Lifestyle > Train of Thought
Label Owner Files $900 Mill Lawsuit Against CDN Gov, others.
Priest:
From SOHH.com:
http://www.sohh.com/articles/article.php/10671
Jerome Almon, CEO of Detroit-based Murdercap Records, has filed a $900 million lawsuit in federal court against the government of Canada, the State Department, and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for "wholesale profiling" of rappers and African-Americans.
For well over a decade, Almon and numerous rappers including 50 Cent, Eminem and DMX, have either been turned away or faced lengthy interrogations at Canadian borders. Almon's suit, which was prepared by the chief of Detroit's American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), alleges that Canada launched its attack on African Americans and rappers "in an effort to both blame them for the increased gang violence and gun murders in the cities of Toronto and Vancouver, as well as in retaliation for the alleged profiling of Canadian Muslims by the Bush administration."
The suit names 50, X, Secretary Rice, Olivia, Jay-Z, P. Diddy, Oprah Winfrey, Colin Powell, Toronto Mayor David Miller, Eminem and Spike Lee, among others, as witnesses.
Almon also alleges that "the State Department has in its possession secret internal Canadian investigative reports admitting that the country is worse at racial profiling than the US, yet,
Secretary Rice has sided with the Canadian government against African Americans in what is destined to become 'The State Department's Katrina.'"
According to Almon, "the State Department hypocritically touts rap as the great American ambassador on its official web site, while selling out its top artists to a foreign government."
Last year, Canadian authorities sought to ban 50 Cent and other 'gangster' rappers from performing in the country . Almon claims those same authorities also drew up Bills C-254 and C-95, which would ban all U.S. rappers and their CDs out of Canada by categorizing hip-hop as hate speech.
Almon, who seeks to challenge the aforementioned bills, asserts that "confidential documents from the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the State Department, and members of the Canadian Parliament show a huge cover up and a blatant bribery attempt by the State Department and Canadian government during the 50 Cent Canadian tour debacle."
Almon also alleges that Canada profiles U.S. rappers while protecting known terrorist such as the Khadr family, who are responsible for the killing and the planned killing of U.S. soldiers and civilians. He also claims Canada has a Rap Intelligence Unit that regularly trades information with the FBI.
"Hip-hop is a multi-billion dollar industry that has created millions of jobs in America, Canada, and worldwide. Not only does hip-hop drive the music business, but has moved fashion, movies, auto industry, and video games to an unprecedented level in sales," Almon explained to SOHH via a statement. "Canada rolls out the red carpet for artist like 50 Cent, Jay-Z, P.Diddy, DMX, Emimem, and The Blakkattakk when we are putting major cash into their economy,but then stabs us in the back when we come to make some bread doing shows.
"They let terrorist in,but seek to completely ban hip-hop [with Bill C-254] -- you tell me how this makes sense?" continued Almon. " It won't stand. We ain't goin' back to the back of the bus, never. The Canadian government offered me a resident's permit to live in Canada and a bag of money if I would just lay down for them and put on a snitch jacket and say somethin' against the other rappers with records. The day I put on a snitch jacket for them motherfuckers is the day they put me in a hole."
Almon has called out House Judiciary head John Conyers to hold hearings on the issue and has also requested for an official Canadian inquiry. He plans to make several surprise announcements concerning a boycott, his legal representation, and a travel advisory , via a press conference at the National Press Club and through the Web site www.kkkanada.com
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How do you feel about this? Reactions needed. This effects Canadian and american artists in more ways we realize!!!
We need all rap/hiphop artists,signed,and unsigned to unite on this issue!!!
Here are more links on this story
http://www.injusticebusters.com/04/Almon_Jerome.shtml
http://www.injusticebusters.com/04/Almon_Jerome.shtml
If you're interested in being a voice to make change, drop me an email and i will get you more info on what you can do to help.
Suga Foot:
There's an organization of promoters in Canada that wanted to stop this. They were tired of booking shows, and having the artist not be allowed into the country. They wanted to implement some kind of pre-screening thing. I dunno. Its the govt.
Priest:
TALIB KWELI CO SIGNS FOR JEROME ALMON August 30th, 2007
Talib Kweli is on the phone from a tour bus that is slowly making its way towards our border. While Canadians seem to think that, unlike their southern neighbours, theirs is an international reputation beyond reproach, Kweli sees it differently.
"Other than making it utterly impossible for a young black man to get in the country, I really enjoy Canada. Canada has the worst customs in the world, and everyone on the bus should now be agreeing with me - they make it harder to get into the country than any other country in the world."
Others think so too. Al Sharpton's National Action Network released a statement that said that it believes Canada Customs engages in racial profiling, while, more recently, Jerome Almon of Detroit's Murdercap Records filed a $900-million lawsuit in federal court against the Government of Canada, the State Department and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice based on the same notion.
While Al Sharpton is an opportunist and Almon appears to be the same, not to mention borderline insane (he's subpoenaed everyone from Oprah to Paris Hilton), there's no denying that if you're a rap fan living in Canada, chances are you've got more unused ticket stubs than your indie rock friends. Chances are also good if you're a rap fan that you know to put some stock in what Talib Kweli has to say.
The Brooklyn-born, -bred and -based musician has been at the top of rap's underground since the late-'90s, starting with collaborative releases alongside Mos Def (as Black Star) and
DJ Hi-Tek (as Reflection Eternal), and later as an acclaimed solo artist. His music has continued to contain the sharp and dexterous wordplay that frequently touches on socio-political themes, something that has, to his ire, labelled him a "conscious rapper."
