I spell it in that way because I’ve tried to solve them previously with little success. I did it once, and haven’t been able to stick to it since. I know what I need to do, but I continuously fuck it up. So this year I resolve to re-solve. I fixed it once, and I’ll fix it again. I need to hit the mother fucking reset button on myself and start with a blank program.
I stopped going to the gym. I kept eating shit. This combination does not do me any good. I purchased some gym equipment for my basement, and need to use the fuck out of it this year. I bought a generic bowflex type thing – I call it the Fauxflex – and that shit is gonna get me late night infomercial ripped. Using that, and the elliptical, and walking the pooch should get me the results I am looking for. As long as I can stick to a healthy diet too. Which has always been my biggest downfall. Clean eating needs to come back hard; my diet has been filthy as fuck these past few…years? I need vegan, gluten free, and the especially difficult “No Barcodes”. As much as I love deliciously bad for me food, I’m bout to sing it a ‘you done me wrong” motown classic. We can’t be friends with benefits either. You burnt me bad, girl, with that salty, sugary ass. Diabetes and all that, big fat gut. Shit is wrong. Peace, I’m the fuck up outta here, bitch!
I read a blog called BigGhostFase pretty routinely. The writer impersonates Ghostface Killah - his slang and his manner of speech. When read in the Ghostface Killah voice, it’s hilarious. Very hard to follow if you don’t know what he is trying to do though. He posted this on Facebook today:
Muthafuckas make unrealistic ass resolutions aimin for the moon n come Jan 7th they back to not bein shit…Resolution is jussa word b. It aint got no magic powers to transform you aint shit ass niggas into role models…Summa yall expect a new year to do all the work for you. Wanna change in ya life jus stop bein a cryin ass bitch then.
Sage advice from “Cocaine Biceps aka Thor Molocules the inventor of slaps”.
One of my 2011 resolutions was to make a mixtape every month, highlighting my favorite singles from the internets. I had made some tapes in 2010, but they were not monthly- I think I made 7 mixes. I was more on my game this year, and actually completed the resolution- one tape per month. I listened to literally every single track posted on 2Dopeboyz – usually about 20-30 pages of the site on a Sunday morning. Each month I take the roughly 40-50 tracks I download and cull them to a ~20 song mix. And now it’s time to take those mixes and hand pick the best from them, making the year end mix. And here we go:
