The Fugees co-founder is getting ready for the Blacture M1, expected later this year

Pras Michel, the Grammy-winning hip-hop artist, wants smartphone users to start controlling—and monetizing—their own data.

Michel, a founding member of the Fugees and now founder of the blockchain platform Blacture, is getting ready for his company to debut its first blockchain-enabled smartphone. The phone will let users eventually get paid for sharing data with marketers and internet companies while also earning money for engaging with and buying from brands.

At an Adweek event on Wednesday focused on blockchain technology, Michel and fellow co-founder Alpesh Patel explained more of their vision for the Blacture M1, expected to debut later this year. The phone—built in partnership with Qualcomm and Intel—will come with a Mastercard-backed prepaid debut card.

“[W]e’re about to see that individuals are now becoming their own IP,” he said. “The fact that someone is taking your data and selling it is technically your IP. You are what I call your ‘personal intellectual property and equity’, and so we figure that in the future, you’re going to be able to monetize that yourself. The ones that are monetizing the data need to share some of that revenue back to the consumer.”

Blacture will roll out its new platform in phases, said Alpesh H. Patel, CEO of the Blacture M1. The first phase will involve implementing a way of getting money back after buying products online. The second includes a rewards program for sharing data and other information, followed six to eight months later by a way for M1 owners to monetize their data.

According to Patel, that will start off with technology that lets users share their location data as they’re walking or driving down the street, in case companies want to market them various rewards in the form of ads.

“Nothing in this industry is really innovative or creative, [but] the prices keep going up,” Patel said. ” … The most potent, and most powerful real estate on the planet is your six-inch screen. And right now, it’s nearly 100 percent one-way. You’re nearly giving everything to everyone, but you, as the user, don’t get anything back.”

While Blacture might be among the first to debut a blockchain-enabled smartphone, it’s not the only company thinking about what the world might look like when users gain more ownership of their data. HTC is also developing its own Blockchain-enabled smartphone, the HTC Exodus, which will come with a way for cryptocurrency owners to secure their digital wallet. Meanwhile, Sirin Labs is developing one called the Finney, which will have dual screens and multi-layered cybersecurity measures.

There are other companies focused less on hardware and more on partnerships to let users monetize their data. The Kin Foundation, which created the cryptocurrency Kin last year alongside the Canadian messaging app, Kik, has been forging parterships with brands, rewards companies and others to build an ecosystem that it hopes will let users earn discounts and prizes for engaging with ads they might be interested in. And this fall, a company called Datawallet will roll out a beta version of a platform that lets users take their data from platforms like Facebook and Amazon and storing it all in one place.

While smartphones from the likes of Apple, Samsung and Google all cost between $700 to more than $1,200 for the latest models, Blacture’s is focused more on the mid-range market. That could include marketing toward people without a traditional banking account that want a new way to make money or store money.

It’s too early to tell whether the rewards offered through owning a Blacture will be compelling enough to persuade people to move away from their Apple and Android phones to try something new and untested. However, as blockchain technology and data ownership become more prominent, Michel said Blacture is aiming to get ahead of the trend.

“You want them to feel involved because you want them to keep buying your product,” he said. “The minute people start to feel marginalized, they start to move. You saw what happened with BlackBerry, for example. They weren’t able to go through innovation and keep up with the rest.”

To illustrate, he provided an anecdote from his own life, when he first heard about Bitcoin several years ago while visiting a friend who had been campaigning with Ron Paul back in 2009.

“I had $100,000 on me in cash—don’t ask me why,” he said. “But we were talking, and he said, ‘Listen, there’s this new thing. You should put $1,000 into it.’ I [asked] what it is, and he said it’s this thing called Bitcoin that was trading at 70 cents. I said, ‘Why would I do that? I don’t even know what the hell it is.’”

He continued: “I’m trying to show you that he was a part of the Ron Paul crew that didn’t like the Federal Reserve, but the reason why cryptocurrency came alive is because you had a group of people who wanted to cut the middle-man out.”

