Kidd Creole Convicted of Manslaughter in 2017 Stabbing

©Instagram @thekiddcreole

 

Kidd Creole, a rap pioneer and a founding member of one of its seminal, groups, was found guilty of manslaughter on Wednesday.

The 62-year-old rapper, whose real name is Nathaniel Glover, was facing a murder charge in the 2017 death of John Jolly, a homeless New Yorker who was stabbed twice in the chest with a steak knife in midtown Manhattan.

During the month-long trial, Glover's attorney claimed that the stabbing was self-defense. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 4.

Prosecutors alleged Glover stabbed Jolly, 55, after becoming enraged because he thought Jolly was gay and hitting on him during a confrontation between the two men, captured on video, in August 2017.

After Glover Passed Jolly on the street, the two exchanged words, and Glover squared up to him chest-to-chest before stabbing him twice in the torso. A group of tourists found Jolly, and he was taken to a hospital where he died of his wounds.

Rapper Kid Creole was convicted of manslaughter in the stabbing death of a homeless man on a Manhattan sidewalk nearly five years ago. https://t.co/X4fJuznlaJ

— The Advocate (@TheAdvocateMag) April 8, 2022

According to prosecutors, Glover was working as a handyman and security guard near the scene of the stabbing. He rushed two blocks to work, changed clothes and cleaned the knife before leaving 15 minutes later to dump it in a sewer near a Bronx subway station where it was later found by police.

He was arrested the next day.

Glover was a co-founder of the rap group Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five. Consisting of Glover, his brother Melle Mel, DJ Grandmaster Flash, Keith Cowboy, Scorpio (aka Mr. Ness) and Rahiem, the Bronx-based group helped guide the formation of hip-hop as an art form in the late 1970s.

Their 1982 hit song, "The Message,” is one of the most influential pieces of the period, combining social commentary with catchy beats in a way that was later emulated by predecessors, such as Public Enemy and KRS-One, and remains a hallmark of rap today.

In 2007, they became the first hip-hop group to join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

 

Ketanji Brown Jackson Confirmed to Supreme Court

Courtesy @Potus Instagram

President Joe Biden and Judge Kentanji Brown take a photo

as Jackson was confirmed to the Supreme Court on Thursday,

April 7.

Ketanji Brown Jackson made history Thursday afternoon when a historic vote by the Senate made her the first Black woman to serve on the nation's highest court.

The Senate vote was 53-47 in favor of confirming Jackson to the Supreme Court. Every member of the Democrat caucus joined just three Republicans — Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitt Romney of Utah —in making her the 116th justice to serve on the court.

Jackson, whose nomination to the court was made by President Joe Biden in February, following Associate Justice Stephen Breyer's announcement he would retire at the end of the current court term, was criticized heavily by Republicans during the seven-week nomination process.

Opponents focused on a supposed record of leniency towards child sex offenders, a criticism that was widely refuted by those in legal circles, her defenders and even some Republican lawmakers, who had supported her previous appointments.

Judge Jackson’s confirmation was a historic moment for our nation. We’ve taken another step toward making our highest court reflect the diversity of America. She will be an incredible Justice, and I was honored to share this moment with her. pic.twitter.com/K8SAh25NL5

— President Biden (@POTUS) April 7, 2022

"Judge Jackson’s confirmation was a historic moment for our nation," Biden tweeted after the vote. "We’ve taken another step toward making our highest court reflect the diversity of America. She will be an incredible Justice, and I was honored to share this moment with her."

It will be months before the judge formally takes her seat on the bench when Breyer officially steps down. When she does, she will be the first federal public defender to sit on the high court, and it will mark the first time the court's nine-member bench will include two Black justices.

Of the 115 justices in the Supreme Court's 233-year history, 108 have been white men. Only five have been women, and three have been people of color.

Rihanna Joins Forbes List as First Barbadian Billionaire

Danilo Lauria, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes released its annual report on billionaires around the world Tuesday, and while it may come as no surprise who came out on top in the ranking of the world’s 2,688 wealthiest people, there were some interesting entries for hip-hop and R&B fans.

Joining transportation magnate and professional internet troll on the Forbes’ 36th Annual World’s Billionaires List — Elon Musk, who topped the list for the first time with an estimated net worth of $219 billion — were several musicians-turned-magnates.

The fashion mogul, recent divorcee and rapper Kanye West, 44, who recently tied frequent collaborator and former mentor Jay-Z for the most hip-hip Grammy wins (24), was the top-earning entertainer on the list at No. 1,513 with a $2 billion fortune.

The total was just enough for the artist, who first made the list in 2020 and recently changed his name officially to Ye, to edge his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, making her second appearance on the list after being first named a billionaire in 2021. The 41-year-old actress, influencer and law student was No. 1,645 on the list with a net worth of $1.8 billion.

Jay-Z, 52, once lauded as hip-hop’s first billionaire landed at No. 2,076 with a $1.3 billion net worth thanks to a portfolio that includes his Roc Nation empire and profits from the 2021 sales of TIDAL to Square and Armand de Brignac champagne to LVMH.

Up until now, Black musicians turned billionaires was strictly a boys club, but Rihanna changed that this year. The 34-year-old singer became the first billionaire from her home country of Barbados thanks to her beauty empire. Her Fenty Beauty cosmetics line and Savage X Fenty lingerie business helped her to a net worth of $1.7 billion, good enough for the No. 1,729 on this year's list.

Other returning notables to the list for fans of the culture were talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who landed at No. 1,196 with a $2.6 billion net worth; and filmmaker Tyler Perry, who was No. 2,578 with a $1 billion net worth.

For more information on the methodology or to see the entire list of the world’s richest people according to Forbes click here.