Let The Beat Build

Operation Finish The Degree I Wanted has began. I'm not one to complain, but I honestly didn't really want to do chemistry. Living up to lofty expectations that you don't really want to is never fun. I like chemistry, but it's not something I can do for the rest of my life. I used to listen to Wu-Tang while studying my behind off through Organic Chem.

"No question, I would flow off, and try and get the dough off..."

So while that classic Raekwon line from "C.R.E.A.M." helped me walk across the stage, it wasn't what I wanted to be doing. Since I was a kid, I've wanted to do three things. First, I wanted to be a lawyer. Second, a rapper. But third and probably the most focused of my three goals, was to be a reporter. A journalist. If I couldn't tell stories in rhyme, I would tell stories in lines. Even got pretty good at it. High school pretty much centered around journalism. My choices of colleges centered around journalism. I got side tracked by the lust of money and lucrative bids by my father's friends, urging me to go into chemistry so I could be "Little Femi," a younger version of my pops.

While I don't mind following Dad's footsteps, he's set the bar way too high for where I'm even trying to go. Doctrates in chemistry and physics....how the hell am I even to TOP that? Nor, why would I even WANT to? I like science, but that's cruel and unusal punishment. I guess living in a third world country will help build that kind of mental stamnia and desire to achieve. I do not have enough for that.

So fast forward to today. My lane is wherever I want to be. And while it is a lot of work, I'm pretty happy. If you don't grind, you don't shine. If you don't work, you don't eat. I like to do both. I like to achieve and be fed. As everyone does, naturally. But more specifically, I want to shine doing something I love. While at work, all I could think of is writing, music and stories. Inspiration can come inside emmense boredom. Since I've been in full supply of boredom, I'm excited about the prospects of this new semester.

Circle of Life is sort of a dumb theory until it slaps you right across your head. For one of my journalism classes, I have a professor that is a huge blast from the past. My Mass Media Writing professor used to be the advisor of my high school rival's newspaper, and the mother of a pretty good friend of mine. She also used to run the journalism camp I attended while in high school. It's pretty weird having her as a professor, but in a good way. Reason being, I want to do really well, just let her know that I've grown as a writer. And I have. I mean, my work junior and senior year of high school was mostly to impress her and the staff she worked with, so I could gain respect for myself, especially coming from an advanced paper as my high school paper and our rival papers are.

I treat my loves in my life the same. It always goes back to music for me. There's nothing in this world better than a fresh, newly made instrumental. Beats, rhymes, life is not just a Tribe Called Quest album title, but a way of life for those of us who live hip hop. I'm always going to love hip hop, and I think journalism has that spot in my heart, too. I just gotta communicate, ever since the doctor who birthed me told my mom I was a talker. I always have been, and writing is talking, just with paper. I've spent forever with a journal/rhyme book.

So when we were given the assignment to have a blog....a blogspot blog, I was geeked. I'm already a step x 1000 ahead, because your boy has been getting it in with the Brainiac Society and the WordToEm website. I got a blog and a site. I don't know if I will be able to use this one as a school blog, nor do I think I want to. My classmates might get a chance to read it, and I'm excited about that, but it might cause a change in tone of writing. Tone of writing is important. It is the difference between dropping knowledge and talking down to the readership, and that's a thin line. Do I think I'm going to have to patronize a few of my new classmates? Time will tell. The inherent problem with the class assignment is that it will possibly expose me as a pompus jerk who looks down on people who don't write at my level. That's why it's called the Brainiac Society. I believe I know everything until proven otherwise. My brief time in Chicago allowed me to meet Jay Mariotti, from ESPN's Around The Horn. I was speaking to him in passing and he gave me some advice for an up and coming sports writer/columnist. He told me to be a truly good journalist is to know you know everything and my job is to prove it through my words, but if I don't believe myself, my readers won't either. That might be the second best advice I ever got in journalism. First was not to close until you save TWO copies.

So if this blog becomes Central mediated, I don't think I'm going to slight them. I think I'm going to keep going hard in between the lines, because it is my job. I'm serious with this.

Running Two Blogs is tough...

You see the title, I don't really have anything deep to drop on here. Between my website, entering school again, coaching, and all the other things I have to do, I haven't had too much time to devote to properly research things before I talk about them. I wish other people would take that hint. But they don't. Case in point, of the news I have been watching, Obama is getting his behind whopped over this health care thing. Listen, this isn't hard, he's trying to have a government-set public health OPTION. I can keep my Blue Cross Aetna, which is some good insurance to have right about now. In my view, it is setting up COMPETITION for these insurance companies and health care providers. I'm pretty miffed about how people in this country have perverted this message, just to get their way. There's no plan for an old people hit squad, or any of these outlandish claims that are being made. It's ridiculous. Some people need to get a life.

