via The Source – TDE Affiliated Vocalist Alori Joh Passes Away At Age 25.

Being the brother of an established entertainer, Tony was able to successfully elude the shadows of his older sibling and step into his own limelight.  Tony has proven himself as one of the most talented, well -respected entertainers in the business. After more than a decade of experience, Tony has proven himself as a skillful comedian, actor, and executive producer.

Early in his career Tony gained a reputation as a young star in the making. The Hollywood Reporter in 2001 picked him as one of the hot young talents to come out of New York. People Magazine featured Tony in their July 7, 2003 Issue.  During the first six months in the business, his first booking on the road lead him to Amsterdam. No, not to Amsterdam, New York, but Amsterdam, Netherlands, where he became a more popular figure than “Ed Joost Swarte”. Since then Tony has gained a domestic and even international presence, performing in major cities and small towns between the east coast, which he represents proudly, and the west coast where he’s takes advantage of the Hollywood lifestyle. When in New York, he’s a regular at the famous “Comic Strip”, “Caroline’s” and “Stand-Up New York”. When in Los Angeles, he’s a regular at “The Comedy Store”, “The Comedy Union,” ” “, “Icehouse” and he headlines at “The Laugh Factory”.

In  Juneil 2001, he co-starred in an ABC/Disney Pilot, “Me and My Needs”. In July 2001, he hosted an MTV pilot, “It’s Your Show”. In 2002, Tony hosted Comedy Central’s successful “BattleBots” (2000); in 2003, Tony hosted Oxygen’s “Can You Tell?” (2003). In  Juneil 2003, Tony landed the Jada Pinkett Smith/Will Smith pilot for UPN “All of Us” (2003-2007). In June 2004, Tony was featured in Will Smith’s movie, Hitch (2005/I).

Tony found comfort on the big screen; playing roles in movies such as Three Can Play That Game, alongside Vivica A. Fox, and Life Support, with veteran entertainer Queen Latifah. Tony stepped into the role of executive producer on projects such as The Funny Spot (2008) and The Tony Rock Project (2008),  both of which he also hosts.

Comedian Robert “Novakane” Nelson is a very explosive comic with crossover ability for either bad boy comedy or main stream TV, and has been preforming for 7 years, he prides himself on clean comedy and a sleek yet fun filed hosting style.

Novakane is an actor, poet, song writer and music producer, and has had his own Comedy room called The Comic Fam Bam Room, he does voice over, impressions, and has a host of character act’s he does for his fans.

Novakane has appeared in number of comedy show rooms, churches, and schools such as the Ha Ha café, Katt house live, the Cellar, the J – spot, comedy store, the Gigg lounge, Club Cheers, the Town House, Mavericks Flat, Club Cohibas, Trinity Chapel church, Holy Tempo, and Grace Chapel, 112 elementary, 109th elementary, Willowbrook Middle School, Centennial High School, Compton High School, Compton College, LA South West College and USC, and is a regular at “Your Place 2 Play” and Cohibas.

Novakane has appeared in such plays like “Have you Heard the Word” by Elian Alexander,” The Bus Stop” by Lisa Dodson, and “Did You tell the children the truth” by Val Earvin, radio shows the Mrs. Jones Gospel show, and KJLH’s LV’s play list.

Make sure to Follow him on Twitter @Comicnovakane

Can be viewed at these locations.

http://www.facebook.com/underbossreservoirdogradioshow?sk=app_196506863720166

http://www.underbossradio.com/show.html

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/under-boss-radio

BET, the media company that targets black consumers, but is ultimately controlled by a predominantly white organization called Viacom, is not exactly on the same page when it comes to their assessment of Lil Wayne or any other artist (i.e. R. Kelly) who can be directly linked to the holocaust occurring within black America today.  Given that models of profit maximization rarely call for any assessment of the negative externalities that result from unethical corporate behavior, the executive committee for the BET Awards made the interesting decision to give the greatest number of award nominations to Lil Wayne, the man who said that he would love to (among other things) make a woman fall in love with him, convincing her to steal and kill for him, and then murder her and send her dead body back to her boyfriend (“and then I’ll murder that b*tch and send her body back to yo ass”).  Oh yea, he also that he would kill little babies, have sex with every girl in the world if he could, gladly use the gun he carries on his hip and “leave a nigga’s brains on the street.”

