God Said It First: For the Love of Money...

So me and my homie Dave were chit-chattin on the porch today about the times. It was a good discussion, but we both knew what was up from jumpstreet. It all boils down to what God said in the first place: the love of money is the root of all evil.

So, I know there's people that think the phrase is exaggerated, for whatever reason. Well... I don't like arguing with people, I really don't. Demonstration and example is always the best way to silence speculation, get to the heart of the matter, and deal with what's real. So, in case you have any doubt that the love of money is the root of all evil, chief on this for a minute...

It's the love of money that makes hospitals charge 3-4 times what it actually takes to give people treatment and put the value of a dollar over the value of human life. Better yet, it's the love of money that makes hospitals prefer to treat rather than cure people; because, as long as patients are on treatment, they keep feeding money into the system. Meanwhile, as they get no closer to being cured, they slowly die with every passing day, more-than-likely waiting for something that the hospitals have available, but won't make affordable. Or something the hospitals have in possession but won't disclose to the public for fear of losing profits. lol, I asked this question before, but it just rolls off the tongue so sweetly: Is it profitable for hospitals to cure people? For the love of money, H3LL no...

It's the love of money that makes the hardest workers in our communities get paid as little as they do. The janitors that keep our places of work hospitable, the graveyard shift workers stocking the stores, the factory and textile workers, agricultural workers that grow the food that you breakfast, lunch, and dine on every day: the people that actually do break a sweat in this world. How is it that they get paid as little as they do? Well see, there's a megadon buzzard somewhere, sitting at his desk, that doesn't actually do any work at all for these institutions, but he owns a share in it. And to keep him happy, the man beneath him shanks whoever's at the bottom of the food chain of his fair share to keep the profits sizable for that sponsor. I know a once family-oriented store that even now is going corporate to keep up with competition; so quick to let go of our values to keep up with the bizness of it. And I might sympathize... were it not for the fact that the people who profit the most from this are already well-off enough for 3-4 generations. It's called greed: for the love of money.

And speaking of corporate thinking, aren't you in school for the love of money? Be serious: how many of you students are REALLY in college to get an "education"? Naw, you're in college to get a DIPLOMA and access to higher pay. If you could make the same amount with no schooling, you never woulda set foot on a college campus. So go on, nod your head and say "for the love of money..."

To my people in the struggle: we even think that the answer to our problems is more money. We talk about getting reparations for slavery, and heck, we probably DO deserve payment. But not for you to spend on rims. Money won't save us any more than backwards thinking. But we're convinced that what we have to spend and what we buy is what's gonna take us to the next level. Most of the time, we're not even talking about needs; we're talking about wants and needless material things. Guess what? That's the love of money baybuh!

And on that note, I could get into the music... Heck, I will. Yeah, even our music is for the love of money. Cats aren't trying to make good music; they're trying to make marketable music. Trust me, there is a difference. I jokingly told my sister one day, "Some R&B singer is going to put a naked shot of himself or herself on the cover one day just to sell a record." And she'll be my witness: I'll be a monkey's pet if a certain singer didn't release an album entitled "Naked" not long after that. I'm seeing some of the best producers and artists of the decade making half-a$$ed music because they know you'll (yeah, YOU'll) go out and buy it. Don't get mad, just take this simple test: check your CD collection and ask yourself "how many of these cats are gonna be hot or will be remembered in 10 years?" ...It hurts doesn't it? For the love of money...

For the love of money, cats won't even get jobs when they can. Why? Sometimes because of racism, etc; most times because of the thirst for quick money. Now don't get me wrong, I know there's people in need; I never agree with selling drugs period, but I understand the logic at least (i.e., I empathize, not sympathize). But real talk, most drug money does NOT go to necessities; it goes to rims, expensive clothes, music, electronics, women, and... more drugs ironically. People, progress can be a slow process, yes. But if you're wise, you know how to take a little bit, do a lot, and keep it legit. The problem is, you put your love and trust in the money itself, and that clouds your field of vision when it comes to options in life--- for the love of money...

