By: JESSE WASHINGTON

NEW YORK (AP) - When Jerry Heller met Eric (Eazy-E) Wright on March 3, 1987, he knew right away that the diminutive, Jheri-curled dude with a roll of cash stuffed into his sock would change the music world.

Eazy was the founder of Ruthless Records and creator of the prototype gangsta rap group N.W.A. Heller was a music industry veteran who had represented artists from Elton John to Van Morrison to Marvin Gaye. With Eazy running the "show" and Heller handling the "business," N.W.A. - and gangsta rap - exploded into a global force.

Now, 11 years after Eazy died of AIDS, Heller has written Ruthless, a memoir detailing how Eazy, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and MC Ren formed N.W.A. and how an ambitious security guard named Suge Knight broke up the platinum-selling crew.

In a recent phone interview Heller, 65, answered the following questions:

AP: What kind of person was Eazy-E?

Heller: Eazy was an exceptional human being. He was a visionary. He was very Machiavellian, he understood power and how to use it. He was a good-hearted guy, a good father, just an exemplary human being. I couldn't be any prouder of him than if he had been my blood son. It's amazing that we could have this relationship because we're so different. He told me I was the first white person he ever met not in a police uniform or collecting rent. I miss him very much.

AP: With all the bad stuff Eazy boasted about in his music, how can you say he was a good person?

Heller: I have no proof that he was ever a drug dealer. I'm not sure if he was or he wasn't. I know that it was good for the Ruthless image, the Ruthless persona, so maybe that's why he adopted that.

AP: C'mon, man ...

Heller: He certainly never (dealt drugs) at Ruthless. It wasn't a part of our lives. Now, if you want to talk about how somebody who espoused this kind of brutal misogynistic music could be a good person, well, this was the voice of our inner cities that most white people had never come across. To the guys in Ruthless, this was the reality of their way of life. This is the way they grew up, the way things were.

AP: You have a lot to say in your book about Ice Cube, who talked real bad about you after he left N.W.A.

Heller: He insulted me as a man, as a person, as a Jewish person. . . . (yet) he is probably the most important African-American indie filmmaker in the business today. His movies are incredible. Certainly Friday and Barbershop are important movies, he's an important guy, yet until recently, this year, I never saw an interview where he didn't talk bad about me.

AP: How did Suge Knight enter the picture?

Heller: Suge was a part-time security guard at Ruthless. He can be a very charming guy, and my initial instincts were to help him. Eazy was more perceptive, he always thought he was going to be problem. I remember walking into my office one day, and Suge was standing there staring at my chair. He didn't see me. I said to him, "What you doing, man, you think that's gonna be your chair?" I never thought anyone could come between Dre and Eazy, they were childhood friends and as close as brothers. I didn't take Suge as seriously as I should have.

AP: How do you feel today, looking at what gangsta rap has become?

Heller: Imagine me walking into Joe Smith's office, he's chairman of Capitol Records, I play him the record. . . . He said, "You're trying to tell me somebody's gonna listen to this, or play it, or buy it? The day that happens I'll retire." Joe Smith remains one of the giants of the music business and I love him dearly. I said, "Joe, I remember when radio wouldn't play the Rolling Stones singing Let's Spend the Night Together. Times change. This is the music of the future." He says, "I love the name Ruthless. I'll give you a million dollars for the name. But as far as this other stuff, you better stop getting high."

AP: What did you think that day you first met Eazy and he played you his song Boyz-n-the-Hood?

Heller: It just totally blew me away. It was a combination of The Last Poets, Black Panthers, Gil Scott Heron and the Rolling Stones. If I wasn't so old I wouldn't have been able to relate to it. I thought: This is the most important music I've heard since the beginning of rock 'n' roll.

AP: You were right, although some people would still argue with you.

Heller: This was the first time that the voices of our inner city were heard. The only question in my mind was how could we water it down so white people would buy it.

AP: It turns out white folks took it straight up.

