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With the death of DJ Mister Cee, hip-hop mourns the loss of an irreplaceable titan

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6 months ago

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DJ, Mr. Ceea legendary New York DJ who played an integral role in the careers of rap luminaries resembling Big Daddy Kane and Notorious B.I.G. He died on Wednesday. He was 57 years old.

Condolences on social media from fans and friendssuch Kane50 Cent, Chuck D, Lil’ Cease, DJ Premier and author Cheo Hodari Coker. Many of the tributes focused on the same theme: Mr. Cee’s love for hip-hop culture knew no bounds. Cee, a hip-hop pioneer par excellence, was a strolling, secure space. Not just for the rappers and executives he has met and worked with over the years. He was like this with many he met.

“(Cee) was one of my favorite music encyclopedias. Learning from him was an absolute blessing. He handled hip-hop with such care and such deep love,” he said Scottie Beamformer Hot 97 digital producer who worked closely with Cee when he unleashed his legendary southern mixes. “He always wanted to meet the right people in his hip-hop domain. The impact, passion and work (Cee) put into this culture will never, ever be forgotten and I will miss him greatly.”

It’s inconceivable to inform the history of hip-hop without mentioning Mr. Cee’s name. Cee, born Calvin Lebrun in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, was the first person I interviewed about the book. Shortly after the quarantine began, I felt anxious. Here I used to be writing a book about one of Cee’s closest friends, and he may very well be skeptical or cautious. Considering where the world was at the time, it might have been comprehensible. I expected the interview to last half-hour. We talked for 3 hours.

During our conversation, Mr. Cee recalled his life. He grew up in the Lafayette Gardens projects in Brooklyn in the Nineteen Seventies, at a time when the city was awash with drugs. Some selected street life. Cee selected music. He laughed as he remembered the freestyle rap battles that took place in the Sarah J. Hale High School cafeteria in the early Nineteen Eighties. He cracked up much more, remembering how he jumped into cyphers, but using the lines of his then-group, the Magnum Force Crew. Cee’s laughter turned to tears of joy as he talked about his last ever opponent, MC Kane.

“When my lunch break ended, I went out and a guy in a leather jacket that looked like Kurtis Blow came up to me. The guy walks up to me, reaches into the inside pocket of his leather jacket – remember, we’re in high school now – and pulls out a microphone. He said, “Hey, I heard you wanted to fight me.” I’m MC Kane,” Cee told me, struggling to get through the story because he couldn’t stop laughing. “I thought the guy was crazy! I say, “No, I was using my rhymes for the crew.” I started to back away! I thought: I don’t want any problems. I thought this guy was crazy for wearing a microphone at school.”

He continued: “A week or two later, I come back to the dining room and there is a large crowd around the table. It was that MC Kane again, dude.” After lunch, Cee asked Kane to listen to him DJ and join his crew. Kane initially refused, claiming he was a solo actor. “So I said, listen, just come to me, hearken to me DJ, and perhaps perhaps you may reconsider. Sure enough, Kane got here to my projects in Bed-Stuy. He heard me DJing and said, “Hey, I’m depressed.” Whatever you ought to do, I’ll meet the crew. “

From that moment on, an unbreakable bond was formed as MC Kane became Big Daddy Kane. Cee and Kane met later Biz Markie, who helped get the two signed to Cold Chillin’ Records. Mr. Cee spoke with great pride and respect to people like DJ 50 Grand, Notorious BIG and Matteo “Matty C” Capoluongowhose “Unsigned Noise” column. caught the attention of Sean “Puffy” Combs. Cee remembered introducing Biggie to Puffy as if it had happened five minutes before we began talking relatively than thirty years earlier. And the same confidence Kane had in Cee, Biggie had in Cee too.

“Whatever Cee says, man,” Biggie told Combs when the then aspiring music executive mentioned a take care of Uptown Records. – Whatever Cee says.

Cee laughed as he recalled helping Biggie record songs like “Juicy” and “Big Poppa” for the album, which he executive produced. He cried as he recalled how Biggie lent him money to repay a deep debt to his landlord. He was still frustrated that Biggie threw his wife Faith Evans under the bus on the classic rap duet “Brooklyn’s Finest” with Jay-Z. And he fell silent for a couple of minutes, recalling the days, weeks and months after Biggie’s murder in March 1997.

