Face 2 Face With Your Adversity..

Long time, no personal blogging; I guess it must be because I've let a lot of things consume me deep inside, I've felt a little sad, angry, lost, but mostly just confused and behind on things, although I've been keeping up with school, I guess money has been my main problem; it's been difficult finding a job, paying off my credit cards by selling my shoes away, and I know it's bad to be a little materialistic sometimes, but yeah, I know that this is just another low point that will pass over me, and the term 'starving college student' has never hit closer to home!

enough vent-whining, it's best to keep things on a positive incline!

damn, youtube has changed from the way it was a year ago! though there's dozens of videos i could post about that I'm feelin rite now, i'll just post two cool ones that I love.

first off, you've probably seen this one but I haven't since I wasn't much of a t.v. viewer in the past months; this is a favorite of mine.

Corinne Bailey Rae - Like A Star (3rd Version)


she's super fly! and THIS version of 'Sweet Escape' has come to my liking!

Josh Verdes Trio (Josh, Jana + Jordan Verdes) - 'Sweet Escape Acoustic'


I really need a guitar, Justin Rimando, you need to fix Ligaya's guitar string that you broke off!

okay, enough of that. time to inspire myself!

'good love + protection/

make me your selection'

Shine Your Light For The World 2 See.

The Deadly Twins - 'Runaway' - Something New soundtrack

*it took me ALL SPRING BREAK TO TRACK THIS SONG DOWN. it NEVER felt SO GOOD finding a song you couldn't find on a soundtrack listing, online okayplayer forum...anywhere!

I feel good about this upcoming quarter of class... spring quarter is always good to me =)

'..well people believe this saying is true/
whatever will be will forever do..'

The Present Is A Gift (+ I Just Want 2 Be.)

Lo Key Quintet - 'Brazil' (instrumental) - LKQ Summer Selections.

*Something i produced with DJ Flow over last summer, may it bring relaxtion to a stressful climate.

I grinded on a piece that I was about to do with Joshua Cruz for S.Y.C. (Show Your Color), unfortunately both of us were too late for the event; he was going to rock Common's 'Be' and I was going to spit this:

';Be Free.'

I wanna be free like my ancestors that passed away/
Free from closed doors, fear, oppression + hate/
Through actions we speak out/ hope for those that breathe doubt/
Through trials and tribulations, be light when it's bleak out/
But we tend to freak out, no, we forget to speak out/
We feed doubt when we should feed our needs/
Spend cash on alcohol, tobacco, ecstacy + weed/
All this freeloading overloading, that we forgot to feed the seed/
Things are so crazy/skies are getting so hazy/
My mom was 30 yesterday, now she's an old lady/
She's got lots to give/she kept me positive/
On top of it, despite my weak will she kept me from the opposite/
I've got to give-it up to her exactly/
She was the glue to bond the unity of my family/
Can't forget my father/sometimes he wouldn't bother/
To help me out/misunderstandings meant me getting slaughtered/
But still he fathered me/showed me how to be free/
Told me education equals freedom, through this university/
Those are my parents/i'm ever proud never embaressed/
They gave me freedom so that I wouldn't be so careless/
My goal is to free others so they can see their wrongs/
And right every one of them, and to pass this freedom on/
We have to know life backwards before we go forward to see/
Life isn't meant behind bars, it was meant to be free.

'..i'm not impressed/more or else/
by them girls in the t.v. and magazines/
'cuz honestly, i believe, that/
your beauty is way more than skin deep..'

Your Love Is Timeless.

Righteous Movement - 'Natural' - While You Wait...

*I saw + met the Righteous Movement crew at a downtown Davis bar/coffee shop, some fresh folks with fly music. opening for KRS-One next weekend, pretty dope!

Something random: A question I answered for Kimp's research paper on Cyphers:

8) Pretend you are a cypher session propagandist, what
would you tell people to get them to participate in a
cypher? Why should people who do not participate in
cyphers contribute to the art?

