Source Smack

[=[Euthanasia]=]

looks like the Source has been at it again. Peep this y'all, it's a long read but interestin' enough  

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Yesterday, August 9, 2001, on Power 99 FM's Dream Team morning show, Jadakiss repeatedly stated that he did not say what Shaheem Reid and The Source Magazine quoted him as saying about Philadelphia in their July issue. Jadakiss also repeatedly said, over the air, that when he sees him in the future he fully intended to "smack the writer" of the article in The Source, that many now claim is responsible for sparking the tensions between Jadakiss and Beanie Siegel and Jadakiss and Philadelphia and for portraying trivial private problems rooted in competition between Roc-A-Fella and Ruff Ryders, as a growing feud.


Some people were defensive and offended when we wrote over the past month that The Source was being reckless and irresponsible in what it did in attempting to hype up the comments allegedly made by Jadakiss in the article. We outright stated that the manner in which they positioned Jadakiss' quote was a deliberate attempt to grab the attention of the casual reader and intrigue them with the possibility that Jadakiss and Jay-Z were feuding. We also talked about the possibility that we believed that the writer of the story, Shaheem Reid, deliberately worked to pit Jadakiss and Beanie Siegel against each other. In our June 29th Hip-Hop Fridays article we wrote:


"But you can tell that this reporter, Shaheem Reid, was desperate to have his article break the news of this supposed "Jay-Z- Jadakiss beef". If you read his quotes you can almost literally see him tripping over himself running to the phone to call Beanie Sigel to tell him what Jadakiss allegedly said to him about Philly."


If we were wrong then who was the intermediary between Jadakiss and Beanie in reference to what Jadakiss allegedly said? Who told Beanie what Jadakiss allegedly said, if not Shaheem Reid or an editor of The Source?


Jadakiss repeatedly told Wendy Williams and the members of The Dream Team that he did not say what The Source quotes him as saying. He was asked several times by different members of the morning show, from different angles, and the answer, from Jadakiss, was always the same: he did not say what was quoted. He also added that he does not mince his words, if he said what said he did he would be the first to admit it. He made clear that it is his view that the writer of the article lied about the truth of his (Jadakiss's) words.


Now, if Jadakiss is right, then all of this goes back to our opinion that rap magazines are as vulnerable to the spirit, tactics and practices of the FBI's COINTELPRO today as they were 35 years ago. It is a demonstrated fact that the FBI planted stories; fed reporters lies and misinformation about people; positioned photographs and headlines in order to make certain pieces of information stand out and easier to digest; and misquoted individuals. All with the goal of discrediting and disrupting individuals and organizations and sparking envy, jealousy and civil wars between organizations with similar missions. This is a fact which we wrote about and provide the clear evidence of in our RAPCOINTELPRO series


We are not saying that Shaheem Reid is an FBI agent. We don't know Shaheem Reid or what goes into Shaheem Reid's writing. But we know that whatever the cause of his writing, the effect was that it contributed to sparking and escalating a potential conflict, that could have turned violent between Jadakiss and Beanie Siegel and even between Yonkers, New York (where Kiss is from) and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (where Beans is from).


Victims quite often could care less about the cause or effect of harm done to them – they are often in so much pain or so unaware of what has happened to them.


Akiba Solomon, editor-at-large of The Source, took exception with this part of what we wrote on June 29th:


"The Source in many ways is like the CIA or FBI doing intelligence work among groups they want to destroy. They like to throw the rock into the crowd and then hide their hand. When ill feelings, envy, resentment and feuds are fed by articles that they print in their magazine and people point the finger at them, The Source takes the attitude of "Who, Me?". They express concern about ending violence in Hip-Hop and then they run stories that pit one rapper against the other. Even if they aren't outright agents of the government sent to destroy Hip-Hop, the effect is the same. So, what is the real difference between a paid agent and one who does the same work for the sake of magazine sales and advertising revenue?"


But how is what we wrote inappropriate, especially in light of the fact that Jadakiss denies saying what The Source said he did? And in light of the fact that The Source deliberately lifted Jadakiss' quote in a manner that would make the reader think that Jadakiss had a problem with Jay-Z? On June 29th we wrote:


The interesting part about the Jadakiss article is that they place in the center of one of the pages, the quote that they attribute to Jadakiss supposedly about Jay-Z. That quote, lifted and put front and center in bold-print is designed to catch the attention of people who rapidly flip through the pages. It is deliberate..


Anyone who doubts this should grab a copy of the July 10th issue of The Source and look at the lifted quote for themselves. Several of our viewers told us that the quote was positioned so well and so prominently that it caught their attention as they were skimming through the magazine with no intention at all of reading the Jadakiss feature article.


Now, we do not hold Jadakiss and Beanie Siegel blameless. It is obvious that both artists, especially Jadakiss tried to turn the rumors, controversy and tension to their benefit by making freestyles on mix tapes dissing each other. They attempted to use the dangerous innuendo thrown into the water by The Source as a marketing ploy. They both figured that the controversy would help both of them sell albums. This is misguided and dangerous. And eventually both sides realized this. But they should have never used the appearance of two Brothers fighting each other as a marketing strategy. Both the executives of Roc-A-Fella and Ruff Ryders should not have risked injury and lives, including that of their respective artists, for the sake of extra record sales


And we do not think that it is appropriate

Davey D's Hip-Hop Corner