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The Ministry for Culture and Islamic Guidance said illegal studios would be closed and rap singers “confronted”.

An official condemned rappers for using very vulgar words, but it was not clear if the whole genre was being banned.

Rap music in Farsi is increasingly popular among young men in Tehran, with lyrics covering political, social and sexual themes.

Iranians wanting to record an album or stage a concert need to get official permission.

Some songs are approved by the ministry, but most are circulated through a growing underground market for rap.

The culture ministry official, Mohammad Dashtgoli, was quoted by the official Irna news agency as saying he wanted to “find a solution” to internet distribution of the music.

Iranian rappers are inspired by the Iranian exile community in Los Angeles - one of the main centres of American rap.

Young Iranian singers are trying to replicate the accents and subject material used by many US artists.

The campaign is the latest attempt by the Iranian authorities to stop Western values gaining ground at the expense of traditional Islamic morality, correspondents say.

Earlier this month Iranian newspapers printed a list of vices that the police would target, including “decadent” films, drugs and alcohol.

But their main focus appears to be women wearing make-up and using hats instead of headscarves.

In the last six months, tens of thousands of women have been warned or arrested because of their clothes.

The Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has publicly backed the police action.

In yet another setback for Remy Ma, the rapper’s friend Makeda Barnes-Joseph has filed a $10 million civil lawsuit against her, according to Reuters. Remy Ma (real name: Reminisce Smith) is accused of shooting Barnes-Joseph in July after a dispute that took place on a street in New York.

In the suit, reportedly filed in a New York court on Friday, Barnes-Joseph accuses Remy Ma of “willfully, wantonly and maliciously” shooting her. The suit also names the rapper’s record companies, including Universal Music Group and Sure Shot Recordings, as defendants, alleging they encouraged Remy Ma to engage in violent behavior as part of her image.

Ivan Fisher, her lawyer, said Barnes-Joseph’s lawsuit was “looking for the deepest pocket it could find” and called it “irresponsible,” according to Reuters.

Barnes-Joseph reportedly claims in the suit that she suffered severe physical harm and mental anguish after the July shooting, which took place on a New York street after a dispute over money missing from the rapper’s belongings. Remy Ma fled the scene but later turned herself in and was charged on counts of attempted murder, assault and weapon possession.

Remy Ma is due to stand trail next year on charges of gang assault and witness tampering stemming from an August incident in which prosecutors say the rapper ordered a group of men to attack Barnes-Joseph’s boyfriend. The man suffered a shattered jaw in the attack, according to The Associated Press. Remy Ma has pleaded not guilty to the charges, vehemently denying that she shot Barnes-Joseph. She faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

While small boutique pubs are the next big thing for Sydney, karaoke dens offering a flavour of the 1970s and ’80s are on the way out under a plan to make it harder for new establishments to serve the embarrassing brand of DIY music on their menu.

In the immortal words of the Righteous Brothers, City of Sydney Council has lost that lovin’ feelin’ for the subtle art of karaoke.

Karaoke tsar Ray Chan, who owns Port Orient karaoke restaurant in Darling Harbour, said people wanting to open karaoke places like his would be discriminated against in the late night trading plan.

"Karaoke was invented by the Japanese, the most emotionally controlled people who are very straight with their behaviour at work, school and among friends," Mr Chan said.

"So, psychologically, karaoke is a very good way to release stress.

"We all sing in the shower when we relax or have a few drinks. But karaoke itself shouldn’t all be discriminated against just because there is noise and singing.

"The problems come when there are groups of these school kids hiring a karaoke room and they bring their own six pack or bottle of whisky. It is a cheap party that can get out of hand."

The council’s late night development control plan makes it easier for smaller licensed premises under 200sqm to gain later trading hours, while forcing larger pubs and clubs to show "ongoing responsible management practices" over time to get the same late opening hours.

It effectively encourages the creation of small boutique bars while discouraging an increase in new beer barns, pokie palaces and nightclubs by shortening their standard trading hours and therefore reducing their potential profits.

Any place offering karaoke that either serves or permits the consumption of alcohol, even if they are small and under the 200sqm benchmark, would also be bundled into this "high impact" category with pubs and clubs.

"Feedback from police indicates there are often problems in the early hours of the morning associated with karaoke premises," a City of Sydney spokesman said.

"This will not prevent karaoke bars from operating in the City, however, at the same time it is important to ensure that karaoke premises are well managed, like all late night trading venues in areas where conflicts with the community can occur."

While the late night trading plan was passed unanimously, councillor Michael Lee said the policy was an overreaction to the few complaints made against karaoke bars.

