Heavy Mentalist

In what can surely be described as a win for the little guy, Iceland has recently forgiven the mortgage debt of over a quarter of its population.

The island nation has also taken steps to meet the wants of protestors who, in 2009 angrily demanded that Iceland’s leaders and bankers be held accountable for the country’s economic and financial collapse.

Currently, over 200 people are facing charges in the aftermath of Iceland’s financial meltdown, including three of the country’s top banking executives.

Read more about what basically amounts to the Icelandic government telling their own banking system to shove it on bloomberg.com.

Below is a video from Da Raw Journalist taking the story further and analyzing what this means for the rest of Europe and the world. Go Iceland!

Warning: This video contains a lot of profanity and may not be appropriate for all viewers. Despite the language used in the video, the core message in it, I believe is very important.

This gun target made in the likeness of Trayvon Martin is absolutely disgusting. And apparently, the maker (the Hiller Armament Company of Virginia) can’t keep them in stock.

This is not just disturbing, it’s possibly illegal. According to Virginia law, no one can profit off of the likeness of any person without his consent, which in this case would be impossible to obtian since Trayvon is deceased.

Now there is a petition circulating to ask Virginia’s Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli, to investigate the Hiller Armament Company and punish them if they have broken the law.

You can sign the petition here.

During a peaceful protest on April 20 in the capital of Uganda, Ingrid Turinawe, a prominent female politician and chairperson for the Women League of the Forum for Democratic Change was arrested and sexually assaulted during the arrest.

As the video at the top of this post shows, at least four policemen violently pulled her out of a car, with one officer repeatedly clutching her breast. Turinawe says the assult was so violent that it caused her breast to bleed.

Ugandan police first denied the attack, although the video clearly shows the officer repeatedly assaulting Turinawe. That officer has since been suspended.

Turinawe’s assault is not a lone one, as women in Uganda are routinely targeted for harassment and sexual abuse during protests.

This assault has sparked an outcry in Uganda, with women across the country taking to the streets to demand that police stop harassing and violating them while they exercise their right to freedom of expression.  Continue reading...

The latest rapper to be signed to the infamous Def Squad camp (home to Redman and Keith Murray), Gabz is an emcee with a crown of consciousness and the heart of a pugilist, a duality he owes to being raised in the streets of Southside Chicago and in the Nation of Islam since he was 5 years old.

Gabz, who has worked with everyone from Kanye West, No I.D. and Rhymefest to DJ Jazzy Jeff is featured on several tracks from Erick Sermon’s new mixtape ‘Breath Of Fresh Air’.

Recently, Heavy Mentalist’s own Street Poet Monte Smith had a chance to chop it up with Gabz on life, hip hop, politics and more.

1. Tell the world where you’re from and how hard (or easy) of a journey it has been.

I am from Chicago and it has definitely been a hard journey being an aspiring artist here. I am thankful for the experience though because it has taught me how to make it anywhere in the world. Chicago is a tough city to make it from. We are mainly known for Gangsters & Politics.  Continue reading...

The group was a project of Isaac Hayes and one time songwriting partner David Porter. Hayes can be heard on this cut manning the keys (organ and piano).

Big up to one of my favorite Youtube channels, DallasChiTown for this upload!