In The Know

Oscar nominated actress Angela Bassett will scrub up to join the cast of the Emmy award winning drama ER for its fifteenth and final season. She'll play a tough attending physician with a troubled past who returns to Chicago after tsunami refief in Indonesia. This after it was announced that actor Mekhi Phifer will exit the series. Disturbed and Radiohead each have new releases on store shelves today. Black Music Month Tribute of the day: Mahalia Jackson. Born in one of the poorest sections of New Orleans in 1911, Mahalia Jackson, with the grit and passion of Bessie Smith became known worldwide as the queen of Gospel. Her sound and style helped take Gospel to heights it had not been taken to before. May she rest in peace. Happy 50th birthday to the one and only Prince!

Hip Hop At A Crossroads

At 41 years of age, I can remember when Hip Hop was just underground music heard and performed in and around New York City and when it finally went mainstream and became a billion dollar a year industry. Record lables that would'nt touch the music and culture with a ten foot pole suddenly wanted a piece of the pie. Then Hip Hop was fun, entertaining, educational, enlighting and whatever else it wanted to be. Today corportate America runs the industry and markets and promotes guns, drugs and sex because it believes that's what sells. The diversity of lyrical content and imagery that existed years ago no longer exist. It is a travesty. It is a travesty because consumers are hungry for options that are not being offered. Artists like Common, Talib Kwali and Lupe Fiasco are not marketed and promoted as well as they should be. There is a market for what these artist do and record labels need to understand that. It is time for a change.