But that's just my take on it, folks. You disagree, cool. More power to you, but stop with the Fox News type propaganda BS, because it's not a good look. Let's be straight people. This is a simple logical equation. And it helps people. Those uninsured people could have been treated at, I know, a public cost. But they aren't getting treatment because they can't afford PREVENTATIVE health care, so when they come in with half a million dollar health problems, the public will STILL pay for it. And we'll pay much more for it later. Catch the small stuff for a small cost, or keep things the same and pay for other's extreme bills later. Which way do you want it? I swear, real talk should be currency nowadays, because it seems like people are stuck on stupid. Change can't come until people work together.

That's it for this time. There's my "We are the world" speech for the day! Take it easy, people! Peace!!!

Been Too Long...

It certainly has. I've been busy trying to get my website going. It is going pretty damn good, I must say. I'm happy with the new layout, despite the crash that caused us to lose a lot of our posts. We've gone from Blog status to a legitimate website. All things point to Wordtoem.com being a movement that will not die out. We got a good, dedicated staff, and more to come. It's building my dream and our vision from the ground up and it feels good. Shout out to Stig, my cousin is supreme. We are holding it down for hip hop and all things involved. It's grind season, and hopefully, we can mark our niche here in these interwebs.

A little professional info, school is finally paid for again, and this time, through more of my own ingenuity. I feel good about where I am and where I'm going to again, and it's been a while since I could say that. I've had more than my share of bad breaks in the last three years, and while it could have been worse, the struggle is the struggle, and my own self-destructive habits had an impact on where I have been going. It took soul searching, but I have done a good job eliminating the fake and evil from where it doesn't belong. I never knew how important your inner circle is until the last three years. Your inner circle is those who care about you the most and want you to succeed. It is beyond friendship. You can't really grow out of your inner circle. You can grow ahead, but not out. So I'm going to give props to mine. My girls Lauren, Alex, and Bridget have held me down in ways I can even explain, so shouts out to them. While we don't talk and see each other as much as we like, I know I got them and they got me. To my boys, they already know who they are. The fam. That's my offensive line, they block off the nonsense. Some are successful, some not so much, but all still important. Big up to all of you who have assisted me in this.

Normally, I don't take up blog space to do all this mushy stuff, but sometimes, you got to give credit to your inner circle of people who are in the game with you.

To those hating, outright and undercover, keep doing your job, too. Because while you should not judge your success on the amount of people who hold ill feelings towards you, some people don't like people doing better than them. Thankfully, I've never had that problem.

So to all of you out there, I hope that wherever you are, you're winning at whatever you're doing. I mean, for real, check the site. Wordtoem.com. TELL me I'm not winning. More to come from your favorite know-it-all. Peace!!

Back From Vacay! A Few Updates

It has been a minute since I've been on here! Busy summer with lots of traveling, weddings, concerts, so on and so forth. Congradulations to my cousin Akinjide Olatunji for his recent marriage. The wedding was cool, I got to meet new family members, and best of all, we were in Miami! And Miami, for the record, is awesome. And expensive. Welcome to the family Jene Moy-Olatunji!!

A few updates for everyone.

Update 1. This site is no longer hip hop oriented. It is now about to cover much more variety, because, simply put, I am not just hip hop. I love sports, news, politics [well, not quite love. More across the lines of politics just being important to know].

Update 2. The reason why this is no longer a hip hop dominated blog is because I found a site that gets it in, and I WRITE FOR THEM!!!

www.wordtoem.com

Please go there. It already has some of my blogs posted, so you should check out the content! Got mixtapes, hot reviews, live concert footage. It's really quite nice.

Update 3. I'm continuing to build my business, and we have a name and function, plus our first potential customer! More details coming!!

Missed you guys while I was gone! Send money so I can get a new laptop and we can have more Brainiac Society meetings! Till the next drop, remember, Brainiac's in the house, and that's word to em! Dueces!

Big Macs and 8-Tracks - Cheesy Beef Edition

It's been a minute, Brainiacs. Just running through to make my post and then I'm out for a workout session.

So I'm pretty sure this beef thing has gotten completely out of control. There's only really one legitmite beef I'm hearing about now-a-days, and it concerns Joe Budden's comments at Method Man being an inferior rapper to him. No comments on that one yet, but I imagine that one will actually be good. Method Man getting up and hungry to silence Budden [I hope], or Joey proving his comments right. That would be awesome on wax....

