For the unfamiliar, Phellito Brigante is my ‘tell it like it is, don’t care what you think’ side. Based on Carlito Brigante from the film Carlito’s Way. Of all movie characters I’ve seen, I think I relate to that one the most so that’s where the nickname came from. How it relates to this blog is that Phellito is real honest, so whenever you see that in the title, BE AFRAID.

That was all sidebar. Main purpose of this post is to share some of what I’ve been up to recently.

Fade Away. Been playing a lot of basketball. Getting in shape just in case I decide to play in a summer league, that’s doubtful though. My game is a fraction of what it used to be. I’m working on it though. On the bright side I’m very close to being able to dunk. Believe me it will be on film if/when I finally do.

Bad News. On a sad note, my on again/off again relationship with Keyshia Cole is over. I realized that it was one-sided. I sit here and appeal to her and what does she do? Goes off and gets with some bench warming Cleveland Cavalier player. Can’t wait for Kobe to light him up for 60 points in the finals.

Scaring Me. Speaking of Kobe and the Lakers, they’ve been killing me. Their current arrogance is causing them to take nights off and that’s how you get caught off guard. We need that chip on our shoulder again.

Never Take Your Eye Off The Prize. Speaking of chip on shoulders, I’ve got mine back till further notice. It never really left, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t start feeling like a front runner for a while there. You work hard, it kind of pays off, people who you grew up admiring start to recognize you, so naturally you can relax a bit right? WRONG! Not saying I got lazy but I did have this false sense of accomplishment for a while and thought things were on autopilot. In life, there is no autopilot.

Reunited And It Feels So Good. One thing I did do recently is rekindle a few relationships. Whenever I get into my zones and start working towards a certain goal, I always alienate friends. People can’t reach me or I don’t check in with them and they catch offense. With most people, I really don’t care to explain to them why I dissapear from time to time but believe it or not I do have a heart. I used this hiatus to mend a few relationships with a few people.

Family. Been spending a lot of family time recently too. Not just with my immediate family but also with cousins, close friends that are like family etc… It’s been real cool. Even dressed up in full African attire for the first time in my life (as pictured above). I look like I can hold down a village right?

Da Fam Inc. Between now and July I’ll be looking to assemble an All-Star team of sorts complete with artists, athletes, PR people, DJ’s, producers, engineers, and much more. Everyone has a “company”, everyone has a “movement”, everyone has “team”, no one has a family though. A business that runs like a family can’t fail. If we’re all we have, utilize each others strenghts and leave no one behind, failure won’t be an option. More details to come.

Music. I don’t think I’ll ever be a full-time artist. As much as I would love to, it makes zero sense given the current state of the genre that I’m skilled in. I’m learning each day how to make music but by nature I’m just a lyricist. Raw lyricists have never really been appreciated and now they are borderline extinct. This new definition of “lyrical” would have drawn laughters back in 1999-2003, the era when I fell in love with rap. 

Other than that I’ve attended a few shows. Saw Colin Munroe, Wale and J.Cole in Norfolk, Va. That was cool because of course Colin is the homie and J.Cole is someone I knew of almost a year before he got signed.