Heller: We did one thing. Who were the biggest acts in the world in 1987? Guns N'Roses and Metallica. Everybody who buys Guns N'Roses and Metallica. I shamelessly pandered to surfers and skateboarders, and in pictures from then you'll see Slash and those guys wearing N.W.A. stuff. If they thought it was cool, people in Kansas and Wyoming would buy it. That's how we broached the subject. Because no question this was the most important music of the second half of the 20th century.

AP: What's next for you?

Heller: We're putting together the movie version of the book. To play Eazy, I hope we get Larenz Tate. When I look in his eyes, I see Eazy inside there. I have talked to Game about playing Suge Knight. And these are just talks right now, but I've talked to Bruce Willis about playing me.

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By WENN
Sep 3, 2006

Veteran rapper Ice Cube has slammed the state of contemporary hip-hop, insisting most performers are only interested in the "bling" lifestyle.

The 37-year-old wishes more rappers would embrace political issues instead of material gain.
Continue reading this article below

He says, "Political rap has been pushed into the background, and rap has turned into bling party music.

"Groups like Public Enemy and Krs-One have no stage any more.

"I've been doing this 20 years - but rap is full of bravado now, and nobody wants to listen."

Willis Seeks Help For Panic Attacks

Former Busted singer Matt Willis has been visiting a counsellor to try and combat the panic attacks he has suffered since launching his solo career.

The British star admits he has been feeling the pressure since heading out on his own.

He says, "I get a bit dark sometimes. I get panic attacks and feel stressed about everything. I don't handle stress well, I can't concentrate.

"I feel very nervous and intimidated all the time. Everyone says I'm a cocky so-and-so but it's not until I'm onstage I can be everything I've ever wanted to be.

"I have a counsellor who I see when I get a bit stressed and need to chat. I'll ring him up and he'll tell me to go and see him."

(c) World Entertainment News Network
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By Seth Miran and Tim Ferguson, Forbes.com


Travel has been booming this summer, despite higher gasoline, hotel and airline prices. Demand has also remained strong notwithstanding another set of costs--hidden ones.



These are the taxes and fees that U.S. jurisdictions impose on travel-related purchases: hotel rooms, rental cars and general sales. Most travelers, business or otherwise, pay little attention to those extra costs, despite the fact that they can add 10% or more to your total bill. And short of not traveling, there is little that can be done to avoid them.



We've measured those costs for a dozen popular destinations to come up with a Travelers Misery Index. Our measure is a cumulative one--it doesn't translate exactly into taxes paid. But it's a good guide.


In Pictures: How 12 U.S. Cities Stack Up On Travel Taxes





Our data show that car rental taxes at on-airport sites tend to be the highest, followed by taxes on hotel rooms, then sales taxes. These add-ons can make a big difference, especially if you are doing an airport rental and staying in a hotel in Houston (Misery Index: 47.76) versus Los Angeles (22.25).



To arrive at the Travelers Misery Index, we added together the following rates: hotel occupancy tax, general sales tax (we avoided double-counting where the sales tax is applied to hotel rooms) and the rental-car tax (again, avoiding double counting) for a car obtained on airport grounds. Airport rentals often carry higher local fees, because many airports charge rental companies a fee for operating there; most or all of that usually gets passed on to consumers through a concession recovery fee.



Because some charges are imposed as a percentage and some as a fixed amount, we assumed a one-night hotel stay at $100 (about the average daily rate, according to Smith Travel Research of Henderson, Tenn.) and a two-day car rental totaling $200, an approximation of the base rate for a luxury car in these cities.



Let's consider how this might play out for Houston and L.A.: A $200 rental (you chose a nice car), a $100 hotel room (you were far more modest about your sleep) and a $100 souvenir--say, an original Hollywood movie poster in L.A. or a Stetson hat in Houston.


Forbes.com 2006


Travelers Misery Index





By Seth Miran and Tim Ferguson, Forbes.com


Travel has been booming this summer, despite higher gasoline, hotel and airline prices. Demand has also remained strong notwithstanding another set of costs--hidden ones.



These are the taxes and fees that U.S. jurisdictions impose on travel-related purchases: hotel rooms, rental cars and general sales. Most travelers, business or otherwise, pay little attention to those extra costs, despite the fact that they can add 10% or more to your total bill. And short of not traveling, there is little that can be done to avoid them.



