Christopher Charles Lloyd, (Lloyd Banks) of G-Unit was arrested this weekend in Toronto, Canada, for allegedly beating up a concert promoter. Lloyd is one of four men involved in the incident that could lead to charges, which may include assault, forcible confinement and robbery. The group allegedly held down and beat the concert promoter, Chris Hines, on Friday night after Lloyd Banks walked out on a contract he was contracted to perform. The four men remained in jail over the weekend and will appear in court Monday, January 11, 2010.

When it comes to the Lloyd Banks arrest, I've only got a few quick thoughts:

1) Why must hip-hop be so violent? Can we ever get to the point where brothers can make their money without creating an arrest record at the same time? With the arrests of Lloyd Banks, Lil Wayne, T.I. and Lil Boosie (there are others), I am hopeful that someone will intervene in the industry and stop the madness.

2) Getting tangled in violence helps to build a rapper's brand: The rapper Plies didn't get a major record deal until he and his entourage were accused of a massive assault and shooting that took place in 2006. Rapper 50 Cent was quoted numerous times making reference to being shot nine times. It is unfortunate that we live in a world where black men are fighting like crabs in a barrel to see who can be in the most shootings, assaults or jail cells in order to get a record deal. Personally, it's a tiny bit tacky. Perhaps one day, these black men can learn to own and build their own business models that are not designed for them to be pimped and controlled by corporate America's obsession with the violent black male.

Hip-hop has got to change, we know that. The most commercialized and marketed forms of hip-hop tend to be the most destructive. At the same time, the commercialized version of hip-hop should be not confused with real hip-hop. Real hip-hop is conscientious, brilliant, powerful, meaningful and impactful. That's not what you're going to hear on the radio.



Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.