New Book Claims Death Row Was An FBI Front To Ruin Black Activism

New Book Claims Death Row Was An FBI Front To Ruin Black Activism


Thursday, June 17, 2010 4:30 PM

By Nolan Strong

(AllHipHop News) A new book being published claims that Death Row Records was actually a front for the FBI in an attempt to assault and end black activism.



The new book "The FBI War on Tupac Shakur and Black Leaders: U.S. Intelligence’s Murderous Targeting of Tupac, MLK, Malcolm, The Panthers, Hendrix, Marley, Rappers & Linked Ethnic Leftists".



According to the book’s author, Baltimore area native and Columbia University graduate John Potash, he extensively researched the book, which claims to show the FBI’s consistent pattern of undermining black activism.



The book claims that Shakur was deliberately targeted by the government, like other black leaders, due to his growing influence in the African-American community, utilizing Hip-Hop music.



"What I think it was was that he had become the most influential black man in the black community in the country," Potash told The Baltimore City Paper. "The CIA and U.S. intelligence, what they have to do is win the hearts and minds of the people. They don't want to control us by force, they want us to control ourselves by having us believe in a certain way--that we don't need national health care, for example. And here, Tupac was threatening to win over the hearts and minds of people, he was able to counter so much of the propaganda in the black community."



The FBI War on Tupac Shakur took ten years to research, utilizing court testimony, FBI documents and a number of previously unseen documents provided by The Black Panthers to Potash.



As for Death Row, Potash claims that the government was definitely involved in the record label’s operations, in a continued attempt to harass Shakur and derail his career.



"I believe that Death Row Records, which included dozens and dozens of police officers at all levels, according to a high-level police officer that investigated them, was a front company and was trying to continue penal coercion and mess up [Tupac Shakur's] head," Potash said.



A research documentary also accompanies the self-published book.

From AllHipHop.com
 
http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2010/06/17/22270000.aspx

Suge Knight Arrested For Assault With Deadly Weapon

Suge Knight Arrested For Assault With Deadly Weapon
May 20, 2010 09:05:00 AM CDT

by Allen Jacobs

Early this morning, Marion "Suge" Knight was arrested in the greater Los Angeles area, reports TMZ.com. The Death Row Records co-founder, and executive producer behind nearly a dozen platinum albums from Dr. Dre, 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound and others was apprehended while driving.

In addition to charges of assualt involving a firearm, Knight was reportedly driving with a suspended license. There is no word yet if the initial charges stem from a late March super-market robbery, said to have involved Luniz rapper Yukmouth. At that time, Knight was wanted by police.
According to reports, Knight remains in custody, with a bail set of $65,000.
 
From HipHopDX.com
 
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.11293/title.suge-knight-arrested-for-assault-with-deadly-weapon

Dr. Dre Says Death Row Not Paying "Chronic" Royalties, Files $75K Lawsuit

News: Dr. Dre Says Death Row Not Paying "Chronic" Royalties, Files $75K Lawsuit
Friday, Feb 12, 2010 12:13AM

Written by Biz Jones

Former Death Row Records artist Dr. Dre has filed a lawsuit against his ex-label for reportedly not receiving royalty payments from his 1992 album, The Chronic.

According to reports, the Doc stopped receiving payments over a decade ago.

Dr. Dre claims it's been 14 years since he's seen a penny from his game changing record, "The Chronic" -- and he's belatedly waging a war against the new Death Row Records. Why you ask would the good Dr. wait so long? We're guessing there's a fear factor that has evaporated since Suge Knight is out of the picture. Dre filed the federal lawsuit against WIDEawake Death Row -- which was created after Death Row filed for bankruptcy last year. In the lawsuit, Dre claims he stopped getting checks from the label after he cut and ran in '96. Dre says the new Death Row has been making lots of money by selling digital copies of "Chronic," "Chronic Re-Lit" and his greatest hits album without permission. Dre is suing for $75,000 minimum. (TMZ)
Dre's album set standards in hip-hop around the early 1990's.

Dre released his first solo single, "Deep Cover," in the spring of 1992. Not only was the record the debut of his elastic G-funk sound, it also was the beginning of his collaboration with rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg. Dre discovered Snoop through his stepbrother Warren G, and he immediately began working with the rapper -- Snoop was on Dre's 1992 debut, The Chronic, as much as Dre himself. Thanks to the singles "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang," "Dre Day," and "Let Me Ride," The Chronic was a multi-platinum, Top Ten smash, and the entire world of hip-hop changed with it. (All Music)
Speaking via a self-made recording, former Death Row artist Daz Dillinger said he respected the company's current CEO, Lara Lavi, last year.

"We looked around all the bullsh*t and come to find out it was John Payne," Daz explained. "And we wanna tell John Payne -- so y'all e-mail WIDEAwake and get rid of that motherf*cker man. That's who we'll go f*ck with, Lara Lavi. We won't be f*cking with them other suckers over there you know what I mean 'cause they got the game screwed. They just over there getting the motherf*cking check. You know what I mean? They ain't produce one thing, they trying to tell you something and them motherf*ckers over there in the high rise somewhere paying a h*ll of a rent to get kicked out." (Daz Dilly TV)
Lavi is reportedly aiming to release the upcoming film Sons 2 the Grave under Death Row Films.

"This film embodies what we're trying to do with Death Row, to tell human stories that don't always have happy endings, and that allow us to learn from violence and disenfranchised lives, but not glorify it," she said in an interview. "We're looking at film properties that relate to Boyz n the Hood-type stories, and to power the films with Death Row music." (The Hollywood Reporter)

From SOHH.com

http://www.sohh.com/2010/02/dr_dre_says_death_row_not_paying_chronic.html