Rapper films ‘Scarface’-inspired video in the Dominican Republic: ‘It took five hours in customs, getting searched 10 times.’ By Steven Roberts Future Photo: MTV News Rappers love “Scarface.” While “Goodfellas” and “A Bronx Tale” might be better movies, rappers just can’t get enough of Tony Montana. The 1983 Oliver Stone film starring Al Pacino is a favorite because of the parallels MCs have drawn between their lives and Montana’s. After all the movie posters in those old episodes of “Cribs” and the many mentions of “Scarface” and character Alejandro Sosa in rhymes, Atlanta’s Future has a song simply called “Tony Montana.” The track, which finds Future rapping as Montana, has started to gain legs outside of his stronghold of Atlanta — thanks in large part to a feature from Drake — and, of course, the next step is a video. When MTV News caught up with Future on Monday afternoon, he revealed he spent the past weekend shooting the clip in the beautiful Dominican Republic with director Jessy Terrero. Yes, Montana was from Cuba, but Future learned it isn’t easy shooting in foreign countries, let alone one with which the U.S. has longstanding political problems. “It was hard [enough] getting over to the Dominican Republic and getting all the permits,” Future said. “I wanted to go to Cuba, but I couldn’t get over there because of the passports and going through customs. It took five hours in customs, getting searched 10 times, going to the Dominican Republic. Getting back, they damn near didn’t want me to come back to America.” Future said it was a difficult process making the video, but it will be worth it once fans see his and Terrero’s vision. Drake is expected to be featured in the clip, although his part wasn’t filmed in the D.R. Unlike in the film, Future said the video finds him leaving the States. “I get a call from overseas saying there’s been some robberies going on, and they want me to come over there and handle it,” he explained. “It’s like a caper, and I’m just getting down to it, trying to find out who’s in charge and who’s pulling the robberies. It’s a movie on wax.” Related Artists Future
‘I think it’s important that Bernard Freeman be here as a citizen of the world,’ the Trill O.G. tells MTV News of lending support. By Maurice Bobb Bun B Photo: MTV News HOUSTON — Bun B assumed his role as the unofficial Mayor of Houston when he joined Occupy Houston at City Hall on Tuesday. The protest is an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement that began about a month ago in New York. And as rap fans know, hip-hop has a long tradition of serving as an outlet for activism. So, like Talib Kweli and Kanye West did in NYC’s Zuccotti Park , the legendary Professor of Trill turned up in his home city to show support for the demonstrators. MTV News caught up with Bun B at the protest and he opened up about why he decided to come through. “I think it’s important that Bernard Freeman be here as a citizen of the world,” he told us, mentioning his birth name. “And I think it’s important that Bun B be here as a person of influence who has a voice that can bring attention to a cause. It’s very important that someone from the hip-hop community is out here supporting Occupy Houston , simply because of the fact of how hip-hop is represented in the world,” he added. The Trill O.G. M.C. said it was also important to show that rappers are about more than their money. “I think a lot of people look at us as being these flashy, fly types of people who are just concerned with spending money, but that’s not all of us,” he said. “That’s not what hip-hop is here to do. We have individuals that represent that, and I represented that from time to time, but that doesn’t make me who I am. I understand how real this world is and how real things can get and that’s what Occupy Houston is about. It’s not about what we do on the clock — it’s about being off the clock and supporting people who can’t even get on the clock right now.” While Houston is a long way from Wall Street, the city knows corporate corruption all too well. The Enron debacle , for example, is still a sore spot with many Houstonians. “The effects of the Enron collapse in Houston are still felt today,” Bun said. “Not everyone who had strong jobs in that sector were able to find replacements for those jobs. A lot of people had to take positions in companies to do things that they didn’t necessarily train for in order to support their families and that’s kinda what we’re standing for at Occupy Houston. “The misconception about Occupy Houston is that it’s a bunch of jobless people who don’t wanna work and just want the rich to give them their money. Well, that’s not true. The majority of these people are educated — not just high school, but they’re college graduates, they have degrees, they’ve done what it takes to get into the workforce. Unfortunately, corporate America is not affording enough opportunities for people to go out get jobs and support their families. Instead of hiring more people, they’re firing more people just to keep the numbers up. A company that makes $3 billion a year, it’s still gonna function if they only make $2.8 billion a year in order to keep a couple people employed. Bun explained that protesters’ frustration was due in large part to feeling