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Biz Markie, the “Clown Prince of Hip-Hop” best known for his 1989 global smash “Just a Friend,” has died, according to his representative, Jenni Izumi. His cause of death has not yet been disclosed, but Izumi said the rapper, singer, DJ, producer, actor, comedian, and writer “peacefully passed away” Friday evening with his wife, Tara Hall, by his side. Markie had been hospitalized in April last year due to complications from Type 2 diabetes, and as of last December he was reportedly living in a Maryland rehabilitation facility after suffering a diabetic coma and stroke. He was 57 years old.
“We are grateful for the many calls and prayers of support that we have received during this difficult time,” Izumi said in a statement. “Biz created a legacy of artistry that will forever be celebrated by his industry peers and his beloved fans whose lives he was able to touch through music, spanning over 35 years. He leaves behind a wife, many family members and close friends who will miss his vibrant personality, constant jokes, and frequent banter.” Biz Markie was born Marcel Theo Hall on April 8, 1964, in Harlem, and he spent his childhood in Long Island. He launched his hip-hop career in the Manhattan club scene (and later, on the East Coast college circuit), working as a human beatbox for acts like Roxanne Shanté and MC Shan. His debut album, 1988’s Goin’ Off — which featured production by Marley Marl and co-writing by Big Daddy Kane, and showcased Biz’s impressive beatboxing skills — was a respectable success, peaking at No. 90 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 19 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart on the strength of underground tracks like “Make the Music With Your Mouth, Biz,” “Nobody Beats the Biz,” “Vapors,” and “Pickin’ Boogers.” However, it was the following year’s gold-certified, entirely self-penned The Biz Never Sleeps, featuring “Just a Friend,” that made Markie a household name. That playful, piano-driven single, which interpolated Freddie Scott’s 1968 song “(You) Got What I Need,” became a platinum-selling top 10 U.S. hit, and its wacky video, featuring a candelabra-lit Markie bashing the ivories and wailing the unhinged, deliberately out-of-tune chorus in a powdered Mozart wig, was a high-rotation MTV staple for months. Unfortunately, Markie never charted another Billboard Hot 100 hit again, and his cartoonish image and puerile humor relegated him to novelty act/one-hit wonder status. On top of that, promotion for his third album, 1991’s I Need a Haircut, was sidelined by a lawsuit from soft rock singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan, who claimed that Biz’s track “Alone Again” featured an unauthorized sample of O'Sullivan’s “Alone Again (Naturally).” When Markie lost that case, I Need a Haircut was pulled from circulation; the court’s landmark ruling, Grand Upright Music Ltd. v. Warner Bros. Records Inc., changed the entire music industry, with record labels now required to clear all samples on all future releases. Biz’s follow-up LP was 1993’s cheekily titled All Samples Cleared!, but his career was unable to rebound after the negative publicity. It would be decade before he released another album, 2003’s Weekend Warrior, which turned out to be his last. However, the legacy of “Just a Friend” was enduring, and over the years Biz’s skills and wit gained new appreciation. He became an icon of the alternative hip-hop genre, collaborating with the Beastie Boys, Slick Rick, Will Smith, Wu-Tang Clan, Coolio, Fat Joe, the Avalanches, Kesha, the Flaming Lips, Canibus, the Aquabats, Len, and — in recorded-sample form — even the Rolling Stones. Mario’s “Just a Friend 2002” was inspired by Markie’s hit, and Austin Mahone sampled and interpolated the original “Just a Friend” chorus in his 2012 single “Say You're Just a Friend” featuring Flo Rida. The Beasties’ championing of Biz especially helped revitalize his career, although he pivoted to DJing rather than recording, even opening for Chris Rock on tour with DJ sets in 2008. Biz also reached new audiences by appearing in Men in Black II, Black-ish, SpongeBob SquarePants, Empire, In Living Color, Wild 'n Out, Yo Gabba Gabba!, Sharknado 2, and the first season of VH1’s Celebrity Fit Club, which he won. He also memorably performed “Just a Friend” with Jeff Goldblum and the Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and hosted a daily radio show on LL Cool J’s Rock the Bells channel on SiriusXM. In 2011, Markie was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes; three years later, he did an interview with ABC News about how he had shed 140 pounds in an attempt to improve his condition, explaining, “I wanted to live. … If I didn’t make the changes, it was going to make the diabetes worse. I’m trying to get off [medication]. The way you’ve got to do it is lose the weight. I’m off half my meds; I just got to get off the rest. They said I could lose my feet. They said I could lose body parts. A lot of things could happen.” Just this past April, Markie’s friend and collaborator Big Daddy Kane said Markie was on his way to recovery after his 2020 stroke, telling syndicated radio show The Breakfast Club, “He’s in rehabilitation now. He’s getting better and stronger every day. Last time I talked to him on the phone, he got a real light voice — but last time I talked on the phone he stuck his middle finger up at me, so I think he’s coming along.” Bshani Radio News Many business owners spend thousands of dollars each year to build their audience through Facebook Likes. The logic seems simple - the more Likes your business page gets, the more people you’ll be able to reach. The truth is, even if you have accumulated a ton of followers, the number of people who will actually see your content is much smaller than it appears.
