Essay Fifty-One

Bust a rhyme with MultiCultClassics Minutes…

• GI Yo! Live from the hood — Fort Hood in Texas, that is — a group of brothas who served in Iraq released a collection of rap tracks detailing their experiences. It’s da bomb. Hit their site at www.4th25.com

• Bobby Brown is AWOL again, prompting a judge to issue a warrant for his arrest. Dave Chappelle has no idea where Brown might be hiding out.

• Chappelle’s Show: Season 2 Uncensored is the hottest-selling TV-series-to-DVD in history, disappearing from the shelves faster than Chappelle disappeared from his Comedy Central gig.

• Also on video — or videogames — Black characters galore. But Black executives remain under-represented in the videogame industry. To reset the situation, Joe Saulter co-founded the Urban Video Game Academy to teach Black high school students about the business. Saulter is CEO of Entertainment Arts Research, a Black-owned videogame company. Saulter’s new nickname: Malcolm Xbox.

• One place not interested in luring Blacks is Dillard’s. The department store giant is facing a lawsuit for allegedly charging Blacks more than whites for service at the chain’s hair salons. Imagine the confusion if Phil Spector stopped in for a trim. Dillard’s is still stinging from a 2002 US Supreme Court ruling that awarded S1.2 million to a sistah who allegedly was not permitted to sample cologne at a Kansas City store.

• Wachovia Bank has admitted its predecessors dealt in the slave trade, owning and accepting them as collateral. Wachovia Bank credit card holders should refuse to pay their bills as reparations.