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Street Soldiers TV: Hip Hop’s Family Feud: Old School vs. New School with Funk Flex

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Some call it hip hop’s family feud—old school vs. new school. But is the divide real or fake? I spoke exclusively to one of hip hop’s most powerful people: Funk Flex. At the Hot 97 studios, Flex said that hip hop is evolving—no question.

“The minute it all starts sounding the same—it’s not going to be cherished, it’s not going to be respected,” Flex said. “Are artists’ styles like Nas and Snoop and Biggie and Jay going to come back in style? Probably not.”

The so-called clone zone factor is a concern for Diddy.

“I’m not knocking anybody’s dream,” he said in an Instagram video. “I just don’t want the culture to get diluted, you know, where it gets so mass produced it doesn’t mean anything.”

Lil Xan ignited a controversy when he went on RevolTV and rated Tupac a “2” on a scale of 1 to 9 and called him “boring.” Waka Flocka went on Twitter to say he should be banned from hip hop.

“I may say a lot of things about Pac—boring is not one of them,” Flex said.

Lil Yachty set off another “new school¬–old school” controversy when he called Biggie “overrated” and then apologized.

Flex said that riled up the young kids and the old guys, too. He admitted he went hard on Yachty, but they started talking. Lil Yachty recently did a freestyle for him, and they turned a corner.

“That means you are studying the craft, ’cause you’re going home and trying to figure it out,” Flex said.

Flex said too many of today’s rappers are using social media gimmicks to get followers and mistaking that for a real career.

“If you’re doing all of that and you have no talent, there’s an expiration date for you, already written in stone,” Flex said.

Flex does has many favorites among new rappers. He said the argument has been that new artists don’t pay respect to the greats of the past. But he doesn’t let the old school off the hook, either.

“The veterans of the music business need to share more information with the up-and-coming young talent,” Flex said.

–LISA EVERS

FEATURED CAST:

LISA EVERS, Host and Executive Producer, Street Soldiers https://twitter.com/lisaevers

FUNK FLEX, Hot 97 Host, DJ, Producer https://twitter.com/funkflex

DREWSKI, Hot 97 DJ and Host https://twitter.com/SoDrewski

LORD JAMAR, Hip Hop Legend, Brand Nubian https://twitter.com/lordjamar

JAQUÁE, Hip Hop Artist and Entertainer https://twitter.com/JAQUAE

Street Soldiers TV: Women Breaking Barriers: Progress and Pushback

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Women in the music industry are thriving. Cardi B’s “Finesse” remix sent Bruno Mars’ song skyrocketing up the charts. Hood Celebrityy’s self-empowerment anthem “Walking Trophy” is burning up radio airwaves.

Hip hop artist Justina Valentine says they’re all doing it carrying a burden man don’t have.

“Women in the entertainment industry, I feel like, face pressures to physically look perfect, be perfect, have the ideal body, always have every hair in place, makeup on fleek,” says Valentine, an MTV host.

Former Michelle Obama modernized the role of First Lady. We’ve even had the first female presidential candidate. Three women sit on the Supreme Court—Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg is part of a growing trend. More women are running Fortune 500 companies than ever before.

“I believe we are progressing—we are making progress in the area of just having more women in leadership roles and leadership positions,” says Marline Francois, a therapist.

While “Black Panther” portrayed black women in powerful roles, in reality, women of color face special challenges. “When you look at the economic gap or educational advancements for women of color, it’s very different,” Francois says. “You have to fight harder.”

Latina superstars like Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek, and Sofia Vergara show you can be proud of your culture and be successful.

“What I see is there are two things going on—there’s progress and there’s pushback,” says Raquel Cepeda, a filmmaker and author.

Cepeda tracked the lives of Latina teens in a suicide prevention program in her new documentary, “Some Girls.”

“One thing that alarmed me was the fact that they felt the need to have to live up to the images they see on TV in order just to get by in mainstream society,” Cepeda says.

With more women like Cepeda behind the camera, more untold stories are coming to light.

“I do feel like the tide is starting to change and shift more in favor for women,” Valentine says. “There still aren’t as many opportunities, but I feel like a lot more opportunities are opening up.”

