The rap music industry has been labeled public enemy #1, an anonymous NYPD officer told The Source in their latest issue. Addressing this and other concerns that hip-hop is under attack, David Mays, CEO and founder of The Source called a press conference late Monday afternoon. As he waited for his high-profile panelists to settle behind him, photographers flicked photos of audience member DJ Red Alert while the NBC, WB and other correspondents grew restless. The partial “Power 30” crew, including Damon Dash, Irv Gotti, Jermaine Dupri, Shakim of Flava Unit, Ed Lover of NYC’s Power 105, media assassin Harry Allen and more, had just finished an hour-plus closed-door meeting and were ready to meet the press.

This was obviously a publicity stunt for The Source’s March issue. Another attempt to upstage their competition. But more important, it was a valiant display of unity amongst hip-hop’s biggest names. David Mays outlined four reasons why now is the time to address mainstream’s attack on hip-hop. One: The consolidation of record companies that results in crushing the independent labels. Two: The power of the media to promote negative stereotypes, i.e. Bill O’Reilly. Three: The efforts of the NYPD and FBI to establish a hip-hop task force to monitor and target the hip-hop community. Four: That all these factors impact and co-opt hip-hop and ultimately, reform it.

Mays pointed out that one of hip-hop’s greatest accomplishments is that it brings people together and breeds mutual respect between people across race and color lines. He also stressed that the hip-hop community needed to wake up and focus on these factors that threaten its soul. He touched slightly on The Source/Eminem beef by reciting a story about a teacher who was complaining that one of her fourth graders said Eminem started hip-hop and nothing else mattered. This is exactly his beef with Eminem. Mays would like kids to know hip-hop’s real roots. Em’s acceptance speech at the Grammy’s–which Mays said was probably inspired by the issues The Source has raised about him–was a step in the right direction. Harry Allen asked, “If you’ve been affected by hip-hop so that it changes your life, what will you put back?” And a fired-up Ed Lover assured us that hip-hop’s elite were here today to bond, talk and counter-attack what’s being done to the hip-hop culture. “We are a united front,” he declared. “The beef [within hip-hop] stops today!”