Entry 22..

"Do you agree? Been a long time coming this thing between you & me.." - Cole

Now this right here is not a preview..... My bad, that's just flowing right now.. But ummmm what it do? what it be? who is he? He is I & I am him, slim with the low brim.. Been a min as usual, but we gon go head and drop a little something..

Catch up real brief.. Back on the Left Coast, got a lil cold on your boy in the Sota.. Still coaching, tryna move up like the Jeffersons.. Steady grinding as usual.. That about sums it up tho..

I've been itching to do album reviews for the longest but never sat down and did it cept that half joint with WTT but I've conjured up enough 'want' to start laying em down.. So excuse me for my lateness on a couple of these but it's music I felt I should touch on..

This year is crazy with music, prolly the most anticipated music and most music period to ever drop in one year.. Cole, Ye, Jay, JT (twice), Em (outta nowhere), Drake, Mac Miller, I'll even throw Kendrick and Miguel in their too.. I'm sure I missed a few.. Oh Pusha T.. But thats a few that come to mind..

Gonna start with this Drake album since it's fairly 'recent'.. (Starts Nothing was the Same).. PSA: I like Drake music, I got his whole catalog.. Gets too soft with the singing too much and the try to act gangsta is a lil overboard.. But here you go..

1) Tuscan Leather : I really like this beat in the beginning.. Kinda sets the mood for you, smooth it out.. Drake flowing for the most part too.. Then this happens... "Dont get sent for, get hyped and hop on tracks and get in front of a bullet you wasn't meant for.." Drake you not tough dude, your "goonies" aint boutta shoot nobody.. Relax.. Beat gets kinda tough at the 2 min mark.. Then we drop into a part 2 of the "intro", umm too much time on the intro to answer your question.. Overall tho, I don't hate the track, no singing and only one I think I'm a gangsta line.. Solid..

2) Furthest Thing : This song sounds like it could be an extension of the first track making this the longest intro ever.. Beat comes in kinda nice tho, them drum kicks get the nod.. Guess this song is about not being perfect.. The 2nd part of this song tho is what we need to hear!!! Need an entire track like this half cuz.. I kinda fell asleep after the first part but this woke me up.. Looks like another Drake album track that gets skipped to the 2nd half..

3) Started From The Bottom : Something like the summer anthem.. Beat retarded.. I could care less bout the lyrics, they whatever but this cut you can rock to, understandable for a single..

4) Wu-Tang Forever : Now I don't know what dude was tryna do with this one.. I seen somewhere that supposedly he raps like some members of the Wu-Tang group over this one.. I aint hear it.. But the beat is dope.. That "Its Yours" is catchy til he says it like 5 times in a row, now I done caught it too many times.. 75% this gets skipped..

5) Own It : So this is like a part 2 to the previous song? Like the r&b cover of it? That's what it seems like.. PartyNextDoor on the background vocals.. The beat is cold tho, one of them young college parties where the lights out and its like 5 chairs with cats getting lap dances ahaha.. But I'm coo with this lil singy track.. First one so far, so can't be too mad..

6) Worst Behaviour : Behavior is spelled wrong.. That's the first thing that I notice.. I aint initially like this song but I heard it at Playhouse and the whole place went bananas.. Def has the ability to knock.. But I aint in the club right now, so ummmm, I aint feelin it.. Meek need to go head and scream on this one, sounds like his type of track.. Someone count how many times he says Mffff, never loved us, worst behavior.. That's all I hear.. Not a fan..

7) From Time : Smoooooootthhhhhh.. 2 step with me.. Jhene Aiko blessed the H outta this.. I don't understand why people don't just get people who can actually sing to do they hooks instead of trying to do em theyself.. I don't have no complaints on this one.. Aiko sets the bar too high from the beginning, and Drake goes ahead and lets loose.. Wait, wait, wait.....Is Drake name dropping real life girls in this second verse?!?! Hahah how you fall in love so much bruh? Relax.. Luckily Jhene takes the wheel again and puts this track back into it's lane.. I mess with it..

