Are you a bouncer or a promoter?

Let's pretend that salvation is the biggest party in the history of creation. There's going to be a ton of food, a ton of music and you are invited. I've known about the party for a while and I hadn't felt like going. I saw the attendees. They seemed kind of fake and stiff and I didn't see myself fitting in there. Plus, anytime I got close to the entrance, an individual or a small group of people would tell me I wasn't dressed right. Or I couldn't get in because I had been drinking already, even though it was just a beer with my dinner. They didn't like my tattoos or my beard. I couldn't wear a hat. They told me that in order to get into this party, I needed to fix all these things. So I bounced. See ya. I can't fix all these right now.

Then I started noticing that people I really respect are going to the party. These were some people I could see myself hanging with. Now I'm really thinking about going. But wait, I have to fix these things. Well, lets just get to the door and see if those bouncers are there. They weren't there! I got in! I was just inside the door and then, boom, another group of folks. They didn't even mention my clothes. They shined a flashlight in my eyes and asked me a bunch of questions. “Do you believe we live in a Christian country, founded on Christian values? Are you yay or nay on gay marriage? Do you believe in Heaven and Hell? Do you believe in creation or evolution?” The list went on a bit, but I could see very clearly that I wasn't going to make it in this time either.

I went home and thought about it for a while. I couldn't get this jaded feeling to go away. Why are there so many stipulations to get in there? It was one of those situations where I didn't even want in anymore but I knew that I needed a party like that. When I was leaving that second time, I did notice a group of dudes that looked a lot like me. They were dressed like me and were in a circle by themselves. I wanted to ask them what their deal was. How did they get in?

For months and months I stayed home, read my Bible and prayed by myself. The Bible is a giant invitation to the party and other people are inviting me like every 2 weeks. On a random day, one of those guys that resembled me sat in my chair to get a haircut. What a coincidence! It took me a while to get to it, but I finally asked if he was at that party. He emphatically stated, “Yes, but I’m different.”.

“Okay, how?”

“I don't know everything about everything. I know one thing: God loves me and he loves you and that's all I need to know. That's all that matters. Inside that party are ex-cons, ex-prostitutes, ex-fiends. They all have immeasurable worth to God. He created us and wouldn't want to see one of us excluded from the party. When you accept that fact and you live from it everyday, you see the world through his eyes and you cannot keep anyone out in the cold anymore. If we accept the invitation and walk through those doors, we all get in. That's what I told the bouncers and they stepped aside”

I simply replied “Thank you”

Are you a bouncer or a promoter? For the Kingdom of God, there are people who attract others and people who act as a gate keeper, picking who “gets in” and who doesn't. Which one are you?

Hip-Hop Shaped My Life

My freshman year at Framingham State College was full of me making an ass out of myself. I grew up in Medway, MA where we had a 1% racial diversity. The only black guys I knew were dudes I met through music. I was ignorant. Typical ignorance had me asking every kid that was a shade darker than khaki, "Do you rap?". Wow. Just in case you were looking to make a new friend, here's a racially charged conversation-killer. Have fun! My intentions were only to build with people though. I always loved talking to anyone about music and the techniques of rhyming and making beats. I did end up meeting a few cats that shared my obsession. I'm still close with one of them today. (What up Pete!)

If you're a Hip-Hop head, you can skip over this whole post. I think this is more for the new generation of scared parents. My folks are still trying to figure it out. I would be blasting Public Enemy's Apocalypse '91 and they would shake their heads. Mind-blowing messages for a 12 year old boy and super-scary, hold-onto-your-purse, black-rage for a couple of white, middle-class, suburban parents. What they still, to this day, don't realize....and I'm 34 years old as I write this....I was learning everything they couldn't teach me in school. When hip hop had a real message, it had real fans and a real movement that could be stopped by very little. Hip-Hop is a powerful teacher.

Here's 5 ways it shaped my life:

5. The choices you make directly affect your life.

There are countless songs about the wrong path and how you can ruin your life forever. The most notable are probably “Children's Story” (Slick Rick) and “Just to Get a Rep” (Gangstarr). They were songs about losing your life on a quest for notoriety. Another song, “Tearz” (Wu-Tang) taught me how real STD's and AIDS were. It was a first-hand story about the guy's friend. I couldn't learn that in my public school.

4. There is a separate U.S. History they don't teach in schools
   
   
   Public Enemy had me looking at the country different. They were letting America know that it ain't all good. The country is messed up for young black people. “911 is a Joke” had me like “Huh?”. And of course N.W.A.'s “F the Police” was a face melter. I'm 10, 12 years old thinking, “Cops are a problem in your neighborhood?”. These were the go-to guys when you needed help in my town.

I learned about Malcolm X, Minister Farrakhan, Larry Davis, Mumia Abu Jamal, Nat Turner. Look these dudes up. They are important pieces of U.S. History that somehow got left out of my text books.

Knowledge is so important. Different points of view are so important. This is how we learn as a society.

3. Question everything.

You should ask why a lot. It only leads to the truth. Don't just eat what your fed. KRS-ONE was a monster at breaking down the things I learned and just accepted as truth. His self-titled album had me buggin out on a few topics. Mostly on my Christian faith. On the way home from church, I asked my mother if she knew that the cross was a form of capital punishment and why would we all get on our knees to worship it? I was 14. She was dumbstruck. No answers that day. I had questions for everything and I had a couple of cool teachers that would field those bombs I threw. Thank God for them. Bottom line: Ask questions. You'll be smarter in the end.

