Influencers Film

"The places where people assemble based on passion I think are usually the places you see the most influence."

Influencers Film

Put This On

Cognitive Dissonance. 

More here, but specifically, here.

(hat doff, @dctobc)

Stuff No One Told Me

Courage is the mastery of fear - not the absence of fear.

Stuff No One Told Me, But I Learned Anyway

From The Westside With Love

Dom Kennedy. From The Westside With Love.

Download NOW

I've got a history. Trust me.

Bonus: From SXSW With Love

Tell a friend to tell a friend.

Escape

Don't get stuck. There's more.

No Suit, No Tie.

Flickr via FYP

Someone Else Died Today

Who is going to do the things Someone Else did?

No Days Off.

When The Morning Comes

This is actually how my brain works. I did a science project/book report on Rube Goldberg and his book "Inventions" when I was in elementary school and have wanted to do one of these ever since.

I'm on an indie rock kick lately and this isn't bad. Rap wise, wait for Dom Kennedy "From The Westside With Love" and George Young, "We Talkin' 'Bout Practice Vol. 2."

More coming soon.

Hi

We're still here. Hi.

Google Ads Objectify Blacks? Gays? Thugs?

When you see it, you'll...

You can't make this stuff up people. This was an actual exchange between a friend of mine and some friends of his. He e-mailed me the screen shot. You can see that he was actively responding to a message and the cursor stopped because he was taken aback when he noticed the ad. It's funny because it's outrageous, especially considering I know all the parties involved and the subject matter of the email (all identifiers have been redacted for public consumption, of course) and nothing connoting the circled portion, or the non-circled portion, is logically connected.

Oh, and I'm not lauding Google or anything of that nature, but it just gives me a timeout and a laugh for a genuine WTF moment. "Find Blackgay (one word) Thugs at Great Prices. www.Pronto.com."

Now, I didn't click the link to see what's at Pronto because, well, rest assured I don't see and signifiers that there could be anything remotely of interest for me, but let's go ahead and run through a checklist of what's off-base with the ad link.

1. Prostitution is illegal. I assume that's what they're selling? (Reaching)
2. Slavery is illegal. I assume that's what they're selling? (Reaching)
3. What's a "Blackgay"? (Dead-on)
4. What could possibly be Google Ads' algorithm for this?
        a) I Built A Solar Panel
        b) Free Beat Downloads
        c) Serbs Claim Independence
        d) Blackgay Thugs

I don't wanna hear any explanation about bots picking up on relevant topics, there's no possible conversation that could populate such randomness. I dare you to come up with one. Also, as mentioned above, the conversation from the email wasn't indicative of anything relating to those topics. (I hope you can derive that from the email clip posted. If I'm tripping, tell me.) Maybe it's time for some new programmers over there at Adsense. Maybe The King's English is a lot more nonsensical to robots. Maybe I'm reaching. One thing I know is that you guys over there at The Google are reading this so I hope you consider re-programming The Google Adsense algorithm because I have actually found legitmate, time-worthy investments through your ad placements. Now please excuse me while I investigate an urgent matter in the form of this link from a gmail ad, "Dead Broke to 50K a Week." Thanks, Google, I'm twenty weeks away from being a millionaire. Results typical.

*I bet my word cloud is going to look a week bit different after all of those keywords. 
**Despite whatever made you click on this entry today, no, this blog is not about that. Whatever that is.
*** Props to Cabby, who is neither black, nor gay, nor thug.

You Need To Work Hard...

I am a generation older than you. You need to focus on one word in your post. Entitled. You aren’t entitled to s***, and being smart doesn’t make you worth anything to anybody. You need to work hard. You need to love something and do whatever you can to make it happen. You need to stop whining. Nobody cares that you are self-aware or that you filled your head with ideas you can’t seem to find a use for. Except maybe your parents.

The world is full of people struggling just to survive. If you don’t understand the depth of that, stop reading blogs all day and go take a trip. And don’t just go shopping for skinny pants on that trip.

Go find your own path. You can’t hate on office drones for finding their own happiness between the lines. Because the reality is (coming from somebody who has never really had a normal job, and who has managed to support themself by one form or another of whoring out their creativity and thinking) all that is really important are the little things. The other s*** you think is so credible, important and worthwhile is just empty. Go be a hit BLOG house artist. You’ll see how quickly that demystifies and how full of s*** people are.

Find somebody and something to love beyond yourself.
-old person

I haven't looked at Hipster Runoff in probably a year or so, mainly because I don't identify with the core demographic ("alt bros", "hipsters", "blipsters", etc.) and my aversion to the lingo (look at the last parentheses), but today I came across this gem of a post entitled "My job/career does not align with my personal brand [Generation Y and the mainstream workplace]." Pun intended.