8) Hold On, We're Going Home : 2 in a row? Yes.. This song tight.. It's different, nothing really like it on the radio.. Kinda seem like a song Kanye would've done in some autotune.. I don't think I've ran into one person that doesn't like this song.. I'd say good shi Drake.. Shout out to Majid Jordan too on the backgrounds, that's like the best part of the song..

Oooooo, but what is he doing in the video?

9) Connect : I don't like it.. It just seems confused.. All over the place.. Think he telling some story at the end.. 100% skip.. Yall can keep posting "Just swanging" all yall want.. I'm nodding off on this one..

10) The Language : I digs this one tho... Beat solid but the flow is ill.. Like that Versace joint, and the hook kinda dope.. "Girl that's all that we do".. Iight Drizzy you got my ear now after this one..

11) 305 To My City : And then this comes on.. I hear Trey Songz.. I hate this song.. Or intro or interlude or whatever this crap is.. Skip 100%..

12) Too Much : First time I heard this was live and that guy Sampha basically made the song.. Guess Drake kinda digging deep on this one, exposing a lil more than just relationship stuff but some Fam stuff in this one.. I dig it, but honestly cuz of Sampha.. Overshadowed on the hook pt 2..

13) Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2 : Probably the most anticipated  track on the album.. The beat is stupid, automatic nodder.. Tryna hear like 10 rappers over this.... But this the Drake I like to hear, when he just rapping.. "I'm authentic, real name, no gimmicks, no game, no scrimmage, I aint playing with you n****s at all"... Oooooo.. People knocked Hov 2nd verse but I low key dig it.. Overall tho I mess with this one, heavy.. Now Paris Morton Music 2 on the other hand.... Naaaa, I'm expecting something like the first  PMM man.. That was one for the record books.. Should've named this one something else, it might've been tight.. But the beat coo, flow decent.. It's not bad..

14) Come Thru : I seen someone say this was like the ultimate simp song or something.. Whatever it may be, I mess with it.. Low key heavy.. The verses iight but that "Come Thru" too smooth, and PartyNextDoor making some noise too.. That lil breakdown roun the bridge time is illlll.. Swine flu.. Back to college parties with the lights off.. I digs it..

15) All Me : This joint been tight.. Another lil anthem type of cut.. Big Sean verse tight mainly cuz of his intro.. I could walk around and say that all day.. Hahah.. Drake verse tight and surprisingly I can listen to 2 Chainz verse.. This that sauce, this that dressing..

Well there you have it.. That's my breakdown of Drake - Nothing was the Same album.. It's some really terrible tracks on here but some real coo ones, overall tho it's nothing to go crazy over.. Throw a 7.5 out of 10 on this one.. Can play the whole thing without throwing your computer..

I'll try and get to a few more albums this week.. Throw me some suggestions.. Always appreciate the comments, tweets, chats etc.. Gotta grab me some food..

Tracks I'm spinning back: Eminem - Stronger Than I Was, J. Cole - Born Sinner..

Til then, it's now..

Peace, 1 Love & LYF..

D.No..

Entry 21

"Bless homie, we breathing.." - Cole

About a week or so ago, around midnight I was up, staring at this computer screen for about 20 mins and couldn't write anything.. So I had to leave it, couldn't force it.. Lo & behold I found some direction for a post on the comeback.. So here we are, been a while but let's do what we do..

I feel like I'm back in high school essay writing days with this one.. Member how you could start an introduction with a fact, story, quote etc.. I choose story with this one, but gonna intro into it..

I know it's been a while, but I've been substitute teaching for several months now, k-12.. It's interesting stuff man to say the least.. But that stories for another day.. This story is for today..

