Curren$y & Wiz Khalifa- Scaling The Building (prod. by Ski Beatz)
Wiz is one of my favorites.
I think I was on hiatus when Kush & Orange Juice dropped.
(Did 24 Hour Karate School ever drop…?!?!?)
One of my alltime faves.
And I like Curren$y more and more as I listen to him.
I have a funny Curren$y story too.
We were doing an issue and I said I wanted to interview him. Brian said he got a hold of dude and we were at a David Banner/DJ Skee show at the Bowery in NYC. I’m watching D.Banner tear it down and Brian says, “Yo, Curren$y is here, let’s rap to him.” So I go back and it’s him and his people. I don;t recognize him, but it’s dark in the venue. I congratulate him on Flight School and he doesn’t really respond. Whatever. Info is exchanged. I get an email from his manager asking about the interview, when we can do it, photos, etc. And he mentions that the dude we were talking to was Currently or some shit, and not Curren$y. Magazine owner FAIL. I had to diplomatically brush him off without offending him or his never heard of before artist. It did explain all the sideways looks I got from him and his people when I congratulated him on a mixtape he didn’t do.
Tags: 24 Hour Karate School, Curren$y, magazine, Scaling The Building, Ski Beatz, Wiz Khalifa
Not that anyone reads magazines…
Mar 12, 2010 journalism, news, storytelling, writing
You should. Just most people don’t.
I had a video heavy posting day the other day and apparently today’s theme is documentaries. I will be posting about the one I watched last night a little later. But to break it up, I wanted to post this year’s ASME’s 2010 National Magazine Awards finalists.
I’m sure most of these can be found online.
(Aka: something to read while at my day job.)
Tags: 2010, 2010 National Magazine Awards, ASME, magazine, National Magazine Awards
Look at these rap moguls getting all introspective…
Dec 12, 2009 journalism
Two interesting pieces about to hit newsstands.
(There are still magazines on newsstands, isn’t there?)
Fiddy Fifty is in this month’s Esquire’s: What I’ve Learned:
It’s Fifty, not Fiddy.
My mom chose the lifestyle because she didn’t choose welfare. Every time I seen her, it felt like Christmas. Everything that was nice in my life was gone when she left, and the only people I saw that had nice things were people from the lifestyle. And they’d look at me and go, Why you look like that? Why your shoes run-down?
What led my mom into the lifestyle that got her killed was what led me into the lifestyle: to prevent needing things so much.
If I’d had a choice, I would’ve been a college kid. I would’ve majored in business.
Sometimes you do need to convince yourself through convincing others.
I never saw drug use as a good option. I’d rather have an additional ten dollars than smoke. It wasn’t a decision to not smoke weed. It was a decision to hustle. It was a business decision.
Hustling was my internship.
Being shot defines how strong I am. It prepares you for the confusion of being an artist.
The adrenaline doesn’t allow the bullets to hurt as much as being afraid hurts.
Columbia Records shied away from me. They were afraid of someone who would actually come from the real shit. You know what happens right after you assess me being shot? You go, Wow, so he’s really down there with the people who will just shoot you nine times? Will they shoot me, too? Why sell 50 when we can sell Kanye?
There’s people who are considered intelligent who are idiots.
People who raise their hands deserve to be ahead of people who don’t.
Money is freedom. Money is a private plane. Money is no metal detection.
I sign autographs because there will be a moment when no one asks me to.
Don’t wait for them to tell you. Tell them.
There are too many entrepreneurs. We need the worker to make the process function properly.
The first time I felt rich was when I had $80,000 inside my house. I saw it as a means to more money.
Money is not going to make you happy. A new idea is what makes you happy.
When I got shot, it was a $5,000 exchange. The price of a life is cheap.
Obama takes away the excuses.
The best businessmen in the world make a bad deal sometimes. And it’s not usually in a boardroom. Most of them marry the wrong woman. That business deal is the worst business deal of all.
All the women have contributed to my success. Every one.
In my house, Carmelo Anthony is bigger than 50 Cent.
My son is more important to me than I am to him.
Always have bail money.
Curtis Jackson. I identify with the name. When I look in the mirror, I see Curtis.
Am I an honest man? I’m a selectively honest man.
Am I being honest right now? Yeah. Most people would answer that question with a yes. Even the liars.
Jay-Z is as politically correct as some of the politicians. He’s safe. There’s points when you’re acquiring financing, you make adjustments. He’s made those adjustments. It’s his choice. For me, it’s not a necessity.
