Today was an interesting day.
Met Al Branch, who is a heavyweight in the game on the urban marketing side. Ran an errand for him. Dude is cool...I was just soaking up some indirect knowledge from him and another exec(silent listener) uhh they were discussing a marketing strategy for an artist and I was listening to their strategies..sounded solid. Dude was behind Kanye when he first broke into the game as General Manager of Hip Hop Since 1978 and as Urban Marketing Exec for Sony. Heavy in the game. Platinum plaques for Streets Is Watchin' and some other stuff.
Did some work for Publicity. I'm def focused on expanding my network, building relationships and getting more well rounded.
I was just talking with a friend of mine about all the stuff I've been going through. Sort of a mix of frustration and cautious optimism. I've just ALWAYS get tired of the same old same old. It's like everything is too formulaic. I need/want some creative spark. I was talking with my son S. Bizzy and he feels the same way. It's like we ALL are hustlers @ our own particular crafts. I know some of these cats are in the same boat as me. Straight doing their own thing, hustlin' @ some big organization AND networking/building relationships. Updating my LinkedIn profile...
Speaking of creative, I've been on an official "Hunt For a New Rapper" binge. I got some new Drake stuff. I'm just blown away by his talent, as I might have stated before. But I'm listening to this kid Blu. Dude reminds me of Common vocally and the comparisons to Nas are a bit of a stretch but I can see where they come in.
Went to Spit That Open Mic tonight. It was dope as usual. Most of the poems were sexual, but I can honestly say that the energy, vibe and sense of community I get in there is something I look forward to every Thursday. Change of pace to the week, feel me?
Listening to "The World Is" by Blu
The Aftermath
So....
We had the first FRSH PULP showcase last night. I was tired as shit from running around. Shoutouts to Nipsey Hussle (VERY personable artist, cool brotha), GIC Funkface, Live Footage (I'm obsessed with their music lol) and Shinobi Ninja. Shoutouts to Al and Triana for hosting, Mpressive Concepts as the clothing sponsor,Fader, Sony BMG, Converse, IMG Street Team, all the record stores we hit up...pics will be up on frshpulplive.com soon..
Overall the event went well. About 75 folks came out to show love so it could be the beginning of something GREAT. I was feeling a bit angry about something (specifically a dude who's been buggin' the shit outta me to perform or w/e). I'm totally not a dude with a ego..and i hate to see dreams shattered, but yesterday showed me that I gotta get stricter exercising that A&R ear I learned @ Sony as far as judging talent it concerned. I'm not gonna go too in depth about it, but calling my phone on CHRISTMAS twice and leaving two separate emails is fucking annoying. My business partner just told me "Handle it. When you become a mogul, it'll only get worse." Duke takes it personal that I'm not feeling his shit. What killed me is that duke was like "I'm better than so and so (an artist who's been KILLIN' it). I'm about to start pullin' cats cards like.."You know so and so? Call 'em in front of me and let me talk to them about you." Like if I saw some talent, I'd try to give some guidance, but cats are too used to being spoon fed..talking all this "Miami" shit...NYC is a WHOLE other animal...One thing i NEVER do is lie on my contacts. Especially in NYC. It's like a big city but the party/music scene is DUMB small. Oh well.
Just got home from a listening session for Dream's new album. It sounds aight, but he has this one cut..."Put It Down"...it's a PROBLEM. ya'll will hear on March 10th. Met Serius Jones. Duke was cool
Watching the "Letter to B.I.G." video. nicely done.
I'm sorta getting tired of the industry shit but i cant just leave yet. There's a lot more to be done.
Listening to "Barry Bonds Freestyle", Drake. I DLed some material. WHEN his album drops, I'm coppin' his shit. I met him @ the Highline Ballroom. Dude is cool and personable.
We had the first FRSH PULP showcase last night. I was tired as shit from running around. Shoutouts to Nipsey Hussle (VERY personable artist, cool brotha), GIC Funkface, Live Footage (I'm obsessed with their music lol) and Shinobi Ninja. Shoutouts to Al and Triana for hosting, Mpressive Concepts as the clothing sponsor,Fader, Sony BMG, Converse, IMG Street Team, all the record stores we hit up...pics will be up on frshpulplive.com soon..
