Drake Sells Out of This World

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, AOL Black Voices

I took a poll of some of my industry homies last week to get a sense of how"Thank Me Later," the debut album for Drake, was going to sell. It turns out that out of those bold enough to make a prediction, my friends Michael Bivins (formerly of Belle, Biv, Devoe and New Edition) and Vigalantee (a rapper in Kansas City, MO), were closest. Vigalantee predicted 450,000 units and Mike Biv predicted 400,000. No matter how you slice it, Drake is now officially the shizzle.

It's not as if anyone is surprised by Drake's stellar debut. He and the rest of the Young Money clique did an outstanding job creating buzz for the album and Drake proved that even in the age of massive Internet pirating, he can still make his money.

 

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Dr. Boyce on Fatherhood

by Dr. Boyce Watkins - The Institute for Black Public Policy

 

Father's Day usually occurs on my birthday, which is both exciting and a little bit sad. With each birthday, I feel like I'm on a slow ship to an unforeseen destination, with each birthday reminding me that I've passed another landmark. I keep wondering why birthdays show up around the same time every year, and I'm still hopeful that the trend will discontinue at some point. Wait, let me rephrase that.....if my birthdays stop coming then I'll be, well..... you know.

At any rate, when my birthday hits, doubled-up with Father's Day, I am led to evaluate my life and myself. I evaluate my life to see if I am the same man this year that I was last year; the truth is that I should have grown in some meaningful way or achieved something positive. I also evaluate myself as a father to see if I am getting at least a little bit better at making myself the kind of man that my kids need me to be.

 

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Black Prof Says NCAA is a Plantation

 

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World

Professor Billy Hawkins of The University of Georgia has released a controversial new book that describes the experiences of NCAA athletes by comparing them to slaves on a plantation. According to the research of professor Hawkins, black athletes are exploited by the NCAA physically, financially and intellectually.

Hawkins cites the massive revenue earned by the NCAA via March Madness, which includes a 14-year, $10.8 billion contract with CBS sports. In spite of seemingly unlimited revenues to encourage athletes to stay focused academically, Hawkins notes that nearly one-fifth of the 64 teams participating in the NCAA tournament had graduation rates of less than 40 percent. Across the 36 sports monitored by the NCAA, men's basketball has the lowest graduation rates, where less than two-thirds of the players earn degrees.

The dismal graduation numbers for the NCAA support Dr. Hawkins' research, in which he argues and shows that black athletes at predominantly white institutions are being exploited while being neglected academically. In his book, "The New Plantation," the well-respected Professor of Sport Management and Policy uses a plantation model to present the black male athletic experience as part of a broader historical context.

 

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Reggie Wayne's Mistress Takes Him for his Money: He files suit against her

AOL Black Voices

NFL star Reggie Wayne is finding out the hard way that giving your credit card number out to anyone may not be such a good idea. Wayne, who is married, is suing his ummm, girlfriend Natasha McKenzie. In the affidavit, Wayne is alleging that McKenzie did it big on Wayne's credit card without asking his permission.

As the story goes, McKenzie, who is 26 years old, just needed Wayne's credit card for a "few little things," like paying her cell phone bill and buying a plane ticket. She was allegedly going to buy the ticket to come and visit Wayne to spend "quality time" with him. To Reggie's surprise, Natasha and her friends "got a little jiggy" with the credit card and charged up $95,000 worth of "necessities." Actually, there were 333 necessities on her list, which is the number of charges she allegedly made to the account.

Reggie originally took the charges to police in April. He has had the uncomfortable challenge of keeping this information from his wife. McKenzie claims that Wayne knew about the charges all along, and that she is only being scapegoated because either his wife found out about her or he has moved on to another mistress. Either way, this entire situation is a little bit strange. Wayne is not the only athlete to be taken for big money as the result of an affair. Tiger Woods allegedly paid millions to keep some of his mistresses quiet.

 

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What's New in the world of Black Folks - 6/11/10

NBA Gets High Marks for Diversity in Annual Report Card

• According to Professor Richard Lapchick, author of the recent Racial and Gender Report Card for ... Read More
• By Dr. Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jun 12th 2010 11:20AM | Comments (0)

Obama's "Angry Black Man" Criticism: Isn't He Also Half White?

• In light of all of the interesting analysis that others have done regarding why President Barack ... Read More
• By Dr. Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jun 9th 2010 9:36PM | Comments (34)

CNN Asks Why Black Men Are Not Graduating From College

• Richelle Carey at CNN Headline News recently reached out to me to find out why black men aren't ... Read More
• By Dr. Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jun 5th 2010 4:24PM | Comments (32)

Dwyane Wade Given Temporary Custody of His Sons

• NBA star Dwyane Wade's divorce just got a little uglier. This week, the court gave Wade custody ... Read More
• By Dr. Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jun 4th 2010 8:51AM | Comments (33)

Could LeBron James' Mother Rumors Push Him Out of Cleveland?

