The fight for hip-hop shill supremacy

When it was leaked, the other day, that Russell Simmons would be holding a press conference to announce his role as editor in chief of a media entity, I thought he might be starting a new magazine.

It didn't make sense why Russell Simmons, or anyone else, for that matter, would be starting a new magazine, when all of the old magazines are laying people off left and right, or going out of business altogether, but I figured it might be a front for T.I. interests.

I remember, a couple of years ago, when his benefactors had him out on a media blitz to discredit the film Blood Diamond, which I guess (I've never seen it) suggests that Africa is being raped for its valuable natural resources by a secret cabal of uber wealthy Jews. Who knew? Also, there were those commercials he did about stamping out antisemitism in the black community.

Which is obviously an important issue. If only there were such commercials back in the 1930s, we could have prevented the Holocaust, Tom Cruise-style. Never mind that black people didn't have anything to do with the Holocaust, or anything else bad that ever happened to the Jews, and, when you hear about antisemitism in the black community, it's usually BS from what Norman Finkelstein likes to call the Holocaust industry.

But I digress.

Anyhoo, I've long had my suspicions about these magazines. I remember reading, a while back, that Jesse Jackson, of all people, was somehow involved in that magazine Radar that keeps going out of business and then coming back every six months or so, thanks to a fresh infusion of new venture capital, despite the fact that there was never much of a business case for it in the first place. But I wouldn't be surprised if its real purpose doesn't have anything to do with trying to turn a profit.

And then there's Elliott Wilson's new site, to be launched at some point or another (when they get done working on the logo), Rap Radar, which I revealed, a while back, is secretly owned Eminem's manager Paul Rosenberg, not to be confused with Hot 97 DJ and high-ranking official in the international zionist conspiracy (helping run interference in the hip-hop community, along with Russell Simmons), Peter Rosenberg. Or are they the same person? Has anyone ever seen the two of them in the same room together? And I remember Peter Rosenberg once had Elliott Wilson on an episode of his Juan Epstein podcast...

The plot thickens...

I was checking Elliott Wilson's Twitter the other day, because what else am I gonna do, and I saw he was pissed. Another press release had hit the Internets, stating that Russell Simmons is installing himself as editor in chief of Global Grind, which he's already an "investor" in, and which I guess is repositioning itself as a sort of hip-hop Huffington Post. This, despite the fact that I thought that's what Global Grind alway was, minus any kind of thought as far as curating the content it aggregates from various blogs and what have you. Or, is that gonna be Blood Diamond Rush's new role?

At any rate, Elliott Wilson was none too pleased. Check the following series of outbursts from his Twitter:

-@GlobalGrind Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!! Pardon me. I had to laugh at that. Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!

-Russell Rush > Russell Simmons

-@GlobalGrind A good lap dance grind > Global Grind. Haaa!!! I'm just playin'. I'm about peace and unity. I was born the day before MLK. Ha!

-Respect your elders I know but c'mon there are exceptions: http://tinyurl.com/bb56ob

-Fuck outta here! http://www.observer.com/mob...

-Who's the managing editor Andre Harrell?

-Can Kimora Lee get the cover of a website? Guess she won't have to cut the check for this one.

-I'm gonna go on the roof of the RR Mansion and start throwin' typewriters down on niggas heads. Oh you wanna be a journalist? Catch!

Wow, just wow.

I'm pretty sure I know what this is about: Elliott thinks Russell Simmons stole his idea. Part of the new, Russell Simmons-helmed Global Grind is a section where celebrities get their own blogs, a la the real Huffington Post, and I happen to know that Elliott Wilson had that idea... at least a good week before Rush did.

This weekend, I was listening to Elliott's new podcast (proposed alternate title: Is That His Mom?), and he described how he's gonna have the exact same thing on his site. He even referenced the Huffington Post, though it was more in reference to the payment scheme he's planning to use, i.e. not paying anyone anything at all, other than the satisfaction of knowing your writing was published on a (marginally) famous person's site, and also, most likely, the ability to run interference for your tall Israeli benefactors, like when Jermaine Dupri was sent over to the Huffington Post to try to discredit iTunes. Don't be surprised if you see a lot more of those kinds of shenanigans in 2009.

What do you fruits think? Is celebrity journalism the next wave in hip-hop journalism? Should XXL try to poach Toccara from Global Grind? Should Elliott Wilson be worried, or should he consider increasing dosage of his blood pressure medication? Or would that hinder (even further) his ability to pop a rod? Speak on it.