I picked up a half day shift yesterday for a PE class (out here they call it Phy Ed and it irks me!!!). So I get to the school and the guy I'm subbing for is there still and is going to give me the walk through and what-not.. So we get into the gym and I hear some guy scream & I'm like shiiiiiiiiii, I know that type of scream.. It turns out, I'm subbing for what they call adaptive PE, which is PE for kids with disabilities.. Now if you know me, you know there's few things I'm afraid of.. One is for sure, mentally challenged people.. I just don't like the uncertainty of what they might do, you can't read them and I think that's what gets me.. Plus they strong as H.. Anyway, so I'm low key petrified but I can't show that, so I hold my own, f that (Pinky (Next Friday) voice). So Teach tells me I'll only have two classes, so I'm like coo I can handle this.. Self talk/motivation is the best way to do it.. So I get my first class at this high school and a girl name Alex and guy named Alan (looked dead on like Screech from Saved by the Bell, curly fro and all) are my first two to arrive.. I don't know what disorder they have or anything but Alan comes in and reads my badge and is like "Hi, David, I'm Alan... Not spelled the normal way with 2 L's and an E, and not 2 L's with an A, but A-L-A-N" Hahah, that was probably the dopest introduction I've heard in my life.. Fast forward a little bit, I have a total of 7 kids in my class, we stretch and play 'Baggel' I think it's called.. They are having the time of their life tho, like the craziest amount of excitement.. They just happy to be playing this game, and doing pretty good at it, I might add.. So the class ends or whatever and they all come up to me on their way out and say, "Thanks Mr. David".. I'm thinking I aint even did nothing..... So now I gotta get over to the middle school for my last class.. I get there and I've pretty much already had these kids in another class before while subbing at that school so I see familiar faces but no names associated.. This class has 4 kids and I decide to play some soccer with them.. One of the kids walks up to me like, "Hey Mr. David!" and gives me a high 5.. So we playing or whatever and one of the girls stops me and is like, "Hey did you sub for my sister yesterday at John Marshall? She says you were her sub before.. Her names Hannah" "Yes I did, I think I remember her" She's ecstatic and says "I'm gonna go home and tell her I saw you today and that you were my sub!!" Like me being her sub made her day, that was crazy to me.. But that was the icing on the cake of a lesson filled day for me.. I got the message.. What I should've said to the high school kids when they thanked me, was No, thank you.. Thank you for letting me see the beauty that which is life.. Thank you for reminding me of the Blessings that I have..

I just been seeing and hearing a lot of complaining from people man.. It gets tired.. Over little stuff.. Talking bout having bad days.. There aint no such thing as a bad day.. Shi happens, you alive, get over it.. Get better.. Do better.. Be better.. Be happy that you have what you do have.. I'm talking bout the simplest things tho.. Ability to stand on your own two, to use your full brain capacity, ability to breathe, walk, talk, see etc.. Everything else is a luxury.. We complain about our lacks of luxury while people in other countries don't even got healthy drinking water.. And we scoff at drinking tap water.. You know what these people would give for a running faucet in they towns? It's crazy to me.. I just had to get that weight up off my chest.. Bench Press.. I just Hope we get better as people man.. For reals..

Cuz seeing these kids on the daily is a constant reminder that we aint doing our job as an older generation.. These kids is on a whole nother level!! 6th graders cussing.. 8th graders talking bout smoking for 420.. College cats messing with high schoolers.. Shi is crazy!!! I just be hoping my Sis and Lil Bro don't fall down no wrong path.. And then the fear of what society gon be like when I have kids is unimaginable.. We gotta be better role models man.. We gotta let folks understand that we "Turnup" after we "Workup" meaning we working our asses off.. We have fun when it's time but other than that, we working!! Tryna get better, do better, be better..

I give it up to my Brother Ike.. He said f it, this is what I wanna do, and did it, and now he doing it.. That's mad inspiration.. Could've went the route most people take, which is go to school, get a degree, yada yada yada, but he opted out.. I aint saying that's what everyone should do, but I'm saying you should do what you want.. That's what it's about, making your own path.. I've finally had the opportunity to take my own advice and find my pen and draw up a path.. How can you complain when it's what you chose?