For the love of money, we're over in Iraq on a killing spree right now; 'might as well say it... People, do you notice as election time approaches how gas prices all of a sudden drop? That's because the Capitol knows your love of money will leverage your decision THAT MUCH! Their target is to build false confidence within you via gas prices. And it's working, I dare you to say it's not...

For the love of money, the Katrina effort was quarter-a$$ed. Why? Because there's no PROFIT in helping people in Louisiana thru a crisis. You wanna know where the profit is? It's in buying up the land once the natives of the N.O. clear out; we get a lot of oil from that area, and our government would like nothing better than to have full control of the areas worst hit by Katrina. For the love of money, it's better to let people DROWN and abandon their homes than to come through for em! And don't say we did the best we could, cuz that's just plain brainwashed-fool jargon; when the tsunami hit in friggin Asia, how fast did we get over there? And I'll say it again, cuz I just love Canada that much and they keep giving me more reasons to; the friggin Vancouver Mounties beat most of our own people to the crisis, and they're from another country absolute-North AND Westward from Lousiana. No excuse: for the love of money.

For the love of money: moral standards get lowered in this country, because it sells. The deeper in sin we go, the more people love it. And those who control what's on the shelves on the big and small screens will always lower their guard if you flash the right amount of revenue in their faces. Maybe not all in a single moment, but over time, it has happened. And the love of money was the great motivator to all of it. The love of money fostered the products, the love of money lowered the moral standards, and the love of money distributed and carried to stores. Granted, from there it's our own destitution that caused us to make the purchases, but we can only purchase what's available. You can call me tight if you want to, I don't mind. And no, it's not a store's responsibility to control what we buy... SYKE!!! It's also wrong to knowingly put a stumbling block before another person. Look it up.

But I'll even take this a step further. The love of money not only lowered the moral standards, but the love of money even lowered the safety standards. Did you know there's certain household products that we get over here that other countries won't even carry because they're hazardous? But nah, this country doesn't give a f#ck what we're exposed to; the purchase keeps the economy strong and that's all that matters. I should talk about how Ontario (Canada again) doesn't even permit guns to be purchased or brought into the area; meanwhile, I can go cop a gun right now with ease. Yeah, we live in a more dangerous country, tell me something I don't know. Now tell me how you think we got that way? D@mn right: the love of money.

I don't wanna give a history lesson: Hollywood glorified and romanticized gangsters in the movies of the 1920s as the gangsters bootlegged in real life. Both made beaucoup profits, and became best friends. Don't believe me? 2006, video game just came out: Scarface. You got a Scarface poster on your wall or Myspace page RIGHT NOW; if it's not that, it's the Godfather, or some rapper who idolizes one of these two images. And even the games, movies, music... it's all about getting money. Granted, the stories usually start with poverty, and no one should stay in poverty. But think about the saying people! "Rags to riches". Where exactly did the in-between go? Trying to get out of poverty is one thing; trying to get fat is something altogether different. It's called greed. For the love of money...

And you know what? I could go on and on about this. But guess what... I'm not getting paid enough to do this, lolol. Nah, but seriously, people don't seem to get how true the scripture is. Did I give enough examples for ya? If nothing else, when the love of money destroys us, I just want you to remember Who said it first:

1 Timothy 6:10 - For the love of money is the root of all evil.

And I'ma throw this in to help ya'll out a bit too. Know this: if what you do is guided by the love of money, then you're automatically playin the wrong side of the fence. Want proof:

Matthew 6:24 - No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

And for the record, "mammon" means money...


Now marinate on this for a while; talk to your friends about it. See how your world is starting look a little different? Do somethin' with that...

That Money Mayn B-\

The Fox and the Pork-A$$ Swine (PG-15)

So there's a buzz going around about a Michael J. Fox and a Rush "the Hutt Big-A$$ Bigot" Limbaugh. Now, I don't affiliate myself with a party, even though I'm liberal-minded, but ladies and gentlemen, it's like exactly one year after my own mother passed from breast cancer, so I tend to feel strongly about the medical community getting to cures. And yes, we'll go thru fat porker gorilla-faced chimps to get them...