[FEDS ACCUSE FUGEES FOUNDER AND FORMER DOJ OFFICIAL OF TIES TO MALAYSIAN FINANCIAL CONSPIRACY] 

#leedanjaworldwide #pras #fugees #blacture #phone #money

Feds accuse Fugees founder and former DOJ official of ties to Malaysian financial conspiracy

A founding member of the Fugees music group and a former Justice Department official took part in a conspiracy to funnel tens of millions of dollars into the United States to help a Malaysian fugitive try to influence a series of Justice Department investigations and anti-crime efforts, prosecutors allege in court documents filed in federal district court in Washington D.C. Friday.

The conspiracy, allegedly with help from musician Prakazrel “Pras” Michel and then-Justice Department official George Higginbotham, also allegedly sought help from an unidentified candidate running for federal office, according to prosecutors and others.

Last week, federal authorities charged Higginbotham with one felony count of “conspiracy to make false statements” to a bank. In court on Friday, he pleaded guilty to the charge.

No charges have been publicly filed against Michel.

Asked why Michel has not been publicly charged, a Justice Department spokeswoman said, “It’s an ongoing investigation.”

A message sent direct to Michel by ABC News on Twitter seeking comment was not immediately returned. Other efforts to reach representatives for Michel were not successful.

The alleged conspiracy is tied to a major international scandal that has been unfolding for several years, the documents indicate.

At the heart of the scandal is an investment company created by the Malaysian government “to promote long-term economic development for the benefit of the Malaysian people,” as then-attorney general Jeff Sessions put it last year.

A web of corrupt Malaysian officials and overseas businessmen then misused more than $4.5 billion from the company – 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or “1MDB” – and laundered it through shell companies with bank accounts in the United States and elsewhere, according to Justice Department officials. By last year, the U.S. government had $3.5 billion of those funds frozen, Sessions said.

The Justice Department has sought to seize the allegedly misused funds. And four weeks ago, the Justice Department charged Malaysian financier Jho Low for allegedly taking part in the scheme, including efforts to bribe officials overseas to help make it happen. Authorities say he is still at-large.

In court papers filed Friday, prosecutors say Low found a “longtime political fundraiser” to lobby the U.S. government on his behalf, seeking to have the Justice Department pull away from its efforts in the 1MDB affair. According to court documents and prosecutors, Michel then allegedly recruited Higginbotham, a longtime associate of his, to help hide the lobbying campaign’s connections to Low.

But when the U.S. government failed to turn away from the 1MDB matter, Low — with help from Michel and Higginbotham — then asked the politically-connected fundraiser to start pushing for the U.S. government to deport a foreign national who had been critical of his home government, according to the court filings and officials. And to accomplish that, prosecutors said, the fundraiser agreed to approach a specific candidate running at that time for federal office, but prosecutors wouldn’t identify the candidate, only saying the candidate was not elected.

Last November, allegedly at Michel’s behest, Higginbotham sent an email to a major bank insisting that certain funds were being transferred from a legitimate company overseas for the purpose of an entertainment venture. However, Higginbotham knew that was false, as the funds were intended to support Low’s lobbying efforts, Higginbotham admitted in court on Friday.

In fact, Higginbotham admitted to all of the prosecutors’ allegations against him.

Before it was taken down, Higginbotham’s LinkedIn page said he began working as a “Senior Congressional Liaison/Oversight Counsel” in July 2016, and he left the Justice Department just three months ago. A Justice Department website indicates he worked for the department’s Office of Justice Programs, which provides grants and training to law enforcement across the country.

By: MIKE LEVINE

[PRAS MICHEL WANTS HIS BLOCKCHAIN-POWERED PHONE TO HELP USERS OWN THEIR DATA]

#abc #leedanjaworldwide #leedanja #riddimshop #pras #fugees #laurynhill #wyclef #tmz

One of Mobay’s top 5 juggling selectors Christopher Samuels aka Crazy Chris was arrested on Tuesday November 6, 2018 in Mecklenburg Co, North Carolina and is being charged with 3 counts of cocaine trafficking with intent to distribute.

Christopher Samuels a.k.a Crazy Chris is a popular selector on the dancehall scene from Montego Bay, Ja, but when he clashes he has a alter ego known as the “Short Killa” name given to him by the legendary dancehall recording artist Bounty killer, and he also represents the “CC ENT SOUND”.