"And it's nobody fault, I made the decisions I made, this is the lyf I chose, or rather the lyf that chose me". Jay

We all here for a reason.. We aint have to wake up this morning.. But we did.. So we gotta make the best outta this next 24, or however long we got.. The clock don't stop.. Game don't change, only the players do..

That'll have to suffice for this morning joint.. Burn slow.. For my Left Coasters, this an early read for you.. Enjoy this rare candy.. Back to subbing..

Miami coming soon.. Live Your Freedom coming soon.. Cali coming soon.. Summer gon be bananas..

Track(s) I'm spinning back: Jay-Z & Kanye - Welcome to the Jungle, Cole - 2 Face, Jay - Forever Young (Barclay Center performance f/ Beyonce), Cole - Cole Summer, Unabomber..

Til then it is, as always.....

Peace, Love & Soul..

1..

D.No..

Entry 20..

"I see my old self and wonder if we still see alike, we was tight, seeing light, speaking right and breathing lyf" - Lupe Fiasco..

I miss it.. The whole thing.. The late nights, the early mornings.. The good, the bad.. The sad, the glad.. The lessons.. The assurance.. The fun.. The hurt.. The failures.. The successes.. The wins and the losses.. Though I never lost sight of you.. The staying late just to get more time with you.. Cuz very few people or things could bring out this kind of happiness.. I miss that.. The moments that seemed to last forever that only lasted a few minutes or a couple hours.. The times it felt like it was all over but somehow was able to keep clocking.. To keep working, to keep pushing, to a seemingly impossible feat of perfection.. Impossible as it might've seemed, there was never a reason not to strive for it.. I miss that.. The places we went, the people we met, the memories we made.. The snapshots we can hold for a lifetime.. I miss all that.. The pain.. The strain.. The racking of the brain.. Just to understand how to fully understand you.. How to treat you right and get the best out of you.. While giving you the best of me.. Though I'll admit, I wasn't always the best I could be.. But somehow you accepted me for who I was & never neglected me for who I would become.. I miss that..The dedication.. The time spent.. The opportunities.. The drive that was instilled from nowhere or nobody else but thy inner Soul.. The Heart that one might not even had known was inside that would manifest itself in various forms when put to the test.. I miss that.. Knowing I took it for granted more than I appreciated it.. But that's a lesson, & for that I'm thankful.. When it was just us for hours of the day.. Music, you & me.. Getting lost in the Love.. So many claim it, yet I still felt it to be solely mine.. Selfish without question.. Hours put in on end for a glimpse of perfection.. I miss that.. So much now that the thought is crossing to pick it back up again.. To go ahead and make that call.. Passion too strong to let it just die.. At least should give it a try.. Right?.. I mean they say follow your Dreams.. So what it mean when all my Dreams are of you? Ball's in my court, in my hands.. It's been in the plans so may as well take the shot.. Just gotta be sure to follow through..

I'm back..

Track I'm spinning back: (Double Shot) Lupe Fiasco - Letting Go & Skyzoo - Dear Whoever..

Til then it's as always,

Peace, Love & Soul..

1..

D.No..

Entry 19..

 "Cooking Food for Thought, open your mouth wide" - Naledge..

A rant that was generated by an earlier conversation regarding the mind set or state of my generation.. Pardon the sporadic-ness, but I let it flow on Twit.. But felt it was something I could share with more people on here, so I cut and paste.. Enjoy..

Talk is so cheap, but I really can't afford it..

If a guy even approaches a girl these days and she's not interested or they just don't click.. He is then referred to as "thirsty" 

While a female isn't allowed to approach a guy that they may be interested in, cuz they might look "desperate" or "thirsty"  

So what we have here is a bunch of "thirsty" people, talking about their swag and getting tattoos..

And that is why there aren't very many relationships in the age range of about 20-25..

Reality shows, rap music, magazines and media in general has basically corrupted this generation..

People would rather party and club 5 days outta the week, than to spend 4 days out the week in school gaining knowledge..

People would rather think about they next tattoo or what they doing this weekend, than to contemplate where they wanna be 2 years from now..

Would rather read Tweets from celebrities than read Novels..

