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The Game Extends Peace Treaty To 50 Cent
By Remmie Fresh
Date: 9/30/2006 9:00 am

The G-Unit campaign may very well be over. That is, if 50 Cent accepts the Game's request that the two once-affiliated rappers end their ongoing beef.

During an interview in New York yesterday (Sept. 29) with Hot 97 radio personality Angie Martinez, the Game extended an olive branch to his bitter rival, repeatedly urging 50 Cent to call into the station.

The Compton-bred rapper also insisted he was sincere and said he hoped to find a resolution with 50 Cent, who played an active role on his debut album The Documentary.

"[I want] just to talk and just to see where our heads are and see if maybe we can come to an even playing field -- respectfully to each other," said the Game. "[I want to] see if we can figure it out [as] grown-ups."

In February 2005, a man affiliated with the Game was shot in front of Hot 97's Manhattan office building minutes after 50 Cent publicly kicked his West Coast counterpart out of G-Unit during an on-air interview.

The pair would later reconcile at a highly-publicized press conference, but the Game claimed the two weren't mentally prepared for it.

"We weren't ready to do that. You can't force us to do anything," he told Martinez. "I don't think that either of us was ready to get on that stage."

Game further likened the failed resolution to removing a steak out of an oven before it is done cooking.

"You bit into [the steak] and it wasn't ready because it wasn't done," he philosophized. "We were just coerced into that situation. At the end of the day, we are all getting money and it should be good. Its Hip-Hop, it's a competition."

While Game sought to end his most salacious beef, he noted that his other rap rivals won't be so fortunate.

"Y'all ain't off the hook. I don't want everybody to think that it's all good," he said, alluding to his recent altercation with rapper Ras Kass. "Tomorrow, nothing is promised and that statement is bigger than Hip-Hop."

Additionally, Game re-confirmed that neither Dr. Dre, nor his beats, will appear on his sophomore opus, The Doctor's Advocate, due in stores on Nov. 14.

Game stated, however, that he still has a good relationship with his mentor.

"Dre is not on the album. No Dre involvement on this album," he said. "If you looking to buy my album just because Dre did a beat or two, leave it on the shelf. This album is executive-produced by the Game. Dre took me from the 'hood and gave me an opportunity so I'm always going to pay him that respect.

Article for AllHipHop.com News 9/30/06

Rappers, Educators and Others Discuss The High School Drop-Out Rate
By Houston Williams
Date: 9/29/2006 2:00 pm

A New York-based student advocacy group assembled a panel featuring rapper Remy Ma Wednesday (Sept. 27) to discuss the immediate problem of high school dropouts in the nation.

The Entertainers for Education Alliance (EARS) hosted the symposium at City University of New York in front of a crowd of about 200 people.

New York Council Member Charles Barron, Mrs. Nancy Jones (mother of rapper Jim Jones), Randy Weingarten (president of the United Teachers Federation), Ebro Darden (assistant program director and music director for New York's Hot 97), and L. Londell McMillian (entertainment attorney) were among those present to discuss the weighty and problematic issue.

Across the nation, high school graduation rates have dipped to staggering lows in several cities' educational system.

A recent study determined that the graduation rate in several cities fell under 50%.

The graduation rate for Detroit was 21.7%; Baltimore touted 38.5%; and New York City, slightly higher at 38.9% as of 2005.

In June 2006, New York's graduation rate sank more to 32.8%.

Remy Ma, who has a 6-year-old boy, said that parents must be more accountable for their children's success in school, and that the system must support those who do get proper education.

"I didn't graduate, I dropped out in the 12th grade. I have more money than all my friends put together," said the Bronx-bred rapper. "In reality, the people that graduate, the jobs are not out there like that."

Charles Barron, a mayorial aspirant in New York City, said that there is also a systemic responsibility that is being neglected in the political arena.

"I think we have a twofold struggle, one that we are responsible for and one that the system is responsible for. We also have a struggle for liberation," Barron said. "If we act like punks when it comes to White men in power...nobody respects you I'd you have no power. Why don't we [minorities outnumber Whites in New York according to Barron] have control over a $53 billion budget. White men got too much power."

