by Charlene Muhammad Special to the NNPA from The Final Call LOS ANGELES (FinalCall.com) – Rappers and music audiences appear to be engaged in a battle over freedom of speech and consumerism with a backlash against negative lyrics. The latest to feel public pressure is former prison guard-turned rapper Rick Ross, who also uses a former drug trafficker’s name. He recently apologized for controversial rape ly ...

by Nicole Williams Special to the NNPA from the Los Angeles Sentinel If there ever was a show that positively represented the elements of what Black relationships should be, then YouTube sensation ‘The Couple’ is that show. ‘The Couple’ is apart of Black and Sexy TV, a network that was created by Numa Perrier and Dennis Dortch. According to its website, it is “a network established to provide viewing audien ...

By Krissy Clark Special to the NNPA from Marketplace Wealth and Poverty Desk Squirrels. If you have lived in a middle-class neighborhood for most of your life, you might take them for granted. But when Valerie Love and her 12-year-old daughter Jada recently moved to Albany Park on the north side of Chicago, squirrels were the first things they noticed. Jada remembers how her mom began throwing jelly beans t ...

By Lee A. Daniels NNPA Columnist You could say “42,” the film about the life of Brooklyn Dodgers great Jackie Robinson, is a gripping baseball tale, and your assessment would be correct – but woefully incomplete. “42” is not just a baseball story. It’s a compelling history lesson as well. It tells the story of not just baseball, but of a central facet of 20th Century American life – the suffocating reach of ...

By Cherry Bañez Special to the NNPA from The Philadelphia Tribune Kenya Moore’s dramatic, yet hilarious, antics on the “Real Housewives of Atlanta” have made her a household name. The former Miss USA has criticized for practically begging her then boyfriend, Walter Jackson, to marry her. It was later reported that she had recruited him to pretend to be her boyfriend on the show. She also verbally assaulted ...

by Howie Evans Special to the NNPA from the New York Amsterdam News Serena Williams and Tiger Woods are back in a place familiar to them. Both Williams and Woods have reclaimed their status in their respective worlds of tennis and golf. Both athletes have reclaimed their No. 1 global rankings in their sports. For Woods, it’s been an uphill battle for the past few years, as he’s had to carry the weight of do ...

Sean “Diddy” Combs ranks No. 1 on this year’s Forbes Five, the magazine’s list of hip-hop’s wealthiest artists, with an estimated net worth of $580 million. The bulk of the Bad Boy Records founder’s wealth comes from non-musical ventures, namely his deal with Diageo’s Ciroc. The agreement entitles him to eight-figure annual payouts and a nine-figure windfall if the brand is ever sold—and Ciroc’s value has n ...

Special to the NNPA from the New Pittsburgh Courier (YourBlackWorld.com)–Just a few days ago, it was announced by Michael Baisden that he was leaving his popular radio show.  The announcement stunned observers, since the show was doing so well.  It also appeared that Baisden was leaving on his own accord, and that he would have a few days to say goodbye to listeners before heading off the air. But these rep ...

OAK BROOK, Ill.  – The McDonald’s All American Games will stay in Chicago through 2015. After Windy City fans shattered the event’s attendance record in 2011, and returned in-force for the 2012 Games, McDonald’s and the United Center agreed to a two-year contract extension, including an option to renew in 2016. “This is a historic day for the McDonald’s All American Games,” said Douglas Freeland, director o ...

by Jason Lewis Special to the NNPA from the Los Angeles Sentinel Isaac Burns Murphy is arguably the greatest jockey of all time. Isaac Burns Murphy is one of the greatest jockeys ever, and it can be argued that he is in fact the greatest. By Murphy’s calculation, he won 628 of his 1,212 starts in a career that lasted from 1875 to 1895.  The 44 percent winning percentage is the best of all time, and is a rec ...