Rapper Common, record executive Kevin Liles, CEO of the Hip-Hop Summit Network (HHSN), Dr. Benjamin Chavis, and co-founder of both the HHSN and Def Jam Records, Russell Simmons.
Today on Oprah was part 2 of the town hall forum regarding Hip Hop and Don Imus. Yesterday peopel such as Stanley Crouch and India Arie spoke on this subject and today on the stage was Common, Kevin Liles, Benjamin Chavis and Russell Simmons. In the audience was lawyer Londell McMillan, who has been a lawyer for countless rappers.
Londell said that at the Hip Hop table, you have: corpoate america, artists & producers, consumers, radio. I agree with him when he says you can't blame the individuals on the stage (those pictured above) solely, but at the same time, you can't allow them to walk away from the situation and say "oh, it's society".
Lawyer Londell McMillan
Today's Oprah show was interesting because the women of Spelman really didn't let the men on the stage get away with some serious questions. Even when Oprah wasn't pressing particular questions and answers, the Spelman girls chimed in and made thier voice heard even though they were via satellite.
Once thing that Keven Liles said that I thought was ricidulous was that if you got to know him and Russell Simmons and Jay-Z, if you really got to know them then we would see that they aren't what they are so often depicted as.
Stanley said something interesting, which was that when white trailer trash is convicted of blowing up little girls, no one makes excuses, but when rappers call people bitches and niggers and hoes, people bring up slavery an Africa and are just marionettes. And then Kevil looked like he wanted to kick his ass right then and there.
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