The conversation was extensive, but what I took away most was Mr. Cee’s gratitude. He understood his place in hip-hop, but he also at all times wondered about the culture’s place in his life. Cee is accountable for some of street rap’s most significant lyrics, starting with Biggie’s demo tape, which Cee polished and placed in the right hands, to AND tapes for his own mixtapes, which have since change into part of the city’s cultural identity, no different from graffiti on the subway or block parties on warm summer nights.

“(Mister) Cee’s influence reached far beyond the airwaves, shaping the very fabric of DJ culture in New York” – Hot 97 shared in an announcement. Cee worked at the station for 21 years before his departure in 2014. “Our hearts are heavy as we send our love and condolences to his family and the fans whose lives he touched with his music.”

Perhaps the mostly used word to explain him is “friend.” In addition to all the good he delivered to the music world over five many years, Cee found immortality in his character, whether he realized it or not. He was at all times willing to share his knowledge and at all times willing to inform his stories because he knew that specific acts of kindness meant something to people. He listened as much as he spoke – and gave much more love than was given to him. It’s inconceivable to reflect on his life and never do not forget that in his later years, certain points of the culture weren’t so kind to Cee, especially when his sexuality has change into a hot topic of discussion.

Proverbial bullets that Cee took as a consequence of his personal lifeespecially after he has been arrested for recruiting transgender staff, was a teachable moment for a culture that was not behaving honorably at the time. J. Cole referenced this case in 2013’s “Forbidden Fruit,” rapping: “The ugliest venom got here from a Power 105 radio host Charlamagne Tha God, who repeatedly mocked Mr. Cee, calling him a “serial penis purchaser” on air. Cee watched as his character was examined under a microscope and pressure was put on him to explain his sexuality. (In 2021, Mr. Cee said he considered himself “trying sex.”) Despite this, despite the culture hidden homophobiapeople like Funkmaster Flex and 50 Cent he rushed to Cee’s defense.

The controversy over Mr. Cee’s sexuality could have ended his profession, however it didn’t. The culture eventually adapted to its needs or moved on to the next goal. But Mister Cee was greater than only a hip-hop expert. He was a hip-hop survivor. After his death, the species must once more ask itself why it’s mandatory to make anyone a survivor, especially individuals who offered a lot life in culture?

Mister Cee was a tour de force that is never seen on this genre. One who combined God-given talent with Heaven-ordained altruism. One who, when the culture lost a titan, was at all times there to send it to the pearly gates in style. No one praised his peers like Mr. Cee.

Cee told me a story about the day Biggie died. He’d gotten the call a couple of hours earlier and was sitting in the fog in a taxi to the Hot 97 studios. Five years earlier, Cee had convinced Biggie to take rap seriously and leave the hustle alone. Now he was the reality of life without the young man who had modified his life. When he walked into the Hot 97 office, Angie Martinez was already crying. His tears immediately began appearing. Somehow, they survived that day – one of the darkest in New York’s musical history – because they felt they owed a lot to the city. As news of Cee’s death spread, Martinez re-posted to Instagram with a heavy heart.

“Oh Cee, I’m having a hard time finding words. You were so good at it…NO ONE will ever do it better.” – she wrote on Instagram. “I have so many memories of (you) showing up for me all these years. So much healthy debate. So many brainstorming sessions and meaningful conversations. So much love. So much history. I am grateful for all this and for (you). I pray that you will be at peace, my friend.”

Fifty-seven continues to be a painfully young age in the grand scheme of life, and Cee is one more member of the hip-hop community who has never achieved senior status. But Mr. Cee has by some means packaged moments, relationships, and art that may last more than his physical frame ever could. Perhaps there may be joy on this sadness. DJ Mister Cee lived a hip-hop life price telling for future generations.


This article was originally published on : andscape.com
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Remembering Michael Clark Duncan: Early Life, Career and Legacy

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1 hour ago

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September 27, 2024

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LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 26: Actor Michael Clarke Duncan arrives at the premiere of "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" at Mann

Michael Clarke Duncan is best known for his role as John Coffey in The Green Mile. 180 cm high. Duncan’s life and legacy were much greater than his role within the 1999 supernatural thriller. Although his life and profession were ultimately cut short as a result of his death in 2012, Duncan managed to look in over 40 movies. His extraordinary contributions to television and film, in addition to his kindness and gentle demeanor, are remembered by his friends, castmates and fans alike.

