Media Watch

the so-called jay-z effect.

While Hip-Hop is loved across the globe it still continues, at times, to get treated like a step-child. A recent New York Times article explored an odd phenomenon in crime across the five boroughs of New York City; a noticeable number of criminals are sporting the famous Yankee baseball cap while engaged in criminal activity. One shouldn't be surprised by the odd coincidence. The Yankee fitted is a popular item, worn by a cross-section of individuals from different backgrounds. While reading the Times article, I was shocked to read the thoughts of one criminologist. Frankie Y. Bailey, an associate professor at the University at Albany, described the trend as "the Jay-Z effect."


"The rapper Jay-Z has worn a Yankees cap for years — on his album covers and in his videos — and has helped turn the cap into a ubiquitous fashion accessory for urban youths (“I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can,” he boasts in one song).


Criminals might be wearing Yankees merchandise not because they are fans of the team, but because they are fans of the cocked-hat look popularized by Jay-Z and other rappers..."


Bailey's "theory" is ludicrous to say the least. The fitted cap trend did not start with Jay-Z and criminals wore Yankee caps long before Jay-Z's rap career took off. There is no need to create theories at the expense of a musical genre and cultural phenomenon. It's simply a matter of numbers, the Yankees sell more merchandise than any other baseball team. Go figure.

A Conscious Mind

georgia on my mind.
This tends to happen seldom, I come across an article that touches my spirit, forcefully pulling at my soul as I read each and every word. A very recent New York Times article, Displaced Black Landowners Fight to Reclaim Georgia Home, is one such article as it chronicles the story of Harris Neck, Georgia. In the United States and throughout the world, the words 'black' and 'displaced' have become synonymous. The bitter story of Harris Neck, Georgia and it's natives are a clear example. Harris Neck, situated 50 miles south of Savannah and seated in McIntosh County, is one of nature's jewels, a bastion of pristine and untouched salt marshes and tidal waterways. Now, a federal wildlife refuge managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Harris Neck was once home to a vibrant self-sufficient African-American community of 75 families.Some local whites were in a rage over the relatively successful independence that grew in Harris Neck. As a result, white county politicians led federal officials in search of Air Force base site to Harris Neck, bypassing countless acres of uninhabited land. In 1942, the U.S government took possession of Harris Neck and ordered the families to leave. The U.S government provided no provisions regarding new land or future living arrangements. 63 years later, descendants of Harris Neck started a new movement to regain Harris Neck. The movement is ongoing. They need our support, go to the official website of The Harris Neck Land Trust and make a donation.