First of all, public announcement (kids, cover your ears):

What kinda Whopper-greasy, albino rat-pigment-face-a$$ person makes light of Parkinson's Disease, rockin in his chair like somebody's grandchild 50 years under his age? I bet his own grandchildren know better than that sh!t... How does this man even have a radio show? I don't know what Jesus this under-cooked piece of right-wing poultry serves, but I'd like to see how He feels about all this. Shoot, I'm surprised his friggin chair didn't collapse from the pressure of him rockin; 'fat, Blimpie-inhaling porkbeast won't even let the armrests rest, they gotta stretch like a country bearhug to seat his posterior hemisphere. But nobody wants to hug this septic tank-smelling glob of bad cholesterol and worse class.

I don't care if he DID think Michael J Fox was faking it; what he did was an insult to Parkinson's suffers EVERYWHERE. You owe the world of decency an apology if yo asthmatic, sleep apnia-havin', double-swallowing a$$ can get the breath out your lungs!!!

When are you people gonna wake up and see that politics is the reason that the government is not working? Who cares if Michael J. Fox is speaking for Democrats or Republicans? Can you be human for a minute and perhaps realize that he's speaking on behalf of the PEOPLE? As a whole, both parties (and all their one-sided, one-dimensional allegiates) can kiss my whole a$$. But if one side is gonna do what they can to help people like Mike, then that's who's gonna get my vote cuz that's what my mom needed too, not bureaucracy debating the market value of human life!!! And it's so sad that we STILL don't get it: we're never gonna get things right until our premier parties put their prides aside and work as ONE. It's not about your f#ckin party's identity, it's about your PEOPLE.

And it's also not about your economy; your PEOPLE come first. We don't get that; that's why the Canadian mounties of Vancouver beat most of our own forces to the Katrina crisis, because we don't take care of our PEOPLE like Canada does. So why didn't we get our people down there first, Jig? Because there was no PROFIT in it, Jig! I'm not a Democrat or Republican, but I will say this: big business does not give a d@mn about our people beyond what money our people are going to invest in it, and big business is the basic Republican platform. And I say all this to say that, unfortunately, it's not profitable for the medical community to cure people; it's more profitable for them to just give treatments that don't last and that usually slowly kill patients over time via side effects.It's time for cures to be found, and if there are cures, but the bigheads of big business would rather people not know about them so they can continue to linger and feed the system with their very lives, I PROMISE God will repay. I PROMISE.

BIG-UPS to Michael J. Fox. At least you don't suffer from the disease that Rush Limbaugh suffers from: slop-a$$, equator-belt wearin', pig-pen party spokesman, in-creased folds-of-skin-havin', perpetual field-of-gravity generatin', four-stomach-digestive tractor beam, so full of heifer-sh!t that he got da be the BIGGEST A$$ HOLE I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE!!!

And remember kids: It takes two to make you...

My Drink of Choice

This iz a poem I just thought up when I was thinking about how true love is like a favorite drink: it doesn't matter if you never have that drink again; unless something better comes along, it'll always be that. And you know what? Sometimes even if something better does come along, you won't even admit it. Because you just prefer it, lol. Enjoy...

My Drink of Choice

If you were my favorite drink--- if I never taste another sip---
I would still go and tell others how sweet you are to my lips
And the next time I taste you would be as good as the last drop
Because I prefer you

My heart overflows with one wish--- if I ever refreshed you before---
Heaven allow that I be offered to refresh you once more
And you take and put me to your lips, savoring ev'ry drop
'Cause you prefer me too


Dedicated...B-J

Dark Heroes

We like to think everything in the world is clear-cut and plain. We like to think that light and dark are always as simple as black and white. But stop being naive and take a good look at the world around you--- is it really black and white, or is it black at one extreme, white at the other extreme, and a whooooole lotta grey in the middle?

