By Megan Kadrmas

To be politically correct, the Homorevolution Tour involves a group of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender hip-hop artists who travel the country spreading their message of equality and reality.

But screw political correctness. This is hip-hop, after all. And the Homorevolution Tour performers are not trying to sugarcoat the fact that they fall under the small but growing category of, as they say, "gay hip-hop."

When the tour made a stop in Minneapolis Sunday at the Pi Bar, it wasn't the city's first experience with this genre.

After all, Tori Fixx, the godfather of the GLBT hip-hop scene, calls the Twin Cities home. Alicia Leafgreen, better known as White Lesbian Rapper, has been causing a stir at straight Twin Cities' venues for a couple of years now.

But the Homorevolution Tour, or Homorev, as the artists involved call it, is still breaking new ground in Minnesota and all around the country. It is the first city-to-city tour of GLBT hip-hop artists.

Minneapolis was the tour's last stop, for now. The organizers, like creator Camilo Arenivar and Midwest tour manager Bigg Nugg said that they are taking this tour in spurts because the artists are essentially funding their own tour.

Homorev started in the Southwestern United States, where a majority of the original 17 performers were based. But the GLBT hip-hop movement started years before that.

Singer rushed to L.A. hospital with severe chest pains

LOS ANGELES - Singer Bobby Brown suffered a minor heart attack Tuesday and is now recovering, his attorney confirmed to Access Hollywood.

Attorney Phaedra Parks told Access that Brown “went to the hospital yesterday with severe chest pains and today they found out that he had had a mild heart attack. He has just been released and his prognosis is good. He has a show scheduled for Saturday and he wants to go to it. He wants to tell his fans he’s thankful for their well wishes and prayers and would like them to keep him in their prayers for a speedy recovery.”

Brown was reportedly rushed Tuesday to the Tarzana Regional Medical Center in Los Angeles

According to People magazine, Brown, who had not experienced any previous heart problems, is scheduled to perform at the V100 Taste of Soul concert and festival in L.A. on Oct. 13.

By MICHAEL ERIC DYSON

As an ordained Baptist minister, university professor and social activist, I applaud the expression of dissent and protest in the public realm. And I encourage all citizens of conscience to articulate their views about the treatment of the images of black people in media.

A Maryland-based Baptist minister is organizing a protest outside Black Entertainment Television's Second Annual Hip-Hop Awards show Oct. 13, outside Atlanta's Civic Center. It is his right to voice his concerns. However, I find the minister's recent protests at the home of BET Networks CEO Debra Lee to be extremely problematic while setting a dangerous precedent. The rich history of black civic and social protest has never targeted individuals at their homes. Rather, such protest identifies institutional and corporate sources of offensive behavior.

The black church of which Lee's critics and I are members has been heroic in its defense of black people and in its pursuit of justice for our people. But the black church, too, must continue to reflect on its own actions. There is sexism within the church. Many churches do not allow women to become pastors in the very churches where they worship. Homophobia exists in the church. Gay and lesbian Christians are sometimes religiously mistreated and insulted from the pulpit. Yet the homes of those ministers who offend women, gay men and lesbians, have never been targeted for protest.

By Krista Henry and Teino Evans

The dancehall fraternity silent about the 'gay attacks' on local artistes who have had their shows abroad cancelled and in some instances been banned, might soon have to break its silence.

For years, protests from gay activists have dogged the careers of Jamaican artistes internationally. Deejay Shabba Ranks' career was stopped in mid-flight when he experienced the backlash of responding to a question about Buju Banton's Boom Bye Bye. And, since doing that song in the early 1990s, Buju has been plagued across the globe with banned concerts, a trend which has now spread to the likes of Beenie Man, T.O.K., Capleton, Sizzla, Elephant Man and others.

If gay activists get their way, Sizzla and Elephant Man will no longer be allowed to enter the Canadian capital of Ottawa. The Canadian Gay Rights Lobbyist, in collaboration with the U.S.-based 'Stop Murder Music', campaign, has decided to try to convince city officials in Ottawa to ban the reggae artistes based upon their refusal to sign the Reggae Compassionate Act, a document of allegiance to the campaign's mission.

