The 40-year-old Grammy Award winning artist has gone through a series of make overs throughout his career and so has his 17-year-old record label. Media insiders and fellow artists alike alleges the hip hop superstar is experiencing a “mid-life crisis,” fighting with the might of ten wolves to remain relevant in an evolving music industry. 50 Cent may label Diddy a “b*tch,” but with every new teen generation in the past two decades, the musical giant sits at the center of discourse.

Bad Boy ruled the nineties with Death Row Records as its nemesis introducing multi-platinum artists like The Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, Total, 112 and Carl Thomas, not to mention the loads of off-label artists whose sound and image he crafted. The flashy record producer help to usher in a brand of luxury lifestyle, designer labels, fast cars and gorgeous women in American urban culture. Moreover, the artist in his own way, encouraged a trend of sweeping Black entrepreneurship in the recording business– indirectly inspiring artists like Master P, Jay Z and 50 Cent to launch their own record labels.

Arguably after the tragic murder of The Notorious B.I.G in 1997, following the chart-topping release of ‘Life After Death,’ and the rise and fall of artists like Mase, The Lox, and Black Rob, Bad Boy records experienced a near dearth on the music scene. The stage lights dimmed on the talents that helped to shape the popular record label. It subsequently became more about the newly re-named P.Diddy, his solo career and his relationship with Jennifer Lopez.

The legend says the widely successful Harlem-born mogul has never given up on recapturing the game-changing artistry of the iconic Biggie by signing aspiring street artists like Shyne, and now today Diddy manages Rick Ross–an artist constantly compared to Biggie. Rumors of bad business, manipulation and artist exploitation began to accompany Diddy’s savvy and industry know-how.

In 2005, Bad Boy records experienced a resurgence with the debut of artists like Cassie and Young Joc. In 2006, Diddy re-popularized reality TV with his ‘Making the Band’ MTV series launching the careers of Danity Kane and Day 26.

But the most paramount trend we see in the life and times of Sean Combs, and his pioneering and at times, precarious record label, is the rumored ‘curse of the Bad Boy artist.’ Danity Kane like Total have danced into oblivion. And Day 26, like 112 and even Jodeci–a group mentored by Diddy are near jokes to urban listeners, and females fans no longer believe.

So as Diddy is seen on the cover of Vibe lauding in nearly 20 years of Bad Boy Entertainment–a sheer survivalist in ever-changing hip-hop, what is really the fate of the next generation of Diddy disciples?

For London rap star M.I.A. the glitzy gala, which took place May 3 at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, left a bitter taste in her mouth when it came to some of the event’s attendees.

Diddy complimented the Grammy Award nominee (legally known as Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam) following the N.E.R.D.frontman’s offhand comments and insisted he apologize to her.

(Continue Reading @ Black Voices…)

BBC reports:

“Ron Bowes used a piece of code to scan Facebook profiles, collecting data not hidden by the user’s privacy settings.

The list, which has been shared as a downloadable file, contains the URL of every searchable Facebook user’s profile, their name and unique ID.

Mr Bowes said he published the data to highlight privacy issues, but Facebook said it was already public information.”

The file is reportedly spreading quickly around the Internet.

Officials from Facebook released a statement indicating the information in the list was already available online. “People who use Facebook own their information and have the right to share only what they want, with whom they want, and when they want,” read the statement.

The statement continues to read that information users agreed to make public was already collected by a single researcher and already exists on search engines like Google and Bing.

Watchdog company Privacy International tells BBC News that Facebook has been given ample warnings that a thing like this was bound to happen. Simon Davies, a representative from the company says, “Facebook should have anticipated this attack and put measures in place to prevent it.”

BBC reports that earlier this year Facebook users protested the site complaining the privacy settings were too complex. In response to this, Facebook created more simple privacy controls.

The popular social media site, now with over 500 million users, has a default setting for privacy, but BBC concludes, “People have to make a conscious choice to opt-out of the defaults.”

Are you using default privacy settings on Facebook? Your personal information could be public on the Web. Take control of your privacy. You own it!

Jay Z Reportedly Upset LeBron Choose Miami
Is newly minted Miami Heat star LeBron James getting some heat from his old friend Jay-Z?

The Internet is popping with a report that the hip-hop magnate, who’s also a minority owner of the New Jersey Nets, is upset that James kept him out of the loop on his decision to join the Miami team.

The website Mediatakeout.com quotes an “EXTREMELY CREDIBLE insider” – the capital letters are meant to underscore the source’s supposed reliability – saying “Jay-Z felt disrespected that King James did not consult with him during the free agency process.” (Continue Reading…)

House passes bill to reduce disparity in cocaine penalties
Washington (CNN) — Ending a decade-long campaign led by African-American lawmakers, the House Wednesday approved and sent to President Barack Obama a measure to reduce the disparity in penalties between use of crack and powder cocaine.
Under a 25-year-old law, mandatory minimum sentences involving crack cocaine — a drug more commonly used by blacks than whites — led to far more severe penalties than for offenses involving powder cocaine, generally preferred by whites.
“The Fair Sentencing Act will reduce sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine from 100-to-1 to 18-to-1,” said Congressman John Conyers, D-Michigan, who applauded the passage. (Continue Reading…)

College-bound teen comatose after being slammed to ground by NYPD
A Brooklyn teen who was about to start college spent four days in a coma after he was slammed to the ground by cops in a post-barbecue beatdown, his mother and lawyer say.

Rahiym Holmes, 18, suffered a fractured skull and brain damage in the July 11 incident.