The youth of Michael Clark Duncan

Michael Clarke Duncan was born on December 10, 1957 in Chicago. His father left when he was 6, so he was raised on the South Side by his mother, a cleansing lady, and an older sister. As a toddler, Duncan desired to play football, but his mother didn’t allow him for fear of wounding himself. Duncan made up his mind give attention to learning and staying out of trouble, although he tried unsuccessfully Chicago Bears as a young man. He all the time thought of becoming an actor, but this dream and his education at Alcorn State University were placed on hold when his mother became unwell and he needed to work to support his family.

Duncan supported himself and his family by working as: trencher and eventually as a bouncer in nightclubs. He also worked as a private bodyguard for stars equivalent to Will Smith, Martin Lawrence and Notorious B.I.G. When Notorious B.I.G. was killed in 1997, Duncan gave up being a bodyguard and focused on his longtime ambition to be an actor.

LOS ANGELES – MARCH 28: Actor Michael Clarke Duncan arrives for the premiere of “Sin City” on the Mann National Theater on March 28, 2005 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

His profession included The Green Mile and beyond

Initially, Duncan secured numerous smaller roles in movies, including “Bulworth” and “A Night at the Roxbury”, normally playing a bouncer. His star rose significantly when he was solid because the Bear within the motion film “Armageddon.” Duncan made a reputation for himself and made a brand new friend in his castmate Bruce Willis. Duncan made an enormous impression on Willis that he really helpful him for the role of John Coffey within the film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel “The Green Mile.”

Duncan shined as a mild-mannered inmate accused of murdering two young white girls within the Depression-era South. He earned it together with his performance Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for best supporting actor.

Duncan followed up his “The Green Mile” success with roles in “Planet of the Apes,” “The Scorpion King” and “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.” He has also lent his voice to movies equivalent to ‘Green Lantern’. His last film before his death, “The Challenger”, was released posthumously in 2015.

LOS ANGELES – JANUARY 28: Director Malcolm D. Lee (left) and actor Michael Clarke Duncan pose on the afterparty of the premiere of Universal Pictures’ “Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins” at Annex on January 28, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

The Legacy of Michael Clark Duncan

Duncan died on September 3, 2012, on the age of 54, in consequence of complications from a heart attack he suffered several months earlier. After news of his death was announced, tributes began to pour in. His “The Green Mile” co-star Tom Hanks said: “He was a treasure that we all discovered on the set of “The Green Mile.” He was magical. He was a fantastic human being and his passing leaves us stunned.”

Duncan supported several charities and philanthropic initiatives throughout his life. One of them was the Sue Duncan Children’s Center (no relation). The actor is grateful to the middle for keeping him on the right track as a young man growing up in Chicago.

Michael Clarke Duncan TheGrio
Actor Michael Clarke Duncan (left) and television personality Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth attend In Touch Weekly’s annual “Icons & Idols” celebration on the Marmont Bar on September 12, 2010 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo: David Livingston/Getty Images)

Although Duncan never mentioned having children, just a few days after his death, a girl named Marquea Ambrose got here out claiming to be his secret daughter, which was never confirmed. Duncan denied paternity, and his estate – reportedly value several million – was managed primarily by his former fiancée, Omarosa Manigault Stallworth, despite some conflict with Duncan’s family over control of the estate.

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This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Caitlin Clark fans send shocking wave of racist attacks to Dijonai Carrington over eye foul

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4 hours ago

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September 27, 2024

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Caitlin Clark

Connecticut Sun player DiJonai Carrington has quickly grow to be one of the WNBA’s rising stars.

However, Carrington recently shared with the general public a disturbing insight into the backlash she has received over the past few weeks from Caitlin Clark’s fans.

Known for her skills on the court, Carrington won the “Most Improved Player” honor in her fourth season, and recently took to social media to reveal some of the hateful messages she received from Clark’s fans.

Racist Caitlin Clark fans
Some of Caitlin Clark’s fans have issued threats to Dijonai Carrington that they may injure her and attack her with racial slurs. (Photos: Justin Casterline/Getty Images; Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)

On Thursday, September 26, she posted on her Instagram story a threatening email she had received, containing racial slurs and a brutal threat of sexual assault.

The email read: “You worthless nigga, I hope someone scolds you and chops your head off.”

In response, Carrington wrote: “I am unable to make this up. Sent to my email. You will need Jesus.

The post, which has since expired, has sparked widespread concern. One fan caught on and commented, “We need to do a better job of protecting WNBA players.”

The hostility is reportedly linked to supporters of Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark. Many people, mostly her white fanbase, became outraged at the best way Clark was treated on the court – normally directing their outrage at her black opponents.

