If you frequent this little thing of mine I don’t like to call a blog, then you may have noticed as of late I have not been writing as much as I used to. I have reached a crossroads in my life that is very hard to articulate. Most of you twenty-somethings out there, and perhaps some of you who are a bit older, should feel me when I say that I have become consumed with searching for myself. I have become obsessed with identifying my passion, clarifying my purpose, and restructuring my goals to achieve those things I desire most. In a world full of endless possibilites and with an imagination full of endless dreams how do you know which ones to catch and which ones to let float away? Is it even possible to catch them all? In my head are many questions, and I’ve been searching tirelessly for answers. I’ve been looking for signs, something, anything to tell me where to enter, where to exit, what to look out for, to speed up or to slow down, to be cautious, to wait, to change directions, or to stay the course, but I’ve seen no such guides along my way. It is during these times when our eyes fail us we are forced to do the hardest and simplest of things, TRUST and BELIEVE……..
you can question my soul
yes
you can question my soul
but it will probably just
walk
away
cause you don’t know me
and I don’t owe you
and that is all
i have to
say
you can question my soul
yes
you can question my soul
but it will just move
past and
forge ahead
cause the only
voice
that I hear is
much greater than
yours
and there are
no more words
left
to
be
said
question my soul
question my soul
but it will probably just
walk
away
TAE
Filed under: Cool ppl, Life....I wonder... | Tags: endangered lyricist, miami life, Music Video, ras kass, ras kass taking donations, ras kass- miami life, save the ras kass
I was cruising Hip Hop DX this evening when I spotted a story about west coast legend Ras Kass that gave me reason to pause and suspend myself in rigorous contemplation. You can read it for yourself here, but if you’re too lazy to click and just want the annotated version, Kass is hoping to raise the funds to produce his next CD. $ 3,800 to be exact and he would like to do that in the 60 days. Hmmmmm, very interesting. Essentially, Rass Kass is asking his fans for the monetary support which cover the manufacturing costs of his next album. A couple of spectators have been calling fouls but to be fair, this is a pretty clever concept. Donator’s recieve special incentives depending on the amount of purchase, like a hard copy of the album once it’s completed, or free admission into any Ras Kass concert for the rest of 2010. I didn’t know this until recently but his last album was able to reach listeners by these very same methods so I guess his fans don’t mind giving up a couple of bills for their favorite rapper. Now I can’t say this doesn’t make me want to SMH just a little bit, but my disagreeance is tempered by the fact that it’s a dirty game out there and you’ve got to get it how you live. There is apparently an entire movement dedicated to ” …the plight of the endangered lyricist…” That’s really real. It’s a sad truth that the ones who won’t sell out to the almighty dollar, the ones who see comprising their artistic integrity for profit as a no-no, and the ones with exceptional talent are all too often left out of the blinding lights of pop culture fame and fortune. However, these are exactly the same ones who are among the richest of us all, dollars and cents not withstanding. Fans have already pledged $896 dollars, about 24%, and it’s only the first day. Now that’s love….until something new drops, enjoy a throwback on me……..
Support! savetheraskass.com
Filed under: Life....I wonder... | Tags: candle light, candlelit dinner, expensive Valentine's Day gifts, life, love, love is, mall, on valentines, people, swarm, Valentine's Day, Yellowtail Pinot Grigio
Yesterday, as I watched well to do everyday folk swarm the mall at which I work and struggle to find a Valentine’s Day gift ‘expensive’ enough to convey the depth of thier emotions for a lover or spouse yet cheap enough to stay in line with thier budgets, I couldn’t help but think to myself…”Fools”. Was that mean, or just unapologetically honest? Love is so much more than a Fossil watch or a brand new pair of Roca Wear Jeans or a cubic zirconia heart pendant on sale for 19.99 (while supplies last), love is………unnavailable at your local retailer, unable to be gift wrapped, cannot be scrounged up last minute. I guess everyone has thier own idea of what it is though. As for me, at this present moment, my idea of love is home cooked lasagna cause he knows it’s my favorite, fresh garden salad cause he know’s I’m trying to eat healthy, Yellowtail Pinot Grigio cause he knows I like to sip , candle light cause he knows I think it’s sexy, some good ol’ conversation cause he knows I’m cerebral like that plus he truly digs my point of view, and knowing that someone cares just that much about the little things that mean so much to you…………
Hope all you lovers out there took the time to LOVE one another………..
Filed under: Life....I wonder... | Tags: Erykah Badu- Twinkle, Network, Your Mind is Controlled
A friend posted this on MySpace and I had to share as the scenes from “Network” in this video were highly affecting to me. The same monologue from the beginning is in the end of “Twinkle”, one of my favorite Erkyah Badu songs off the 4rth World War album. Are they or aren’t they? Is it or isn’t it? One day we will know the truth…..shut eyes all over are opening
Filed under: Jamz, Poetry | Tags: Gil Scott-Heron, Gil Scott-Heron- Me and the Devil, I'm New Here, Me and the Devil, music videos
The true artists are coming to take back our eyes and ears….i’m loving it( and no that was not a subtle shout out to McDonald’s). The legend Gil Scott-Heron dropped a new video for “Me and The Devil” of his upcoming album I’m New Here. I’m kind of late but I dig it so I’m posting it…right on
Filed under: Life....I wonder... | Tags: Jordan Miles, Life I wonder, police brutality, question
1. WHO will be next? Your cousin, my brother, the young man from across the street?
2. WHAT exactly does police brutality look like? The media wants to used the pc words “alleged” and “accused” but this picture is all the proof you need that Jordan Miles was brutally attacked at the hands of the police
3. WHEN will we overthrow the system of oppression and violence protected by the badge? Will we ever?
4.WHERE has the honor and integrity of those who are supposed to “protect and serve” gone, or was their ever any honor and integrity in the occupation in the first place?
