Department of Corrections (DoC) records show that Ross, whose raps detail the Miami gangster lifestyle and his supposed days trafficking cocaine, did, in fact, work as a correctional officer for 18 months. Ross (real name: William Leonard Roberts) was appointed a prison guard in December 1995 at a salary of $22,913.54, according to the below personnel record, which was provided to TSG by Jo Ellyn Rackleff, a DoC spokesperson. The rapper’s social security number is identical to that of the jail guard. According to the official document, Ross was earning $25,794.34 when he left the department in June 1997.

Full Story: Smoking Gun

Cornell Dews gives his opinion on the matter below:

What the fuck is wrong with us? A hip hop community is arguing whether or not an artist was once employed as a correctional officer. I’m certain this is an effort to refute his street claims and credibility. So after the pictures and negatives have been carefully scrutinized and it’s discovered that the photos are legitimate, we’re no longer supposed to enjoy his music? Oh I forgot, there’s an unwritten rule in hip hop that boldly states “if an artist uses the art form to fabricate tales by use of his imagination, death by sales is his immediate doom and to be ostracized from the hip hop community is peril.”

read more »

Can It Be That It Was All So Simple Then… read more »

Article by Michael Partis

White Sun Glasses, “Get Silly,” and “Crank That” is just as Hip-Hop as “Smooth Operator,” “Fuck the Police,” or “Paid in Full.”  It’s time for hatin-ass old heads to keep it “real ” with themselves and remember the past, but respect the present.

The Ice-T/Soulja Boy story has lead to a number of comments and discussion on one question: What is real Hip-Hop?

read more »

 
Article By: Artemus Jenkins

Take a second to Google best rapper alive, about 0.13 seconds later Lil Wayne pops up as the found entry all over the damn place, most likely on all the pages! My question is, why? It’s because he said so, that’s why! He gave you raw eggs , you cooked it up, made an omelet and enjoyed it. So now thanks to the general public’s acceptance of whatever the mainstream is willing to serve them, an uneducated consumer can Google “best rapper alive” and produce a dissertation complete with a thesis and works cited page on Weezy F. Baby. Well, it’s time to wake up people; Lil Wayne has pulled a fast one on us all. Robert Greene; who can be viewed as something like a genius, depending on who you ask, wrote a book some time ago titled “The 48 Laws of Power”. This book basically emphasizes using manipulation and critical thinking to get whatever you want. However despite millions of books sold, not everyone has the wits to put these principles into action. Contrary to popular belief, I’m here to tell you that a college edu-ma-cation pays off! Dwayne Carter has 48 Laws O’ Powered that ass and you didn’t even know it! How else could an average, gold selling emcee who raps about guns, bitches and bling become the “best rapper alive”? Without further ado, some insight on the blueprint Weezy has been following.

read more »

“And next time you mention Pac, Biggie, or Jay-Z don’t forget about me”

Lil Wayne-”Mr. Carter”

Pac, Big, Jay-Z, and Wayne…? Sounds blasphemous right…or wrong?

read more »

If Heaven’s Got A Ghetto, Tell B.I.G. Things Done Changed: The Legacy of The Notorious B.I.G. and Today’s Urban America

By Michael Partis

“Excuse me, flows just grow through me/like trees to branches, cliffs to avalanches/ It’s the praying mantis/ Deep like the mind of Farrakhan/ a motherfucking rap phenomenon.”

The Notorious B.I.G.- “The What”

read more »

The Wall Street Journal reports that the top richest per cent of America just got even wealthier. What this means for those of us who are not hundred-millionaires is that our tax burden just got a little lighter. Whew. Hip-hop moguls and go-getters have also made being rich the new black. When reached for comment, several of the super-rich were visibly happy. Others were not so happy because their income brackets had not shifted. Toying with new strategies for selling records, marrying rich and buying out the bar has not yielded the same capital gains for some.

Full Article