On Wednesday, September 25, when Clark didn’t like how a fan was harassing her on the court in Game 2 of the primary round of the Indiana-Connecticut playoffs, she grabbed him. ejected. Connecticut won that game at home 87-81 and took the best-of-seven series 2-0.

Clark’s fans have also been vocal in expressing their hatred towards Sun’s Black players by harassing them, but none of their players have managed to eject a fan.

The abuse seemed to escalate more, especially after the Sun eliminated the Fever, denying the Rookie of the Year a probability to make a deeper playoff run in her first season within the league.

During the extraordinary matches, the rivalry reached such a boiling point that some Clark fans repeatedly directed their frustration at Carrington.

“The same people who want to pretend that #CaitlinClark was ‘attacked’ by DiJonai Carrington have nothing to say about Caitlin Clark who came close to ripping out DiJonai’s eye” – one user X he tweeted September 23. “Playing for the ball and pulling the contact back towards someone’s eye and breaking the contact.”

The social media user referenced the primary game of the Fever-Sun series when Carrington poked Clark within the eye in an attempt to block a pass, leaving the rookie’s eye blackened. No foul was called throughout the play and Sun insists it was an accident, although fans imagine she deliberately tried to use her fingernail extensions to injure Clark. Later in the sport, Clark punched Carrington within the face, breaking the Sun player’s contact lens. Carrington was assessed a foul on the play.

Clark also noted that the scratch was “not intentional” and told her fans to watch the show.

The vitriol kept coming.

Another person wrote on Twitter: “I am warning DiJonai fans, the Connecticut Sun and the #WNBA as a whole about this disgusting, pathetic excuse for a human being who is actually praying for Dijonai to get hurt. Block such toxic people to clean your tl. This is EXACTLY what Carrington was talking about,” posting comments like “Dijonai gets hurt, idc. I hate that bitch my whole fucking life.”

The same Clark fan added, “I hope Dijonais’ eye contact is contagious to her,” and “I pray for absolutely the worst for Dijonais. I hate this bitch a lot.

On September 25, a fan who attended the Fever v. Sun game noticed Carrington being taunted with “racist” taunts about her nails and eyelashes.

“I’m at the Sun/Fever match and the atmosphere is terrible,” they are saying he wrote. “A woman behind me mocked DiJonai’s eyelashes and only stopped when my partner turned around and told her to stop being racist. There is a man wearing a MAGA hat. There’s also THAT woman with the no-nails T-shirt and cartoonish fake nails.”

Another fan placed the blame squarely on the WNBA, writing“Two important things that happened earlier today, long before Indiana lost, and now you want to say something. You allowed Dijonai Carrington to be interrogated and threatened with death. Not to mention all the shit that’s happened since the beginning of the season. DO BETTER WNBA.”

While it’s unclear why it released correspondence from the obnoxious fan, the WNBA quickly responded, which included all concerns about racial bigotry from fans, players, franchises and anyone involved within the league’s ecosphere.

“WNBA is a league by which the perfect athletes on the earth compete. While we welcome our growing fan base, the WNBA is not going to tolerate racist, derogatory or threatening comments towards players, teams or anyone related to the league,” the statement read.

It added: “League security is actively monitoring threat activity and will work directly with teams and arenas to take appropriate measures, including the involvement of law enforcement as necessary.”

Despite Clark’s attempts to distance herself from the actions of her more hostile supporters – when she remarked earlier this 12 months, “Everyone in the world deserves the same respect” – the situation has only gotten worse.

The Sun’s Alyssa Thomas also shared her opinion, reflecting on the season’s intensity and labeling racist attacks from Clark’s fans “unacceptable.”

“Basketball is going in a great direction, but we don’t want fans who are belittling us,” Thomas said. “There’s no time for this anymore.”

However, according to Carrington, hate attacks and online attacks proceed.

While her Instagram highlights her achievements this season, her X profile has been wiped, likely in response to the relentless harassment. Despite Clark’s repeated calls for civility, the fallout from their on-court clash shows no sign of abating.


This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown shows off his own brand and signature shoes ahead of the 2024 NBA season – Andscape

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7 hours ago

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September 27, 2024

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After greater than two years of deciding to play without an official footwear agreement, Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown has unveiled his own brand, 741, under which he’ll launch the long-awaited first signature shoe of his profession – Rover.

