In a few weeks, I will begin a one-year prison sentence for being in the possession of illegal firearms. Where I come from, having a gun is just part of everyday life. But, through this painful process of going to court and being convicted, I realized that I had to make a change. I made some bad decisions. I broke the law and will accept my punishment. With deep reflection about where my life was headed, I have begun the process of redemption, and decided that before I go to prison, I want to speak to young people about responsibility as a lifestyle. I hope that through my mistakes, young people can begin to learn, as I did, that we have to put our guns down and start to give our guns back. It pains me inside to hear about so many of our people dying because of gun violence. Just in the past weeks, a 13-year old boy was shot in the head in Harlem, a 17- and a 19-year old were murdered in a double homicide in Queens and a 15-year-old was chased, beaten, shot and burned in Chicago.

I love what I do. Do you?

The hardest thing for me to find in the music industry today is people who like doin' what they do. Where are the window cleaners? Where are the kids who deliver the mail or hand out promotion fliers and are just happy to be there? Where are the young Russell Simmons? Where's the person that comes into the game doing something other than rappin' or singing, and leaves the game doing that same thing? Where are the new Berry Gordys?

"WE'LL HAVE A RACE OF BABIES/THAT WILL HATE THE LADIES/THAT MAKE THE BABIES"

TUPAC, 1992

Hip Hop Flip Flop:

I tuned in to a replay of BET's Hip Hop vs. America forum and was pleased to find that two key rappers participated along with professors, civil rights activists, authors, and even a former hip hop video model. As expected, the rappers pleaded their cases against charges that they are misogynists and gang bangers with horrible influence on America's youth and the country's public airwaves.

A lot of the same questions keep coming up as I tour around the country promoting my new book,Young, Rich and Dangerous: The Making of a Music Mogul. People want to know my take on the problems in the record business. They want to know why sales are so bad, and whether music labels have a future.