WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2015
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NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
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RALEIGH, NC
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THENUBIANMESSAGE.COM
Wolfpack steps into ‘Hip Hop Time Machine’ at Packapalooza pg 4. A crowd of Wolpack students lifts Petey Pablo during at Packapalooza, on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015 on Hillsborough St. Photo by Callistus Ndemo
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WHAT ’S INSIDE
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WHAT’SINSIDE 4 Wolfpack Steps into ‘Hip Hop Time Machine’ at Packapalooza One of my major goals that I kind of ran on, Uniting the Pack, and a major part of that was the focus on diversity and inclusion, so one of my major goals is just to kind of find ways to capitalize on that and use the resources that I have. .
6 We Be Jammin’ The Back to School Jam, affectionately known as “B2SJ”, was hosted on August 19 and was essentially the kickoff to a great year for the Wolfpack
8 Meet AACC Interim Director Returning to NC State this fall as interim director of the African American Cultural Center is Dr. Frances Graham.
9 Straight Outta Compton Review It’s loud, it’s lewd, it’s raw. Straight Outta Compton premiered on August 14 and killed it in the box office, bringing in $60 million in its opening weekend.
10 How Glued are you to Your Phone? It started so simply. A portable means of communication. A way to quickly be in contact with another individual at the time they are in need of being contacted.
Jonique Lyles, a senior in political science interacts with Dr. Frances Graham, the new director of African American Cultural Center at the welcome reception of Dr. Graham in Witherpoon on 5th August. They had a small get-together and invited the community to come and welcome Dr. Graham as their new director. Photo by Abhilasha Jain. Story on page 8
11 Civil Rights Meets Hip Hop With the country seeming to have controversy over racism and classism every other week, the Nation of Islam leader, Louis Farrakhan, has been meeting with well-known hip hop artists to advocate for change.
Petey Pablo crowd surfing during his performance at Packapalooza, on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015. Petey Pablo headlined the concert portion of the event on Hillsborough Street. Photo by Victoria Crocker. Cover Story on page 4
EDITORIALSTAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | CHRIS HART-WILLIAMS editor@nubian.ncsu.edu @CHartWilliams MANAGING EDITOR | NIA DOAKS @nia_kayee
Only with the permission of our elders do we proudly produce each edition of the Nubian Message. Dr. Yosef ben-Yochannan: Dr. John Henrik Clark: Dr. Leonard Jeffries: The Black Panther Party: Mumia A. Jamal: Geronimo Pratt: Tony Williamson: Dr. Lawrence Clark: Dr. Augustus McIver Witherspoon: Dr. Wandra P. Hill: Mr. Kyran Anderson: Dr. Lathan Turner: Dr. M. Iyailu Moses: Dokta Toni Thorpe and all those who accompany us as we are STILL on the journey to true consciousness.
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NEWS
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NEWS
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Wolfpack Steps into Hip Hop Time Machine Staff Report Following two years of North Carolina native Scotty McCreery heading the Packapolooza concert, some of the state’s most well-known hip-hop artists visited Raleigh to take the stage Saturday night. Across from the Bell Tower, lights and graphics lit up Hillsborough Street as hundreds chanted along with and watched a few of the state’s hip-hop favorites perform live after the annual allday block party and street festival. Headliners Rapsody, 9th Wonder, Petey Pablo, Nappy Roots, Terminator X and DJ DVS altogether held the title of the “Wolfpack Hip Hop Time Machine.” “I thought the concert was great. I enjoyed the location by the Bell Tower, it gave the entertainment a better student-spirit feeling,” said Sadie Red Wing a graduate student studying grapphic design. “I was super excited to see Petey Pablo perform. I come from the rural Midwest, where we don’t have access to much hip hop talent.” “To know that Petey is from North Carolina and participates in local events, is really exciting to me. I’ve been a fan since middle school days. I also really enjoyed that Nappy Roots was performing, as I’ve been a fan of them, too,” said Red Wing. Rapper Petey Pablo ended the night with
Rapsody greets crowd member Steven Haley after bringing him onstage. Photo by Aaron Alejandro
a crowd surf and shared the stage with chancellor Woodson who played a guitar solo.
“I thought it was pretty awesome how they stayed true to North Carolina roots, it was fun,” Kent said.
