RAKIMFAN

Choose A Side

2007-01-02T00:54:00.000-05:00

YOU ARE EITHER WITH ME OR AGAINST ME...SEE U AT THE TOP!!!

Stop Being Greedy

2006-11-16T10:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I blew outta the GOOG Nov 500 Calls at 3.50. I thought they would go higher but when isaw that they damn near trippled I decided to take profits. Like I always say with these options, you gotta get in and out with the quickness unless there is something you believe will happen that will increase your profits.
>
DMX-STOP BEING GREEDY

I still got the OIH Calls though and unlike Jim Cramer, I think these trade north of 160 by February. Im up big on my Jan 2007 135 calls and my Jan 2009 150's. Again don't try this at home!

Why I'll Miss Ed Bradley

2006-11-16T07:51:00.000-05:00

I got the call from my friend Muki a few minutes after publishing the previous post. She was very close to Mr. Bradley and had known him as Uncle Ed all her life. I had the pleasure of meeting him as a teen and he was kind enough to invite me into his home. It was during the Christmas Holiday and he had his mother visiting. It was at that very moment that I realized that it was possible to do something you loved and make incredible amounts of money while doing it.

Mr. Bradley liked what he did, and by all accounts he was good at it. That night he talked about wrapping a very difficult interview with lengendary R&B vocalist, Aretha Franklin weeks prior. The story, which ran a few weeks later is considered the most revealing account of the Diva's life to date.

Masters at Work
The link below is the 60 Minutes story Mr. Bradley did on Howard Stern. I thought it would be good to post as it ties into one of the industries I talk about at great length on this site (Satelite Radio) and it also gives you a chance to witness the skills. See how Howard gets all spongecakish when Ed takes him back to the hood (Rosevelt, LI).

They Can't Stop The Profits

2006-11-10T08:15:00.000-05:00

Good Hip Hop is like a winning stock. When you identify a so-called hit and it appreciates to or exceeds the hopes you had for it's performance everybody wins. I been blooging for a hot second talking about stocks and options that I actually own equity in in the hopes of inspiring a few Hip Hop heads like myself. If you give a f##k take a look at my previous postings where I broke down:

1. Cablevision going north from the 20 dollar price.
2. XM Radio and Sirius volatility
3. Yahoo coming back (although my timing was off on that by at least a quarter).

That doesn't make me Warren Buffet, but it certaiinly sheds light on the fact that I am probably more accurate than some of the most widely read dudes spitting that Wall Stree t sh##! If you look at the manuevers on a percentage gain basis, I pretty much outperformed the top hedge funds with my "Corner College Knowledge". But here is the joke I had bigger hits than that that were not published. For instance I owned the GOOG OCT 400 Calls @ 17 and closed them out at 24. Those contracts traded north of 90 a piece. If I held on to even one of em til expiration i would a made a 9 thousand dollar profit! Haters don't worry, I got confirms to back all my talk up.

New Picks

Right now Im long on a few of the Merril Index Derivs

OIHAG I opened up a position at 9 on the Oil Service HOLDRs. Anyone who owns a crib that requires oil for heat or hot water saw a 50% increase over the last 24 months. OPEC is slowing down production. Cats are running up in Oil refinary's blastin toast. I believe these trading at 150 by Feb. I speculated on the NOV 135's (took a 100 dolar a contract loss on that) and the Jan 2009 150 Leaps @ 18.

I took the dough from the Novembers and copped some GOOG Nov 500 Calls at 1.25 in the hopes that the sun shines on a dogs ass twice a day.

In honor of my winning streak I thought I'd put up a Golden Era Hip Hop video that embodied my spirit!

JERU THE DAMAJA-CANT STOP THE PROPHET

Pun intended! Peep the lyrics closely, there is a lot of mental nutrition in there for the rap neopyte. Cherrypickers be well.

Illseed Moving Markets

2006-11-08T14:22:00.000-05:00

Illseeds at it again with the stock rumors. Yesterday he reported that SHOT 97 Parent Company Emmis Communication Corp (EMMS) may be a takeover target for Google. I slept on it and watched today's activity to see whats good. The stock is up a little over 2% on the day but still trading below its average volume. When I put on my bifocals I see that they plan on giving shareholders on record by November 12th a $4 dividend. This leads me to believe that something might pop-off here. Damn...I wonder how many shares Flex got in his 401k.

The at the money EMMS options are kinda sexy right now but to purchase an option on a takeover rumor goes against everything I believe this game is about. Its probably more beneficial to hold down a small piece of the underlying to get the 4 bucks. Think about it, you spend roughly 1300 dollars and you get broken off with 400 dollars cash just for being a shareholder.

Fundamentally this aquisition does not make the best sense for Google when you consider that Sirius is lying around and trading at a fraction of XM'S price. Nevertheless fundamentals don't apply to trendsetting companies like these. Sometimes instincts and common sense are the only things to go by. Again, do not try to trade like me. If you weren't thinkin what I had to say before I posted your not ready. Cherrypickers beware!

Oh I almost forgot did I call it on Cablevision (CVC) or what! I pulled the world coat when it was at 20!!! Stock shot up like a salary cap! Hopefully Isiah can get his sh*t together before AllStar Break!

Kanye, Calm Down It Happens All the Time!!!

