DMX Can’t Believe Anybody Would Have a Name As Ridiculous As ‘Barack’Rapper DMX has seen his share of gangs, hard drugs, and prison bars, but please, reporters, don’t try telling him crap like there’s some black guy out there named Barack Obama running for president. The Dark Man X seemed unfazed by a female candidate, but a Barack? “What the fuck is a Barack?!” he demanded during a recent Q&A with hip-hop mag XXL. “Where he from, Africa?” DMX admitted he’s not following the race and suggested that “no one person is directly affected by [whoever is] president” anyway. But seriously: “Your momma ain’t name you no damn Barack!” The Yonkers-born DMX knows something about baby names, after all; his kids are named Xavier, Tocoma, Shawn, Javon Micai Wayne, and Praise Mary Ella. The XXL interviewer futilely tried to pursue the topic, even trying to convince the politically apathetic rapper that the possibility of a black president is a big deal, but eventually gave up with a halfhearted, “Well, Barack has a good chance of winning so that might be something.” Thoughts, DMX? “Good for him, good for him.” —Jennifer Chen
party lines
KRS-One Freestyles for ObamaAt last night’s launch party for the Smirnoff Signature Mix Series, we asked rapper KRS-One how he felt about some people’s assumption that the black vote will go for Senator Obama in the presidential election. The hip-hopper has appointed himself of a spokesman for black culture in the past, most notably when he drew ire in 2004 for saying he “cheered when 9/11 happened.” “People should assume [blacks will vote for Obama],” he told us. “And people should assume that KRS-One will vote for Obama For those of us who preach Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, are those who have dreamed of a day of a black president or an African-American president.” He was careful to add: “If Obama gets in, it’s not like he is going to do anything different. But at least if he gets in, at least we get a chance at the steering wheel.” We asked KRS if he would care to take a moment, then, and freestyle about his candidate. He obliged:
I don’t know where this is goin’
But KRS-One is right now freestyle flowin’
Me, I’m not into votin’
All that wishin’, beggin, and hopin’
Naaaawwww
Me, I get open
Let me tell you Obama’s not a token
party lines
Snoop Dogg Briefly Erases the Word ‘Bitch’ From His Vocabulary
Has chronic curser Snoop Dogg reformed his dirty language? At Monday’s Hip-Hop Summit Action Network awards gala at Capitale, honoree Snoop Dogg repented for some of the harsh language he’s used against women in his songs. “I’m not trying to do anything to offend nobody, but y’all’ve got to understand, I’m from the East Side,” he said. “I worked hard to become a man on my own. My mother showed me how, but she couldn’t really teach me how to become a man. My father wasn’t there. I never knocked him for that. But the playas that I learnt from, they taught me the wrong way.”
party lines
The Writers’ Strike Has Amy Poehler Expressing Her Creativity in New WaysThe writers’ strike may end soon, and the SNL gang may have their day jobs back, but in the meantime, Amy Poehler’s getting her groove back. “I went to a hip-hop class at Crunch today,” she told us Friday night at actor Justin Theroux’s week-long public installation in Soho with a baseball-capped Will Arnett, her actor hubby. “Let me tell you something, those natural endorphins I’ve heard about — they really work.” Didn’t she ever do aerobic activity? “No,” she said. “Unless crying is considered an aerobic activity. I gotta get back to work.” So what else was she doing with her spare time? “I’ve doubled my therapy,” she said. But didn’t less work stress require less therapy? “No,” she replied. “I’m a thousand times more stressed when I’m not working. When you can’t blame everything on being too busy, a lot of shit comes up.” Totally. Last time our computers crapped out on us, we had to face that we had grown up to become bloggers whose high point of the week was Gossip Girl, and, well, it wasn’t pretty. Well, we told Poehler, at least you’re out doing new things, right? “Yeah,” she agreed. “And I’m learning how to become a midwife!” Wow! Really? “No.” —Tim Murphy
Click here to read all our writers strike coverage from New York’s Vulture blog.
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When You’re Good to Foxy, Foxy’s Good to YouRemember when Martha Stewart was at Alderson Prison camp and she made friends with her fellow inmates? She did arts and crafts with them and even purposefully lost a Christmas-tree competition to help build up their self-esteem? That’s exactly the approach that rapper Foxy Brown is taking toward her fellow inmates at Rikers. Well, if you replaced the arts-and-crafts part with abusive threats, and the “friends” bit with “40 days in solitary.” The Post today checks in with her prison life, and finds out that she’s not fitting in as well as her critics would have guessed:
• She accessorizes her prison jumpsuit the only way she can, with Gucci and Louis Vuitton sneakers.
• The minute the sneakers get dirty, she has someone bring her a new pair.
• She talks trash to prison officials.
• She is fresh out of solitary confinement, but she doesn’t interact with or trust anyone around her.
• She threatens others with the “juice” she has on the outside.
It’s funny — in spite of ourselves we always sort of imagined that her prison stint would involve some passionate but gritty musical numbers and Bob Fosse dance moves. Aren’t hip-hop leaders supposed to set an example?
Foxy a Brat in a Cage [NYP]
in other news
Def Jam Wants Its Turn to Retire Jay-ZThe true story of what is going on with Jay-Z at Island Def Jam seems to be unfolding in the gossip pages. Murmurs that the hip-hop impresario was set to leave the label have been buzzing since last year. In July, Ben Widdicombe’s “Gatecrasher” column reported that “he is in negotiations to jump to rival Columbia,” citing this year’s appointment of Jermaine Dupri to head up Island’s Urban group as one cause of strife. At that point, it looked like it was all Jay’s idea to look for a new job. But now, in “Rush & Molloy,” we learn that maybe the Island Def Jam brass aren’t that happy with their 2005 hire:
Island/Def Jam CEO L.A. Reid and his boss, Doug Morris, are said to have found Jay’s demands “excessive” in light of the time he’s been spending on tour. “People have lost count of how many times he’s come out of retirement,” the source says. “Everybody knows he’s not around the office much. Everybody at Universal loves him, but they can’t justify paying him the money he wants when so many people have been laid off.” His contract is said to expire at the end of this month. Friends of the rapper, who last night was celebrating his 38th birthday in Paris, scoffed at claims that Reid and Morris had thrown in the towel.
We’ve heard a lot on this topic: That Jay’s longtime girlfriend, Beyoncé, wants him to quit. That Jay’s singles are tanking. That L.A. Reid is tired of Jay getting all the attention. Which makes us want to yell about something we’ve been wondering for years: When will Jay make an honest woman out of Beyoncé!?
Jay-Z in Jam over Contract [NYDN]
