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Harrisburg PA – King No Crown Tour Recap
Physically, we were at a bit of a disadvantage going into the harrisburg show because the drive to Harrisburg from Evansville, Indiana was about 11 hours. And once you took in the time change and stops for gas we were looking at a 13 hour drive, which was the longest of the tour. This meant that after the show in Evansville ended around 2am, we immediately started driving to Harrisburg. I did about 2-3 hours of driving that night before pulling over for an hour or so of sleep, then woke back up around 6 am to continue the drive. It was rough, especially for just the second day of tour, but me and DJ Rare Groove switched out the driving as we normally do to get the long drives done.
Experiments in Podcasting
The past month or so I’ve been developing some podcasting ideas behind the scenes. I’ve always been a fan of podcasts, but because I listen to so many, it’s important for me to really develop my ideas fully. The last thing I wanna do is start a podcast that either sucks and has to stop, or one that’s good but too difficult for me to do with regularity. A lot of my current experiments in podcasting deal with the technical side of it:
Great Eyedeas Never Die
For those who have checked out the track list to my upcoming album King No Crown that will be released April 28th, you may have noticed that the final song on the album is titled, “Great Eyedeas Never Die.” This song is about my late friend and original Rhymesayers artist, Eyedea (aka Michael Larson).
Rappers Are in Danger: Addressing Safety in Hip-Hop
I woke up this morning to see a video in my youtube feed about the rapper Plies getting slammed off the stage at a show. During an on-stage confrontation, a guy grabbed him by the waist and slammed him off the six-foot stage and onto the floor. This happened in front of hundreds (maybe thousands) of people. We tend to laugh when it’s a commercial artist like Plies, but even well-respected artists aren’t exempt.
Announcing the King No Crown Tour
I would like to officially announce the first set of shows on my upcoming King No Crown tour with special guest Supastition and DJ Rare Groove. More dates will be added, but here are the first 25 confirmed dates so far:
Thoughts on the Economics of Hip-hop
Some thoughts on the economics of hip-hop that I shared on my twitter. Wanted to repost them here for those that missed out or don’t follow me on twitter. Follow me there now if you don’t already.
What A Night: Chapter 7 – Kalamazoo, MI
What A Night
Chapter 7: Kalamazoo, MIBetween 2003 and 2005, Kalamazoo, Michigan became one of the most supportive cities of my music. It all started when Western Michigan University’s student-operated radio station, WIDR FM, began putting the Soul Position Unlimited EP and my production album The Weight Room in regular rotation. Unlike most college radio stations—whose programming is directed entirely at the student-body—WIDR’s show programming and events calendar garnered the support of the entire community and the surrounding area.
What A Night: Chapter 10 – Seattle, WA
Chapter 10 – Seattle, WA
In 2006, I began working on my sophomore album, Adventures in Counter-Culture. From the beginning, my goal was to make the most ambitious album possible. I wanted it to defy genres, summarizing everything I had ever learned about music into this one album. I was tired of being boxed in with terms like “commercial” and “underground.” I wanted Adventures in Counter-Culture to escape those classifications.
Five Things I Tell Myself That Help Me Keep Going
Anybody that has chased their dream long enough knows that there are days when it gets tiring. Those are the days that you wonder why you do what you do and the thought of quitting enters your mind. Over the years, I have found myself leaning on several phrases that keep me inspired and help me keep going. I would like to share these with you. If you have any please share yours in the comment section.
What A Night: Chapter Four
CHAPTER FOUR: NEW YORK CITY, NY
There was a point in my life, between 2002 and 2004, that I became very interested in stand-up comedy. At first I was a fan like everybody else—renting the most popular comedy specials and watching them anytime they were on television—but soon my interest grew more intense. Fortunately, I didn’t have to start my comedy collection from scratch; I was a hip-hop producer, which meant I already owned a decent amount of comedy albums on vinyl. I began revisiting these older albums from comedians like Richard Pryor and Steve Martin, listening to them with a completely different ear and appreciation. Eventually, my favorite comedians made their way out of my house and onto my MP3 player, just as any great album would.
Blueprint “Perspective” Music Video
The official music video for the song “Perspective” from my latest album Respect the Architect was just released today. Check it out here:
And here are my remaining tour dates for the Respect the Architect tour:
I Love it Out Here
This tour, the Respect the Architect tour, will probably go down as one of my favorite tours. Not because it is the biggest tour I have ever done. Not because I am making more money than I’ve ever made. It will go down as one of my favorite tours because, more than any other point in my career, I understand how special this opportunity is.
There are times in life, many times for that matter, when time flies. We are doing things we enjoy, completely unaware of the passing of each moment and event. Then there are times when we are able to actually slow down for a second, and not just be in the moment, but to also feel as though we can observe the moment as an outsider; as an impartial observer.
That is exactly how I feel now.
Four Years Sober Today
At last night’s show in Winter Haven, FL, somebody in the crowd asked me to perform my song “Blame it on the Jager.” It’s one of the more popular songs from the Soul Position album Things Go Better with RJ and Al so it wasn’t an unusual request. In general, I actually like spending a good amount of time during the end of my set performing request from fans, but the request for “Blame it on the Jager” wasn’t going to get granted last night.
That’s because today, May 15th, marks my fourth year sober.
Life Without A Refrigerator
The first thing I noticed when I walked through the door, after returning to Columbus from visiting my family for the Christmas holiday, was the ungodly sound my refrigerator was making. Loud enough to be heard throughout the entire house, it sounded like the moaning of a person that had just been shot in the stomach and was waiting on the ambulance to show up. Although my refrigerator had been making weird noises for months, this was far worse than any of the random rumbles and shakes I’d only previously heard in the middle of the night. This time, it was for real.
The Difference Between Talent And Skill
The other day I made a decision I should have made a long time ago. That decision was to order two training DVDs. One is for Final Cut and the other is for Apple Motion. While it is true that I’ve been messing with video production as a hobby for the past few years, I’ve never actually studied the application I edit in. Like a lot of people, I got a copy of the program from a friend and just hopped right in. I have read dozens of books on video production and editing philosophy, but always told myself that studying the Final Cut program was something I would get to later.
