimed would offer an “in-depth look at the artist Dwayne ‘Lil Wayne’ Carter, Jr., proclaimed by many as the ‘greatest rapper.’” In December 2007, Lil Wayne signed an agreement which provided that Lil Wayne would make himself broadly available for the ninety-minute documentary and make photos and videos from his personal archives available to the producers. The agreement also specified, according to the complaint, that Lil Wayne would be given the “sole right of final approval” of any scenes that portrayed his actions or activities as criminal in nature.

Prior to its debut at the Sundance Film Festival, in December 2008 and early January 2009, copies of the nearly complete documentary were submitted to Lil Wayne’s manager, who rejected portions of the footage, asking that certain questionable content, which management felt painted Lil Wayne in a negative light, be removed from the film. Lil Wayne’s manager also went on to demand, in writing, that the film not be showcased at Sundance, unless the scenes in question were removed.

Despite this request, the film debuted at the 2009 Sundance Festival with the questionable scenes intact. The Carter screened January 17, 19, 21 and 23, despite requests submitted by Lil Wayne’s management that the film be pulled. Lil Wayne’s management, in seeking the injunction against nationwide release, believes that The Carter would cause irreparable damage to Lil Wayne’s reputation and career.

On Wednesday April 22, 2009, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Mink refused to grant an injunction blocking the upcoming release of The Carter. Quincy Jones stated in Variety Magazine that “We’re very pleased with the court’s decision. . . . We made a great film, which was incredibly well received at Sundance, and showcases Lil Wayne's extraordinary talent.” The Carter, which was directed by Adam Bhala Lough, has no scheduled theatrical release date as of this time.

Hip Hop and Social Change

In March, Russell Simmons, godfather of DefJam records and hip hop mogul, led a group of protesters in New York City challenging the harsh New York drug laws known as the Rockefeller Drug Laws. Hundreds gathered outside Governor David Paterson's Manhattan office to call on the Governor and various state representatives to repeal the 1970s era drug laws enacted by then Governor Nelson Rockefeller.

The Rockefeller Drug Laws, now famous for harsh mandatory-minimum sentences and the hugely disproportionate impact it has on African American and Latino offenders, was severely criticized as illegitimate and profane by many attending the protest, including Simmons. The Rockefeller Drug Laws were enacted in 1973 and are composed of mandatory-minimum prison punishment based upon the type and amount of drug an offender is arrested with. Originally, the laws were intended to capture large drug kingpins, but evidence indicates now that most of the individuals imprisoned under these laws are low-level, non-violent offenders, many with no previous criminal history.

Simmons was quoted at the protest as saying:

"We are at the pivotal point where our hard work pays off, [b]ut we can't let up now. The fact is the Governor and State Senator both fought for the changes that the assembly has proposed to them. But both Governor Paterson and State Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith need to hear our voices. They are being pushed by forces that are not interested in changing this horrible law which has devastated black and brown communities for two generations."

Through 2009, it is estimated that of the 12,000 individuals convicted on Rockefeller charges, 90% are African American or Latino and cost the state of New York $45,000 per person annually.


Simmons participation in this protest brings to mind the many and various ways that hip hop artists and leaders have taken political positions of importance in the past. Groups like Public Enemy, The Roots, N.W.A. and artists like KRS-One, Talib Kweli, Common and Mos Def have certainly impacted society with their lyrics and political sensibilities. Still, the question is often raised as to whether hip hop and hip hop artists can genuinely contribute to positive social change? Can hip hop and socially conscious artists truly affect social change and impact society in a positive way?

This very question was debated last weekend at the "Conceptualizing Substantive Justice" conference held at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law (April 17-18, 2009). A panel at that conference engaged in robust discussion in connection with hip hop and its curious relationship with criminal justice. Many conference attendees wondered aloud and debated whether hip hop has the potential to overcome its negative encumberances (violence, misogyny, homophobia, materialism, hypermasculinity) so that its important and genuine societal critique and plea for social change can be heard. Can hip hop still be heard?

