South Bronx residents rallied Wednesday night to demand the release of two members of a local hip hop group who were arrested after a confrontation with police. Rebel Diaz members Rodstarz and G-1, whose real names are Rodrigo and Gonzalo Venegas, were taken into custody in the Bronx Wednesday afternoon.

A news release from Rebel Diaz says the two saw the officers assault a fruit vendor, and when they took out a cell phone to record the incident, the officers approached them. Authorities say the duo became unruly with the officers, who were helping sanitation and health officials investigate illegal fruit vendors in the Bronx. But community members say that was not the case. (more…)

In the spring of 1999, the Rev. Al Sharpton gave an impassioned keynote address to the NAACP. Essentially, he chastised the hip-hop generation for being absent from protests during the aftermath of a serious incident in the Bronx. Amadou Diallo, a young, unarmed West African immigrant, had been shot by police officers 41 times.

Sharpton bemoaned the fact that hip-hoppers weren’t more vocal about the Diallo affair. He said the “big, bad New York rappers” were too busy making money for Clive Davis to stand up for justice. Sharpton also expressed disappointment that more of the pent-up rage depicted in rap videos wasn’t directed at holding police accountable for their actions. He got a standing ovation for his sobering words. Unfortunately, not all his views were on point. (more…)

The hip-hop community has been shaken to its core in the wake of last week’s “not guilty” verdict in the Sean Bell case. Among other charges, two of the three officers on trial were charged with first and second-degree manslaughter, while a third officer was charged with reckless endangerment. Out of eight charges, Detectives Gescard F. Isnora, Michael Oliver, and Marc Cooper were found not guilty on every count.

This tragedy began during the early morning hours of Nov. 25, 2006 when undercover officers shot at 23-year-old Sean Bell and two of his friends 50 times. Bell and company were leaving a club, where Bell had just concluded celebrating his bachelor party. He was going to be married to the mother of his two daughters later that day. (more…)

A great track about police brutality featuring images from the Sean Bell murder trial. Via Thug Life Army.

The following article is Immortal Technique’s reaction to the Sean Bell verdict and his comments on police brutality. Included are a story about Technique’s youth, in which he experienced police brutality, and a request for others to share their stories.

If you have a story or experience about police brutality, please visits Immortal Technique at his MySpace page (link after the break), and share your story. (more…)

A prison inmate who had implicated a former Los Angeles Police Department officer in the shooting death of rap star Biggie Smalls has renounced his story.

Waymond Anderson said in a recent deposition that he lied about LAPD involvement in the Smalls slaying as part of a “scam” concocted by two other convicts to squeeze a large monetary settlement out of the city. (more…)

Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr., president of the Hip Hop Caucus, was attacked by six capitol police today, when he was stopped from entering the Cannon Caucus Room on Capitol Hill, where General Petreaus gave testimony today to a joint hearing for the House Arms Services Committee and Foreign Relations Committee on the war in Iraq.

Yearwood suffered a broken leg and had to be hospitalized following the attack. (more…)