Free Republic

Byron Hurt takes pains to say that he is a fan of hip-hop, but over time, says Mr. Hurt, a 36-year-old filmmaker, dreadlocks hanging below his shoulders, “I began to become very conflicted about the music I love.” A new documentary by Mr. Hurt, “Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes,” questions the violence, degradation of women and homophobia in much of rap music. The intended audiences include young fans, hip-hop artists and music industry executives — black and white — who profit from music and videos that glorify swagger and luxury, portray women as sex objects, and imply, critics say,...

*In the wake of Michael Richards’ racist rant, Rev. Jesse Jackson and a number of black leaders are calling on the entertainment industry – and rappers in particular – to permanently retire its use of the N-word. "We want to give our ancestors a present," Jackson said at a news conference in Los Angeles Monday. "Dignity over degradation." The press conference was arranged in response to the Nov. 17 racial rant from former “Seinfeld” star Michael Richards, who used the N-word several times and made other racist remarks to African American men who allegedly heckled him during his stand-up routine...

We all know about actor Michael Richards' racial epithets at last Friday night's performance at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles. But yesterday, this exclusive TMZ.com article revealed that the three-time Emmy-award-winning actor had also hurled anti-Semitic slurs at the Improv comedy club in April of this year. According to the piece, Richards yelled at an audience member, "You f***ing Jew. You people are the cause of Jesus dying." And here's the kicker: Richards' own representative has confirmed that this actually happened.So how did the Los Angeles Times cover this latest revelation in today's paper (Thursday, November 23, 2006)? They...

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The Rev. Al Sharpton said Wednesday he refused to accept an apology from actor Michael Richards, who spouted a racist rant at a comedy club last week. But Sharpton said he did agree to meet with Richards to try to start a process to address racism in America. "I [told Richards] you need to sit down and deal with this," Sharpton told CNN. "This is not about accepting an apology, this is about starting a process to really deal with the continual problem of racism in this country." (Watch Richards' meltdown on stage -- 1:39 )...

Mouth grills are so last year. The newest (and some say safer) way to display dental bling: tooth jewelry. Unlike grills -- mouthpieces that blanket the teeth like gaudily bejeweled braces -- tooth jewelry is a less ostentatious, less expensive and less intrusive way to sparkle when you smile. Monika Linau, owner of Santa Barbara, Calif.-based DecoDent, sells a range of tooth crystals and jewelry that includes crosses, aliens, Nike-swoosh lookalikes, and gems in heart and star shapes. The jewels are meant to be attached by dentists with a composite substance. "It's basically the same process as a colored tooth...