[Jacktown] Acrimony and Outrage, by Alphonso Mayfield | Jackson Free Press | Jackson, MS

[Jacktown] Acrimony and Outrage, by Alphonso Mayfield

If you haven't already gone to allhiphop.com and read their two-part, in-depth interview with David Banner, read it! When you get there, you will find the self-proclaimed Mr. Mississippi going off on a number of subjects. This includes acrimony with his label and what seemed to be several thinly veiled disses of some former allies. In Part I, Banner says: "When I was underground, I was more or less alone. ...

There was a certain few who helped me, but they only helped me at levels. It may have been a person on the literary side that helped me, but they would never get out in the streets and grind with me. I had people who would grind with me in one city, but couldn't go city to city to city. I made my own beats, started my own company, pressed up my own records, pressed up my own cd's—that's coming from a state where I didn't have examples. That was actually what people didn't understand about the first song on the new album, is that through this experience I've gained a certain level of calmness."

Also, I heard a rumor from a pretty reliable source that the plans for a David Banner/Lil' Flip album have been put on hold and possibly scrapped altogether. Why? I'll just say listen to what Flip says about producers in the first verse of his single "Game Over," and you'll get the idea. Rumor also has it that Banner is finding it difficult to get his latest offering "Crank It Up" on the radio throughout the country. Why? Let me put it like this: All these issues are indirectly interrelated.

On another front, Banner was in the hip-hop headlines recently as a target of the white supremacist group, The National Alliance, based in West Virginia. When the group's Casper, Wyo., chapter heard that Banner, along with Ludacris and Chingy, had a show scheduled in that town on Feb. 21, the group distributed 2,500 flyers with images of Mystical, who was recently sentenced to six years for sex crimes. The flyer read: "Over a month ago, the city welcomed the rapist rapper Mystikal," the flyer reads. "Now the city is throwing the red carpet down for another black rapper. Why are we allowing this violent diversity to be forced in our city?"

According to The Associated Press, Casper Vice Mayor Guy Padget ridiculed The National Alliance's rhetoric, saying "to blame a whole group for the crimes of one person is outrageous." This isn't the first time officials in Casper have taken on the National Alliance for spreading hate rhetoric. In January, 2003, the group had also distributed orange bags filled with racist fliers about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. onto residents' doorsteps, as well as putting racist materials on cars parked outside the Casper Events Center for a show by black performance artist Kema Jamal in October, 2002. The group has the right to free speech, then Mayor Barb Peryam had, but called the comments "disgusting."

I recently had a chance to speak to P Boy Stone. He gave me a copy of his new album that will hit stores soon. I've listened to the album and several words come to mind: sardonic, nihilistic, angry and disturbing. Which means in a nutshell: I love it. Trust me, this album is a must-listen for not only fans of P Boy but anyone who wants a refreshing change from the norm flooding the radio waves.

I also want to extend congratulations to Frog the Dragoon and Exit Only. These two guys passed through a rigorous competition and made it into a national freestyle/battle tournament sponsored by notable Cali-Bay Area DJ Davey D and Time Warner.

Sources close to the Godfather Mello T, his former group Wildliffe Society and the independent label TVT have reported that a new Wildliffe Society is in the near future. However, I also heard that the group's lineup may be subject to change.

T.I. may be headed to a 'hood near you very soon. But this isn't for a promotional concert. After being caught with an illegal silencer for his gun, T.I. skipped bail and is apparently on the lam. The charge carries a mandatory sentence of five years.

Lastly, thanks for the props on the "State Of The Hip Hop" column in the last music issue. Several of my compadres told me I gave up too much game that issue. I just wanted all the doubters to know that your boy knows of what he speaks.

That type of info is expensive. So consider that the free sample.

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