• Joanna Newsom Working on Album, Discusses Ferguson, N.Y.

    Joanna Newsom is not someone who can be easily placed categorically, but we will give it a shot. The Californian folk singer/songwriter/harpist/actress is in Paul Thomas Anderson's forthcoming film "Inherent Vice," but she recently told Dazed she is working on fresh tunes. "I'm working on something new — I should hopefully have a little more news soon," Newsom said, via Stereogum. "I've been working hard for a lot of those five years on a new idea." "Vice" is a 1970s-set picture that deals with race issues, and Newsom used it as a bridge to current events. "I think the film drums up a sense that dark forces are at work behind the scenes, and that's a fear that many people I know struggle with, particularly in the States right now," she said. "There's an incredible sense of — at the risk of sounding melodramatic — a conspiracy. I mean, right now, what's happening in Ferguson and in New York is terrible: terrible cases of cops murdering people and getting away with it. The words 'civil rights violation' come up a lot in this film, and I think that that applies more today than it has for decades."

  • Peaceful Protest Over Eric Garner's Chokehold Death Turns Violent in California

    Thousands of protestors met up in big cities across the country yesterday for a fourth day of making their displeasure with law enforcement in NYC and Ferguson, Missouri known. Nearly two weeks ago Darren Wilson walked away indictment-free in the Ferguson shooting death of Michael Brown. This past weeks' decision of a grand jury not to indict Daniel Pantaleo in the Staten Island chokehold death of Eric Garner took things to a completely different level. After the video of Garner's saying that he couldn't breath moments before dying hit the internet most people expect some charges to stick to Pantaleo. When they didn't it prompted people that normally don't get involved to speak up and rally for change. The majority of the protests have been peaceful with the exception of one in California last night.

  • NYC Chokehold Victim Eric Garner's Family is Grateful for the Support of Peaceful Protesters

    While the lack of an indictment in the chokehold death of Staten Island's Eric Garner may have been exactly the same result that the people of Ferguson, Missouri faced in the shooting death of Michael Brown just one week earlier, the reaction has been profoundly different. Rather than lashing out in one night of mayhem like Ferguson did, supporters of Garner have truly taken a peaceful approach to protesting and his family couldn't be more grateful to see that kind of support from complete strangers.

  • Hillary Clinton Claims Nation's Criminal Justice System is "Out Of Balance," Supports Probes of NYC and Ferguson Police Cases

    It seems like Hillary Clinton might be the only one left that isn't sure if she intends to announce a 2016 presidential campaign, but if that is on her to-do list, then the fact that she supports the U.S. Department of Justice looking into the untimely deaths of two black men at the hands of white police officers is sure to get some backing. Clinton spoke at a conference today and expressed her dismay at there being no indictment against police officers who ultimately killed Eric Garner in NYC and Michael Brown in Ferguson while in the line of duty. She was quoted as calling the system "out of balance."

  • John Legend, Common Share New Song - "Glory" - From Upcoming 'Selma' Film [LISTEN]

    The nominees for the 87th Academy Awards will be announced on Jan. 15 and today, R&B singer John Legend has shared his Best Original Song hopeful -- "Glory" -- which will be featured in the upcoming Martin Luther King, Jr. drama, 'Selma.' The song features some socially conscious guest verses from Common, who references the recent unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, and joins the ever-growing list of artists to release tribute songs to Michael Brown.

  • Michael Brown, Eric Garner: 10 Tribute Songs From T.I., Alicia Keys, J. Cole, And More

    Following the grand jury decisions regarding the police-related deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO and Eric Garner in Staten Island, NY, plenty of musicians have expressed their outrage and calls for peace and unity by releasing songs inspired by these incidents. Here are 10 songs inspired by the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.

  • Michael Brown's Ex-Con Stepfather Louis Head is Being Investigated for Inciting Ferguson Riots

    By now I think nearly everyone has seen the video of Michael Brown's stepfather shouting into the crowd, "Burn this b**** down!" shortly after the grand jury announced its' decision not to indict officer Darren Wilson for the Aug. 9 shooting that killed the teen. While many have said that Louis Head, Brown's step-dad, wasn't actually inciting violence, he was just reacting to the pain in that moment, the Ferguson police department doesn't necessarily see it that way.

