Cherchèz La Ghost

"Starks with the fasheezy face!" Now you can literally cherchèz your very own Ghostface Killa doll. Yep, Tony Starks has joined the likes of Flava Flav and the Biz in marketing a doll in his likeness.

Staying true to his pedigree, the Wally Kingpin is in a whole other pricing tier : bringing this doll home is going to run you a cool $500.

Self-Righteous Magazine Founder and Gangsta Lackey Seeking Employment.

Dave and Zino are out.

Once again,  I don't know why this gives me such glee, but fuck those two guys.

Save Yourself, Black Man!

This makes me so depressed:

Among black dropouts in their late 20's, more are in prison on a given day — 34 percent — than are working — 30 percent — according to an analysis of 2000 census data by Steven Raphael of the University of California, Berkeley.

Read more about the sad state of the Black man in America here. And for God's sake, let's "keep it real" and acknowledge that it's not all Whitey's fault.

Booty Butt, Booty Butt, Booty Butt CHEEKS!

I guess some people are up in arms about Bubba Sparxxx's new single Ms. New Booty[NSFW!] and its accompanying marketing campaign. Promos are apparently being aired on radio stations across the country encouraging young (18-and-over only, of course) women to upload pictures of their perfectly poised posteriors to the site, where viewers can vote for Ms. New Booty.

Yeah, it's mysoginistic and objectifies women, and is harmful to the self-image of little girls across the whole country, and is yet another example of the harmful repercussions of the practice of payola in the radio industry... but what else is new?

What I find outrageous and deliciously ironic is that nobody said anything about how the chorus is straight-up jacked from The Boondocks. Riley would be proud.

Stop the Violence, KRS!

Damn, what happened to being "The Teacha?" Looks like KRS is at it again. Do as I say, not do as I do, I guess.

Bonus: here's a rather scathing indictment of KRS and all of hip-hop as well. Ouch!

...And the Award for Most Ghettoest Acceptance Speech Goes To...

I think it's great that hip-hop history was made last night at the 78th Annual Academy Awards. I think the song that won the Academy Award for Best Song, however, is quite possibly the most average song. It's certainly not a good song by any stretch, and I'm still trying to figure out how it won. Maybe I should see the movie, and I might change my mind; at least maybe the song will resonate with me in some way.

And then there was the reaction of Three-Six Mafia. There was something infectious about what was obviously pure, unbridled joy and elation at winning the Oscar, and you couldn't help but be happy along with those guys. But damn, man - did anyone even understand what they said? And how come they had to be the only people to provide a reason for the 5-second tape delay? And they knew they were going to the Academy Awards; they could at least have stepped up their sartorial game for the evening.

Dave Chappelle is My Hero

I just saw Dave Chappelle's Block Party and it made me like hip-hop again. Each of my most revered hip-hop acts was there, all in one place at the same time, and they represented. The Roots, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Kanye West, Jill Scott... plus  a couple of other acts like Dead Prez, who I don't really know that well, and some surprise guest appearances. Let me just state that I don't generally get on celebrities' nuts that often. I think our culture places far too much unjustified importance on celebrites and entertainers on the whole. That said, if I had been there, I might have passed out and cried like a white girl at a Justin Timberlake concert.

One of the best parts of this whole experiment is that Dave brought a bunch of random, ordinary people from his neighborhood in Ohio to Brooklyn to share in this experience. Most touching was the inclusion of the marching band from Central State University - these kids were given an opportunity that many of them wouldn't have otherwise had, and you can tell that they really appreciated it.

Chappelle's comedic genius and poignant social commentary is interwoven throughout the movie, which has been accurately described as a mixture of social experiment/hip-hop concert. I will point out that some may find it hard to reconcile his "everyone's welcome" stance with the acerbic "run up on them crackers" views of Dead Prez. Hey, I'm marrying a white lady - that shit made me squirm a little.

The climactic Fugees reunion was incredible, though Lauryn was wearing a little too much makeup in the closeups, and she had a little bit of the crackhead-chiq thing going, but she's still the most gorgeous crackhead I've ever seen.

I could ramble on and on about this, but the long and short of it is: go see this movie.