Ben’s Chili Bowl Paints Over Bill Cosby/Obama Mural (UPDATE)

UPDATE: You can now head over to Ben’s website to vote for who will be on the new mural…surprisingly, some notable names are missing from that list (which you can add yourself)…

From Washingtonian:

Ben’s Chili Bowl has removed a mural that features alleged sexual predator Bill Cosby from the side of its U Street restaurant. White paint now covers a series of portraits that also included Barack Obama, Donnie Simpson, and Chuck Brown.

Co-owner Nizam Ali says backlash against Cosby—perhaps Ben’s most famous customer until Obama visited in 2009—had absolutely nothing to do with the mural’s removal.

“The mural went up in 2012. It’s 2017. New mural, new year,” Ali says. “It’s time to put something new up. It’s time to spring forth a good message of peace and unity.”

W.Ellington Felton, an artist in residence at Ben’s, tells Washingtonian he helped lead the removal effort, which took place over Wednesday night and early Thursday morning. Asked why Ben’s removed it now, he said, “Obama’s not in office. It’s the end of an era.”

JABB – Understand Me


Understand that JABB is back and he’s bringing his brand of Square Bizness, after a long period of recording and preparation. For a sampler of what’s to come, check the new single “Understand Me.” Square Bizness, soon. “Understand Me” was produced by Big Boy Traks. Photo by Marli (@dont.shootem)

Oddisee – Like Really

Check out the latest from Oddisee below, taken from the upcoming album The Iceberg (released February 24th; pre-order here).

The prolific MC, producer and musician Oddisee’s new album ‘The Iceberg’ is a plea for humanity to dig deeper in search of understanding and common ground. His third release in just 12 months, ‘The Iceberg’ is a distillation of stereotypical tropes in hip-hop and beyond, 12 tracks about money, sex, politics, race and religion that appear superficial until his multi-dimensional lyrics unfurl to expose the complexities of individuality and identity: how we see ourselves and how others see us. Deeply soulful, and shot through with jazz, Go-go, gospel, thick r&b and hard beats, the album is a timely, poetic statement. ‘The Iceberg’ is out February 24 on Mello Music Group.

Chrisette Michele – No Political Genius

Source: Paras Griffin/Getty Images

If you weren’t aware, Chrisette Michele was tapped as a performer for Donald Trump’s inauguration as president, and Black folks/Democrats were upset about it. Even hypocrite Spike Lee decided not to use her music, or something.

Now, she fights back with a new track:

I am the black song Spike Lee won’t sing/I am the black voice inauguration bells ring…

Your hateful words won’t be my defining moment … They will be my ammunition to fight the system/We will win them/Hope is alive/This is my standing/For John Lewis and Ben Carson/Questlove, Spike Lee, and before them/I won’t divide now/That’s not smart now/God before me, I won’t back down/This is my damn America now…