We've measured those costs for a dozen popular destinations to come up with a Travelers Misery Index. Our measure is a cumulative one--it doesn't translate exactly into taxes paid. But it's a good guide.


In Pictures: How 12 U.S. Cities Stack Up On Travel Taxes





Our data show that car rental taxes at on-airport sites tend to be the highest, followed by taxes on hotel rooms, then sales taxes. These add-ons can make a big difference, especially if you are doing an airport rental and staying in a hotel in Houston (Misery Index: 47.76) versus Los Angeles (22.25).



To arrive at the Travelers Misery Index, we added together the following rates: hotel occupancy tax, general sales tax (we avoided double-counting where the sales tax is applied to hotel rooms) and the rental-car tax (again, avoiding double counting) for a car obtained on airport grounds. Airport rentals often carry higher local fees, because many airports charge rental companies a fee for operating there; most or all of that usually gets passed on to consumers through a concession recovery fee.



Because some charges are imposed as a percentage and some as a fixed amount, we assumed a one-night hotel stay at $100 (about the average daily rate, according to Smith Travel Research of Henderson, Tenn.) and a two-day car rental totaling $200, an approximation of the base rate for a luxury car in these cities.



Let's consider how this might play out for Houston and L.A.: A $200 rental (you chose a nice car), a $100 hotel room (you were far more modest about your sleep) and a $100 souvenir--say, an original Hollywood movie poster in L.A. or a Stetson hat in Houston.


Forbes.com 2006




In L.A., you'd pay an additional $8.25 in sales tax for that poster, $16.50 in sales tax for the car and $14 in accomodation tax for the hotel room. In Houston, it would also cost you $8.25 more for the cowboy hat, but $61.50 for the car, because of sales and rental taxes, and $17 for the hotel room. The difference between the two cities for $400 in purchases: $48.



Increasingly, localities are raising these charges to boost revenues without having to hit resident taxpayers, who are voters. Many travelers neglect to ask about the hidden costs, even as they might try to save a few bucks on a fare. The penalties are not painless, however--either to travelers or to local enterprises.



Certainly, these are charges that convention or meeting planners should recognize. If they do, that will be bad news for high-Misery destinations like Houston and Chicago that might try to pitch the relative affordability of those places.




Bill Connors , executive director of the National Business Travel Association , based in Alexandria, Va., says he is hearing about the rising charges from his members.



"These are major companies that spend tens of millions of dollars a year on travel and pay ever-higher taxes on that spend," says Connors, who traveled to Florida in April to testify about the potential impact of a proposed $2 per day increase to car rental taxes, a bill that Gov. Jeb Bush eventually vetoed. "With travel tax rates often topping sin taxes, businesses are forced [to] constantly reevaluate how they will absorb those added costs--by cutting back on travel or by boosting travel budgets and cutting back elsewhere."



One grace note for Houston: Most U.S. metros now impose the maximum Passenger Facility Charge of $4.50 for boarding at the airport. (We didn't include this tax in our index because it is so widespread.) Houston Intercontinental is the rare exception: no PFC. Enjoy the spare change!


In Pictures: How 12 U.S. Cities Stack Up On Travel Taxes





Car rental tax information from Avis and Hertz. Hotel occupancy tax and sales tax figures from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau, Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, Hotel & Motel Association of Greater Houston, Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau, Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, Greater Nashville Hotel & Lodging Association, New Orleans Hotel Association, San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau, NYC Visitors & Convention Bureau, City of New York Department of Finance, and Washington Department of Revenue.

Forbes.com 2006

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By Fawn Renee and Chris Richburg
Date: 9/5/2006 5:20 pm

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Rapper Kevin "Young City" Barnes was released from Baltimore County Detention Center on $75,000 bail last week, after being arrested on armed robbery charges stemming from an incident in 2001.

One of the former stars of MTV's hit reality series Making The Band, Barnes was arrested July 31 in an Atlanta, GA. suburb, after being cited for speeding in Gwinnett County.