“When Rapsody and Nappy roots came out I was pleasantly surprised,” said Jasmine Kent, a first year grad student studying industrial design.
Kent said she enjoyed her first Packapalooza and it was great way to start the year.
Crowd favorite Petey Pablo is from Greenville, North Carolina and the founder of his independent label, Carolina Music Group.
NEWS
Reports say there was an estimated 50,000 people who came to Hillsborough Street for the annual festival.
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FEATURES 6
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We Be Jammin’ QuiAnne’ Holmes Staff Writer
Fusion Dance Crew performs choreography in Witherspoon Cinema. Photo by Cristina Wright
Audience members watched a variety of performances in Witherspoon Cinema. UAB’s 2015 Back to School Jam had record-breaking attendance. Photo by Cristina Wright
The Back to School Jam, affectionately known as “B2SJ”, was hosted on August 19 and was essentially the kickoff to a great year for the Wolfpack. Students crowded Witherspoon Cinema just before the event in hopes to see great performances, enjoy free food, learn more about organizations and, of course, receive a free t-shirt. When doors opened at 5 p.m., students were tasked with approaching tables on the second floor of Witherspoon to learn more about organizations offered on campus. The incentive was that visiting five different
stations could earn each student a B2SJ t-shirt or tank. This task ultimately exposed all students to many organizations and directed them to ways of getting more information about them. The event also allowed organizations to advertise for upcoming events and opportunities. Coinciding with the organization’s presentations, free food, music, and even italian ice was awaiting students in the Sankofa Room. Once full of information and food, students were ready for performances in the cinema. Matthew Wright, a sophomore as well as the 2014-
2015 Pan Afrikan King was the MC for the night and opened the show with his charismatic attitude and presence singing and dancing to a medley of songs. Wright kept the audience alert and active by sharing important information, jokes, and even conducting a dance competition with members of the audience. Several organizations performed their talents for students to see. Uninhibited Praise Gospel Choir started the night singing “Chasing after you”. Dance groups such as Fusion Dance Crew and DanceVisions Dance Company entertained the crowd with intricate movements, hip hop music, and mesmeriz-
ing choreography. Sororities including Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, strolled and recited their rich history. Along with the fraternities, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated, and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated
performed synchronized routines as well as recited their rich history. Rapper Justus, also known as J. Capri, engaged the crowd to interact with his performance along with bringing attention to police brutality and injustice to African-American males. DJ Fredo also kept all these performances aligned by managing the transitions of music. The Back to School Jam allowed students to learn
more about multicultural student organizations through presentations as well as performances. The record-breaking number of audience members in Witherspoon Cinema ultimately enjoyed the night and had several opportunities to learn something new or enhance their knowledge in what types of diversity can be offered on campus.
Uninhibited Praise Gospel Choir sings onstage during Back To School Jam. Photo by Cristina Wright
Students sign up for more information about various AASAC organizations during Back To School Jam on August 19. Photo by Cristina Wright
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OPINION
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Meet African American Cultural Center Interim Director Chris Hart-Williams Editor-in-Chief
Before leaving in 2004, Graham served as the director of the Women’s Center for five and a half years and Assistant Vice Provost for Gender Affairs. After three years as head of the Women’s Center, she began to work directly with the Provost on issues related to gender. She worked specifically with female faculty on issues of equity in the classroom, issues in their departments, and working with deans and students. “Sometimes you can’t leave and come back. I’m very grateful that I established relationships and did good work in such a way that I can be welcomed back in a community.” For 11 years Graham worked in Durham at North Carolina Central University. During her tenure there she was Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Student Success Initiatives, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, and Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. According to Graham her new position is a blend and balance of all the components of a job she enjoys most. “The opportunity to come back to North Carolina State again put me in a position where I’m back to that place of having a nice balance of student engagement, faculty en-
OPINION
OPINION
This year, Graham said she’s going to concentrate on the stabilization of leadership, fundraising, and planning of future programs.
Jillian Smith Staff Writer
This film took a critical look at some of the challenges faced by the up and coming gangsta rap group, N.W.A. (Niggaz With Attitude) in the mid-1980s. It then follows the separate lives and careers that result from the eventual dissolution of the group.