See, maybe in the beginning, and certainly forever in the eyes of God, things were and are so simple to discern. But over time, man has volleyed between light and darkness countless times; to say that all heroes wear white and all villains wear black is just naive. The iconic superhero of American culture is a man who does most of his heroism in broad daylight. Did you ever stop to think that most of the evil that takes place takes place in the darkest of night? I don't know about you, but I prefer a hero that is not afraid of the dark. A candle is not lit in the day to keep away the darkness; it is lit in darkness to bring the light to the pitch. In this world, we constantly fight at night.

That's why I love dark heroes. Sure, Superman (or Goku if you're into Japanese heroes) are strong as all heck. And in end, they triumph wit the strength of their heart and all that good stuff. But when they DON'T triumph on the strength of their own might... they fall back on the dark heroes: Batman for Superman, Piccolo for Goku.

So what are the characteristics of dark heroes? Well, let's look at Batman. Orphaned by violence; on a quest to avenge his fallen parents. In other words, he was birthed in darkness. Piccolo: once known as the evil King Piccolo, he gradually becomes a hero from his evil state. In other words---you guessed it---he was birthed in darkness.

Let's talk about powers. Batman: none. He instead uses his ingenuity to equip him for the tasks he must perform. He works like a detective and searches out perpetrators, defeating them with pure skill and wit. Piccolo: plenty of power. Well... in a vaccuum, yeah, he's pretty powerful. It's just when you compare him to, say, Goku that Piccolo begins to pale to a powder green. Not to mention, the enemies in the series become irreverantly powerful and eventually dwarf Piccolo. How does he compensate? You guessed it: ingenuity. He doesn't have much power relatively speaking, but he uses his brain to get the most out of the little he has, and thereby, he remains a threat throughout his career.

Social skills? Batman and Piccolo have... um... none. Now, Batman as Bruce Wayne can turn heads, but he can because he was taught proper etiquette and such. That, plus the fact that he's pretty much a psychologist by nature, makes it easy for him to read and play people. And of course, women love a tall dark stranger. Piccolo? Could care less how people around him feel with the exception of little Gohan, who he taught. Women are no distraction to him; he's an asexually reproductive alien. He spends most of his time in isolated meditation. What we see here between Batman and Piccolo is two means to the same end: they each totally control their own spheres. (Isn't it funny how the all-powerful Goku had little to do with the teaching of his own son? We'll come back to that another time...)

Now, lemme ask you this. When it comes to contending with evil, would you rather have a person oblivious to the nature of evil at your side, or someone who is familiar with the darkness to guide you? As I pose this question, I think it is a good time to deviate a little bit and examine the counterparts of Batman and Piccolo: Superman and Goku.

Their greatest assets? Power. Plain and simple. It's not intelligence by far. If you pay attention, Goku and Superman make PLENTY of mistakes; it's just that they're so powerful that they can make up for it. Don't mistake victory for efficiency; using a bomb to kill a mouse is a pyrrhic victory any way you slice it. With so much power, Goku and Superman meet any challenge with a sizable level of confidence (I'm dying to say arrogance, but they gotta be smiling and talking smack at the enemy first).

But let's talk personalities; what do you get with Superman and Goku? Superman... I hate to say it, but he's naive. Superman is a superjock; his power is his bread and butter. When it runs out on him, it's then that he uses his brain, which is Batman. Goku...he's not quite naive. Goku is, instead, actually selfish (remember how I said he barely taught his own son? Yup, Piccolo did that...). When the world is at stake, if you notice, Goku's main concern is his own warrior strength. I can respect that most times, but when the world is at stake, a sensible hero is going to do his best to silence the threat ASAP; Goku's #1 goal however, until the very final, most critical moments, is to discover his own strength in the midst of battle. And when Goku's strength is tested and fails him, what is his plan B? A delay for recooperation, usually spearheaded by Piccolo, the 'bald Green Arrow'. Naiveity and self-centeredness... but we call these cats heroes becuz they pull it off every time.