underrepresented at the government level, where decisions affecting their lives are being made. “So that’s what we’re here fighting against, you know, corporate irresponsibility,” he continued. “The fact that we in Houston and America — even though we’re the people that vote, we’re the people that pay our taxes — we don’t have the voice that we should have in our local state and federal governments, and that’s another stance that we’re taking.” On Tuesday, demonstrators looked like most of those at Occupy rallies across the nation, brandishing homemade placards and signs with varying messages such as, “I am the 99 percent” and “Heal America, Tax Wall Street.” Bun rolled up his sleeves and pitched in with assigning posters and announcing general assembly guidelines , which included the proper way to agree (both hands held aloft), block proposals (both arms crossed like an X) and to ask a question (one fist in the air). Police were on hand, but no arrests were made on Tuesday. “Anybody that wants to understand clearly what the Occupy movement here in Houston, across the country, as well as the world, a little better can go to any of the Occupy sites and find all the real information, not the misinformation,” Bun said. Share your thoughts on the ongoing Wall Street protests in the comments below. Related Videos Inside Occupy Wall Street Related Artists Bun B
Daniel Depaula explains protesters’ nightly General Assembly to MTV News. By Steven Roberts Facilitators speak at nightly General Assembly Photo: MTV News The demonstrators of Occupy Wall Street have made Lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park their home for the foreseeable future, and they haven’t ignored setting ground rules. Establishing an infrastructure in the park — now dubbed Liberty Park — was one of the demonstrators’ top priorities, ensuring everyone would have access to basic and essential resources. Many, if not all, of those decisions are reached at the General Assembly. The General Assembly is held every night at roughly 7 p.m., and everyone is invited to contribute. MTV News caught up with Daniel Depaula, one the facilitators of the GA, earlier this week. He explained how his group — the facilitation group — sets the evening’s agenda based on proposals and then presents them to the assembly. “We’re not really there to decide whether things are good or not,” Depaula explained. “We are simply there just to make sure that the people proposing are aware of how the process works. So they don’t run into any surprises once it goes to the assembly. “There are really no leaders or anyone with any power that anyone else doesn’t have,” he added. “Decisions are made autonomously by individuals or by groups, and larger issues are just brought to the assembly and discussed among everyone.” What’s even more interesting is how the proposals are pitched. The demonstrators at Occupy Wall Street aren’t allowed to have megaphones, because they would cause too much noise pollution in the area, so they are forced to shout their proposal to the crowd, which then echoes the proposal for those further away. The massive game of telephone allows everyone to be involved in the decisions, and they’re instructed at the beginning of the assembly how to respond (hands in the air if they agree, hands straight ahead of them if they’re unsure, and hands downwards if they disagree). On Monday night’s agenda: Whether to buy storage bins to maintain organization and cleanliness in the park. As the demonstration attracts more people, more waste is produced, so they want to keep things tidy. The group has a donation pool of money, but of course they have to vote first. Share your thoughts on the Occupy Wall Street movement in our comments section. Related Videos Inside Occupy Wall Street
Co-hosts of political podcast ‘Citizen Radio’ talk to MTV News about their Talib Kweli connection and why the movement is more than a march. By Amanda Sprecher Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images On Monday, Kanye West and Russell Simmons stopped by to show support for the Occupy Wall Street protesters. But they weren’t the first hip-hop celebs to lend their time to the cause. Last week, Talib Kweli also made a surprise appearance, which included a performance of his new song “Distractions.” Can’t get to New York City? Take our guided tour of the Occupy Wall Street headquarters. And it was two of the forces behind the podcast “Citizen Radio” who were responsible for bringing Kweli to New York’s Zuccotti Park, where the activists have set up camp for nearly a month. Shortly before the Brooklyn rapper’s performance, MTV News caught up with Jamie Kilstein and Allison Kilkenny , co-hosts of the free and independent podcast. Kilstein, a political comedian, performed two charged stand-up pieces for the Occupy Wall Street assembly before introducing Talib as his surprise guest. “I know a lot of these kids are bored,” Kilstein told us. “So I thought I would perform. And then I was like, ‘Well, a lot of people don’t know who I am, so what if I call all my famous friends?’ and Talib was like the first one who signed on.” The duo have done more than just entertain the young protesters, however. They’ve also been covering the Occupy movement from the start. Kilkenny, a reporter for The Nation, has been there since day one. “It was supposed to be a march but day by day, I’ve been more impressed by how it’s grown and how it’s become much more diverse. It’s not just white, wealthy college students, it’s kids who have been buried in student loans. It’s people who have lost their jobs; it’s union members, you know, nurses, teachers. So it’s really becoming a force to be reckoned with.” Citizen Radio has been interviewing and broadcasting directly from the Occupy site in downtown Manhattan, talking to a broad spectrum of supporters, from nurses, teachers and electricians. As the movement spreads beyond Wall Street to spots around the country, increased media attention has followed, but the Citizen Radio hosts said their mission is to spotlight what they see as the most important aspects, including the diversity, the cooperation and the level of organization. Kilstein said some journalists have mistakenly played up a freak-show aspect of the rallies. “A lot of the mainstream media, what they’re doing is they go there and they find the craziest person they can that may not even be a part of it.” Still, Kilstein and Kilkenny are careful to keep a good sense of humor about the Occupy movement. That approach has earned them new followers, including Kweli, Sarah Silveman, Robin Williams and Noam Chomsky. “Liberals talk a lot of sh–,” Kilstein joked. “We’re really good at going to a bar and being like, ‘We got to take down the man, and here’s what we’re going to do! Not tomorrow, because I’ll be hung-over, and probably not the next day because we’re going to go out drinking again, but one day, we’ll get ’em.’ This was people finally putting it all on the line.” Share your thoughts on the Occupy Wall Street movement in our comments section! Related Videos Inside Occupy Wall Street
Russell Simmons also takes part, calling the demonstrators ‘our future leaders.’ By Kara Warner Kanye West appears at the Occupy Wall Street demonstration on October 10 Photo: Timothy A. Clary / Getty Images With a group of protesters that has grown steadily in numbers, the Occupy Wall Street movement received a one-two celebrity punch Monday (October 10) in the form of supporters Kanye West and Russell Simmons. The hip-hop heavyweights caused a stir when they visited the demonstrators’ “base camp” at Zuccotti Park, where Simmons appeared on Al Sharpton’s radio show to speak in support of the group’s efforts. “People are here with an honest heart and honest intentions,” Simmons said, according to New York’s Daily News. “These young people are our future leaders. “I’m happy to pay a little more taxes if it means better education for our children,” he added. “I don’t pay enough taxes, and I know it.” Simmons and West are the latest celebs to jump onboard the Occupy Wall Street movement. When MTV News caught up with Talib Kweli last week, he spoke out about why he’s in full support of the protests. “There’s no other place in New York City to be,” Kweli told us. “People are taking their destiny in their own hands. This is one of the most American, if not the most American, things that I’ve ever seen. “When I see things like Occupy Wall Street, I just try to align myself with things that make sense,” he continued. “Shame on me if I know something and don’t spread it, you know? If I know, it becomes my responsibility to spread the information.” Occupy Wall Street, which has also spread to cities like Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles, marked its 24th day of protest Monday. Related Artists Kanye West
Lil Wayne releases a 28 min PSA where he talks about Steve Jobs passing, his drinking habits, music choices, being a role model, skateboarding, and more. Rating: 0.0/ 5 (0 votes cast) Broadcasting platform : Vimeo Source : Hip Hop Music Discovery Date : 08/10/2011 19:56 Number of articles : 2
Fox News weekend host Geraldo Rivera went to Zucotti Park this weekend toreport on the Occupy Wall Street protest movement that has been going on for a number weeks and host his eponymous show remotely. During a segment dedicated to the populist protest movement and in the following segment, and while interviewing Cornell West and Tavis Smiley , the surrounding protestors began chanting “Fox News Lies.”… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Mediaite Discovery Date : 10/10/2011 00:27 Number of articles : 3
@OccupyTheHood, Occupy Wall Street from adele pham on Vimeo . Please consider watching this video in its entirety. It is a powerful, first hand account of what motivates people to participate in Occupy Wall Street and how they have emotionally bonded with those involved. It also provides a good opportunity to address an important issue in relation to this movement. One can readily find posts at various… Broadcasting platform : Vimeo Source : American Leftist Discovery Date : 08/10/2011 18:16 Number of articles : 3
Chanting “The whole world is watching!” the Occupy DC protesters tried to storm the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum today. They pinned a guard against the wall. The mob forced the museum to shut its doors early. Hey, didn’t we … Continue reading → Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Gateway Pundit Discovery Date : 08/10/2011 20:56 Number of articles : 2