- andré douglas pond cummings

The Financial Market Meltdown and Hip Hop: The Death of Bling?

Is the devastating financial market crisis impacting hip hop? Bryan Leach, vice president of urban music at RCA Records says yes. Leach claims that hip hop artists are changing up both their lyrics and their “bling” to accommodate the crisis and the attendant impact the meltdown is having on fans. He attributes the less gaudy fashion of late and recent lyrical content being less materialistic to the economic downturn and a recognition by artists of slipping record sales.

“Every major label has been laying people off,” Leach notes. “This is not about just popping bottles and buying jewelry. Everyone’s got to be responsible and mature.” Furtheri evidencing what could be a trend toward maturity, Amy Andrieux, a senior editor at The Source magazine recently mentioned "We just came out of the 'bling era,' where everything was about wealth and what you could attain, and I'm starting to see artists being more socially conscious."

Perhaps the game IS being affected by the market crisis. A Nielsen report cited by CNN shows Hip Hop/Rap sales declined by nearly 20 percent in 2008, while Rock sales dropped by only 6.5 percent. According to the Neilsen report, only Classical, Latin and Country music fell at a greater percentage than hip hop.

Author and BET correspondent Touré has observed “I imagine you will see more rappers doing some less-gaudy things just because it would be out of step with the audience,” Hip hop artists have to recognize how audacious it would appear if the “bling” continued to dominate in this current economic culture. Touré suggests “The audience is struggling and striving, and then you're like, ‘Look at my four diamond iced-out chains.’”

That said, declining record sales cannot be attributed solely to the economic crisis. As indicated in an earlier HipHopLaw.com post, album sales have been dropping precipitously over the past few years as the record industry struggles to keep up with the technological advances in the music industry and the many new ways that intellectual property is challenged by creative hip hop artists. New ways to reach the public are becoming common place (as indicated here) and the record industry is not keeping pace with the way its fan base is constantly changing its preferred consumption of music.

Nothing seems to indicate that the audience appetite for new, good and creative music is waning. What is changing rapidly are the choices the public has to consume its music.

-- andré douglas pond cummings

Who Would Be Your First Five Selections for a Hip Hop Hall of Fame?

With its induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this week, Run DMC joined Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five as the only hip hop groups to earn the distinction. The honor led many to call for the creation of a Hip Hop Hall of Fame to better recognize leading contributors to the genre. It also led us to ask ourselves: If a Hip Hop Hall of Fame were created today, who would be our first five inductees? HipHopLaw.com contributors andré douglas pond cummings, Nick J. Sciullo and Brian Welch list their nominees.

andré douglas pond cummings: The true pioneers in hip hop that should be recognized as the original creators of the movement are DJs Afrika Bambaatta and DJ Kool Herc. While I recognize the important contributions of Run DMC in taking hip hop nationwide and mainstream, if I were to select a top five that deserved induction into a Hall of Fame for making an influential and continuing contribution to the genre, I would have to select:

1) Chuck D and Public Enemy: In my view, Public Enemy seized the microphone in the late 1980s and blindsided America with political messages that resonated with urban youth and penetrated suburbia. "Fight the Power," "Don't Believe the Hype," "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" and "911 is a Joke" served up a genuine critique of U.S. politics that caused fear in the hearts of the traditional majority.

2) Tupac Shakur: Lyrically brilliant, confoundingly contradictory and ultimately fearless, Tupac Shakur became the first hip hop magnate. Movie star, hip hop artist and superstar. Mere mention of "Dear Mama," "All Eyes on Me" and California Love" amongst dozens of others immediately sets heads to nodding. He famously said "I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world."

3) KRS One and Boogie Down Productions: KRS One foresaw and believed that he could be a teacher to the masses. His messages following the death of Scott LaRock were ones designed to uplift the hip hop nation. "Edutainment" released in 1991 was a tour de force, including the unforgettable "Love's Gonna Getcha."