(More after the break)

Kind Of Like Mel Gibson And Danny Glover

Andre 3000: Simpsonized and Stigmatized

Usually this type of art is questionably offensive, but since Dre has been disputing these type of claims since the 90's, this piece gets filed away in the fuzzy (and subjective) realm of social commentary. At least take a minute and revisit a classic and remind yourself (read: myself) why 3000 is one of the most enlightening MC's to bless a microphone. New age preachers, anyone?

Lyrics below. Pardon the french, but it serves a purpose. Oh, and as far as dialects are concerned, southern vernacular is unparalleled.

[Dre]
It's the return of the gangsta. Thanks to...
Them n's that's on that blow
That run up in yo[ur] crib which contains your lady and an 8 month old child to raise,
Plus you['re] true blue [a]bout this music, but
They do not want to hear it because...
They'd rather be bouncing and shooting and killing and bouncing and s'.
Get down.

Return of the gangsta. Thanks to...
Them n's that thank [think] ya'll soft and say ya'll be gospel rapping,
But they be steady clapping
When you talk about
B's & switches & h's & clothes & weed.
Let's talk about time traveling; Rhyme javelin';
Something mind unraveling.
Get down.

Return of the gangsta. Thanks to...
Them n's that got them kids
That got enough to buy an ounce, but
Not enough to bounce them kids to the zoo or to the park
So they grow up in the dark never seeing light,
So they end up being like
Yo[ur] sorry a', robbing n's in broad a' daylight,
GET DOWN.

Return of the gangsta. Thanks to...
Them n's that get the wrong impression of expression
Then the question is, "Big Boi, what's up with Andre?
Is he in a cult? Is he on drugs? Is he gay?
When y'all gon' break up?"
When y'all gon' wake up, n'?
I'm feeling better than ever. What's wrong with you?
You get down!

More simpsonized "No Homer" posters (with less/more social commentary) here.
Format Mag's previously posted Classic Hip Hop CD covers recreated in LEGO here.

Previously: It Ain't Hard To Tell The World Is (Not) Yours

It Ain't Hard To Tell The World Is (Not) Yours

A classic is built at the juncture where music takes us to a place we can't take ourselves. It ain't hard to tell. The world is yours. Carpe Diem.

I keep falling, but never falling six feet deep.
I'm out for presidents to represent me.

Nas is like the Afrocentric Asian; half man, half amazing.
Cause in my physical I can't express through song
[I] delete stress like Motrin, then extend strong.

Every Other City We Go

Focus.

One Over Jordan

How I felt.

How I feel.

But, for the record.

Good day. Pause for praise for another year on the books.

* This pertains to age and basketball. Yes, both. Mike > Kobe > Bron.
** Personal CURRENT Favorite: Wade
*** Free Darko

Feeding My Seeds 3.5

You better have money or a plan. You should really have both, but if you don't have a plan, you better have money.
Keep separate fingernail and toenail clippers.
Have emergency cash. For running out of gas. For bail. For when the ice cream truck comes by.
Courtesy flush.
Work first, play after.
Cornbread; ain't nothing wrong with that.

Super Cali Fragi Listic

Expialidocious.

Pic.

Sweet. Mercy. Me.

Thanks to a swift assist from Lady Day, I was refreshed on this video. A couple months ago, I ran into this video on yooouuutuuube (yes that's spelled correctly) and was in an actual trance. Trance music. Trance.

For the love of Jimi Hendrix, funk and the psychedelic movement please click here. Yooouuutuuube. Because I've dabbled in music production in the past myself, I respect the craft that much more. Especially chopping and crafting samples. "Alice" here consists of 90% samples from the movie Alice in Wonderland. That's quite and undertaking in itself, but the final product came out smoother than a foot post-ped egg.

But that's not even where my excitement kicked in. It was when I clicked through to some of his other videos and ran across this gem right here.

This right here. This right here. (c) Katt Williams. I'm a huge fan of musicals. I was raised on them and Annie is one of my favorite movies. I'm absolutely not kidding. I caught Mary Poppins on tv earlier this year and sat up and watched it in it's entirety. I'm 23, so you have to know that it did it for me. The production here is phenomenal. I strongly suggest you download it. It's free.

Expialidocious ← DOWNLOAD.

No really, it's free. Pogo, the artist, offers it up himself, with a slew of his other works, including, but not limited to, songs made from The Sword and The Stone and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

I suggest you download his catalogue because even his completely original work is well worth the download. As you know I boogie with the Foreign Exchange, so this was a natural progression.

You can find his catalogue here. You can stream from his myspace here. You can subscribe to his youtube videos here. I honestly hope he offers his music for sale so I can donate some money to the arts.

You can download it from the link provided above or grab a conveniently zipped file with all of his work by clicking the picture below. Cracker Jacks always had such great prizes. Click for gold.

Funny pic, but the real cracker jacks picture can be found here.

