I Am Phella

So as of today I’m 100% confirmed for my “move” to New Jersey. It’s funny, everyone is asking these questions like “are you sure you want to leave the DMV?”, “what are you going to do in Jersey?”, “won’t you miss your family?”….you would think I was going to Australia. I drove door-to-door from home to Newark in less than 3 hours the other day; that’s not a “move”. That’s up the street in my world. The only difference is now I’ll be able to focus 100% on whatever I decide to focus on without the distractions that come with being at home. The final song on Winter Wonderland addresses everything so I’ll leave it alone for now. If you’re in that area, and you’re about progress, about living life, about learning, about building something, chances are I’ll run into you. Peace!

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I haven’t updated my journal of this class I’m taking in awhile but I’ve still been writing it. It’s just a bit too negative to post on here and I try not to put negativity into the universe. There are people in this world that believe in “go to school, get an education, and you’ll be well on your way to the good life”…..I thoroughly disagree and the fact that I’ve been in this class 8 weeks and haven’t learned a single thing is my proof. The fact that I, in all my non-caring and lackadaisical approach, still have the highest grade (92.4%) in a class full of people who claim to study vigorously, take school so seriously, is even more proof. So yeah, no more class journal because I’ll just reveal my inner Malcolm X that my mother has ordered me to suppress.

What I will do is post any poems that I write or pictures that I draw while I’m in this hell called a University. Here’s the first one.

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Sidebar: I might be the king of pointless videos…I got millions of em. I just like capturing my life with audio, video and photos. Occasionally when I share them someone will write me saying it made them laugh or think so that’s an added bonus. It’s the 2010 version of keeping a journal I guess. I get to look back months later and ask myself “dawg was I on that?”.

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Okay here we go. The album is called Winter Wonderland: Enjoying Living In A Cold World. Hopefully you’ve watched my videos or you’re at least thinking on a deep enough level to know that it has nothing to do with the actual weather. It’s about life itself and how cold and harsh it can be. How the only way to enjoy it is to sustain through those cold periods and even find ways to enjoy them.
This first picture is probably my favorite. There’s only two times in life where we can experience true Winter Wonderland; as a child, when you’re oblivious to just how cold it is, or as a grown up, when you accept that the world is cold but you embrace it and find ways to make it work for you.

The second and third photos show that it takes a good amount of creativity to enjoy living in a cold world. It reminds me of when kids in third world countries play soccer barefoot or swim like Michael Phelps in the dirtiest of water. The harshness of their surrounding doesn’t bother them. Instead they make the best of it and turn it into wonderland. That’s what we did by turning snow into a baseball and a football.
The final picture simply shows the endurance and patience. It’s naïve to say the coldness of the world doesn’t get to us. Even the strongest of us can crack under the world’s pressures. However, if you endure and stay true to who you are, warmth is usually just around the corner. This is depicted in this photo by the snow melting away and the sun on the horizon.

Fresco, Matt, and Chris did a great job helping me illustrate this concept and I truly believe that I did my best job as an artist of getting this concept across on the 8 or 9 tracks you will hear. I did it in such a way that if you’re the type who skimmed through this entry, you’ll enjoy it, and if you’re the type who read and understood every word of this entry, then YOU’LL LOVE IT.

Whether you enjoy it, love it, or even hate it, which I doubt anyone will, it’s my life and it’s our life on audio so I hope that at the very least you appreciate it.

I appreciate it.

-Phella

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I was out on Wednesday at the AT&T store downtown for Big Tigger’s live broadcast before the Jay-Z show. It was good times. The WPGC people family has always been kind to me since I was just a little 18 year old running around here trying to promote poorly mixed music. They’ve come a long way and so have I. Told all of them they’ll see me in another 3 or 4 years.

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Kanye is on a roll these days, to me at least. Everything he’s saying is exactly what I feel right about now.

Sidebar: It bothers me when I read the comments to some of these things. People always call them “rants” and accuse the author of being “depressed” and “angry”. I guess it bothers me because back when I cared enough (I still care) to make the public aware of my thoughts I got the same reaction from some. “Phella is mad”. “Are you ok? Sounds like you’re about to commit suicide.” NO IDIOT. I’m very OK and the only thing that makes me want to commit suicide is that you and your type equate self expression with depression. Look in the mirror, ask yourself what you see and feel, tell a few people, it might help them. Even better, it might help you.

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It’s been awhile since I endorsed anything on here but it’s probably time to do so. Recently I’ve been meeting and rediscovering so many people that are about their business, or even better, about their creativity…sometimes both. It’s only right that I share in hopes that you will see what I see in them.

I’ll admit my internet time these days isn’t what it once was but I’m trying to get back in the habit of checking out at least 10 websites per night. These will probably the ones I go to.

Fresco (I think Fresco is like 14 or 19. Whatever age, he’s a great kid and you’re bound to be entertained if you’re around him or visit his website.)

Kunle & SKC (I met Kunle at Howard University homecoming about 6 months and since then we’ve become like the modern day Rat Pack (with just two members). I’m not sure who’s Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra or Sammy Davis but we have a lot of similarities in how we approach life and business. His Spoilt Kid Company brand is on the rise and that’s another reason you should visit his site.)

Pristina (My homie from a distance. Never met in person but just an overall fly chick that I’ve known of through the blogosphere for about a year or more now. She’s Nigerian, she’s artsy, and she has a foul mouth. What other reasons do you need?.)

Belle (Another person that I know only through the blogosphere but feel like I really know. Just take a gander at her last few posts and you’ll understand. Honest, creative, believer in “Loving.Living.LIFE”…and Bella rhymes with Phella.)

Rap Radar (This is a bit of a mainstream addition to the list but it’s cool. We underworld people always have a disdain for all things mainstream but sometimes they’re not so bad. RapRadar keeps me current. They do what I wanted Da Fam Ink till I discovered just how time consuming it is to report new news at such a high velocity.

Da Fam Ink (When Chris or Nisarg decide to ever post something it’s usually pretty good.)

NerdAtTheCoolTable (I’ve always kept up with Nerd At Cool Table for about two years now. Very funny and cool person. Knows a lot about hip-hop and sports too. I can get with that.)

CandiedJamz (Me and Jamz are like soulmates that will never be together because we can’t get along for more than a month at a time. Mainly because we’re both born on the same day (August 9th). Can’t put two lions in a cage for too long and expect peace. Nevertheless, check her website out.

Candice Nicole (Candice is known as THE PR person to go to in the DC area. Known her personally for about two years now and although we haven’t worked on anything directly, I’ve been to a lot of her events and she’s been at some of mine. Very fun and driven young lady so yeah, get some Candy in your life.)

TalkOfDC (If you’re where I am or visit the DMV often then you should probably keep up with them. Just last night I was at a Talk Of DC event and I’m still not fully recovered (in a good way). Shout out to Yodit (the female Diddy) and all her people.)

If you have something going on, whatever it is, let me know and I’ll check it out. I live to discover new anything.

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Now that my creative process is winding down (not to say that it ever leaves) I’m able to get back to my normal self of hanging out and joking with friends. I was out in Fairfax, Virginia for a few hours on Saturday and sheer madness took place. From playing baseball and football in the street to me winning a teddy bear hippo (pictured above) in one of those machines that people swear you can’t win from. Thanks to modern technology, some of those moments were captured for your viewing pleasure.

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