Presidential Pardon: Pardon me Mr. President what about the rest?

It seems a member of the rap community is getting help from an unlikely source. President Bush has commuted the sentence of John Forte, the rapper and producer who co-wrote 2 songs on rap Super-group, Fugees (Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, & Pras), break-out album, The Score. Forte was arrested in 2000 at Newark International Airport after accepting a briefcase containing $1.4 million worth of liquid cocaine. He was charged with possession with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute. Although, he had no prior criminal history, he was sentenced to a mandatory minimum 14 years and incarcerated at FCI Loretto, a low-security federal prison, in central Pennsylvania. Forte, who attended prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire on a violin scholarship was friends with Ben Taylor, son of Carly Simon. Taylor and Simon became huge advocates on Forte's behalf believing that he did not receive a fair trial. For years they fought for an appeal of the mandatory minimum drug laws that remove a judge's discretion in a case. As terms of his commutation John will be released from prison on December 22, leaving intact and in effect the five year term of supervised release with all it's conditions. John's story made me wonder how many other young men are sitting in jail due to mandatory sentencing so I did a little research and what I found was shocking!!! It seems that the justice system has stiffer penalties for drug offenders than they do for child sex offenders. According to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice the average sentence in New York for a Level 3 Child Sex Offender is 4 months in prison and 5 years probation. A Study conducted between 1985-1993 revealed that 70% of those found guilty did not serve any jail time and even insinuated that the Prosecutor's office in some districts generally called the press on cases where an offender was going to receive serious prison time so that the general public believed that they were "tough" on those crimes. The Federal mandatory drug sentences for first-time drug offenders is as follows:

LSD- 1 gram (5 Years) 2-10 grams (10 Years)
Marijuana- 100 plants or 100 kilos (5 Years) 1,000 plants or 1,000 kilos (10 Years)
Crack cocaine- 5 grams (5 Years) 50 grams (10 Years)
Powder cocaine- 500 grams (5 Years) 5 kilos (10 Years)
Heroin- 100 grams (5 Years) 1 kilo (10 Years)
Methamphetamine- 4 /5 grams (5 Years) 50 grams (10 Years)
PCP- 10 grams (5 Years) 100 grams (10 Years)

In other words you'll get more time for growing 100 pots of weed than you would for molesting a child. Mandatory sentencing reminded me of when I went on a Government retreat in High School. It was one of those get the "smart Burb and City kids together"-type of deals. Our speaker was a person, (who shall remain nameless), running for the US Senate. During his speech he disclosed that part of his platform included a push for the death penalty for "Dope dealers". During the Q & A segment I questioned the logic in the mandatory death penalty as I raised the question of whether he seriously thought he would be able to "electrocute" the cop, attorney, or judge who were getting paid to turn their heads. I asserted that the person most likely to be electrocuted was the kid who sat in back of me in second grade. The one who came to class smelly and hungry everyday. The one, who by middle school, was the best dressed kid in school courtesy of the dope money he was making. He wasn't just buying clothes and food for himself he was also supporting his siblings, paying rent and utilities because his grandmother had died, his father was in prison, his mother was strung out on drugs and at age 12 he was the oldest and therefore in charge. The press was there and my comments were reported. Needless to say that person did not win the Senate seat they were vying for. After I heard that news I felt I had won the battle now I know that I'd lost the war.

So John Forte, after serving 7 years of a 14 year sentence, will be home for Christmas. He's served more than enough time as punishment for his lapse in judgement. I only wonder how many more "John Forte's" are sitting behind bars destined to serve their full sentence because there are no influential friends and budding music career to persuade a President to commute their sentences. Congratulations to Mr. Forte on his commuted sentence! Bravo to President Bush for seeing how excessive the sentence was. But, Pardon me Mr. President what about the rest????

~d-the-VIP

Let's get ready to Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuumble!!!