When you’re safe, people start walking on the stage because they feel safe with you. People don’t walk on the stage at my shows.
Air Jordan. Tiger Woods. You know how a person is made for something? Eminem is made for hip-hop. The best rapper is a white man.
My music is a soundtrack. The film is my life. My music matches things I’ve experienced or felt. Even if the whole thing is made up.
When you get hurt as bad as I got hurt, the idea of hurting someone as bad as they hurt you is no longer out of the question.
Depression is a luxury I still can’t afford.
I like generals. I like Napoleon. I like strategy. The majority of them are praised for mass destruction, but it’s exciting to see how it comes to the mind mentally.
Is Charles Manson a serial killer? No, he isn’t, because he ain’t do no killing. He’s a coward. He was just crazy enough to influence people to kill for him. There were a lot of Charles Mansons in my neighborhood. There were no Napoleons.
Hip-hop is arrogant because people are arrogant.
Rap artists are like fighters. They don’t need a coach to call them champ for them to believe it.
You need a respectable opponent, but you don’t have to respect ‘em. In the end you’re gonna finish ‘em anyway, right?
The other is an interview with Diddy in Playboy. I think this one is fascinating because so many rappers rap about life they obviously didn’t live, and here is Diddy admitting he wasn’t cut out for slinging. Because he was shook. Damn it’s sad that honesty is so under-appreciated and seldom experienced in rap that it has come to a point I’m happy someone is admitting they were scared and didn’t deal.
DIDDY WAS A TWO-DAY DRUG DEALER
Rap mogul SEAN COMBS sold drugs for 48 hours until a police raid scared him off the idea of becoming a street hustler.
The All About The Benjamins hitmaker grew up in Harlem, New York surrounded by drug dealers who were making small fortunes illegally – and he toyed with the idea of becoming one of them.
In a candid new interview with Playboy magazine, the rapper reveals, “Some of my friends were selling drugs in the Maryland and (Washington) D.C. area. I remember them having all this jewellery and new BMWs. I was eating ramen noodles, stealing from the 7-Eleven to get some food.
“I thought, ‘I need to get some money like y’all have.’ So I go out on the block, the strip where they’re selling drugs, and my man says, ‘OK, I’m going to give you this. You wait there. They’ll come up to you.’
“I’m out there five minutes when three cop cars pull up and officers jump out and start chasing me. I ran and got away.
“We reconvene in the same place two hours later. This time it’s dark, and all of a sudden a van pulls up. Cops jump out and start chasing me again. There’s a helicopter overhead with a light following me through the woods.”
He escaped again and met up with his friends at a hide-out hours later, where he started reconsidering his plans to become a drug dealer: “I wanted to go home, but I didn’t know how to punk out and tell them. The cops were outside, and we heard them coming up the stairs (but) they were responding to a couple having an argument below us… I turned unto a scared white Harvard (University) student. God was sending me signals.
“I told my friends, ‘Thanks, y’all, but no thanks. This game is not for me.’ I walked out that door, and I ain’t been around nobody with no drugs. I don’t want to see no drugs.
“I’m probably the shortest-duration drug dealer in history. That’s why you never heard me talk about it in my rhymes.”
Tags: 50 Cent, articles, Diddy, drug dealing, Esquire, Fitty, magazine, Playboy
Rant: The need for a 26/28 hour day
Nov 10, 2009 books, etc., journalism, writing
I wish I had more time…
It occurred to me the other day, I am really busy. Not just “I have a lot on my plate” busy. I mean really fucking busy.
About a month ago, in an effort to write more, I committed to writing 500 words four times a week. I have done that a grand total of .5 times. The one thing I did start to bang out was this:
At this point in my life, a typical week may consist of most or all of the following: 8am class, watching copious amounts of porn and getting paid for it, on stage or a tour bus with a high profile rapper, sitting in a basement with a bunch of other addicts, helping these addicts save their lives, believing these same addicts want to save mine, being unbelievably sweet to my girlfriend while being racked with fear that she wants someone who isn’t such a mush, wishing my sister was ok with herself, wondering why I can’t find time to get to the gym more, wishing my schedule was more in align with my friends, explaining to the FBI why I was almost an hour late to a 10am meeting, explaining to my boss that the 20 minute phonecall wasn’t me dicking around but about the iTunes deal we are brokering, wishing I could have sex with my girlfriend more regardless of how often we already have sex, studying First Amendment law while checking Facebook and watching football, wondering why I night I am convinced that I can do the next day on 4 hours sleep and than waking up feeling like I am willing to blow a small farm animal for four more hours sleep, loving hip-hop, hating hip-hop, wondering if that sponsee is ever going to call, wonder why that sponsee won’t stop fucking calling me, packing up the coffeepot for her to take with her to the stripclub, wondering if trading Young Matt Ronnie Brown for the Bronco’s D is a good idea, couple nights of 4 hours sleep, couple nights of 13 hours sleep, pressing refresh on the browser of my Blackberry because Facebook is the ONLY site my company blocks at work…
Which coincidentally, ties into this post.