Knowledge of evil? Heck, both of these cats came from way outta town and barely even know who THEY are THEMSELVES! See, there's nothing wrong with being 100% good-hearted, except when it comes to fighting evil. Well... actually lemme put it like this: there's nothing wrong with being 100% good-hearted, period. But just because you're good-hearted doesn't mean you shouldn't understand the nature of evil. Even the Bible tells Christians to be "wise as a serpent, but harmless as a dove", and if you know anything, you know the serpent is used to represent evil. Superman and Goku are like a cocky football team that doesn't care to learn the tendencies of their opponents. Why? Because they're so strong they feel they can't be defeated... but that's just what they think. People, there's a reason that the Bible warns us of "pride preceding destruction".

It's that very trait that makes it easy for Superman and Goku to find themselves in those "predicaments" that they get in; they're liable to die from a heart attack at a friggin surprise birthday party 'they're so naive. But you wanna try some impossible ish? ...Try getting the drop on Batman or Piccolo. You can't do it! Why? Because even though they have enemies, they RESPECT their enemies; they make it their business to be in their enemy's heads. As a hero, you don't hafta like your enemies, but to act like you can be oblivious to them just because they're evil, like they can't harm you just because you're a good guy and you have some kinda goodie-goodie forcefield around you, that's gonna get you six-feet deep. If that was the case, how come heroes hafta save those "good people" all the time? Where's their forcefield?

Now, let's talk about heart. Everybody who knows anything about these cats knows that there's a sharp distinction between the hearts of Batman and Piccolo and the hearts of Superman and Goku. I'll make this short: the first two are cold-hearted, the second two are fuzzy-wuzzy. Or ARE they? Did you ever think about this:

The chances of Superman and Goku dying are fair; the chances of Batman and Piccolo dying are off the charts! And yet, the ones who go in search of danger and people to help are Batman and Piccolo, Batman as the Dark Knight prowling the streets by night and Piccolo as the declared protector of Earth (once his home of Namek is destroyed). Ironically, Superman and Goku aren't known for looking for evil; evil comes looking for them. You would think with all their power, they'd be the first line of crime-fighting and Batman and Piccolo would be the backups. So yea, Piccolo and Batman aren't known for their winning smiles. But, even though Superman and Goku are good-natured, gregarious, and fun to be around, Batman and Piccolo are the ones who are gonna come out of the shadows and, like Hellboy, "bump back" whatever goes bump in the night.

I didn't mean to get so specific in my comparisons; in general, dark heroes are simply the most worthy and least respected of heroes. And it's only because they seem dark, ya know? Nevermind that our world is a huge grey-area that the simple mind of an iconic, overly-idealistic, textbook hero couldn't begin to fathom. But for a people who constantly declare the importance of mind power, resourcefulness, resilience, ingenuity, humility, efficiency, empathy, and the quiet strength of the individual... why aren't Dark Heroes lauded? It's funny; it's like we love the thrill that the stupidity of an iconic hero generates, and we just forgive that stupidity when their excessive power provides their means of escape.

...Forbid that one day the iconic, "jock" heroes face the dark, "genius" heroes on unfriendly terms. It brings to mind a certain incident from a few years ago... mmnah, I don't think I wanna go there. We'll stop here.

We Fight at Night B-J

This Age

So I'm in church today right... and there's another young lady there my age. She's married, but she's a real cool person, so she's fun to talk to. The problem is, she's also very, very beautiful, in the rare "I'm not like the other girls you see every day" type way. So, of course, it's kinda hard to casually talk to her without the mind wandering into the regions of romance. I find myself keeping my distance from her to avoid thinking in that direction. But that's this age for ya...

