Tribute to Heavy D

Dwight Arrington Myers, better known as Heavy D "The Overweight Lover", left this earth yesterday, November 8, 2011 at the age of 44. Heavy D collapsed in his California home and was taken to Cedars Sinai Medical Center, where they pronounced his death; a death that took the hip hop community by surprise.

Born in the country of Jamaica and raised in Mount Vernon, NY, Heavy D was the definition of how Hip Hop became a cross-culture. He rose in 1990s with the group Heavy D and The Boyz and he wasn't afraid to provide the culture with fun, love and of course the image of a hefty guy with smooth lyrics. Heavy D also appeared on many 90's TV shows, like A Different World and Sister, Sister. He also contributed to the theme song of a 90's TV show favorite, In Living Color.


In October, the 2011 BET Hip Hop awards aired and Heavy D did his first performance in fifteen years at the award show! Heavy D came out and it was as if he just performed yesterday. From the moment he rose to fame until his very last performance, Heavy D was a legend in his own right. He set out to do what he loved and we are forever grateful for that.


Heavy D's last tweet was "BE INSPIRED". With that Beyond the Lyrics, charges you, and all of the Hip Hop community, to go out and create an exalting influence to better the lives around you. Heavy D, thank you for paving the way and may your soul rest in eternal peace. Your legacy lives on forever.

News coverage on his death:

NY Daily News

Washington Post - The Root DC



[Heavy D & The Boyz, Kool G Rap, Q Tip, Big Daddy Kane and more in Don't Curse video]

 [Heavy D & The Boyz - Now That We Found Love video]

We Are The 99%

Photo provided via Talib Kweli's tweets

For months, America has witnessed the Occupy movement that started out of Wall Street and expanded throughout the country. Canadian activist group, Adbusters, began the Wall Street protest fighting for the “99%” – those who were outside of the 1% of wealthy American citizens. Economically those who aren’t of the 1%, may have witnessed the struggle of survival in America and are seeking a change. As the protests turned into a movement, Hip Hop artists became actively involved.

Lupe Fiasco has taken major involvement in this movement. Lupe Fiasco took to twitter verbalizing his feelings toward the movement and even his whereabouts. On November 3, 2011, Lupe was featured on Al Jazeera’s live stream talking about the protests. He also has been highly involved in the Occupy Oakland protests. But Lupe Fiasco isn’t the only artist to utilize their platform for the mobilization of the movement. Talib Kweli and Immortal Tech consistently went to protests showing their support and them too, taking to social media their thoughts on what was happening. Russell Simmons and Kanye West too have shown their support. The support of these artists is a testament to the power of the culture of Hip Hop and how we can use it for the survival of our community.

["For a revolution to happen, you need a revolution on every level" - Talib Kweli] 

[Immortal Tech feels that the arrest of over 800 citizens on the Brooklyn Bridge, was a form of police brutality] 

If you are unaware about what has been going on with this prolific movement, please visit Huffington Post.

Chat with Joan Morgan

Twelve years ago, prolific author Joan Morgan released her book When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: A Hip Hop Feminist Breaks It Down and its relevance has prevailed to this day. In this book, Morgan successfully discusses the plight of African American women while eloquently relating the plight and feminism to the culture of Hip Hop.

A book like this needs and must be spoken about today and Beyond the Lyrics is providing this dialogue. Beyond the Lyrics is a growing site “where Hip Hop and education collide” and strives on its ultimate goal of always providing the political and social consciousness of the great culture; a provision that will reach, teach and educate. Twitter has been an amazing social media platform for great chats to learn and educate, so Beyond the Lyrics will be hosting a chat via twitter, with Joan Morgan as the co-host.

The chat will be held via twitter on Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at 9pm and all you have to do to join is use your twitter handle along with the hashtag, #BTLchat. If you’ve read this book and have been anticipating dialogue with the author, this is most definitely a chat you don’t want to miss.

 

Follow us on twitter--> @bey0ndthelyrics.

The Untold Story of Detroit Hip Hop

Eminem. Champtown. Slum Village. Royce da 5'9". These are the names of some of the rappers that come from the streets of Detroit, creating the Hip Hop scene in the area of the mid-West. Detroit stands as a monumental part of African American history and an important landmark in the culture of Hip Hop. But it may be safe to say, that the story of those that come from Detroit (and the city's influence) is not heard enough. Well, that is all about to change.

"The Untold Story of Detroit Hip Hop" is a documentary, executive produced by Alfred Smith III and Quomeini R. Adams. Although the documentary is almost completed, there is no set date for the release of the documentary. However, Beyond the Lyrics will be watching the moment this piece of history comes to television. You can check out more about the documentary atAllHipHop.com.

Watch the trailer for the documentary here:

Ambitious Man

11.1.11 - Those are the numbers we've been seeing all over social media sites; yes the release date of Wale's very anticipated album Ambition. During the summer of 2010, this MMG rapper hit us with his More About Nothing mixtape that included a short ode to the "Ambitious Girl". And of course aspiring young girls were hooked. He then later came out with "Ambitious Girl Pt. 2". "Ambitious Girl" was a short two minute ode that showed the Hip Hop world that males weren't always looking for the "jezebel image" of a girl portrayed in those raunchy videos. "Ambitious Girl" was the same ode that young men were spitting via Facebook and Twitter to show what they looked for. But what about the Ambitious Man? Oh, don't worry a young lady has it all covered.


Jessica Anderson, born in San, Diego California, and raised in the sunshine state of Florida is a recent graduate of the University of Florida obtaining her Bachelors in Criminology on the Pre-Med track. Her tenure at the University of Florida includes, but definitely not limited to, Chaplain & Social Action Chair of the Lambda Psi chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Chapter Founder & President of Respect, Check & Protect Yourself and member of the Remnant College Ministry. Currently she is doing a post-Baccalaureate internship with the University of California at San Francisco AIDS Health Project and works as a relief counselor for Larkin Street Youth Services. So as you can see she too is an "Ambitious Girl", but she took the time on her break at work to tell how she felt about an "Ambitious Man". Her poem so eloquently written and spoken is her very own shout-out to the young brothers that are doing something rather than "chasing skirts". Within this culture, we've seen video after video and rapper after rapper pour champagne out for their lost ones, but Jessica profoundly says "ambitious man there's just so much on your mind, that du-rags and fitted caps just don't fit the same anymore. So you trade in bullet wounds for button downs, so you can actually pour champagne while you're still alive". This line, along with the entire poem, makes you go 'mmmm' and it is most definitely Jessica's way of saying, oh trust me, we see you, ambitious man.

Check out her poem here and follow her on twitter --> @deafjam2!