I sent this letter to the Source magazine about the issue with all the rap mugshots on the cover, either they were scared OR the letter got mailed too late...you tell me. We have a SERIOUS issue that must be addressed! The Chicago Hip Hop community has been slapped in the grill! And felonious acts must be met with repercussions. I had to crack domes in your March '95' issue(#66 Slick Rick on the cover) and here we go again! In the "Spin Doctors" section of the March 2004 issue DJ Pharris Thomas of Chicago was interviewed and blatantly took credit for Chicago's Hip Hop scene (a scene that was alive and self-contained before he even thought of spinning a rap record) Pharris is a mainstream "house music" DJ who jumped on the Hip Hop bandwagon after house music's popularity faded and had NOTHING to do with the Hip Hop subculture of Chicago. He had the nerve to say "way back in the day Chicago wasn't up on rap." Who wasn't!? Maybe not your 'house' crowd, but B-boys, Graffiti crews, Emcees, And DJs ( JP Chill, K-ILL, P-Lee Fresh, Clash Titan, Quick Hands) were wreckin havok in the "Chi" before, during, and after Pharris thought that "Chicago wasn't up on hip hop." The 2 music genres usually didn't associate with each other because the Hip Hop crowd wasn't down with the openly gay/ bi sexual scene which fueled and represented "house music" but some cats would go to house parties simply because the "pretty" girls would be there shakin their asses without fear of many men approaching them. (this was before the "thug" became "sexy" and most of the uptight Chicago chicks didnt wanna kick it to a party where creative competition and battles were being waged) They preferred the repetative,brain-dead sound of..."House." DJ Pharris and a few others like him are eating well at a table that they didn't contribute anything to. Anyone interested in Chitown's hip hop history can visit: http://www.galapagos4.com/blackbook/chicago_history.htm and read the REAL information on the Crews, Individuals, and events that made up Chicago's scene, a scene that dates back to the late 70s/ early 80s. I for one know the truth, I've been involved in Chicago Hip Hop since it's early days. What I am saying is Pharris: you paid dues as a club DJ, But DON'T EVER discredit all the cats who lived and died in the name of Hip Hop in Chicago! This thing was in effect long BEFORE Kanye West got put on, things that appearently occurred under your nose. Play your position and things will go smoothly. In the future you should allow Chicago cats to be interviewed by Chicago heads...It could prove very interesting. Doc Mananoff