2. Always have a message

When you have a mic in your hand and people in front of you, say something. Share something. Share with them, what's most important to you. That's the only way I can learn about you and your point of view. Don't get me wrong, I love a good trash-talking battle rap with clever punchlines. And I love party joints that get the place rockin, but the underlying message is the meat, the protein, the nutrition. We can't survive without it.

1. Be yourself

By far, unequivocally and with out question, the most important thing Hip-Hop taught me was to be me. You have to be yourself. God made you with a purpose. He loves you and wants you to be the light that shines. You are awesome the way you are, and you should go be that to the tenth degree. Don't try to rap like this dude or make beats like that guy. All they're doing is being themselves too. So go and be the best “You” you can be and let the next generation look at you as an influence.  

THOUGHTS: Hip-Hop as a Tool

The first time I ever heard Hip-Hop my head exploded.  I couldn't get enough.  My neighbors had Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff's "He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper" aaaaaaaand Beastie's "License to Ill".  I would hang out down there and play those tapes back to back to back.  Hip-Hop was the rebel soundtrack to my nice, white, safe life.

I always saw this music as a tool to get stuff done.  It was like a hammer that smashed everything as I knew it.  And I carried around this hammer all damn day.  It was always by my side.  Everyone made fun of my hammer and wondered why a white kid from the burbs would carry such a thing.  It only made me get a bigger hammer and swing it more often.  It's not something everyone can carry comfortably.  They didn't make em light and easy to hold in the early nineties.  But it didn't take long for a couple people to get one too.  They got tired of making fun of me and saw how fun it was to smash stuff.

Fast forward to the end of high-school and everyone has a hammer.  Every guy, every girl.  Every commercial, every show.  It was a little sickening.  My hammer looked cool still, but it wasn't my thing any more.  It was everyone's thing.  Oh well

MUSIC: Purging.....all of my music is now free.

I just put everything I've ever released on my bandcamp page.  It's all free too.

The idea is to purge it all and move on to music from a new angle.   I hope you stay tuned.  Actually, you should.  it's gonna be fun.

www.jdomusic.bandcamp.com

The Anti-Hustle Movement......who wants to join my club?

I'm pretty sick of every person doing music.At least, every person doing underground hip-hop. everyone is about that hustle.....all about that grind son!......always trying to push and prod their product into your earhole.......well, I would like to initiate a movement.......the "anti-hustle". I've never been much of a salesman, so i'm just gonna sit back and anti-hustle. I'd rather play Street Fighter and search for rare comics anyway. Who has time to put out mixtapes and promote on various websites? Especially after working 40hours, going to the gym and attempting to be a good husband. If you feel like me, then the movement is for you.

I'm still messing with the mascot, but so far............this works.




#ANTI-HUSTLE

Free Music and some things I'll never rap about again

Been a while, but that's how it goes...........I'm hot, cold,hot, cold with all things creative. Anyway, I'm married now! We spent 12 days in italy learning how to relax and now we're trying to getting settled back in to life. Back to the grind. back to the grind.

I have a lot of music done and I'll be releasing it slowly over the next 6 months. First offering is my Neweast project. Its me and my man Speak ya Rhyme. It's titled "No boots, no hats" An ode to the modern "hip-hop" establishments that wont allow any hip-hop heads in unless they're disguised as extras from Jersey Shore. Boooooooooooo. Production from new-comer S. Grace (been talkin about him for a while) and Vherbal (germany). This conains songs that will be on future full length Grace collab.

download here. http://www.zshare.net/download/81366080806eefcd/

more music to come: ------------------------------------------

• another mixtape/album hybrid called "no goals, no direction" produced solely by my man Matteo Getz. It's a collection of songs we recorded together over the last 2 years or so. we had no goals or direction with em so we figured we should just put em out. yup, that's creative.

• full length S. grace album

• Self-produced EP entitled "the Air"

• Random features with various producers such a s EDM beats (508 brethren)
  

after these projects release, these are things i'll never rap about again

• the current state of hip hop..................we all know. it's stating obvious themes. not challenging
  
• how hip hop used to be........................some of us know, a lot of us don't but it's the past and not challenging or creative
  
• how i will save hip hop..........................I can't save anything. I can only create dope music and hope people enjoy it enough to tell their friends.

Forward this to any and all people liking hip-hop music.
Put the link on your blogs/pages/etc.

i appreciate all support, friends.

thanks!

everybody in the house..............

Yeah yeah...... whats going on people? welcome to the Blog.....never thought i would use that phrase.....technology is off the hook now........i can let everyone know exactly what i think at any given time. Think about that..........it's weird.

This will be updated monthly or maybe more but i get lazy with this type of thing.....haven't checked myspace in a ill minute.....

but it's to keep yall in the loop as far as shows, release dates and anything i feel like waxin' about. like the celts in OT with the heat right now......59.3 left up by 6!!!

any way...My first Full length album, Talent is here. been a long time coming but you can get it from me personally (cash only....no food stamps) i will arm wrestle you for one though.....(over the top punks!) Or come to Perfect Style barber shop in Malden, Ma. get a shape up and a dope cd for $15

check out a sample on myspace.com/neweast

And the C's pulled it out 112-108

peace