5. WHY in the hell do 3 grown men need a stun gun, closed fists, and knees to “subdue” one young man who had no weapons in his posession and has no known history of violence?
6. HOW can the three officers in question even part their lips to actually defend what they did to this young man over a bottle of…….Mountain Dew?
WTF?!
pounds and hugs
and daps
and love
and cold shoulders
when seasons change
familiar faces
shape shift
words become shorter
until pages become blank
and chapters come to an end
my
my
my
how things change
I wouldn’t have it any other way
Filed under: Life....I wonder... | Tags: murder, police, question, shoot to kill
When the police shoot to kill is it still considered murder? If so then why don’t they just say that instead of trying to make it sound politically correct or implying there was no choice but to use deadly force? Is not a shot to the kneecaps or thigh or shoulder just as debilitating as a slug to the chest or gut? Why don’t they utilize rubber bullets or other types of weapons which effectively neutralize without killing? If the object is to shoot to wound, is it necessary to fire several rounds? Many regard abortion as legalized murder so why does it seem like nobody is as fired up to put a stop to institutionalized murder, like the death penalty? Could it be that some lives hold more value than others?
Filed under: Life....I wonder..., Media Manipulation | Tags: American Government, DC Tea Party, Life I wonder, Media Manipulation, protest, rally
My boy forwarded this video of the DC Tea Party protest/rally to me about a week ago and I just got around to watching it. Now there’s not many things that scare me but seeing these people out there passionately protesting when they couldn’t even answer basic questions about what they were protesting against creeped me out and here’s five reasons why.
1. Even when the interviewer broke down the history of the term “Czar” as it relates to American government these fools fine upstanding citizens still attempted to assert an argument against Obama having Czars after essentially being logically stomped out.
2. Did you see some of those signs? God bless Glen Beck? Pelosi is a Jezebel? Obama is the AntiChrist? Palin in 2012 !?!
3. Did old boy really just say that abortion was a greater evil than Slavery? Slavery? And did he really bust out with the 12 % of the population argument? Would you like to talk about the disparities involving Blacks and the Death Penalty my brother? Probably not.
4. Take a good look at the demographic composition of the crowd, that’s all I’m going to say about that.
5. The woman that starts crying at the 5:20 mark….um yeah
Filed under: Life....I wonder... | Tags: Antoinette Davis, fayetteville nc, kidnapping, Life I wonder, local news, Mario McNeil, Shaniya Davis, why
The last few weeks three faces dominated the local news broadcast. The first was that of 5 year old Shaniya Davis, curly haired and caramel complected, smiling in a white dress and sunday shoes. The second was that of Mario McNeil, the man accused of kidnapping her from Sleepy Hollow Mobile Home Park 5 minutes down the road from where I now live. The third was Antoinette Davis, Shaniyah’s mother. If you’re up on current events, which you should be due to the influx of information present on television and computer screens, you already know what became of the little girl with the bright smile. She was sexually assaulted, asphyxiated, and dumped in a wooded area on the outskirts of town. This is my city. Fayetteville, NC. I’m not a behavioral scientist or psychologist so I can’t pretend to know what it was that made Ms. Davis give her daughter over with the knowledge she would be held in “sexual servitude” or what drives a grown man to assault and strangle a young girl, but I do know that Shaniyah was a divine light, an angel, and her death was not without purpose. Every time a tragedy like this takes place it’s like the check engine light on a car. There’s something that needs to be fixed, there’s an underlying issue that needs to be addressed. Like that squeak when you press on the breaks. It’s telling you something. Now you can keep riding like you don’t hear it but wait until the day when your breaks lock up, what are going to do then?. I read a quote by Anne Graham Lotz , daughter of Evangelist Billy Graham, dealing with the end of days and the signs before hand as Jesus explained them in the Bible. When I read it, it struck a chord with me and certain events I see on the news remind me of it often…..
“Like a woman in childbirth whose labor pains increase in frequency and intensity before the baby is delivered the world will experience natural disasters, wars, epidemics, religious delusion and deception, persecution of Christians, an increase in moral wickedness and many other signs.”
Now while I can’t say that I completely believe in the ‘second coming’ or apocalypse from a religious perspective, I definitely feel Ms. Lotz on this one, these are the words of Jesus, uttered thousands of years ago and one can’t help but recognize the truth in them. Take shooting rampages for example, the first one to really devastate on a national level was Columbine, now it’s been Virginia Tech, the Holocaust Museum, LA Fitness, Ft Hood…..frequency and intensity. The youngest of us are being slaughtered and brutalized. Every time you turn on the news it’s another sweet face and another shocking story to tell. It’s just sad, on so many levels. I want to have children one day, but I often wonder exactly wat type of world would I be bringing a child into? Is what we’re confronted with now just the nature of human beings or have we allowed our nature to become corrupted? How much have we allowed our humanity and overall respect for life to be eroded with the sands of time? The saddest thing to me is, this isn’t the first post I’ve dedicated to a child thrust into the national spotlight for all the wrong reasons and I know it won’t be the last. I just wonder how many more innocent lives will be lost stolen before we as a society deal with the crap we have swept under our rug? Shaniya was laid to rest today at 3pm and from what I heard the community came out in droves to pay their respects. She was a divine light, an angel, who in her passing became a beacon regarded by many near and far. May she eternally and blissfully rest in peace.
Junebug Obama hits it on the head……
