Millions of students rely on our public schools for their education. While systems often get blamed for not measuring up, the fact is many educators and teachers are going above and beyond.
The “I Know I Can” hook in Nas’s classic song applies to Dr. Marcia Lyles, the first female African-American superintendent of Jersey City public schools. Armed with an Ivy League doctorate, she learned how to overcome stereotypes in her own career.
Under her leadership, graduation rates rose, and she initiated new interactive learning programs. She also insisted that her staff place high expectations on every single child in the diverse school system.
At P36K in East New York, Brooklyn, the more than 400 special-needs students range in age from pre-kindergarten to 21 and are facing a wide variety of life challenges. Principal Kevin Lenahan says the attitude of his dedicated staff is always “You can do it.”
Dr. Chris Emdin, the founder of Hip Hop Ed, uses hip hop beats to close the science and math education gap that can trap urban students. His programs produce measurable results and change lives. Emdin is also a professor at Columbia University Teachers College.
LISA EVERS, Host and Executive Producer, Street Soldiers
The countdown clock is ticking. Big changes are ahead for the New York City Housing Authority. But will the changes bring improvements for long-suffering residents?
I sat down with HUD Regional Administrator Lynne Patton for her take on recent developments. Patton is known for talking directly to residents and seeing conditions first hand. The disturbing images that scream neglect—no heat, lead and mold, and rats running wild are all too familiar to her and fuel her determination to make positive changes.
Patton’s boss, HUD Secretary Ben Carson, toured the Queensbridge Houses in advance of a meeting with Mayor Bill de Blasio and a congressional delegation. The mayor needs HUD on his side to convince federal judge William Pauley that NYCHA can climb out of a multibillion-dollar budget hole and give residents what they deserve. The mayor sounded hopeful after the meeting.
If Carson declares NYCHA in default, it triggers a housing law from 1937 that allows him to put the city agency in federal receivership, hire and fire, and even choose who runs it. It would be a political embarrassment for the mayor.
Patton said the U.S. attorney for the Southern District is still conducting criminal investigations into NYCHA employees and management. Some have been arrested for embezzling tenant rents and falsifying repair records, and more are expected.
This music video for the title track of Future and Juice Wrld’s album “Wrld on Drugs” could not be more clear in its message. The high school setting and slick production add to the allure for the age group too young to legally buy alcohol.
There’s a human toll behind these grim statistics: one person dies every 8 minutes in the United States from an overdose. That’s a big concern to Wendy Williams, who battled substance abuse early in her career.
“These pills and the K-2—what are people doing?” Williams said. “It’s almost like were losing a whole generation of people to drugs.”
The autopsy report just released for hip hop artist Mac Miller lists the cause of death as accidental from mixed toxicity of fentanyl, cocaine and ethanol. He started on lean, which is codeine cough syrup mixed with soda. The album cover for Juice Wrld shows lean poured over the globe, with pills everywhere.
“I feel like it’s being so glorified right now that it’s making it OK and it’s permission,” Williams said.
Up-and-coming artist Guwii Mitch, whose latest video is “King of New York,” agrees. He said there is no question that the drug lyrics in music are a powerful influence.
“Music encourages people to do everything,” he said. “Any lyric going to encourage people.”
Williams is so concerned about she created a foundation with her husband, Kevin Hunter, called the Hunter Foundation. They’re determined to save lives, especially with the K-2 problem that we see on city streets but is often hidden in the suburbs.
–LISA EVERS
FEATURED CAST:
LISA EVERS, Host and Executive Producer, Street Soldiers
https://twitter. com/lisaevers
WENDY WILLIAMS, Television Superstar
https://twitter.com/WendyWilliams
GUWII MITCH/KING GUWII, Hip Hop Artist
https://twitter.com/__Soicy_
DR. ARABIA MOLLETTE, Emergency Department Physician
https://twitter.com/dramollette
There have been many great women hip hop artists but they’ve often had to fight double standards. The phenomenal success of Cardi B is inspiring new artists like Maliibu Miitch from the Bronx. Her latest single is “Give Her Some Money.” The last time a female artist had a No. 1 hit on the Billboard rap chart was Lauryn Hill almost 20 years ago. Cardi B earned that honor and then went on to become the first female rapper in history to have two No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.
FEATURED CAST:
LISA EVERS, Host and Executive Producer, Street Soldiers
https://twitter. com/lisaevers
KIYANNE, Artist and Actress
https://twitter.com/itskiyanne
IVIE ANI, Editor and Journalist, OKPlayer.com
https://twitter.com/ivieani
MALIIBU MIITCH, Hip Hop Artist
https://twitter.com/MaliibuMiitch
The NYPD has come a long way in the last couple of years, keeping crime down and working to improve community relations. The department is also on the cutting edge of new policing strategies.
Street Soldiers was granted exclusive access to the NYPD’s behind-the-scenes operations. I hit the streets and joined them on patrol.
