The Hip Hop community lost another one of its soldiers the other night when 28 year old Robert E Davis aka DJ Screw passed away in his sleep the other night. For many, especially those in his native Texas and Southern part of the country, DJ Screw was bigger than life. He was the undisputed king of the mixtapes and was on par with legendary DJs like Funkmaster Flex, Kid Capri and others. In fact earlier this year he was honored by Hot 97 and Funkmaster Flex for his efforts. DJ Screw was best known for his unique style of mixing where he slowed down the music and would 'chopped and screw' it. It was known as 'screw' music. Many would flock to his two record stores in Houston and Beaumont to get his music.

A popular individual, Screw appeared in a number of local straight to video movies including 'Dirty Bird'. He also rapped on various projects including one involving Lil Keke. Screw was also known for his monthly columns in Platinum Magazine..He penned columns called such as 'What's The Damn Deal?, 'Straight From The Streets' and 'What's Dirty Down South'? The next issue of Platinum magazine will be dedicated to him. Finally DJ Screw will be missed for his philanthropic work. there are a number of individuals that are sitting in colleges thanks to Screw's efforts.

Initially the cause of Screw's death was unclear which resulted in an onslaught of widespread speculation. Initial reports were saying that he died of a heart attack while others are saying that he died from an overdose induced by a lethal mixture of soda and coedine cough syrup. For those who don't know, that particular method of getting high which was brought to many people's attention by the popular Three 6 Mafia song 'Sippin' On Syrup has been the cause of more than a few tragedies. Folks who are close to the Screw emphatically insisted that these were vicious rumors and the recent autopsy results proved it was indeed a heart attack.

At the time of Screw's passing he was working on a couple of album projects including one with his brother Al D who raps as well as one with Black Child Jones At the time of this writing, funeral arrangements were still pending.. DJ Screw will certainly be missed..

While folks down South are dealing with Screw's passing, folks in Oakland are reeling from the tragic shooting of Oakland rapper E-Klipz. He was one half of a duo known as Cydal who folks may recall for their hit song Hollywood which borrowed from Malcolm McClaren's 'Buffalo Scratch'. They also put out the album Cydalwayz. The causes leading up to the shooting are still unclear.. We'll let you know as we find out, but it is indeed another sad scenario to deal with E-Klipz death. His passing marks the 10th Bay Area rapper to pass away in the past 5 years..

Lastly we be remised if we did not pay tribute to a some one who put in much work for our collective community. Civil Rights veteran Hosea Williams passed away after a bout with cancer the other day. He was 74. Williams was best known for the work he put in with Martin Luther King..This selfless individual was a key point person and chief organizer for many of Kings rallies and demonstrations.. Most notable was the role he played in leading the historic march on Selma which we now know as Bloody Sunday. Williams was also with King when he was assassinated in Memphis back in 1968. He carried the pain and anger he felt from that tragic day for most of his life. Williams will definitely be missed. ====================

Hip Hop For Hunger

Props to Bay Area rappers like B-Legit, Richie Rich and numerous others for stepping up and doing something good for this upcoming Holiday Season. They will be participating in KMEL's Hip Hop For Hunger this Saturday November 18th at Bay Fair Mall which is just outside of Oakland. The day long event is a food drive which will feature Bay Area local artists, KMEL radio personalities and a live broadcast which will last from 11am-5pm. Several thousand people are expected to swing through and drop off canned food, turkeys and donations which will be turned over to Bay Area food banks. It will definitely be a good Thanksgiving for quite a few families thanks to the efforts of the Bay Area's Hip Hop community..