And it's somewhat not even our fault.. A lot of this is pop culture.. It's force fed to us.. But us as humans, have the ability to reason..

Which means, we should be able to decipher the information we gain and analyze what is healthy and what to throw out..

And we also live in a culture that puts a lot of emphasis on the now and present.. Short-term thinking.. We never really look ahead..

You can't get to the future without going through the present.. Simple as that.. So why not pave a road to success in a few years?

It's honestly a sad sight to see.. I know it's impossible to help everyone, but when you see so many people in your age group headed nowhere

It's like DAMN, I know I can do something..

It's so many people living a life that aint even theirs.. Just doing all these things because other people are doing it and what not..

I know most everyone knows at least one person like that.. That is all about the latest fads.. Seem to not even have a mind of their own..

Now I aint saying I'm Mr. Perfect and stuff.. I'm just voicing my opinion on some stuff that I see through my eyes.. My minds interpretation

All of this spurred from a convo me and my cuz @eperry88 had.. Just the mindstate of our generation is terrible.. Straight up..

You can take heed or remain a sheep.. I just had to speak..

People say they wanna change the world, but that aint an easy feat.. I wanna make a dent big enough in society to force some change..

Change is required for growth.. So let us grow.. As a generation, a society and as people in general..

Start your own trends.. Create your own style.. Do your own thing..

People in front have paved the way.. Don't mean you have to follow their steps.. Make your own path, but pick up some knowledge on the way..

See what obstacles they ran into, some counters to those.. Seek advice..

Just a young man, with an old mind.. Letting it flow.. Food 4 Thought.. Eat up..

Track I'm feeling: Justin Timberlake - Never Again.. Babyface on the production.. Blue Magic..

Til then it's always, 

Peace, Love & Soul..

1..

D.No..

Entry 18..

"This aint a pen it's a paintbrush, and I intend to rearrange how they paint us" - Lupe..

Whooop!!! Motivated just from being broke.. Whooop!!! Had a Dream like Martin Luther, little bit of Hope.. Took a minute for the Kelly Ro to transpire (Motivation (you know since she had a song called Motivation, and me saying Kelly Ro......nevermind)), but regardless, we back.. Rather me back, or he back.. You get the deal..

Where to even begin tho? I left off on some random stuff so I guess we can keep it going in that direction and just rap.. Think I'll finish this Watch the Throne review tho.. (I don't care if it's outdated in the music world, it's a classic album and I said I'd do it).. Man of my Word.. But anyway, here we go..

Schoo and Hoop, schoo and Hoop.. Pulled a solid 3 0 in the Fall Quarter, decent work, straight B's cross the board with no books.. I'm decent.. Cuz on break for this last week before Winter starts on this coming Monday, and I'm coo with that.. Finna graduate this year so I aint even trippin G.. Pretty hyped about getting this degree tho.. Kind of a big deal for an African American to get his Bachelor's these days, so I'm gon rep for us.. Hahaha.. But on the Hoop side of things, besides the little break, the kid been staying in shape you know, still pushing for this overseas once school out.. That's the plan, ya deeg.. Helping to assist with the coaching over at Cal State LA and that's an interested position to be in.. Super frustrated would be the best way to describe it.. I be wanting to just hop on the court myself and do something.. But overall a good, rather great, learning experience.. Learning a lot bout the game, from these coaches, and critiquing players on the court.. Still got the Hunger to win every game, low key be waking up hyped on Game Days like I'm playing or something, ahahaha.. Fast forward tho, just went into Diary mode.. My bad..

In other news, 2012 is here and in full effect.. Brought in the New Year pretty decently, on a pretty random push to Vegas New Years Eve night.. Shouts to all my peoples who was out there.. Drew, Ike, DT, B.Lin, Nikki Z, Reesh, Marcella etc.. Vegas was cooo, I low key think I wasn't really feeling it for some reason.. But it was a solid night, for sure.. And we will be back, cuz I gotta gamble.. Hahhaha.. Maybe that's why I wasn't that hyped, I usually leave with barely enough money to eat cuz I lose it all gambling.. Hahaha.. Guess that's a good thing to have money to eat tho.. Can't call it.. That was probably the quickest catch up, but it's basically where we at these days loc..

