When It Comes To Music

I feel like I've mentioned countless times on here and when I have discussions with others that when it comes to music and songs, content will eventually repeat itself. Doesn't matter the artist(s), the subject matter goes around in this constant cycle, which doesn't surprise me or upset me in the least. The main aspect that I feel has to remain refreshing is the take and the way he or she decides to present it. I can sit here right now and make a song about love and relationships but, if it sounds like a rip off of "Me, Myself and I" from Beyonce, 9 times out of 10 you wouldn't want to hear it and I wouldn't blame you at all. 

So I guess the main point that I'm trying to get at with this little rant is that I want the presentation to stay original and to remain sincere.

Music and Us

While I've always thought about this so I felt compelled to share my thoughts about it. There are always those songs that in one way or another we feel connected to.

No matter if someone else completely dismisses it or not. For whatever reason, be it the content, the sound or a combination of both. We as people have the natural inclination to gravitate towards those things that are similar to our individual tastes, likes and dislikes; things like us. Music, amongst many other important subjects, has got to be one of the most emotionally stirring mediums. It's able to draw you in and make you feel something. Whether or not it makes you angry, elated, sad, moody, uplifts you or somehow makes you feel an indifference towards it. These songs, these beats, melody's and lyrics are made by people and a part of them is in it, so we feel that. One thing I've always been a believer in is that you can't fake emotion, either it's real or it's nothing.

To me, REAL music is always potent and that potency, along with other factors, is what maintains the connection

...It's a topic that can go on and on ☺

From Highsnobiety - 25 Years Of Airwalk by Cullen Poythress

I was skimming through some of the pages and landed on this one. I immediately think tennis ball when I see this one, how about you?

Airwalk Jim

A snippet from the Q&A with Director of Product Randy Kleiner:

How has Airwalk adapted with the times in terms of skateboarding? Were there certain ideas and features the brand adopted in its design to accommodate for the changing direction of skateboarding during the early 90s?

The early 90’s were a fusion of durability and style. Upper designs began losing all their molded parts and ideas like double or triple layer Ollie protection took hold using properly patterned suedes. Shoes became less bulky-looking, yet held up equally as along.

more info and pics @ Highsnobiety 

Reebok Classics: Lauren Hill on "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill"

featured on Highsnobiety

After presenting NaS talking about Illmatic, Reebok Classics and Rock The Bells continue with their Classic Albums by Classic Artists series...

The XXL... Excerpt III From A Work In progress (from Lupe Fiasco)

For some reason or another I decided to post this entry from Lupe in its entirety. I have to read this a few more times myself but, I figured I get it in before I head off to work.

The XXL...

Its by far the best of times. There is so much to choose from. Endless choice. An abundance of delicacies. Filling the void should be easy. And what a hungry void it is! And as deep as it is hungry but by the time i'm finished with it it will be stuffed to the brim. By the forkful and by the forklift it will be satisfied. And there is so much more to be piled upon satisfaction as well. Layer after layer. No other time can compare to the surplus of these present hours. No other place can even begin to compare tallies of gorgeous, delectable things.

We are leaps and bounds ahead of the nearest and so far ahead of the farthest, one is presupposed to even question their very existence. To the limits we go. Bulging ever further from our cores. Pushing our borders into territories as of yet unknown. Growing ever so gargantuan. Swelling and puffing from the intake of the wide array of delights. I envy not those who lack. I pity them. The only thing that pulls me from the depths of complete sorrow for their plight is the ever comforting pillow of mine own plump abundance. If i could wish away their ghastly slim inhabitance I would not refrain even an atom's weight from doing just that service.

My expedience of action pours out of my humane mercy and out of due responsibility over the potential forfeiture of my own amounts. But most of all my decency in regards to matters of humiliation of others. If i could devour up their unfitness I would do so immediately. I would eat their despair. I would dine on their misery. I would swallow whole the entirety of their abject wretchedness. I would add them to my ever expanding girth. They would become me. And in becoming me they too would feast upon the mouth-watering mass of scrumptious objects. Their palettes would be corrected to discern and detect the honest flavor of substances. The impartiality of their backward gastronomic philosophies would breakdown under the weight of a refined, imperial gourmet sensibility. It moves me to near flooding of my saucers and bowls with tears of joy to have such prophetic knowledge of their future ascension into grace. The rise into the face of civility.

