I, for one, am glad 2009 is done & gone. It was a long, terrible year. A lotta peoples passed since January 1st. The list is too long to put in this particular blog, but it was a ton of folks. Also, a lot of garbage music dropped this year. A lot of albums that I wanted to happen this year, that were supposed to happen this year, did not happen. But, on the other side of that, we did get a few bangers this year. I was particularly happy w/ Raekwon’s “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II.” The 14-year wait was well worth it when I heard that masterpiece. But, overall, it was a long year. I have no doubt, though, that 2010 will shape up to be a better 365 days. How could it not be!? LOL… We’ll have some new Empire joints dropping this year. My solo venture, “A Long Time Coming,” a new, as yet untitled, Empire project, Mista Jay’s solo joint, “Chasing Ghosts,” and whatever other ideas we come up with, should all hit the scene this year. So, we definitely got some things to look forward to this year. But, now that I’m done ranting, I wanna thank everyone that came through the site this year, checked out the blog, registered and posted on the forum (which got more active this year, and we hope will continue to grow), signed the guestbook, and showed support for The Empire, in general. We appreciate it, and we’re gonna continue to put together that good music for y’all. Once again, welcome to 2010!!!

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We continue to get love from myspace thanks to all our supporters……here’s a sample:

HEY WHATS UP ..CHECKED OUT YOUR PAGE ,,,SHIT IS HOT ,,,ARE YALL ON FACE BOOK TOO? ANY WAYS I’LL HIT YOU UP ON TWITTER AS WELL IT WILL BE UNDER M-PRESS BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY PAGE WHEN I PUT MY MUSIC OUT.. YEAH BUT HIT ME UP ON FACEBOOK TOO… I WOULDN’T MIND PROMOTING YOU GUYS … THANKSLOVE, MELISSA   AKA M-PRESS

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John Winston Ono Lennon, ^[1][2] MBE (9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an English rock musician, singer-songwriter, author, and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles. With Paul McCartney, Lennon formed one of the most influential and successful songwriting partnerships of the 20th century and “wrote some of the most popular music in rock and roll history”.^[3] He is ranked the second most successful songwriter in UK singles chart history after McCartney.^[4]

Lennon revealed a rebellious nature and biting wit in his music, on film, in books, and at press conferences and interviews. He was controversial through his work as a peace activist and visual artist. After The Beatles, Lennon enjoyed a successful solo career with such acclaimed albums as John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine and iconic songs such as “Give Peace a Chance” and “Imagine“. After a self-imposed “retirement” to raise his son Sean, Lennon reemerged with a comeback album, Double Fantasy, but was murdered less than one month after its release. The album would go on to win the 1981 Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

In 2002, respondents to a BBC poll on the 100 Greatest Britons voted Lennon eighth. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Lennon number 38 on its list of “The Immortals: The Fifty Greatest Artists of All Time” (The Beatles being number one). He was also ranked fifth greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone in 2008.^[5] He was posthumously inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987^[6] and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.^[7]

Today, December 8, 2009 marks the 29th anniversary of John Lennon’s untimely death. As the most prominent member of the British band, The Beatles the singer-songwriter was known for his controversial antics inside and outside of music. His life was cut short when he was gunned down outside of his New York apartment building by Mark David Chapman, a deranged critic of his message.

John Lennon was 40 years old at his time of death, which was brought on by multiple gun shot wounds. Chapman was a mentally unstable individual who thought Lennon was being hypocritical with his music. He sang about free love and lack of material possessions but was a multimillionaire, a contradiction that literally drove Chapman insane. On this day at 10:49 PM, Lennon was shot by Chapman and pronounced dead shortly after at 11:07.

At this time Lennon, had become a beacon of the people, along with his wife Yoko Ono. His freethinking philosophy on life was contagious and spread beyond his fans and into the political realm. His presence was felt by everyone, which is why his death was so devastating. He’ll always be remembered as one of the founding members of The Beatles and a man who changed the face of music forever.

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World AIDS Day, observed December 1 each year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. It is common to hold memorials to honor persons who have died from HIV/AIDS on this day. Government and health officials also observe the event, often with speeches or forums on the AIDS topics. Since 1995, the President of the United States has made an official proclamation on World AIDS Day. Governments of other nations have followed suit and issued similar announcements.

AIDS has killed more than 25 million people between 1981 and 2007,^[1] and an estimated 33.2 million people worldwide live with HIV as of 2007,^[2] making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. Despite recent, improved access to antiretroviral treatment and care in many regions of the world, the AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 2 million lives in 2007,^[3] of which about 270,000 were children.^[4]

Please know your status get tested http://www.hivtest.org/

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