Oakland, California-based Deep Dickollective (D/DC) aka Deep Dic has been the leading collaborative ensemble collective presenting homohop to the gathered faithful and completely unaware. The meat-packers and beat-backers release their fifth release On Some Other presenting a wet dream of “race, class, queerness and masculinity” wrapped in hip hop beats and poetic tributes to pop culture with cut ‘n paste sound bites, big ideas slapping your tender brain-matter and hipster grooves weaving it all into a power poetry push for peace and better living through loving. My picks: “Other Countries,” “Birthdaze,” “TMI,” “Ebony Lane (SABATAJJ),” “Fly Free,” “For Colored Boys” and “Man Of Me.”

October 2, 2007 - Guaranteed Success is Percy (Master P) Miller's personal blueprint to life's success. Inspired by his involvement with mentor Donald Trump's Real Estate Wealth seminars as well as the work of Robert Kiyosaki (author, Rich Dad Poor Dad), Percy Miller has written Guaranteed Success, the first real African American self-help guide to true success to be released in decades. Guaranteed Success is applicable to diverse cultures in building a foundation for generational wealth.

The book is designed to show you how to achieve your goals; make your money work for you; be your own boss and live a prosperous and purposeful life.

by Kwan Booth

In the seven years since its inception, the PeaceOut festival has come a long way.

When the small group of LGBT hip-hop performers and fans gathered together in Oakland's deFremery Park in 2001, no one knew that it would be the start of a global movement.



But that's exactly what happened. When the annual PeaceOut World Homo Hop Festival touches down at Oakland's 21 Grand this Saturday night, September 22, the event promises to showcase a more mature scene, one with a steady and expanding worldwide audience.

"It's important as a symbol," said Juba Kalamka, the festival's director, reflecting on the importance of the event. "There needs to be a safe space for out queer performance."

Ignored by the hip-hop industry, gay rappers are touring the nation to increase their visibility

by Kitty McConnell

When the first few beats of Bigg Nugg’s “La Revolucion” kick in, the song—delivered in a gravelly voice and featuring slightly menacing lyrics—sounds like a track from any other low-budget rapper’s debut album. Only when the chorus hits is it clear exactly which revolution Bigg Nugg is advocating.

“I don’t give a f**k if you’re gay or if you’re straight.”

These lyrics could serve as the mantra for the HomoRevolution Tour 2007, the first national tour of gay, lesbian and transgendered hip-hop artists, which will come to Jack’s Bar (formerly Summit Station) next Thursday.

HomoRevolution was the brainchild of Deadlee, a self-proclaimed “gayngster” rapper from L.A. who gained the attention of the mainstream music press when he lashed out at 50 Cent and other rappers for their gay-bashing lyrics. Bigg Nugg, who grew up in Toledo and is manager of the Midwest leg of the tour, shares Deadlee’s antipathy towards the famously homophobic rap industry.

By Chris Jai Centeno

Two concerts have been cancelled after mega-club Kool Haus pulled the plug at the last-minute on two controversial reggae and dancehall artists.

Entertainers Elephant Man and Sizzla were scheduled to perform last Friday night and Oct. 5 respectively, but both Jamaicans have been under fire from human rights organizations who say their lyrics are homophobic and incite violence against gays.

Akim Larcher, founder of Stop Murder Music Canada – a coalition made up of 20 organizations that promote human rights – says the federal government has remained silent in this issue.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Kanye West got beaten up by a woman on the latest U.S. pop album charts published Wednesday. A week after the rapper's third album debuted to the highest numbers in more than two years, West was bounced from the top spot by country star Reba McEntire's "Reba Duets."

The star-studded disc sold 301,000 copies in the week ended September 23, according to Nielsen SoundScan data released by Billboard magazine. It's McEntire's first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and her best sales week since the tracking firm began collecting data in 1991.

