• [Exclusive] Doughboy Talks 'Break Da Knob' Success, Mike Brown & Changing Sound

    Rap star Doughboy stood out against his rapping opponents in St. Louis when he premiered his music video "Break Da Knob" on Sean "Diddy'" Comb's Revolt TV network. Now, with buzz surrounding the "Turn It Up" song and his video receiving nearly 13,000 views on YouTube, Doughboy is proving that he is contender getting ready to snatch the number one spot. In an exclusive interview with MusicTimes, the rap star breaks down the definition of "Break Da Knob," his distinct sound versus St. Louis rappers, Mike Brown and making a difference in his community with his The Speak Out Against Violence Essay Contest.

  • Geraldo: Michael Slager Won't Be Convicted of Murdering Walter Scott

    The case of former South Carolina police officer Michael Slager, who shot and killed Walter Scott last week after a traffic stop went horribly wrong, has gripped the country for days. While two videos have surfaced -- one from a police dash cam and the other now-infamous footage filmed by a bystander -- there is always room to debate the murder charge that has been filed against Slager. Who better to argue what might have seemed like an obvious outcome then Geraldo Rivera? Rivera believes that Slager will never be convicted of murdering Scott.

  • NYPD Unhappy With Commissioner Bill Bratton for His Support of Mayor Bill de Blasio

    NYC Police Commissioner Bill Bratton has one of the hardest jobs in the world right now, trying to bridge the deep divide between the NYPD and Mayor Bill de Blasio's City Hall. Things were a little bit tense even before de Blasio seemed to show support for the hundreds of protestors walking through various parts of the city in support of Ferguson and Eric Garner. The fact that he allowed it, making the NYPD's job even harder didn't sit well with the department and then when two Brooklyn officers were assassinated in retaliation, well it turned uglier yet. Bratton has tried to bring both sides together but now it seems that his attempts are beginning to backfire.

  • Ferguson Protesters Pepper-Sprayed for Infiltrating STL Police HQ

    We may have closed the book on 2014, but that does not mean the tension between Ferguson, Missouri, protesters and St. Louis, Missouri, police officers is over — not by any means. Instead, a group of 75 protesters proved last night, Dec. 31, 2014, that the racially charged divide is going to be an issue that follows us into this new year, 2015. The protesters served a literal eviction notice to St. Louis police officers late last night and many found themselves either pepper-sprayed or arrested. As part of their "March to the Arch" protest, several members of the group purposely went into the lobby of STL police headquarters and then proceeded to read off a list of demands and they posted hundreds of eviction notices on the outside of the building for alleged police brutality. Nineteen protesters were eventually arrested, primarily because they were laying in the middle of the road blocking the flow of traffic. The group had originally intended to occupy the area of the headquarters for four hours to commemorate how long Michael Brown lied dead in the street after being shot by Darren Wilson.

  • Hundreds of NYPD Officers Turn Their Backs on Mayor de Blasio at Rafael Ramos' Funeral

    The funeral for NYPD Officer Rafael Ramos at Christ Tabernacle Church in Queens was one of the more somber scenes in the city in recent months. Ramos and his partner, Officer Wenjian Liu, were assassinated while sitting in their patrol car eating lunch last week in Brooklyn. It was an act carried out in retaliation for the chokehold death of Eric Garner and the shooting of Ferguson teen Michael Brown last summer, and it has only deepened the divide that exists in the city. Mayor Bill de Blasio has tried in recent days to extend an olive branch to the NYPD, but it was glaringly apparent today that as a whole, the department isn't having it.

  • NYPD Claims Mayor de Blasio Has Blood of 2 Slain B'klyn Cops on His Hands

    Did New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio lay the groundwork for violence against police officers by seeming to side with protestors who have been upset over the lack of an indictment in the death of Eric Garner? That appears to be the official position of the NYPD, which is now grieving what it is calling the "assassination" of two police officers reportedly sitting in their patrol car eating lunch yesterday. Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos likely did not see Ismaayil Brinsley walk up beside the passenger side front window and take aim. Brinsley's deadly actions were intended to be a retaliation for the deaths of Garner and Michael Brown at the hands of police officers who were never charged, not even with a misdemeanor. While de Blasio spoke out against the violence condemning the murders, members of the NYPD turned their backs on him when he walked into the room to give an official press conference on yesterday's crime. It seems the NYPD feels that the mayor has been unsupportive and not aligned himself with them while the city has been in a state of upheaval and racial tensions are intensifying. The police feel so much like City Hall has abandoned them that officers actually have been signing a petition that would ban de Blasio from attending their funerals should they die in the line of duty.

