"What has happened down here is the wind have changed
Clouds roll in from the north and it started to rain
Rained real hard and rained for a real long time
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline
The river rose all day
The river rose all night
Some people got lost in the flood
Some people got away alright
The river have busted through clear down to Plaquemines
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangelne

Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away"

On the next Fresh Air – Hip Hop week continues with DARRYL MCDANIELS… the
DMC of Run DMC. They were the first rap group to earn gold, platinum and
multi-platinum albums. We'll also hear from L.L. COOL J. Join us for Hip
Hop Week on the next Fresh Air.

On the next Fresh Air, GRANDMASTER FLASH and DJ KOOL HERC bring on the funk and tell tales about the old school as we kick off our end of the summer Hip Hop Week --featuring some of the greatest names in rap, including Will Smith, Queen Latifah, the RZA and LL Cool J. Join Terry Gross for the next Fresh Air.

Los Angeles is often called the mural capital of the world — and no place is this truer than on the streets of Boyle Heights, where hundreds of walls at pharmacies, general stores, guitar shops and even churches have been transformed into urban artwork.

The murals depict Mexican American history, advertise businesses and take the form of abstract art at the hands of graffiti taggers.

But now some residents complain that they cannot tell some of the murals from the illegal graffiti that have long plagued the area. So the city is cracking down.

Using a little-known ordinance that allows the city to regulate murals that abut public property — including sidewalks — officials have notified some property owners that they must either modify or remove their murals.

Each year, 2,000-3,000 writers (!!!) emerge with freshly minted MFAs, turning out submissions to journals, publishers and agents. The Del Mar-based Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency, which has shepherded a stable of renowned writers to literary success, receives hundreds of unsolicited manuscripts each week.

After years of experience wading through the slush pile of submissions, Dijkstra -- a former university professor with a Ph.D. in French literature -- discerned that MFA programs can foster "well-written but sterile work." But there's also a practical upside: Dijkstra pays more attention when she sees an MFA on the resume...

REGGAE SUPERSTAR SIZZLA SIGNS TO
DAMON DASH MUSIC GROUP

US TOUR SET TO LAUNCH AUGUST 18;
MAJOR LABEL DEBUT ALBUM SET FOR EARLY '06

NEW YORK, NY - August 8, 2005 - International reggae superstar Sizzla, one of Jamaica's most gifted, most prolific, and best-loved artists of the past decade, has signed with the Damon Dash Music Group (DDMG). With over 30 full-length albums released for labels like VP Records, Greensleeves, and Jet Star, and countless 7-inch singles released in his native Jamaica - including last summer's crossover smash "Just One Of Those Days (Dry Cry)" - his forthcoming DDMG release, set for an early-2006 release, will mark Sizzla's major-label debut.

What may seem at first a strange musical marriage - Jamaica's Sizzla, a reclusive, devout Rastafarian and Harlem's Damon Dash, the brash, outspoken mogul and CEO of DDMG, Sizzla joins an already eclectic DDMG roster including the infamous rapper Beanie Sigel, R&B singers Rell and Nicole Wray, and the legacy of the late Ol' Dirty Bastard.

"The signing of Sizzla to the Damon Dash Music group is actually a perfect fit," explains Dash. "I am an entrepreneur: when I see a market I haven't yet infiltrated, I'm going after it. Reggae and Caribbean music is a huge international marketplace and, of course, I like the scope of that. Sizzla is unquestionably the genre's biggest, most talented, most prolific, most important star. I'm looking forward to reaching Sizzla's already massive fanbase, and more importantly, exposing him to a brand new one. I'm proud and excited to have Sizzla as a new addition to the DDMG family."
Emerging during the latter half of the '90s, Sizzla - born Miguel Collins in the rugged August Town area of Kingston - has been one of the leaders of the conscious dancehall movement. Along with veteran acts like Buju Banton and Capleton, and more recently I-Wayne and Damien "Junior Gong" Marley, Sizzla has helped lead dancehall back to the musical and spiritual influence of roots reggae, favoring organic productions and heavily Rastafarian subject matter. Something of an enigma to the public at large, Sizzla has rarely granted interviews and has kept his concert appearances to a minimum. All of that, Dash insists, is about to change.

"When my VP of A&R, Clark Kent, brought Sizzla to me, I didn't know what to expect. This artist has blown me away. We're actually very much alike. He's a workaholic, like me. He's in the studio every day, recording literally hundreds of songs. He's not only punctual, he's actually early for promotional appointments. We're both respected and accomplished, yet we're both still hungry."

Regardless of his public persona, Sizzla has ranked as arguably the most popular conscious reggae artist of his time. From his breakout year of 1997, which saw the release of his critically and publicly-acclaimed second and third albums, Praise Ye Jah and Black Woman & Child - both instant classics - to 2004's return to form Da Real Thing, Sizzla career-spanning 30-plus albums have amassed a catalogue of anthems beloved by reggae fans everywhere, including "Dry Cry," "Thank You Mama," "Solid As a Rock," "Praise Ye Jah," "Black Woman & Child," "Good Ways," "Holding Firm," and many, many more.

Observers feel the magazine's spiraling problems mirror a central struggle within hip hop itself. "The roots of the music are very 'street'," says Minya Oh, alias Miss Info, Hot 97's hip-hop gossip. "But that has to get along with its newer role, which is very big business."

Many industry insiders feel the biggest blow to the magazine's credibility stems from its two-year war against Eminem, whom the magazine has cast as a racist, out to whitewash an African-American art form. (The Source's own founder, David Mays, is white.)

"By battling Eminem, they end up battling the whole family he's down with - 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, Lloyd Banks - the biggest people in the game," explains Nelson George, a long-time observer of popular music and the author of "Hip-Hop America." "How can you sustain and not cover those guys?"

"Regular readers really don't care about the whole back story of the magazine's problems," says Oh. "But they do want to know what Eminem is doing on his vacation or what 50 Cent has to say about Vivica Fox."

To get that information, readers are increasingly flipping over to The Source's rival, XXL. That upstart mag began eight years ago (The Source kicked off back in 1988). In 2003, the younger mag's circulation was little more than half that of its role model. Since then, its circulation has increased by more than 10% to an audited figure of 273,257, the overwhelming majority of them moving on newsstands.

"XXL is now the biggest to us," says a source at Def Jam Records.