"The policy doesn’t single out rap music, heavy metal, R&B or some of the things you might expect would have a higher impact than music of the ’70s or ’80s coming from a karaoke bar," Mr Lee said.

"It does seem strange, almost like there is a policy to discourage karaoke in the city of Sydney."

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December 16, 2007

The little girl we once saw sleigh riding down a Wurtsboro hill grew up to put rap on the map — as a twentysomething record executive of THE rap record company in New York City, Def Jam.

The frizzy-haired teen who slayed ‘em in volleyball at Monticello High School is now treated like royalty by Madonna, Bono and Diddy.

At 38, Julie Greenwald is the president of one of the world’s largest record companies, Atlantic — one of just two female presidents of a major record company. She just made Newsweek’s list of 11 most powerful women. Crain’s magazine named her one of its 100 most influential New York City businesswomen.

Now this child of the Catskills must use the chutzpah of her shoot-from-the hip politician/businessman dad, Dennis, and the passion of her late act-from-the heart mom, Elsa, to help turn around an industry that faces more challenges than the grooves on an old 45. They’re “unprecedented” challenges, says an industry spokesman, ranging from downloading free music on cell phones to snaring it for pennies on computers. She must also fill the shoes of an industry legend, the late Atlantic records founder Ahmet Ertegun, who launched Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin and signed the Rolling Stones.

Can she do it?

Can this former straight-A Sullivan County student turned Manhattan millionaire mom help turn around an industry that lost $3 billion in the last seven years?

You bet, say those who know her best. “She’s one impressive cat,” says the woman who shared a bedroom of the ranch home on Lindbergh Avenue in Wurtsboro — Julie’s younger sister Seena, who had the messy half of that room. “She’s very smart, very driven; she even went to debate camp, for (Pete’s) sake.”

Julie’s longtime boss agrees.

“Her work ethic and drive alone are enough to justify her rise to the top levels of the music industry, but it is her aggressive, cutting-edge approach to A&R (artists and repertoire), marketing and promotion that has kept her there,” says Lyor Cohen, the man who first hired her at Def Jam and is now the CEO of Warner Music Group.

In her corner office overlooking St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a typically confident Greenwald agrees.

“I wake up driven to win,” says the woman who has a final say in every aspect of the company, from signing artists like James Blunt and Gnarls Barkley to marketing them through TV shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” and phone companies like Sprint.

Moxie and muscle

After all, this is a former high school soccer player with as much moxie as muscle in her kick, says her old pal, Susan Parks Landis.

Take the job that launched her career: a straight-out-of-college summer internship at Def Jam. First, she told Def Jam founder Cohen that she could type 50 words per minute. When he leaned over her shoulder, he discovered she couldn’t come close. Then, when rapper Flavor Flav needed a quick visa to perform overseas, she had to get it.

She gave an Embassy official a coveted Def Jam jacket. Faster than you can say hip-hop, the rapper with the criminal record got the visa.

Still, that was supposed to be a summer job. After Tulane University, Julie — the niece of Goshen lawyer Gary Greenwald — had planned to head to Washington, D.C., to lobby for children. Her parents had taught her that she should give to the community that gave her so much. How could she not listen?

Her mother would pick up a Hasidic hitchhiker and bring him home for Sabbath dinner. Her father would give away prescription medicine in the family drug stores — first in Wurtsboro, then Middletown. And Julie had worked for free at day camp, shelters and soup kitchens. The family always sat down late for Thanksgiving dinner because they waited until they served free meals to everyone else.

“We lived a fortunate life,” recalls big sister Jodi. “We were taught it’s our responsibility to give back.”

So, right after Tulane, Julie taught poor black kids in the projects of New Orleans. The girl who once shopped at Paramus shops like Bloomingdale’s and had an Izod alligator-themed Bas Mitzvah at Bernie’s Holiday restaurant in Rock Hill, had to duck under desks when gunshots blistered the New Orleans streets.

‘The other Madonna’

But then, in 1992, came that internship. And Greenwald discovered she liked the action of this new music that was scorned by mainstream America but loved by kids on the street. Soon, she was dreaming up all sorts of promotions, like the Def Comedy Jam or tours like Survival of the Illest that featured Onyx, DMX and Def Squad.

“And a nice Jewish girl from the Catskills became vice president of a rap company,” says Greenwald, wearing a smart, sleek black dress, black nail polish and black leather Jimmy Choo boots in that office with many more photos of her two kids, aged 8 and 3, than stars like Madonna, who wrote, “For Julie, the other Madonna”¦” on the poster above her square work-like desk.