“Fundraising is key in higher ed these days” Graham said she also looks forward to exploring ways to change the physical appearance of the center, specifically updating the gallery, library and Sankofa room. She said as director of the Women’s center she enjoyed crossing over between student affairs and academic affairs, along with her interactions with students and looks forward to it as AACC Interim Director. “I had a lot of conversations with faculty one-on-one and worked very closely with women and gender studies at that time so it was a nice combination of working the entire institution, working with faculty, students, administrators and managing the political issues around success for all of those groups such as fairness and equity,” said Graham. “It was good- it was stressful sometimes but it was really a great opportunity and I really enjoyed it very much, but I knew I wanted more in my career and to be at the executive level in higher education.” Graham said while she was Interim Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs at NCCU she had the opportunity to work in a HBCU environment specifically, and expand her skill set as it relates to professional development and leadership.
Straight Outta Compton Review
It’s loud, it’s lewd, it’s raw. Straight Outta Compton premiered on August 14 and killed it in the box office, bringing in $60 million in its opening weekend.
gagement, administrative duties, budget and staffing,” Graham said.
Dr. Frances Graham, greets guests at her welcome reception in Witherpoon on 5th August. Photo by Chris Har-Williams
She credits former NCCU Chancellor Charlie Nelms for much of her professional development within higher education. “He was a advocate and mentor for lots of us who have sought careers in higher education.” According to Graham, Nelms was a strong supporter of leadership development for administrators. DIRECTOR continued page 11
This biopic succeeded for many reasons, one of which was the excellent casting of the film’s main characters. Not only did the actors look perfectly suited to play these roles, they took on the angry, violent attitudes that fueled the rise of N.W.A. and gangsta rap in general. Cube is played by his own son, O’Shea Jackson Jr. This was Jackson Jr.’s first acting role and he certainly delivered. However, his success in the role may have had more to do with the similarities between him and his father rather than his acting talent. Dre is played by Corey Hawkins who had previous roles in Non-Stop with Liam Neeson and Iron Man 3 with Robert Downey Jr. Eazy-E is played by Jason Mitchell who has had various small movie roles since 2011. The group was formed in early 1988 when O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson met Andre “Dr. Dre” Young and began writing for Eric “Eazy-E” Wright, owner of
Ruthless Records. The other members of the group were Dj Yella (Neil Brown Jr.) and MC Ren (Aldis Hodge). Enter Jerry Heller, played by Paul Giamatti, a talent agent that heard Eazy-E’s production of “Boyz in the Hood” and took the opportunity to sign the group to another record label. Heller’s involvement later on becomes the center of the groups’ conflict when Ice Cube feels Heller cheated him out of his fair share of the money. By 1992, N.W.A. had dissolved, giving way to successful solo careers for both Ice Cube and Dr. Dre while Eazy-E’s resources began to dwindle. As the movie progresses, the audience gets to see both the public and private elements of the rappers’ lives, creating a deeper sense of reality within the film. Although the film provided insight into the artist’s lives, there were some inconsistencies the film was immediately criticized for- the most publicized being the lack of reference to Dr. Dre’s violence towards women. Dee Barnes, a journalist that worked with Dre in the 1990s and Michel’le, an R&B singer that was in a relationship with him from 1990 to 1996, both claimed that their side of the story was left out of the film. Michel’le reported experiencing abuse throughout her entire relationship with Dre. Barnes said he attacked her one night in 1991 at a
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Returning to NC State this fall as interim director of the African American Cultural Center is Dr. Frances Graham.
NUBIAN MESSAGE
party they were both attending. While many have reported that the first version of the film included one or more of these incidents, they were ultimately left out, most likely in the interest of time. The movie ran 2 hours and 27 minutes as there were 4 major intersecting plots to follow. This made many of the scenes unfortunately short, but the filmmakers certainly had a challenge with including everyone’s separate stories. The catharsis that gangsta rap provided black youth during that time had a major impact on both the community and the understanding of racial inequality throughout the country. N.W.A. highlighted the real struggles that black Americans were dealing with through music for the first time. Overall, Straight Outta Compton was an outstanding film that realistically depicted the racial climate of southern California and much of the U.S. during the 1980s and 1990s. This is definitely one movie worth seeing this year.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
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How Glued are You to Your Phone? Taari Coleman Staff Writer
It started so simply. A portable means of communication. A way to quickly be in contact with another individual at the time they are in need of being contacted. It has become so complex. A calendar, a calculator, a web browser, a portable music device, a camera, another camera, an e-Reader, and a personal assistant, all compact enough to fit in the back pocket of a pair of pants. If it does not do at least most of these things, there’s a good chance it won’t be bought. Something about cell phones’ ability to provide the user with information from around the world has begun to diminish our society’s ability to interact with those right in front of them.