  • 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.

  • Will Rosie O'Donnell Exit 'The View' After Another Fight on Camera with Whoopi Goldberg?

    There has been so much talk lately about Rosie O'Donnell's unhappiness on "The View," mostly because of her almost-daily clashes with Whoopi Goldberg. If you have tuned in for even only a few minutes you will realize the tension that hangs in the air between these two. A few weeks ago, rumors started swirling that O'Donnell might not even make it the entire season without quitting, and after an ugly fight on camera between the two this morning, we almost have to wonder if ABC is hoping for that to happen. O'Donnell and Goldberg have not seen eye to eye lately on issues such as the Bill Cosby scandal or the Ferguson protests, and today they clashed over racism, with Goldberg insisting that O'Donnell had no idea what it is. Both Goldberg and O'Donnell addressed each other in a heated exchange that left the other women at the roundtable unsure of what to say.

  • 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.

  • J. Cole Performs Ferguson Protest Song 'Be Free' on 'David Letterman'

    J. Cole released his third studio album, "2014 Forest Hills Drive," Tuesday, Dec. 9, and went on the "Late Show with David Letterman" to perform "Be Free," which is not on the album. Cole's commentary on Ferguson and tribute to Michael Brown, he used the stage to make his voice heard on the current issues facing the African-American community. His performance captured the sentimentality of "Be Free," as Cole delivered each word with poise and emotion. A simple performance with little fanfare, Cole stood on stage moving little but still showed his time-tested charisma, while a keyboardist played the simple and moving instrumental in the background, reported "Complex." He even wrote a new verse for the occasion and elicited a positive reaction from Letterman, who invited him back anytime. "Be Free" has been the No. 1 trending song, according to "Billboard," since it came out. Cole has been one of the few artists who have been using his status to protest the grand jury decisions in Ferguson and New York City, writing a song and going out on the streets and protesting.

  • 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.

  • 'Time's' Short List for 'Person of the Year' Raising Eyebrows

    On Wednesday, Dec. 10, "Time" magazine will announce its 2014 Person of the Year, and after learning who landed on the short list of candidates, we are more than a little confused. Some of the names on the list are not too shocking. There is Tim Cook, who introduced a bunch of new Apple products this year and then decided to come out of the closet, making him the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company. There is Taylor Swift, who, as a top-selling artist, decided to pull her music from Spotify this past fall because she believes the streaming service is not compensating artists nearly enough. But some of the other contenders are a bit baffling. Like Vladimir Putin, the Russian president who guided his country through hosting the Sochi Olympics in February under subpar conditions. He has also been one of the ringleaders in the ongoing strife between Russia and eastern Ukraine. Then there is NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who has spent the last six months living under a microscope because it seems the majority of even NFL fans believe he purposely set out to cover up several domestic violence cases within the league, including the now-infamous knockout punch by Ray Rice that was caught on surveillance tape and then shown to the world. The Ferguson protesters have also made the list, but wouldn't it have made more sense for the peaceful protesters in New York City's chokehold case to have made it instead? By pointing to Ferguson, sadly the first thing that comes to mind for many people is either the rioting and destruction of local businesses after Darren Wilson was not indicted, or else the video of Michael Brown's grieving and angry stepfather directing the crowd to burn things down.

  • 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.

  • Jay Electronica Responds to Ferguson, Eric Garner Decisions

    In light of the recent grand jury decisions in Ferguson, Missouri, and Staten Island not to indict two white police officers for the killings of two black men, protests have erupted across the United States and sporadically around the world. The issue of police brutality and mistreatment of minorities vs. whites by law enforcement is at the forefront of the nation's conscious. While some commentators have steered the commentary toward black-on-black crime and the violence in poor urban neighborhoods, New Orleans native Jay Electronica wholeheartedly disagrees with this notion, saying among other things in a series of tweets that "We live in a criminal nation, founded by rapists, mass murderers and robbers. So don't tell me about 'black on black' crime." Read the expletive-laden series of tweets below, via "Pigeons and Planes."
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