I Think I'm, "Big Meech", "Larry Hoover"...

This post will take the phrase "The Truth Shall Set You Free" to an entirely new level!

Last night, I was introduced to a documentary about the introduction of "crack" (rock cocaine), its effects on an entire generation and how it changed America, forever. While watching this documentary, I was introduced to a few familiar names and had a chance to learn about who they were and their influence on American culture and society. I will delve deeper into those people later.

This documentary caused me to do further investigation on the "Crack Era", to gain a better understanding of the power of the drug over both users and dealers. I learned about more "prominent" figures that had a large influence on culture back then, and have a very big influence in the hip hop culture right now!

Let's take a minute to get acquainted with William Leonard Roberts II a.k.a. "Rick Ross". Haitian rapper "Rick Ross" has a current net worth of $25 million (as of July 2012). Four of his five albums have hit number one on the billboard charts (Port of Miami, Trilla, Deeper Than Rap, God Forgives, I Don't). His current album, "God Forgives, I Don't" is number one in the United States, Canada, and number eight in The United Kingdom. As the CEO for Maybach Music Group (MMG), Rick Ross has built a brand and an empire that models the empires of those you would see in movies. It appears that he has the ultimate "rags to riches" story that everyone who's faced hardship dreams about...emphasis on the word APPEARS.

 It is reported that "Ross" was born in Coahama County, Mississippi and relocated to Carol City, Florida when he was four years old. In all of the sources I viewed, his bio skips all the way to him graduating from Carol City Senior High School and attending Albany State University in Albany, Georgia. From there, it jumps to him eventually signing to a small label, then a bigger one, to eventually starting his own: MMG. I found this to be rather odd, because all my sources and all the interviews I watched left me with a very vague impression of his beginning/ rise to fame.

In 2008, a photo was leaked to the public that appeared to be "Ross" or should I say "Officer Roberts". You may be slightly confused, let me clarify. In the summer of 2008, a photo of an unidentified Correction Officer was leaked to the public. The man in the photo was identified as "Rick Ross". After vehemently denying the allegation, Ross went on to state that the phony story was being circulated by detractors upset by his success in the rap world because he came out of nowhere and just took over the streets. Although he denied all claims and accusations, a copy of his personnel record surfaced and announced that his annual salary would be $22,913.54 , further proving that "Rick Ross" was once Officer Roberts (18 months to be exact). Ross later states on "Big Boy's Morning Show"that the man in the photo is actually him. In that interview, Ross goes on to make innuendos about being involved in "the underground" and all that glamourous stuff that will get addressed.

In order to work for law inforcement, the government, etc. one can not have any type of criminal activity in their background. Knowing that, I started to wonder what was this 'persona' that he was portraying to the public? You can't be a former correction officer AND be a cocaine, slingin' kingpin that escaped the law through music.. It just does not match! So, I was forced to do further investigating... Rick Ross, who is Rick Ross? Oh, you think I'm talking about the rapper "Rick Ross"?? No, I'm talking about the persona the rapper is portraying...

Freeway "Rick Ross", born Ricky Donnell Ross, is a former drug trafficker who is best known for the 'drug empire' that he presided over in Los Angeles, California in the early 1980's. In Ricky's early days, he had a promising career as a tennis player, but lost all opportunities when it was discovered that he was illiterate and barely attended school. It was at this time where he was initially introduced to cocaine, then known as "the rich people's drug". After hooking up with suppliers in Nicaragua, Ricky and a partner started to supply cocaine to gang members for distribution. As their success grew, the two decided to go into business for themselves, this helped them to generate more profits. 6 months into dealing independently, Ricky had developed a way for addicts to smoke ready-to-go freebase cocaine, known as "Ready Rock" or "Crack". It is recorded that at the height of his success, Ricky was selling $2 million to $3 million worth of crack DAILY! In a matter of years, Ricky was the leader of Los Angeles' first cocaine ring. Through his connections in Nicaruagua, he purchased guns and surveillance  equipment and supplied funding for the fight against tyrant rulers in Nicargua.