COUNTERTERRORISM
The threat of a terror attack remains the No. 1 public safety issue for the city. Counterterrorism Chief James Waters told me they consider every possibility: homegrown extremists who self-radicalize, those who travel to a foreign country, and more.
Waters took us out with the Harbor Unit to see how technology is adding to their vigilance, especially for major security challenges such as the U.N. General Assembly, which brings more than 200 world leaders including the president to the city.
BODY CAMERAS
After the NYPD was given a mandate to retrain police officers and rebuild trust with the community, body cameras were introduced. The body-camera training also includes crisis intervention sessions and clear guidelines about when to record.
BRONX OVERDOSE SQUAD
With fatal drug overdoses taking the lives of one New Yorker every six hours, the NYPD created the Bronx overdose squad using a new first responder and investigative model. We were the first crew allowed on patrol with them.
COUNTER-SNIPER AND MOM
Det. Tina Guerrero of the NYPD’s elite Emergency Service Unit is a trailblazer taking aim at gender stereotypes. The 5-feet, 1-inch married mother of three is the department’s only female counter-sniper. She talked about balancing her job and her family life.
CRIME LAB
We got an exclusive look inside the largest DNA crime lab in North America. It is at the New York City’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Manhattan. In this dry, sterile facility with purified air pumped in, the scientists handle more than 14,000 cases a year—everything from muggings to murders to mass casualty tragedies.
—LISA EVERS, Host and Executive Producer, Street Soldiers
It was a security 911 with all hands on deck during a Fashion Week flare-up as Cardi B’s designer shoe went flying straight at Nicki Minaj because Nicki dared to question Cardi’s mothering skills on social media.
The confrontation between the two rap queens drew worldwide attention, says international battle rap star, Jaz the Rapper.
“It’s exciting because you don’t have many female rappers in the industry anyway,” she says. “We’re so used to having all these males going back and forth but I feel like. Now it’s our time.”
A long simmering beef between Eminem and Machine Gun Kelly erupted in august when Slim Shady took shots at Machine Gun Kelly in “Not Alike.”
MGK fired back with “Rap Devil” taking direct aim at Eminem. Eminem responded with “Killshot,” which made rap fans go ballistic.
Many hip hop fans blame the East Coast-West Coast beef of the 1990’s for the murders of Biggie and Tupac. Luckily, today most of the shots fired are verbal.
A bitter years long beef between Meek Mill and Drake exploded when Meek accused Drake of not writing his own lyrics. It ended with a very public ceasefire when Drake invited Meek to come on his concert stage. Hip hop fans loved it.
–LISA EVERS
FEATURED CAST: LISA EVERS, Host and Executive Producer, Street Soldiers https://twitter. com/lisaevers
JAZ THE RAPPER, Queen of Battle Rap https://twitter.com/JazTheRapper
ROB MARKMAN, Rapper and Head of Artist Relations, GENIUS https://twitter.com/RobMarkman
LUCKY CHURCH, Partner/Global Director of PR, SMF Global Consultants https://twitter.com/LuckyChurch
Politics and serious issues have always had a place in hip hop since day one but now that hip hop is a billion-dollar industry with millions of fans, could the culture become a political force?
Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” became a rousing anthem in 1990 at a time when there was tremendous anger and frustration over injustices. Fast forward 28 years to Donald Glover, a.k.a. Childish Gambino’s “This Is America.” The song captures the current troubling pressures on black lives, but the artist resists putting a label on it.
“I feel like it’s not really my place. I think it’s something that’s just out there,” he said in an interview. “It’s for the people.”
I sat down with XXL Magazine editor-in-chief Vanessa Satten for her take. She said “This Is America” did what it was supposed to do.
“It hit all the different points, it got the audience response,” she said. “Everything about it was right on the money.”
“Doitall” Dupré Kelly of the platinum-selling hip hop group Lords of the Underground performs around the world. He took political involvement to a new level. He ran for but did not win a City Council seat in his hometown of Newark. He told me fame isn’t enough.
“You can’t just expect to win an elected official seat,” he said. “You have to be in tune with the community. You have to be involved with all the residents of the community, from the youth to the seniors.”
Superstar Kanye West originally said he’d run for president in 2020, setting off a merchandising gold rush. Now he is setting his sights on 2024. Satten said the current political dissatisfaction may actually make hip hop votes a reality.
“I think there’s a possibility the hip hop community may come out and support voting more,” Satten said. “It comes a lot with the rappers, sometimes it comes from the more popular rappers, so you’ve got to hope that a popular rapper wants to take that as their plate.”
Fame and money may get you just about everything but actually winning political races takes a different skill set. Still, recent history has shown just about anything is possible.
—LISA EVERS
FEATURED CAST: LISA EVERS, Host and Executive Producer, Street Soldiers https://twitter. com/lisaevers