"It's like any label: gangster rapper, pop rapper. I make conscious music, of course, but to just limit me as a conscious rapper, that's like saying that Jay-Z is just a gangster rapper. He makes some gangster music, but is it accurate to call Jay-Z a gangster rapper? No, he's way more than that, and I know that
I'm more than one category of hip-hop."
It's enough of an annoyance that he says that his next album is going to be called Prisoner of Conscious, but the one that Kweli is currently attempting to cross the border with is titled Eardrum, the first release on his new label, Blacksmith. It's blessed with a who's who of producers from Pete Rock to Kanye, but, as always, it's his voice that is its centre point - a voice that's been influenced by having worked in and owned a bookstore, not to mention being the son of two professors.
"I honestly think that if I wasn't rapping I probably would have ended up doing something in academics. But at the same time, I hated school, I quit college, I think I'm like the hip-hop version of my parents."
A parent of two kids himself now, he makes it clear that part of the perspective found in this latest album comes from his life experience.
"Of course, there are different responsibilities and different influences on your life, and the things that you see sometimes start to differ from your core fan base.
The way we present the music is going to be live, so that even if you're a 16-year-old who may not like an adult song like Hot Thing about the good things about a woman, they'll like Say Something, which is a little more
kinetic."
A decade-long career as a musician has also given him some perspective on how his music is received. "What I find is for every positive review, there's a negative one, and for every negative, there's a positive - I feel like I have an equal amount. Right now, Eardrum is enjoying a great critical buzz, a lot of critics like my album and respect it and everything, but I bet you could find the same amount of people who are saying 'Fuck Kweli.'"
Let's just hope those people don't work at the Canadian border.
Talib Kweli
Priest:
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Denied Entry Into Canada, Cancels Tour Dates 2008
Hip-hop group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony were denied entry into Canada early Wednesday morning (January 30), as they prepared to head on a sold out tour through the country, BallerStatus.com learned.
The group said they were told their entry into Canada was denied by Customs officials because their music was "too violent," which they cannot understand.
"We never had a problem going over there, but all of the sudden, they talking the music is too violent," Krayzie Bone told BallerStatus.com. "I'm like 'Man, that's crazy because we doing the same music we've done every time we came over there and nothing never happened.'"
The group was scheduled to leave for Canada Wednesday morning for five sold out dates -- including stops in Calgary, Vancouver and Winnipeg -- but got the bad news from the tour's promoter just before they were preparing to leave.
"We was supposed to leave this morning and the promoter told us he was having trouble getting us cleared to enter the country," explained Krayzie. "We was on stand by, and he was gonna let us know what was going on this morning at 8 a.m. He said he went to the Councilor and everything, and they was like 'We was high risk of coming over there,' 'they didn't wanna take the risk,' 'they didn't want it on their hands if something happened,' and everything."
The rapper said that the group was very surprised when they heard the news, mainly because they had toured there just last year and several times in the past without incident, and don't understand why this time is any different.
"We was just over there last year... around the same time last year," he said, "and we didn't have no problem whatsoever getting through the Customs or nothing."
While Krayzie admits that fights had broken out between concertgoers at their shows in the past, he insisted the incidents were isolated and had nothing to do with Bone or their music. "We never really had nothing major at all, happen at our concerts. No riots, nobody getting shot or killed, or nothing like that," Krayzie said.
Although they are still confused about the situation, Krayzie speculated as to why Canada is strict in letting rappers through the border. One reason he had was the country's rising gang problem, which officials confirmed with the group.
"I hear a lot of people is having problems with Canada now. They did mention that they have a rising gang problem on they hands out there in Canada, so that might be one of the reasons," Krayzie explained.
The group's Canadian tour would have been in support of latest album, T.H.U.G.S., which was released through Ruthless Records; their last major label project, Strength & Loyalty; and their DVD film "I Tried."
Despite the Canada dates being canceled, the group is slated to continue on the U.S. leg of the tour, which kicks off in Portland, Oregon on February 16, hitting cities such as Los Angeles, Dallas, New York and Atlanta, before wrapping things up in Montgomery, Alabama on June 14.
The group is upset that their Canadian fans aren't able to catch their shows though. "We still got a very strong fan base. Our fans been following us for a very long time. It's unfortunate that our sold out shows in Canada were canceled, because our fans stay loyal to us and we want to stay loyal to them," Krayzie said.
Not to mention former G Unit artist game being banned from entering canada by the canadian government,because they felt the need to ban 1 man because their excuse was that game was a national security risk to the entire country of canada.
See a disturbing trend here yet canadian hip hop headz?
Priest:
Kardinal Offishall interview at XXL
Indie Label owner Jerome Almon sued the Canadian government alleging that his artists get profiled when they try to cross the border. Is there really some rapper profiling going on?
There's all truth to it. People hate to come to Canada on tour, not because of the country or the people, but because of customs. I remember one year I was like, "Yo, Bus, I gotta get you up here." He was like, "Fuck that! I hate them niggas."
He was shooting a movie up there. He had his proper papers, visa, all that and they still would mess with him at the border for like hours at a time. And that's what they do. They just mess with people no matter what. Right now, they've been cool with me for the last year, year and a half.
They used to give me a hassle and I'm from there (Since the lawsuit was brought into court), so I can only imagine people that are not from there and are trying to get there and make some money touring. Besides that, a lot of dudes have records whether it be for small things or bigger things and they make it damn near impossible to make it across the border.
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