Chicago

College Bound

Empty Nest

Your mom called your name at home
Expecting you to reply
Forgetting that which came from her womb was away
I almost asked her when you were coming home
I caught myself daydreaming
A mirage of your essence lingers

What’s up people?  Well, I have been in school and hosting a Monday Night show on Facebook called Message Monday where two Christian brothers come together and talk about faith, life, fatherhood, marriage, and politics.  What’s major in my world? My second album, My Ode to Hip Hop has been released. There’s seven tracks, two of which had been released as singles previously. Enjoy a synopsis of the album

MY ODE TO HIP HOP

  1. My City
    • Lifting up the City of Chicago, my home, and highlighting the positives in the city. We do have a lot going on negatively and positively in this city but you know the media and people love drama. I partnered with one of Chicago’s most known and influential spoken word artists, Jeronimo, so the old skool (me) could have some young flavor (him) as representative of our uniqueness as local artists. Videography was done by Caliko Films.
  2. The Gospel
    • This track is produced by Leland Philpot. It’s me keeping Yeshua at the center of all that I do and engaging no matter what I am speaking on. No hooks, just flow and one of my favorites.
  3. Dream Too
    • This track is me having fun. On the hook is my man Double G, one of the coldest spoken word artists in Chicago. A great brother in Christ and was grateful to have him on the hook. Dream Too speaks for itself. We have a vision of what we desire for our lives and the work we do to make it all possible. Keep pushing family.
  4. No Trap
    • Leland Philpot is featured on this track. His energy is not only kinetic but off the charts. Duke Digital shot the video and its awareness of police brutality and Black-on-Black crime and innocent victims like Tayshawn Lee and Hadiya Pendleton who were murdered by the merciless in our communities.
  5. For the Heads
    • Yeah, this is just straight #Barz. Hip Hop to the core and what it means to battle rap back in the day. Battle rapping is still very popular but it crosses the line of my generation. If you battle today you’d better be careful. People are pulling out pictures, background checks, and family history to battles these days.
  6. Ode to Hip Hop
    • This track features Rhamell El, a 30 year friend, who I couldn’t wait to collaborate with. We wanted to do it in our  younger years but it was time now. We’re older, seasoned, and have a different respect for the craft and talk God has given us. It’s a tribute to some hip hop greats and to local Chicago artists who have paved the way.
  7. Slow Flow
    • A title with irony as life is a Slow Flow but these barz are not. No hooks, straight through, standing in who I am and who I’ve grown to be as a man, a Christian, a husband, a father, and an humanitarian.

People ask why at 51 I am rapping. It’s what I do along with spoken word. Nope, not famous, not rocking any shows but it’s a gift that I used to engage young people at church, at work, and on the poetry scene. I’ll always right and create. I’ll never stop. I hope you take this journey with me and explore my craft that is all positive, N word, non-women bashing, no profanity, project. Artistry is always the goal and I’m a hip hop head for life, this is my contribution to the genre, to the people, and #fortheculture.

 

You Are Enough

I have spoken with several of you who have reached for the same heights in your career. Years of dedicated service, outstanding reviews, and leading with heart, integrity, diligence, and human skills, along with other building blocks of performance leadership were essential to this moment.

BEAN

My present stress traumatic disorder knocks at the door
I answer, all I see are silhouettes of young people
I didn’t meet them in this life, but the visit mean in the spirit
And I fear again, chasing the dollar and career
That I have failed to be human

Silhouette

We will hold each other tightly
After spring break
Because we hope to never become
Memories
At such a youth age

Heartbroken: The Curse of Music

There is hope for them; there should be respect for them, and there should be love for them and teaching them the right way.

Open Letter to Mike Huckabee

Part of my spiritual growth is standing for the marginalized, the forsaken, and the forgotten. That is the life I work to live daily in honor of my Lord Yeshua.

Ramblings…

Black people wake up and no matter what trauma we experience as a community, we have to go into work …

Living While Black

The eerie feeling when a police officer pulls up behind you. He was behind me for about 6 blocks. I …

Where Did I Go Wrong?

My son
Where did I go wrong
What song didn’t I sing of love
What gift didn’t I give from the heart
What birthday did I miss
What event didn’t I attend

Free flowing

African history was not a part of my upbringing. I was about survival. No different from any other African child …

A Posture of the Heart

I fasted recently. It’s a part of the Christian walk that I hadn’t embarked on seriously in quite sometime. Yet, …

PTSD: Present Traumatic Stress Disorder

We’ve been taught to fight each other, steal from one another, kill one another, reign down terror and rage on our children, leave our women, leave our kids, hustle illegally to get by because we knew America has always been devoid of humanity.

The New Jim Crow: Challenging how we feel about “us”.

Yet, if I don’t shift my mindset towards those young Black men I don’t know and assume the worst of, we will never break the cycle inflicted on us by forces that have put us in the condition, put the knife in our hand and causes us to continually blame ourselves for our own problem.

The End of Possibility

I have never cared for most board meetings. If there is no willful intent to actively listen and address parental concerns regarding administrative changes then don’t open board meetings to the public. Parents were not heard and that corporate adage of “the board of directors knows what’s best” is arrogant.