The rapper was held for several days before being extradited to Baltimore, MD, where he was originally charged with the robbery offenses.

Barnes was arrested as a result of several missed summons to appear in court to answer robbery charges he incurred in Sept. 2001. Barnes is facing seven counts of robbery, including two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon.

According to the rapper's attorney Paul Gardner of the Baltimore-based Gardner Law Group, Barnes actually robbed the two men at gunpoint with BB gun when he was a juvenile.

Barnes will appear in court Dec. 4 to answer the charges.

"We aren't worried at all," Gardner told AllHipHop.com. "I know the outcome of the trial will be acquittal."

In the meantime, the rapper is working on his latest album titled Fast Life.

"I did songs with Chingy, TI, Soulja Slim, Princess from Crime Mob," Young City told AllHipHop.com. "I didn't want to put just everybody on my album. So I got people grinding like me on the album.”

Young City said he was no longer an artist on Bad Boy Entertainment, the label that released Da Band's debut release Too Hot For TV.

"No bad talk about Bad Boy," Young City said diplomatically. "I was doing music I wasn't really feeling, so I'm free now."

The first single from the album will be titled "Shut It Down."

"Artists money for the suckers," Young City said. "I'm not a rookie anymore, I'm here now, I know how it go, so I'm waiting to shop it to people waiting."
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By EbenGregory
Date: 9/5/2006 1:55 pm

xml


The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) has announced that it will convene a Hip-Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment at the Atlanta University Center later this month.

Dubbed the "Get Your Money Right" national tour, the summit will feature leading Hip-Hop artists and music executives including Russell Simmons, Jermaine Dupri, Ludacris, Paul Wall, Young Jeezy, Bobby Valentino, Remy Ma, Chingo Bling, Chaka Zulu (Co-CEO OF DTP), Super Producer Bryan-Michael Cox, Def Jam head of A&R Shakir Stewart, Roberta Shields, Dr. Benjamin Chavis and DJ Drama.

The purpose of the Financial Empowerment Hip-Hop Summit is to bring celebrities and financial experts together to speak to students and community members about the importance of financial literacy.

Topics to be covered include the basics of banking, home ownership, repairing bad credit and understanding credit scores, entrepreneurship, vehicle financing and more.

Established in 2001 by Russell Simmons, HSAN is a non-profit coalition of artists, entertainment industry executives, and community leaders who advocate positive social change through hip-hop.

HSAN was founded with a mission of raising the level of public education and literacy, voter education, economic advancement and youth leadership development.

The Atlanta Hip-Hop Summit on Financial Empowerment will be held at the Atlanta University Center on the Campus of Morris Brown College on September 16, 2006 from 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. Submit News!

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By Nolan Strong
Date: 9/5/2006 9:50 am

xml


A Los Angeles bankruptcy judge has set a deadline for parties to file claims against Death Row Records and Marion "Suge" Knight as part of a Chapter 11 restructuring of the legendary West coast label.

Death Row Records and Knight filed for Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in April of 2006, listing debts of $137.4 million and $4.4 million in assets.

Those filing claims must file with the bankruptcy court presiding over the case must file by Oct. 31 or risk being barred from asserting claims against Death Row Records or Suge Knight.

"We believe that it is vital that all parties asserting claims come forward and assert them in a timely manner so that Death Row can come out of Chapter 11 quickly," said Todd Neilson, the Death Row chapter 11 trustee.

In March of 2005, Knight was ordered to pay over $100 million to Lydia Harris, who claims her husband, incarcerated drug kingpin Michael "Harry-O" Harris, provided $1.5 million in start-up money for Death Row in return for a 50% stake in the label.

Knight missed several court dates in regards to the Harris' ownership claims, resulting in a default judgment.

He filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which allows a company to continue business operations while restructuring. Death Row is currently being operated by Neilson during the bankruptcy proceedings, while Knight oversees his bankruptcy estate as a debtor in possession.

Among those listed as unsecured creditors to Death Row include the Harris', the Internal Revenue Service ($6,900,000), Koch Records ($3,400,000), Interscope Records ($2,500,000) and others.

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