Cyphering is fun. Cyphering is a lyrical workout from the emcee frame of reference, and it will open you to a new world of improvisation, wordplay, ferocity, jokes, and most importantly, inspiration. Not everyone can make a rhyme up, so if you know how to do it, then join the cypher because it's a gift, and once you're able to freestyle effortlessly, who knows? One day you may end up freestyling next to Kanye West and impress him so much with your flyness that he'll sign you to his G.O.O.D. (Getting Out Our Dreams) music label! Or maybe you're writing a song one day and you get songwriter's block and you elect to freestyle your way, and come up with a song so catchy that you have Youtubes and MySpaces going nuts all over the internet! If you're absolutely whack at freestyling, or have never attempted it, don't be discouraged because the art is a result of happy accidentals, of trial-and-error not without it's share of successes: Once you know where your error lies in rhyming and succeed in correcting it out, it's all a matter of doing it often and making it your own. Participation in cyphers requires the audience's communal involvement to make it work and flow, and makes everyone more lively and feeling good, which is the whole point of hip hop in general!: To make you feel good, with positive messages and non-stop creative flow.

this poem is timeless... still my favorite.


'..so it's only logical/
that we do what's natural..'

Something Keeps Bringing Me Back.

Nicolay ft Kay + Sy Smith - 'My Story' - Here


What surprised me was when I took THIS photograph:
'Footprints..(Leading 2 a New Path)'


My man Vincent wrote a rap to it! We photograph-battle rap each other on our Flickrs! Here's Vince's Flickr.

And here's what he wrote!:

"footprints on concrete sitting in sun, evaporation takes over, one blink and they're gone

follow the steps of the ones that inspire you, ones you admire, fiery passion to pursue the things that you do

don't let discourage prevail, damage your heart that is frail, continue your life and don't stray from the educational trail

with a fork in the road, wondering to stay or to go, wishing you can click your red heels and in a flash you are home

the long road will be slow but all worth in the end, just remember the people that love you: family, friends.

You've got the spirits above, pure as the white on a dove, if someone says "Who Cares?" don't even consider a shrug

Those who question your thoughts, are the ones who are fraud, just always know they can't last even one round with God

only He knows you best, the rest, only a test, just do what you do, only your style is fresh

impress everyone in a glance, from here, to New York and France, enclose all in a trance, induce monumental mind blocks and cramps
"

Inspiration found in the most unexpected of places.

'..make your heart be the bling
you wear around your chest..'

Get Your Facts Right.

i'm going to campus/
no you can't have this/
immaculate way of attackin it, i'm more global than an atlas/
so international and inner-national, you can't match this/
i strike chords so fierce they light bright like some matches/
i'm oh so in the know that i've got my facts, kid/
stop kiddin yourself with fiction, all you are is factless/
when the fact-is, you're whack if you decide 2 act big/
think twice before you get spiked by these progeny rap kids//
O.C. - 'The Chosen One Instrumental'


on my way to campus before an extended study session.. psyching myself up!

'throw caution to the wind,
take my hand, + just give in..'

(A Brighter Day) Came My Way.

Xariusound came over this morning and we conversed about Rainforest. I was engrossed in how he connected the rainforest with people connecting to music under the umbrella of Rainforest, to 'build tents' and 'watch how their redwoods grow' in a few years in this forest, which makes perfect sense to me; I especially loved how he put the way rainforests irrigate water in connection with their idiom: The roots of a rainforest network so far away from just convention of its radius that around 50 miles away, roots can reach out to water penetrating the soil and nurturing the trees all the way back. 'Rainforest' is meant to mean 'Reign For Us', but I'd like it even more for it to mean 'Rain For Us' so that they bring the storm that everyone's been waiting for. haha i love it! 'and I champion them and hope they make a difference in our social media-driven world today!

i'm certain that i'm not leaving the campus until about 12:00am tonight,
and i do believe it's going to rain indefinitely. this song puts that picture in my head, of walking by city lights, on and on, watching rain drift down as i make my way to where i want to be, in shelter.

Brea - 'So Long to Streetlights' - The Immense Design of Things


'you ain't gonna make it unless
you give a little sacrifice
sometimes b4 u smile u got 2 cry
u need a heart that's filled with music
if you use it, u can fly
if u want 2 be high..'