Now that Ricky is dominating Los Angeles, he took his efforts to Kansas City, New Orleans, Oklahoma, St. Louis, Seattle, Atlanta, Miami, New York, and Detroit. To hide the abundance of money coming in, Ricky invested in lavish things as well as an auto parts store and the Freeway Motor Inn, which doubled as a meeting location for drug dealers. This tactic worked for some time, but with the flashy lifestyle Ricky and his counterparts were living it was inevitable to dodge law enforcement forever. As we all know, all good things must come to an end... As Ricky felt the heat from the law, he slowly scaled back his lifestyle and started to prepare for early retirement. Law enforcement officials created the Ricky Ross Taskforce which intercepted a call he made to a connect in Texas, that was later apprehended by police and revealed the secrets to Ricky's Empire. This revelation combined with years of investigation was enough for Ricky to be arrested and incarcerated for 10 years (plea deal). After serving 4 years, Ricky was released for testifying in a federal case and to $2 million in money and property. Ricky woould find himself back in prison facing a life sentence after being setup by the Feds and his connect in Nicaragua. He only served 20 years, and is now working on projects such as a film, modeling agency, and a reality television show.... Now that's the REAL RICK ROSS!

In the song, Blowin' Money Fast (BMF), rapper "Rick Ross" recites lyrics like:

I think I'm Big Meech, Larry Hoover,
whippin' work, hallelujah
One nation, under God,
Real niggas gettin money from the fuckin start...

Balling in the club, bottles like I'm Meech hoe...

I think I'm Big Meech, look at my timepiece
It's Audemars, hundred racks at least
Look at yourself, now look at me
You can't see nigga, I'm what you used to be..

Rick Ross clearly has identity issues...So now you're Rick Ross, thinking you're Big Meech AND Larry Hoover?! Well, let's find out who exactly "Big Meech" and "Larry Hoover" are...

Demetrius "Big Meech" Flenory and his younger brother Terry "Southwest T" Flenory begain their drug trade in high school, selling "eight balls" (one-eighth ounces) of crack cocaine for $50 on the streets of Southwest Detroit, Ecorse, and River Rouge, Michigan. By 2000, they established a multi-kilogram cocaine distribution ring that served Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennesse, and Texas. With so much ground to cover, Big Meech had enlisted over 500 memebers into "BMF" or "Black Mafia Family". The organization tried to legitimize itself by entering the hip hop music business, starting a company called BMF Entertainment. Through BMF Entertainment, it helped promote a number of artists, including Young Jeezy, as well as BMF Entertainment's sole artist, Bleu DaVinci. Before their entrance into the music business, the Flenory Brothers were known to associate with a number of high-profile hip-hop artists, including Jay-Z, Fabolous, and Bun B.

In 2003, Meech and Terry had a falling out and went their seperate ways, Meech in Atlanta and Terry in Los Angeles. Meech remained in control of the drug trade and BMF. In a wire tapped phone conversation, the DEA over heard Terry telling their sister that Meech's lavish lifestyle may bring too much attention to their "business". By the time charges were filed, the government had over 900 pages of typed transcripts of wiretapped conversations from Terry's phone alone. In 2005, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) indicted members of the Black Mafia Family, ultimately securing convictions by targeting the Flenory brothers under the Continuing Criminal Enterprise Statue. Both were sentenced 30 years to life (Terry will be released in 2031, Meech in 2032). Over 150 members of BMF were arrested and indicted on drug charges. Prosecutors alleged BMF made over $270 million over the course of the conspiracy.

Larry Hoover, founder and leader of the Gangster Disciples. When I read about Larry, I was blown away. Freeway Ricky Ross and Big Meech were intense but Larry Hoover had me intrigued, especially since he's serving a 200 year life sentence. The other two have a chance to enter the free world again, Larry does not.

Larry was born in Jackson, Mississippi but moved with his family to Chicago, Illinois when he was 4. As a preteen, Larry would cut school and run the streets with his friends, naming themselves "Supreme Gangsters". They involved themselves in petty crimes such as muggings and thefts; these petty crimes were the start to a vicious cycle. At the age of 19, "King Larry" and a rival gang member joinded their members together and created "Gangster Disciple Nation". Under King Larry's rule, gangster Disciples took over the south side drug trade, making over $1,000 daily.

