
You know the deal, click the image.


On October, 1, Phillips de Pury & Company is hosting the first auction of hip-hop jewelry. Pieces owned by the likes of Missy Elliot, 50 Cent and Lil' John are set to hit the block. A major highlight is John's record breaking "Crunk is Dead" pendent.
Ostentatious jewelry is somewhat of a hallmark of mainstream hip-hop culture. The one up-manship, and ultimately craftsmanship that goes into many of the pieces is rather incredible. A question the auction may answer is - Could this become a major collecting category?
The elements are there. Strong provenance and back story. Artistic (if not tasteful) productions. Connection to historic events... there's even some pieces from Pac and Biggie's
adversarial years in there.
Part of the proceeds will benefit Rush Community Affairs.
I decided to throw up some pictures of some chains that should be auctioned.






At first glance, the images tattooed on Tim Rhambo’s arms look like works of art.
Instead, they are reminders of a dangerous past he now regrets.
On one arm the words “Do or Die Denver Lanes” are etched into his skin, and on his other arm is a picture of a hand holding a gun.
“I’d have them removed,” said Rhambo, 40, “but right now I just don’t have the money. I know there are places that do it for free, but they don’t do a good job and in the end your skin looks like you’ve been burned.”
Another reason to let them stay is that they’re now doing more good than harm: evidence of a street credibility that allows him to reach today’s youth as a volunteer with the boxing program at Villa Parke and keep them from making the same sorrowful choices.
Growing up in the King’s Villages apartments in Northwest Pasadena, Rhambo became attracted to gangbanging and drug dealing — the only two lifestyles that seemed to be bringing anyone living there much success.
“When I went outside that’s what I saw. It’s what I always saw,” he said.
Since leaving gang life, Rhambo has been committed to helping today’s generation avoid drugs and violence by both mentoring young boxers who come into the ring and reaching out to other youth on the streets.
As it goes about the well-intended business of trying to steer youth away from violent lifestyles, local government in most cases lacks the person-to-person relationships that an individual like Rhambo can provide.
Recently the City Council’s Youth and Violence Prevention Ad Hoc Committee was criticized by community leaders, including NAACP Pasadena Branch President Joe Brown, as being too bogged down in procedural details to generate any real, immediate change.
Formed in September after nine gang-related homicides shook the city, the committee was the brainchild of freshman Councilwoman Jacque Robinson, in whose district much of the violence involving youth was spiking.
The body, headed by Mayor Bill Bogaard, is an 11-person board with members from the City Council, the Altadena Town Council, the Pasadena Board of Education and the Pasadena City College Board of Directors.
The committee faced a small setback last week when Supervisor Mike Antonovich denied a request for $20,000 to help pay for consultants to assist the committee, telling the Weekly through a spokesman that the money should instead be spent on programs and services that address the problem directly.
As concerned as he is about youth violence, Rhambo looks at the situation in a similar way. “We need to get in the street where [the youth are] to solve the problem,” he said. “I just come at them real and straight.”
Rhambo isn’t the only one out there making social problems personal. There are a number of people in Pasadena who, without taking a paycheck from any sort of consulting firm or government agency, are setting out on their own to make a difference.
Following are a few others we know.







click here for full story














Album: Make It Hot (Goldmind/ Elektra; 1998)
Songwriters: Missy Elliott and Tim Mosley
R&B Peak Position: #2
"I got what you want/ Got what you ne-eed..."
The first signing to Missy Elliott's Goldmind imprint, seventeen-year old Nicole Wray became another beneficiary of Elliott and Timbaland’s incredible musical chemistry as the two planted their revolutionary nu-urban sound over much of her '98 debut, Make It Hot. Yeah, their presence overshadowed Nicole's considerable teenaged chops, but she wasn't complaining, not when the disc's lead single and title track quickly earned ranking as one of the duo's sickest collaborations yet.
Most of "Hot"'s appeal lied in it's "goth & b"-styled production, which centered on a chiming, doomsday-like thump thrown askew by bits of tribal percussion and what could best be described as an audio snippet of a thousand mini-Martians being burned alive. While the beat was forward-thinking, it's lyrical scenario was certainly planted in the typical "daytime TV" topic of the day: an unfaithful boyfriend.
Stuck in love with a beau that doesn't phone like he used to or even kiss her anymore, Nicole quickly begins to deduce that he's not being on the up-and-up. "Am I his fool?" she painfully wonders, thoughts of him bedding another woman creeping into her brain when he abbreviates another one of her calls ("Said to call him back") than cuts his cell off shortly after. While it's never affirmed if he's really cheating or if she's just being paranoid, Nicole is desperate to get back in his good graces regardless, pitifully requesting another shot to really win him over. Her sorrows are bookended by some slick raps from Missy and fellow protogee Mocha, neither of which adhere much to the subject at hand, while Kelly Price is brought in to contribute a few big-voiced ad-libs in the mid-section.
Thanks to it's powerhouse support, the Gold-certified "Make It Hot" was a major radio hit in both pop and urban formats, providing much initial promise for the newcomer. Since then, though, a steady stream of behind-the-scenes politics (label switches, shelved projects, etc.) has put her career in a lull, save for the occasional hook cameo or lone single/ mixtape release.
Best Moment: "I can fly like Kelly/ I glide like skates/ Me with no Timbaland/ Is like Puff with no Mase"



When the Republicans choose their candidate on September 4th, there is a very real chance that they could throw the election into an unexpected chaos as they pull a genuine September Surprise.
I think there is every reason to believe John McCain won't be the nominee. Ok, let me say that again. McCain will not be the Republican candidate in November.
Here's how it could happen: (continue reading)
The sad thing is, I wouldn't be surprised if this does happen. Everything is taking shape (Race Card, Deterioration of McCain's Health).