2006-11-07T14:01:00.000-05:00

I read about my man Kanye spazzin out overseas for not winning an Award for Best video (no need to link to the articles). I have to side with the young man. He was certainly robbed, but at least he was nominated. I bring to you what is arguably one of the greatest music videos of all time. In my opinion this video equal or exceeds the artistry exemplified in videos like MJ's Thriller or GNR's Cold Novenmber Rain. These cats were never nominated or even formally recognized for their visual work.
NWA-Appetite for Destruction (Unedited Version)

Banging You with All Elements of HipHop

2006-11-07T11:53:00.000-05:00

I think Hip Hops biggest contribution aside from the art is the jobs and careeers created as a result of the commoditization of Hip Hop Culture. There are pros and cons with this as with all things. The beautiful thing is that if you truly have love for the culture you can feed your family doing what you love. Conversely many people exploit the culture in a means to finance outside interests and I believe that this is at the very heart of the problems that exist in rap music. It's been there all along since the days of Rappin Rodney and movies with cats like the Dude from Falcons Crest. But whenever I come across a genuine person making a living off this thing of ours I'm always nspired to get an objective view on the state of things.

Grandmaster Caz said something to me during our last meeting that sticks out as the most poignant thing that I think will help clarify a few things for the non hip hop heads that stumble across this page.
He said "The closer you get to Rap the less you see Hip Hop. I'm straight Hip Hop."

With that being said, I thought that there may be an audience of individual like myself Caz and my homie Cope that can appreciate real Hip Hop. I got a collabaration with Cope and TKid 170 just in time for the Helliday Season. Each artist is creating 20 unique works of art on classic o-scale Peterbuilt White Box Trucks. This is for serious collectors only. Each car will be signed by the artist an include some ancillary goodies to compliment the art piece. This series is a kickoff to a hardcore art game I plan on busting out in 07. In talks right now with the Assistant Director for the fastest growing art gallery on the east coast. Anywho more to come on that.

I Declared War on WACK Radio: XMSR

2006-11-07T11:21:00.000-05:00

I told yall my strategy on XMSR a while back. This is how it played out. On 7/21 I sold covered calls against my position at $2.60 a contract. I had to be real patient on that. I missed a few opportunities to make bigger dough but I closed em out on 10?06 at $1.90. Thats a net profit of .70 per contract. I closed out the position on the underlying at around the cost I purchased it at. THen I came back naked on em on 10/10 and copped a handful of the XMSR Nov 12.50 Puts at $1.25 before banging em on the way out at 1.75 for a net profit of .50 cents a contract.
Yes Yes Yall with the crystal ball! But where is XMSR now? North of either one of those contracts, which goes to show you that pricing, timing and patience is everything in the options game. If you know someone with a similar experience in a publicly traded company that listens to what I liasten to get at me.
I'm putting the finishing touches on a book proposal for newbie hiphop investors. Trying to get on the Oprah Book Club fam. The chart above shows my trades aginst the backdrop of the stock chart.
Again, don't try this at home famlee!

Guess whose back!!!!

2006-11-06T11:54:00.000-05:00

After seeing Google scoop up YouTube for a billion and change , I decided to stop effin around. Here I am sitting on all this information and expertise and all I got to show for it is a bunch of catchy websites. It's cool to rub shoulders with the people you hear on radio and see on TV but it doesn't compare to the dough you get doin real biz. With that being said I'm not effin around anymore. Big things goin down in the first quarter of 07. I put that on IWW III! This is a prototype of one of many DVD Mags Im gonna be dropping next year. I just slapped that cover prototype cover in 5 minutes as a placeholder of things to come. Also has anyone kept track of my stock picks. If ya did you made some coin (depending on what and when u did it). Im like a broken clock with them picks (YHOO 30 flopped) but sometimes I nail em (GOOG 400 Calls). So expect the following things in the next 8 to 12 weeks:

Total Revamp of Rakimfan

New DVD Magazine(s)

Video Game for Online and Mobile Devices:
Featuring Red Cafe and Thirstin Howl III

PodCast (Mobile Dist/ Online)

Mixtape

Its a tight schedule so we are off to the drawing board bringing you the authentic shit. Peace to Freddy Foxxx, another cat I respect a great deal for his lyrical contributions (the freestyle of Pete Rock and Marley was fire!!!) for shouting me out on the Rakim diss (unfortunately).

Looking for writers. I got the illest editor in the world on my team right now along with a crack video team and publicist. All you haters that tried to make my life difficult, lay down or get run over!

Blastro Wired Spoken Word Contest Rakimfan Giveaway

2006-09-06T23:15:00.000-04:00

Blastro is hosting a spoken word battle to kick off this season of The Wire. The suits were gracious enough to bless us with a few goodies to divy up amongst the loyal readers (thats right all 3 of you). I figured I would make it fair for the accidental cat who might of googled up something remotely linked to the rantings here by offering a contest of our own. The first three responses received at rakimfan@gmail.com get the goodies:

The Question:

Which cast member from The Wire made a cameo appearance on another HBO show barefoot ,holding a rose?

I'll post the answer in a few days. More info on that blastro contest here

Shout Out to the lady at Deep Focus Marketing!

XXL Hacked Again

2006-08-01T08:02:00.000-04:00

NYC Graffiti Legend SMASH Gets Bagged

2006-07-28T09:28:00.000-04:00

The NY Post reported that SMASH was bagged Wednesday by the NYPD. The Vandal Squad declared dude, Public Enemy Numero Uno for bombing "dozens of subway cars". Heads familiar with NYC Transit may recall seeing his throw-ups etched on the windows all over the system. In spite of all the attention being paid to quality of life issues like vandalism, SMASH showed no signs of slowing down. Now my man is facing a count for every act of "vandalism" recorded by the VS. Experts estimate that dude is facing at least 100 counts (ouch). I know they are gonna lock ya man under the jail for this. With elections coming up, I predict that we will bear witness to some political prostitution behind this incident. SMASH, hold ya head. Peace to the cats at Saster.net for documenting the game. Make sure you check em out.