4) Ice Cube, Eazy E, Dr. Dre and N.W.A: When N.W.A. burst upon the scene in the late 1980s, the group was furiously criticized for promoting the "gangsta" lifestyle and image. While much of what N.W.A. rapped about was violent and misogynistic, the counter culture messages that described life in American ghettos was real and stark. "F**k the Police," "100 Miles and Runnin'," "Gangsta Gangsta" and "Straight Outta Compton" stunned America and caused the FBI and Tipper Gore to take
notice.

5) Ice-T: Perhaps the originator of "gangsta rap," Ice-T continued the tradition of narrative storytelling through his rhymes. "6 in the Morning" served notice and "Cop Killer" drew national outrage. Today, Ice-T playing a police officer on "Law and Order: SVU" raises the interesting question as to whether commodification of the genre impacts the counter culture messages that seemed so revolutionary twenty years ago.


Nick J. Sciullo: My list focuses on the underdogs as opposed to the obvious (Biggie, Common, KRS-One, Tupac, etc.) In no particular order and with some explanation:

1) Black Thought – The Roots front man has been a loud socially conscious presence for years. The fact that he does all this over a full musical ensemble is all that much more impressive.

2) Kool G Rap – Although often forgotten in discussions of 80’s hip hop and largely ignored in the gangsta rap discourse, Kool G Rap has been spittin’ fire for years. He put hardcore hip-hop on the map. For a more modern look at this artist, check out The Giancana Story.

3) Immortal Technique – If you didn’t think hard hip-hop and socially conscious, message-centered hip hop could coexist, then you haven’t listened to Immortal Technique. His delivery and lyrics combine to form a compelling political action.

4) Lord Have Mercy – This former member of Busta Rhymes' Flipmode squad has a delivery that is nothing but unique. He combines the power of DMX with the freestyle feel of Wu-Tang Clan. He’s made memorable appearances on Busta Rhymes tracks, especially on Busta’s first album The Coming, on Flipmode Squad’s The Imperial, and also on MOP’s Warriorz. If you haven’t listened, you should.

5) Wyclef Jean – I’m a Wyclef fan, but I don’t choose him because I’m a fan. Wyclef revolutionized hip-hop by including international rhythms in his music. He’s worked with international artists like Muzion, Celia Cruz, and Aadesh Shrivastava. He brought attention to the plight of Haiti and Haitian-Americans and delivered memorable songs like Gone ‘Til November, Slow Down, President, and Next Generation.


Brian Welch: In the interest of geographic diversity, and with a disclaimer of my relative youth (I wasn’t alive when Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five released “The Message”), I present my five nominees:

1) Run DMC: Okay, so their spot in the Hall is a given. But who brought hip hop to the fore more fully than DJ Run, DMC, and the late JamMaster Jay? I challenge you to find someone, anyone, who hasn’t heard of the trio from Hollis, Queens.

2) Ice Cube: In a toss up between Cube and Dre, I choose O’Shea. Sure, no album was more eye-opening than The Chronic, but the former N.W.A. catalyst turned breakout star wins on longevity. Mr. Jackson owned the 1990s with legendary albums (The Predator, Lethal Injection) and hit movies (Boyz n the Hood, Friday).

3) Jay-Z: Quick, name your favorite Jay-Z tracks. If you’re still counting five minutes from now, you’re not alone. His catalog is ridiculous. His business acumen is unsurpassed in the music industry. What other rapper could announce a joint partnership with perfume manufacturer Elizabeth Arden and not lose a drop of credibility?

4) The Roots: Can I offer an opinion? Black Thought is the best rapper alive. Listen to his angst and paranoia on the Bush-era magnum opus “Game Theory”. Listen to him combine seething criticism and unbridled optimism on the lost-on-some “Rising Down”. And is there a better drummer than ?uestlove? No group puts together more complete albums, from the first track to the last.

5) OutKast: I’ll admit, their last two albums were awful. But damn, were their first four albums not the sickest syntheses of sounds you’ve ever heard? They put Atlanta, and the entire South, on the hip hop map.

