Sherri L. Smith, BlackWeb20.c0m

You don’t have to be a big name producer or a media mogul to see that things have changed in the music game. Gone are the days of spending millions to push a new artist. Hell, it’s hard for an established artist to get that kind of promotion now. And with the stations that were formerly music television turning into barren wastelands of reality shows, the video stars that hunted the radio star into extinction are also going the way of the dinosaur. Music needs a new business model — stat. Read the rest of this entry »

 When Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, Barack Obama was only seven. Today, 41 years later, America pauses to honor King on his birthday. Every year, we look back to celebrate King’s brilliance and honor the way his pacifist push for equal rights planted a revolution in slow-release at the very core of America.  Since then, the country has gone through a gradual but steady change of heart – and head – without erupting, except for a few cases, into violence or disorder. Read the rest here.

 More than two in three Blacks say that the “dream” expressed by Dr. Martin Luther King 45 years ago is now a reality, a new poll shows. Apparently, the rise of Barack Obama has a lot to do with those attitudes, because when African Americans were surveyed last spring, only one in three were willing to say that he dream has been fulfilled. Ironically, White Americans are considerably less likely to agree with that optimistic assessment. Read more here.

T.I. sets Billboard records. With Paper Trail one month away, T.I.’s lead single, “Whatever You Like” hits two Billboard chart milestones. Find out which at Sound Off!

Soulja Boy returns for sophomore set. Ringtone leader Soulja Boy talks about the Ice T beef, working with Bow Wow and his new album, iSoulja Boy at Music News.

Check out The Dream’s road to success. The Dream is an All-American triple threat. Read about his journey to the top here!

Fighter’s dream of medal cut short by dehydration. A bantamweight Olympics boxer won’t compete after he collapsed from apparent dehydration while still training. Gary Russell Jr. is said to have struggled to make the 119-pound weight limit to compete for a gold medal, but was found unconscious this past weekend in China after taking a long run. The two-time national champ was found in his room at the Olympics athlete’s village, but he was revived without hospitalization. “We became alarmed a couple of days ago when we saw he wasn’t sweating like he should,” says boxing coach Dan Campbell. “When these kids try to make weight, sometimes they cut corners. What we believe is he did not increase his fluid intake after we told him to.” Russell was a favorite to win the U.S. boxing team a top Olympics prize

NBA stars drop China 101-70 in Olympics. All-star NBA players Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant and Yao Ming met on Asian turf with Ming representing his homeland of China in an Olympics game that saw the U.S. win 101-70. Still, Ming enjoyed a hero’s welcome Sunday among the natives, an estimated 300 million of whom play basketball. Wade scored 19 points, LeBron James hit 18 and Bryant matched Ming’s total with 13. The game in Beijing was the first time that any of the NBA stars played against Yao since March when he underwent season-ending foot surgery. Read more at Playa Hater.

Tyson Gay “pretty confident” about Olympics. Sprinter Tyson Gay says he’s “injury-free” after working out in Beijing Sunday, having previously hurt his hamstring. The 100-meter and 200-meter world champ had injured the muscle during last month’s American Olympics trials. Gay had already qualified to compete in the 100 at Beijing, but suffered the hamstring mishap during the 200 trials. The runner says he’s “pretty confident” about his performance expectations for the 100-meter race for a gold medal.