Market Musings: Not Feelin The Suits at MSG

2006-07-24T10:01:00.000-04:00

Alright, I'm gonna try and keep my composure over the next few weeks. As you can see I've been throwing mad darts at the market trying to score a bullseye. Something a lot of cats do professionally and still can't turn a profit. Here's my play right now. I copped the Yahoo 30 calls expiring in October and hpoefully the time value will push the succker up to a buck and change. Don't try this at home Cherrypickers! I feel this is my best move from a volatility perspective.
On the backburner is a play I want to do just cuz I hate the organization. Cablevision (CVC)is in my opinion is one of the worst operations in North America. Why are cats in Mt. Vernon paying more for cable than cats in Scarsdale (before you answer I am intelligent enough to explain this from an economical standpoint but it still doesn't sit well with me). They traded Pat Ewing, the dude so coveted by the league that they created the 20th century slave auction called the "The NBA Lottery" for sponge cake ass Allen Houston, another biting ass cat I don't dig as his company Unk is accused of biting one of my clients (click link to hear two pre-Rocafella JZ demos). Two things, the Nets are coming to BedStuy and MSG is gonna feel it. Also the government is gonna cut the fees they charge poor folks for subscription tell-lie vision so additional challenges exist.
They they only have 1 million VOIP subscribers and have proven with the Knicks and Rangers that they don't have the wherewithall to address these challenges. But who knows, they might start selling shit. Maybe, 50 wants the Knicks or something. Stock is up, the options are expensive. Bear Sterns upgraded it (means nothing to me by the way) I initiate coverage of this 2day. Im gonna peep the institutional ownership, insider transactions and the fundamentals before i say another word.
In closing this is not advice column. Just a journal of things that I do. This is not a game 4 me. I'm the only cat in the blogesphere who could sandwhich a stock market report between a music video and a HipHop headline. Let's leave it at that.

NUMBER 1-RAKIMFAN TOP TEN COUNTDOWN: CROSS-BRAND COLLABO'S

2006-07-21T15:26:00.000-04:00

Operation Lockdown

Surprised! Many of you probably did'nt even know this video existed. The concept is crazy. The song is banannas! If you aint up on Ruck and Rock together tune into this Boot Camp Video. STR8 FIRE!!!!

NUMBER 2-RAKIMFAN TOP TEN COUNTDOWN: CROSS-BRAND COLLABO'S

2006-07-21T15:23:00.000-04:00

The Symphony

Granddaddy of em all, the Symphony was Marley's way of doing an Andre Harrell on the game and showcasing his new Cold Chillin Artists (Master Ace and Craig G) with established artists from the roster (GRap, Kane, etc.). This concept video bodies damn near everything else from that error (with the exception of Follow the Leader of course). Ever wonder why Kane wasn't dressed in Cowboy gear?

NUMBER 3-RAKIMFAN TOP TEN COUNTDOWN: CROSS-BRAND COLLABO'S

2006-07-21T15:19:00.000-04:00

DWICK

This one goes out to all the DJ's who cant figure out how to blend Greg Nice's acapella verse with any beat and keeping the entire record on track. This record is so hot that if Im at a party in NY and this shit isn't played it's a problem.

NUMBER 4-RAKIMFAN TOP TEN COUNTDOWN: CROSS-BRAND COLLABO'S

2006-07-21T15:16:00.000-04:00

It's All About The Benjamins

In my opinion Sheek Louch got the hottest verse on this joint. "Gondola's with the man singing, Italian music, pinky ringing while your girls clingin...". It was between this and Victory but I had to disqualify Victory for the fact that Jada was originally Puffy on that track (that woulda been bananas as a Jada track).

Ole School Like Addis Ababa

2006-07-21T13:57:00.000-04:00

Yall ever see that movie Boiler Room. If you haven't it kinda tells the tale of how the Wall Street I know was back in the early 90's. Before the internet, investors relied heavily on the advice and leadership of liscensed securities professionals to help them make advised decisions regarding their investments. Realtime fundamental data was not available to the average person and many small firms exploited this by opening sales wire houses where they could underwrite, promote and sell offerings that would appreciate in value after the initial public offering only to implode before the annual report could be published.
This scheme is called a "Pump and Dump". It was prevelant back then and its still pretty prevalent today as you can see from the shit that happened to dude that had GUnit at his daughters bat mizfah.
My peoples IM'ed me tho and tried to give me a heads up about putting up a disclaimer on the site whenever I share tales of option trades or strategies. I guess its a good idea. For the record, I dont get paid from anyone to say anything about them. Even on the sites I build and manage today I dont display any ad that would compromise my integrity. Also I been trading autonomously for about a decade now and its really second nature to me. It's shit I could talk about in my sleep as far as exploiting the volatility of a stock. Im wringing them shits like sponges if I'm lucky enough to own it at the right time.
Anyway the point I was trying to make is I'm not an advisor or a money manager. Just a dude who really enjoys all aspects of HipHop that appeals to my senses who happens to know how to for lack of a better term Chef up a stock. IM NICE!
There's been days where I made crazy money in a short time, but usually its the other way around. Here is the thing, I only know of two other cats that get down like me in that regard and most of em are outta the business because of all the bullshit ( layoffs, pay cuts, racism). The point of this blog is to inspire someone who may have a little interest to investigate and ultimately begin investing as I did.
I think my main problem with rap music nowadays is its mass promotion of consumerism. We need to show these young heads that there are a lot of cats that aint sell drugs, buss toast or perform to feed their families. The focus is on pure bullshit...whose the new host of 106, etc.
Well anyway this is no pump and dump, but do not try to be me by throwing darts at the market. Options trading is only approved for experienced individuals like myself so it's not the way to go (90% of all naked options expire worthless). If you believe in a company buy the shares directly from the company if you can and if you cant buy it and ask the to send you the certificate. I'll explain why another time. Besides I'm down a lil bit from last week.

