On Oct 3, 2009, my wife lost a very dear person to her heart. Her cousin Victor was ran over by a Pensacola Police Officer at about 2:00 AM. The officer shot his taser at Victor and missed and right after that as Victor flipped off of his bike, the police officer ran him over. Victor was only 17. The PPD is known for harrasment in the community. For all of those out there let's prevent this from happening all of our friends or family! Visit the following link for more information: SCLC

With Manhattan sitting stage right, illuminated in the nighttime sky, the ThisIs50 fest proved to be a thoroughly New York affair this past Saturday (October 3) at The Beach on Governor’s Island.
After a lively start from Wale and his go-go stalwarts, the UCB Band, Brooklyn transplant KiD Cudi took the stage to a tepid response, until closing his set out with his show-stealing anthem, “Day ‘n’ Nite.”
An onslaught of New York emcees came on next, including Papoose, who cut his lengthy “Alphabetical Slaughter” at the letter G, Cory Gunz who dropped his “A Millie” verse, and Uncle M (formerly Uncle Murder) who held down “Brooklyn.” Slaughterhouse followed, fueling rumors of a Shady situation in the near future. The group’s lone NY rep, Joell Ortiz, naturally garnered the most love from the crowd, rocking the mic and a bloody chef’s apron to boot.
About two hours in, The Diplomats minus Cam’ron were next up, launching into their Come Home With Me-era hits, such as “Oh Boy” and “Dipset Anthem,”before Juelz debuted new material from his upcoming album, his first solo venture in four years.
Finally, it was time for the night’s headliner, who surprisingly opened with his verse from “Crack A Bottle,” before dropping “I Get Money.” When 50 decided to cut the track less than a verse in to segue into his new single “Baby By Me,” it seemed he had lost the crowd for good, who obviously didn’t come out to see any R&B. “We in New York City and they don’t wanna hear the lovey dovey shit,” Fif observed from the crowd’s lack of life. “You want me to take y’all back?” he asked, before dropping “What Up Gangsta?” and effectively shutting it down.
Fif then walked off so that D-Block could drop a quick set that included “I Get High,” “Fuck You,” “We Gonna Make It,” and “Who’s Real” in closing. The Unit returned to the stage for “Ayo Technology,” after which the likes of Maino and Red Café dropped their trademark singles. The biggest guest of the night was arguably Newark, NJ native Wylcef Jean, who, among others, performed “Sweetest Girl.” That left it for Fif to outshine the bevy of guests, by dropping a complete version of “I Get Money,”the banger still managing to resonate despite the recession. After all, the crowd had much to celebrate, bearing witness to a NY renaissance for just $50.

First Wesley, and now Method?! What is the world coming to?


Method Man is currently in police custody on tax-evasion charges according to the Staten Island Advocate.
Apparently Meth is at Shaolin’s 120 Police Precinct awaiting arraignment. As of press time details on the case are unclear, but it may be related to Tical’s tax problems from last March. As previously reported, the department of taxation repossessed his Lincoln Navigator after he failed to pay $52,503 in arrears.
Meth blamed the ordeal on his marijuana consumption. “Myself, I’m a pothead,” he told New York’s Daily News in March. “It’s no secret. Everyone knows that. I go on the road and forget everything else.”
Stay tuned to XXL as more details become readily available.-Max G
Update: ABC Eyewitness News reports that Mr. Meth voluntarily turned himself in this morning. Prosecutors are charging that he failed to pay any taxes over the last four years. He owes a grand total of $32,799 in taxes, not including fees and faces a maximum of four years in jail.

Common enlisted so many well-known peers for his second annual benefit concert at the L.A.’s Hollywood Paladium last Saturday (September 26) that the show had to be abbreviated as “Common and Friends”on the venue’s marquee.
And it was certainly a night that could qualify as epic, given that De La Soul, The Roots, Ludacris, Nas, Mos Def and Talib Kweli as Black Star, Heavy D and Queen Latifah all gave spirited sets that flowed seamlessly, one into the next.
The night’s absolute highlight came when Common took to the mic to announce that the night’s surprise guest, Kanye West, would not make an appearance due to the backlash from his recent MTV Video Music Awards controversy. But before Common could finish the message, DJ Dummy dropped the beat to “Get ‘Em High” and Ye ran onto the stage, sending the crowd into hysteria.
The night had many other interesting turns. Nas joined Ludacris to do his verse on “I Do It for Hip-Hop” and then, after performing “One Mic” and “The World Is Yours” alone, Common joined Nas to deliver “New York State Mind.” For fans, it was an incredible sight to behold as Com delivered the first full verse of the classic track, word-for-word, while Nas looked on.
Both greats then introduced the next guest, Heavy D. The early-90s superstar took it back with “Nuttin’ But Love.” Then, Queen Latifah came out to do “U-N-I-T-Y,” as Kanye, Talib Kweli and Mos Def remained on stage, providing the occasional adlib.
Before the show, Common told XXLMag.com that he wasn’t alone in handpicking the artists, although he admitted he “made a couple calls, too.” “I have a team that works with me and they suggested some of the names, and made the efforts to get a lot of the artists,” Common said.
The event was the second major benefit for the rapper’s Common Ground Foundation, which raises money to donate to worthy causes. “We raise money so that we can give money to different programs that support what we’re into and what we’re into is encouraging the youth towards entrepreneurship, towards reading more, towards self-love and self-empowerment,” Common said. “We locate programs that already focus on that and we take this money and give it to them.”

Big Up XXL Magazine for sharing this joint, for real!