The passage into the mouth of dignity. The regal traverse through the necks of enlightenment. The heroes welcome into the belly of royalty. Look at those faces, so innocent, so pure. I could just gobble them up. The crisis that would arise in aftermath would only be one of "What next?" "WHAT NEXT INDEED?!!" My eyes sharply lift from the empty plate in shock and horror. Until this moment I hadn't pondered this consequence with any serious depth. How did the elephantine gravity of such an impending emergency elude me with such stealth of existence? How will I survive once they have all been eaten? It empties me with dread. Starves me with uncertainty. My eyes search the dining room in grand distress for structures of the most basic edibility. The furniture. The taxidermy. The suits of armor. The rugs. The walls. The candles. The shotguns. The hounds. The servants. My fellow diners. The latter three discoveries calm my desperate search. But instantly I'm whipped into a panic yet again at the notion they too will be insufficient in the long run.

The panicked eyes thus begin the pitiful hunt again. Until suddenly they cease their random interrogation. I have lost control of them. The wandering becomes self aware and detached from my governance. My eyes no longer mine slowly creep their gaze downward, ever so downward. Coming to rest on my own fleshy rotundness. The mouth waters and grins in compliance. The nostrils flare in allegiance. The tongue is diabolic in its conspiracy. The throat swallows in approval. Alas the hunger has found its last resort. Bon appetit.

"Weight loses when patience wins." If I had a gym I would write that on the wall.

Wasalu "Lupe Fiasco" Jaco

#HornOfAfrica

Found on The LupE.N.D. Blog or
LupeFiasco.com

The Dispatch... Excerpt II From A "Work In Progress" (From Lupe Fiasco)

Again thought provoking...

The Dispatch...

I went out and visited with the collateral damage today. It says "Hi" and that everything is great. The optimism of the collateral damage knows no bounds and should be applauded for its lack of even a hair of despair. Upon the first sight of me the collateral damage exploded into thunderous applause. It shot headfirst into cheering and a pleasant albeit foreign whistling that filled the air with the audible scent of sweet daisies, a strange description I suspect most would reach if one were to try to find a comparable sensation in the realm of flora.

I was literally pulled into one of many fine homes of the collateral damage and at once noticed how airy and free of obstruction it was. The sun beamed in from every vantage it could find illuminating the entire inner dwelling in a natural morning fire that would put all the chandelier and candelabra of Versailles to shame. The collateral damage then relaxed itself in the most odd positions to and fro around the house and floor wherever comfort was to be possessed. Yogic contortions and asymmetrical postures of the most delightful and exotic origin. I can only describe it as a dance minus movement. From these positions, of which I was welcomed to try but for the life of me was hopelessly unable to mimic, the collateral damage spoke in the oddest measures and beats. Furthermore chatter was about the most random and roundabout things. It was as if I were not in the room at all. From what I deciphered, the moments right after the previous nights meal had to be of significant importance as it was the only topic of conversation. Spoken about up to a point then abruptly stopped mid-word then rewound and started again. Initially the cultural practices and habits of the collateral damage don't lend themselves easily to crossing the divide of opposing customs but after a while of just casual attendance the finer points can be deduced to a satisfactory medium of understanding....

Continued on The LupE.N.D. Blog or
LupeFiasco.com

The Times...An Excerpt From A "Work In Progress" (From Lupe Fiasco)

This is amongst one of the more interesting things I've read lately. A very observant and honest examination of the "square" in its culmination. Here's a portion:

The Times…


Stepping out into the square the first thing noticed is the emptiness. Odd because the square is crawling with people. It is at maximum capacity. It is full. The emptiness is not the lack of objects but the lack of substance. The lack of purpose. Odd again because the square is full of things to do. It is bustling with all forms of entertainment and engagement. It is full of purpose. The dual nature of the square leads one to cancel out attempts at identifying the true nature of the square because at once it is undefinable and also defines itself thoroughly. The purpose of the square is nothing that feels like something. The square is ornate but lacks artistic appeal. The ornate gilding and filigree is mere reproduction of some original romantic or oriental design. It mimics authenticity but by its very unnatural production it is stripped of any authentic merit. Its placement among the modern structures and fixtures screams out that it doesn't belong even though it's just as modern as they are age-wise. It betrays itself. It cancels itself out.

Nothing can be added to the square. Things are only taken by the square. Everything in the square costs some portion of oneself. Time is taken in the square and paid to the relentless marketing stalls, signage and campaigns. Money is taken in the square by the ceaseless vending machines of unnecessary items. Life is not taken in the square though. Life is exchanged. Your non-square life in exchange for the glamour and speed of the square's life. There is a glut of communication in the square but no talking. No conversation. Merely questions about the state of your present affairs and the opportunity to modify them for a time. The chance to become beautiful, fashionable, important, happy, desirable, entertained, perfect. In short all the things you were not before you entered the square.