NUMBER 6-RAKIMFAN TOP TEN COUNTDOWN: CROSS-BRAND COLLABO'S

2006-07-20T15:40:00.000-04:00

ICE CREAM

Ellos queran sus tetas chuparas! That was my line the summer this joint came out. I picked this purple tape standout because it featured CappaDon who had just come off his fiery verse from Winter Wars. Dude goes down as the first person to rock a blazer in a WU Tang video.

NUMBER 7-RAKIMFAN TOP TEN COUNTDOWN: CROSS-BRAND COLLABO'S

2006-07-20T15:12:00.000-04:00

4,3,2,1

This LL track was crushing everything out at the time it was released. There were a couple outside artists featured on the remix (Master P and Canibus do not appear in this version). Everyone knows that LL is taking shots at Canibus but despite that this is one of Todd's greatest comeback records. The video features a hungry DMX (in bootleg skimask), young Meth (before he turned lukewarm)and Redman longside the GOAT.

Market Musings: Expiration Eve

2006-07-20T10:06:00.000-04:00

My aggressiveness is coming back to bite me on the ass. Last week I touted a couple of option picks that I thought might be flippable in time for Friday's market close. Now on the Eve of expiration I got about 20 contracts of crap that's gonna expire worthless and about 200 shares of crap that is down from where I own it. Here's the thing. My next move may help me recapture some of the sneaker money I lost in the game last week from getting all freakin emotional.

Updates

XM Radio (XMSR) was down from where I own it (damn near 20%). I was trying to sell the covered call against it but decided to cancel the order. Now I think I'm gonna sell 2 of the Oct 10 calls which are bidding 2.55 down .50 cent Which will at least minimize my anticipated loss significantly. I like the Sirius (SIRI)Jan 08 5 Leaps. They are trading at under a buck a contract. I think I'm gonna take the proceeds from the sale of the XM call options and buy the Sirius Jan 08 5 Leaps.

It was determined that last weeks decision by a European Court to revisit the approval of the Sony/BMG merger. The stock is up but doesn't have the volatility it needs for me to exploit the news...moving on.

Yesterday I copped the July 25 Etrade calls (at 5 cents each) thinking I would be able to flip $100 dollars in two sessions but the contract is showing a zero bid right now. In retrospect I should have gone out a month or two on that.

Last but not least Yahoo (YHOO) missed earnings yesterday after announcing that they would not be able to implement the new system in time. I just copped the October 30 calls at .65 hoping that the stock is oversold. I did this a few months ago with Sandisk (SNDK) and had I held it I'd be in St Tropez right now in the Chanclettas!

NUMBER 8-RAKIMFAN TOP TEN COUNTDOWN: CROSS-BRAND COLLABO'S

2006-07-19T09:47:00.000-04:00

DON'T CURSE

The concept is on point. The guest stars feature enough MC's to set off a Rap Summit. I remember when this came out everybody couldn't stop talking about Kane's haberdashery. Purple leisure slacks are not gangsta, but he managed to put together an impressive verse nonetheless. My only question, why did Pete Rock rhyme on this?

Ice Cube Honored by VH1's Hip Hop Honors???

2006-07-18T14:17:00.001-04:00

On it's third year VH1 decided to finnally reserve some airtime to recognize the R-senals contribution to the game. Rakim will be joined by Bambataa (it took yall 3 long enuff), Beastie Boys, Easy E, Russell Simmons, MC Lyte and biting ass Ice Cube! Now look I'm not gonna front, I always considered Cube and Ren as the cats that repped NWA the hardest and I embraced his solo efforts from Amerikkka's Most, Kill at Will, Def Certificate and stopped supporting him when he started biting shit from everybody and shitting on his core dudes.
Here is short list of why O'Shea should go to the back of the line.

1. After getting saved from a West Coast stomp out at the New Music Seminar by King Sun (interview with Sundula in the works as we speak), he stabs him in the back by biting Sun's chorus from Wicked.
2. Ditto Del (his cousin who he hasn't worked with him since)
3. Ditto Cypress (Throw Your Set)
4. You got that new Lench Mob Album...exactly!
5. Apparently he took all the credit for Friday, again taking someone elses work and claiming it for self.
6. What happened to West Coast Cam.
8. Triple X and that rfeakin minstrel show debacle he cosigned to pacify bad press from black folkes
9. The whole Don Mega persona.
10. Broke up NWA. I thought it was supposed to be 4life fam.

Biting never got a pass and this should be no exception. Cube I love ya but it's just too soon homie.

