Category Archives: business

Hip-Hop is no longer limited to rap music and break dancing; today it represents a multi-billion dollar industry that influences everything from fashion to prime- time television programming, professional sports, mass media marketing and advertising. Today Hip-Hop is becoming a way of life, a culture that is intricately woven into every aspect of young people’s daily lives.

Artists like Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Public Enemy, 2Pac (to some extent right?) and many more use hip hop to describe the social inequities of the Black community and the inner city. They are putting a very human feel to issues that are calloused by misinterpretation and exoticism and sensationalization. Artists like 50 Cent and the genre of ‘gangsta rap’ have become extremely popular in America today, in part because of corporate manipulation and the large, multiracial audience that now exists for hip-hop music.

Hip-hop is an expression of the social, political and economic problems associated with living in urban areas. Since African-Americans are the dominate group in urban centers, their influence is the largest on urban music. Hip-hop lyrics, with their emphasis on “keepin’ it real” and marked by a colossal indifference to mainstream taste, became an equally powerful influence on young black men. These two influences have created a brand-new, brand-name generation that refuses to assimilate but is nonetheless an important part of mainstream American culture.

Legendary hip hop icon Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, of the pioneering hip hop group RunDMC, told a crowd recently that what they see on television in music videos is “show business” and not a true reflection of what hip hop represents. “The whole purpose of hip hop is to inspire, to motivate and to educate. It is the transfer of information whether you are in the ghetto or Beverly Hills. Hip hop is about the life we live-especially for Black people,” DMC said. “Hip hop was created to make it known that we as a people are in charge of our purpose and our destiny. The true purpose of hip hop was not just to create rappers,” he added.

Rapping developed both inside and outside of hip hop culture, and began with the street parties thrown in the Bronx neighborhood of New York in the 1970s by Kool Herc and others. Rap, graffiti, spoken word are all part of hip-hop. There, of course, is much more that is hip-hop, but you wouldn’t know it through playing video games that are based on hip-hop.

TJ Crawford, founder and executive producer of the MPR Report, a radio talk show airing weekly on WVON 1690 AM, has said, “It’s beyond just hip hop, it’s beyond just a generation, This is about people who want better for their people and recognize the power that is in the music. People who move in that same type of spirit are trying to see who they can connect with to take it to that next level.”

Opportunities are few outside of the ghettos; therefore, their language focuses on their world. Instant gratification reflects …

Today, personal loans have become a very popular fund option. A personal loan is simply a loan that is issued to a person for any type of personal reason. There are many different reasons that a person may need money, sometimes on very short notice. Common reasons include: emergency expenses, debt consolidation, automotive purchases, business purposes, and for medical expenses.

There are three different types of personal loans available through lenders today: secured, unsecured, and lines of credit. Secured loans require the borrower to place some form of contractual up in exchange for receiving the funds. For example, if you are going to use your personal loan for the purchase of a new car, you would place the new car up as collateral. This gives the lender a bit of recourse should you default on the loan. The lender would then repossess the car and sell it to recoup their money. Unsecured lines of credit require no collateral at all to obtain. These loans can be a bit harder to get, and often come with strict terms and high interest rates. A line of credit is similar in terms to a credit card, as it allows the borrower to borrow and repay money from an approved, preset, spending limit.

When you find yourself in the situation of needing a bit of extra money, it is always recommended that you contact reputable financial institutions that you know. Unfortunately, especially with the recent economic difficulties, personal loans have become a breeding ground for unscrupulous people who have no intention of providing an honest loan. These people scam innocent borrowers in an already desperate time.

In order to protect yourself, you should be aware of what is required from reputable lenders to begin the loan application process. You will need to have recent pay stubs, w-2s, bank statements, and a credit history that shows your ability to make regular payments on time. If your credit rating is a bit lacking, you may also need a co-signer. The same information will be required from your co-signer as well.

Even though there are three types of personal loans to choose from (as described above), certain loan amounts, or individuals with certain credit ratings, may only be issued funds in a secured fashion. This is to help protect the lender and restrict some of the terms since the loan will be solely for personal use.

When setting out to apply for a personal loan, you should first determine exactly how much money you need to borrow. As temptation as it may be to take extra money, keep in mind this will affect your monthly payments, interest rates, and length of the loan. Opting for an amount that is too high can lead to debt problems or an inability to keep up with payments to repay the loan. Once you have determined the loan amount, take your time and shop around. Compare lenders, terms, fees, and interest rates. Keep in mind the fact that lenders are competitive …

Are you looking for loans for felons? Many ex felons ask if there are loans for felons that they can apply to after release and the answer is yes. Find out where to look and how to apply for loans for felons.

