the changing of seasons

On that note... head on over to my more universal blog: http://thechangingofseasons.blogspot.com/

The Amount of Dope is RIDICULOUS

I didn't write this... but the sheer amount of dope in this is amazing...

"The Quill Pen"
...Let it bleed...

Break the bread & let the letters feed,

Dishing food for thought type recipes;

The wax drips, off of the candle wick,

Absorbing passages and canvas pics,

Imagine it...messages in manuscripts,

Esoteric enigmas that challenge wit,

Asking riddle me this, riddle me that,

Off the wall that's riddled & cracked,

Scribblin' facts...see what visual lacks,

Leapt from Voodoo step to ritual acts,

...dab some ink, let the rapture bleed,

As my Quill pen narrates rhapsody,

Dreams crafted deep...fall fast asleep,

& visualize Da Vinci's master piece...

Let a thousand words paint a picture,

These portraits of ancient scriptures,

Take you far & wide, past star & sky,

Words go farther than a car can drive,

On this carpet ride; we quest in verse,

Mountain high to the depths of earth,

Let it bleed...time travel the seventies,

Cross the land mass & the seven seas,

Soul of sound...let the flow confound,

When imagination knows no bounds,

"Only rhyme structure trapping me"

Its ink blotch forms a liquid tapestry,

We could get swept up & cast to sea,

& drown in a fountain of knowledge,

Or have these mountains demolished,

...We can fly high on the feather Quill,

Fluttering only where weather wills,

Over the nether hills; past the clouds,

It could shed a tear or laugh out loud,

Recite our lows & passionate peaks,

I grip tight...but my grasping is bleak,

I struggle to put it back in its sheath,

Quills erratic; words span the pages,

Ain't no metaphor; now it's animated,

Pens possessed...& hands are tainted,

Off on its own like it was amputated,

Pen almost begets a life of its self;

It scribbles in an awkward way,

Best keep it locked away;

And let the

Bleeding

Verse

Drip

Off

ya

P

a

g

e

.

.

.

When and Wear

After a long, hard, bout with boredom, I thought that it would be interesting to let my clothes tell you "wear" they've been and what I've been through. I've always been a follower (not necessarily a participator) of streetwear and it's fashion scene, and being aware of what I put on everyday, each article of clothing I wear has numerous stories behind them...

Nike Dunk Lo's, white/white colorway

I picked these up for cheap at Journeys in Garden State Plaza (or was it Jersey Gardens?) I got them for $30 - a price that even beats out most Vans and Chucks. Interestingly, they came with the oval laces, which I know only come with Nike SB releases.

Anyways, when thinking about where these have taken me, it's safe to say that (besides my original white/white Mid Af1's) these carry the most history. At least the most significant event's, easily. On June 18, 2007 i got rid of my fear of rollercoasters at Six Flags Great Adventure by shitting my pants on Kingda Ka. It was fucking sick. That was a great day... Not to mention, shortly after that I went to California in which I unexpectedly ended up staying for the whole month of July. Here, they endured the countless times of being soaked as I went to Six Flags Magic Mountain, Knott's Berry Farm, Sea World, and camping near Yosemite National Park. I forgot to mention the many Vegas nightwalkers that stepped on my feet while walking through America's Playground in the wee hours of the morning.

Needless to say, they're battered and bruised and heavily scuffed and creased. But who gives a fuck? All of these hypebeast's try to stay fresh and shit, and they claim that the clothing represents the lifestyle. Maybe it does, but I could give 2 shits about if my shoes are immaculate or not - I know what I've been through and they blatantly represent that.

And on that note, last week I ran the mile test for gym in them.

Thank you, Dunks, for the great memories.

WAKE UP, HIP HOP IS NOT DEAD!

WAKE UP, HIP HOP IS NOT DEAD!
Written By: Andrew Pineda

Key to Recovery:
Realize that actions are relevant

Two summers ago, I was visiting my brother at the Air Force Academy in Colorado. Parents of the cadets gathered for the annual Parent’s Weekend, and naturally they would start to brag about their children. One parent had two sons: one in my brothers graduating class, and one in my own graduating class. After an introduction and decent conversation, it was revealed that the child my age, Mark, was a child prodigy at playing the piano. He demonstrated his nationally recognized skills and all were left in awe. No sooner was I questioned if I had any musical talents. Now I’m an MC too tired of explaining the value of hip-hop to the common man. To avoid a long, awkward, drawn out conversation and possibly argument, I made no effort to highlight my personal talents.

Since that night, I thought about the answer to the question: What instrument do you play? I am undoubtedly a musician, as I was taught that music is organized sound. I thought “What recognized instrument do I play!?” After a good amount of pondering, the answer came. I am the instrument. Not only vocally do I express myself, but actions truly define a person. Sure there is the old saying “actions speak louder than words,” but never has this been any more evident.

Now, I ask that you think about hip-hop in the public eye. You don’t have to look hard to see that mainstream rap is full of pimps, ho’s, violence, and money (in large amounts). It doesn’t matter! Get high or drunk – as long as you get crunk. It’s all about partying, making money, and fueling the ego. BUT WAIT: Isn’t this exactly what the music was like back in the 70’s, 80’s, and early 90’s!? Partying and being the best!? It was! So now the question is: How did it change from “Breaker’s Revenge” to “Crank Dat Soulja Boy?” The concepts did not change, the music did. And society as a whole is responsible.

