A close friend of mine once recommended a book to me titled “Who Moved My Cheese?” which was a great book about change and how people are very relunctant, almost opposed, to change. I’ve thought about that a lot recently because in my experiences I have come across people who so much want their lives to change. They want better jobs, better relationships, better experiences, all which are a CHANGE from what they are going through now. And its understandable because who wouldn’t want our lives to be better. Who wouldn’t want things to CHANGE for the better. Where herein lies the problem.
Change means something different. And many times it means something different from us. It means to change our attitudes, our outlooks, our perspectives and our actions. But most people want change to magically happen. They want it to just spring up out of the blue where suddenly they have a better job or their job environment is dramatically improved. They want their relationships to be more fulfilling, more fun, more exciting. But what people miss is that for all these changes that they want in all these different areas the one aspect of it that remains the same is them.
Many of us have heard, and even quoted, the phrase
If you want something you've never had before, you must be willing to do something you've never done.
Man, that sounds good. Saying it to someone else makes you sound so profound. But what’s more profound is applying it to yourself. You want your job situation to improve DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. You want your relationship to get better DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. If you are walking around doing the same thing when you got on your knees and said your heartfelt prayer about how you want the Lord to make things better in your life and then after you said “amen” went right back to doing the same things that you were doing before, don’t be surprised if your prayer goes unanswered. Its true, the Lord helps those that help themselves. Well start helping yourself. Get better training, dress differently, improve your vocabulary, learn a new skill and maybe your job situation will improve. Or tell your significant other you love them more, be more affectionate, be more trusting, open yourself up more and maybe your relationship will get better. Change your attitude, change your perspective on life and maybe your experiences will change.
Please check out the book I recommended and see how change is not about others. Its about yourself.
ONE
Cashmere the PRO aka RJ
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Classified - Self Explanatory album review
Classified
Self Explanatory
Sony Music Canada
2009
As Classified’s career has developed from Emcee to Producer Who Raps, his skills have rapidly increased in potency. Classified once said in an interview that he tries to make every album better than his last. And once again, he has succeeded. There is no simple explanation for Self Explanatory. With previous albums, Halifax’s underground king channeled his energy battling the industry, haters, other emcees, and the perception of the Canadian rapper. Although he occasionally drifted from these topics, the majority of his albums were a testament to his frustration as a Canadian artist who obviously deserved more attention.
On Self Explanatory, he finally finds the perfect balance between lyrical master, song writer, and production genius. By straying a bit from those all-too familiar topics, he creates a spine-rattling collage of mainstream club bangers, less than typical slow jams, inspirational messages, underground lyrical fests, obligatory posse cuts, stories, and Canadian tributes. Class has always been a great producer, but 2005’s Boy-Cott-In The Industry saw a shift from simple Triton-inspired keyboard grooves to live guitars and chopped samples. Since that album, Luke Boyd has gone from bedroom beats to studio symphonies. Self Explanatory contains Luke’s best production to date, blending live instruments, cleverly chopped samples, vocal hooks, synthesizers, and singing into melodic grooves and neck-snapping head bangers.
Read the rest of this review for Classified - Self Explanatory
Nuke
Self Explanatory
Sony Music Canada
2009
As Classified’s career has developed from Emcee to Producer Who Raps, his skills have rapidly increased in potency. Classified once said in an interview that he tries to make every album better than his last. And once again, he has succeeded. There is no simple explanation for Self Explanatory. With previous albums, Halifax’s underground king channeled his energy battling the industry, haters, other emcees, and the perception of the Canadian rapper. Although he occasionally drifted from these topics, the majority of his albums were a testament to his frustration as a Canadian artist who obviously deserved more attention.
On Self Explanatory, he finally finds the perfect balance between lyrical master, song writer, and production genius. By straying a bit from those all-too familiar topics, he creates a spine-rattling collage of mainstream club bangers, less than typical slow jams, inspirational messages, underground lyrical fests, obligatory posse cuts, stories, and Canadian tributes. Class has always been a great producer, but 2005’s Boy-Cott-In The Industry saw a shift from simple Triton-inspired keyboard grooves to live guitars and chopped samples. Since that album, Luke Boyd has gone from bedroom beats to studio symphonies. Self Explanatory contains Luke’s best production to date, blending live instruments, cleverly chopped samples, vocal hooks, synthesizers, and singing into melodic grooves and neck-snapping head bangers.
