The contracts have been signed, and Don Imus will officially return to the airwaves December 3. The exact numbers weren’t disclosed, but it’s an 8-figure, multi-year contract with WABC. Must be nice. But don’t worry, NABJ. He’s on a 40-second delay. So the next time he says something awful, only people in the studio will hear it.
[Jossip]
He’s baaaack — and richer than ever. Considering the fact that CBS had to pay Don Imus a $20 million dollar settlement for breaking his contract and now that man who popularized the phrase “nappy headed ho” is in talks for a new syndicated show with ABC Radio that could air as soon as early next year, it’s safe to say that the conservatives out there boohooing over the shock jock’s fate could have saved their tears. Imus is going nowhere but up.
Next stop — Sylvia’s with Al Sharpton!
[Jossip]
This doesn’t sound very zen! Russell Simmons lost his temper during an NPR interview to promote his book, Do You!: 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success, because he’s frustrated that everyone wants to talk about violence and misogyny in hip hop instead of his book. Apparently, NPR journalist Farai Chideya bore the brunt when he snapped, “‘I had a book tour about peace and love, and everyone wants to talk about b***ches and hoes.’”
I can’t say I blame the interviewers, because hip hop is obviously more interesting than the book. The title alone nearly puts me to sleep.
[EUR]
- Do individual candidate endorsements from black leaders damage the power of the collective black community? Only if you believe that the entire black community should vote for the same candidate. [CD]
- Detractors say the newly-passed Central American–Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), will hurt Americans more than it will help us. “America’s about to have a cold, and we all know that if America gets a cold, [African Americans] will get pneumonia.” [BE]
- Trying to correct it’s shady history with black shows, NPR is launching a new program with veteran journalist Michel Martin. []
- In large numbers, South African blacks are working in jobs they are overqualified for. [ST]
- In South Carolina, the third black state Supreme Court justice in history will take office. [State]
Gone are the days when an on-the-air Condoleeza Rice rape joke is funny. I can’t believe there ever were days like that, but apparently there’s a market for that sort of thing. A market Don Imus pretty much destroyed with a few choice words aimed at the wrong ladies. The shock jocks behind the stunt, Opie and Anthony, who were booted off the air five years ago over a contest that resulted in two listeners having sex at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NYC, know a little something about consequences. Hence their apology.
The remarks were made on their show Wednesday by a guest the duo call Homeless Charlie. In the segment, Opie and Anthony laughed as they imagined Rice’s “horror” while describing a violent sexual encounter in which Rice is punched in the face.
Opie and Anthony, whose full names are Anthony Cumia and Greg “Opie” Hughes, apologized to their audience on Friday’s show, the Associated Press reports.
“We apologize to the public officials for comments that we made on our XM show on May 9th. We take very seriously the responsibility that comes with our creative freedom and regret any offense that this segment has caused,” the pair told listeners.
Allow me to translate, “we still think the image of the Secretary of State being raped and brutalized by a homeless man is hilarious, but we are fond of our jobs.”
[]
- Nas and Kelis are officially giving into the MTV reality show marriage curse. Nick, Jessica, Carmen, Dave, Travis, Shana, and all those kids on Engaged & Underaged should have sent them a warning message. [YBF]
- Ashy Larry gets Imused from NYC’s Power 105.1. [EUR]
- Stone Cold Steve Austin wants Snoop to ditch rapping and join the wrestling world. Ummm, so competitors can snap his skinny body like a twig? Great idea. [Starpulse]
- Miss and Mr. Jay would have nothing good to say about Tyra’s hair. [CL]
- Our celebrity brother, Mollygood.com, got a new stylist. We’re still cuter. [Mollygood]
The radio used to be the only place where the politically incorrect could offend with impunity. Well, Don Imus changed all that. It sucks for Eric Gray, a San Antonio sports radio producer who aired a parody of Allen Iverson, in which someone pretending to be him talked about having sex with Mexican women and shooting homeless men. I’m not sure if this is racist or just completely unfunny. It doesn’t matter, I guess. I predict radio execs will be shocking most of our nation’s shock jocks with pink slips and unrenewed contracts over the next few months. Eh. I’m a proponent of free speech, but I don’t find these guys funny, whether they’re being offensive or not. I won’t miss them.
[HC]
A month ago, this song, featuring Paul Shanklin singing “Barack The Magic Negro” in an over-the-top minstrel voice that’s supposed to represent Al Sharpton, aired on the Rush Limbaugh Show. The song was in response to an unfortunately worded LA Times opinion piece, but that’s besides the point. This is a fun “parody” as much as Don Imus’s “nappy-headed hoes” remark was good-natured ribbing. Yet, there was very little fuss. This song is basically blackface in audio form.
I have a good idea for rappers and music execs who feel like they’re the scapegoats in the Don Imus debacle. Make Rush Limbaugh yours.
[Nation via Yahoo]
Never fear, Russell Simmons is here! The hip hop pioneer has a solution to the Imus-spurred public relations crisis hip hop is going through: do the same ineffective thing you’ve always done, but this time more rigorously. In other words, continue to ban “bitch,” “ho,” and “nigga” from the airwaves, but this time let’s not let any slip through the cracks! It’s the Iraq War approach to problem-solving. I don’t get it, but maybe that’s why I’m neither rich nor powerful.
CONTINUED »
- Remember African American Lives on PBS? Try out for the second installment of the series if you’re up for the shock of discovering you’ve got more Northern European flowing through your veins than African. [Businesswire]
- California legislators introduce a bill to keep flies, manure, and foul odors out of the state’s most important African American monument. It’s sad that a bill is necessary. [SFGate]
- Ever heard of Wendell Scott, the Jackie Robinson of NASCAR? Me neither. [SI]
- Do black folks really use iPods? I didn’t even have to make that question up, NPR was dumb enough to ask it. Their conclusion: we’re more of a discman race. [NPR]
- First, he becomes our self-proclaimed leader, now he’s making all the presidential candidates bow before him. [SDUT]
