To all my friends in the Ohio area, I will be playing an instrumental set in Columbus on Friday Feb 10th @ Carabar (115 Parsons Ave), as a part of the J-Dilla Tribute Night being put together by my homie Zero Star.  The event is Free admission and all ages are welcome.  I am working on a couple instrumental projects under the name The 808 Mechanic, and this project will be my opportunity to do play some of this material out for the first time.  Just to clarify, I will not be rhyming, I will be playing an instrumental/beat set.

Hope yall can make it out.

Word.

As many of my friends know, I’m a pretty big fan of Mixed-Martial Arts (MMA).  I think I started watching it about four or five years ago, and have been into it pretty heavily ever since, as proven by my MMA-related tweets whenever there’s a big event on.  Hell, a lot of my time in the studio is spent watching classic fights that I missed before I was a fan of the sport.

Well today I get to take my obsession with MMA to a new level because I was invited to call in and talk MMA on the internet show MMA Uncensored, which will be on from 7-9pm Mountain Time.  I will be on there at 8pm Mountain time (10pm Eastern time), talking about the upcoming UFC on FX show that’s going down tomorrow night, previewing the matchups and just talking about the fighters.

As a person who’s definitely a nerd about the sport, but doesn’t really get to chop it up with people about it to often, I’m pretty excited.

So, if you’re a fan of MMA (or just curious about my thoughts and knowledge of the topic) and free at 10pm Eastern Time / 8pm Mountain Time, please tune in.

Here’s are the details:

Date: Thurs Jan 19th
Time: 8pm Mountain Time / 10pm Eastern Time (the show actually starts at 7pm Mountain time. I’ll be on the 2nd half)
Website: http://www.gomilehigh.com/home.cfm (click on the “Listen Live” button)
Twitter: @printmatic and @mm_uncensored

UPDATE: Here is the audio of the interview:

Word!

Today is the day that many internet sites are blacking out in protest of the proposed bills that exist in the house and senate, SOPA and PIPA.  If I actually knew how to change my home page to black it out I would, but since I don’t I’ll take this opportunity to post a few links for you all to check out.  For many reasons these bills are bad, but don’t believe that just because I say it is. I would like you to please read some of these summaries on exactly what SOPA & PIPA  are and why they are incredibly fucked up pieces of legislation that should never pass and will completely ruin the innovative spirit that has gotten us to this point:

About SOPA & PIPA (by google)

Will Take Us Back to the Dark Ages, (via Mashable.com)

Why SOPA is Dangerous (via mashable.com)

Inform yourself. Empower yourself.

Word is blog

Eyedea: One Year Later, Before and After

the downside of giving up on yourself

One year sober today

Blueprint, MTV, and “Selling Out”

Power

Words I Like: Agonizing

The Adventures of Blueprint: Episode 2 – What happened to the radio?

The Adventures of Blueprint: Episode 1 – “The story of Radio-Inactive”

A Perfect New Year

I’ve got a lot of plans for 2012, and I’m in the lab really heavy hoping to bring a bunch of new music to you.  As usual, this is where you will hear about everything first.

Thanks for the support.

So with no further ado, here are my fucking new years resolutions: (dont front you know you’ve got some too)

RESOLUTION #1 – To use my Phone as more than a texting and rhyme writing device

Apparently these things can do a lot more than text, tell time, and store my lethal raps.  I had actually forgotten because that’s all I use my phone for.  The instances where I actually call people are very rare, and if I had to guess I would say that I only talk to people on the phone no more than once per day. Two phone conversations in one day would probably freak me out, and holidays where you have to talk more than that can potentially make my head explode.  But fuck that, in 2012 I’m gonna take it back to the essence, and actually use my phone for verbal communication.  I’m not gonna stop texting people, but I am gonna actually call people and try to talk to them more, with my mouth, and my voice.  It sounds weird even writing it, but I’m gonna do it!

RESOLUTION #2 – Get Swole

Yes, I’m gonna hit the weights this winter and come back looking like Dr. Dre, or Timbaland, or Carrot Top.  Whoever is swole, I’m gonna look like them, but like me, but swole up.  I know what you’re thinking.  Print, you’re already a fucking adonis, why do you need to get more swole for?  Well, because you can never be too swole, dummy!  Plus, chicks like it when a dude is all swole up, in some tight jeans and an affliction t-shirt, so Imma bring that to the table this year.