Honestly man, what is it that we lose between childhood and adulthood that just makes it impossible for relationships to stay the same? I would even go so far as to say from high school to college... there's SUCH a relational transition. In high school, it's easy to have friends of the opposite sex and only be romantically interested in one or two. Now, it's like every person of the opposite sex you come in contact with, they're in your life for a romantic purpose; heck, even your homies constantly sift through the people in your circle to find a mate.

They say girls mature faster than boys. The more I think about that, the more I feel sorry for them, lol. That's not at all a diss to women, but seriously, now that I'm "matured", I admit that I miss the "immaturity". So for you ladies to mature faster than us, that means you've been caught up in this madness for a little while longer. My condolences. I think back to the things that we did as boys, having not the slightest inkling of how it would affect girls in their maturity; if I had understood better what it was like for you, I know I would've acted differently.

But then there's the flipside of this age. On one hand, you have the difficulty relating to the opposite sex on a platonic level; on the other hand you have the competition and discrepancies with people of the same sex. Real talk, ever since the middle of high school, SOOO many of my friends aren't friends anymore. But before that, going all the way back to KINDERGARTEN, we were FAMILY. I mean, WHAT HAPPENED?!

Females, I saw it happening with them much earlier cuz again, girls do mature faster. Not that I'm saying beefing is mature, but I'm willing to bet hormones play a role in it. Anywasy... Girls were getting bent out of shape over this and that. "He's my man" (as if we were men and women and not boys and girls) and "she's wearing my dress" and all that; me and the fellas used to laugh at all that. But datgommit if a few years later the fellas weren't beefin with each other! I do my best to contact old friends... I go one this friend's house; he's not cool with another friend because somebody jacked some speakers from somebody. I go to the other friends house, he's not cool with a third friend because the third friend messed with his wife. I go to the third friend, he's done dirt and got illegitimate kids. But I even found out some of that from a fourth friend. All the while, I'm thinking to myself, "But I'm still cool with ALL OF THESE CATS. Why can't they be cool with each other like it used to be?"

It's amazing, cats get older and feel like they gotta hold grudges now. When we were younger, yeah, stuff happened. And we got over it. It was no bigger a deal than we made it. Now cats gotta make a big deal about everything. If you can't trust a cat, cool, then don't trust him. But this is the SAME CAT that you knew you couldn't trust back then; what's different? It breaks my heart; I've recovered so many numbers of so many old friends, but I'm afraid if I call them all at the same time and we meet up somewhere, somebody might get shot over some dumb piece of material.

These are the friends in life that you can't replace; heck, the friends that I can't replace. The ones that were with me when I was a child and ignorant to the big world around me. Before I was marked "the smart kid", we all came into knowledge and understanding together; we picked on each other at the playground and the bus stop; we got stronger together playing basketball with each other year after year; we called each other on the phone, ran the streets, and drove each other's parents crazy running up in their houses when they were too nice to run us back out. Heck, these cats even know my baby sister! Now we got a lil fur on our faces and a lil responsibility, and we act like we can't even be cool anymore? Never that... not from me.

I was at my aunt's house just yesterday, reflecting on the neighborhood with her, enjoying the breeze. I thought about a young lady I once saw through the trees behind the house across the street. She was on a swing, wearing a sun dress, long hair, fair skin, beautiful shape. And I said to my aunt, "I wish everybody could move back to the neighborhood for just one day so we could just kick it the way we used to." And then the funniest thing happened...

An old blue-and-silver truck rolled by, and I couldn't even tell who it was, but somebody leaned out the passenger window and yelled, "MATTHEW!" I'm surprised he even recognized me with my Afro and all, lol. Or maybe he just remembered the house for the times we spent there, and maybe that was enough for him to recognize me. Either way, I'm gonna find out who it was next time I fall through. I don't care if all my old friends go to war with each other toNIGHT: I will never forget how close we were before this age. And when they see me, and every time they see me, I'm gonna be that same cat they always knew.

I Don't Wanna Grow Up... B-J

You've Never Been Slammed this Hard...