West's "Graduation" fell to No. 2 with 226,000 copies, a hefty sales slide of 76%. Rapper 50 Cent, who lost a widely hyped duel with West for sales supremacy last week, saw his release "Curtis" fall one to No. 3 with 143,000 copies, a slide of 79%.

By Nicholas Keung

Toronto police will monitor this Friday's concert by Jamaican dancehall artist O'Neil Bryan, also known as Elephant Man, after receiving complaints that the performer incites anti-gay violence through his music.

"Their lyrics, in my opinion, do tend to step over the line in regards to hate propaganda and advocating harm to one of the identified groups," said Det. Gary McQueen, of the hate crimes unit.

"These entertainers have had some issues in other countries, in London, England, in particular," he added, referring to another complaint against Miguel Orlando Collins, a.k.a. Sizzla, who is booked at The Kool Haus Oct. 5. "We are looking at these situations to see if they apply to our experience in Toronto and Canada."

Despite protests by the Toronto-based Canadian Caribbean Human Rights Group, immigration officials have issued visas to both Bryan and Collins. The latter was banned from the United Kingdom in 2004. Bryan arrived in Canada last week and has performed in Winnipeg and Victoria, where local police closely monitored the concerts.

The artists' offensive lyrics use derogatory terms for gay men in Jamaican patois.

by Jessica Robertson

In a September interview with Complex magazine, rapper Ja Rule -- born Jeffrey Atkins -- responded to criticism of hip-hop lyrics with his own critique of mainstream media: "We need to go step to MTV and Viacom, and lets talk about all these f---ing shows that they have on MTV that is promoting homosexuality, that my kids can't watch this s---," he said. "Dating shows that's showing two guys or two girls in mid afternoon. Let's talk about s--- like that! If that's not f---ing up America, I don't know what is."

The quote sparked an immediate backlash, with GLAAD (the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) issuing the following statement: "No fair-minded person can look at Ja Rule's interview with Complex magazine and believe for one second that his children could be more harmed by what they might see on television than by the vulgarity and prejudice that comes out of their father's mouth."

By BOB CHRISTIE

PHOENIX (AP) — Two dogs found buried at a home belonging to DMX had serious wounds, said authorities investigating animal neglect allegations.

One of the dogs had serious bite wounds and another had trauma to its abdomen, but exact causes of death were not determined, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Saturday. A third dog carcass had been burned so badly an exam was inconclusive.

The remains were dug up on Aug. 24, when sheriff's investigators probing allegations of animal neglect raided the rapper's home in north Phoenix.

Authorities also seized 12 live pit bulls, numerous weapons, and about a quarter-ounce of marijuana in a bedroom, Arpaio said. The sheriff initially said a half-pound of suspected narcotics was found, but tests showed the substance was not illegal drugs.

By Ian Burrell

It was a sight that lives long in the memory, the rapper Kanye West, standing centre stage at London's Hammersmith Apollo, jerkily kicking out his legs in the style beloved of those Eighties teenagers who wore big back-combed hair, eyeliner and fingerless gloves, as he encouraged mystified hip-hop fans among his audience to sing along to A-ha's 1985 pop hit "Take on Me".

Kanye West, 30, is not any kind of rapper. His backing band for the show, 18 months ago, was a 10-piece female string orchestra, including what is believed to be rap's first live harpist.

While other hip-hop MCs wear their jeans low slung and lace their lyrics with boasts of nefarious pasts on ghetto streets, Kanye has rhymed about the dubious benefits of material wealth and the dirty secrets of the diamond trade. He has a teddy bear for his motif, dresses in a style that is heavily influenced by the preppy look of the Ivy League and has named his clothing line Pastelle, reflecting his taste for soft colours. He has publicly condemned rap music's deeply ingrained homophobia.

By JOEY GUERRA

Kanye West doesn't need to prove his musical mettle. Forget the gimmicky clashes with 50 Cent or immature backstage tantrums like the one at the MTV Video Music Awards as he went home empty-handed.