Chris entered the World Clash Competition themed Kingston vs Montego Bay which he and his CC team won. He later went on to the Guinness Sounds of Greatness clash winning the first stage of the competition which was held in Kingston, Ja. He is currently being held at the Mecklenburg County jail on a $75,000 Bond.

Written By: Ramond “Lee Danja” Seaton

https://nc-mugshots.com/christopher-anthony-samuels-mugshot-11-06-2018-mecklenburg-county-north-carolina/

Veteran Selector “Ricky Trooper” Diss Up Iris & Chin And Express His Frustration With The Direction Of SoundClash!!

Selector “RICKY TROOPER” (SoundClash Veteran)

This message is from Ricky Trooper…. Blessed day my fans, some man a ride with me saying I am retiring from the sound system and clash scene. Well naw nothing more to prove to no one and i was bored with the direction i saw the business going. But i see i am the only person in this sound business who can stand up to a certain tyrant and dictator who feel like he is the originator of this sound business and who feel to himself that he is god gift to this culture that they born come see going on for years. This post is to let that person and his organization know today that i will not be going nowhere soon and they can do all they can to try belittle me but i will be here advocating for this culture that was originated in Jamaica.

This is not a hobby or a part time job for me cause i have never done a 9-5 job before in all my life and no disrespect to all the hard working people who hold down a job and own a sound system or your a dub collector but this is to let you know that playing music has been my life long job for over 40 years. I have been there from one turntable to to this new computer age and still contributing to the development of this culture and the bringing of new talent to the forefront of our reggae music. NOBODY owns the sound system culture so me or no other man should feel that they can dictate how this should be or who should run it.

Our music was never ever govern by any rules, It is a freedom of speech movement and a cry of the poor. I am no saint because i have done certain clashes with rules and etc but it was just to help preserve the culture of sound clash. As a icon you have to clash with the younger sounds to help mould them in the right way to fully understand that screaming and cussing on a mic is not the only way to express this sound clash craft love by millions of people world wide.

“As long as life is in my body i will never let those people control this culture”

Promoter “CHIN” (Iris & Chin Promotion)

If you talk the truth about some people and there agenda to control and run this sound clash scene you are targeted as the enemy whose days have passed and your washed up and done etc. My gift was given to me from god and no man can stop or limit the gift of god. The clash scene maybe is not what it used to be but it’s not dead and all my fellow sound system lovers all we need to do is take it back to the roots to one on one clashes without all the rules and mc etc but most of all make sure all the dances are recorded so it can be promoted all over the world to the people who love and respect this culture.

The clash destiny is in the hands of us all so stop tear it down and the people who love it on social media etc. Why are the same sound men fighting against each other and still a voice dubs etc for what to have them and not playing out or making any money? Love or hate me i know every one in the sound culture today has taken something from me and i have also taken from people who was before me to keep this culture moving.

As a icon i call on all sound system owners, Dub collectors, Dj’s put the music first and all the ego etc aside cause i know we all love the sound system culture. One man agenda is to dictate this culture but i will not let no man have no powers over me in this culture they come and see me doing years before they ever knew they could venture in this business.

Music is free for any one but there are certain principles and lines that never should be crossed. As long as life is in my body i will never let those people control this culture. I will fight them with the last breath in my body because it is like me alone see what they are up to with there selfish greed. That man is not looking out for nobody else sound only the sound he manage and he has burned his bridges with some of the greatest sound who made him who he his today. That man is not important to me so people he is a wrap. They have stopped my radio show on there site also just because i have spoken the truth about him being a culture vulture.

I am saying to all of you sound men today open your eyes because this man greed is to kill our culture for his benefit only. He has pirated the World Clash name, He wormed his way on Jam Rock Cruise, Sumfest and watch and see if his next move is not the Red Bull clash. When he reach there with his sound he manages he his done with the original clash culture. I am not blind to all there motives over the years and because i talk they always fight and try undermine me.

If you read this post hope you see where all this is going if your not conceited and ignorant against the truth. Is any sound getting famous nowadays? Are they getting worldwide recognition after all there clashing and playing? No but no one is saying why has the business become stagnant. The reason is the not coming together as sound men and stop feeling your better than a next man that’s why i always clash with the young sound to give them a avenue to get famous. Do that Chin guy give any sound a clash  with the sound he manages if he is not the promoter of the clash? So bash me and say i am talking crap about talking the truth. Longest liver see most my granny use to say. Just run this post thru your head and look into the facts my people.