By the age of 24, Hoover had been in and out of prison several times, and had endured six separate shooting attempts on his life. Each time, he survived, and doubled his retaliation efforts. But on February 26, 1973, Hoover went too far. He and another Gangster Disciple, Andrew Howard, shot and killed dealer William Young after a heated argument over money. Both Hoover and Howard were arrested, and sentenced to 150 to 200 years in prison.

But Larry's power seemed only to grow inside the prison walls. He began protecting other inmates, who then became devotees and new recruits for the Gangster Disciple Nation. His control over the other prisoners was recognized by the warden's office, which began looking to Hoover as a positive influence to quiet riots and uprisings within the prison system. Changing the GD of "Gangster Disciple" to "Growth and Development," Hoover's move to reform began gaining positive attention from the outside.

Prison officials, however, saw Larry's good intentions as a ploy to get out of prison and resume his illegal activities. While friends and allies on the outside lobbied to get Hoover paroled for his contributions to society, law enforcement agents say Larry was finding new ways to expand his criminal ventures. The Gangster Disciples had grown to more than 15,000 members in at least five states. Their drug profits had also risen well into the millions of dollars all of which gang members attributed to the leadership of Larry Hoover.

Transferred to a minimum security prison in Vienna, Illinois, Larry was living a luxurious lifestyle that involved new clothes, expensive jewelry, specially prepared meals, and private visitations from friends and loved ones. Suspicious authorities began wire-tapping his private meetings, and discovered that he was running the Gangster Disciple group from within the prison system. Informants revealed that all of Larry's nonprofit organizations were actually fronts for laundering drug money. On August 31, 1995, after a 5-year undercover investigation by the federal government, Hoover was indicted for drug conspiracy, extortion, and continuing to engage in a criminal enterprise. In 1997, Hoover was found guilty on all charges, and sentenced to six life sentences. Larry is currently serving his sentence at the United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado.

Rapper Rick Ross has modeled his life and shaped his music around the lives of those who actually lived it. Although I look at this as a genius business move, its very unfortunate for fans and disrespectful to those that lived through this. Here you have men that lead lives of crime, built empires and watched them crumble, and now you have this person who knows nothing about this lifestyle capitalizing off of another man's story. Ross has done an impeccable job  at painting himself as a cocaine tootin' drug lord that outsmarted the law. However, we all know that's not how the "fairytale" ends, just look at the current situations of those that have actually lived it.

We have young men looking up to Rick Ross as the poster child for "success". They are intrigued with his lifestyle and the picture he paints with his lyrics about his "struggles" or "rise to fortune" and sadly it's all an illusion. With Ross using a business technique, such as this one, he is capitalizing off of the trials and tribulations of others while presenting false hopes to impressionable minds. Below are a few of Rapper Rick Ross' music videos:

No, I don't have any personal issues with rapper Rick Ross. This information was intriguing to me and felt I should share my thoughts with you.

Your Comments??...Your Thoughts??

I. AM. YOUR. LEADER... Are You Now!?

Nicki Minaj is not missing a beat! Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded was released April 2, 2012 and Nicki is already on her sixth music video... I AM YOUR LEADER!

Kudos to Nicki for another street smash; we all were worried for a minute. Clearly, Nicki knows what she's doing...

"I Am Your Leader" puts a quirky, colorful spin on the genre of hip hop. Nicki's raunchy lyrics, paired with the likings of Rick Ross and Cam'ron almost presents this as a song of empowerment. The visual of a female rapper standing with two heavyweight rappers chanting "I AM YOUR LEADER" exudes the feeling of power.

Nicki opens the video in a hot pink room with lime green accents and a zebra print rug. There are oddly shaped windows and at some point we find her seated in a Barney inspired hand! Nicki is wearing a sweetheart cut latex corset, fishnet tights, stiletto boots and her crown is adorned with long, big, yet tight waves.