Read the rest of this review for Classified - Self Explanatory
Nuke
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
MICHAEL JACKSON IS A DEAD MUSICIAN....
Ok, I’m going to make a lot of people mad with this one, but I have to say it. I have to say it on here because I can’t say it at home or I will either be hungry, have a pile of dirty clothes or be practicing a lot of self-love, but I still must say it.
Ok, here it is: MICHAEL JACKSON IS A DEAD MUSICIAN!!!!
Alright, so maybe that doesn’t sound like too much of a revelation, but the fact remains that that’s what he is now. A dead guy who made music. Great music. I mean really great music. And as a performer, he is unmatched. As an entertainer the man is unquestionably the greatest to have ever done it. But people, that is where it stops.
While I am grateful and admire his charity work, this does not place him in the greatest humanitarian class. The same rule applies to philanthropist as it does to rappers, IT AIN’T TRICKIN’ IF YOU GOT IT. Of course he gave millions to charities, he made hundreds of millions (I believe he grossed $1 billion). Its no different that Bill Gates foundation which has donated more than $30 billion. That is what rich people do. When they have built the biggest house they could build, and bought all the things they wanted to buy, and gave all the gifts to their friends and family that they wanted, they give their money away. But make no mistake, the man was not a revolutionary. In fact, NO MUSICIAN IS A REVOLUTIONARY. I’m not saying musicians don’t care. I’m just saying musicians ARE NOT the catalyst for change. “Where Are the World” hasn’t changed shit. “Heal the World” hasn’t stopped shit. For all the revolutionary music that he’s made, NOTHING HAS HAPPENED AS A RESULT OF THAT MUSIC.
There is a difference between revolutionaries and philanthropistS. Both are important. But revolutionaries are there on the front lines. They’re the ones risking jail time. They’re the ones putting their lives on the line for the causes they believe in. They’re the ones that go to government officials and challenge them. They’re the ones that spend the most amount of time with the people truly affected by the causes their fighting for. Philanthropist fund the research and fund the overhead. Thank you, it is appreciated. But who do you cheer for at a game, the players or the owners? The ones taking the bumps and bruises or the ones who fund it?
I’m not saying Michael didn’t care. But have you ever seen him talk about mentoring or issues in the hood? Ever seen him in the heart of the ghetto trying to change things? No. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t care because he’s given hundreds of thousands to Big Brothers, Community Youth Sports (LA), and the United Negro College Fund. But did he ever go to Capitol Hill to try to push some legislation through that would actually help people? Did he ever spend days and nights in bad, dilapitated areas trying to figure out ways to help people? The price of Neverland Ranch could’ve rebuilt thousands of families’ lives in New Orleans.
Folks, no disrespect. I’m not saying he wasn’t an entertainment “Icon”. But for change to come, it requires action. It requires being there personally. It requires risks. It requires more than just a song about it.
ONE
Cashmere the PRO aka RJ
Ok, here it is: MICHAEL JACKSON IS A DEAD MUSICIAN!!!!
Alright, so maybe that doesn’t sound like too much of a revelation, but the fact remains that that’s what he is now. A dead guy who made music. Great music. I mean really great music. And as a performer, he is unmatched. As an entertainer the man is unquestionably the greatest to have ever done it. But people, that is where it stops.
While I am grateful and admire his charity work, this does not place him in the greatest humanitarian class. The same rule applies to philanthropist as it does to rappers, IT AIN’T TRICKIN’ IF YOU GOT IT. Of course he gave millions to charities, he made hundreds of millions (I believe he grossed $1 billion). Its no different that Bill Gates foundation which has donated more than $30 billion. That is what rich people do. When they have built the biggest house they could build, and bought all the things they wanted to buy, and gave all the gifts to their friends and family that they wanted, they give their money away. But make no mistake, the man was not a revolutionary. In fact, NO MUSICIAN IS A REVOLUTIONARY. I’m not saying musicians don’t care. I’m just saying musicians ARE NOT the catalyst for change. “Where Are the World” hasn’t changed shit. “Heal the World” hasn’t stopped shit. For all the revolutionary music that he’s made, NOTHING HAS HAPPENED AS A RESULT OF THAT MUSIC.
