not about the well-being of black people.

as much as i LOVE hip-hop, hip-hop is not the be-all and end-all of existence. when they pulled the plug on that magazine, they ended, i think, the only magazine aimed at young sisters and brothers in totality, leaving us w/ only rappages, the source, vibe, etc...

oh, YSB was owned by BET, and was the sister publication to Emerge. BET claimed YSB was losing money, and pulled the plug. the thing is, they never promoted it. they owned a whole f*ckin network, and the onliest time you'd see commercials for YSB was during Teen Summit. nothing on any other time frame on BET, and certainly nothing in any other medium or outlet.

the editor in chief, Frank Dexter Brown, took a principled stand in terms of what advertising he'd accept, ie, no cigarrettes, no liquor, no nothing which was detrimental to the health and well being of black people. cigs and liquor are mainstays of our other black magazines. that smaller revenue stream, coupled w/ BET's lack of support ultimately spelled doom for YSB.

BET pulled the plug last year on Emerge, leaving black america w/out a serious news magazine. again, i'm not shitting on the source (well, i do in other places for the lack of integrity of their publisher) or rappages, blaze, etc... rp is defunct, and some of the other mags manage to venture out from hip hop to touch on politics, etc, but that's different from a magazine that regularly had features on how to get ready for college, personal finances, health, etc.

BET's latest "Tavisty" is only a continuation of their longstanding m.o.

i think i'll start another post.

peace & blessings,

x.


January is Kool Keith quote month, for lack of anything else:

"I never hearda you stupid, what's your name man??"

"Rappers don't know, I'm out the hospital/
cold buggin' and illin' like Dr. Doolittle"

"I'll chew your ass like monkeys on Wild Kingdom"

"you call yourself GOD, can you make it rain?/
can you tell me now what I'm thinkin' in my brain?"

"under your arms, you're kickin power and musty"

"word to mom, I'm in my own world.../
galaxy raaaaaays... powerful"

peace & blessings,

x.

www.twitter.com/poetx

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I'm an advocate for working smarter, not harder. If you just
focus on working hard you end up making someone else rich and
not having much to show for it. (c) mad