The gloves are off!!! During the reunion episode of Atlanta Housewives there will be more punches thrown than are thrown during a Floyd Mayweather fight and the jabs will be harder than Mike Tyson's! Here's what I know:

Sheree: During the finale she will remain as cool, calm, and "W-itchy" as ever. I guess she has bigger fish to fry as word around Atlanta is that the clothes and shoes that she's been buying in spades on the show were all loans and were returned. While Ms. Sheree is banking on a big payday from her husband who is rumored to have been having an affair with Nicole Gilbert better known as Nicci, one time member of the 90's group Brownstowne, (you may remember their hit song If You Love ME, okay maybe you'll remember they were signed by the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson), It seems that she has reportedly bounced a check here and there hence her new assistant. Am I the only one who noticed that her assistant looked a lot different during her fashion meeting? It seems Evander Holyfields daughter quit after getting one of Sheree's checks that had more bounce than an NBA ball. I hope she gets that settlement money soon or it won't be her "success" people will be talking about!

Ne-Ne: Being true to her character will "keep it real" and say exactly what she thinks. I don't think any of us doubted that. Word has it that she's the break-out star of the show and has been hitting the talk show circuit in New York and may be moving to LA to fulfill a life long dream of being in movies. While she may have dropped 6-G's for her son a few "grown man" suits and close to 40-G's on his graduation gift, (a truck), she knows when and where to save and was recently spotted at one of my favorite, "Brand name for less stores", (TJ Maxx), shopping til she dropped! Unfortunately word has it that a house belonging to a Greg Leakes, (Ne-Ne's husband's name), in the suburb that Ne-Ne reportedly lives in is in foreclosure. Hopefully her husband, a Real Estate investor, is doing a business maneuver or else Ne-Ne will go from being "one of the Joneses" to watching them. She can always fall back on her past career which I've heard involves a pole.

De Shawn: Is as neutral as ever and tries to keep the girls from tearing each other apart. Why not stay calm. She's sitting pretty as her husband Eric (Snow) will collect $7.3 million dollars this year as the last payment on his contract with the Cleveland Cav's. Not one to let his wife "suffer" by not allowing her to keep the accoutrement's that she's grown accustomed to, industrious Mr. Snow has already agreed to be an NBA analyst once he's officially retired, (they're waiting on insurance/disability paperwork to be processed). Yeah he'll still get that 7.3, and his name is on the top of a couple NBA Teams' list for the job of head coach. That pretty much secures this Atlanta Housewife's return next season. I'd say she is a "success"...at choosing a great hubby!

Lisa: This sophisticated lady turns into "Smack-a-witch" in a matter of seconds after she confronts Kim about rumors that she called her a "Crack-ho" and indicated drugs as the reason why she was not awarded custody of her kids, (with R& B crooner Keith Sweat), while on a movie set. Apparently a couple of the actors, including Demi Moore overheard Kim's comments, a few of the actors were friends of Lisa and told her about the incident. Remember in the Incredible Hulk when Bill Bixby used to say "Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry"? Well that should be Lisa's new saying. Wu Tang Clan had a song called Wu Tang Clan ain't nuthin to F-ck wit!, Kim should have remembered Lisa's last name and kept her mouth shut. As for her home life, Lisa has maintained that the only reason she wasn't given custody of her sons was because of their father's fame and says that while she was with Keith she not only raised their 2 sons together but his daughter from a previous relationship. She and her husband are currently working on getting a more satisfactory custody situation and in the meantime are trying to add another bundle of joy to their household. If you need any more proof that Lisa's husband, Ed Hartwell, (who was dropped by the Oakland Raiders), is a sweetie here it is. When asked about his step-son's he said "I don't call them my step-son's. I call them my son's. I tell people I have 3 son's cause that's what I have." Ain't that cute???? Now that they've brought this spitfire to life I can't wait to see her next season. I wonder if Ne-Ne will find out she's the one who told Kim about the song in the limo or better yet will she ask her about it?