Barron was also highly critical of how New York Mayor Bloomberg has handled the education system and the dispersal of the budget toward education.

Ebro Darden, meanwhile, expressed that Hot 97 has attempted educational outreach to school districts but has been refused due to a number of highly-publicized violent and controversial acts at the radio station.

"[The school system] don't want us involved, but the kids listen to the station," said Darden. The Oakland, California native also strongly suggested that those serious about changing children's education should seek independent funding and after-school programs that cater to kids' sensibilities.

One such interest is Hip-Hop, said Assemblyman Ruben Diaz, Jr., who has continually used rap as an educational tool.

Diaz has worked with Ne-Yo, Fabolous, and Remy Ma to help encourage kids to stay in school.

"Parent, adults have to embrace Hip-Hop. The English language is such a powerful thing," Diaz said. "No disrespect [to Young Dro's] "Shoulder Lean," [but] the vocabulary is not extensive."

The panel participants sparred verbally, often disagreeing on the reasons for the high drop-out rate.

"I'm one of these people that could be making a lot of money and I'm not. I'm not on this panel to do a blame game," said Tara Martin, who represented for Brooklyn Borough president Marty Markowitz. "The reality of the situation is our children are being passed along in a system that doesn't care about them."

Despite the argumentative banter, most agreed on the reason for discussing the topic. "Our kids are our first priority," said Tonya Lewis, moderator and cofounder of EARS.

Mrs. Nancy Jones, who educates children though her daycare, echoed the sentiment and stated that dropping out wasn't an option for her children.

"My mother played a role, whereas you had to graduate from school. Mothers fathers, teachers, we play a part," Jones said.

A number of panelists were confirmed but unavailable, including rappers N.O.R.E., Sean "Diddy" Combs, and Fat Joe.

Article for AllHipHop.com News 9/30/06

Hip Hop & The Romantical Updates: Whitney & Bobby Split over "SupaHead"

Bobby's New "Tenderoni" -- Video Vixen? WHY, BOBBY, WHY?? Recent reports have suggested that Karrine Steffans, the self-proclaimed "Video Vixen," may have caused the impending divorce of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown. But a source with knowledge of the relationship tells TMZ that it's Brown who has sought out Steffans for moral and financial support: He stays at her L.A. home "frequently" and Karrine actually ponies up for Bobby's pre-paid cell phone.
Steffans, "SupaHead", recently told the New York Daily News' Lloyd Grove that her relationship with Brown was "a really tricky situation" and called him her "dearest friend," but wouldn't admit to having a physical relationship. During the summer, at a concert Brown gave with fellow '80s artists Bell Biv Devoe and En Vogue at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, Steffans was backstage and in fact took Brown home in her car. Brown had told the audience that he and Whitney were on the rocks and that he needed a "tenderoni" to take home; it appears he found that "tenderoni" in the form of Steffans. Brown and Steffans' encounter that night was caught on tape by a show called "I Married A Baller" on the TV One network.
Ironically enough, Steffans told Grove back in August that she didn't want to "wreck any marriages" and that she was "a big fan" of Whitney's. "I want her to come back and sing her heart out," said Karrine of Whitney.

Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown may finally be moving on with their lives after a tumultuous 14-year marriage, but sources familiar with the family from their time in New Jersey tell TMZ say that the real victim in the divorce battle will no doubt be daughter Bobbi Kristina, and that she might actually be better off living apart from her parents altogether.

In court filings obtained yesterday by TMZ, it is not clear what Whitney's intentions are concerning the 13-year-old Bobbi Kristina, pictured here with her parents at a film premiere in 2004. But even though the teen's parents have always showered
their only daughter together with love and affection, the New Jersey sources tell TMZ that the child may now be in particular danger of losing the guidance she needs through these difficult and crucial years, especially given Whitney's past struggles with substance abuse and Bobbi's focus on reviving his career – and his "tenderonis" – not to mention his two other children from previous relationships.

* Articles from TMZ.com on 9/13/06

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