Overall the event went well. About 75 folks came out to show love so it could be the beginning of something GREAT. I was feeling a bit angry about something (specifically a dude who's been buggin' the shit outta me to perform or w/e). I'm totally not a dude with a ego..and i hate to see dreams shattered, but yesterday showed me that I gotta get stricter exercising that A&R ear I learned @ Sony as far as judging talent it concerned. I'm not gonna go too in depth about it, but calling my phone on CHRISTMAS twice and leaving two separate emails is fucking annoying. My business partner just told me "Handle it. When you become a mogul, it'll only get worse." Duke takes it personal that I'm not feeling his shit. What killed me is that duke was like "I'm better than so and so (an artist who's been KILLIN' it). I'm about to start pullin' cats cards like.."You know so and so? Call 'em in front of me and let me talk to them about you." Like if I saw some talent, I'd try to give some guidance, but cats are too used to being spoon fed..talking all this "Miami" shit...NYC is a WHOLE other animal...One thing i NEVER do is lie on my contacts. Especially in NYC. It's like a big city but the party/music scene is DUMB small. Oh well.
Just got home from a listening session for Dream's new album. It sounds aight, but he has this one cut..."Put It Down"...it's a PROBLEM. ya'll will hear on March 10th. Met Serius Jones. Duke was cool
Watching the "Letter to B.I.G." video. nicely done.
I'm sorta getting tired of the industry shit but i cant just leave yet. There's a lot more to be done.
Listening to "Barry Bonds Freestyle", Drake. I DLed some material. WHEN his album drops, I'm coppin' his shit. I met him @ the Highline Ballroom. Dude is cool and personable.
In Hip Hop, We've Lost The Art Of The Posse Cut....
Hmmm....I''ve been extremely irked by this not so recent development in Hip-Hop. I'm reading the latest issue of XXL and they were giving a synopsis of the demise of "The Crew" in Hip Hop....I guess from that you could derive the loss of the EFFECTIVE Posse Cut. You know...where the ILLEST MCs (or second tier MCs) got a cut and just rode till the wheels fall off. I'm gonna give my choices on some of the best posse cuts. No Order. Just appreciate...pardon the East Coast bias as well. I was debating on whether or not to have collectives like Wu, ROC, RR, Death Row...but these are personal favorites...
"The Symphony"-Juice Crew
"C.R.E.A.M"-Wu
"Reservoir Dogs"-Hova, LOX, Beans and Sauce Money
"Ice Cream"-Wu
"Flava In Ya Ear"-Craig Mack, B.I.G. LL, Busta, Rampage
"I Shot Ya"-LL, Foxy Boogie, Prodigy, Keith Murray and Fat Joe
Personal Favorite: "4,3,2,1"-LL, Redman, Canibus, Meth, Master P and X
"Shut Em Down"-Onyx and X
"Symphony 2000"-EPMD, Redman, Meth and Lady Luck
"John Blaze"-Fat Joe, Pun, Kiss, Nas and Raekwon
"Banned From TV"-LOX, Pun, Nature, NORE and Cam'Ron
CLASSIC: "All About The Benjamins"-Puff, LOX, B.I.G. and Kim
"Reverse"-Puff, Sauce Money, Cee-lo, Busta, Shyne, G.Dep and Redman
"Who Got Gunz"-Gangstarr, Fat Joe, M.O.P.
"Ante Up Remix"-M.O.P, Busta Rhymes, Remy Ma and Teflon
"Ruff Ryder Anthem Remix"-X, LOX, Eve, Drag-on
"Ryde or Die"-X,LOX, Eve, Drag-on
"Grand Finale"-Nas, X, Meth, Ja Rule
Personal Favorite: "It's Murda"-X,Hova, Ja"
"New York, New York"-Ja, Fat Joe, 'Kiss
"Scary Hours/Cash Still Rules"-Meth,Ghost,Rae
Classic: "Triumph"-Wu
There definitely will be a part II of this...