Let’s say you’ve obtained 1,000 Likes on your Facebook page. It stands to reason that every time you post content to that page, all 1,000 people will see it. However, the reality is that each post will only be shown to about 10% (or less) of your followers. If you’d want the remaining 90% of your Facebook followers to see your content, you’ll have to pull out the same wallet you used to buy all those Likes and pay Facebook to “boost” your posts. So What Am I Paying For Anyway?When your social media strategy is focused solely on accumulating Likes, you’re essentially paying for the ability to advertise to those followers later on. Long story short, it shouldn’t be all about the Likes. Let’s get nerdy for a minute. Facebook has an ever-changing algorithm that (among other things) assigns a ranking to each page, including your business. That ranking isn’t based solely on the number of Likes; instead, it’s actually based on page activity. In other words, the more people who are interacting with your content by sharing and commenting, the higher your Facebook ranking will climb. As that ranking climbs, so will your organic reach. Pages that rank extremely high with Facebook’s algorithms will actually see their Facebook reach exceed its number of followers as people re-share the content and show it to their friends. Pages that rank very low will see their reach approach zero. Then How Does My Business Expand Its Reach On Facebook?Improving your page rank is possible, you just need to know some basics. Here are few pointers: Post great content. Sharing original videos on your Facebook page is a great way for people to begin to interact with you. These can range from hilariously funny to inspirational stories of your customers. Since videos are easily and widely shared, friends of your community will begin to see your business appear in their news feeds. Don’t promote yourself too often. Keep in mind that much of your content should be focused on topics other than your business. Many businesses only post announcements and upcoming events to their Facebook page and then wonder why their engagement (and Facebook ranking) is so low. Give people fun, fresh, inspirational content that they’ll want to interact with. Ask people to check in at your location. Facebook check-ins are one of the most powerful tools on social media and one of the most effective ways to grow your business. Why? Facebook check-ins act as recommendations from your community to their friends. So instead of hearing about how awesome your business is from you - they’re hearing it from their friends, whom they already trust. Since Facebook check-ins are typically seen by about 200 friends, they take personal invitations to a whole new level. Seeing ResultsAs you shift your social media strategy from a pursuit of “likes” or “followers” to a focus on engagement and page activity, you’ll see your reach grow exponentially. And you’ll save some money on boosting posts as well. Post interactive, shareable content that is outwardly focused - and most importantly, promote Facebook check-ins with your customers. Not only will your reach more people on Facebook, it will also help grow your business. Source: John Rougeux By: Janelle Griffith
Cornel West, a prominent professor of African American studies and progressive activist, said this week that his resignation from Harvard University was driven by a tenure dispute and the Ivy League school's "intellectual and spiritual bankruptcy.""How sad it is to see our beloved Harvard Divinity School in such decline and decay," he wrote in a letter dated June 30 and posted to his social media accounts Monday. "The disarray of a scattered curriculum, the disenchantment of talented yet deferential faculty, and the disorientation of precious students loom large." West said he sent the "candid letter of resignation" to his Harvard dean. "I try to tell the unvarnished truth about the decadence in our market-driven universities!" he wrote on his Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. "Let us bear witness against this spiritual rot!" Janelle Griffith Wed, July 14, 2021, 2:17 PM Cornel West, a prominent professor of African American studies and progressive activist, said this week that his resignation from Harvard University was driven by a tenure dispute and the Ivy League school's "intellectual and spiritual bankruptcy." "How sad it is to see our beloved Harvard Divinity School in such decline and decay," he wrote in a letter dated June 30 and posted to his social media accounts Monday. "The disarray of a scattered curriculum, the disenchantment of talented yet deferential faculty, and the disorientation of precious students loom large." West said he sent the "candid letter of resignation" to his Harvard dean. "I try to tell the unvarnished truth about the decadence in our market-driven universities!" he wrote on his Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. "Let us bear witness against this spiritual rot!" - ADVERTISEMENT -Harvard University and the Harvard Divinity School declined requests for comment. West, who had been a professor of the practice of public philosophy in the divinity school, announced plans to leave Harvard in March, according to The Boycott Times, which describes itself as a publication of dissent. Attempts to reach West by phone and through email were unsuccessful. West, 68, graduated from Harvard and earned a doctorate in philosophy from Princeton University. He has also taught at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City, Yale University and the University of Paris. He left Harvard before, in 2002, after a public spat with Lawrence Summers, its president at the time. West wrote in the letter that when he returned to Harvard four years ago, after having been a professor at Harvard and Princeton, he had a salary less than what he earned 15 years earlier and no tenure, an academic appointment that makes it very difficult to remove professors. "I hoped and prayed I could still end my career with some semblance of intellectual intensity and personal respect," he wrote. "How wrong I was!" "With a few glorious and glaring exceptions, the shadow of Jim Crow was cast in its new glittering form expressed in the language of superficial diversity," he continued. To witness the faculty "enthusiastically support a candidate for tenure then timidly defer to a rejection" based on "Harvard administration's hostility to the Palestinian cause was disgusting," West wrote. (West told The New York Times in March that he may have been denied