NUMBER 9-RAKIMFAN TOP TEN COUNTDOWN: CROSS-BRAND COLLABO'S

2006-07-18T13:15:00.000-04:00

BUDDY

When this came out you would be hardpressed to find a harder working clique this side of the Juice Crew (Red Alert held down a weekend slot at Kiss FM NY and gave em mad spins and played mad Native Tongue promos to help build the brand). I'd put Latifah up against any female from her era (although she has a 3 second cameo on this track).
Quest, Jungle and DeLa (who rumor has it got kicked off the Nitro Tour for flipping out on cats) Dana and Monie changed the game with this abstract track from way back. The video itself is kinda all over the place but at the time it was hot.

NUMBER 10-RAKIMFAN TOP TEN COUNTDOWN: CROSS-BRAND COLLABO'S

2006-07-18T11:27:00.000-04:00

UPTOWN'S KICKIN IT

Andre Harell's (aka Dr. Jeckyl) use of this record to feature all his acts is considered a standard in recorded music. Ironically Harrell was featured on what some consider the first Symphony record of its kind, "Pumkin and the Profile All Stars". The video features guest appearances from all Uptown Artists of the time Heavy Dee and the Boyz, Woody Rock (Uptowns answer to LL), Finess and Sinquess, Brothers Black (???), Groove B Chill (featuring an able bodied Daryl 'Chill' Mitchell. Fat Doug (first gusest MC featured on a Puffy remix), Mary J and Father MC would join the roster later. The video also features cameos from author Nelson George and Marly Marl, who I believe was signed directly to MCA at the time with Shan ("You got dropped of MCA cuz the rhymes you wrote was wack").

WEEK 1: RAKIMFAN TOP TEN COUNTDOWN: CROSS-BRAND COLLABO'S

2006-07-18T10:43:00.000-04:00

As promised, here is the first installment of Rakimfan's Top Ten Countdown (of the moment). What I tried to do is assemble a short list of Hip Hop music videos that most closely reflect the weekly topic. Many of you will disagree with my picks (they are inherently eastcoast-centric). Some of you will embrace em. I couldn't give a shit either way. When alien lifeforms discover the remains of mothership earth my electronic rants will still resonate like a school bell, educating the uninformed HipHop fans of the future.

So here it is the first installment: "Cross Brand Collabo's"

Hip Hop introduced many innovations to the business of music and that have impacted the overall business of companies interested in acheiving sales goals. Innovations like Street Teams, Mixtapes and Street DVD's have helped companies acheive their goals in and outside the recording industry. This list focuses on the collaborations featuring three or more artists. Prior to the release of songs like "We are the World" you would be hardpressed to name 10 mainstream music releases that feature more than 3 distinct artists or acts working together to create a single body of work. Today you would be hardpressed to find a handful of artists that do not feature at least 3 guests.

YouTube Courted by Potential Suitors

2006-07-17T15:51:00.000-04:00

Let me preface waht I am about to write by stating the following facts...I DO NOT READ THE NEW YORK POST. THEY PUT ERIC CLAMPTONS SON ON THE COVER OF THE PAPER TO SELL COPIES AND TRIED TO BREAKUP PUBLIC ENEMY SOOOOoooooo, FUC'EM...but I heard about Tim Arango's coverage of the big media shindig in Sun Valley and it seems to confirm what I believed all along.
For those of you not in the know, investment bank Allen & Co hosts an annual media convention akin to Drexel's infamous Predator's Ball where business leaders and innovators get together in the hopes of generating better business. Ironically it is said that Harvey Weinstein who recently announced a $175 million deal with Bob Johnson (on thursday during the conference no less) was not invited last year and almost didn't get a pass for this year for the all expense paid smoozfest (Allen & Co spend about $10 million a year on the event).
According to reports, YouTube is hotter than the devils drawers. The deal they signed with NBC (read: General Electric) to support all the networks content online in exchange for promotion has the media world standing at attention.
In discussions with CBS head Les Monves, 29 year-old YouTube CEO Chad Hurley (pictured above with co-founder Steve Chen)explained that advertising would fuel revenue generation under the company's current business model. Could the days of free streams be coming to an end? Who will become the ultimate owner of this site and how much will it cost. MySpace went for $580 million. I believe that the intrinsic value of a YouTube deal is significantly higher than that.
Chad, do yourself a favor. Take yourself public without the help of old media like Larry and Sergey did about a year ago with Google. You'll wind up making significantly more dough and be able to fight the wolves off when they start asking you to take down their intellectual property. Remember homie, that content belongs to Sony, Viacom, Vivendi, etc! They've gone after youngins for lesser offences. I heard you were rocking the same clothes everyday at the conference which I'm sure was a tactic to throw cats off (rappers take note). Smart move Playboy!
The free99 days for You Tube may be coming to tragic end. To commemorate the tools relevance and impact on the hiphop blogesphere, I will start producing, you guessed it, a Rakimfan Top 10 List using content already available for display. The first installment will be coming as soon as they turn the power back on (midday blackout in YO got me bloggin via sidekick).

Beenie Man and Bounty Killa Crook Get Bagged

2006-07-16T10:28:00.000-04:00

Dancehall Superstars Bounty Killa and Beenie Man both made headlines this week. The Jamaica Star reports that Beenie is set to marry Bounty's ex-lady D'Angel (govt name: Michelle Downer). The ceremony will be held on August 22nd at the historic Mona Chapel in St. Andrews Jamaica (Stony Hill Massive Hold Tight). Bounty fans in attendance at Beenie's recent NY concert, heckled him for making some unkind comments about his archrival.
Tough week for the Warlord, whose former helper (read: maid) plead guilty to stealing a little under $10,000 US from the stars home. The thief Karen Frances agreed to pay her former boss back "for the sake of her children". Earlier this month Bounty, had to appaer in court for "boxing up" his baby-mother.
I hope this one remains on wax though! If your into the yard scene you could check out my partner site, Lyric DVD Magazine for the latest in Yardie videos, music, dance and news.

