"Don't Get Caught Up In No THRONE."

Yasiin Bey, the artist formerly known as the mighty MOS DEF has remixed Jay-Z & Kanye's "Niggas in Paris", and transformed an anthem of opulence and decadence into blue-collar reality rap. This record touches on everything from the prison industrial complex, child drug abuse, the economy, the environment, and the "unseen hands" that manipulate world events. 

Yasiin picks up where his previous re-makes, "The Rape Over" and "Dollar Day(Katrina Klap)".

United States Marine Corps. Sgt. Shamar Thomas from Roosevelt, NY (Long Island) verbally gave the NYPD a tongue lashing at Occupy Times Square this weekend. Thomas chastises the officers for excessive use of force, and militarization by repeating "these are American citizens!" and "if you want to be tough, go fight in Afghanistan". It resounds clearly from a war veteran, whose family has served this country for four generations.

Come join me for the last featured performance of my 20s! SoSoon has an artist residency at Gizzi's, and I'm honored to be featured during its tenure. I'm on a bill with some talented women, so the night is defiantly a do-not-miss. I have some special treats in store, including debuting NEW MATERIAL.

I look forward to seeing you there! Admission is free, and the drinks are strong.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

An amazing fact was revealed by Dr. Dyson on this program. The murder of James Byrd Jr., the black man who was dragged to death in Jasper Texas nearly a decade ago, was executed this week. Byrd's son was the only person to protest the death of his father's murderer, stating that "you can't fight murder with murder." I struggle with my own opinions of the ethics of the death penalty. My opposition to it come mainly due to the manner in which the justice system is structured as a vehicle of racial oppression and class warfare. The prison industrial complex is very real. Speaking to that point is the author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Professor Michelle Alexander. In response to the disproportionate number of blacks on death row (12% of the population, 50% of death row inmates), she states:

Studies have shown that those who live and those who die when it comes to the Death Penalty has more to do with the race of the victim than just about anything else. Those who kill white people are far more likely to be sentenced to death than those who kill black people; a strong statement about the value placed on people's lives according to race in the United States.

They also discuss the grassroots and communal passion that fueled massive protest during the climax of this horrible case. Watch, and figure out where you fit in. We are the question and the answer.

I'll be reading Professor Alexander's book ASAP. In under a minute at the end of this clip, she sums up the state sanctioned oppression by the police and enforced by the courts of this nation that make challenging racial bias nearly impossible. We need to wake up.

Let's hope the fight to save Troy Davis' life was just the beginning.

I wish I could say that I shot this, but alas, I was standing with other concert-goers in the rain behind the barricade, outside of the Mainstage.

Rakim went through his list of hits, and proved that "Rakim gets stronger/as I get older". Yeah. He's still got that magnetic flow, and his voice is still resonant. It's amazing to be so far into his career as an artist, all ups and downs included, and that his best work STILL is lyrically fresh.

I got to hear "Know the LEDGE", "Microphone Fiend", and "I Know You Got Soul", and "Paid in Full" live. The only thing I have left to do is meet the man. Glad I went, and over the fact that I wasn't in the main crowd.

Real talk, a lot of people who couldn't get in, like me, stood outside the barricades, danced in the rain, sat on rocks, stood on woodchips, and rapped songs bar for bar. That's hip-hop.

V-Nasty likes to say "nigga". Mr. Fab thinks it's fine. Ise Lyfe... disagrees.

Great series by a great dude. I'll be tuning in to watch all the episodes.

On June 22, The Legendary Roots Crew backed up the God MC, Rakim Allah, as he performed the album Paid in Full in its ENTIRETY at The Blue Note jazz club in NYC as part of the club's month long 30th anniversary jazz festival. Truly a phenomenal night.

How long will they mourn me?

Today, Tupac Shakur would have turned 40 years old.

How should he be remembered? 15 years after his untimely death, the legend of who he was greatly eclipses his humanity in the minds of most who think of him. Tupac was extremely charismatic, and the public persona he crafted was rooted in his personality, but it was not the totality of who he was as a man. In the wake of his 40th birthday, we should challenge ourselves to peel away the husk of mythos that has surrounded him since his death on September 13, 1996.

In remembrance, many tune into radio stations, watch any of the innumerable 2Pac documentaries, blast his entire discography through speakers, read old interview clips, or find a channel playing a music video marathon. It is ironic that the same media that one demonized him from his entry into the entertainment industry is the same one that plays a major role in how he is remembered publicly, the same media that profited greatly from engineering the image of an East Coast/West Coast war. When it isn t the media, it s a mixed bag of academics, friends, and most importantly his mother that discuss his legacy. Let's key in on that last word - legacy. It is seldom that we speak of the legacy of a deceased 25 year old. More often, that word is reserved for men and women twice that age, for aged leaders that pass or young leaders slain in their prime. Tupac is often treated with the tone of the latter. As he is elevated to the status of martyr, the myth of the man obscures his humanity. It is the voices of all that seek to dictate his legacy or control his image for the act of remembrance that distill him as an icon. This isn t positive, it isn t negative, but it is a point of fact.

Crafted in the spirit of Howard Zinn, it is the aim of the Tupac40 project to create a people s history of Tupac Shakur, a celebration of the man through collective memory. Zinn sought to capture history through the voices and experiences of the conquered and exploited as much as through those of the conquerors. From today, his 40th birthday, until November 12th, the 20th anniversary of his debut album, 2Pacalypse Now, this website will share that collective memory through mixed media. We aim to explore, celebrate, and remember this multi-faceted, brilliant, talented, flawed human being through the eyes, voices, and memories of the people. In the weeks to come, articles, music, videos, and artwork will adorn this website. Hopefully, we can expose a fragment of the influence he has had on our culture and our lives. Tupac was a complex, conflicted brother, and we owe it to his memory and to ourselves to critically understand who he was and the weight of his contributions, positive, negative, and all that fall in-between.

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Timothy Prolific Jones

Curator

Tupac40.com

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Tomorrow, June 17, at 7pm, I will be on Rise Up Radio (WBAI 99.5 FM) discussing Tupac, his legacy, and the Tupac40 campaign. The show is broadcast online for all of you non-New Yorkers who want to tune in! You can keep up with the latest on the #Tupac40 campaign on on Tupac40.com.