My letter to Ms Alicia Keys

to view the blender article click here

Dear Alicia


Firstly I would like to say I admire you greatly for your bravery in attempting to tackle the negative misconceptions placed upon rap artists and to even suggest that they may be more to Tupac and Biggie's story then the media wants us to know(if an interviewer of a magazine labeled The Notorious B.I.G as a "gangsta rapper" I may have reacted in the same way you did by saying that he was assassinated).
My advice to you however would be to think very carefully about who you say these kind of things to. It looks to me like Blender Magazine have tried to take various comments you made and make you look a little crazy for saying them. I think if you want to be fairly reported on you need to talk to people such as hip hop activist Davey D or Cedric Muhammad as your story will be fully told and not misquoted or taken out of context in any way.
Cedric Muhammad wrote many intriquing articles entitled "hip hop cointelpro" to further investigate claims that hip hop is being monitored by government agencies and even in some cases infiltrated with intent on damaging the image and messages of rap artists and to try and connect hip hop labels to crime and drug activity.
He talks about how Sean Puffy Combs and The Notorious B.I.G. were being followed by the F.B.I. in the weeks leading up to Biggie's death. How Rap-A-Lot records president James Prince was under invsetigation along with rapper Scarface. How the Wu-Tang Clan were the victims of slanderous attempts to connect them with organzied crime in Staten Island. If you have not read any of these I would suggest you do they can be found on davey d's website www.daveyd.com

I would also advise you to think seriously about how this may affect your career and ultimately your livehood if you want to talk about these things. You will be reported on fradulently by the media and made to look like you don't know what you are talking about or that you are just plain crazy (note how when describing your trip to Egypt they said you went there"in a maneuver reminiscent of Dave Chappelle", they tried to make Chapelle look crazy for going to Africa watch out!)

If you haven't already talk to artists such as Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Dead Prez & Immortal Technique and see what they have to say about all of this.

You have alot of influence and that is something that can be a double edge sword. You will come under intense scrutiny and attempts to discredit what you are saying will be frequent. False stories may be printed about you to try and turn the opinions of your fanbase against you. Be weary of all of this

May I wish you success in your attempt of your quest to become more conscious and political in your music just know that they will try and destroy you because of it.