• Killer Mike Pens Op-Ed for Martin Luther King Jr., Encouraging People to Be 'Revolutionaries'

    Musicians and celebrities are often in a unique position to share their personal views on politics, race, sexual orientation and any other social issues of their time period. The ones who resonate with the public, though, are the artists who share their ideals within and outside their craft. Killer Mike of Run the Jewels has been on a mission as of late, penning opinion pieces for publications about his feelings toward race relations following the unfortunate deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in Staten Island. His post yesterday on Martin Luther King Jr. Day might have been his finest.

  • Former Federal Investigator Performs Jim Croce Song, Changes Tune Into Tasteless Parody of Michael Brown's Death [LISTEN]

    A former federal investigator performed a tasteless song in California recently at a charity event held by a retired LAPD policeman. Gary Fishell took the stage and performed an absolutely disgusting parody of Jim Croce's "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown," poking fun at the unfortunate death of African American teenager Michael Brown. TMZ received footage of the song and, well, it's hard to hear.

  • Robert McCulloch Admits That He Knew Some of the Witnesses That He Presented to Ferguson Grand Jury Were Lying

    Robert McCulloch is the prosecuting attorney that was presiding over the Ferguson grand jury, which means that he has been under intense scrutiny from day one. McCulloch has also been blamed for Darren Wilson not being indicted in the Aug. 9 shooting death of Michael Brown. The general consensus seems to be that if the prosecution really wants an indictment, they'll get it, so the underlying feeling has been that McCulloch didn't push too hard for what many believe would have been justice for Brown. Unfortunately, the attorney hasn't helped his image at all by giving a recent interview to KTRS 550 and making some stunning admissions.

  • Ferguson Protests Led D'Angelo to Push Up 'Black Messiah' Release

    Earlier this week, neo-soul pioneer D'Angelo surprised the music world by suddenly releasing his new album "Black Messiah," his first new album since his 2000 classic "Voodoo," with almost no warning whatsoever. Despite its absurdly long gestation period, however, "The New York Times" reports that the album's release was somehow still rushed, as D'Angelo's label RCA had originally planned to drop it sometime in early 2015. But following the volatile situation in Ferguson, Missouri, and the grand-jury decision to not indict Officer Darren Wilson for the shooting death of Michael Brown, D'Angelo decided to push up the album's release to Dec. 15. According to D'Angelo's manager Kevin Liles, D'Angelo had called him up in distress last month following the Ferguson grand-jury decision. "He said, 'Do you believe this? Do you believe it?'" Liles recalls. "And then we just sat there in silence. That is when I knew he wanted to say something." With the famously delayed album put on the fast track for release, D'Angelo and RCA pulled "many all-nighters" to finish the album, which included everything from the artwork and tracklist to the music itself.

  • Petition Filed by National Bar Association to Strip Darren Wilson of Badge in Missouri

    About a week after learning that he would not be indicted for the Aug. 9 shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, Darren Wilson ironed out the details and resigned from the Ferguson Police Department. Wilson agreed with the department that it is in everyone's best interest that he not serve and protect in Ferguson again. His being on the streets would only put him as well as other officers at risk. While it seems unlikely that Wilson will patrol anywhere again, he has still retained his badge — and that is something the National Bar Association is not happy about. The country's oldest and largest group of African-American attorneys and judges have filed a nine-page petition requesting that Wilson be completely stripped of his badge. The official petition is requesting that the Missouri Department of Public Safety revoke Wilson's badge. While under oath, Wilson insisted that during his altercation with Brown he had feared for his life, but some naysayers believe the officer got away with murder.

  • Jeanine Pirro of Fox News Claims 'Minority Communities' Need to Be More Sensitive Toward Police

    Fox News often finds itself under fire for the stance that the network appears to take on hot-button issues, and right now nothing is more volatile than the tension between police and their handling of the black community. Last night, Jeanine Pirro decided to ask for viewer feedback on whether or not police should be more careful in the way they deal with incidences occurring in black communities and the response was quite unified. In between people stating the obvious — that if you are not breaking the law then you are less likely to find yourself tangled in any sort of altercation — there was also the thinking that communities need to be more mindful of the police. Pirro backed up that notion and, interestingly enough, it Is a sentiment that even New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has echoed. Basically, the thinking is that there is a rift, and in order to fix it both sides need to take steps toward meeting in the middle. He also admitted last week, shortly after it was announced that NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo would not be indicted in the chokehold death of Eric Garner, that his own biracial son has been directed on how to carry himself if he should be stopped by a police officer.

  • 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.

  • 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."

  • Peaceful Protests Erupt in NYC After Grand Jury Doesn't Indict Daniel Pantaleo in Eric Garner Chokehold Death Case

    Almost immediately after it was announced yesterday that NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo would not be indicted for the chokehold death of Eric Garner in July on a Staten Island street, the backlash and disbelief began. If you tuned in to any of the news stations, then what you saw was inevitably heated debates between journalists and legal analysts over whether or not an indictment for any charge at all seemed like a no-brainer. Then last night, the peaceful protests began. Smaller groups in Harlem and Staten Island and at Grand Central Terminal were later followed by a march 5,000 people strong down Broadway through Times Square. Protesters are still rallying for some type of justice for Garner, who, just minutes before his death, broke up a fight between a few other people and then found himself surrounded by NYPD. A video of the entire altercation was caught on a cellphone and Garner's hands were clearly up as he backed away from officers who were determined to arrest him for selling loose cigarettes — a summary offense. Pantaleo wrestled Garner to the ground in what appeared to be a type of chokehold, something that has been banned by the NYPD. Even as Garner expressed his inability to breathe and another officer directed Pantaleo to release him, he continued the maneuver until Garner eventually died on that sidewalk. Ironically enough, after it was announced that the grand jury would not be charging Pantaleo with a single crime, he issued an apology to Garner's family, something his widow, Esaw Garner refused to accept.

  • ABC News Anchor David Muir Furious 1st Darren Wilson Interview Went to George Stephanopoulos, Not Him

    We told you a few weeks ago that there was a serious fight between the networks to score the first exclusive interview with Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson. CNN's Don Lemon and Anderson Cooper as well as NBC's Matt Lauer all met with Wilson before he finally decided to sit down and talk on the record with ABC's George Stephanopoulos. As it turns out, perhaps the person most bent out of shape over Wilson's choice is "ABC World News Tonight" anchor David Muir. Apparently Muir believes that as the network's evening anchor, he should be the one who is in the running for the serious "gets," not just Stephanopoulos. Sources close to Muir dished on the fact that he is furious exclusively to Page Six.

  • 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.

  • 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

  • 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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