–LISA EVERS

FEATURED CAST:

LISA EVERS, Host and Executive Producer, Street Soldiers https://twitter.com/lisaevers

JUSTINA VALENTINE, Hip Hop Artist and Host, MTV’s Wild ‘N Out https://twitter.com/JustinaMusic

RAQUEL CEPEDA, Author and Director, “Some Girls” https://twitter.com/RaquelCepeda http://somegirlsdoc.com

HOODCELEBRITYY, Pop and Reggae Star https://twitter.com/HoodCelebrityy

MARLINE FRANCOIS, LCSW, Therapist and Executive Director, Far More Precious https://twitter.com/MarlineFrancois

DONSHEA HOPKINS, Actress and Singer https://twitter.com/DonsheaH

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Street Soldiers TV: NYCHA NO HEAT CRISIS

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From Twin Parks West in the Bronx to Farragut Houses in Brooklyn to Redfern Houses in Far Rockaway, we heard the same story. When residents of public housing complained about no heat or hot water, they were given a repair order ticket, but nothing happened.

“The tickets are being closed out literally minutes, some even seconds after they’re making them,” said Glenn Collins, the president of the Redfern Houses Tenant Association. “Two, no one is coming to check on these residents.”

Conflicting reports about actual heat outages and NYCHA’s accounting are raising serious questions among lawmakers.

“It’s a little ludicrous,” City Council Member Donovan Richards Jr. said. “Do you really count an apartment that has partial heat as fully resolving the issue? I don’t think so.”

City Council Member Ben Kallos said, “It makes me angry to know that New York City Housing Authority is actually a bad landlord because that’s the city government.”

NYCHA Chairperson Shola Olatoye is already on thin ice with the City Council. A Department of Investigation report found she was aware her agency lied about lead paint inspections. Sources told me the same DOI is looking into NYCHA’s response to the cold crisis.

She insisted that proper protocol was followed. She said that NYCHA workers go and take random apartment temperatures when heat is restored after a systemwide outage.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams told me that NYCHA’s accounting didn’t match up with reality at the Farragut Houses.

“NYCHA was stating that buildings have heat and customers were stating there was no heat,” Adams said.

He added that NYCHA should embrace simple technology like Heat Seek to accurately track apartment temperatures.

“It’s a small device, about the size of your thumb, you place it in your apartment–it monitors the heat,” Adams said.

Lawmakers also said they’d like to see NYCHA complaints run through the city’s central 311 system so they can be independently documented.

Adams said NYCHA needs to have performance accountability like the NYPD’s CompStat and the Sanitation Department’s GPS tracking for snow removal.

–LISA EVERS

FEATURED CAST: LISA EVERS, Host and Executive Producer, Street Soldiers https://twitter.com/lisaevers OYESHOLA OLATOYE, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, NYCHA https://twitter.com/SholaOlatoye DONOVAN RICHARDS JR., City Council Member, Queens https://twitter.com/DRichards13
GLENN COLLINS, President, Redfern Houses Tenant Association https://twitter.com/GlennCollins718

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Street Soldiers TV: Mastering the Music Business

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Cardi B’s Grammy-nominated mega-hit “Bodak Yellow” made her an overnight superstar. You don’t need to have an album anymore to reach that level, according to XXL Editor-in-Chief Vanessa Satten.

“We’ve seen more than ever, more recently than ever, artists blow up and have a huge amount of success off of just one song,” Satten said.

Because of that, Cardi now has a major endorsement deal with Steve Madden shoes. And she is not alone.

DJ Khaled is the new spokesperson for the Weight Watchers Freestyle Program.

Lil Yachty parlayed his popularity into Sprite commercials and his Nautica clothing line.

The marriage of music and marketing is generating millions of dollars for everyone when it works, according to James Cruz, a marketing expert and entertainment manager.

“There’s no real algorithm created yet, but what you look at is authenticity, what makes sense,”

Cruz said. Cruz knows this well. He has played a major role in the careers of hip hop’s biggest names, from Nicki Minaj to Diddy to Busta Rhymes. Cruz shaped 50 Cent’s groundbreaking endorsement deals with Vitamin Water and Reebok’s G-Unit sneakers.

“50 cent and Vitamin Water makes sense—he was healthy, he had a great body, he looked great,” Cruz said. “Puffy owns the nightlife, so alcohol made sense, Ciroc, and its astronomical success, makes sense. We look at a Jay Z, a marketing genius, he created a Roc Nation because he’s a businessman.”