1. Blu f. Planet Asia and Killa Ben- Doo Wop
2. Curren$y – #JetsGo
3. Phil Ade – Monte Carlo Dreams
4. Mac Miller – Donald Trump
5. Jim Jones – Believe In Magic
6. Camron – Go Now
7. P-Funk – Smiles
8. Action Bronson f. Maffew Ragazino, Mayhem Lauren, and AG the Coroner – Terror Death Camp
9. Apathy – Most Murderous
10. Sean Price f. Irealz and Baby Blak – Most Recognized
11. Kidz in The Hall – So Amazn’
12. On Cue – Feel Tall
13. Chip The Ripper – The Truth
14. Childish Gambino – Freaks and Geeks
15. Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa f. Curren$y – OG
16. Ludacris f. Bun B and Big KRIT – 5 On The Kush
17. El Prez f. Freddie Gibbs – Executive Decision
18. Raekwon f. Nas – Rich and Black
19. Camron – Soulja Boy
20. Mod Sun f. Nipsey Hussle – What Your Life Like?
Summer of 2007. I’d taken six months off of work after working for Computershare. Disillusioned with my first introduction to the corporate world, I set out on a journey to find what life was really about. I spent 3 months in Texas living with my best childhood friend, Jon. I didn’t work – I spent 4 hours a day in the gym, and the rest of the time watching movies, reading the internet, and craigslist dating. I spent a lot of this time reading up on underground politics and conspiracy. I can’t pinpoint exactly what started it, but I found the topics very intriguing. One topic that kept coming on the sites I was reading was the long shot presidential candidacy of a Texas Congressman named Ron Paul. I watched some of his speeches and read up on him. I jumped on the revolution right away – donating and proudly displaying a Ron Paul 2008 sticker on the back of my Jeep. I’d never heard someone speak so frankly about our problems; saying what needs to be said is not popular. I read Ron’s book ‘The Revolution’ and thought it made a lot of sense. I’ve always leaned libertarian and Ron’s ideals jived with a lot of what I believed. States rights and non-interventionism especially. However, Paul did not get the Republican nomination that year, and refused to run independently. I ended up voting for Obama – a break in my idealism. For some reason I was duped into the mainstream again – thinking that I lived in a “swing state” and my wasted 3rd party vote could have resulted in a John McCain presidency. Which probably would not have been much different than the Obama presidency we’ve had over the past 3 years.
What I mean is that I think the entire system is corrupted, and which puppet occupies the White House doesn’t really matter. Democrat or Republican is a false choice presented to the people to maintain our bickering and prevent any real change that might threaten the structure as it currently exists. Both are two sides of the same coin in a rich man’s pocket. No matter which is picked by the people (assuming votes are even counted), the outcome is essentially the same`- gridlocked government and corrupted representatives.This is why Ron Paul was so appealing to me in 2007 – he didn’t seem a part of that, and wasn’t afraid to call “bullshit” on it.
The Bush administration left without the citizen detention in labor camps, martial law, and mass hysteria that I had thought might happen. No neoconserative coup; little fanfare from the losing team. The Obama change machine took the reigns, and I expected just that, change. The evil Bush was gone, long live our savior. But instead, more of the same. Nothing changes. We do the same corrupt things we did before, but now with a different face on it. A two faced face- saying one thing, doing another. Like all the rest, but with popular appeal. Ending the war turned into 3 more years of it. The federal government taking its DEA hands out of states laws allowing medical marijuana turned into more raids. The same bullshit as always. But I can’t blame him- he is doing what he was elected to do – maintain the status quo. The populace championing his cause didn’t think that is what they would be getting, but the people who put him in the race sure did. I had directed so much anger and speculation to Bush, but now I realize that we’ll be in the same boat no matter who wins. They’re both actors playing a role, whether it be John Wayne Bush or Morgan Freeman Obama (white people like him!)
Now it’s the end of 2011, and the darkhorse rides again. Somehow, Ron Paul is the frontrunner in the Iowa caucauses. How? If my rant above holds any water, than shouldn’t this man be in someone’s pocket, like all the others? Shouldn’t he be corrupt? How is someone who seems so genuine, who’s had a consistent voting record over 20 years, possibly in the lead? Either America is waking up and the machine doesn’t know quite how to handle it, or this is another bait and switch scheme where Paul really is a two faced liar, ready to give us more of the same. Somehow I doubt that he is. The little old man seems too genuine in his beliefs. The “game’ would have needed to start decades ago and be planned that far in advance for that to be true. I don’t know what to think. I want to get on board again, but something about it does not feel right. The man is a 3rd party candidate running for the nomination in a two party system. Maybe America will actually wake up and realize his ideas make more sense than anyone else on that debate stage. Or maybe I’m getting duped into the false promise of ”change” again. Fuck! What to believe?
I’ll tell you this. If this is genuine, and it really represents Americans fundamentally grasping the ideals of Constitutional Libertarian government, the people who run shit now won’t like it. A rogue pawn has challenged the king. The king has no choice but to take him out. It would be the saddest, most belief affirming day if that happened. I hope it does not, but would they really let him get elected?
Friday was my last day at a job I’ve had for almost 4 years. The only job I’ve had since I moved to Colorado, not counting selling art prints at Costco as temporary contract employment. While I’m nervous about leaving something I know so well, the corporate winds of change blew through my formerly awesome start up and signaled me to seek to spend my days elsewhere. I’ve seen this coming for a while, and have been keeping my eyes open for opportunities at smaller companies in the area. My boy Craig showed me just the opportunity I was looking for about a month ago in his list. A few interviews later and I’m hired at a growing SaaS company who provide a management solution for summer camp managers. Less than 20 employees, and the owner is my age.