"The Symphony"-Juice Crew
"C.R.E.A.M"-Wu
"Reservoir Dogs"-Hova, LOX, Beans and Sauce Money
"Ice Cream"-Wu
"Flava In Ya Ear"-Craig Mack, B.I.G. LL, Busta, Rampage
"I Shot Ya"-LL, Foxy Boogie, Prodigy, Keith Murray and Fat Joe
Personal Favorite: "4,3,2,1"-LL, Redman, Canibus, Meth, Master P and X
"Shut Em Down"-Onyx and X
"Symphony 2000"-EPMD, Redman, Meth and Lady Luck
"John Blaze"-Fat Joe, Pun, Kiss, Nas and Raekwon
"Banned From TV"-LOX, Pun, Nature, NORE and Cam'Ron
CLASSIC: "All About The Benjamins"-Puff, LOX, B.I.G. and Kim
"Reverse"-Puff, Sauce Money, Cee-lo, Busta, Shyne, G.Dep and Redman
"Who Got Gunz"-Gangstarr, Fat Joe, M.O.P.
"Ante Up Remix"-M.O.P, Busta Rhymes, Remy Ma and Teflon
"Ruff Ryder Anthem Remix"-X, LOX, Eve, Drag-on
"Ryde or Die"-X,LOX, Eve, Drag-on
"Grand Finale"-Nas, X, Meth, Ja Rule
Personal Favorite: "It's Murda"-X,Hova, Ja"
"New York, New York"-Ja, Fat Joe, 'Kiss
"Scary Hours/Cash Still Rules"-Meth,Ghost,Rae
Classic: "Triumph"-Wu
There definitely will be a part II of this...
I Came To The Conclusion...
I've just been busy as hell. Stasia's been handling most of the online promo for the FRSH PULP showcase on Tuesday, and I've been handling most of the street aspects of it.
Back @ Def Jam in the radio promotions/marketing departments. They assigned me 4 artists to help market...just like my mans Mike told me. He said it's the best way to make your bones @ a label. Take a small artist and blow em up. One of the acts is a group with a core/cult following.
Barber Shop today: Got my cut (finally) then watched "Diary Of A Tired Black Man"...the flick definitely was something interesting. I'ma cop later this week and give a synopsis. I just have to appreciate the fact that they keep emphasizing that this is "some, not all Black women"..unlike most media which tends to box all us brothas into one box.
I miss one of my exes. I came to realize it. We ended in a somewhat volatile manner; I'm really starting to think/believe I'm manifesting my adult version of my childhood trademark...which is the bring out the best in people when i wanted, and to also bring out the worse in them when we argue. She was a "good girl", total square, homebody, very intelligent and grounded.....I could use someone like that in my corner...BUT
-I'm DEATHLY scared of a serious commitment. I'm still 22 and I feel like I'm too young to be serious
-I'm always "on the scene"..usually for business purposes, but having a girl, it comes down to "Hey baby, I'm lonely."...almost symbiotic...
-My trust issues aint that bad anymore. (1.) I learned not to trust people further than I could throw them. (2.)People are gonna do them regardless, and its foolish to try to control them.
-I wanna "have fun".
-I'm DEATHLY afraid of making a bad dating decision, which in turn could affect the rest of my natural life. I'm paranoid as hell, and I do admit I tend to think the worse about females. Being that I'm doing my thing, I've come across it all from girls claiming "I'm a model" to "I hold my man down" to doing things in hope that I'd reciprocate bigger.
I never got the vibe that Ms. was after anything from me but to just chill, kick it and enjoy each other's company. We weren't committed and it was probably the first time I caught serious feelings for a girl. EVER. Ever since my first, I always sort of had a "Females come and go" mentality. She had her own hustle...which was probably one of my biggest turn-ons in a female. Cooked. Mentally stimulated me. Responded to my sarcastic retorts with her own.
The reason I'm not with her now? I think we both got cold feet about entering a relationship (both obviously had commitment issues). @ the time,I had no other dating options because I was extremely busy and something about her made me feel guilty about talking to other chicks. There was other people in the picture on her side, but I'm the type not to care unless we get committed because that's the game. I could give a damn about other cats. I dont chase chicks because what they do is what they do and the one being chased is in the driver's seat. I'm an extreme control freak and I like things running on MY time. I couldnt help the way I felt about her though.