Two nights last week, I was cooking full on dinners at 3am. Because I am so caught up in the things I have to do, I have no time for the things I want to do.
Here’s the bare bones of stuff I have going on: 50 hours a week at the day job, 2 classes (One requires a ton of time, one requires no time. One is a law class, one is a magazine editing class. You figure it out.), magazine stuff, recovery stuff, girlfriend stuff. Friends and social life are so far down on the list, they aren’t even making the list anymore. Shits so busy that I am on the list and supposed to get up with Aubrey and Sean P for the Sean P/Raekwon show here in Philly tonight and since my girl is in the Chi, the idea of going home and reading appeals to me more.
Now that may look like a busy, but not real busy, list of things on my plate. But here’s the thing: all the unforeseen intangibles and deviations that take up time.
Take recovery. There it is. But what that means is at least 3 or 4 meetings a week. Time for that. I am sponsoring about 3.5 guys right now. (The .5 is because I have two that are half-assing it, so I figure together they probably equal a half for the time it takes me to read their text messages of bullshit about why they aren’t around or in contact.) Then you figure I have to fit in my own stepwork, interacting with other addicts, secretary of the area duties and getting out the minutes, and you begin to see how looking deeper it can eat up the clock. A different impression than just reading “recovery.” Don’t get it twisted, not complaining at all. It is what it is.
Magazine stuff. This one has been a roller coaster. You figure between my boss barking at me about being on the phone and internet usage off the charts (Yes, I am finally getting in trouble for NOT watching porn at work…) trying to handle mag stuff here is difficult. And trying to fit those 50 hours of work around classes means that I am at the day job a lot. So you figure all those duties. Between getting writers, photogs, pictures, in touch with DJs and artists and labels and managers, then making sure the interviews actually pop off, then making sure I get all the content, and then editing it… And by now we all know to plan for about 20% of fuck-ups or changes in plans. (This issues? The cover-story writer taping over the interview with the artist. On purpose.) Now, it was hectic when doing it full-time, imagine it with today’s schedule. And a huge shoutout goes to Rockalepsy because he is the one holding this ship together right now. Make NO mistakes about that one AT ALL. Just because there’s a lot of work or unmanagability for me, does not mean that I got it the worst.
In any event, one of the things that is frustrating is that I don’t really feel like I am doing anything I am really passionate about. Dayjob watching porn? Not really. School? In theory it sounds good, but journalism? These days? I wonder if all the places I tried to freelance at, with the experience I already have, the reason I couldn’t even get an email returned when I was offering to work for free was because I didn’t have a degree. Magazine stuff? Look. There was a time and a place where we had fire for that. But in the almost 5 years that we have done it, with the ups and downs, I think we are all drained and going through the motions. So why are we doing it? There’s a situation that would provide insta-flame for us. It looks good, but we know well enough not to get excited or count those eggs until the paperwork is signed.
And it’s strange because two of the things I am blazahy about (school/journalism’s future and the magazine), I feel like I could be more excited, if I just had the time.
I am excited about magazine stuff because I love the music, I love owning my own business, I love being on stage with Ghostface, I love being able to call Kid Capri, I love having built something I am proud of when the odds were against us. And the deal we are working on is CRAZY. Like game and industry changing crazy. I try and pace my excitement, but it could be really major.
I get excited about writing, because even though things are rough and tough and real in the field, it also feels like it is a time for real creativity and innovation. Something will emerge. It’s a question of what and when. I think the magazine experience has given me a sense of believing in myself, and being capable of beating the odds. I have faith in my skill set and what I can do, offer and bring to the table. There’s a lot going on, and I want to be a part of it. I read things like this and look at people like George that has eternal optimism and try and be a part of the solution and not just complain about the problem and it inspires me. He put this together and sent me a proposal yesterday about “backpack journalism” workshops he is putting together for the Spring. (What is “backpack journalism?” Read this.)