More than anything, I look at this opportunity as motivation. Motivation to work hard again – something I lost completely working for a 3000+ employee publicly traded company. I know the harder I work, the better the business will do, and the better I will be compensated -monetarily of course, but more importantly, in my soul. I really believe that I need to be happy with what I am doing for work to be happy with life. Knowing that I am a part of something that is good; really helping people ,and not just the corporations bottom line. Soul satisfying work.
Working to grow something and seeing the effects of my skills/labor on the outcome is rewarding. I’ve always said that the most rewarding job I’ve ever had was building sheetmetal ducts for heating and air conditioning systems. At the end of the day I had turned a blank piece of metal into something with purpose. The call center that RegOnline had become no longer offered me that. There was no purpose to my labor – no matter how hard I worked or how well I utilized my skill set, nothing changed in the outcome. The corporate machine was so large that nothing was ever completed; so many gears working together made the machine so complex that it couldn’t move under its own weight. One gear working well couldn’t compensate for the failures of the machine as a whole. So my cog is out of that machine, and on to a much simpler one where it can be better utilized.
Convoluted mechanical analogies aside, I’m super fucking pumped to be part of the new company. It looks like good people, providing a much needed service to more good people. In an industry I find interesting. In a great location. With good pay and definite potential for growth. And I get to work for “somebody’ again, rather than for “something”. My hard work puts money in his pockets, and he is close enough to me to see that,and will hopefully recognize that work and reward me for it…What a concept!
I live at almost 9000 ft elevation. High in the sky, up in the clouds. High above the lame. Way over that shit. On a huge piece of property; a yard for my dog, a place to practice my botany. Views of the continental divide; on the cusp, literally. In a small mountain town that gained slight notoriety for being one of the first places in the US to, at a city ordinance level, legalize cannabis. A place that tugged at my soul from the second I laid eyes on it.
I don’t know how long I will stay here, but here’s to you Neddy; you’re my kind of town.
Childish Gambino is the rap name of Donald Glover. Danny Glover’s kid, and the same Donald Glover form NBCs Community TV show. Now that we have that out of the way….
I’m generally not the biggest fan of rappers doing the rappity rap over someones else beat, or using the structure of someone elses song for their own. Donald Glover reverses that trend for me and makes the mix with this great interpretation of AOTL. I actually like this more than the Kanye version. I also like Donald giving credit to Ye in the song- the line “I’m headin’ west like I’m fuckin’ blowin’ Kanye” needs a Killa Cam “No Homo” sample thrown in though. The beat slows down by the end of the track, and the soul really comes out. Donald crooning the AOTL chorus is pleasant; it sounds good to my ears.
Donald really surprises me with every new thing he does. His old stuff is atrocious, but everything since the EP earlier this year has been fire. Looking forward to more stuff from him soon.
Going to make blogs about these mixes going forward.
Aprils mix is shorter than any previous month. Pickins were slim and I couldn’t find as many tracks as I normally do. Just not as much fire this month as others.
Dizzy Gibran starts the mix out with an epic beat that has “track 1″ written all over it. Diz made some of the early 2010 mixes, but hasn’t put out much since. This one is real nice.
Curren$y makes 2 appearances – a track from Covert Coup with Gangsta Gibbs (12 Scottie Pippen), and the new single from Weekend at Burnies #JetsGo (02). Dude is so nice with it, he can make anything sound like he has the meanest shit. “Crate motors with triple digit blocks” – any motor has a triple digit block, but the way he says it makes it sound like his shit is levels above anyone else. High above the lames. Gibbs starts his day with “two titties, two blunts, and a turkey bacon sandwich”. Straight gangsta shit.
Em and Royce trade bars on track 03…bad meets evil again and lyrical murder ensues. Em is really back on his game. 2.0 Boys with Slaughterhouse and Yelawolf (ugh) on Fat Raps Vol 3 March 2011 was a epic, and this is close to that same level.