Some never make it to the level of a Cardi B or 50 Cent because they get mired in legal and music ownership issues. There are simple ways to avoid them, according to entertainment attorney James McMillan.

“The main thing to do is to protect yourself,” he said. “Go to uspto.gov and go to copyright.gov and copyright your song. That’s the best way to do it.”

–LISA EVERS

FEATURED CAST:

LISA EVERS, Host and Executive Producer, Street Soldiers https://twitter.com/lisaevers

VANESSA SATTEN, Editor-in-Chief, XXL Magazine https://twitter.com/VSattenXXL

JAMES CRUZ, CEO, Cruz Control and Founder, 1-2-3 Uno Dos Tres Entertainment https://twitter.com/JamesCruz1

JAMES MCMILLAN, Founder, GothamCityESQ.com https://twitter.com/Gothamcityesq

ANTWAN ‘AMADEUS’ THOMPSON, Founder, Platinum Boy Music https://twitter.com/produceramadeus

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Street Soldiers TV: Male Grooming Boom

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It’s been a quiet revolution but make no mistake about it—male grooming and body makeovers have exploded: from the barber shop to Botox, body sculpting to surgery, and mani-pedis to waxing. But are some men going too far?

Multi Grammy Award-winning artist Pharrell Williams says he keeps his youthful looks by “Exfoliating like a madman.” That’s a facial treatment that requires more than the hot towel you get at the local barber shop.

For a growing number of stars and regular guys of diverse ethnic, racial and generational groups, spa visits are key.

Sean Steele, the manager of the luxurious Living Fresh Men’s Spa, says they do massage, manicure, pedicure, facials, hair removal, and even laser procedures.

Some stars like Ryan Seacrest are capitalizing on the trend. He has his own men’s skincare line called Polish.

Cosmetic procedures and plastic surgery are on the rise for men, too—up 80 percent over the last 10 years, according to Dr. David Shafer, a plastic surgeon.

“Some men might come in because they want liposuction for their belly, they might want liposuction for their chest, a little liposuction under their chin,” Dr. Shafer says. “And while they’re here they say, ‘Do you do that Botox?'”

In October, the FDA approved the use of Botox for forehead lines. That opened the door for a celebrity pitch to a new group of potential users. Deion Sanders, the NFL hall of famer, does commercials for Botox.

We took our camera into men’s night at Dr. Shafer’s office. M.J., a business executive, allowed us to show you his treatment of a filler called Vollure and Botox.

Some men do take body makeovers to the extreme, like the man known as the Human Ken Doll. But in hip hop, super-buff super stars like 50 Cent and LL Cool J do it the old-fashioned way—by working out.

If you do choose treatments or surgery, Dr. Shafer says safety is key.

“Do your research. You want to make sure you’re going to a board-certified plastic surgeon, and you want it to be from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons,” Dr. Shafer says. “You don’t want to have somebody who’s calling themselves a ‘cosmetic specialist’ or ‘aesthetic specialist.'”

Now men are finding out what women have known for a long time: that all that maintenance comes at a price. Spa mani-pedis can go for $100 or more and Botox and fillers can run from the hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Do you think men are going too far? If so, are we creating the new double standard? Hear what our panel has to say on the topic. –

-LISA EVERS

FEATURED CAST:
LISA EVERS, Host and Executive Producer, Street Soldiers https://twitter.com/lisaevers http://www.hot97.com/lisaevers

ROLLING STONE P, Hip Hop Artist https://www.instagram.com/rollingstonep/

JENBKLYN LE, HOT 97 Host and CEO of Next Jeneration https://www.instagram.com/jenfrombk/ http://www.hot97.com/blogs/air/jenbklyn

PLEM LAWSON, Fitness Coach and Adjunct Professor https://www.instagram.com/brolicplem/

GREG DAVIS JR., a.k.a. KLARITY, Actor, Comedian and Social Media Influencer https://www.instagram.com/klarity/

DAVID SHAFER, MD, FACS, Plastic Surgeon http://www.shaferplasticsurgery.com

SEAN STEELE, Manager, Living Fresh Men’s Spa http://www.lfmensspa.com