By Sherri L. Smith, BlackWeb20.com

New media company Moguldom Media Group continues to expand its vast digital empire with the recent launch of its newest property,HipHopWired.com. Where as big sister Bossip.com is all about the latest gossip and drama in the Hip Hop community, HipHopWired promises to tackle the broad topic of Hip Hop from a different perspective. And before you roll your eyes and write this off as just another Hip Hop publication spouting the same ole stuff on a different day, ask yourself this: When was the last time you saw a Hip Hop pub actively seeking social and political commentary from scholars like Dr. Boyce Watkins and Warren Ballentine? When was the last time that you’ve heard of a Hip Hop site that was dedicated to “rais[ing] the bar for what we expect of Hip Hop artists by asking them challenging and engaging questions?” Read the rest of this entry »

Investigation into Grisly Cemetery Case Continues
The ghoulish discovery that hundreds of bodies at a historic African-American cemetery in Chicago were dumped in a greedy scheme to resell burial plots drew thousands of concerned and irate protestors this weekend. Many of the thousands who turned out at the Burr Oak Cemetery were hoping to find their dearly departed, and Cook County officials even exhumed the body of one grave as part of the investigation involving four former employees accused in case. In addition to getting rid of some bodies, the ex-workers also stacked more than one body in a single grave, authorities say. Cook County Sheriff’s Department officials say they have gotten more than 7,000 requests for information from those whose loved ones are buried in Burr Oaks but that they’ve only processed about 400 so far. The FBI and local officials continue the investigation today at Burr Oak Cemetery, where many iconic African Americans are buried – including Civil Rights-era lynching victim Emmett Till; musicians Willie Dixon, Dinah Washington and Otis Spann; and Negro Leagues Baseball players Jimmie Crutchfield and John Donaldson. Officials said they would try to respond to families in the next week, but Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said the investigation was hampered by a lack of maps for large sections of the cemetery. Many of those his staff had found were hand-drawn and sketchy, he said. “You might as well be talking about hieroglyphics here,” he said. “This is unheard of.”

King Billboard Stirs Controversy
A billboard in Houston identifying Dr. Martin Luther King as a Republican is an outrage and an outright lie, say community activists who want the humongous sign taken down. “The party of Tom Delay, the party of Rush Limbaugh, the party of Sean Hannity, the party of Michael Savage would not be the party of Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior!” argues Quanell X, one of those opposing the billboard. But Apostle Claver, founder of the Black conservative group known as the Raging Elephants, says this the sign “is saying conservatives are coming. And we’re going to offer solutions to the problems that this neighborhood has.” Claver notes that the slain civil rights leader’s niece, Alveeta King, has mentioned in her book that MLK was indeed a Republican. However, King’s sons say their father never would have voted Republican.  X says that no one has the right to align the man who lived and died to save all people to a certain Republican or Democratic Party!”

Billboard names Chris Brown Artist of the Year. Chris Brown keeps racking up honors, this time being named Billboard magazine’s Artist of The year. “It’s bigger than what I can ever imagine. It’s unexpected totally, so it’s a surprise,” Brown said in an interview Thursday. Earlier this year, the young singer swept the American Music Awards, winning three awards, including the coveted Artist of The Year. Lil Wayne took the number two spot on the list and Rihanna came in third.