The beat on track 04 is from an MF Doom project from a few years ago. I loved it then and I love it now. Kent Money who? Never heard of the dude but the track goes and his flow is pretty decent.
Wiz gets a track again this month as well. I can’t help but love the Jets and Taylor Gang! Stay rollin’ up them paper planes! I think Rolling Papers is inferior to anything he has done before; this track is a leftover cut from it. Should have left it; its better than most tracks on that album. I gotta get down that “No Sleep” sounds like some late 90′s Blink-182 shit. Listen to that and tell me it shouldn’t say “featuring Mark Hoppus”.
Track 06 has a beat that I think sounds very similar to “Heart of the City”. Its not exactly the same, but it feels like the “Ain’t no love, in the heart of the city…” sample should come in at any point for a chorus. Who the fuck is Avius? I don’t know, but Fashawn and Evidene guest on this.
Track 07 brings out my corporate thug. Jeezy is really hit or miss for me. The beat on this is real dope, and it fits his style really well.
After 3 songs on Fat Raps Vol 3 March 2011 (unprecedented!), Action Bronson drops one banger this month that couldn’t be ignored. Consensual Rape? This dude has such a crazy flow and his subject matter is really unique. “Stay lean like some mother fuckin’ ostrich meat”…dude does remind me of Ghost but is that a bad thing?
Track 09 makes this mix for the beat. Fresh Daily goes at it well. This is a windows down nice day feel good song.
Track 10 sees Freeway make the Fat Raps again. I’ve liked Free since the Roc days and he frequently makes the cut. The Free Money guys who trade bars on this are real nice too.
Kidz in the Hall are another frequent cut maker for the Fat Raps mixes. Double O is one of my favorite producers (So Amazin on a previous mix for reference). Naledge is one of the most underrated rappers out. These guys make consistent fire. Track 11 Sip and Ride is no different.
A remake of an old 9th beat makes track 13 real smooth. I prefer the Little Brother version, but this sounds so nice. I don’t know who Edo G is, but verse two sounds like he bites Redman a bit. The beat makes up for any rapper shortcomings in most cases, and this is no exception.
Harlem’s Cash. Never heard of him, but track 14 goes. His flow with the lines “On a mission to get the 6 and equip it with the fingerprint ignition” shows a lot of potential.
Isaiah is the most underground rapper who’s ever made a mix. 2Dopeboyz ran a “send me your stuff, underground guys who want to get on” contest, and this was one of the winners. Looking forward to more of his stuff, over beats like this especially.
With P out the clink, M-O Double B makes another appearance after last months “Love You More”. “Must Go Hard” does just that. Good to have P and Hav back on their shit! This is classic Mobb. “Yo Dunn where the shorties at?”
Fake Lupe makes the cut again with the last track. This guy bites Lupe so hard, but with Carrera Lu off his shit making stuff like Lazers now, I’ll take all the XV I can get. Vizzy makes the cut almost every month with something. He flows sick and his wordplay is amazing. “So many L’s you was thinking we 0-11″
01 Diz Gibran – The Return
02 Curren$y – #JetsGo
03 Em and Royce – Fast Lane
04 Kent Mony – Miracle
05 Wiz – G Shyt
06 Avius f. Evidence and Fawshawn – Same Old Line
07 Alley Boy f. Young Jeezy
08 Action Bronson – Consensual Rape
09 Fresh Daily – Say Yes
10 Freeway and Free Money – Running the Streets
11 Kidz in the Hall – Sip and Ride
12 Curren$y f. Freddie Gibbs – Scottie Pippen
13 Edo G – Righteous Way
14 Harlem’s Cash – Lala
15. Isaiah – Chimichangas
16 Mobb Deep – Must Go Hard
17 XV – Watch Me Go
I really like this style of animation. MF Doom shot around the start of the second verse?
Sometimes the Witty Unpredictable fly shit slang is so mad fuckin’ dangerous that I get totally lost in the metaphor. I may not understand the entirety your darts Lexie, but I love the gold trantula reference. Shout out my fantasy football team “Staten Isle White Gold Trantulas” from 2007.
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