Author Archives: Printmatic

A Recap of My First Teaching Experience

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For those that have read this blog for a while, a few weeks ago I wrote a blog titled “How Do You Respond to Failure” that was about how I had messed up my first opportunity to teach kids because of a date mix-up.  I beat myself up over it, but promised myself that I would try to make up for it by making it a priority and trying it again in the future.

Well, early last week I got contacted by a friend who teaches at a charter school here in Columbus about coming in to speak to his kids about poetry.  Excited about the opportunity, I said yes pretty much immediately. Continue reading →

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A Recap of My First Teaching Experience

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Teaching 5th-8th grade students about poetry and my career as a hip-hop artist

For those that have read this blog for a while, a few weeks ago I wrote a blog a few weeks ago titled “How Do You Respond to Failure” that was about how I had messed up my first opportunity to teach kids because of a date mix-up.  I beat myself up over it, but promised myself that I would try to make up for it by making it a priority and trying it again in the future.

Well, early last week I got contacted by a friend who teaches at a charter school here in Columbus about coming in to speak to his kids about poetry.  Excited about the opportunity, I said yes pretty much immediately. Continue reading →

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Throw Me a Couple Topics or Questions

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This past week I tried something that I hadn’t tried before: I wrote about blog about a question that was suggested to me by one of my twitter followers. The blog was titled Thoughts on Sampling vs Fair Use and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. I’d like to try that again in the future, so if you’ve got any cool questions or ideas hit me up in the here in the comments section, twitter, facebook, or hit the contact page and e-mail me.

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Thoughts on Sampling vs Fair Use

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A little while back I was asked this question about sampling on Twitter.  I wanted to answer it there, but I realized that would be pretty difficult because of the 140 character limit, so I decided to write some thoughts on it here.

@ I'm curious about your thoughts on this vs sampling vs fair use via the "transformative work" clause. Where is the line?
March 14, 2012 5:34 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite
@TysonHabein
Tyson Habein

To discuss sampling properly, I think it’s necessary to talk about it from three distinct perspectives: the artist doing the sampling, the artist being sampled, and the rights owner of the sampled material.  I’ll write my thoughts on each perspective.

Continue reading →

Yo, What happened To Peace?

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Earlier today I was having a discussion, or better yet an argument, with a family member and came to the conclusion that most people don’t really know what peace is.  Therefore, when they talk about wanting peace, they’re actually talking about something completely different than what peace actually is.

I’ve noticed that many people think peace and quiet are the same thing.  This confusion makes it very difficult for them to actively engage in productive discussions about how to achieve peace. Continue reading →

Two Years Sober Today: The Benefits of Sobriety

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Two years ago today I decided to take small break from drinking.  I needed to clear my head.  A week into it, I felt good and decided to keep going.  After a month, I felt even better.  Once I got to two months sober I made a decision that I didn’t want alcohol to play a part in my life again.

I have been sober for two years straight today.   It has been an amazing journey that has forced me to confront many things about myself that I didn’t like.  I’ve learned that everybody drinks for a reason, and the people who drink the most have the most reasons.  If you don’t understand the “why” then you will be doomed to repeat the cycle.

Continue reading →

Now Available: Blueprint “Weightless Radio” Album

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Last year when Adventures in Counter-Culture was released I created an exclusive instrumental album to be given away free with all pre-orders that were sold through Fifth Element.  The name of the album was Weightless Radio: A Collection of Blueprint Instrumentals and, outside of the people who pre-ordered the album on Fifth Element, it hasn’t been available anywhere else prior to today.  In fact, there’s a lot of people who had no idea that this record even existed.  Therefore, I have decided to make this album available here on Printmatic.net for the first time.   Check it out:

http://printmatic.bandcamp.com/album/weightless-radio-a-collection-of-blueprint-instrumentals

It it only available in digital format at this time and it is also available on Amazon.com

At an hour-long and 27 tracks in length, I believe Weightless Radio is a very dope record.

Thanks for the support!

Working Out and Eating Right: What’s Your Status?

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The other day, a friend made a  comment on how in shape they thought I was.  I’m not really ripped or anything like that, but I am pretty lean and thin.  I think the comment was rooted in the fact that I don’t really come off like a health freak or obsess about working out, and usually people who don’t do either of those things are out of shape. Continue reading →

$10 T-Shirt Sale at Printmatic.net

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You read it right–all t-shirts are $10 the entire month of May.  Plus, all shirts come with a free CD.  I’ve got a few t-shirts left over from the last few tours I’ve done and it’s getting nice outside.  However, please understand that sizes are limited in certain styles (especially in some of the smaller sizes), so don’t sleep.  Once a particular size is gone, it’s gone.

