THE FACTS
An internet hoax claimed Kanye West had been killed in a fatal car crash.

THE SPIN
As legend had it, Kanye West was killed in a car crash involving two luxury vehicles.

Via Necole Bitchie:

An LAPD officer “reportedly” witnessed the wreck and saw a red Ferrari and a white Porsche “spinning out of control. The Ferrari (driven by West) hit the curb and then collided with a pole while the Porsche sped away.” Two people were supposedly arrested and detained by police.

Whoever made that up ought to look into taking a creative writing class.

The above photo prompted fear and fury among all who saw it this week. I don’t get why people start death rumors about people, but thankfully fate rather than Photoshop still determines who lives and dies.

And like a good girlfriend, Amber Rose took to Twitter to steeze on these heathens trying to murder her man via Twitter Trending Topic.

Ms. Rose wrote:

“This RIP KanyeWest topic is not funny and its NOT TRUE! He has people like myself and his family that love him very much. Its in extreme poor taste to have that as a trending topic. It’s totally disrespectful to make up a story like this. We are all human and we all make mistakes and to say someone died cuz of a mistake is ridiculous. U wouldn’t want someone to say that about u. Or someone u love it’s not funny.

I’ll always ride for my man!!!! I’m bout to get off here and still RIDE for him. LITERALLY.”

Well, I guess the girl knows how to cheer a guy up.

Source

YOUR SPIN: Should FOX check their sources before they promote something like this?  Tell us here.

Image courtesy of google.com

(*The views contained herein are solely the views of their respective authors, and do not express the views of TV One. TV One does not take responsibility for their content.)

 
THE FACTS
Those close to Kanye West’s circle speak to the press about his sabbatical from the public eye.

THE SPIN
We haven’t heard from Kanye West since the cancellation of his Famed Kills tour with Lady GaGa.

After a major public backlash over snatching an award away from a teenager, it’s probably best Kanye give himself a much needed break from the camera crews.

But just where is he? Friends won’t say, but a trip to India might be on the horizon:

A source said:

“Kanye might do some dumb things, but he’s smart. He knows he needs to come back from this break changed, and that isn’t going to happen at some rehab overlooking the ocean. He goes to India, he has a chance to come back seeming like he learned something from what happened.”

The source added that there’s no plan yet for him to step back into the spotlight any time soon.

If he wants to go somewhere and be on his own and have time to reflect and heal then good for him. All I ask is that he not come back all tranquil and boring. I know some of ya’ll remember what happened to Alanis Morissette after she got back from India.

Source

YOUR SPIN: Do you think this was a good move for Kanye?  Tell us here.

Image courtesy of hiphollywood.com

(*The views contained herein are solely the views of their respective authors, and do not express the views of TV One. TV One does not take responsibility for their content.)

 
THE FACTS
9th Wonder, who has worked with Kanye West, Jay-Z, Beyonce, among others recently wrote a letter in response to Gladys Knight’s criticism of hip-hop.

THE SPIN

As previously reported Gladys Knight touched on how today’s music – namely hip-hop – is vulgar and doesn’t help elevate those in the black community.

9th Wonder has responded penning a detailed letter to All Hip Hop.

Here’s an excerpt:

Dear Editor,
I recently read the legendary Gladys Knight’s comments about Hip-Hop and the culture thereof as it pertains to hindering the growth of black music. In a lot of ways, present day black music in a general sense is in a very bad state. From Hip-Hop to the level of R&B and Soul or the lack of in mainstream media, we are seemingly suffering across the board. However, my concerns are focused on the comments about Hip-Hop.

Once AGAIN, the attempt to separate the generations amongst us as black Americans is having much success. In dealing with the older generation of our people, our elders refuse to see or seek the GOOD facets of Hip-Hop, or even the cultural aspects of Hip-Hop when it comes to improvisation, creativity, research, and skill. The fact that TRUE Hip-Hoppers respect, glorify, and honor the great ones who came before us in our records, and the use of what we call “samples” speaks volumes. A lot of musicians I’ve spoken with such as Michael Henderson, Gamble and Huff, Robert Allred from the Dynamic Five, and Leon Sylvers understand the BRIDGE we are building between generations. The reason I now listen to Bobby Bland, Mandrill, Billy Paul, The Dells, The Drells, Choice Four, The Undisputed Truth and countless other 60’s and 70’s greats, and why my 60 yr old brothers and sisters listen to it have two totally different paths.
Looking at my life as a 34 year-old and being from the South, my parents believed that anything outside of James Cleveland was secular. So an abundance of 70’s soul, even Gladys Knight and the Pips, was not played in my house. Hip-Hop was the way that I found all of these artists, traveling the world and collecting records. I learned my history of black music through a vessel that a lot of my elders see as vulgar and offensive in a GENERAL sense. Hip-Hop was not always that way. In 1976, Afrika Bambaataa started the Universal Zulu Nation in the Bronx, New York, to give a creative outlet to rival gangs. However, today our law enforcement believes that hip-hop incites gang violence.

You can read the rest of his letter by clicking here.

Honestly, though it’s not right to generalize hip-hop I think it’s time people stop dancing around the fact that more times than not, mainstream hip-hop glorifies violence, misogyny, drug culture, homophobia, and a number of issues. While the same can certainly be said of other facets of pop culture in general, when someone points out what we’re doing to ourselves as people of color, you can only deflect criticism by highlighting the few people with a clue for so long.

YOUR SPIN: Whose side are you on?  Tell us here.
 
Image courtesy of toddkelley.net

(*The views contained herein are solely the views of their respective authors, and do not express the views of TV One. TV One does not take responsibility for their content.)