It wasn’t long before the young woman showed that she packed as much business punch as power in that soccer kick. When MTV — which then ruled the music-business roost — wanted to use the music of Def Jam act LL Cool J for “Beavis and Butt-head,” Greenwald at first said no — to the man who would eventually become her husband, then-MTV executive Lewis Largent. Then, thinking ahead, perhaps to a time when album sales would not be the only game in town, she imagined the marketing opportunities of a partnership with MTV.

LL Cool J met “Beavis and Butt-head.”

When Def Jam merged with Island records, Greenwald — who by now had been given a stake in Def Jam — received a wedding present of Waterford crystal from one of Island’s stars, U2’s Bono. When Def Jam head Cohen went to Warner Bros. to run its music division, he brought Greenwald along. She became president of Atlantic.

Diving into the digital age

Now she’s using her marketing smarts to bring the company into the digital age. She was one of the first in the music business to realize that you have to figure out new ways to get the music out there — and make money from it. So she sold the rights of the music of Atlantic acts like Jet for ring tones to companies like Sprint— and worked with Sprint to market the acts. Atlantic then took a cut in the tours and merchandising that followed. She now calls My Space, AOL and Yahoo “our online partners.”

And even though she craves more time with her family than her 16-hour days allow, she hasn’t forgotten her roots.

While her father was recuperating from the car accident that took her mother’s life, she put him in her Manhattan home and made her bedroom and bathroom wheelchair accessible.

When her sister in Arkansas teaches disadvantaged kids, Julie sends them all sorts of albums and T-shirts and offers critiques of their amateur raps.

She flew her sister’s kids to the Super Bowl in Miami, let them sit in on private meetings at Diddy’s mansion and got them backstage passes before flying them up to New York to see a Broadway show.

For Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, she returns to the little white synagogue in Wurtsboro. For Thanksgiving, she roasts a turkey in her Tribeca loft and worries that she’s making the family’s mushy carrot specialty just right.

“You wouldn’t know who she was unless you know who she was,” says father

Dennis, over lunch in Danny’s in Wurtsboro, just a few blocks from where little Julie went sleigh riding. Only now, big Julie is featured in magazines like Billboard, Newsweek and Crain’s that are spread out in front of proud dad’s tuna sandwich.

Today, Atlantic is No. 3 in the music industry.

And even though the route to industry success has changed from LPs and CDs to ring tones, downloads and the new Internet videos called webisodes, Greenwald knows the bottom line is still the music. This is why the woman whose days can start at 7 and end at midnight lights up when she recalls the last words she heard Ertegun speak, just two days before he died last year.

He may have been 83. But the man who launched Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin knew that the music business was changing — and Atlantic had to change ahead of it.

So at a breakfast, he spoke of how Greenwald helped break new acts like Yung Joc, Cassie, James Blunt and Gnarls Barkley.

“He stood up, and said how proud he was that I changed the culture of the company,” says a smiling Julie Greenwald.

Thirty-eight years old. A mother of two. A child of the Catskills. The president of Atlantic records. A champion of ring tones and Gnarls Barkley.

If that isn’t meeting a challenge, what is?

sisrael@th-record.com.

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Anthea Whittaker, of Cliffe Avenue, Lightcliffe, challenged a noise-abatement notice issued by Calderdale Council.But magistrates upheld the noise notice and ordered her to pay up.Neighbours complained that music at her home kept them awake at night and claimed problems stemmed back 15 years.”At least six neighbours have filled in log sheets,” said one neighbour, who did not wish to be named.The notice was issued in August after environmental officers reported loud bass music had been playing for as long as five hours.Ms Whittaker, who is in her 50s, appealed to clear her name.Her son, Simon Bulgacs, 34, moved away 10 years ago and it was him that played the music when he stayed with his mother.But the notice was served on Ms Whittaker as owner of the private semi. Further problems could result in a warrant being issued to remove music equipment or a fine of up to ??5,000.”I refused to accept it was my fault,” said Ms Whittaker, a supply teacher. “I’m not at all happy and many things have been made up. My son went to court to take the blame but the court would not take that into account.”The council claimed an earlier order was served on Mr Bulgacs in June 2003 but he said that was never served personally and had not been received.He is studying at Manchester University and said the August order resulted from an incident more than two years ago.”I was the one playing the music and it is disgusting it was served on my mother,” he said.”It should have been served on me or changed into my name.”As a teenager I did a lot of DJ work and had a small stereo. I was living at home then and the neighbours did complain and I turned it down.”My personal equipment is not at home any more so they can’t confiscate it. “They could not get to me so they have gone for my mother instead.”Council senior environmental health officer Mark Lawrence said he was delighted with the outcome.”Calderdale Council will continue to take action against anybody who uses excessive noise to disturb the lives of others,” he said.”We hope a successful outcome has been achieved for residents of Lightcliffe.”

