By Brian McManus
In a VIP room of a gentleman’s club in Southwest Philly called Oasis on Essington, Phillip Esposito, aka Big City Philadelphia, is all smiles, and it has nothing to do with the unobstructed view of voluptuous vixens. He’s a would-be rap star whose latest YouTube clip has ignited an Internet firestorm. In “How to Rob an Industry Hipster,” Big City has taken a page straight from 50 Cent’s playbook.
By Catherine Caperello
As of press time, there have been 94 homicides in the city of Philadelphia in 2009. Given the 105 homicides that had occurred by this time last year, the drop in murders seems promising. But the numbers don’t factor in aggravated assault by firearm—when a shooting occurs but the victim lives. Last year, there were 2,729 incidents of aggravated assaults, but arrests were made in less than half of those cases. Overall, 59 percent of all felony cases in Philly get thrown out, and it’s because the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office isn’t ready.
Regarding Joel Mathis' recent story about YouTube sensation The Skorpion Show. I just would like...
By Steven Wells
There’s an important lesson to be learned from the phenomenom of police brutality videos on YouTube: Recording (and/or Tweeting about) brutality isn’t enough.