EU Decision Threatens Recording Industry Consolidation

2006-07-16T01:39:00.000-04:00

SmartMoney.com reports that the proposed merger between EMI (EMIPY) and Warner Music (WMG) may be in jeapordy of being called off, as a result of a decision reached by the European Court of First Instance decision on Thursday. The courts determined that the 2004 merger of Sony and BMG may have been approved in error. WMG shares were down significantly after the anouncement and with five trading days to go before options expiration, will probablyl be in play at Monday's open. I'm feeling the July 30 calls trading at a nickle. If one can cop a round lotof contractsforat under .10 cents a piece, could turn a big-face into a grand by Friday (assuming you bought 10 contracts at a price of $10 or better and the underlying stock trades north of $31 between now and expiration).
A statement released on Thursday by WMG indicates that executives from both companies will go back to the lab to determine the impact of the EU's decision.

July 2006 Wired: Wired 40 List

2006-07-16T00:09:00.000-04:00

I waited a minute before buying the July Wired. This months addition features the Annual Wired 40 List. Since this issue hit newstands a few weeks ago, MySpace was declared the number one web destination, trumping Google and Ebay. Headlines like that make Platon's coverphoto of Rupert Murdock even more ominous. It's as if he's glaring at critics who questioned his aquisition of the world leading social network hub for $580 million. The man who created Camcorder TV with shows like "Cops" and "When Animals Bug Out", the predecessor to the street DVD.
Spencer Reiss does an excellent job of getting the moguls insights into the future of media distribution , his management philosophy, and his plan to chip away at googles advertising marketshare. The article even features a guest apperance from everyone's homie Tom Anderson (MySpace Tom).
Chris Anderson's ediitorial on the current challenges faced by the entertainment industry is a must read for anyone trying to do their thing online. There are a lot of juicy stats for you data junkies who are interested in media trends.
There's a few useful blogging tips on page 30 and Mark Ecko appears on page 46 in the Hot Seat section. I like how Mark seems to be able to cut straight through the bullshit when these anti-grafiti (vandalism is a crime, graffiti is an art) anti-hip hop cats push a microphone in his face.
The Wired 40 lis t had a few surprises this year, but there were two that caught my eye. One that surprised me and the other well just caught my eye:

1. New Corp. debuts this year at number 9 , beating out Electronic Arts (13) ,(Netflix (14) Microsoft (36) and Pfizer (40)

2. My former employer got booted from the list. Something about them transforming from a "... disruptive technology to a commodity service". Ouch!

I dig Wired Mag yall. They offer the reader the right balance of culture and science. It's perfect for ageing b-boys like myself who rock Cole Haan's and Nike SB Dunks equally. Although I was a bit overwhelmed by the endless promoton of Murdock's holdings it definately made me wanna reconsider owning a few shares. Maybe i'll even go to the shareholder meeting and pick an argument with O'Reilly.

When Satellites Converge

2006-07-14T06:13:00.000-04:00

Illseed posted an interesting rumor yesterday regarding the possible merger of Sirius (SIRI) and XM (XMSR). I started buggin out for a couple of reasons. The first thing I noticed is that this is the second stock related posting on allhiphip.com in the last few days. Although the other report was publicly disclosed and listed a news item, the story had very little relevance to Hip Hop (other than the fact that the company, a penny stock accussed of pump and dump tactics, manufactures bullet proof materials and invited GUnit to his daughters bat mitzfah). Nevertheless, I give them credit for discussing topics that still relate to ageing B-Boys like myself.
At first when I read the rumor I immeadiately thought it was bullshit. I owned SIRI a while ago at like 3 dollars a share. When it bubbled up after Stern signed on, I either sold that shit or sold covered calls against the position and bleed those contracts out before I sold it. I don't respect stocks that stay below 5 bucks for too long ( they aint marginable). XM back then was trading significantly higher at that time and to me was the better of the two organizations.
When I look at the fundamentals of both companies I noticed a things that I raise my brow. Although SIRI is trading at a significant discount (last trade 4.09 , -.84 EPS) but has a market capitalization almost twice the size of XM (5.74B vs. 3.37B) which closed at 13.03 yesterday and is losing 3.06 per share. The numbers are not sexy enough for me to stick my neck out and own either joint. With gas prices goin up the first thing to go is a damn subscription to satelite radio. It's not cable fam! Also a merger would significantly dilute the shares of the aquirer who in this case would be SIRI or significantly increase the company's debt. Oh, and then you got anti-trust concerns. Dinco-D has a better chance signing to Def Jam than this goin down but I could be wrong.

2006-07-11T11:09:00.000-04:00

Who Says Rappers are The Only Ones To Stage Assaults

Since I got laid off I have the luxury of watching tell-lie-vision while working from home, which is cool if you like Maury and Judge Mathis as much as I do. I noticed that the creative minds at Maury never go outside these three topics for shows:

1. DNA Validation
2. Confessions
3. Fools on Tape

Todays 10:00 o'clock show was a Fools on Tape episode where they bring in guest from other shows to host video clips. One of the guests was Jay Greco, the current host of one of my favorite brain drain tv shows Cheaters. This show used to come on like 4:00 AM on a Thursday back in 2001, 2002. Me and my girl used to tape it and gig the next day while the host assisted suspecting spouses in the investigation of their significant others infidelity. I googled the show to see if it still came on but all I found were references to this dude getting stabbed on a shoot for the show. Don't panic, the guy that stabbed him was white.
Anyway the whole episode looked a bit fuggazy to me. If that was my man Kraze from All Access filming and a dude tried to flip like that I'd have to believe it would go down diffferently. I mean all those big dudes against a dude who looks like he could wear his High School graduation suit to this day. Beens gets shot and the police think it's a publicity stunt but ya man Jay Greco is still eating offa peoples misery. Somebody needs to call the Cold Case Squad on ya man.

