Locals Only: It’s been about a year since former executive director of the Colorado Hip-Hop Coalition, Apostle, aka Jeff Campbell, left Colorado to focus solely on his music career with his group Heavyweight Dub Champions. But the impact the Colorado Hip-Hop Coalition had in the late '90’s and early 2000’s is one that many former high school kids will remember. Below is a previously unreleased documentary on the Colorado Hip-Hop Coalition and how it helped high school kids use hip-hop as a form of expression. The 10-minute film was directed by donnie l. betts.
Lil Wayne indicted on drug charges
A Yuma, Arizona jury has indicted rapper Lil Wayne on drug charges stemming from an arrest on January 22 near the U.S.-Mexico border, according to allhiphop.com. The U.S. Border Patrol stopped the rapper’s tour bus 78 miles west of Yuma, searched the bus and found nearly four ounces of marijuana, just over an ounce of cocaine, 41 grams of Ecstasy and miscellaneous drug paraphernalia.
Wayne was charged with one count each of possession of a narcotic drug for sale, possession of dangerous drugs, misconduct involving weapons and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. He pleaded not guilty to all the charges and is due back in court on March 7.
The Game sentenced to 60 days in jail
This week, Compton rapper The Game was sentenced to 60 days behind bars -- for incident stemming from a pick-up basketball game -- after pleading no contest to felony charges of gun possession in a school zone. According to the Associated Press, on February 24, 2007, one Rodrick Shannon said that he exchanged words with Game who was playing for an opposing team. Shannon claimed that Game told him that his team was garbage and punched him in the left cheek. Shannon said that when got ready to defend himself, people from the rapper's team grabbed him while Game left the court. Shannon also alleged that when he went to look for his son in the parking lot, he saw the rapper reach into a Cadillac Escalade and brandish a firearm.
"He started proceeding towards me," Shannon testified. "The gun was still in his hand. He yelled that I'm a ... fool. I turned around and ran because I feared for my life."
Rapper Prodigy gets a reprieve from starting 3-year bid
In October, Mobb Deep rapper Prodigy pleaded guilty to a 2006 gun charge and was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, according to MTV News. He was scheduled to start the bid on January 8, but because of health reasons, he’s received a couple of reprieves. The first came after he was suffering health complications from his sickle-cell anemia condition and now he doesn’t have to go in until February 20, because prison officials asked for a postponement of the bid while they try to get the proper equipment and facilities to take care of Prodigy's medical needs. In the meantime, P has been doing shows New York, Boston, Albany, and New Hampshire. He’s currently in California spending time with his wife before he goes to the clink next week.
New Releases
Chaundon Carnage Chaundon is a member of the lauded Justus League crew, headed by Little Brother and 9th Wonder. After releasing a handful of mixtapes over the last several years, the rapper has finally dropped his debut album Carnage. The album features production from 9th Wonder, Illmind and Khrysis with appearances from Jean Grae, Sean Price, DV Alias Khrist, and Darien Brockington.
Boogie Down Productions Criminal Minded (Deluxe Edition) The classic hip-hop album, Criminal Minded, was originally released in 1986 and introduced KRS-One to the world. This deluxe edition is a 2-disc collection that features the original album, plus unreleased songs, remixes, and interviews. It’s a must-have for any hip-hop purist.
Guru The Best of Jazzmatazz Guru, founding member of legendary hip-hop group Gangstarr, dropped his first Jazzmatazz album back in 1993 as side project. He's released three more Jazzmatazz albums in the last 13 years and now he’s collected the best of them on one disc. The Best of Jazzmatazz features Erykah Badu, N’Dea Davenport, Donald Byrd, The Roots, Ramsey Lewis, Brandford Marsalis, Chaka Khan and a host of others.
