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.
Fall’s leaving, leaves falling
Enter winter, delete autumn
Hope to have a Rolls by Spring
But lately I’m willing to settle for a 3 piece and some rolls, like spring
Cookie cutter industry disguised as fortune
But once unwrapped, it’s just lies and more shit
They say he skip all the parties, aint never gon blow
I say my life’s tailored for my body, can’t rock what the general sew
The land of the fickle, yes they might be fooled here
So I wear masks, stay low, and celebrate Chinese New Year
With the heart of a lion, the eye of a tiger
Can’t make it out the woods, won’t hire a driver
Jesus take the wheel but please keep this Fresh Prince alive and inspired
Take care of my uncles, bring peace to my aunts
Even if they aint the ones that was with me from start
I wish you could bless every girl in the world
So until my young money grows, she won’t stress me for pearls
Princess seems to have her mind on diamonds
Telling me that I should join a mob that’s criming
She act super proper but come from the ghetto
So naturally her mind is on pumps and stiletto’s
I’m from the same place, I just was a rebel
So I send her deep quotes, trynna up her a level
Honest Abe to my moms, Obama to public
With Bush’s paranoia, got my eye on the button
Pockets fluctuating, seen heavy dough though
It’s just when I climb, I fall, like Jenny Lo Lo
But now the falls are leaving
Leaving the falling
Enter the winner
Delete the losses
I’ve spent a lot of time with my fam and friends recently. Still getting things done and handling biz but I think I’ve finally found that perfect balance. I think “grinding” is overrated. You never hear Fortune 500 CEO’s scream how much they’re grinding. They do what they do then go home. Only in hiphop culture is your work an excuse to abandon friends and family. I’m very guilty of this but like I said I’m finding that balance now.
Spent all of yesterday with my little brother. Went to a carnival where I won that fly guitar that you see pictured above, watched fireworks, ate good, then partied with a few friends at night. Maybe I’m getting old but the whole ‘industry’ life has lost it’s appeal to me. You meet one aspiring rapper or model you’ve met them all. You have a meeting with one dream selling CEO you’ve met them all. I’m more into quality people. Whether they’re worth 1 Billion or 1 Dollar is irrelevant.
I was telling someone the other day that I want to be part of the new industry. By that I mean no matter how successful I become I’ll still wear my basketball shorts and go to the corner store to get an orange juice. Still respect people. Still maintain my morals. Still find value in family life and lasting relationships. They say it’s easier said than done so we shall see.
Video blogging just might be the new way to go. Either way, here I discuss Michael Jackson’s impact on my life, the current lack of appreciation for artistry, and my plans to be part of the solution.
The EP ‘Gimme A Second I Swear’ produced by J.Rob will be out whenever the mixing and mastering gets done. Left to me I would have put out weeks ago unmixed and unmastered but J.Rob would probably shoot me.
Happy Monday to everyone. Here’s some carefully selected songs guaranteed to help you start your week off right. In the order you should listen to them. Enjoy
Sidenote: Who you know starts off a playlist with Anita Baker and ends with Playaz Circle? And it all makes sense. Gotta love the power of music.
My recent routine has looked something like this lately:
Wake Up (7:30 AM)
Read News/Blogs (8:00 AM)
Workout (8:30 AM)
Breakfast + Sportscenter (10:00 AM)
Da Fam related business (Search for office space, Meet with potential members, etc) (12:00 PM)
Lunch+Wayans Brothers (4:30 PM)
Itis (5:00 PM)
4 Mile Run through College Park (7:00 PM)
NBA Playoffs+Twitter (8:00 PM)
Read/Listen to music (11:30 PM)
Sleep (2:00 AM)
That’s pretty much how it’s been going these days. Also mix in a few studio sessions here and there as well as some trips to the basketball court.
Seems like I go through this at least once every year. I make a drastic change in my life then take about a month or two to prepare for what the next 10 or so months might bring my way. One thing I do know is I feel great. And that good feeling when expressed publicly can shadow along the lines of arrogance. Our society seems conditioned to resist people who are sure of themselves. It’s like how in school we all used to hate that kid in class who always had the answers and asked the questions; I feel like I’m that kid now.
Those kids all were able to make it out and go to good schools and thrive. Most of the people who made fun of them, from my school at least, are either dead now or doing very bad. Sounds harsh but it’s the truth. I was fortunate enough to smarten up just in time and separate myself from the ignorance. Still got love but I refuse to go down with y’all. I guess deep down I was always that kid with the answers but fear wouldn’t allow me to show it.
Moral of the story is I’m doing great right now. Anyone who dislikes that is probably headed towards the same fate as the back-of-the-class-cool-kids.
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.