Sadly, loans for felons are not available to many ex felons. Loans for felons are not necessarily denied to felons because they were incarcerated or because they have criminal records. There are no specific loans for felons; what happens is that many ex felons lose the integrity of their credit reports while they are incarcerated so many financial institution refuse to give loans for felons.

Coupled with the difficulty of finding a job, people with previous felony convictions are unable to start their own business without loans for felons; therefore, any ex felon is doomed to live in really dire economic situation after serving their sentences.

Though there are no specific loans for felons, the assistance that the government provides may be in the form of loans for other concern, which the ex felon can take advantage of. Understand that even though there are no specific loans given to newly released ex felons, there are government programs that are given to various sectors of the society (including people with felony convictions) to get financial help through loans.

An ex felony can apply for such program to get the loans that he really needs.

These programs are funded with hundreds of millions of dollars and any ex felon who wants to their education, get additional trainings or get vocational skills can take advantage to them.

Here are a few of the programs you can apply for:

The Second Chance Act:

The second chance act do not provide direct loans or grants to the ex felon. The funding are given to nonprofit organizations that can help ex felons get trainings, education and a little push to start on their own. Grants to as much as $500,000 can be given to such nonprofit organizations under the administration of the Department of Labor.

Stafford Loans:

Stafford loans are loans that any ex felons can enjoy should they wish to continue with their college education. Stafford loans are not given directly to the ex felons, they are straightaway sent to the school to pay for the ex felons’ tuition and other fees. Fees may include living expenses such as transportation and rents. In some cases, the money for such fees are paid directly to you or be placed in your account with the school, depending on the school policy.

Subsidized loans for felons have interest rates of 5.6 percent. Non subsidized loans have interest rates of 6.8 percent and has to be paid while you attend your education.

The eligibility for the Stafford Loans has nothing to do with the kind of criminal offense you were convicted for. However, if you are convicted of drug offense while studying under the program, the loans will be forfeited.

Alcoholic Ex-Convicts:

Any ex convict who has …

While some people prefer to stick with their current jobs that involve putting up with long hours away from their families, long commutes to and from work, as well as the general stress that comes along with the common nine to five job, more and more people are turning to the internet to find steady work.

Once skirting around the fringes of the business world, home based work has become increasingly popular, and is a great way to bring in a steady income, as well as provide the flexibility that so many of us crave. Whatever your reason, there are literally hundreds of thousands of work at home opportunities to match every personality and talent.

Do you like to write? Then freelance writing may be perfect for you. All websites have content on them, and companies are in constant need of fresh content to keep their visitors from getting bored. If you can write well, and produce informative and up to date content, then companies are more than willing to pay you good money to write for them. Another great online opportunity is online surveys. Every product that you use is available because of marketing.

Companies need your opinions and reviews of their products in order to build effective marketing strategies, and they will compensate you richly for those opinions. This is a great online job because you can do the surveys whenever you want, and you can do as many as you want at once. The alert potential for both of these online jobs are really limitless, as the more you produce, the more money you can make! …

Establishing a home business is a dream for many people. The lure of setting your own hours and being your own boss is very appealing, but it is important to understand the reality of managing a business from home. Read on for some great ideas to help you develop and manage your business successfully.

Come up with a business plan. When you have a plan and write it down, you not only feel more organized but also it helps your mind to come up with great ideas. Before you know it, you'll be coming up with all sorts of imaginative ways to develop your business, that you would never have thought of, if you had not put your plan on paper.

Starting your own home business is definitely a stressful situation, but it should mostly be something you enjoy and a challenge you accept with open arms. Do not let the stress overwhelm you, and do not burn out. Employ or attain the extra help you need, and do not try to do everything yourself.

Having a business attitude is very important for your business success. If you work from home it can be hard to balance your business time with your family time. Set aside a certain amount of time every day for your business so you can become successful while still maintaining family time.

Organizing a realistic budget is a key step in helping get your home business off the ground. By doing this you will not only have a clear view of what is happening with your money you will also have a ballpark figure for how much revenue you need to receive to stay in the black.

When running a home business, one of the most important strategies you can use is staying focused. There are many daily distractions that can tempt you to waste your valuable time but if you practice staying focused on your goals, you will find that you will see results more quickly.

If, despite your best efforts, your company is not successful, this does not mean you should give up on the idea of ​​a home business. Cut your losses with your current business, re-analyze your personal budget, and look at other opportunities on the market. Very few first businesses are completely successful.

Think about what type of business or individual could best use your product. Search the internet for this type of customer and contact them directly, letting them know that you would like to work for them. This is a time consuming process, but it will lead to more sales and a happy customer base.

Now that you are armed with a better understanding of some of the issues involved in managing a home business, you can feel more confident about moving forward with your own creative ideas. A successful home business can help improve your financial circumstances and help to insulate you during downturns in the economy. Best of all, it can offer an excellent way to bring …