You Live To Learn And You Learn To Live

In a very brief exchange with a friend who I've come to professionally and creatively admire for her lifestyle decisions, I was taken back to a thought that I’ve been meaning to expand on. Purpose. Not in the sense that I’ve typically approached these topical words, but in the sense of searching for purpose. I think anyone with a blog, opposable thumbs, between the ages of 13-65, breathes oxygen, walks upright, eats food or is made up of two thirds water should either have been, or be currently searching for purpose.

You can’t find purpose without change. Can’t. If you already new your purpose you wouldn’t need to change. If you didn’t need to change, you’d be perfect. If you’re perfect, you’re Jesus. You see where I’m going here (← Let the record show, that is very poor logic). We’ve all come up short. But the mission is to strive for purpose. To strive for greatness. To do more. To figure out why we’re here. I can’t put my finger on my purpose just quite yet, but occasionally I get flashes. Like someone is leading me in the right direction, but I’m blindfolded so I’m just accepting the nudges. The only times I’ve been able to say for sure I was doing the right thing it hurt. It’s that much easier to maintain than to change. Not because it’s necessarily hard to do what you’re supposed to do (it sort of is). You get no praise for doing what you’re supposed to do. Sure, you may catch flak if you do the wrong thing, but doing the wrong thing is easy. According to cliché, nothing good comes easy. Oh, and clichés may be cliché, but they’re based in truth. Seemingly akin to stereotypes, which slippery slope into prejudices, which continue on sliding towards racism and bigotry. But once again, that’s another story for another day.

Seeking purpose should be a lifelong mission. I have a personal belief that the best works of art came from those seeking purpose. In musical terms, limited to hip hop for allusion’s sake, it’d be the penning of Reasonable Doubt, Illmatic, Aquemini, Trap Muzik, Below the Heavens, and College Dropout. And those are a few stellar examples of artists that have continued to seek a higher level of understanding proven by their stellar follow ups. The Blueprint. Stillmatic. Stankonia/Speakerboxx. Late Registration. Just to name a few.


[End cohesive thought]

That’s just to name a few. In the aggregate, the problem is complacency. Besides a handful of “artists” that continue seeking purpose and striving for purpose, the overwhelming majority get confortable and settle. Since I am constantly ingesting music as a form of catharsis, I’m often drawn to that which I can relate. I enjoy my fair share of ignorant and/or silly music as well, but nowadays, more often than not, I’m looking to relate with what I'm listening to. Hence, my recent discovery that I can appreciate Maxwell's music in its full sense.

I’m at a point in my life where purpose is wide and varied. Most of the artists I’m into are making/made their best music when they were in a similar stage. So I’ve decided this is a good stage. Healthy confusion, if you will. Art is often influenced by pain.

Confusion breeds pain. Pain breeds art. Art breeds creativity.

It’s a pretty vicious cycle, but it’s true.

“There is no growth without change; there is no change without fear or loss; and there is no loss without pain…Every change involves a loss of some kind: You must let go of old ways in order to experience the new.” -Rick Warren-

[End cohesive thought]

This post was drafted about 8 times and never came together. Instead of trying to tie it all up neatly today, I’ll just leave you to do the juxtaposition. Think of it like a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book.



Its almost fitting though, right? If I had any of the answers I wouldn’t be searching. Should I discover my own mission here on earth, I'll be sure to relay it. If you find mine, I hope you'd do the same.

In minorly related news, I'll be co-hosting an online radio show with Devin tonight at 10 PM on Blog Talk Radio. Tonight's topic is "Are You Fulfilled". You can check it out on the Devin After Dark channel. If you miss it, you can always catch the archived version here. It's my first go at this radio thing, so if you get a chance to listen let me know what you think via comment (↓) or Twitter.

Last Week, [Messed] Around And Got A Triple Double

Just waking up in the morning, gotta thank God.
-Ice Cube- "Today Was A Good Day"

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Homeward Bound

Hotel California, originally uploaded by oybay ©.

Just another day out in sunny LA...

From the Lone Star State to the Golden State, I'll catch you on the other side.

Living Of The World Had The Malicious Overwhelmed

Malice in Mass Appeal - April 2006

Mary Mary ft Malice (of the Clipse) - God in Me (Remix)

Its the God in me, I couldn't keep it to myself
When I was on top, I squandered the King's wealth
So many chicks, so many notches in my belt
Living of the world had the Malicious overwhelmed
How could I ever forget who's at the helm?
But now I'm a soldier, boy, I've got to tell 'em.
With the God flow, I raise the dead
What I give is food for thought, we're breaking bread
The time is now to believe, shake a leg
He loved us all like a son, now make your bed
See I was wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked
Without the Lord how could i make it?

1. I can't say I didn't see this coming.
2. My stee-lo.
3. New age preachers are as follows. Malice of the Clipse. Blu. Andre 3000.**
4. Stand by for proof on #3.

All credit to H.E.R.

**Not in the MC Hammer, Pastor/Murda Ma$e way.