There is a difference between revolutionaries and philanthropistS. Both are important. But revolutionaries are there on the front lines. They’re the ones risking jail time. They’re the ones putting their lives on the line for the causes they believe in. They’re the ones that go to government officials and challenge them. They’re the ones that spend the most amount of time with the people truly affected by the causes their fighting for. Philanthropist fund the research and fund the overhead. Thank you, it is appreciated. But who do you cheer for at a game, the players or the owners? The ones taking the bumps and bruises or the ones who fund it?
I’m not saying Michael didn’t care. But have you ever seen him talk about mentoring or issues in the hood? Ever seen him in the heart of the ghetto trying to change things? No. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t care because he’s given hundreds of thousands to Big Brothers, Community Youth Sports (LA), and the United Negro College Fund. But did he ever go to Capitol Hill to try to push some legislation through that would actually help people? Did he ever spend days and nights in bad, dilapitated areas trying to figure out ways to help people? The price of Neverland Ranch could’ve rebuilt thousands of families’ lives in New Orleans.
Folks, no disrespect. I’m not saying he wasn’t an entertainment “Icon”. But for change to come, it requires action. It requires being there personally. It requires risks. It requires more than just a song about it.
ONE
Cashmere the PRO aka RJ
Friday, July 10, 2009
The Game Done Changed....
I’m not gonna lie. I’m an elitist. I learned this while talking to an ultra-conservative, libertarian at my job yesterday regarding Obama and Palin. So now that I have this information about myself I wondered how it applied to other areas of my life, specifically (for this blog) hiphop. And what I realized is that I have to come to terms with the fact that the game has changed.
Now aside from the fact that personally to me emcees are just less creative and that music has become about who can fashion the best “dance” song or ringtone, but the way emcees market and advertise has changed dramatically. Its no longer about making a hit, its about getting hits. Its not about selling a million units, its about having a million visitors. In the electronic age, your buzz is not simply generated by your mixtapes and how hot your tracks are, but by how much controversy you can stir up from your youtube video. Joe Budden, Solja Boy, Ice T, and a hoard of other artist are now capitalizing on the fact that 90% of their target audience is on the internet. And not just using the internet occassionally, but I mean hardcore attached to the internet. Not just on their computers at home and work, but they follow these things on their cell phones. This is proven by Twitter which means that as a follower, you are basically saying ‘I am so dedicated to this person that I am willing to check their twitter page 50 times a day just to see if they bought ice cream the same flavor as me’. But these artists know what they’re doing. This is all part of the entertainment package. You don’t just get mediocre music with your artist, but now you get up to the minute details of their boring ass life, which only seems less boring because they happen to make mediocre music.
I guess I can’t hate what’s going on, but the elitist side of me does. The elitist side of me hates fakes ass “reality” shows because studios don’t want to pay writers to come up with creative shit like Cheers, Seinfield, and 24. It hates that because I can take a camcorder (or phone video) of me talking shit about somebody else and because its somewhat funny it gives me a pass to make wack ass music devoid of any creativity. It hates that what has happened is that the listening audience is more focused on the day-to-day activities of an artist’s girl than the artist’s music. It hates that the world has become so brain-dead that it can’t see how instead of creating our own adventures and our own excitement we rather leech off someone else’s.
Guess I need to get my camcorder ready. GREY EP COMING BITCHES!!! I need to start a beef.