FB: @LeeDanjaWorldwide  IG: @LeeDanjaWorldwide  Twitter: @LeeDanjaWorldwide

Michael Star Wants To Trod His Own Path!

Up-and-coming recording artiste Michael Star believes in getting to the top on his own merit.

He is the son of a reggae icon but wants to keep his father’s identity anonymous as he wants to build his own legacy and reputation.

“I don’t want to be known as another youth who buss because his father has connections,” he told The STAR. “I want to be known as a good recording artiste based on my own merit. This music industry needs more music that sends positive fun messages to our youths. I bring fun, positivity and enjoyable music for all ages.”

The artiste feels that while there are obvious advantages to being the son of an established artiste, there are also huge disadvantages.

“For example, look at the Marleys. Every time they do well, people automatically look past their work and assume that it’s due to who their father is,” Michael Star said. “I don’t want that monkey over my career, and even though I’m grateful that I was influenced by my father’s work, I do not want to be known as the ‘gold spoon’ son.”

The entertainer is currently promoting his new single, No Behaviour, and describes it as a song that showcases his roots but with a little pop flavour added.

He explained that part of his decision to not associate with his father’s career is because he wants freedom to explore different genres in music without being judged.

“If people associated me with my father, who is a reggae artiste, they would be quick to judge me saying how my father is a reggae man and I am doing a pop track,” he said.

Michael Star says the only thing he wants now is the support of the public, and is urging Jamaicans to give more of a listening ear to artistes who are spreading positivity.

“My biggest difficulty is trying to be consistent with putting out great music. The competition is paramount in the music industry and I intend to focus on writing great songs that all will enjoy,” he said.

Star said he intended to take his music as far as possible.

“Hopefully, I will be able to perform and put out great music until my time is up on this earth. Music is life, without music life is monotonous,” he said.

By: Shereita Grizzle (Courtesy Of The Jamaica Star)

BASED on dancehall music’s contribution to Jamaican culture, the call is being made for a month-long celebration of the local genre of music.

This call has come from promoter and artiste manager Junior “Heavy D” Fraser, who argued that dancehall continues to have an impact at home and, indeed, around the world, yet even during the celebrations of Reggae Month in February, this genre is not represented.

“I want fi see a Dancehall Month, because when is Reggae Month, we always get left out. But we know because we don’t get the respect dem not gonna give us that, but mek we start with a day… Give we Dancehall Day fi a start,” he told those gathered for the launch of the Dancehall Archives and Research Initiative at the University of the West Indies in St Andrew, last Friday.

Fraser also called on the authorities to understand the value of all genres of Jamaican music and asked for Reggae Month to be taken to a level where Jamaican music is played exclusively on local radio.

“I say give us the music on the radio for Reggae Month. Give our music a chance. You have so much people who live off dancehall and reggae music from the peanut man to the porridge man, the soup man and the families. Is not just the artistes, think about the dancers. Give we one month where only Jamaican music is played on radio and then tell me it caan work. But I go Barbados and them tell me all reggae show off for the next three months because a only calypso music a play. Mi go a Trinidad, dem do the same thing. And Jamaica which have the most music, dem nuh give we nothing … Why? The Government needs to support the music industry… Why we have a ministry of entertainment? The farmers get assistance to grow food. Yes, we need food but we also need entertainment too,” he said.

Meanwhile, conceptualiser of the archives Professor Donna Hope of the University of the West Indies noted that she is pleased with the general response to the project.

“People are excited and I think that the Dancehall Archives and Research Initiative is timely and well needed. We have to put some structure around our popular culture, around our music but moreso around dancehall culture, because we have to maintain its indigeneity, make sure that people understand its history and encourage research and scholarship. The Institute of Jamaica, through the Jamaica Music Museum, will be collaborating with us and we have received an official letter and we are working on others. But I believe in if you build it they will come, we have to begin somewhere and this is the start of it,” said Hope.

Written By: Richard Johnson

Date: Tues April 24, 2018