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Civil rights Meet Hip Hop Vernon Holman Staff Writer
would greet the customer, get them a drink, and by the time the server had returned, typically, the customer knew what they were going to order and placed that order. The entire process took around ten minutes. In 2014, a customer enters the bar, finds a seat, and is, once again, greeted and gotten a beverage. However, when the server returned to the tableside, more often than not, the customer had yet to even open the menu because of engagement with a cell phone. After receiving their beverage, the customer proceeded to either open the menu and continue to use his or her cell phone on top of it or thanked the server and neglected to open the menu for another five minutes.
*The service staff at a local bar opened up to the Nubian Message about what the differences were between interacting with customers in 2007 and 2014- in particular, how attached the customers have become to their phones.
Anyone that has been to a gas station knows that convenience often comes at an overinflated price. Such access to things on a regular basis has slowly begun to breakdown the interpersonal communication that we choose to be a part of when we engage with our society.
In 2007, a customer would enter the bar, be seated, and a server
At the risk of agitating the students, many professors have added “no
screens” policies to their syllabi. With tuition rates where they are, it’s almost shocking to find students openly combatting these policies, from blatantly ignoring them to challenging professors when the policy is enforced. Especially considering that the longest class is two and a half hours, provided it meets once a week. When was the last time, while waiting for a professor to arrive, you turned to the person next to you and learned their name or major? You’ll end up in this class with this person for at least two and a half months, chances are you’ll need to interact with them at some point in time. How long can you go without looking at your phone? For the time, to check your messages, to get on facebook? Do you carry a charger with you? One in the car, maybe one in your purse, one at work. Do you have battery saving tactics? Closing applications, dimming the backlight on the screen, prioritizing what warrants that unlock swipe. How glued are you to your phone?
With the country seeming to have controversy over racism and classism every other week, the Nation of Islam leader, Louis Farrakhan, has been meeting with well-known hip hop artists to advocate for change. Farrakhan, whom is leading the Million Man March this year under the slogan “Justice or Else”, believes that his council with these hip hop artists will be able to use their influence to push the youth towards positive change. His interviews started with the Breakfast Club, which was posted on Youtube two months ago and already has over 270 thousand views. In the interview Farrakhan said, “I was banned from tv, and was banned from black colleges and white colleges, and for
all intended purposes, peo- eration that will fulfill the promise of the ancestors ple thought I had died.” who died struggling for The interview led to him true freedom, justice, and being a guest on the Sway in the Morning radio show liberation... with the right leadership.” and later Big Boy’s radio show. He’s been making traction with his meetings with hip hop artists such as: Young Jeezy, Two Chainz, Killer Mike, Young Thug, Snoop Dogg, P. Diddy, Rick Ross, and Kanye West. As Farrakhan meets with more black celebrities and is being able to speak at universities, one has to consider what influence this will have on the youth. As Farrakhan stated in his first interview, “Our young people represent the strongest and best generation Louis Farrakhan leader of the that we ever had, they’re religious group Nation of Islam. not the wisest but they’re Photo by Wiki media the best because they’re fearless. This is the gen-
DIRECTOR continued frompage 8 Early in her career as an administrator, she said Nelms guided her in the fellowship preparatory program for higher education professionals, the American Council on Education. This semester, Graham also instructs an online course she created about the experiences of black women in the U.S. entitled Black Feminist Theory, which she’s taught twice before. “It can be little political and dicey in conversation, and I’m very curious to see how student are going to engage with the subject online and with each other, Graham said. “When it was face-to-face we had some really spirited discussions and I think student’s awareness and growth around the issue of black women in the U.S. was heightened.” Graham said the course raises awareness and is an opportunity for her students to share dialogue about their ideas, perspective and intersectionality.
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