Word is only the beginning of communication, even when you're just writing... I'ma call this one "U'nique"

Scripted entry without fingerprint
A common name without face
How can this be communication
When there is no you anyplace

Anyone pains; anyone loses
Anyone joys; anyone seeks
We each represent an anyone
Tell me what it is makes u'nique

You're "in pain..."
Are you pierced by rusty words?
Are you scorched in satin sheets?
Are you winced by vaccination?
Are you sprinkled over concrete?

Or you're "in love..."
Are you frenzied in poetic web?
Are you slave to rhythm of the heart?
Are you entranced by a mere wood nymph?
Are you hung up on a work of art?

If you're happy...
Is your heart bubbled with soda?
Are your pockets overwhelmed?
Is your face stamped with approval?
Are you back from hell and Elm?

Human expression without soul
Love from a stripper on the pole
Raw passion that's under control
...Robert Frost was never this cold

Read my words, inhabit me
Then see yourself outside of it
Note what separates the two
And then sit down and write of it

What I view with the sun behind me
You see the same with sun ahead
But you write like an anyone so
Nobody can tell by what you said



Get Up... B-J

What Am I Doing HERE?...

(A philosophy of the now; you might need to put your thinking caps on...)

"The Future is in the Past." It's not so complicated a thought; at least, I won't make it complicated... this time. This is what I mean in a nutshell: mankind is in a state of social and cultural decline, to the point that we need to revisit our past before we can move forward. You might not agree with me, but that's just how I feel.

I don't blame you if you think I'm obsolete, old-fashioned, outdated. Even I stood here in my own house the other day and just thought to myself, "What am I doing HERE?" In other words, what am I doing in 2006? Seems like a funny question, but you gotta realize two things about me: 1) I'm stuck in the past; 2) I'm ahead of my time. (My apologies if it sounds like I'm bragging on that second point; being "ahead of my time" is not as glamourous as you may think. I'll explain later...)

Let's see... I need illustrations...

When I say I'm stuck in the past, I'm the cat that listens to mainly old school music. But I don't just listen to it, I PREFER it. Like, as a whole, new school can't mess with old school at all... period.

You know how all the fellas are sprung over Beyonce, Mya, Monica, Megan Goode, and such? Not me. I like my Lisa Fischers, my Dorothy Dandridges, my Cree Summers, my Shanices, my Pam Griers, and my Rosalind Cashes. My (relatively) conservatively-dressed, intellectually stimulating, stunningly beautiful, multi-talented lost diamonds, feel me?

And with the gas prices off the chain, I'm wondering why we haven't gone "back to the future" with playas rollerskatin to work. I mean, why not? We've got such an obesity problem in America right? 'Seems like a simple reversion to old school tactics would fix that right up. Try bouncin', rockin', rollin', and skatin' to work every day and not losing weight...

To "cap" it all off, I'm working on the super-powered king Afro; my mom always said I was a kickback from the 60's. Well, kickback the 60's and you get all-natural for the '06 (did you catch that? ...it's all in the wrist).


Now... The "ahead of my time" line simply means that I think outside the box--- WAY outside the box. You might even call me a dreamer, with the exception of one thing: nothing is impossible with me. I don't dream, I have vision; I intend to make things happen. I hear my fellow Christians say "I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me", but then they back down from new challenges and roads less-taken. But I believe the Word 100%; therefore, my mentality is, if I have an idea, it can be done. I will make people put their money where their mouth is.

I don't believe in repeating mistakes; I have trouble with some older people because of that. For instance, if we have a discussion and come to a conclusion that an old way is not right or in need of change, then my next move is to either withdraw from the contraption or to change the situation. History isn't taught to be repeated. My time, the present time, is a time of trouble; I think "ahead of my time" to see our way to solutions and better days. Get it?

I walk through Augusta and I see the common buildings, and I say to myself, "there needs to be color here; this building needs to get higher; why are these all squares when there could be curves..." I make music, and I ask myself, "if my music sounds like what's already out there, then what's the point of making it?" If it's not fresh, it's not gonna come from me, in word or melody. It's not arrogance, it's simply progress; I don't see the point in doing what's already been done, unless you just like stagnation and repetition. To each his own.