tenure because of his age and his support for the Palestinian cause, which he described as a "taboo" issue at Harvard.) He said that when the news of his mother's death in April appeared in a newsletter, he received only two public replies, whereas an ordinary announcement about a lecture, award or achievement would typically result in 20 replies. "This kind of narcissistic academic professionalism, cowardly deference to the anti-Palestinian prejudices of the Harvard administration, and indifference to my Mother's death constitute an intellectual and spiritual bankruptcy of deep depths," he wrote. "In my case, a serious commitment to Veritas requires resignation — with precious memories but absolutely no regrets!" West's letter was made public about a week after the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, who is Black, said that she will not join the faculty at the University of North Carolina after an outstretched tenure fight marked by allegations of racism and conservative backlash about her involvement in The New York Times Magazine's 1619 Project, which re-examined America's bitter legacy of slavery. Instead, Hannah-Jones, a correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, said that she would join the faculty of Howard University. Her announcement came less than a week after the University of North Carolina's board of trustees voted to grant her tenure, reversing its earlier decision. In March, the Union Theological Seminary announced West would be rejoining its faculty. "I am honored to return back home to Union, to a place with brilliant faculty and moral tenacity and that provides an opportunity to continue to work with students who are eager to put their faith into practice while striving for justice and seeking of truth," West said at the time. He told The Boycott Times in an interview published in March that he discovered he "can only take so much hypocrisy" and "dishonesty" at Harvard. "I can only take so much pettiness in terms of ways in which I thought I was disrespected and devalued," West said in the interview. "I found out that my return here, leads me to have to make a move … no doubt about that." Source: NBC News The George Floyd Memorial mural at Summit and Lagrange in Toledo has come down. No word yet on the circumstances
Bshani Radio App Meet Dr. Von Homer, Founder and Chief Scientist of HX Innovations, a first-of-its-kind tech startup that aims to map a client’s body to ensure that his or her biomechanics (body movements) align with the individual’s chosen footwear. This helps to not only mitigate or avoid future injury but also to fulfill movement goals while perhaps running a marathon or walking around the block with a grandchild.
HX Innovations also works directly with footwear manufacturers as a science-backed testing lab that can determine the efficiency of movement and the performance threshold of the footwear being sold to consumers.“We’re kind of like a consumer report on steroids for footwear products,” says CEO Dr. Homer. “We’ve combined my layered background in pedorthics, biomechanics, ergonomics, and neuroscience to solve problems from the feet up.” The problem being, one size does not fit all. Via the patented Homer Technique, Dr. Homer and his team of scientists and researchers have cultivated propriety software and testing protocols that tie precise human factor data into footwear. According to Statista, American consumers contribute over 50 percent to the $180 million global footwear market. The same report cites about 16 percent of Americans say they bought their shoes from an online retailer, suggesting many shoes in many closets throughout the country were bought on looks alone. With HX Innovations on the rise, the trend could become obsolete; instead, consumers would choose a shoe based on the precise HX science attached to it. “We want to change the game completely,” says COO Nicole Homer. “We want to reform the standard and idea of footwear because what we wear on our feet is important and allows us to maintain alignment and stability, which leads to feeling younger for longer, and allows us to sustain the lifetime of movement we all deserve.” The industry has noticed — HX has already influenced footbed designs for Adidas, Under Armour, Skechers, Carhartt, and most of the brands carried by Walmart. You can even find Dr. Homer's face inside the Skechers best-selling arch fit shoe boxes. About HX Innovations is a Neurogonomic and Biomechanics research and testing laboratory. They use patent-pending scientific methods to evaluate neuromuscular performance and fatigue within footwear to assess whether its construction is ergonomically fit to safeguard people from injury while helping footwear companies create superior products focused on comfort, fit, and performance. Learn more at HXInnovations.com For press inquiries, contact Nicole Homer at nicole@hxinnovate.com Bshani Radio App Valerie Daniels-Carter, an African American female entrepreneur from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is one of the minority owners of the NBA team Milwaukee Bucks. She is the only single Black woman, alongside mostly men, to own part of the team.
"There are couples that own the Bucks. I'm the only African-American female that's single that I know of that owns the Bucks," she told TMJ4.Daniels-Carter is one of the founders of the Partners for Community Impact, a group of diverse community investors, that purchased a minority stake in the Bucks in 2014. She is also one of the board of directors for the professional football team Green Bay Packers based in Wisconsin. Daniels-Carter has always had a passion for sports, especially basketball. She said she used to play basketball in high school and college and was even drafted by the Milwaukee Does. And now that she owns part of the Bucks, she personally sends messages of encouragement to the players. She said is proud that the team is now heading to the finals. "I am so excited about this season. We are going to take it one game at a time, we are going to press forward one day at a time and we are going to bring a championship home to Milwaukee," Daniels-Carter said. Moreover, Daniels-Carter, who also owns V&J Holding Companies which is one of the country's most successful fast-food franchisers, credits God for her success. "I'm God-made. I have been blessed to work all of my life,” said Daniels-Carter. "When I started on this journey, I had a mission, and I have been able to achieve it." Bshani Radio App |
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