The announcement of Brown’s self-funded and managed brand got here Tuesday after the Celtics’ media day, during which the reigning NBA Finals MVP posed for official team photos in his latest shoes, which he’ll wear throughout the upcoming 2024 NBA season.

“741 is more than just a sneaker brand,” Brown said in an official press release. “It’s a statement – ​​about independence, creativity and ownership.”

Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown poses for a portrait during the 2024-25 NBA media day on September 24 at TD Garden in Boston.

Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

The 741 Rover is scheduled to debut on October 22, the same day Boston opens its season against the New York Knicks. According to 741’s official website, adult shoe sizes are priced at $200 per pair, while kid’s sizes are priced at $70.

Brown’s first shoe will make him the NBA’s twenty eighth energetic headliner. The debut shoes signed by Sacramento Kings All-Star point guard De’Aaron Fox (Curry Brand) and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic (361 degrees) from the Denver Nuggets are expected this season. Brown also becomes a minimum of the ninth player in NBA history to release a signature sneaker under a private or family brand, joining Patrick Ewing (Ewing Athletics, 1989) and Shaquille O’Neal (Dunk.net/Dunkman, 2000-01). and Stephon Marbury (Starbury, 2006).

“Black Moon” colorway of Jaylen Brown’s latest 741 Rover sneaker.

741

“Understanding ownership and value is important for the next generation of athletes,” Brown said in the debut press release promoting the 741. “It’s time to create greater value for everyone involved, from athletes to consumers to employees and the communities that support them.” He said , that he “rejected $50 million in offers” from major shoe corporations to realize full ownership and control of creative design inside his own company.

Brown initially endorsed Adidas under the standard player contract he signed as a rookie in 2016 and played until his five-yr contract expired in 2021. In the spring of 2022, Brown made headlines as the first NBA player to sign with Donda Sports , the talent agency founded by music artist and longtime Adidas collaborator Kanye West. The move potentially set the stage for Brown to grow to be the face and debut headliner of Yeezy Basketball’s division until the rapper’s partnership with Adidas abruptly led to October 2022, just before the start of Brown’s breakout seventh NBA season, and Brown has left Donda Sports.

For the past two years, Brown has been wearing Nike sneakers, though he was not officially affiliated with the shoe company. However, in late 2023, he began removing the swoosh from pairs he wore from the late Kobe Bryant’s signature line and pairs from Nike’s GT series. Brown’s creative control over his Nike shoes was likely prompted by a controversial conclusion directed at his former Celtics teammate Kyrie Irving’s long-term cooperation with Nike, which ended before the 2023 NBA season. “Since when does Nike care about ethics?” Brown wrote on X, formerly referred to as Twitter, in response to company founder Phil Knight’s comments about ending his relationship with Irving. Brown’s post has since received greater than 120,000 reposts and likes.

“I’m more inclined to go down this destructive path for tennis players,” Brown said in November 2023 on the show , hosted by longtime NBA veterans Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner. “Many contracts signed by athletes are stationary. Here it’s, cut and dried, with no creative control, no marketing control, but mainly no input.

In early June, as the Celtics reached the 2024 NBA Finals, Brown’s desire to forge his own path in footwear took center stage as he participated in pregame warmups in an unassuming shoe, prompting speculation that it was his upcoming first signature model. However, nobody has been in a position to discover or confirm the brand behind the aesthetically futuristic design.

A number of months later, basketball and sneaker culture found an official answer. After eight seasons in the NBA, one sneaker endorsement and three years of free shoe agency, Brown finally has his own signature shoe, designed for him and by himself, with the freedom and vision of his own brand.

Brown also continues the legacy of NBA players bringing sneakers to market on their own terms. It was founded 35 years ago in 1989, after former Knicks star Ewing left Adidas and a one-yr, $1 million contract to form Ewing Athletics to supply more fuel-efficient, high-performance basketball shoes. Ewing’s sneaker entrepreneurship paved the way for O’Neal’s Dunkman brand at Payless, Marbury’s Starbury line as one of the most fascinating stories in sneaker history, and now Brown has disrupted the modern NBA star footwear landscape.

“I put everything into designing 741,” Brown said, “and it was as challenging and rewarding as anything I did on the court.”

Aaron Dodson is a sports and culture author at Andscape. He writes primarily about sneakers/apparel and hosts the Sneaker Box video series on the platform. During Michael Jordan’s two seasons with the Washington Wizards in the early 2000s, the Air Jordan 9 “Flint” shoes sparked his passion for kicking.

This article was originally published on : andscape.com
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