Kim: Gets her "come-uppance" Big time!!! While Sheree was there to co-sign Kim's big talk during the other episodes, Kim is gonna find her missing in action when the Sh*t hits the fan on this one. It's a good thing that her Louboutin's were most probably new because she seems to keep putting her foot in her mouth. First Ne-Ne and then Lisa. Who's next??? I guess going on a show while dating a married man probably wasn't the smartest thing to do either because it seems that Big Poppa and Kim have broken off their engagement. Ending their long..... 7-month relationship!!! You heard me right.... 7 MONTHS!!!! According to Kim she broke it off because she felt "Big Poppa wasn't gonna leave his wife." You think??? Heck I'd heard the house shown on the show was a quick move after Big Poppa's wife found out about her. I have tried in vain to find out who Big Poppa is and have heard that he's quite possibly well known Commercial Real Estate tycoon Lee Najjar who's 24 year old son Jared is financing Brody Jenner's, (of MTV's show The Hills) line called Archangel off his "Daddy-supplied" "Black card." Reportedly Jared has also supplied Jenner and Spencer Pratt, (also from The Hills), with a Bentley and Rolls Royce and is called the Godfather because of his limitless funds. Ironically Najjar's wife is named Kim, but, again I have had no confirmation, that he's Big Poppa! What I do know is the Real Housewives' Kim has completed the country album you all are dying to hear and has agreed to bare it all for Playboy, (uh huh, Hugh Hefner's Mag). One other thing.... she's reportedly dating Billionaire Dr. Stefan Lemperle creator of Artefill a widely used wrinkle filler. YEP!!!! BILLIONAIRE!!! (Probably the real reason she broke up with Big poppa). Lemperle can definitely keep her in enough diamonds, Manolo's and Birkin's to make next season!

I don't know how the Real Housewives series can top the Atlanta Housewives. We'll just have to wait and see.

~d-the-VIP

A Teddy Bear Squeezed: Gerald Levert on love, life, and his new album

I wrote this article in 2004 after the television show I was producing had the opportunity to interview the late great crooner about his upcoming album. I am convinced that our interview is the greatest most in-depth interview with him ever, as not only did we talk about the album but we talked about his love life, his family, and the first song he ever wrote. So, in honor of his life and in recognition of the second anniversary of his death, (November 10th), I am re-releasing this article. I hope you enjoy it but most importantly I hope you tell someone close to you how much you love them because one thing Gerald taught us is that tomorrow is not promised.

~d-the-VIP

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A Teddy Bear Squeezed: Gerald Levert on love, life, and his new album by D-the-VIP


The chocolate Teddy Bear of love walks into the room methodically. He’s tired but his perceptive gaze doesn't miss the interviewer, in the corner getting wired for sound, or the producer, around the corner, half-in/half-out of the bathroom, whispering about the questions. He takes his designated “hot” seat with the grace and skepticism of a panther in captivity. I feel like Loretta Divine in “Waiting to Exhale” when she walks away from Gregory Hines but looks back to check if he’s watching, One look in the closet mirror confirms, He’s Watching! Mr. Too Damn Good, I’d Give Anything, Made to Love You, himself, Gerald Levert. Dressed in jeans and a button down striped shirt, a beautiful diamond earring and an exquisite bracelet, his casual simplicity is more reminiscent of a suburban weekender than a major R&B sex symbol. This should be interesting. It’s time “Lights, Camera, Action!”

He starts answering questions with the guardedness of a pro. Until asked whether he gets tired or frustrated about people always mentioning his father when talking about him. That’s when the loveable bear growls. He’s more frustrated and annoyed with those who ask that question, than those who make the reference. His pride in his fathers accomplishments are written all over his face as he passionately reminds us that his first group was named Levert and he uses his first and last name. No hiding for the son of the legendary Eddie Levert of the O’Jays. The business has taught him one thing for sure. He would not have “Gotten out the block” if he didn’t actually have “something to offer in his own right.”