We love our readers, especially when they send us links to stories featuring a “clueless old white guy mocking a simple request by a pro football player to hear some more current songs at the stadium…I’ll copy and paste below in case the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hires an editor before you click the link.” Hey, looks like the Post-Dispatch declined to do so.

Rams running back Steven Jackson pointed out this glaring deficiency to reporters after Sunday’s loss [to the Seahawks]. Jackson asked the scribes to petition the stadium-operation types to play more lively music.Of course, that’s what is missing–hip-hop! How can the Rams expect to turn things around without a change in music application? What are these stadium people thinking, not playing more hip-hop with a predominantly middle-aged audience in the stands? How can these Souljas Boys be expected to perform when the commercial interludes aren’t jumping, yo? The road to the Super Bowl starts with a clef, a five-line staff, and a bleeped-out rhyme.

Wow, between that, the mocking/ironic use of the word “dawg” in the headline, and calling Akon “Akron,” looks like it’s Dan O’Neill for the cornball win today.

Lil Hip-Hop Would Be Music To Jax’s Ears, Dawg [Post-Dispatch; HT: Josh Katz]

Known primarily for its shock value, horror-rap focuses on death and extreme violence. Needless to say, it has not reached the level of success more commercially acceptable hip-hop genres have.

Three 6 Mafia and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony are among the artists known for horrorcore content.

_

Crunk is a high-energy style of Southern rap that combines high-pitched electronic drum sounds, heavy bass and simple, repetitive lyrics, which makes the music a nightclub favorite.

It didn't gain wide public appeal until the early 2000s, when artists such as Lil' Jon and the Ying Yang Twins burst onto the scene with their vigorous dance tunes.

_

Political rap, a repackaged version of conscious rap, was on the forefront of hip-hop culture during the early 1990s. It primarily focuses on social issues and the need for political empowerment in the black community.

Artists Public Enemy, Tupac Shakur and Talib Kweli have been tagged as rappers in this genre.

_

Gangsta rap was by far the most popular hip-hop genre in the 1990s. It flourished with songs and videos glorifying violence in the inner-city. N.W.A., Ice-T and Philly rapper Schoolly D are some of gangsta rap's more prolific figures. Many of them, however, have moved toward a more commercially friendly image and sound.

_

Country rap is a mixture of Southern and rap music. Its content draws from rural life rather than the street life that inspires East Coast and West Coast rappers. Artists like Nappy Roots and Bubba Sparxxx have made being a "hick" socially acceptable.

_

Mafioso rap is modeled after American organized crime. Rappers such as Kool G. Rap, Jay-Z and the Junior Mafia depicted the luxurious lives of rappers-turned-gangsters during the '90s. The songs, videos and album covers referenced crime organizations and figures in famous movies such as "Scarface," "The Godfather" and "Goodfellas."

Jay-Z's latest album, "American Gangster" - rich with samples from 1970s soul classics such as the Isley Brothers and Marvin Gaye - was inspired by the crime movie of the same name now in theaters, starring Denzel Washington. *

- Dafney Tales

LATEST: LINDSAY LOHAN is set to stage a pop chart comeback with a little help from rap superstar 50 CENT.The Mean Girls actress’ father, Michael, has revealed Lohan is hoping to revisit her career as a pop singer, and she’s asked 50 Cent to give her music an edge.He tells America’s Life & Style magazine, "They’re talking about working together. Nothing’s firm yet, but they’re in talks." Michael insists that although the match-up might seem odd to many, his daughter and 50 have become good friends.He adds, "They’ve actually known each other for a while, just from being in the business together and crossing paths at events." Lohan’s first two albums, Speak and A Little More Personal, were minor successes. Insiders suggest the actress plans to call her third album Nobody’s Angel.