Visit the apparel page HERE

POLL: B-Sides & Unreleased Stuff

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The process of writing The Making of Adventures in Counter-Culture has caused me to revisit the album in a way that I never anticipated. Fifteen, songs with fifteen different stories. Yet, writing it reminded me of just how many songs I did that didn’t make the album. I probably did about 75-100 songs, many of which were not good enough to make the album. However, there are another group of songs that were really good, but just didn’t fit the vibe of what I was trying to do. I’ve been revisiting these songs lately, and feel like I can actually put out an album of these songs that is completely different than Adventures in Counter-Culture but really dope. The question is whether you all would be interested in it. It wouldn’t necessarily be “real” album in the traditional sense and it would be primarily for my real fans. That being said, I figured I should ask you guys first.

Please let me know if you would be interested in this.

Would you be interested in hearing an album with the best songs that didn't make Adventures in Counter-Culture?

View Results

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Thanks for your input.

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How Do You Respond to Failure?

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About six weeks ago, I was contacted about teaching two workshops on writing to a group of High School kids. The person who contacted me had originally reached out to me a couple years ago, but for whatever reason we weren’t able to make it happen.  It looked more likely this time around since my schedule was clear; I had been at home writing my book for several months straight and had no plans to be on the road for a while.

After giving it some careful thought, I confirmed the date and started to prepare.  Admittedly, I was nervous about teaching, but since I had more time to prepare I felt confident I could put something together that the students and I would be happy with. Continue reading →

E-book version of “The Making of Adventures in Counter-Culture” now available

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For all my friends who have Kindles (or Ipad’s with Kindle Reader apps), the E-Book version of The Making of Adventures in Counter-Culture is now available on Amazon.com for $5.99.  Click HERE or the cover to purchase.  Audiobook version will be available later this month.

Thanks for the support

Quote of the week: P.T. Barnum

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“When a man’s undivided attention is centered on one object, his mind will constantly be suggesting improvements of value, which would escape him if his brain was occupied by a dozen a dozen different subjects at once.” – P.T. Barnum (from Art of Money Getting)

 

AUDIO: Chapter Three “Automatic” from The Making of Adventures in Counter-Culture

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Here’s the audio recording for chapter three “Automatic” from my upcoming book The Making of Adventures in Counter-Culture, pre-ordering right now on http://printmatic.net

The Making of Adventures in Counter-Culture: Chapter 03 “Automatic” by BLUEPRINT

 

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Chip Away At Your Goals

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In the spring of 2010, while I was on tour with Killah Priest, I had the idea to write a book about the making of Adventures in Counter-Culture.  I started jotting down thoughts and memories, emptying my head of everything that I could recollect about the process and everything that went into the creation of the album.  I wasn’t sure if I would ever finish it, but It was a cool activity to keep me busy during the long drives.

The album itself wouldn’t come out for a year, so my initial idea was to finish the book before the album was done so it would be available on the album’s release date.  Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.  I was able to write up about three or four pages of notes but that was it.  Sadly, the initial idea for The Making of Adventures in Counter-Culture book was filed away along with all the other ideas that I used to talk about but never finished.   I had a bucket list just like everybody else, which included items like sky diving, write a book, and make a movie, but during the two year period that I was drinking heavily nothing really seemed to get checked off of it.

Things started to change shortly after that 2010 tour with Killah Priest. Continue reading →

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Blueprint “Go Hard or Go Home” Music Video

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The one year anniversary of Adventures in Counter-Culture is today.  In celebration we are releasing the official music video for “Go Hard or Go Home.”  The music video was shot on the south side of Columbus and directed by yours truly, Printmatic!  If you like it, please share it on your Facebook, Twitter, & Blog.  Pick up the album HERE

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The Adventures of Blueprint “Go Hard or Go Home: Behind The Video”

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It's been a while since since I've aired an episode of “The Adventures of Blueprint,” but have no fear, I'm back.  Brand new episode, baby!  This one talks about the upcoming video for “Go Hard or Go Home” and the circumstances that inspired its creation.  Check it out!

 

The official music video for “Go Hard or Go Home” will debut next week, on the one-year anniversary of the Adventures in Counter-Culture album.

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