The questions pass with a newly revitalized G. When the interviewer tells him he’s challenging James Brown for the title of Hardest Working Man in show business and asks why he stays so busy? His answer is simple, “Keeps me outta trouble,” he says. What trouble? I began to wonder but before my imagination takes me too far he answers the next question about his work ethic. If you’ve never ever, in-your-long-legged-life gone to a Gerald Levert concert you have missed the best sex ever! After an hour and a half of him sweating, sanging, (That’s what we call REAL singing), rose tossing, and gyrating, the women are frantic and frenzied and the men are smiling like cats that ate the canary because they know that their wives or girlfriends are going to give them all the “love” that Gerald Levert has stirred up, as soon as they get home. “I like to make sure my audience is satisfied and they feel they’ve gotten their money’s worth.” As one who has witnessed this phenomenon let me be the first to say he leaves his audience more than satisfied!

After more of what I call the warm up questions we get to the one that makes him say, “Good Question!” How is he able to write from an average Joe perspective when he’s never been an average Joe? I almost didn’t include this question because I didn’t think he’d understand what I was really asking. How can a kid born rich, from the suburbs of Cleveland, with a famous father, write lyrics that make you feel as if he’s experienced the hardships of poverty, and the pain of anonymity? Now I was glad I had added this question. He took a second, as if gathering his thoughts or composing his words before answering. When he starts to speak, he speaks openly about why he’s able to write the way he does. He talks about being raised doing regular every day things right down to attending public schools. Maybe that accounts for his down-to-earth demeanor. He speaks candidly about the fact that the Levert household saw some lean years. After the 70’s, the O’Jays, like many other groups of that era, went through some years when the name, and fame, was there but the money was not as plentiful. “It was to the point where people had to get jobs.” Maybe this is what keeps him humble. He goes on to talk about how being famous and broke is not a place he’d like to be, “I’d rather be rich than famous” he says with no hesitation. I can definitely understand that.

What does he think is the most romantic song of all time? He quickly turns interviewer and asks the host what does she think is the most romantic song. She says the Dramatics, I Wanna Go outside in the Rain, the debate is on. After professing his love for the Dramatics and this song the lyricist in him proclaims his confusion about the songs story. “Go outside for what?” He asks. After reciting the lyrics out loud, and listening to the host as she tries to explain the story, he decides to give up the debate. “I still don’t know why he wanna go outside. I don’t get that.” Unfortunately, he never said what song he’d pick. That’s what I think he intended all along.

The most poignant moment came when he answered the question. What is love? “Unconditional” He says quickly, with all the hopes and dreams of a man that has everything, except maybe someone to laugh with, cry with, and share his world with. In his new single One Million Times, he sings about the one that he can’t let go, with the emotional intensity of a man that’s been there or the desperation of a man who is still there. When asked to respond true or false to rumors of a relationship with comedienne’s Mo’Nique, Kym Whitley, singer Kandi Burris or music exec Sylvia Rhone, he squirms more than Ben Stiller attached to the lie detector in the movie “Meet My Parents,” but he answers. “False.” He and Sylvia Rhone are just friends as are he and Kym Whitley, “Kym is my friend and she’s from Cleveland.” When asked about Mo’Nique he says “Things aren’t always what they seem. People see you hanging out with somebody and they assume that you have something going on, with Mo’Nique being a comedienne she just played on that, but nobody ever asked me,” until now. True! G once dated Xscape member Kandi Burris although the relationship didn’t last, listening very closely to One Million Times… makes you wonder if their last chapter has been written.

As the interview wrapped I reflected on a moment when he was asked to sing a song he wrote when he was five called Silly Me. The thought makes me laugh to this day. He sung it with all the boyish charm of a five year old and when asked to say goodbye to the viewers, he did so in a crazy high pitched ladies voice, and laughed. Does Gerald Levert Speak for the World? I’ll let you be the judge. One can be certain he speaks from the heart.