She then does a wardrobe change (of course!) into high-waisted black late poom-poom shorts, thigh-high studded boots, a jeweled bra top...Oh! We can't forget about her I Am Your Leader captain hat! Nicki really turned up the sex appeal with her styling in this video... It is also here where we are introduced to the self-proclaimed boss, Rick Ross aka "Rozay" and Cam'ron aka "Killa Cam".

Nicki then immerses us in a purple bathtub wearing a green Marilyn Monroe inspired wig with aqua and yellow highlights... She is covered in bubbles and rocking rhinestone platform glitter boots. They appear to be connected all the way up to her waist, almost giving the visual of an "Alexander McQueen inspired mermaid". Nicki's pink lip and purple glitter lids complete the entire look, as she spews lyrics like "I'm a Brand, b**** I'm a Brand!!"

When Rick Ross goes to spit his verse, he is stationed in a gold dining room covered in gold jewelry with women (including Nicki) covered in gold behind him as mannequins. Ross had to add his stamp on it, by performing his verse shirtless... Did we expect anything different?

Killa Cam takes us back to his roots with his smooth rap style and rhyming technique. He is stationed at the bottom of a green staricase wearing a purple shirt (which changes colors throughout his performance) and blue jeans. It was nice seeing you Cam!

When "I Am Your Leader" was first introduced, I wasn't quite a fan. However, visuals know how to bring out the best in a song! The colors, effects, staging, etc. caught my attention and I want to send a big kudos to Director Colin Tilley on a job well done!

Nicki Minaj- I Am Your Leader (Explicit)

Your thoughts??... Your Comments??

Bitch Bad...Woman Good... Lady Better...They Misunderstood

Lupe has left his mark with his new controversial single and music video "Bitch Bad"...

Wasalu Muhammed Jaco aka "Lupe Fiasco" is a Chicago born rapper, who initially despised rap music for it's vulgarity. It was only after he found his own style and a little assistance from prominent rapper, Jay-Z, that Lupe embraced the culture and signed a record deal. Since 2006, Lupe's lyrics have become conversational pieces and topics of controversy (mainly, his song "Words I Never Said").

Lupe Fiasco- Words I Never Said

Lupe is one that is committed to staying true to his beliefs and ideals on culture, politics, religion, etc. With that being said, it should come as no surprise that Lupe's latest video "Bitch Bad" has the entertainment industry buzzing and the streets talking! Before we delve into the lyrics of this song, lets discuss the concept and content of this video. The visual of this song is portrayed in a way to explain the long-term psychological effects of the connotations and use of the word "Bitch". 

We, the audience watch how the word is introduced to a little boy by his mother and it is introduced to a little girl by a rapper; these introductions cause both to have skewed views of the phrase "Bad Bitch". We are taken on a journey through time, which displays the growth process between the little boy and little girl, now a young man and young woman. These skewed ideals are displayed once they try to interact with each other on a romantic level. He connotes "Bad Bitch" with a woman that looks like his mother and she associates "Bad Bitch" with the oversexed woman in the music video, causing a psychological disconnect between the two. Lupe interviewed for RapFix on MTV and stated "I think it's something [the word bitch] --the idea of it, the 'bad bitch' -- it's very subtle but it definitely has some destructive elements to it." "It has some troubling elements to in. Especially when you look at who it's being marketed towards. That's why we put the children in the video."

Lets get into the lyrics a bit, Lupe divided the video into three acts. In Act I, he introduces us to the little boy and his mother:

Now imagine there's a shorty, maybe five maybe four

Ridin' 'round with his mama listening to the radio...

His mama sings along and this is what she says

"Niggas I'm a bad bitch, and I'm bad bitch

far above average"...

First he's relatin' the word "bitch" with his mama, comma

And because she's relatin' to herself, his most important source of help,

And mental health, he may skew respect for dishonor

In Act II, we are introduced to a group of little girls that are being raised by the internet and what it has to offer: 

Yeah, now imagine a group of little girls nine through twelve

On the internet watchin' videos, listenin' to songs by themselves

It doesn't really matter if they have parental clearance

They understand the internet better than their parents...

... their favorite singer's preference

"Bad bitches, bad bitches, bad bitches

That's all I want and all I like in life is bad bitched, bad bitches"...