RESOLUTION #3 – Learn how to fight

When it comes to fighting I’m what they call “a natural”, feel me?  Nobody ever taught me to throw a punch or the proper technique for kicking a man in his nuts.  Nobody ever taught me how to run when I was out numbered, or when to hit a man in the head with a barstool and when to use a beer pitcher, but I realized the other day that while I have been in mad scuffles in my life, that my lack of formal training could lead me to getting my ass whooped one day.  And while I realize that taking the path of peace and understanding makes way more sense for a man my age, I’ve decided that it would be way more interesting to actually learn how to fight.  So in 2012 I will begin my journey to master all areas of combat (striking, wrestling, knife fighting, submission grappling), and hopefully become a complete mixed martial artist of high respect by the end of calendar year 2012.  Wish me luck.

RESOLUTION #4 – Have a child.

I know what you’re thinking.  “It’s easy to knock somebody up Print, anybody can do that!” But what you don’t understand is that I’m going to actually have the child, myself.  Me. In 2012 I’m gonna find out how to get pregnant and carry that little fucker for nine months, or as long as I can physically take it.   To tell the truth I dont even want to have a child, and it sounds really painful, and not fun.  In fact, the entire thought of something that weighs 8 pounds coming out of my body makes me wanna throw up. However, I need to do this so that when I talk to women I can really feel what they’re saying to me.  Very often I get told that I hear them, but I don’t feeeeeel them, nahmeen?  I hate how they always throw that whole “child birth” thing in my face whenever I complain about a sprained ankle or a splinter in my finger.  I’ve had enough, and realize that the only way I can feel their pain is to actually give birth, so I can talk shit too.  Then maybe I won’t feel so shallow and look so stupid when a woman complains about cramps or childbirth and I say “word. i feel you”, when I actually don’t feel them at all, and the thought of feeling them makes me nauseous.  No more excuses.  I’m gonna make it happen in 2012.

Wish me luck.

Happy New Year!!!

note: my only real New Years Resolution is to release as much music as possible and spend more time with my family and friends, but this was way more fun to write.

Please check it out here: http://orlandoweekly.com/music/under-the-radar-1.1245038

Here’s an exerpt:

In 2005, Al Shepard stopped by the headquarters of Power 107.5 FM, a radio station in his hometown, Columbus, Ohio. Shepard had ties to hip-hop, and so did the station, but each had a vastly different idea of what makes the genre great. Traditionally, Shepard raps over self-made beats as Blueprint, keeping his work low on coolness and flash, and heavy on honesty. Slang doesn’t play into his verses much and he’s consistently willing to experiment with different moods and sounds in his beats. (He’s had albums issued by stately indie hip-hop label Rhymesayers.)

On the flip side, Power 107.5 FM’s tastes lean toward bombastic hooks and larger-than-life characters; a cursory look at the station’s recently played tracks turns up Beyoncé, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Wale and Drake. Around the time Blueprint’s 1988 was released, according to Shepard, the two entities butted heads (CON’T).

Word is Blog

For the past few weeks I’ve been having a lot of thoughts about simplifying my life; evaluating my relationship with my material possessions, how they effect my mood, my so-called happiness, and my ability to adapt to change.  Then I stumbled upon this video by Adam Baker, who runs a blog that I really like called Man vs Debt, that touches on the exact thing I was feeling inside, and puts it into words perfectly.  Please take a few minutes and watch this video.  It’s very inspiring.

http://youtu.be/9XRPbFIN4lk

Let me know what you think in the comments section and if you can relate to what he’s talking about.

Word is Blog

“When analytic thought, the knife, is applied to experience, something is always killed in the process.  That is fairly well understood, at least in the arts.  Mark Twain’s experience comes to mind, in which after he mastered the analytic knowledge to pilot the Mississippi he discovered the river had lost its beauty. Something is always killed, but what’s less noticed in the arts is something is always created too.”

Join the forum discussion on this post

But lately I’ve started to admire him for another reason, that has nothing to do with his personality.  The fact of the matter is that 50 cent is a pretty damn smart dude, and his personality is just a function of that intelligence.

I consider myself a pretty good strategist. Not necessarily in it’s application to things around me, but in my understanding of strategy.  I’m a big fan of books like The Art of War and The 48 Laws of Power.  Fortunately, I don’t necessarily need to be too strategic in what I do, I’m more of an artist, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t admire those who are.  Some people think strategy is all about being diabolical or cutthroat.  And while there is definitely a shallow and hurtful side of being strategic, there is also a side of it that’s pretty damn slick and not hurtful.  50 manages this about as well as anybody in the public eye, particularly at his level where he doesn’t have anybody speaking for him like an athlete or politician.