~d-the-VIP

Are you Holding the Purse or playing the Game?

I have two quotes on my computer. One is by Marianne Williamson that says, "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure! The other quote is by an unknown author that says "To get something you've never had, you have to do something you've never done, and sometimes you have to leave behind who you are to become who you're supposed to be!" My New Years Resolution in 2009 is to "stop holding the purse" and start "playing the game!" Life is too short to stand on the sidelines. Memories are created only if you make them. Goals are reached only if you strive to reach them. Are you ready to stop holding the purse?

Best Damn Cry EVER!!!

When I was 5, I would watch Phil Donahue with my grandmother. At some point I decided that I wanted to be a talk show host, so whenever I was asked what I wanted to be I'd say "I'm going to be the first black female talk show host!" I remember the adults doing the, "Awww ain't that cute? Poor thang doesn't know any better", smile every time I made that pronouncement. Don't get me wrong nobody outright discouraged me or shared their disbelief in my ability to make it, in fact they offered words of encouragement said I could be whatever I wanted to be but I always remembered the smile. I remember the "I told you so smile" that I gave after watching Oprah's debut show. I guess on Tuesday, there was an African-American boy who smiled an "I told you so smile", while watching Barack Obama's Speech. I wonder if his parents cried as I had? Yeah I cried!!!! In that moment I remembered the stories my mother told of the Ku Klux Klan riding down her street with the headlights off while the inside car lights were on so their outfits could show. I remembered hearing about the times my uncle wasn't home when they drove past, (he had been out fishing), and how he had to hide up under the house until they had gone. I remembered the story of how my mother didn't receive her last paycheck and had never received any of the tips she'd earned working all summer at Irene's Diner because the owner was upset that she chose to go back to high school after the summer ended rather than dropping-out of school to continue working there as the owner had suggested. I remembered going to work with my mother, (on take your daughter to work day), and seeing her bosses face turn beet red after he'd asked me when I was going to work for his family-owned business and at 12 I told him "when I owned it!" I cried because I knew at that point no African-American child would ever go through their history book only to feel that their only contribution to American history was that of a slave and Martin Luther King. Most importantly I cried because I knew that no child would ever again see a smile that hid the knowledge that certain goals were unattainable because of the color of their skin. So Yes Tuesday I cried but it was the BEST DAMN CRY EVER!!!!!

~d-the-VIP

Voting: A Right or A Privilege

Is Voting a Right or a Privilege? Some people will say its a right. If that's so then why are the voting rights of inmates and ex-felons revoked? That means that voting is actually a privilege. One that is taken for granted by those who live in our country, but is often envied by those living elsewhere. Just recently I saw a video of a young African-American man in his early twenties. In the video he said he wasn't gonna vote because "his vote didn't make a difference". I was so disappointed to see this young man nonchalantly throw away his right to vote. I thought of James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman, who were in their early twenties when they were killed because they were registering people to vote in rural Mississippi. Their deaths prompted the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which outlaws discriminatory voting practices. Those practices included testing and in most cases bodily harm and death to dissuade African Americans from voting. So it's extremely disheartening to see 43 years after the Act was initially passed, 1 year after it was renewed, and countless numbers of deaths later, that this young man can casually toss aside this hard won privilege. I love the Rock the vote campaign, but I think we need to incorporate lessons on the true sacrifice of those who paved the way for us to-- "Rock the Vote!" The last couple of weeks, I've watched the Presidential debates with my German neighbor. I can't tell you how many times she's expressed the desire to vote in this years election, but unfortunately she can't, (she's not a permanent resident yet). Also Saturday, I got a call that my cousin had given birth, however she's upset that she won't be released in time to vote, (Cesarean). So on behalf of my German friend and my cousin, I'm asking ALL of You to vote!!! Think of those who can't and honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. One more thing while you're there Vote Obama-Biden!!!


Take a minute to look up your polling place on our voting website, VoteForChange.com


~d-the-VIP