The Last American Virgin, Rob Mergen

2006-07-11T07:31:00.000-04:00

Okay, by now you must have seen "The 40 Year-Old Virgin" (strong buy reccomendation on the DVD) . Steve Carell killed it and aside from "Killa Season" it's my favorite joint of the new millenium. Back in August 2005, before the flick was released, there was a lot of buzz surrounding it and I ran across a couple mainstream news stories with true to life middle-aged virgins.

Meet Rob Mergen, semi-conductor salesman, athlete, public speaker and virgin by choice (no seriously). He was the subject of the Daily News article I read back then and was blue-balsy enough to leave his email address in the article so that the ladies could reach out to him for consideration.

I decided to shoot dude an email to see if he was tring to run a con on the American People. I found out that Rob is a real dude that isn't having problem finding women. He just can't find women who share his values and principles. As corny as it may sound, I gotta give him props. Stand for something or fall for anything, my Grandmother used to say. Could a dude like Rob exist within HipHop, where misogyny and promiscuity are pre-requisites for participation (at least it seems that way sometimes).

Almost a year later Rob is still rocking the white-linen and although he found a prospect is still a bit disappointed that there are so few candidates.

Hip Hop is Something You Live

2006-07-08T12:04:00.000-04:00

As you can tell I am a Hip Hop fiend who appreciates all aspects of the culture wheteher that be spoken word, dance, art , music or fashion (the fifth element). Growing up in the Bronx it was seamless to me I wrote my first cohesive rhyme at 9, had my first black book by the time I was eleven, turntables by 12 and was making beats before Tribe made their first Red Alert Promo (I couldn't participate in the dance movement until the east coast stomp came out). I feel I've earned the right to be a critic.
I find it hard to embrace a lot of the stuff thats being released by these labels nowadays. It seems as if originality, talent and uniqueness take a back seat to relentless marketing campaigns and mass media bombardments to buy worthless tunes. That Young Joc shit is tearing up the charts right now. An artist coming out without a national audience would sign a slave contract for results like that. Are we all sheep?
I mean I like Gnarls Barkley. But not cause the shit is a dope song musically. It's because I'm familiar with the independent efforts of both artists and the shit sounds different than anything poppin right now...good music is, well just that, good music.
Is Gnarls Barkley Hip Hop? Depends on how you look at it. I'm not bold enough to look at Dangermouse and Cee-lo and say they weren't Hip Hop. That's obviously not the case at all. It's organic. I look at it like they sat in a room with a crate of records and a sack of sticky and plotted out an album that was original and different. Commercial sales were not as important as the collabrative effort to make quality music.
Does a rapper endorsing footware or an aerosol artist in an art gallery have a negative impact on the culture. Not anymore than a HipHop artist going pop I guess. I'm just not hearing or seeing anything new or exciting. That New York flavor that Iv'e grown accustomed to is getting overshadowed by "I Love My Chick" choruses and merengue records with Hip Hop beats. Theres nothing wrong with Regaeton by the way other than the fact that the corporations are attempting to equal or exceed the sales benchmarks they acheived with rap music which may be to the detriment of that segment of the culture.
With that being said, Grafitti is quickly becoming my favorite aspect of Hip Hop culture. There is so much history and diversity that exist between it's participants. In the Bronx alone you had so many prolific writers bombing the system, cats like Cope2, Seen and Cap One. They may not be at the BAM this summer but they are still doing their thing. I actually reached out to Cope when I wanted to start collecting. I got a few pieces and plan to launch an online gallery to showcase the collection. The train in the picture is a powered Rail King replica of the Number 5 Train (Gun Hill Stand UP) done by Cope and Cap One. A Japanese cat offered me two grand for it. Sorry Homie, not for sale.

Support Aerosol Art

2006-07-07T15:21:00.000-04:00

Graffiti has to be the least respected segment of Hip Hop. Just check all the bullshit Marc Ecko had to go thru to get a permit last year for that street party promotion for the game Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure. Politicians and Transit officials refuse to acknowledge the ambition and talent behind the vandalism.
Nevertheless, Corporate America has no problem exploiting this segment of Hip Hop (as they have all others) for the sake of selling a product. Art collectors who understood the intrinsic value of Basquiat made small fortunes as a result of owning his art. With that being said, the Brooklyn Museum of Art will be hosting a graffiti exhibition featuring the work of Lady Pink, Tracy 168, NOC 167 and Crash.
As an avid fan and collector of aerosol art this is considered a major event that if successful will help erase the stigma attached to this artform.

XXL Mag Hacked

2006-07-04T20:29:00.000-04:00

Checked my Helliday email's and noticed a litte note from Byron Crawford (nullus) Apparently someone put the fix on Mr. Wilson's site. Dude must be kinda pissed off.

