Thought this was dope..check check check the message.

Fly or Fall

Yo.

I think it was Wu-Tang that said “Cash rules everything around me” and along with the other real ish they gave us – This remains TRUE as EVER.  Its been said often and loudly, and I’m going to repeat it: We as African-Americans and Individuals that live within a capitalistic system need to learn to control our money or we will forever be an underclass – and not because of prejudice or unfair hiring practices [although they play a part] – but because we don’t take control of the money that we do have.

I’ve always been fascinated by the role that money plays in our lives. America is a consumer-crazed culture, with the balance between spending and saving tipped heavily in favor of spending. This trend is even more pronounced in the African-American community. In Black popular culture money is usually portrayed as a commodity to be spent as the mood hits you. For black men – the messages we get about money are as backward as they are unhelpful. We’re told to spend our money on cars, clothes, shoes, and [depending on if you believe the “It aint tricking if you got it” phase in Hip-Hop] on women.

This is not what’s up.

So..Because my aunt sat me down at a young age and asked me if I wanted to be a consumer or a producer. Because I detest the feeling of not having enough. Because I know that with “no money there is no mission”. Because dreams can be slowly strangled because of mismanagement of funds – I’m always searching for easy ways to teach my family/friends/loved ones ways to keep the money they have safe and to help them understand that if they’re not planning for the future then its going to be planned for them – and that the future’s usual plan is to have yo a$$ working at Wal-mart at 66.

Again, Not a good look.

In an effort to make sure that nobody I love is found at Wal-mart with a blue vest on when they get to their golden years: Here’s a list of sites that I use that I think are helpful and make keeping track of your money easy and kinda cool.

WWW.MINT.COM – This site is one of my favorites and one that I recently discovered – @ Mint.com they can connect  and route all your financial accounts to one place to give you a bird’s eye view of your current financial status.  They have plenty of user-friendly tools that help make making a budget a breeze, as well as directing you to offers that can help you make the most of your money. If you only pick one site to use – I would HIGHLY encourage you use this one.

WWW.ANNUALCREDITREPORT.COM – This site does just what it says it does – it allows you to get a Free Annual Credit report from all your lenders. For some of us this can be painful but strong medicine is the first step in getting better [if your credit is sick]. All you do is follow the steps and provide the information needed and they’ll shoot you your credit report. Cool and definitely needed.

WWW.CREDITKARMA.COM – I like this site for a couple reasons as well – as you know (or should) you can get annual credit reports every year. [In Georgia you can get more than one/year] – but these sites often dont let you get an actual credit score..enter credit karma – this site uses estimators that mirror the equations the big 3 credit companies use to give you a ballpark figure of what your actual CREDIT SCORE is ..They also have different offers for you to take advantage of  – of which i usually dont. Definitely a useful site.

These sites are a nice starting point. I look forward to getting some feedback about sites you find helpful!

Fly or Fall.

Ahh, Vegas! Bittersweet town of the desert.

Just got back from Vegas – and it was GREAT. It was a lot of fun – not “Hangover” level or anything but definitely a great respite from the humdrum of school. Learned alot about my self and found some area’s of improvement. OH YEA! I was in a gambling mood so I Made a bet – If I DONT have Elevator Music out by April 15th then I owe Chris (kp) $50. Which is a lot of money to spend for something I was supposed to have done 2 years ago. Although I’m supposed to get up with a songwriter this weekend. *sigh* i’m overextending myself and not sure if I’m moving forward or just running in circle. Although running in circles is sometimes fun -Time is short –  and there’s no time to waste. I also need to post some of the video/audio with the beats we’ve been making.

Did learn/Re-realized some things: 1. I need to jump back on my budget 2. I need to stop overthinking stuff – Fortune favors the bold according to an highway ad in Vegas. 3. Sacrificing what you believe in never works 4. The lies we tell ourselves are the most convincing ones. 5. Keep being me.

P.s. Below is a beat that I made as an ode to the vegas vacaction aftermath.

Bittersweet Kisses [delilah]

So..listening to a random podcast about setting goals..and One of the things that I picked up that I thought was cool was that people who write down 5 things that their thankful everyday – keeping a thanksgiving journal so to speak – were more motivated and stuck to their goals at a higher average. So I started – The things your thankful for don’t have to be anything super deep and can be as shallow as your car, hair, etc. If nothing else – It helps to see how blessed we are..

If you’ve been to atlanta and been around the music scene – you might recognize this door and know it’s associated establishment: Apache Cafe. Apache cafe has been around for a min and is one of the premier underground hip hop spots in atlanta – this is aside from the bad hosts/shady characters/horrible events that may (at times) be held there. As a location – its somewhat of a pillar to the Atlanta music scene.

So last thursday (2/25/09) – Me and my producer friend B.T headed up to Apache where we decided to participate in a Beat battle. Man!! The scene is dope – no no…let me correct that – the Producers were dope! Everyone had a distinct sound and the dude who wonwas a beast! We got past the wild card round and then lost by one vote – (supposedly b/c our beat wasnt mastered – according to the deciding vote judge). Anyway – a couple lessons I learned:

1. Art in a Box [TRUTH]: While all art has to be practiced in private/individually – If it remains there it is Useless – ..Barack always says government is always best when practiced in the sunlight – same with Music – you need to find a outlet for your art where you can get realistic, unbiased feedback – and nope – Your boi’s/homegirls/sisters/cousins do not count.

2. What do you want to be? [FOCUS]: Hearing all the different music styles – made me realize you cant be a pro at all of em -you gotta pick one. Do I reallly want to be a battle producer – NO..I want to make songs – and I know now that for me to really be the best at it there’s certain steps I need to take to be able to reach a certain level of music production.

3. Are you Uncomfortable? [RISK]: Now a rule with all investing is: with greater risk you should expect – (you guessed it)  greater reward. However, while as a community we sometimes take too much risk (all our black men shouldnt be rappers, squandering or not taking advantage of our educational oppurtunites as a race) as individuals we often dont take the right kinds [educated or informed risk] or enough risk. Let me explain – You got certain goals/aspirations right? Well – how uncomfortable are you? How far out of your comfort zone are you willing to go to get the desired rewards? One of my favorite quotes from the HARDEST JOB I’VE EVER HAD: “Winners do what they dont want to do now – so they can do what they want to later” – and I know you’ve heard some type of derivation of that – but is it true in your life? Are you just cruising/enjoying life – or are you really grinding/putting yourself out there – Life is amazing and there’s a plethora of oppurtunities but there are alot of people running toward the same goal alot of times – so you should (to jack a phrase from the bible): “run in such a way as to win”.

+ [PREPARATION] = SUCCESS

Aight – well enough self-talk – Back 2 deez books.

Fly or Fall.

So today was busy as usual – class, IPPE rotations, and then Beat Making With Ben (BMWB) – made a track – ehh not sure how I feel about it – i’ll post it for you guys comments..

also..I still haven’t had a chance to drop KNOWLEDGE like I want..but I’ll find time ..somewhere..

So.. I had been checking out this blogger/video guru kid named maestro @ http://www.maestroknows.com (dope) and I was really struck by how video brings something that just music doesn  this is one of the video’s I made- I dont know what it is about it  – but putting images with Music really is exciting and trying to find ways to express what your trying to convey with moving images is really fun… anyway enjoy..

Really feeling this video and the message – We should all find the things that give us wings. Fly or Fall.