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Spike Lee has been receiving plenty of backlash from politicians for his upcoming Chicago-based film "Chi-raq", but it won't deter him from highlighting gun violence in America. In a recent interview with Deadline, Lee said it was his responsibility as filmmaker to produce a project that reflects the realities, no matter how harsh, of Chicago's crime levels especially those throughout the city's South Side. "I would just be irresponsible as a filmmaker to not comment on this self-inflicted genocide, which is happening," he said. "The majority of the shootings and the killings are in the south side of Chicago. Chicago - I mean I'm not the only one to say this - arguably is one of the most segregated cities in the U.S." Lee began producing the film in June and spent r

Former Oakland resident and current New Mexico transplant Raashan Ahmad is always working on something. As an emcee in hip-hop collective Crown City Rockers (formerly known as Mission), Raashan showed the world his penchant for intricate rhyme schemes and emotionally evocative lyrics. Although Crown City Rockers haven't put out an album since 2009's The Day After Forever, they never really broke up. In fact, Raashan, percussionist Woodstock, bassist/producer Headnodic, drummer Max MacVeety and keyboardist Kat Ouano reunited for a performance at the annual Hiero Day in Oakland on September 7 of this year. When Raashan isn't touring the world with his solo material, he's making music and loving life. Most recently, he teamed up with fellow Crown City Rocker Headnodic for the secon

A school teacher has been forced to redecorate his classroom after getting complaints in regards to its Kanye West theme. Adrian Perez from McCabe Elementary in Mendoza, California had made headlines for his Yeezus themed classroom. Perez had used West lyrics and song titles to decorate activity walls such as the "What Did I Learn All Day, All Day?" wall making reference to the rapper's recent single 'All Day' and "New Job Flow" referring to Kanye's 'New God Flow' track. Perez told Good Morning America, "I never want my students to be discouraged and push them to approach learning with confidence." Perez continued on saying, "I was innovative while designing this classroom. I aspire to be the Kanye West of teaching: Kanye West is one of the most influential people in the

Grace Jones lamented the current state of pop music in an excerpt from her book I'll Never Write My Memoirs. The singer, actress, and fashion icon will publish her autobiography on September 29th. But before then, she has released a snippet of it via Time Out. In the snippet, Jones states how trends "come along" and go and how she's been copied by modern stars who have no "long-term vision". Jones writes, "Trends come along and people say, 'Follow that trend'. There’s a lot of that around at the moment: 'Be like Sasha Fierce (Beyonce). Be like Miley Cyrus. Be like Rihanna. Be like Lady Gaga. Be like Rita Ora and Sia. Be like Madonna.' I cannot be like them - except to the extent that they are already being like me." Jones adds, "The problem with...the

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis performed their new single "Downtown" last night on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and there was something for everybody during the performance. Rahzel the godfather of noise started things off as only he can, with Macklemore taking the stage for the first verse. Then the legendary Kool Moe Dee, Grandmaster Caz and Melle Mel performed their part of the single...but it didn't end there. After Eric Nally sang the first chorus, all three legends returned to the stage to each spit a classic verse. Hip hop fans worldwide should appreciate that and appreciate that Macklemore & Ryan Lewis had them on the song in the first place. Big Daddy Kane summed it up best via his Instagram page a week ago: "REAL TALK! I don't see one artist in the game that put M

Last week, D'Angelo made an appearance on "The Tavis Smiley Show" in his first television interview in over a decade. During the two-part conversation, the Grammy Award-winner went over a multitude of topics, including how he felt "objectified" by female fans following the release of his extremely memorable music video for "Untitled". "It would bother me...A lot of times the crowd -- or a lot of the ladies were just screaming, 'Take it off.' And I kind of felt like, for lack of a better thing, like a male stripper, you know? Or I expected to be that," he said. "I wasn't mad at that…but I think that I'm a serious artist. So it's a fine line to walk. But I accept that. This is the realm that we're in." The song -- which was featured on D'Angelo's second album "Voodo