If anything I learned about liking someone (never been in love), it's that that's the risk/reward of it. You FALL hard for someone and you're open as hell. My boys said they've never seen me open till then. Admittedly, I was. I just felt like shit when it didnt go the direction I wanted it to. You're open and it had the potential to go all the way north or south. It goes north, and ya'll ride it out. It goes south, and you're wondering why the hell it hurts so bad. After that initial hurt, I said "FUCK THAT" to myself. I wouldnt be so open ever again. Definitely had a shell built up....
So, here I am. Wanting a solid partner, but definitely not ready for a committed. relationship. I tell females I date off bat that I'm not relationship material and they think it's a joke....until I do something, then I'm the foul one...
"It aint like I aint tell you from Day One, I aint shit, when it comes to relationships, I aint got the patience..."
I'm looking into the future...I'm realizing that I have more to lose than it seems. I'm extremely tight lipped about what I do IMG wise...I'm strongly considering dating older women who have their own thing going on......
To Be Continued.....
Back @ Def Jam in the radio promotions/marketing departments. They assigned me 4 artists to help market...just like my mans Mike told me. He said it's the best way to make your bones @ a label. Take a small artist and blow em up. One of the acts is a group with a core/cult following.
Barber Shop today: Got my cut (finally) then watched "Diary Of A Tired Black Man"...the flick definitely was something interesting. I'ma cop later this week and give a synopsis. I just have to appreciate the fact that they keep emphasizing that this is "some, not all Black women"..unlike most media which tends to box all us brothas into one box.
I miss one of my exes. I came to realize it. We ended in a somewhat volatile manner; I'm really starting to think/believe I'm manifesting my adult version of my childhood trademark...which is the bring out the best in people when i wanted, and to also bring out the worse in them when we argue. She was a "good girl", total square, homebody, very intelligent and grounded.....I could use someone like that in my corner...BUT
-I'm DEATHLY scared of a serious commitment. I'm still 22 and I feel like I'm too young to be serious
-I'm always "on the scene"..usually for business purposes, but having a girl, it comes down to "Hey baby, I'm lonely."...almost symbiotic...
-My trust issues aint that bad anymore. (1.) I learned not to trust people further than I could throw them. (2.)People are gonna do them regardless, and its foolish to try to control them.
-I wanna "have fun".
-I'm DEATHLY afraid of making a bad dating decision, which in turn could affect the rest of my natural life. I'm paranoid as hell, and I do admit I tend to think the worse about females. Being that I'm doing my thing, I've come across it all from girls claiming "I'm a model" to "I hold my man down" to doing things in hope that I'd reciprocate bigger.
I never got the vibe that Ms. was after anything from me but to just chill, kick it and enjoy each other's company. We weren't committed and it was probably the first time I caught serious feelings for a girl. EVER. Ever since my first, I always sort of had a "Females come and go" mentality. She had her own hustle...which was probably one of my biggest turn-ons in a female. Cooked. Mentally stimulated me. Responded to my sarcastic retorts with her own.
The reason I'm not with her now? I think we both got cold feet about entering a relationship (both obviously had commitment issues). @ the time,I had no other dating options because I was extremely busy and something about her made me feel guilty about talking to other chicks. There was other people in the picture on her side, but I'm the type not to care unless we get committed because that's the game. I could give a damn about other cats. I dont chase chicks because what they do is what they do and the one being chased is in the driver's seat. I'm an extreme control freak and I like things running on MY time. I couldnt help the way I felt about her though.
If anything I learned about liking someone (never been in love), it's that that's the risk/reward of it. You FALL hard for someone and you're open as hell. My boys said they've never seen me open till then. Admittedly, I was. I just felt like shit when it didnt go the direction I wanted it to. You're open and it had the potential to go all the way north or south. It goes north, and ya'll ride it out. It goes south, and you're wondering why the hell it hurts so bad. After that initial hurt, I said "FUCK THAT" to myself. I wouldnt be so open ever again. Definitely had a shell built up....
So, here I am. Wanting a solid partner, but definitely not ready for a committed. relationship. I tell females I date off bat that I'm not relationship material and they think it's a joke....until I do something, then I'm the foul one...
"It aint like I aint tell you from Day One, I aint shit, when it comes to relationships, I aint got the patience..."
I'm looking into the future...I'm realizing that I have more to lose than it seems. I'm extremely tight lipped about what I do IMG wise...I'm strongly considering dating older women who have their own thing going on......
To Be Continued.....