But, as I stated earlier, I came to a place the other day where I found myself asking, "What am I doing HERE? If half of me is stuck in the past and the other half is ahead of my time, then why am I here, in the now of 2006?" The question itself just sounded sweet to me to be honest; sometimes I just love the fact that I don't have a place anywhere. But here, I realized that I DO have a place somewhere.

I thought about it: if not "now", then where else would I be? In the past, where my future ideals would be wasted? In the future, where I'd be uprooted and without foundation? It's the combination of foresight and hindsight that make me an effective agent for change RIGHT NOW. And then it hit me that the "now" is simply the end of the past that has been and the beginning of the future that is still to come. I'm in the perfect place that I need to be; one foot in the past and one foot in the future places me smack into the now.

So perhaps... perhaps many people are in the opposite of the now: the never. When the people are disconnected from their past and their future is shrouded in apathy and hopelessness, that must be the "never". I know it's a lot of philosophical rhetoric, but this makes sense to me; we hafta live in the now, one foot in the past, one foot in the future. HERE is where we are meant to be; it may seem obvious to you, but I bet you never actually THOUGHT about it did you? PAY ATTENTION, lol...

It Here and Now or Never... B-J

Background Melody to My Life

Greater Augusta Productions - Instrumental:
"Precious"


I often explain to people that I don't think I was meant to do things one at a time. In school, for instance, one of my best assets has always been my ability to fluidly incorporate what I learn in one subject into another subject. Humanities was a breeze for me because I could see that the common bond between music, art, and literature was history; start with history, and the trends in music, art, and literature become logical and obvious instead of random and coincidental.

Believe it or not, this brings me to my production group's newest song. As I was working on this track, I was trying to capture in music the feelings once generated by a special friend with whom I've lost contact (if you can, play the track now; this is a listening exercise, lol). Do you hear those pianos at the beginning? Well, those were meant to represent to good times we shared. You see, my friend is this spunky chick, headstrong, cutesy, and upfront (but not overtly so; she's very tactful). The piano here I think reflects that. But listen further...

As you listen on, you hear the song die down right? Well, that's because she and I became separated after our first year of college. It wasn't so bad at first because it wasn't like I couldn't drive up to see her sometime, and we talked on the phone from time to time. But then, she got married... Her husband turned out to be a very jealous cat, so communication ceased. Some of you are probably thinking I shoulda called anyway, right? Nah... Marriages are not meant to be violated like that; for me to come between her and her husband is wrong any way you slice it.

For the first time in my terms, I had to come to terms with losing a relationship. Do you hear how there's a new bassline that sounds just like the piano in the beginning? That's what my friend has become to me now. See, I have memories, and it hurts that she's out of my life like that. But at the same time, she's become this "...beautiful background melody to my life".

That exact phrase came to me as I was making this song--- remember how I said different subjects correlate to one another in my mind? Well, that's an example of music spawning poetry; a composition that reflects a living metaphor. It's "beautiful" because the more I think about her and the time we spent together, the more I learn about myself and the more I look on those memories with fondness, not bitterness.

Listen on... Another piano plays over the piano-bassline right? That's because, even though I've accepted her as a memory, she's also been in the front of my mind every day. I worry about her and pray for her often. Even more, not a single day goes by that I don't remember her [i]vividly[/i]. I usually have a hard time remembering faces, voices, personalities, events, things like that. Not with her though; some people you just can't forget.

When you get near the end of the song, the original piano comes back just like it was in the beginning. Why? Because, either in this life or the next, I do plan to see my friend again. And whenever, wherever that happens, happiness wouldn't remotely begin to describe the feeling...

Anywasy, this is the new track "Precious", dedicated to my friend. Enjoy, and throw us some feedback.

Jigabod, Greater Augusta ProductionsB-J