Who would be your first five?

A Hip Hop Makeover of the GOP

Michael Steele, current chair of the Republican Party, very famously stated recently, that the GOP needs a hip hop makeover. Acknowledging a festering GOP concern that the party is becoming “regionalized,” is losing relevance and that a strong need exists to reach out “beyond our comfort zone,” Steele promised some “off the hook” public relations plans to win over the hip hop nation. Steele believes that Republicans need to “convey that the modern-day GOP looks like the conservative party that stands for principles. But we want to apply them to urban-suburban hip-hop settings.”

Meanwhile, recent rumblings around Washington, D.C. seem to indicate that reporters and pundits believe that President Barack Obama is resonating differently with his white and African American constituents. In the article “Blacks, whites Hear Obama Differently” the author opines that President Obama’s occasional slang, his loping gait and some of his mannerisms signal to the black community that he is “down” in a way that is largely “missed” by the white community. Recently, the President responded to a cashier “nah, we straight” when asked if he needed change, and on the campaign trail, Obama reminded voters not to be “bamboozled” by negative politics. These terms, "nah, we straight" and "bamboozled" say something very specific to those in the black community while the terms “sail over the head” of most whites.

As Michael Steele plans his wooing of the hip hop community, one thing that must be recognized, is that for the hip hop generation, authenticity and “being real” is sacrosanct. And Michael Steele and Barack Obama provide incredibly divergent examples of authenticity, at least to the hip hop nation.

At a recent symposium at the West Virginia University College of Law, Talib Kweli called President Obama not just our first black president but our first hip hop president. I think there is much more to this than the mere fact that Jay-Z appears on the President’s iPod. President Obama authentically connects with not just black folks, but with the hip hop generation in a staggering way. Obama was endorsed by hip hop superstars, up and down the coasts. Obama’s troops, those that ushered him into the White House, were on the ground in EVERY state, and were overwhelmingly young, overwhelmingly diverse and ultra devoted. As Cornel West mentioned at the same symposium at WVU Law, when West was campaigning in the early days for Obama in Iowa, when the foot soldiers broke up from campaigning at night, the volunteers were not just listening to, but were feeling hip hop. And according to West, at that time, they were young and were mostly white.

Obama’s verbiage, gait and style, to resonate with the hip hop nation, HAS to be authentic. If hip hop is about anything, it is about "being real" and this is where Michael Steele fails. Steele’s dated references to “bling bling” and “off the hook” p.r. plans redound as inauthentic and very much, not “real.” It is difficult to imagine a single member of the hip hop generation being attracted by Steele's attempt to use hip hop lingo or language to attract a new breed of GOP voter. The words are inauthentic; the mission is inauthentic; and the outreach seems doomed to inauthenticity. Michael Steele needs to be real, to garner the attention of hip hop aficionados.

President Obama on the other hand has an easy manner and the "hip hop" in him is subtle. He knew that he needed to “deracialize” his campaign in order to win. Yet, he gives cues and clues to black america that “winks” at the community and the hip hop generation as if to see “i am down, and you know that i am down, I just can’t say it right now.” He has won an election and now has an enormously wide berth with the hip hop generation and the black community in general to do what he has promised to do. Of course, authenticity mandates that he carry through with his promises, of which portions of the stimulus package and new legislation seems to try to do.

I am not sure that the author of “Blacks, whites hear Obama Differently” got it exactly right. It is not just blacks that “hear” Obama. And not ALL whites hear Obama differently. It is the hip hop generation that hears Obama, together with the black community, including the civil rights generation (per Obama’s references to Langston Hughes, MLK and Malcolm X). The hip hop generation, includes whites, latinos, American Indians, Asian Americans, and so on – those folks that are profoundly influenced by the lyrics and culture of hip hop. President Obama has tapped into a very powerful force of support and loyalty. Michael Steele simply cannot. The authenticity is missing.