Thug Life Army

In a statement released today Kirk Phillips, chief executive of Houston based record label GoreallaEntertainment.com, is publicly putting Wal-Mart on notice: “Carry our product, in the original unedited format or face serious legal action.”

Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer and record store has a standing policy since 1996 of not stocking CDs, which carry parental advisory labels. Phillips cries foul whenever the policy is mentioned.

“It is time to level the playing field,” says Phillips “Wal-Mart has been making money ‘Just below the public consciousness’ off the sale of risqué, salacious, or otherwise objectionable entertainment items for years.” “While at the same, Wal-Mart’s ridiculously unfair policy aimed at keeping so-called indecent products of the shelves has been in effect and that very policy is financially oppressing independent record labels,” asserts Phillips.

Wal-Mart is accused of trying to keep the independent record labels out of the lucrative global retail market by making it more expensive for them to compete. “ I must manufacture a whole separate run of edited product just for Wal-Mart… have you seen the edited version of Hollywood movie at Wal-Mart?” “Neither have I,” grumbles Phillips “and that’s just wrong!”

“Hollywood DVDs are sold unedited in Wal-Mart with a simple R rating and a perfunctory disclaimer; and likewise video games are sold unedited in Wal-Mart with just the “self-governing” rating system sans the cursory disclaimer contained on DVDs. They both contain the same type of potentially objectionable material that is required to be censored by record companies.”

Wal-Mart has profited to the tune of hundreds of millions dollars off the sales of graphically violent, profanity laced video game titles (The Grand Theft auto series of games: GTAIII, GTA Vice City, and GTA San Andreas, to name a few).

“Requiring independent record companies to edit their albums slated for sale in Wal-Mart puts them at a competitive disadvantage to big-budget record labels, big-budget video game producers, and big-budget Hollywood movie studios: our direct competition for the same retail entertainment dollars” says Phillips.

“This is the Bottom line, if Wal-Mart uses their oppressive anti-small business policy to keep our forthcoming album off of their retail shelves, then they should get ready to face our legal team and a 100 million dollar lawsuit in return, period.”

The upcoming release by GoreallaEntertainment.com hip-hop rap artist X-Conn is titled “Mister Number One” and is scheduled for a May 17th release via prospective distributor Select-O-Hits.

For more information: www.GoreallaEntertainment.com/contact.html