ONE
Cashmere the PRO aka RJ
Now aside from the fact that personally to me emcees are just less creative and that music has become about who can fashion the best “dance” song or ringtone, but the way emcees market and advertise has changed dramatically. Its no longer about making a hit, its about getting hits. Its not about selling a million units, its about having a million visitors. In the electronic age, your buzz is not simply generated by your mixtapes and how hot your tracks are, but by how much controversy you can stir up from your youtube video. Joe Budden, Solja Boy, Ice T, and a hoard of other artist are now capitalizing on the fact that 90% of their target audience is on the internet. And not just using the internet occassionally, but I mean hardcore attached to the internet. Not just on their computers at home and work, but they follow these things on their cell phones. This is proven by Twitter which means that as a follower, you are basically saying ‘I am so dedicated to this person that I am willing to check their twitter page 50 times a day just to see if they bought ice cream the same flavor as me’. But these artists know what they’re doing. This is all part of the entertainment package. You don’t just get mediocre music with your artist, but now you get up to the minute details of their boring ass life, which only seems less boring because they happen to make mediocre music.
I guess I can’t hate what’s going on, but the elitist side of me does. The elitist side of me hates fakes ass “reality” shows because studios don’t want to pay writers to come up with creative shit like Cheers, Seinfield, and 24. It hates that because I can take a camcorder (or phone video) of me talking shit about somebody else and because its somewhat funny it gives me a pass to make wack ass music devoid of any creativity. It hates that what has happened is that the listening audience is more focused on the day-to-day activities of an artist’s girl than the artist’s music. It hates that the world has become so brain-dead that it can’t see how instead of creating our own adventures and our own excitement we rather leech off someone else’s.
Guess I need to get my camcorder ready. GREY EP COMING BITCHES!!! I need to start a beef.
ONE
Cashmere the PRO aka RJ
Thursday, July 2, 2009
The 5 Things I Hate the Most
So my new job allows me so much more time to be cynical and over-analytical of every little thing that goes on around me and therefore I decided to start a blog. I hope that on a regular basis I can make it entertaining, enjoyable, insightful or just an excellent waste of 10 minutes of your time. (yes, I expect you to devote at least 10 minutes to it). While at the risk of being wordy, here is a short list of 5 things I hate the most. Please feel free to comment:
5) Baby Mamas - these broads are a coalition of evil that inspires North Korea, Iraq and Sprint. They are the most hateful and vindictive brand of woman and rarely is there a reasonable one in the bunch. Women that you once thought were sweet, loving, caring and understanding become the most scorned and vengeful bitches in the world the minute that they realize that men are not going to be super nice to them anymore when they're not fuckin' them.
4) Musicians Who Thank God When Getting An Award When All They Do Is Sinful Sh!t – Rappers should be immediately exempt from thanking God when they get an award. How in the hell can you make a record glorifying drug selling, drug use, violence, fornication, violence, misogony, disrespect for your elders, drug selling, and violence and then turn around and thank God? Sorry Jeezy, but while HE may co-sign your president being black, I don’t think HE’s co-signing your cocaine being white.
3) Clorox 2 – that shit doesn’t do shit to your colors and its virtually useless on your whites. False advertising like a muhfucka. I could’ve used that 4.59 on some Brats or heavy duty plastic plates that would’ve served more of a purpose than thinking everytime I take my clothes out the washer “Is this more bluer than it was when it went in?” If anybody notices the difference in their clothes I need before and after pics.
2) Hatin’ Ass Co-Workers – is there almost anything in life, other than baby muthas, that makes your everyday life most unlivable. These are individuals that use every opportunity to complain, blame, degrade, upset, criticize, whine, nitpick and generally make your workday as unbearable as possible with their complete and utter discontent with their own lives. And somehow no matter how cool you try to be, you still managed to get sucked into their whirlpool of pessimism and destruction. If you don’t see this at your job, then that means this paragraph was for you you hatin’ ass bastard/bitch.