Consider: alcohol consumption has always (at least in my mind) been a part of teen life. Even in 1995, 80.4% of overall students had at least one drink of alcohol during their lifetime1. If this fact has been consistent, why is old school rap significantly different than the rap heard today? Easy. After realizing the impact and significance hip-hop had on society, the main culprits of hip-hop’s degeneration rearrange priorities so that the dollar is more important than what he or she represents! Now, songs like “Tipsy” hit clubs and the teens who don’t know any better indulge in a pre-mature frat-life. Thus, sooner or later hip-hop is blamed for an incident that could have been completely prevented.

Thinking back to my previous statements about actions having more impact than words/songs, let’s take a look at… let’s say DMX. He’s made classic material, and has become a household name for any listener of rap. He has been convicted numerous times of a variety of offenses, notably drug possession, reckless driving, and illegal dog fighting/breeding2. He’s a cracked out predecessor of Michael Vick with credibility under his belt. Plus, he’s had PETA pissed off for a lot longer than Vick. It’s icons just like DMX misrepresenting hip-hop leading to negative stereotypes. A child feels more connection to a rapper like DMX than to a school nurse telling him or her not to do drugs. Staying within a comfort zone, by following something he or she can relate to, the child is more likely to follow a path of drug use similar to the idol. This is the problem currently present in the hip-hop community.

Next, I will bring murder convict Big Lurch into the spotlight. Remember him? He’s the rapper who murdered Tynisha Ysais and ate part of her lung while under the influence of PCP3. He did this all for a “gangsta” image. Think about it… a grown man, pushed to do such acts for an imaginary self-appointed status. If a grown man can be pushed THIS FAR chasing a false or corrupt image, how easy must it be for a CHILD or TEEN to be swayed by what they think is “hip” or “gangsta”!? ACTIONS ARE RELEVANT.

If the glorification of such lewd conduct continues, maybe hip-hop WILL die. To any artist seen in the public eye; to any celebrity, I say this: you have one life and your actions are either forgotten or echo into further generations. Hip-hop is bigger than the here-and-now! If hip-hop should survive, it will be done through the next generations to follow. The future of a culture that I love so much depends on what we do now. HIP-HOP IS NOT DEAD! I’m not asking for change – simply common cents.

***
1 http://www.dianedew.com/drnkstat.htm

2http://www.hsus.org/acf/news/jay-z_dogfighting.html
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/d/dmx/index.html?match=all&adxnnl=1&query=DMX&adxnnlx=1190263452-6c0LD4pnLKYtLtCzNXiTQw

3http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/04/14/1050172509082.html

the dope...

illit3r4t3: i mean you cant force the dope on them; the beauty is discovering the dope yourself.

revelations...

It's funny because starting out as an MC, you just learn how to rhyme. You learn that bat rhymes with cat. And then you start to figure out patterns of words thats begin to flow as you recite them. That: track was shit, practice this, rap is sick... etc. But still, at this point content is not involved. Then, you enter the battle scene and learn about punchlines and metaphors. Punchlines teach you about how to make 2 thoughts connect through 1 statement. "I kick it so hot, I burn forest fires in my Timberlands!". Likewise, you take that same concept and put it to your written pieces except this time you're not trying to damage the opponent. You're trying to connect with the audience. At this point it's a matter of imagery and the 5 senses, and this is as far as most MC's get. A lot of them stay at the point of cute one liners; a lot of them stick to a select few quotables. But this is the point that determines greats... Creating the whole song as a metaphor. Yeah, the whole fucking song is a quotable. Let's look at it like this:

Hotel California is a dope ass song. It's not really about a hotel... in California. No - it's about depression and shit like that. But the fact is, it retains the metaphors, the images and devices used to make a good SONG, but it's the way the CONCEPT is portrayed that makes it dope. Now take my song, Changing of the Seasons. Taken at face value, it makes no fucking sense. But, if you read into it, listen to it and understand it... maybe you can see the dope.

And that's why I'm the best right now. Fuck Weezy.

But FURTHER elevation is realizing that life itself is a metaphor. I can write all of the dope ass songs I want; I can write 2394842943 songs comparable to Hotel California. No matter what, ultimate elevation is when realizing that your actions, your life, will always speak louder than the beats you rhyme on.
Peace.

Caption TIme: FAME aka ROBBY P

I've been neglecting this, but who gives a fuck. During one of my bouts of boredom today, I decided to start captioning pictures for your pleasure. Whoever the fuck "you" are. So, without further ado, I present M.C. FAME aka ROBBY P!

Now this picture here just screams: Hey! I'm a white rapper! Moreso, I recall a picture of Eminem in this exact pose. I would find the picture right now, but my computer is fucked up and I can't open more than one internet browser. Plus im too damn lazy. Look at the determination in his eyes...

"Yo... look... listen... My parents have a good marraige, but my name isn't Clarence// it's Fame, on my way to the top, its apparent// or evident, I could say that I am heaven sent// 'Cause the cum stain on my ma's mattress from e-ReK is the evidence!//"

Now the question here is, what the fuck is he looking at? "Not now ma! I'm taking my myspace pictures right now!" "That's not where i put that dildo..." The color picture with his hat is like: "OH! There's my B2K CD!"

I fucking love this one. First, you need to take note of how far his eyebrows are from his eyelids. And check out that fucked up hairline. Nice barber, fag. Wow... Cute livestrong bracelet. He's a certified conscious rapper now. What is he pointing at??? I'm sorry, I don't have tickets to the gun show...

Ok, I'm actually fucking tired as shit right now... I'm gonna do something about that.

Peace God,

e-ReK