The food of the square is delicious and plentiful, if you can afford it. The price of this sustenance is high at the start of the day but the value depreciates over its course as the food rushes to its inevitable rottenness...

Check out the rest on:

TheLupE.N.D. Blog or
LupeFiasco.com

What I Think About "Beef"

I think that "beef", as it's called in the music bizz, is one of the most miniscule things ever. I'm not referring to just hip-hop/rap either. My question is why does it arise in the first place? I mean, I realize that each individual situation has something that initiates the spark but, why have that? Why would you deliberately cause drama with someone else or other individuals? You get into music for some reason. At the very least, part of that reason is because you LOVE music. That love would seemingly motivate you to put the majority of your energy towards an honest product. That honesty entails being woman or man enough to settle those disagreements in a fashion that doesn't allow it to stretch and stretch. Moreover preventing it from consuming the music. Adding to that, sometimes things blow up a little more than you may have anticipated. Therefor some circumstances sort of give way to a long drawn out feud. Personally I feel that most of these disputes can end much sooner than they do. To me, most continue just for the sake of notoriety and entertainment purposes..............but that's whatever, I'll digress.

A conversation between my mom and I

Ha....


When my mom came home from work yesterday, I prepared us some hot dogs While I was fixing them, I randomly asked her if she'd heard of the band Rage Against The Machine. She said, "Uhh hhu but, I couldn't tell you a single song from em'." I just laughed and said cool. I was just fascinated for some reason at the fact that she'd heard of them. She asked me though if I knew what that meant. In the back of my mind, I was going to say that the "Machine" symbolized the government and how everyone and everything seems to be a number nowadays. It's like you're identified by your debit/credit card number, your social security number, your licence plate tag. Instead, I said something to that effect, except musically. I said, the "Machine" represented the way music sounds robotically created. Everything is credited by numbers and sales as opposed to sound and impact that it has. When she said it meant what I was really thinking, was just like "Urrrggghh, that's what I was gonna say!"


Just thought I'd share that...

My Review: Cornel West & Lupe Fiasco at the Youth Leadership Institute

Let me say that I LOVE an in depth conversation. In regards to that, I feel compelled to respond to the recorded stream I watched on The LupE.ND. Blog. It  featured a very in depth and intriguing Q&A between Lupe Fiasco, Dr. Cornel West and the audience at the Youth Leadership Institute in Los Angeles put together in part by Tavis Smiley. Among many other purposes of the discussion, critical thinking was at the core.Critical thinking it was. One thing I appreciated most was the views brought forth where not imposed on anyone. In other words no one was forced to think in accordance with the next person. Instead the intent was to give and honest and logical analysis of any subject at hand. In essence, the entire session was carried out in a respectable manner & tone. Concerning the subject matter, the significance for me was that everything hashed up was content everyone could grasp and have input. No topic was placed of particular importance above the other. All were of high pertinence and very relevant when it came down to it.


Lupe was primarily at the receiving end of the questions. He was asked things such as where he drew his musical inspiration and where that initiated. He was asked about about his thoughts towards the particular degradation of women in hip hop and how many less than respectful terms are thrown around in relation to them. The statement that Lupe made about Obama was brought up in the midst as well. To that I have to say, that ya boy very sensibly, articulately and logically gave an explanation that is almost impossible to debate but, you'd have to be on your super game to give a reply. In one instance (switching subjects), a young lady questioned Lupe as to if he'd ever been asked to compromise his artistic integrity and digress from his message of positivity for the sake of more notoriety. Within that she also mentioned  those who seem to focus on issues regarding the masses and "intellectually gifted" artists, which specifically peaked his interest in her question. A bit later he asked "...what about Rick Ross?", implying is he not apart of that? He went on to explain that he doesn't place artists into that box of who's on this level. Who's vocabulary, way of conceptualizing and communicating is less or more than the next person. It's more so about what your saying.


Probably the most appealing aspect to me, and what I came to respect most, was the humility shown in the room. The gestures by Dr. Cornel West along with the inflection in his voice kept you engaged. The audience/students were noticeably amped but, remained considerate. The fashion and tone by which Fiasco answered the questions didn't put down anyone nor did he make himself seem higher than the rest. He simply caught what was thrown his way. However, when "Food & Liquor 2" came into play towards the very end, he reminded us in a sly voice that he's going back to the basis as to why he is dubbed

"the nicest M.C.", 

and I couldn't agree more.

Cornel West & Lupe Fiasco at the Youth Leadership Institute post (The LupE.N.D. Blog)

LupeFiasco.com

CornelWest.com