Now, here’s what I saw today that made me think that and write this.  It’s a series of moves that I initially dismissed as poor planning or shortsightedness on his part, but when I take a step back it’s actually the opposite.  It’s the work of a grand strategist.

First, 50 released a movie last week called Things Fall Apart.  For those that don’t know the title comes from a book by China Achebe.  It’s a classic book.  The title Things Fall Apart was also used by The Roots on one of their best albums.  Now, when I saw that he had a movie coming out called Things Fall Apart, I immediately thought he was making a movie adaptation of the Chinua Achebe book; a book that hasn’t been made into a movie yet, but anybody who’s read it would be excited about.  I soon found out that it wasn’t based on the book, it was an original screenplay that 50 wrote about a college athlete who…blah blah blah.  What it’s actually about doesn’t matter as much as the fact that it’s not in reference to the book.

So what’s so smart about that?  Well, first of all, everybody whose read the book and sees his name associated with it will instantly read more.  I can attest to this because he fooled me.  I was disappointed at first.  Then it made me think about reading the book again.  Then I was salty that 50 took the title.  But what’s more important than all my feelings is the fact that it made me internalize the fact that 50 cent has a new movie out.  Smart.  Whether his new movie is good or bad (probably bad), I know its out.  What I thought was simply an oversight on his behalf, and not being informed, was really a smart play on his behalf.  He got me.

Then you add another layer to that because there are a lot of people who are fans of the Roots, but don’t know that the title Things Fall Apart is from a classic book.  All these people probably did the exact same thing I did.  They wondered why 50 is using The Roots album title.  Then thought about how much they loved The Roots.  Then got confused.  Then upset.  Then internalized the fact that 50 cent has a new movie out.  Smart.  The definition of strategy.

Now, this is the part that is the most impressive that I’m sure he will never admit to.  He released a mixtape today that he’s been pumping up on twitter for the past couple weeks called The Big Ten.  I downloaded it, which in itself proves that he’s onto something, because I heard about it trying to get info on his movie.  And here’s what’s slick about his mixtape:

#1 – the tracklisting is completely fucked up.

#2 – the sound quality is shitty

#3 – there’s an annoying “mixtapes.org” drop over all the songs that sounds really out of place.

Now, the average person might think these are just random things, but at this point I’m starting to put things together, so each of these things really jumps out to me.  Why would the tracklisting, and sound quality be shitty when you got it directly from an artist? Why would there be an annoying drop on there from a site that didn’t even have exclusive right to the mixtape?

Because every one of those seemingly little things are going to make people talk about it more, and 50 knows that in this era of disposable music and releases that people rave about one minute and forget about the next, extending your 15-minutes of fame is pretty important, even if you have to resort to confusion to do it.  Chaos is attention, and 50 is a master of it.

Now, the obvious problem in all this is that if the tape sucks then nobody is gonna care enough to ask questions.  But I’m guessing that 50 didn’t put it out make any artistic mark, he put it out just so people would talk about 50 cent, and I think he’s going to be successful at that.  The fact that I’m writing this is proof of that.

I’m the most curious about what happens when the talk finally gets to the music, because ultimately all the strategy in the world doesn’t work if your music sucks.

Now, please understand, I’m not writing this to suggest you go buy his record or even download his mixtape.  I like 50 but haven’t bought any of his music since his debut album.  I’m writing it more to try to point out and maybe open some discussion about his use strategy and see what you all thought about it.  It’s entirely possible that I may be reading too much into it, but I think suggesting so would be to imply that he go where he’s at by being in the right place at the right time, and not because he is a pretty calculated dude.

So here’s my question:

Word is Blog

Hello Friends.  Although it’s officially winter I would like to announce the Sunshine State of Mind Tour, a week-long headlining tour that will be brought to the sunniest of sunny places, Florida.  If you live in the state of Florida, I would like to officially invite you out to one of the shows.

Blueprint Tour Dates:

Thursday December 15th – Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum: details & RSVP
Friday, December 16th – Orlando, FL @ The Social: details & RSVP
Saturday, December 17th – Jacksonville, FL @ The Phoenix Taproom: details and RSVP
Sunday, December 18th – Orlando, FL @ Blank Space (Producer Showcase): details and RSVP
Tuesday, December 20th – Lake Worth, FL @ Propaganda: details and RSVP

Thanks for the support,

Printmatic!