West simply needs to let the music on Graduation speak — soar, really — for itself. West's third solo disc is exhilarating from start to finish, a joyous mash-up of clever rhymes, savvy street flavor and dance-floor delirium.

Vocally, West is more confident than ever. His unmistakable delivery is at once sleepy and vibrant, and the rhythms veer from old-school charm to sci-fi spaciness. Every moment sparkles with surprise.

The rapper bet his hip hop crown on a chart duel with Kanye West. It's not looking good...

by William Shaw

You have to wonder whether 50 Cent now rues the day he challenged rival Kanye West to an album sales duel, promising to retire as a solo artist if West won. Both released their third albums last Tuesday in America - 50 Cent's Curtis and Kanye West's Graduation - and the US entertainment press has hyped the battle to the hilt. The rappers feature on the cover of the latest Rolling Stone, eyeball to eyeball, above the breathless cover line 'Showdown! Who will be the king of hip hop?' This week US chart bible Billboard will announce who has the crown, but over the last few days West has been easily outselling his rival.

By Patricia Meschino

NEW YORK (Billboard) - In the wake of gay-rights protests surrounding three major dancehall reggae concerts in New York in recent weeks, promoters, performers and their labels are noting a detrimental effect on bookings and endorsements in the United States and Europe for dancehall artists, who play a style of reggae that incorporates hip-hop and R&B.

The New York shows drew the ire of gay-rights groups that continue to protest songs they deem homophobic by a handful of dancehall artists.

By Joe Walker

They've both landed big hits, but only one will win.

The much-hyped battle between hip hop stars Kanye West and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson could be thought of as music's version of a heavyweight boxing dream bout. With the genres top two stars releasing their highly anticipated third albums -- "Graduation" by West, "Curtis" by 50 Cent -- on the same day, Tuesday, some may compare its social magnitude to that of Muhammad Ali vs. George Forman.

The media coverage surrounding these two albums has been pummeling, with many media sources ready to score the bout. Black Noir Magazine owner Florence Anthony says nothing is wrong with a little friendly competition.

"Both Kanye and 50 have become crossover artists who are even respected in the pop world," she says. "It's a good thing because it hypes up hip hop in a positive way."

Hip-hop star LL COOL J has spoken out in support of fellow rapper 50 CENT ahead of the In Da Club star's forthcoming chart battle with KANYE WEST.

Both West and 50 - real name Curtis Jackson - release their new albums in the U.S. on 11 September (07), but LL Cool J - real name James Todd Smith III - insists he is going to buy 10 copies of pal Jackson's LP to ensure he succeeds against his rival West. Smith tells the New York Daily News' Fashion Week blog,

"I've heard some of Fifty's music, and I'm rooting for him. "He's produced music for me and I'm going to buy ten copies of his album. He's my man and I'm gonna ride with him. Nothing against Kanye, but I'm a team player. "This is New York, everybody better be rooting for Fifty."

Bounce back

Gay rights activists are urging the media to issue a ban on rap star JA RULE - after he launched a foul-mouthed tirade accusing the gay and lesbian community of "f**king up America". Speaking in a interview with Complex magazine earlier this week (ends16Sep07), the star criticised U.S. TV networks for "promoting homosexuality" - and insisted children should not be exposed to images of gay couples.

He said, "Lets talk about all these f**king shows that they have on MTV that is promoting homosexuality, that my kids can't watch this sh-t. "Dating shows that's showing two guys or two girls in mid-afternoon. Let's talk about s**t like that! If that's not f**king up America, I don't know what is." And now the Gay + Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is encouraging media outlets to stop giving Ja Rule press coverage as a result of his remarks.

A statement posted on GLAAD's website reads, "No fair-minded person can look at Ja Rule's interview with Complex magazine and believe for one second that his children could be more harmed by what they might see on television than by the vulgarity and prejudice that comes out of their father's mouth. "Now that media have seen Ja Rule's intolerance unmasked by his own words, they have a responsibility not to provide in the future a platform for his ugly, vulgar displays of prejudice."