It might be almost feasible to overlook the “kill little babies comment” were it not for the innocent three-year old boy who was shot in the head by a 21-year old black male in my hometown just a couple of weeks ago – these atrocities are all too common in countless neighborhoods across America.  Also, this music is not simply harmless entertainment for millions of black youth who’ve had their history stolen during slavery and actually look to hip-hop music to tell them how to dress, talk, think, act and live.  There is no high school speaker more popular than a hip-hop star.

The Ku Klux Klan has been regularly criticized for encouraging violence against African Americans and terrorizing our community.  But the truth is that the Klan doesn’t have much power anymore, and their thirst for African American blood seems to have waned a bit.  At the same time, Lil Wayne and artists like him have made a habit of encouraging black men to shoot one another, to abuse or murder women, to consume suicidal amounts of drugs and alcohol and to engage in irresponsible, deadly sexual behavior.

As a result, black men are the most likely to die from gun violence, mass incarceration continues to decimate black families, drug addiction and possession ruins black lives in droves, and HIV is the leading killer of black women.  So, the truth is that Lil Wayne-like artists and the corporate armies producing this weaponized genocide have killed more black people than the KKK ever could.  So, by accelerating, financing and supporting the “Lil Wayne gospel” to a community that is already dying, BET has effectively positioned itself as a new and improved version of the KKK.

It’s one thing if BET reports on the activities of Lil Wayne or even has him as a guest on their network; we all know that celebrities increase ratings, and as a Business School Professor, I understand the need to pay the bills.  But by publicly rewarding his behavior, they are encouraging every record company executive and Lil Wayne wannabe to go to the lab and manufacture more musical poison.  As a result, there is some 10-year old boy putting down his textbook to watch the BET Awards, and effectively attending the Lil Wayne School of Black Male behavior.   Years later, when this boy shoots another black man in the face, infects one of his many “hoes” with HIV, ends up in a prison cell, dies from a drug overdose or beats his girlfriend to death, we will be able to link his behavior directly to his formative years, when we cashed in this child’s future for higher shareholder returns at Viacom.  Perhaps a day will come when those of us who know destructive music when we hear it will actually have the discipline to draw lines and seek accountability, rather than look the other way.  It’s not as if you can argue that Lil Wayne is actually GOOD for black America, and it’s small-minded to justify a man’s reckless behavior just because he’s wealthy – few communities are more blinded by money than African Americans.

Charles Manson is considered one of the most vicious killers in history, yet he never actually murdered a soul.  He has been in prison for 40 years because he convinced others to commit murder, controlling their minds through comfortable words and charisma.  If Manson had been given the platform supplied by BET and the rest of corporate America and a license to share his rhetoric without restraint, he could have caused the deaths of millions more.  So, by publicly rewarding and applauding the words of Lil Wayne, BET is giving his beloved message a level of power, penetration and approval that is fit for a king – most interesting is that Wayne’s endorsement of killing women and children is far more vicious than anything Manson ever said.  By rewarding such behavior, BET is effectively saying, “This is the kind of music we WANT our community to listen to, and we are explicitly encouraging you to make more of it.”  So, the next time we turn to the KKK, Tea Partiers or the Republicans as the greatest enemies of black people, we might want to take a look in the mirror.  By cheering for those who recite lyrics that encourage us to kill our babies, we are effectively sleeping with and exalting the enemy.

Dr. Boyce: BET Has Officially Become the New and Improved KKK.

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