work your plan.
so i've recorded, i'd say about, 1/3 of my album. some of it is still rough. there's one joint where i'm waiting on verses from a couple cats who live in the philippines (francis m and gloc9), another one where the beat needs to be redone a little and some singers brought in, and yet another where i'm not even feeling my verses and re-writing something totally new. but hey, the album's in progress, which is better than nothing. i'm keeping the number of songs lower than previous projects, which i think will keep things a little more focused. also, the beats are amazing, from musical to groovy to hard. i'm really excited and optimistic about this project.
that said, i'm in one of my usual writing funks. i feel like when i sit on beats for a long ass time i tend to have more trouble writing to them. i have the patterns in my head, concepts even, but no words to plug in. it's crazy, cause for the project i'm doing with deuce (eclipse), i'll roll in, he'll play some beats, we'll pick one, decide on a concept, and a couple hours later, we'll have a song recorded. it feels like less pressure for some reason, so the words come out like nothing. and whatever i record that day is final. ah who knows, maybe it's some psychological mind shit that's messing me up. i do hope i can get out of this funk soon and finish up this thing.
speaking of the project i'm doing with deuce (titled "third world duo"), we're 3 songs deep and i'm absolutely lovin it! deuce is good folks, got crazy inspirational work ethic, the crew he rolls with is mad tight, and the beats? myyyyyy goodness! even if it's for a couple of hours or so on a wednesday night, it's nice to be around the creativity and to be able to soak up a little game.
i also dropped a verse for (crown city rockers') raashan ahmad, for his upcoming mixtape. this joint was a little more challenging for some reason. trying to keep on topic (the song is called "giving up," so it's more on the emotional/cerebral tip) yet also keep the rhythm and patterns going (the beat is crazy!). ise lyfe is also on the track, so you can imagine how this one's gonna turn out.
my mama wishes i could ask god / like i can pray it off
like i can take my pain and / dangle it from a cross
cover up the flavor, dip it in a little sauce
and you wonder why my people are a little lost
i'm steppin out the box / gettin my soul clean
pour some water on my back, try to grow wings
i know my dreams, but i wish that i (k)new orleans
we live in fantasy, reality is too extreme...
the new hip hop workshop series is supposed to get cracking in april... and this time we're shooting for 3 sites at the same time: the bayanihan community center in SoMa, the liwanag cultural center in daly city, and of course the FCC in the excelsior. we already have some participants ready to go! oh boy! wish us luck!!!!
speaking of the bayanihan community center, we held the desaparecidos event with edith burgos there on saturday... it was amazing. great performances, a packed house, and edith's presentation was nothing short of inspiring. to top it off, we raised about $1300+ for her to bring back!!! holler!!! i'm just glad i was able to take a break from running around to step back and appreciate what was happening. the cross-section of community, the different generations of folks that were in the house. being a part of this movement for so long, and really actually seeing some movement forward, some concrete growth, it was just absolutely motivating. more work to be done!!!!!
and in other news...
starting mid april through early june!!!!!!!!
that said, i'm in one of my usual writing funks. i feel like when i sit on beats for a long ass time i tend to have more trouble writing to them. i have the patterns in my head, concepts even, but no words to plug in. it's crazy, cause for the project i'm doing with deuce (eclipse), i'll roll in, he'll play some beats, we'll pick one, decide on a concept, and a couple hours later, we'll have a song recorded. it feels like less pressure for some reason, so the words come out like nothing. and whatever i record that day is final. ah who knows, maybe it's some psychological mind shit that's messing me up. i do hope i can get out of this funk soon and finish up this thing.
speaking of the project i'm doing with deuce (titled "third world duo"), we're 3 songs deep and i'm absolutely lovin it! deuce is good folks, got crazy inspirational work ethic, the crew he rolls with is mad tight, and the beats? myyyyyy goodness! even if it's for a couple of hours or so on a wednesday night, it's nice to be around the creativity and to be able to soak up a little game.
i also dropped a verse for (crown city rockers') raashan ahmad, for his upcoming mixtape. this joint was a little more challenging for some reason. trying to keep on topic (the song is called "giving up," so it's more on the emotional/cerebral tip) yet also keep the rhythm and patterns going (the beat is crazy!). ise lyfe is also on the track, so you can imagine how this one's gonna turn out.
my mama wishes i could ask god / like i can pray it off
like i can take my pain and / dangle it from a cross
cover up the flavor, dip it in a little sauce
and you wonder why my people are a little lost
i'm steppin out the box / gettin my soul clean
pour some water on my back, try to grow wings
i know my dreams, but i wish that i (k)new orleans
we live in fantasy, reality is too extreme...
the new hip hop workshop series is supposed to get cracking in april... and this time we're shooting for 3 sites at the same time: the bayanihan community center in SoMa, the liwanag cultural center in daly city, and of course the FCC in the excelsior. we already have some participants ready to go! oh boy! wish us luck!!!!
speaking of the bayanihan community center, we held the desaparecidos event with edith burgos there on saturday... it was amazing. great performances, a packed house, and edith's presentation was nothing short of inspiring. to top it off, we raised about $1300+ for her to bring back!!! holler!!! i'm just glad i was able to take a break from running around to step back and appreciate what was happening. the cross-section of community, the different generations of folks that were in the house. being a part of this movement for so long, and really actually seeing some movement forward, some concrete growth, it was just absolutely motivating. more work to be done!!!!!
and in other news...
starting mid april through early june!!!!!!!!