Want to know what's not awesome? I hate cheese, literally and figuratively. Mariah Carey recording a diss track? And Gucci Mane is on the remix? I thought the Charles Hamilton/Soulja Boy thing was silly. But apparently, this one is directed at a certain white rapper who keeps mentioning her name. I have to laugh out loud on this one, what's funnier? Mariah Carey doing a diss track, or Mariah Carey being the best option between her and Mr. Carey [Nick Cannon] to do a diss track at Eminem? People, I can't even make this up.

Here's the Mariah track, give it a listen. Tell me what you think. I think it's aiiight, it will do its' numbers because it's Mariah. It caused me to chuckle. Hopefully, beef doesn't become the popular thing in all genres. I don't think I can stand for anymore made up, manufactured, or false beefs for the sake of record sales.

Mariah Carey- Obsessed. >>> http://usershare.net/tov9uayqs0cf

And because I don't want to just leave you without some audible treats to break your necks to, here's a mixtape from Marco Polo, a Canadian producer who's got fire. You probably heard Port Authority and if you didn't, check out his work. He's the producer half of Double Barrel, and he really puts a new spin on boom bap rap. Don't believe me? Well, free music time, and decide if I'm lying or not. This is a blend tape, check it out.

Go here for hotness. >>> http://bit.ly/1nitV

End Of Existance - Sonic Edition

Before I started contemplating what I am actually going to write for this section, I started flipping/searching/scanning the news to see what I had missed for the day. Palin's in New York and Republicans are wondering whether she is going to snub the party or fall in line to position for a presidential run in 2012 [God, let's hope not]. New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin and staff are quarantined in China due to the swine flu scare. LeBron is long gone but we are still talking about him not shaking hands. Nigeria's oil supply is being ravaged by militants and/or the government [who the hell actually knows who the good guys are in that...]. But I want to talk about something a little more important. First, some short reading...

http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=48665

Don't really feel like reading the whole thing? Okay. I'll make it even easier. Underground rapper Charles Hamilton claimed to have his upcoming album executive produced by James Yancey. And I'll leave this to you to go through. One more thing to read....

http://www.rappersiknow.com/2009/06/08/sigh/

It's not just that he lied about it, it's the fact of two things. The J Dilla Foundation for which he claims to be giving proceeds to is no longer active. The second thing is that he tries to bring the lie full circle by claiming that making J Dilla the executive producer is in turn giving the proceeds to the family and foundation. Other than being the dumbest thing I ever heard of, I tried this rationale. Sonic aka Charles Hamilton puts Dilla as the executive producer to build press and sell records he most likely would not have sold alone on his merit.

The funny part about this is, my brother and I had a discussion about Charles Hamilton this weekend, where I explained to him that because of the mass quantities of mixtapes he keeps dropping, I've heard a lot of wackness come from him in a short time, and with all these little publicity stunts; beefs with Rhymefest and DJ Vlad; his girl giving him a two piece combo to the jaw, so on and so forth, I've decided to stop checking for Charles. Now he's gone and tried to tarnish Dilla's good name on false pretenses. Everyone from Detroit is officially not messing with this kid, and neither am I.

After this incident, I'm giving Charles Hamilton the full burn. I'm deleting all of his mixtapes and any singles I might have of his. I can't support an artist who would do something this wrong. Most of the Detroit emcees, all Dilla family, have pretty much separated themselves with any kind of dealing with this guy. I am not here to tell you what to do, but as for me, Sonic just ran his mouth into the deleted and never to be seen or heard again column.

Sensational Media! Part Uno

What's happening all out there in the world! The Dean of the Brainiac Society (ie. ME) has decided that it was time to bring that wonderful argument that I LOVE having back to the forefront.

First of all, my disclaimer. I'm not a blogger. I'm a free lance journalist who blogs. I mostly blog about the things I don't get paid to cover, namely anything hip hop when I'm working in any city north of Detroit. My degree is in journalism and if you've seen any of my Facebook posts, you will know I'm a staunch defender of my craft. With that said, today's biggest issue is what is media content and what is sensationalized nonsense and how you can tell the difference.

Lots of people will use this trigger word; liberal media. Anytime someone hears something on the news that they don't like, they attribute it to a "liberal" media. That phrase has rolled off the tongue with much disdain that whenever you hear it, it's commonly pitched in the tone reserved for words like rapist and pedophile. I'm going to address this later, but to prime the pump, I'm going to drop this video on you. Nah Mean and John Public have joined together to do an expose on sensationalized media. Watch it, because it will be on a test later...




Besides being informative, this girl right here, quite the looker. And she's smart. Video features underground emcee Donny Goines and producer Illmind.