  • Run The Jewels Shares Trippy Music Video For "Oh My Darling (Don't Cry)" [WATCH]

    El-P and Killer Mike continue their reign of terror with the release of the new Run The Jewels music video, "Oh My Darling (Don't Cry)," which you can check out here. The Timothy Saccenti-directed clip finds the duo rapping while standing back to back in a dark room with some flashing red and green lights. There are some occasional shots of naked women every once in a while, so this clip is a bit NSFW.

  • St. Louis Rams Insist They Didn't Apologize to Police for 'Hands Up, Don't Shoot' Gesture

    It looks like finding middle ground and a truce between the St. Louis Rams and the St. Louis County police department is not going to be easy. The issue began when five St. Louis Rams players walked onto the field before Sunday, Nov. 30's game with their arms making a "hands up, don't shoot" gesture. The police department took extreme offense at the gesture, which was in reference to Darren Wilson's not being indicted in the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Now team officials and the police department are at odds over whether or not an apology was issued. On Monday, Dec. 1, the Rams's chief operations officer Kevin Demoff reached out to law enforcement to try and make peace. Demoff reportedly told police chief Jon Belmar that he "regretted any offense the officers may have taken and regretted that any members of the [Rams's] organization would act in a way that minimized the outstanding work that police officers and departments carry out each and every day." Even though Demoff said he never apologized, the chief believed it to be enough of an apology to send an email about the phone call to his staff.

  • Jill Scott Defends Bill Cosby on Twitter; Comedian Resigns as Temple University Trustee

    Soul singer Jill Scott came to the defense of fellow Philadelphian Bill Cosby on Twitter recently in regards to multiple women alleging that the comedian raped them. Scott received an honorary doctorate from Temple University in May and Cosby, an alumnus, was on hand to present her with it. The singer got into a heated exchange on social media, standing by Cosby as a friend and advocate for proof of the allegations. When one follower, also a Temple alum, asked Scott to sign a petition for the university to cut ties with the comedy star, the singer responded in the negative, philly.com noted. Cosby resigned from the university's board of trustees yesterday, Dec. 1.

  • Killer Mike Writes Op-Ed for 'USA Today' about Rap's Unfair Treatment in the Courts Following Ferguson Speech [EXCERPT]

    Killer Mike is use to voicing his opinions, whether it be through rhymes with Run the Jewels, emotional onstage speeches or op-eds. Most recently, the rapper co-wrote an article for USA Today about his genre's unfair treatment in the courts. Erik Neilson, an assistant professor at the University of Richmond, helped pen the op-ed, which takes issue with the recent Elonis v. U.S. case in which Anthony Elonis was sentenced to 44 months in prison after posting violent verses on Facebook

  • Police Angry After St. Louis Rams Players Perform 'Hands Up, Don't Shoot' Routine

    Five St. Louis Rams players made a Ferguson-related statement before their NFL contest against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. The handful in question — Stedman Bailey, Tavon Austin, Jared Cook, Chris Givens and Kenny Britt — raised their arms in a "hands up, don't shoot" fashion that Michael Brown supporters have flashed for months.

  • Ex-NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani: Darren Wilson's Case Should Never Have Been Before a Grand Jury

    Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani really gets heated when the topic of Ferguson comes up. In the last few weeks he has popped up on various news programs, insisting that while this case took on racial overtones early on, the problem actually starts with what is wrong within the community itself. Giuliani insisted on "Fox News Sunday" that Darren Wilson's shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown never should have made it in front of a grand jury in the first place. "I don't see how this case normally would even have been brought to a grand jury. This is the kind of case — had it not had the racial overtones and the national publicity — where a prosecutor would have come to the conclusion that there is not enough evidence to present to the grand jury. [U.S.] Attorney General [Eric] Holder's gonna have to take a case in which a jury couldn't find probable cause to indict, and he's gonna have to try to find probable cause in front of a federal grand jury. It's an impossible case to present to a grand jury," said Giuliani. He also held firm to the notion that it is the community's job to get itself together and to work to bring the violence down among themselves. While it is the local police department's job to protect the peace, if people were treating each other humanely in the first place, then situations like Ferguson would rarely occur.
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