Media maven Karen Civil and RESPECT Magazine’s Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson. Photo Credit: Gemini Keez of Keez Cam

Karen Civil checks in with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson on Scoop B Radio. Press Play Below To Listen!

The entertainment industry is hugely male dominated.

That’s a fact! But, male dominated doesn’t mean male controlled.

If 2017 has taught us anything, it has been women using the power of their voice to combat sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace.

Notables in the entertainment and news workplace have felt the fury, too. Former NBC Today Show anchor, Matt Lauer, hip hop mogul, Russell Simmons and American film producer, Harvey Weinstein are some of the names that have been implicated in the tumultuous scandal.

Hip hop has been male dominated forever and a day. You see differences in pay, women and their bodies objectified and more.

“We’ve fought for a very long time,” cultural influencer Karen Civil told me on Scoop B Radio.

“We’ve fought for a very long time and I’ve been in places where the victim was looked at as the person who did something wrong and because of that their voices were lowered because they felt like they were messing up a workplace or messing with your career and your ability to go far.”  

Civil turned her fascination with the internet into a lucrative career. Her website, LiveCivil.com is a hub that aggregates content in news, music releases and celebrity interviews. Her point of entry in mainstream began as an intern with Funkmaster Flex. She’s also been responsible for connecting the dots on a marketing level with Beats by Dre headphones during their early stages with Monster headphones by marketing artists and athletes.

As a result of the current women empowerment movement, many are losing their jobs and awareness of the severity of sexual harassment in the workplace has been a great awakening for many. “I love that this Me-too campaign was created because it shows that we’re not going to take it,” said Civil.

“I love the fact that it’s happening in this day and age with the president that we have now because it shows that we’re not going to silence our voices we’re here and you’re going to respect us.”

Sounds empowering.

Last year, Civil was the director of cool during the Presidential election for Democratic hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton. While women were inspired this year to vote in critical state’s like Alabama, millennials seemed inspired to vote last year. “Young millennials came out in full force and voted for her,” said Civil.

“But I feel like situations like this make us more aware because we see what’s happening around us. So we need to make sure that we’re voting on every level and shows the importance of educating yourself on politics and what’s happening around us.”

With 2018 jump starting next week, million dollar question for Civil: What’s your New Year’s resolution? “Being more in a positive space,” she said.

“Because of the world that we live in I always prepare for the worst, but I need to stop doing that and mentally prepare for the best and stop thinking more negatively so definitely being in a more positive mindset.”

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The post Scoop B: In wake of Matt Lauer & Harvey Weinstein sexual harrassment allegations, strategist Karen Civil shares importance of women using their voice appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

With just a few weeks until it’s official release (September 4th), Travi$ Scott’s debut album, Rodeo, is fast approaching. With the assist from Beats by Dre and UNDFTD, La Flame gives us a glimpse into his creative process. Watch as he cooks up “Never Catch Me”, a song that we can guess will be featured on the album.

“SEPT 4 THE KIDS WIN. !!” – Travi$ Scott

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Last year’s third richest artist in hip-hop, Dr. Dre, might become a couple million dollars richer. According to Radar Online, the hip-hop pioneer has filed a lawsuit against his former label, Death Row Records, for more than $3 million in unpaid royalties. The Beats by Dre executive states that the label owes him $1,200,386.57 in unpaid artist-producer royalties, $1,179,913 from digital sales and $676,444.44 for unpaid mechanical royalties. He also claims that the label has yet to honor a bonus that would increase his royalty rate from 18 to 20 percent.

Luckily for Suge Knight, he is not too affected by this lawsuit. In 2006 Suge filed for bankruptcy and Death Row was later bought out in 2008.

The post News: Dr. Dre Files Lawsuit Against Death Row Records appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Beats by Dre have taken a stranglehold on the headphone market, and now they are poised to take a shot at the portable Bluetooth audio game for their first post-Monster product. The “Pill” is an NFC-equipped, 2.1 speaker that will run you $200 and will be available in red, black or white.

The battery life will last you around 7 hours for continuous play and features a micro-USB charging port. The device also comes with a  3.5mm input jack if you’d like to make a go of it without the Bluetooth technology.

Take a look at some close-up shots below and be sure to watch an unboxing video courtesy of Engadget.

The post Check Out the New Beats by Dre “Pill” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Beats by Dre are now the number one way to pretend you know about music! But seriously, they’ve popped off like Andre never would have guessed. The Post reports:

The success of Beats by Dre seems to have spawned a flurry of artists hawking audio equipment. Ludacris has launched his own brand of headphones, Soul by Ludacris, and 50 Cent has jumped on the action as well with Street (wired) and Sync (wireless) by 50. Maroon 5 is featured in JBL’s new “Hear the Truth” campaign.

Both headphone lines by Ludacris and 50 Cent feature the same streamlined aesthetic, with large over-the-ear cans and similar price points.

But Beats by Dre is still a step ahead: The technology isn’t just restricted to headphones anymore. The company’s first partnership was with Monster Cable, which manufactures the headphones. Now Beats Audio is available in HP computers. The company has a partnership with Chrysler, which put Beats in its 2012 Chrysler 300S. In August, HTC announced that it was investing $300 million in Beats, and last month it released the HTC Rezound, the first stateside smartphone with Beats audio technology.

The post <em>The Washington Post</em> on the ‘Beats by Dre’ Revolution appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Beats By Dre may be facing some new competition in the circumaural (over-ear) headphone game, and it may be coming from closer than you think.  Kevin Lee, the son of the founder of Monster Cable Products Inc. (Beats’ parent company), has chosen to pursue his own headphone company, Sol Republic.  A new headphone line wouldn’t normally be a problem, unless they plan to undersell the competition.  That’s exactly what Lee hopes to do with his new line of affordable headphones in the $50-$150 range.  No launch date has been set for the Soundtrack of Life (SOL) line, but selling headphones at nearly $200 less than your competition isn’t a bad start.  Hopefully this forces Dre into a fire sale, who wouldn’t be caught rocking those headphones for 50%-80% off?  All we can do is wait.

Read more on the story HERE

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