A B.I.G. cover-up, Hip Hop news that isn't about dumb issh, and a new live show tonight!

In this newsletter, a little humble brag (a big Op-Ed placement!), an excerpt from our WEEKLY LIVESTREAM version of “Hip-Hop Can Save America!” on YouTube (subscribe to the channel and turn notifications on NOW. It’s ok. I’ll wait…) and as always, more Hip Hop news that isn’t about dumb sh*t!

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✍️ FROM THE E-DESK OF MANNY FACES

Hey there friends, neighbors, supporters and haters! I hope the holiday season is treating you well. One of the important things that we as a society have become more understanding about is that these times aren’t automatically joyous for everyone. I think keeping this in mind during THIS season, also helps build our empathy muscles for the rest of the year as well. So, if this is not your favorite time of the year, but you love Hip Hop culture and all the things it can do to make you smile, I’ll keep working hard to deliver interesting and exciting distractions. -Manny

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I START OFF “Well, I don’t usually…”

You should know me by now. I don’t really chase the salacious, click-bait, gossipy type stuff, but this… This was interesting. If you missed it, I kicked it with Don Sikorski, journalist, film producer and podcaster who has been meticulously reporting on — and uncovering — the many, MANY layers of this ongoing sage.

If you prefer the audio version of the podcast interviews, click here.

⏰ NEW EPISODE, TONIGHT, LIVE on YOUTUBE at 9PM ET - We’ll discuss the GRAMMYs salute to Hip Hop 50, review a documentary and kick it with our guests about the past, present and future legacy of Yonkers Hip Hop! CLICK HERE TO BE NOTIFIED

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💵 This newsletter and the podcast are independently produced and financed

(aka “Help me keep doing it!”)

If you want to and are able to help support this work, please visit patreon.com/mannyfaces. Much love to our current supporters Silent Knight, Mark E., Jesse G., Toast, Nicholas S., Briana C., Stephie, and newest supporters, Andrew Wang, and Raphael Travis. 🙏🙏🙏

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📰 HIP HOP NEWS THAT ISN’T ABOUT DUMB 💩

Here are some interesting stories I’ve curated for y’all.

MINE FIRST, it’s a good one! 😊

💪 OPINION: America Underestimates Hip-Hop’s Power and Value

Music is just a start when it comes to powerful and impactful contributions to humanity.

[Originally published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Nov. 17. 2023]

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OK fine, some others too, if I must 😄 …

📖 Black Thought on his career and new memoir, “The Upcycled Self”

✊ Hip-Hop Artist Stella Standingbear is Shattering Stereotypes about Native American Sound

⭐ THE D.O.C.: Rap Icon Talks Legacy, AI, and the Future of His Voice!

🎧 The Unending Evolution Of The Mixtape: "Without Mixtapes, There Would Be No Hip-Hop"

🏆 Tupac Shakur might finally get a GRAMMY

📺 ‘MTV Unplugged’ Returns With Hip-Hop 50 Special Featuring Queen Latifah, Wyclef Jean & More

✍️ A Hip-Hop Cartoonist Finds Humor in the Hurt

[RELATED TO ABOVE] Heard Libraries’ new hip-hop print collection engages critical issues in U.S. politics and culture

👀 CBS New York gets sneak peek inside The (formerly known as Universal) Hip Hop Museum, set to open in 2024

📻 My hip-hop education began in the ’80s, turning the dial to Boston college radio stations, by Dart Adams

🎭 How Lin-Manuel Miranda Bridged The Worlds Of Broadway & Hip-Hop

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📆 SELECT UPCOMING EVENTS

[Atlanta] EarWax Records Retrospective Exhibition [Through Jan. 6, 2024]

[NYC] Spotlight: Rising Artists Remix Wild Style Logo [Dec. 12]

[Washington, D.C.] I Still Love H.E.R.: Hip Hop & The Multi-hyphenate Life An Intimate Conversation with Common [Dec. 16]

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YOU MUST LEARN - BOOK RECOMMENDATION

I’ll try to throw at least one of these into the mix each newsletter. It’s usually one that I’m reading in preparation to bring the author on. Sometimes not. In this case, it is.

“K for the Way” explores writing, rhetoric, and literacy from the perspective of the Hip Hop DJ. Todd Craig, a DJ himself, establishes and investigates the function of DJ rhetoric and literacy, illuminating the DJ as a fruitful example for (re)envisioning approaches to writing, research, and analysis in contemporary educational settings. Because it is widely recognized that the DJ was the catalyst for the creation of Hip Hop culture, this book begins a new conversation in which Hip Hop DJs introduce ideas about poetics and language formation through the modes, practices, and techniques they engage in on a daily basis.

Find this and other great Hip Hop books, while supporting local bookstores, at bookshop.org

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