Plus, throw into the mix trying to step-up web presence stuff, all tied in to branding, freelancing, etc. MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, this site, my professional experience blog, trying to synch them, update them… That is a job in and of itself. Since I didn’t really care about it, or understand the significance, until recently, I’m a little behind. I didn’t have a Facebook account until a month or so ago. I’m still trying to unravel that. (Who sees what? What’s the difference between my News Feed, Live News Feed and Updates?) Imagine trying to synch it all. Fail.
But…
Can’t cut out work, got to pay the bills.
Can’t cut out school because I’m trying to learn and give myself every advantage. (This is partly fueled by my futile efforts to freelance. My naitivity thought with my experience it would be easy. Wrong.)
Can’t cut out magazine stuff because we are so close and that’s my baby. Although some days I think it may catch a case of the SIDS.
Can’t cut out the girl cuz that’s my heart and future wifey.
Can’t cut out my peoples, even though they are already sending out search teams for me I been so MIA, because that’s my team.
So what do I want to do? I want to read more. I am sick of the horrifical communication law textbook. I have a laundry list of books I want to get to. I want to write more. A lot more. Freelance, fiction, creative non-fiction. All the above. I am sick of reading about writing, thinking about writing, talking about writing, blogging about writing, reading about those who write, and not fucking writing. I want to paint more. I want to get to the gym more. (This isn’t one of those making an excuse things. When I had more time I was going. But for the past month it hasn’t really fit in the schedule.) But realtalk? Some days by the time I get home I got nothing left in me. It’s not a discipline thing, it’s a lack of energy thing. I want to turn on the TV and zone the fuck out.
I said it before and I will say it again. I am still waiting for Google to invent a 26 or 28 hour day.
It took me two days to post this.
Tags: books, Facebook, Foundation magazine, freelance, George Miller, LinkedIn, magazine, MySpace, PhIJI, reading, recovery, time, twitter, work, writing
There goes Urb now…
Oct 4, 2009 etc.
URB Magazine Is Taking A Hiatus (Not a Nap)
Dear friends, readers and clients,
In 19 years, URB has ridden the highs and lows of the print media industry. And through all of it, we have had a lot of fun staying independent and committed to our audience and brand. But no sea change has been as dramatic and as profound as what has occurred in the past 18 months. To simply blame the prevailing conditions on the financial markets is only partially accurate. We’re experiencing an incredible and sweeping shift in consumption and media habits worldwide, especially in the magazine market. It’s affecting giant publishers like Condé Nast as well as niche publishers like us.
For these are other reasons (read on), effective after Issue 158 (Summer 2009), we have decided to take a hiatus from the print edition of URB so that we can evaluate the landscape, relaunch URB.COM and decide where we fit in the new, new legacy media ecosystem. But before you file us away in the dead tree pile of deceased brands, we’re not troubled by this move (OK, we shed a tear or two). In fact, we’re excited by this challange. We think that with the dramatic democratization of the Web (for suppliers and consumers), there are opportunities we could have only dreamed about as URB was forming in 1990. As a matter of fact, if there was a World Wide Web in 1990, we probably wouldn’t have printed URB in the first place. Today, we are already immersed in this digital arena and look forward to going much deeper (Have you followed us on Twitter yet @urbmag?). Despite the economy, this is actually a truly great time to be in media.
In the immediate and interim, URB will produce digital editions (Check out this year’s Next 100 issue at: www.urb.com/15thNext100), our next one due out in mid-October. We’d love to discuss having your brand involved and explain how our social media distribution model, audience projections and value ads can make a great package that is a real recession rate value. Also, in October, we will be launching the all new URB.COM. And we promise this will be more than a routine facelift. We are rebuilding the entire structure, user interface and content management of the site. We have truly embraced the Web 2.0 (um, 3.0?) world and are thrilled at the prospects of our new site. We’d love to have you be a part of it.
We also have several new initiatives in the works, from events, custom publishing, our expanding interactive and social media network. We see this new economy as an opportunity to diversify and return to some of the original inspiration that started us off almost two decades ago. We’ll be in touch to share more but wanted you to be the first to know.
Thanks for everything.
Warmly,
Raymond Leon Roker
Co-Founder and PublisherP.S. We’ll be celebrating URB’s 20th year in 2010 with a number of special events, partnerships and announcements. I hope to be working with many of you as we plan our year.