• The world seems to be buzzing incessantly about the statements made by former NBA great Calvin ... Read More
• By Dr. Boyce Watkins, PhD on May 24th 2010 10:41PM | Comments (4)

 

Slim Thug and his comments about black women continue to get the artist into trouble.  Is he going to lose big money because of this?

Slim Thug Gets a Reply from Talib Kweli, Dr. Boyce Watkins breaks it down

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University

A note to Slim Thug: You probably just need to be quiet for a while. It's not to say thatyour comments about black women were outside your rights to freedom of speech, but if you keep dissing the audience most likely to go out and buy your records, you are probably going to end up in the same poorhouse as MC Hammer. Don't get me wrong, black men love your music (at least I do), but the bottom line is that brothers don't buy albums, books, or anything else put up for sale. But when black women turn on you, it's a wrap son. Settle down and go back to the studio; it's good for your financial health.
I wrote yesterday about the comments made by Slim Thug regarding how he perceives white women to be a better dating choice than black women, as well asColumbia Professor Marc Lamont Hill'sresponse to Slim Thug's words. It seems that the debate has taken a life of it's own, now that rapper Talib Kweli has joined the conversation. In a recent essay he wrote for Vibe Magazine, Talib Kweli was ever the diplomatic artist, as he showed respect for Slim Thug, but also expressed his own concerns for his colleague's remarks about black women:

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To read more about the debate regarding Slim Thug’s comments about black women, click here.

Black News in Black America - 6/9/10

22-Year Old Pretending to be HS Student Faces 6 Felonies

• Have you ever fantasized about going back to high school and doing all the things you wish you'd ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jun 9th 2010 12:59PM | Comments (0)

Eminem's 'Recovery' Proves More Than Celebrity Rehab

• During Eminem's personal journey to sobriety, his fans braced themselves for its effects on his ... Read More
• By Amanda Bassa on Jun 9th 2010 12:00PM | Comments (0)

Dee Dee Myers: Obama Can't Get Angry Because He's Black

• Dee Dee Myers, former Press Secretary for the Clinton Administration, was in hot water recently ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jun 9th 2010 11:38AM | Comments (2)

BLACK MUSIC MONTH: 7 Pop/Rap CDs You Must Revisit

• We continue to salute Black Music Month by recognizing seven CDs in the pop, rap and rock genres by ... Read More
• By Jawn Murray on Jun 9th 2010 11:30AM | Comments (1)

Rihanna's Hair Stylist Explains Her New 'Matador Red' 'Do

• Master chameleon Rihanna surprised everyone by showing up with a bright red bowl-cut at Madrid's ... Read More
• By Katie Hintz-Zambrano on Jun 9th 2010 11:00AM | Comments (0)

Rihanna Sparkles, Jada Shines, Revamps & The Ultimate Dress - Around the Web

• Rihanna glitters on the cover of Elle RiRi talks black women and fashion (StyleList) Jade shines, ... Read More
• By Lucette Jefferson on Jun 9th 2010 10:55AM | Comments (0)

FBI Says Texas Man Called Al-Qaida His 'Brothers'

• It appears that one of the biggest threats to U.S. security in the coming years may be homegrown ... Read More
• By Jeff Mays on Jun 9th 2010 10:53AM | Comments (0)

Rampage Jackson, UFC Fighter, Justifies 'Gay' Comments

• Quinton "Rampage" Jackson recently lost his anticipated fight against Rashad Evans last month, but ... Read More
• By Quibian Salazar-Moreno on Jun 9th 2010 10:33AM | Comments (0)

DA: No DNA Evidence Found on 7-Year-Old Who Was Gang Raped

• New Jersey prosecutors stated in court documents Tuesday that there was no DNA evidence of ... Read More
• By Ruth Manuel-Logan on Jun 9th 2010 10:13AM | Comments (3)

Marc Lamont Hill Responds to Slim Thug's Take on Black Women

• When I recently read the open letter to the rapper Slim Thug (pictured above), written by ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jun 9th 2010 8:57AM | Comments (8)

Peace, Confidence and Bliss

• Your Affirmative Prayer for Wednesday, June 9, 2010: My awareness of my unity with Spirit ... Read More
• By Barry Johnson on Jun 9th 2010 12:34AM | Comments (5)

BP Using Massive PR and Internet Strategies to Deal with Spill

• If you are like President Barack Obama, who says that he's looking for "whose ass to kick" over the ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jun 8th 2010 10:55PM | Comments (2)

Eve: Lets Guard Down on VH1's 'Behind the Music'

• Eve Jihan Jeffers, who is most commonly known in the world of entertainment simply as Eve, isn't a ... Read More
• By Bridget Bland on Jun 8th 2010 7:26PM | Comments (0)

 

 

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