Oh yeh, seen Moms and Lil Bro Mally Maal in Vegas for Christmas too.. That was sweet.. Moms is always a joy to see, and Maal is ADD times 1000.. Jesus.. But he coo.. My lil mans, hunnid grands..

Sports Talk

My Clips got Chris Paul.. Oohp, let me make sure yall understand that I been riding with the Clipper Nation since forever, so don't try and call me a band-wagoner.. Ask about me and see if you aint heard.. Hahah.. But anyway, about this trade.. I didn't like the fact that we gave up our whole team for one player that wasn't named Shaquille Oneal, but it is what it is.. I really wanted to keep Gordon because he was our knock down shooter and cuz had GAME, period.. But the backcourt of Paul and Big Shot Billups is solid I'm seeing, because they can spell each other at the PG, and they both lock up on D, and Billups can hit that trey-ball.. The addition of Caron Butler is a solid one because he'll give us a decent defender on the wing for the elite guards of the L, and 10-15 points each night.. And our front court is easily the most exciting front court in the L.. No question.. Rhetorical style.. But umm, Blake Griffin dunks everything.. And DJ, well, dunks everything.. Hahaha.. With Chris Paul handling the pill, I can see why the "Lob City" would spur up.. But the Lob Angeles Clippers, yeh I said it, got some work to do.. Exciting to watch on O, but we still gon need to play D, and get one or two more pieces off the bench.. We need a veteran big to back up DJ and B.Griff.. Foye holds it down for the scoring along with Mo Williams off the bench so we shall see.. Normally someone would be like it's a long season, but being that it is 20% less games, we gon have to figure it out asap.. Oh and I will be at the OKC @ LAC game January 30th.. No question, you aint gotta A-S-K..

And speaking bout the lock out.. The players got absolutely nothing out of this, they settled on a 51-49 margin of pay or whatever you wanna call it.. And the average paycheck lost was 200 or 250k so they lost that, and now they gotta play way more games in such a short time.. That back to back to back thing has to be grueling for a 48 min game.. Shouldn't have locked out in the first place, or actually stayed locked out.. The owners are gonna be sitting on their almost billions of dollars regardless.. That's just the way the cookie crumbles.. Now if you wanna make mad money, own something.. But glad to have the NBA back, that's for sure G.. Life was extremely boring watching a Top10 in the Fall and Winter with nothing but Football and Hockey and.... well aint no other sports really.. Hahaha..

I am a St. Louis Cardinals fan.. And we won the World Series.. Now, I aint huge on watching baseball, but I've watched two World Series that I can remember, and ironically enough, both times my Cards won the whole thing.. See a pattern? I do.. But umm, this was, from what I was hearing, the most exciting World Series ever, and the kid was hyped every game.. David Freese came through a billion times, and Pujols did his thing for one game.. Think he hit like 3 homers, no Simpson, in one of those games.. But very intense series, good stuff, probably won over some new baseball fans, and that's good for the L.. Now how we win the whole thing and our best player leaves to a different team after tho? -_____-.. Really dude? Guess we just gon have to Papi (beat/smack) the Angels WITH Pujols.. Shoulder shrug..

NFL.. Well, my Rams suck.. That is all.. But, if we can get that WR from Oklahoma State, Blackmon?, we should be coo next year, but we shall see.. Glasses on.. Sidenote tho, my Texans headed to the playoffs, kinda, gotta win this Wild Card first with our starting QB Schaub and WR Andre Johnson both out.. But there's hope..

Hol up, let me shoot back to the NBA.. The Miami Heat, more specifically LeBron James, look like they out to win this whole thing.. Seriously.. They are going to be in the East Finals against DRose and the Bulls.. That will be an amazing series, I think Miami gon come out again tho, just cuz they got too much fire power.. Norris Cole their closer? