Serene Sundays

Posted on August 8, 2010 by phella| Comments Off

About 12 hours till I officially turn 23. In certain aspects, I’m surer than I’ve ever been. In other aspects, I’m more unsure than I’ve ever been.

Back home. My brother is growing into a man and it’s interesting. I’m being careful not to do to him what my father did to me, which is to not acknowledge my growth. People mature and their interests change. To treat them the way you used to treat them only causes separation.

My mother is funny. When you call her phone — now instead of a regular ring — you hear the sounds of Eminem’s “Not Afraid”. She knows more about pop culture than me. If you’ve ever thought of me as fly or cool, that’s where it comes from. She’s cool. But the best thing I think I gained from her is how to turn a little into plenty. You don’t need a lot to do a lot; $100 can be $1000 if you know what you’re doing.

Friday I was surrounded by models, bottles, and half of my high school. Had fun, but in a sleepy-I’m-really-not-here type of way.

Last night I was in the midst of some of my favorite NBA players and some of the most beautiful women you’ll ever see. Had fun, but in a sleepy-I’m-really-not-here type of way.

I wanna create. When I’m not creating, I’m pretty much incapable of fully enjoying anything.

The circle keeps getting smaller and smaller. Maybe it’s my fault for ignoring the Blackberry so much (see above picture). Maybe it’s their fault for not growing with me. Maybe it’s no one’s fault and it’s just natural to separate. The ones who come back are there to stay.

Had a good birthday dinner last night courtesy of my business manager, Kunle. We’re gonna take over the world…I just pray that I’m alive for it.

The next time we speak I’ll be older and hopefully wiser.

Peace + Love!

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Lately…

Posted on August 1, 2010 by phella| 3 Comments

Lately….

Been in a good groove and I ain’t trynna mess my thing up.

Reacquainting myself with spirituality and all things holy and clean. Entertainment business and business in general is filled with so much “dirty stuff”, for lack of a better phrase. Cheating, gossiping, greed, etc… If you don’t take time to step out of the box, you could easily get caught up and begin to accept these things as the norm. As most of us usually find out though, the norm is rarely the way to go.

Gotten more focused than ever on my reading and running….two things that will make you great in this world.

Been studying sounds. I’m a thousand billion percent sure that before it’s all said and done, I’ll have a hand in contributing life changing music to the world; whether it’s me or someone I work with remains to be seen. Either way, gotta stay prepared.

Not feeling too many people. I was telling a friend of mine the other day how I feel I know 3 or 4 truly real people. Not that everyone else is fake, but I mean 3 or 4 people who truly know who they are and find comfort in it. Everyone else just seems lost. Like they’re searching…searching for riches, searching for cool, searching for acceptance, searching for sex, searching for love, searching for attention, searching for whatever. I’m no one to judge because I once used to search too, but then I found that all I really need in this world is myself. Work on myself and all the rest will come.

Spent some quality time with my team and extended team. It feels good to be around people who know in their heart of hearts that they’re going to win. They trust you, you trust them, and things seem to work out for the best. Hope it stays this way.

Thinking it’s best I stay single forever. These girls man………………

Getting my basketball game up. I’m like THIS close to dunking.

Awaiting the return of Fall/Winter. Summer is cool but I’m sick of sweating and sick of t-shirts. I wanna break out my sweater and jacket game.

Appreciating New York City. When I first moved to New Jersey back in April, I hated NYC with a passion. I was trying to do things my way and it wasn’t working. Parking wherever I felt like, not wearing seat belts, running lights, etc… I quickly found out that it was either get used to the way things work here or go to jail. I opted to adapt and things have been going smooth. Johnny Law aside, New York is truly a great place and has some good people amidst all the fast walking and reckless driving.

Till next time,

Peace + Love

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Milian

Posted on July 24, 2010 by phella| 3 Comments

I’ve always liked Christina Milian a lot. Number one reason being that she always had this great smile and very bubbly personality that I’m a sucker for… those are probably the most important things I look for. Number two is that she has ties to the Maryland area and that’s where I’m from. And number three is that contrary to popular belief, I think she’s pretty talented too–as an actress and a singer/dancer.

Over time I kind of lost track of what she was up to and she kind of fell off my radar but she’s back with a vengeance and more than likely here to stay as Phellito’s numero uno.

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Take Care Of Me

Posted on July 24, 2010 by phella| Comments Off

Ever since I made that purchase last month, I’ve been meaning to sit down and write a song by song review of The-Dream’s “Love King” album. Problem is, every time I’m ready to hail him as the best contemporary artist we have, which I think he is, he says or does something that makes me not want to give him any praise.

However, personal life aside, The-Dream makes, not good, but GREAT music. Case in point would be this song “Take Care Of Me”. I have too many favorites on the album but this is definitely high on the list for me. Sonically it sounds like something Michael Jackson would have done, like a “Dirty Diana” type of style to it. Lyrically it’s equally as strong and potent. The gist of it is basically him threatening/warning the girl he’s in love with not to break his heart and not to take his love for her for granted. He does this in a borderline psychotic yet smooth manner that few can pull off. “I’m not the same as them. I’m not the one, so you better take care of me. If I fight for you, you better fight for me. You better take care of me.”

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I think I identify strongly with the message because it’s similar to how I view relationships (business or personal). I’ll do any and everything for you but the minute I feel used or taken for granted, the walls have to come tumbling down. Normally it just happens though. It’s rare that you sit a person down and say “hey, I’m going to do everything to build us up but I’m watching you; play me and I’ll destroy this whole thing.” Crazy! It’s very Sam Cooke, very Prince; just name an artist from the past that wore their hearts on their vocal sleeves.

Then the song ends by transitioning into the next track– “All Black Everything”, which is as contemporary and 2010 as a song can get. Hate or love the guy, and most hate him, but you can’t take away from his ability to compose great music.

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Deaf Poetry Jam (Wake’s Hearing Aid Rebuild)

Posted on July 18, 2010 by phella| Comments Off

Shout out to the D town holding us down lately. I was going about my day last week when I got in my inbox this rebuild of my “Deaf Poetry Jam Part 1″. It was from Wake, a very talented producer and artistic mind who also happens to be the owner of The Blonde Collective. A rebuild is basically taking acapella vocals and building a track around them. It even came with artwork. Needless to say I was excited and couldn’t wait to share.

The Video: Exclusive footage and photos that most of you have probably never seen unless you’ve been with me since day one.

The track: Produced by Wake.
Download Here

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Shhhhh Part 2

Posted on July 18, 2010 by phella| 3 Comments

More quiet time. I’m sure you guys know the old saying about “if you aint got nothin’ good to say then don’t say anything at all” — I’m about to exercise that. Thanks to all my supporters, friends, and family. I’ll keep working for you. Wish I could share some encouraging words real quick but I’m in a serious learning and observing phase right now. Once I’ve learned and observed to the point that I’m sure of what’s what and who’s who, then I’ll be able to share. In the meantime, here’s some visual stuff.

Da Fam Inc x Blonde Collective Photo Shoot in Washington D.C. on the 4th of July.

Decided to film my basketball routine one of these past mornings. More so for my sake so I know what to work on but I decided to share. The soundtrack to it might also be of some interest. Two remixes of DC artists songs (one official and one unofficial) that I think most of you probably never heard.

Sidebar: I wanna hate The-Dream for his actions towards Christina Milian but I feel like that’s a situation we as the public shouldn’t even know about. It’s just unfortunate that in 2010, everything goes public. Wish them the best. His cd “Love King” has been on repeat since I bought it and it’s poor sales, I believe, can only be blamed on the fact that he’s a very disliked person.

Sidebar #2: I’ve been wanting to speak on LeBron James since “The Decision” was made but it would just be piling on at this point. The NBA season is right around the corner. There’ll be plenty of time for me to state my opinion and see if he proves it right or wrong.

Peace + Love

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The F Is For Finally!!!!

Posted on July 13, 2010 by phella| Comments Off

I used be a huge Lil Wayne fan. Then he became a huge drugged up rockstar overnight and some of the music and antics lost me. I still like and appreciate some of the stuff, but not nearly as much as I did when I could identify with him. Jail is never a good thing but it seems it’s finally bringing the old, semi-conscious, well-spoken and thought out Wayne back, and that’s a great thing. Peep this letter he wrote.

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Hello world… I’m good. Counting the days and still smiling. Most of those smiles come from hearing my kids’ voices over the phone. The others come from reading fan mail. Let me just say that I have the best fans in the world! The devotion, dedication, support, love, and most of all, prayers are simply the best. I never imagined that I could have such an impact on people’s lives. Because of this, I vow to be a bit more careful of what I say.

So I’ve been writing and let me be the first to tell you that the lyrics that I’m writing are… well there’s no word that I can think of that properly defines them. Amazing would be too typical and perfect would be unfair. I listen to the radio sometimes, emphasis on sometimes, and I hear the new music. I like some. I applaud my Young Money family for what they’re doing. As I’m not surprised. This is what we’re supposed to do. Congrats to Drake and Nicki for all their recent success. Those 2 are going to have me retiring early. I love my team. Much love to Tez and Mack. I know that people are inquisitive of what I do all day, so here goes. I wake up around 11AM. Have some coffee. Call my kids, and my wonderful mother. I then shower up. Read fan mail. Have lunch. Back on the phone. Read a book or write some thoughts down. Have dinner. Phone. Pushups. Then I listen to ESPN on the radio. Read the bible, then sleep. That’s my day.

I’ll end this letter, but never my love. I’m gone. Oh, and how ‘bout dem Lakers!?!

P.S. I thank my fans for appreciating me the way you do.

Tunechi.

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Hunger For More

Posted on July 11, 2010 by phella| Comments Off

Haha….I can’t even mask the fact that I’ve been dying of hunger up there in Newark. I’ve found an abundance of food these past few days…..be happy for me.

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Eastern Standard Time

Posted on July 11, 2010 by phella| 2 Comments

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How To Become

Posted on July 9, 2010 by phella| 3 Comments

In this world, it’s either you are or you are not. If you are not, the best chance you have of ever becoming is to learn from someone who is. In order to do so, you must be willing to accept that you are not and they are.

Unfortunately sometimes pride, ego, and insecurities won’t allow us to admit that we are not and someone else is, so we try to fake it; we try to act like we are. We may fake it well for some time and fool a few people, but still at the end of the day, you are not.

One day last Summer, I was hanging out with my friend Chris in Virginia and he asked if I wanted to learn how to skateboard. He knew how and I didn’t, so I said “sure, show me.” That required me sitting back and trusting that he would show me. I followed every direction to the letter and I ended up doing a pretty decent job. More importantly, I didn’t fall and break my head. Chris was a skater and I wasn’t. I accepted that and as a result I was able to learn from him and eventually become a somewhat decent skater.

DaFamCam Episode #3:Phella Kick Pushin from Da Fam Cam on Vimeo.

In the following episode of Boy Meets World, Cory feels as though teaching is easy. He ridicules Mr. Feeny and feels he could easily teach a class better than Mr. Feeny does. So Mr. Feeny hands over the chalk and allows Cory to do things his way. Naturally, chaos ensues and he falls flat on his face.



When I worked under someone else, I let him make decisions. I took decisions only in his absence or if he said I should. I let him get the first and the final word. I gave my opinion only when it was asked for or when I felt it would be beneficial to the entire team. We walked into a venue, I made sure he would walk in first because he knew who was who and what was what. I always deferred and I was clear on who the leader was. Even in moments when I felt I knew better I still let him play his role. As a result, I was able to blossom under the system and learn enough to one day do my own thing. If I tried to do my own thing before I was ready, I would have made a fool of myself.

Kobe is Kobe for a reason. When Ron Artest tries to be Kobe, the team loses and he looks foolish. When Ron Artest is Ron Artest, Kobe airballs, Ron gets the put back, the team wins, and he’s the hero for the night. Ron deferrs to Kobe, Kobe deferrs to Phil Jackson, Phil deferrs to Mitch Kupchak, Mitch deferrs to Jerry Buss. As a result, you have a championship team.

Just a random thought on this beautiful evening as the Sun gives way to the Moon. It’s nature. We all get our chance to shine if we wait our turn.

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