He cannot walk without help and may never fully recover, said his lawyer, Leslie Kelmachter, who will file a notice of claim against the NYPD today. “We want there to be a full and thorough investigation,” Kelmachter said. “We believe there should be criminal charges.

“There was no evidence that Rahiym was doing anything wrong when he was tackled.” (Continue Reading…)

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by Angela Burt Murry, Editor-in-Chief of Essence magazine.

This summer much of the country and cable news has been consumed with a discussion about race in America. From the media trial-by-fire of Shirley Sherrod to Maureen Dowd’s New York Times op-ed questioning whether President Obama had enough African-Americans in his administration, folks really are talking. And clearly, despite how far we like to think we’ve come as a nation, the hot-button topic of race always has the ability to set people off and illustrate just how far we haven’t come. It’s something I see quite a bit in my own work.

As Editor-in-Chief of Essence magazine I sometimes find myself in the unenviable position of ticking people off when it comes to matters of race. Whether it’s a profile on P. Diddy and longtime girlfriend Kim Porter discussing their controversial relationship (“You’re promoting having children out of wedlock and a negative image of black couples!” wrote one disgruntled reader) or assigning a guest column to singer Jill Scott to voice her opinion about black men who date outside their race, “The Wince” (“Reverse racism!” was a common critique). Or the February cover with a shirtless Reggie Bush (“He doesn’t date black women–this is a betrayal of the highest order.” Many readers shared that particular sentiment). And most recently my hiring of Ellianna Placas, who happens to be a white woman, to head our fashion department has stirred the passions of a small but vocal group in the blogosphere (“I feel like a girlfriend has died,” stated one devastated African-American writer who not long ago wrote about coming to terms with her daughter pledging a white sorority for the magazine). Really?

Now don’t get me wrong. I read and digested many of the heartfelt and poignant posts on this topic and I sincerely respect everyone’s thoughts and sentiments. I also share their concerns and frustrations about the lack of visibility of African-American women throughout the ranks of the fashion industry, which is overwhelmingly white. I, too, want to see more of us on the mastheads of all the magazines, seated in the front rows of the shows, designing our own fashion lines, and contributing our special flavor and flyness to the world of style.

And when I set out to hire a new fashion director I certainly had no idea I would end up making this decision. I first got to know and came to respect Ellianna when she came to work with us nearly six months ago. We were conducting a search for a new director when she was hired to run the department on a freelance basis. I got to see firsthand her creativity, her vision, the positive reader response to her work, and her enthusiasm and respect for the audience and our brand. As such, I thought she’d make an excellent addition to our team. And I still do. This decision in no way diminishes my commitment to black women, our issues, our fights. I am listening and I do take the concerns to heart.

But interestingly enough, the things I think should most upset people and inspire boycotts and Facebook protests, often seem to go relatively unnoticed. Like when Essence conducted a three-part education series this year on the plight of black children falling through the cracks in under-performing schools. Crickets. When we reported on the increase in sex trafficking of young black girls in urban communities? Silence. When our writers investigated the inequities in the health care services black women receive? Deadly silence. When our editors highlighted data from the Closing the Gap Initiative report “Lifting as We Climb: Women of Color, Wealth and America’s Future” that showed that the median net worth of single black women was $5? There went those darn crickets again. When we run pieces on how unemployment is devastating black men? Nada. When we run story after story on how HIV is the leading cause of death for black women age 18-34? Zilch. The things that really are the end of our world apparently aren’t.

While the response to these important stories may not always be as strong as we would like or lead to immediate change, Essence remains committed to telling these stories. Forty years ago Essence was founded to empower, celebrate, and inspire black women to climb higher, go further and break down barriers. Our commitment to black women remains unchanged as we continue to stay laser-focused on those principles–no matter who works with us.

I’m incredibly proud to have the opportunity to be the Editor-in-Chief of this award-winning magazine. I tell people that I have the best job in the world because all I do every day is think about what black women want and what black women need to live the lives they so richly deserve. And the way that I’m able to do that effectively is by valuing and listening to the direct and passionate dialogue I have with our 8.3 million readers and finding constructive ways that we can work together to continue to support and uplift black women. Thankfully, these sisters never steer me wrong!

(Check out more stories @ The Grio…)

9 Black Fashion Bloggers Worth Bookmarking

Ev’Yan, 22, apricot-tea.com
The 22-year-old started her blog back in 2008 as a way to kill time in between jobs. “My favorite thing about blogging by far is the connections and friendships I’ve made with people all over the world,” says the California native. We love her effortless style and sincere posts. You’ll leave Apricot Tea feeling like you’ve known the fashion blogger all your life. It’s no surprise that her advice to aspiring Black fashion bloggers is the Oscar Wilde quote, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” She’s currently on the prowl for the perfect black maxi dress and a vintage bowler hat—so comfortable, so chic, so her. (Continue Reading…)

Closet Crush: Julia Sarr-Jamois
We’ve got a serious closet envy on 22-year-old model-turned-fashion editor, Julia Sarr-Jamois. We can’t put our finger on which we covet most—her chic shoe and bag collection or the way she effortlessly pulls off baggy silhouettes in an ultra-cool boy-meets-girl kind of way. (Continue Reading…)

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For your latest fix of urban fashion and beauty news, tips and stories, check out COCO & CREME!

The organization’s “Pinstripes or prison stripes” billboard, now posted around the Baton Rouge, Louisiana area is their message to young Black men. It’s apart of the Project Exile federal program.

100 Black Men has partnered with Project Exile to reach youth during a critical times in their lives says a report from a local Louisiana news station. The organization’s goal is to post more “Pinstripes or prison stripes” around the country.

If you’re in the area and want to volunteer, call 225-356-9444.