Obesa cantavit (the fat lady has sung)

2006-06-30T23:24:00.000-04:00

I got I-fishally layed off from my job today. Cut a brother off three weeks before my nine year anniversary. Ironically, this may be the best thing to happen to me. I saw it coming. Tried to stash doe, cut back on the spending, invest wisely, etc. Anywho, now I will have time to bang out more updates. Also I dont have the man censoring my activity as a result of employment (i couldn't access my blog from work). Also now that I no longer work in the industry I can report on financial markets ! I don't really see anyone doin it like that from a hiphop perspective so I'm gonna put something together that will fill that void shortly.

2006-06-26T21:16:00.000-04:00

New Portishead Album Due Summer 2006

All this talk about Hip Hop being dead is getting a brother depressed. It's a good thing Portishead got another album coming out in the next few weeks...i need a new anthem to brood to. For those of you who don't know Beth is straight fire. Tune in youngster!

Butch bodies Benzino

2006-02-25T20:50:00.000-05:00

It looks like it's curtains for former magazine moguls Dave Mays and Ray Benzino. AllHipHop.com reports that attorneys representing the former owners made a last ditch effort to delay the sale of shares revoked from the duo as a result of defaulting on an 18 million dollar loan funded by fellow 18% stakeholder Earl "Butch" Graves. If this deal goes through, the Black Enterprise CEO will walk away with significant ROI and a controlling stake in the so called Hip Hop Bible.

I've heard Ray and Dave refer to Butch as an Uncle Tom and sellout but the former NBA benchwarmer engineered the greatest transfer of power since C. Delores Tucker forced Warner Brothers to sell Interscope to Seagrams. The ousted pair on the other hand ran their brand into the ground with biased reporting, deadbeat accounting tactics, harassing female employees and competitors.

Butch on the other hand, seeks no publicity as he rebuilds the mag to former glory. The remaining float is destined to sell at a significant premium. Look for some high profile celebrity bidders to get involved with this prime piece of Hip Hop Real Estate.

Graves is responsible for creating more than 10 consecutive years of advertising revenue growth at Black Enterprise and sits on the boards of Autozone, Channel 13 and Premier Automotive Group which owns Aston Martin, Land Rover, Jaguar, and Volvo. The new entity may give XXL a run for it's money.

Chappelle and Lipton Chairdance

2006-02-24T16:23:00.000-05:00

Everyone was talking about the Oprah interview with Chappelle a few weeks ago. To me, it was kinda wack compared to the two hour interview with James Lipton on Inside the Actor's Studio.

Now let me backtrack for a second, I had the opportunity to attend a Chappelle Show taping during the first season and remember wanting to cringe during the black white supremist skit. I remember the deafening silence after it was played and the mass exodus of audience members invited to attend a second taping later that night. Never thought the show would acheive such success.

50 million dollars and a trip to Africa later your boy returns to Cable TV, but this time around, he actually drops a couple of jewels on his upbringing, the plight of Blacks in Hollywood
and social responsibility before chairdancing with the host. Chappelle seemed as impressed with Lipton's ability to get to the core of things as was Lipton with Chappelle's comedic wit.

The joke is Chappelle spoofed Winfrey and Lipton on his show and got praise from both on how entertained by it. Couldna been me. I would have to rebut.

Check it out this Sunday at 8:00 PM ET on Bravo.

M. Diddy vs. The DONald

2006-02-22T22:41:00.000-05:00

Martha Stewart pulls a move akin to Cam'Ron's mixtape bashing of Jigga
during a recent Newsweek interview. M. Diddy fired a hot 21 (words not
bars) at The Donald in response for the cancellation of her Reality Show
The Apprentice: Martha Stewart --a straight bite of his hit series which
was renewed by NBC despite a drop in ratings.

"Having two Apprentices was as unfair to him as it was unfair to me,"
quipped the Diva. "But Donald really wanted to stay on."

High society's most famous female felon this side of Jean Harris
also alleged that she was supposed to fire Trump. The supposed
termination was to occur during the premiere episode of her foray as
Chief Homemaker to a cast of aspiring style mavens.

Not one to back down from a battle, The DONald delivered a terse letter
where he rips into her like a pack of condoms on Prom Night.

"Your performance was terrible in that the show lacked mood, temperament
and just about everything else a show needs for success. I knew it would
fail as soon as I first saw it –- and your low ratings bore me out."

He refuted her claim of him being fired by saying, "NBC would never fire
me when The Apprentice was, for a good period of time, the #1 show on
television and my recent finale, where I hired Randal, was the #2 show
for the week, easily beating the competing finale of Amazing Race and
others."

Whats Really Going On?

Don't be fooled by this exchange between two of the most popular media
icons of the 21st Century. The verbal sparring is an attempt to snare
headlines in hopes of generating a buzz for upcoming projects linked to
both moguls.

Trump's latest show, Apprentice:Season 4 (Feb. 27th), will offer no less
than 14 co-branding opportunities for his organization and any publicly
traded company that he decides to align with this time around.

Martha's syndicated self-titled talk show, although Trump says is "not
exactly setting records," received 6 Daytime Emmy nominations. Her Sirius radio show and a construction deal with KB Homes will make it difficult for those that care not to notice.

Nevertheless the whole exchange seems a bit WWFish for educated white folks.

Rakimfan Junior

2006-02-21T10:23:00.000-05:00

I was warned that having a baby would change me but had no idea what that meant until it happened. My son was born 5 weeks ahead of schedule, ironically on the day that his mothers Shower was scheduled to occur. From the moment I layed eyes on him I realized what I must mean to my own parents. Time to throw out the Gansta Rap CD's and the Newports.