1) MetroPCS – ok, so maybe this let’s people know that either my phone credit is not good enough for a Sprint or Verizon phone or that I’m just very ghetto and like the idea of paying $50 a month for unlimited everything (provided I never leave the city, which I don’t unless I’m on vacation and if I’m on vacation I don’t want you fuckin’ calling me anyway). But the bill payment people are the most unforgiving bastards in history. While I understand that there is no grace period, there is also no paper bill. So there are time where you may forget that your bill was due on the 11th as opposed to the 12th or 13th. Minor oversight. Understand that it also varies a day or two every month which they notify you via text message which undoubtedly gets deleleted just after the “Jesus’ Moneybags, send to 10 people” text. However, I am positive that an ex-girlfriend that we may have had a particularly bad breakup works for this company and keeps my picture, with several push pin holes thru my face in it as well as several obsenities scribbled randomly on it, in her cube with my due date right next to it. I am imagining her diligently performing a New Years Eve style countdown right as 12:01am hits on the 12th and I am mid-sentence as she goes “Fuck that, you punk ass niggah, if you ain’t calling me, you won’t be calling nobody you non-bill paying mutha fucka”…disconnect. The reason why I hate Metro is because everybody else that I know that has a Metro has never had this happen to them. I have several friends who have had their phones on almost a full week passed their due date with no disconnection. Metro WTF?
Well, that’s just the start. I promise not to be so cynical and mean about everything if yall promise to actually read it and comment intelligently. :P
Cashmere the PROfessional aka RJ
ONE
5) Baby Mamas - these broads are a coalition of evil that inspires North Korea, Iraq and Sprint. They are the most hateful and vindictive brand of woman and rarely is there a reasonable one in the bunch. Women that you once thought were sweet, loving, caring and understanding become the most scorned and vengeful bitches in the world the minute that they realize that men are not going to be super nice to them anymore when they're not fuckin' them.
4) Musicians Who Thank God When Getting An Award When All They Do Is Sinful Sh!t – Rappers should be immediately exempt from thanking God when they get an award. How in the hell can you make a record glorifying drug selling, drug use, violence, fornication, violence, misogony, disrespect for your elders, drug selling, and violence and then turn around and thank God? Sorry Jeezy, but while HE may co-sign your president being black, I don’t think HE’s co-signing your cocaine being white.
3) Clorox 2 – that shit doesn’t do shit to your colors and its virtually useless on your whites. False advertising like a muhfucka. I could’ve used that 4.59 on some Brats or heavy duty plastic plates that would’ve served more of a purpose than thinking everytime I take my clothes out the washer “Is this more bluer than it was when it went in?” If anybody notices the difference in their clothes I need before and after pics.
2) Hatin’ Ass Co-Workers – is there almost anything in life, other than baby muthas, that makes your everyday life most unlivable. These are individuals that use every opportunity to complain, blame, degrade, upset, criticize, whine, nitpick and generally make your workday as unbearable as possible with their complete and utter discontent with their own lives. And somehow no matter how cool you try to be, you still managed to get sucked into their whirlpool of pessimism and destruction. If you don’t see this at your job, then that means this paragraph was for you you hatin’ ass bastard/bitch.
1) MetroPCS – ok, so maybe this let’s people know that either my phone credit is not good enough for a Sprint or Verizon phone or that I’m just very ghetto and like the idea of paying $50 a month for unlimited everything (provided I never leave the city, which I don’t unless I’m on vacation and if I’m on vacation I don’t want you fuckin’ calling me anyway). But the bill payment people are the most unforgiving bastards in history. While I understand that there is no grace period, there is also no paper bill. So there are time where you may forget that your bill was due on the 11th as opposed to the 12th or 13th. Minor oversight. Understand that it also varies a day or two every month which they notify you via text message which undoubtedly gets deleleted just after the “Jesus’ Moneybags, send to 10 people” text. However, I am positive that an ex-girlfriend that we may have had a particularly bad breakup works for this company and keeps my picture, with several push pin holes thru my face in it as well as several obsenities scribbled randomly on it, in her cube with my due date right next to it. I am imagining her diligently performing a New Years Eve style countdown right as 12:01am hits on the 12th and I am mid-sentence as she goes “Fuck that, you punk ass niggah, if you ain’t calling me, you won’t be calling nobody you non-bill paying mutha fucka”…disconnect. The reason why I hate Metro is because everybody else that I know that has a Metro has never had this happen to them. I have several friends who have had their phones on almost a full week passed their due date with no disconnection. Metro WTF?
Well, that’s just the start. I promise not to be so cynical and mean about everything if yall promise to actually read it and comment intelligently. :P
Cashmere the PROfessional aka RJ
ONE
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