News about Matthew Knowles (Beyonce’s father) is in my Twitter and Facebook news feed again. I wish this man would go sit down someplace or something! Evidently, Cathy Hughes, founder of Radio One has filed a law suit against Matthew Knowles’ Music World Music. The base of the problem here appears to be that Mathew Knowles & Music World Music gave exclusive rights to the Essence Music Festival to Cathy Hughes’ cable channel TVone. But according to EUR WEB.com, “His company is being accused of re-issuing the content BET, MTV and BET’s Centric Network despite TV One’s four-year exclusivity agreement” (EUR WEB.com).
So, TVone’s sister company, Radio One has pulled ALL Music World artists out of rotation! On the surface I think given the circumstances it was a good move. HOWEVER, beneath the surface are the Casualties Of War! These casualties are the artists caught in the middle who have nothing at all to do with the deal that Mathew Knowles made with Cathy Hughes and TV One. I mean gospel artists like, Trin-I-Tee 5:7, Brian Courtney Wilson, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Micah Stampley, who are among the talent on the Music World Gospel roster. Radio One has gospel stations across the country and removing these and other gospel artists from play rotation is a massive blow to these artists. Gospel artist are already in a market struggling to be valid. They often lack the funding, marketing, and exposure that secular artists receive. Which ultimately means they are not selling. I know that Brian Courtney Wilson and Micah Stampley both had songs in the top 10 on the Billboard Gospel Charts a few months ago. I imagine that constant rotation on Radio one stations had a great deal to do with that.
It is a shame that good gospel artists are caught in this nasty crossfire between Cathy Hughes and Mathew Knowles. They are now casualties of war!
Read about the Cathy Hughes ban on Music World Artists HERE.
Read about Mathew Knowles response to the ban HERE.
Smooches!
Regina
An 11-year-old boy named Jonathan McCoy was being interviewed about his feelings surrounding the use of the “N” word. Yea, you know the word I’m talking about… Nigga or Nigger. This little boy evidently wrote a speech for a competition, gave the speech in a church service and further more started a petition to ban the nigga. In his speech young Mr. McCoy talked about his utter disgust in the use of the “N” word in movies, music, and on television. He further talked about his displeasure over people using the word in everyday life as if it’s a badge of honor.
It is amazing how black people get upset to the point of wanting to kill someone if they are called the “N” word. HOWEVER black folks use the “N” word all the time as a term of endearment, a term of greeting, a term of expression one to another and as a term of camaraderie. Then black people say that by us using the word it takes the power away from those who use it to degrade us. Huummm, OK, let me get this straight, A black man will fight a white man for calling him a nigger, but this same black man will then turn around and call his friends nigga. Him saying nigg(A) instead of nigg(ER) has magically taken the power away from the white man who initially used it…{{{Blank Stare}}}. Riiiiiiiiiiiight. So anyway, I will leave you with a quote from Jonathan McCoys speech as well as the speech itself.
You Won't Believe This... 
And The People Say…