...ideal girl acquiescent to his whims

... High heels, long hair, fat booty, slim

Reality check, I'm not trippin'

They don't see a paid actress, just what make a bad bitch

Finally, in Act III Lupe bridges the boy's understanding of what a "Bad Bitch" is and the girls interpretation of what a "Bad Bitch" is:

The little boy meets one of those little girls

and he thinks she's a bad bitch and she thinks she's a bad bitch

He thinks disrespectfully, she thinks of that sexually

She got the wrong idea, he don't wanna fuck her

He thinks she's bad at being a bitch like his mother

Momma never dress like that, come out the house, hot mess like that

Ass, titties, dress like that...

Just like that, you see the fruit of confusion

He caught in a reality, she caught in an illusion

Bad mean good to her, she really nice and smart

But bad mean bad to him, bitch don't play your part

But bitch still bad to her, if you say it the wrong way

But she think she a bitch, what a double entendre...

Lupe Fiasco-Bitch Bad

Lupe vividly paints a Picasso piece of artwork for the audience. It's almost impossible not to give the phrase "Bad Bitch" a second thought. Although some may not agree with Lupe's ideas of it's effect on children and society, he did succeed with presenting a piece of work that is guaranteed to evoke strong opinions and open a platform for conversation... Your thoughts? Your opinions?

Save Our Daughters

In August of 2011, Rapper Lil Wayne released a thought provoking and powerful music video for his third single "How to Love" from his album The Carter IV. In this video Wayne's lyrics are brought to life in a portrayal of a vicious cycle that plagues society today. The concept of the video displays a woman in the beginning stages of an abortion, but decided not to go through with the process. After making that decision, we see a cycle of abuse (physical, sexual, substance, etc.) passed from mother to daughter. Wayne allows the audience to see the negative effects of certain behaviors, then rewinds to a more positive outcome from better decision making. This is a softer side of Lil Wayne that we were never introduced to; this side showed that even some of the hardest rappers are aware of the issues affecting our women, especially our daughters... 

Lil Wayne's -How To Love

Wayne stated, " The song is about women who "don't know how to love because there's deep reasons for them not knowing how to love... And what I mean by deep reasons is deer and dark reasons. A lot of people don't open up that [can] and I figured that I can open up that can of worms and see what happens".

Although the "Rap" music genre is deemed controversial due to the graphic nature is its subject matters, rappers also use that outlet to convey messages to the public on issues they are passionate about. If we fast forward to May 2012, rapper Nas released the music video for his song "Daughters". "Daughters" is the third single off of his album Life is Good, and is dedicated to his own daughter, Destiny Jones. 

Destiny sparked controversy earlier this year when she posted a photo of her condom collection and announced to Twitter that she named her new ivory Mercedes-Benz "Cocaine". 

These things  may appear to be harmless to us, the public. It is a completely different lane when the teenage daughter of a legendary music artist talks or makes innuendos about risky behaviors. This triggered something in Nas that allowed him to realize, he was failing his daughter as a father; he needed to step up to save his daughter...

Nas-Daughters

Nas' lyrics conjoined with the imagery chosen to convey the intended message forces one to stop, think, and evaluate their situation. In this day and age, so many other things in society are raising the youth except for their parents. Parents are not taking the time that is needed to properly train children into well groomed and head strong adults. The streets, television, the internet, etc. now play nanny to our children, thus causing parents to disconnect (in more ways than one) from their offspring. Time moves so quickly, parents barely recognize what/who it is that "they have raised". 

It is said to be cliche' BUT a father's love is the first love that a woman is introduced to. That relationship is so important because is sets the tone for any other man that is to follow. That relationship teaches a girl what is and is not acceptable behavior to take from a man. Some women will use the phrases " My father didn't treat me like that" or " My father never said anything like that to me" and that triggers something in her that lets her know this behavior is not acceptable. However, when that relationship is not there, that means there was no foundation laid, so how is she to know what is and is not acceptable; what she should and should not take from a man? Somethings are said to be common sense, but when a woman has been searching all her life for "that foundation" does common sense take precedence in this case?