The Seahawks’ new Mr. Personality

Deon Grant’s new teammates love the dancing, music-loving safety with a swagger

By Scott M. JohnsonHerald Writer

KIRKLAND — As the Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams were mired in one of those every-possession-counts, down-to-the-last-minute games for which their rivalry has been known, safety Deon Grant spent much of Sunday’s fourth quarter dancing.Right there on the Seahawks sideline, while holding a three-ring binder filled with Rams formations, Grant took time out to show off his moves. For several minutes. On two separate occasions.Worried? Certainly not Grant.”I’m always like that,” the 28-year-old safety said of the impromptu moves he busted out while being accompanied by the music being blared into the Edward Jones Dome on Sunday. “Since I was without football my first year in the league (because of a hip injury), I decided nothing could bring me down. I hate losing, but when it’s all said and done, I want to be smiling when I make my last play.”Grant’s unique blend of playfulness, swagger and unwavering conviction has not only won over his teammates but also set the tone for this year’s Seahawks.”He has, really, a good personality,” coach Mike Holmgren said, “so people listen to him. There can be vocal players that you really don’t listen to, then there are guys that are quiet and you’ll follow them anywhere. There are all different types of leaders. But (Grant) has a way of doing it.”Grant’s gift is an ability to make the people around him feel comfortable, no matter the circumstances. Whether he’s dancing on the sidelines or blasting tunes in the Seahawks’ locker room, Grant is as popular a player as the Seahawks have.”He’s very confident,” defensive end Patrick Kerney said. “When you say someone is confident, that’s a compliment. When you say someone’s cocky, that’s not. “He’s a very confident guy, and that’s important out there (on the field). No matter what happens — if they bust that long touchdown run — he believes.”Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck added that Grant has a “swagger” about him, which might explain why Grant was named a team captain before he played in a single regular-season game for the Seahawks.The charismatic part of Grant’s personality developed at an early age, playing a pivotal role on the Georgia state championship team at Josey High School as well as the 1998 national championship team at the University of Tennessee. The fun part stems from the painful way Grant’s NFL career started. The Carolina Panthers’ second-round pick in the 2000 NFL draft fractured his hip in a training camp practice and spent that entire season on injured reserve.He has said that the inactivity helped him learn the mental part of the game. And it also caused Grant to promise he would never take football for granted again.The fun-loving Grant likes to tease teammates almost as much as he likes to build them up. He’s the kind of guy who blares music from his locker at the team’s Eastside facility, but he quickly turns down the volume if a visitor ventures in his direction.Music is a rarity in a Seahawks locker room that hasn’t encouraged boom boxes in the past, so Grant’s music — he prefers mostly hip-hop, rap and R&B in a library that’s been downloaded into the laptop he brings to work — can definitely be heard.”I’ve told him to turn it down a couple times, but he likes that music,” Holmgren said. “The one thing I’ve always said about music: everyone likes different music; not everyone likes the same. So it’s fine that certain people like rap music, (but) maybe someone likes Barry Manilow in the other corner of the room.”There haven’t been any complaints yet.Of course, the most important thing is what Grant has been doing on the field. As advertised before he came to Seattle, Grant has helped the Seahawks defense cut down on the big plays that plagued it in the past. He’s also on pace to set a new career high in tackles and has two interceptions. And according to Holmgren, Grant played his best game of the season Sunday against the Rams. That part of Grant’s personality, more than anything, has won over Holmgren.”I like Deon Grant a lot,” the Seahawks’ coach said. “He is absolutely necessary for this football team. He was a great signing, he’s a leader, and he’s funny; he’s a good guy.”

Bill O’Reilly has been a vocal critic of rap music and the ramifications he feels it has on America’s youth. But on Monday’s “O’Reilly Factor,” Bill placed the blame on the corporations that own rap music, saying, “Some very large American corporations are responsible for that corrosive entertainment.”From Fox News 11/5/07.

What he might not have realized is that News Corp, the parent company of Fox News, is one of those labels responsible for the “vile rap music” O’Reilly thinks is destroying America. MySpace Records, which is owned by News Corp, released an album from Hollywood rapper Mickey Avalon that includes songs such as “My Dick” and “Hustler Hall of Fame”. In fact, the CD contains everything O’Reilly hates about hip-hop. Check out some excerpts from the CD below.

Sex: “I’ll sperm on your perm, leave cigarette burns on your tits”

Drugs: “I pull tricks for a fix”

Violence: “I’m gonna slice your gut with a straight edge razor riddled with rust. Blood lust takes me over when I close my eyes”… “I sodomized your father in a federal penitentiary”… “I’ll bust through the shudders, masked in a rubber, Duct tape your mother and butt-rape your brother”

Offensive language: “That Mickey Avalon ain’t no motherf**kin’ amateur”

Blasphemy: “Lookin’ out the window, I can’t help but wonder that God must be one sick motherf**ker”… “We got dicks like Jesus”

Think Rupert Murdoch has this stuff on his iPod?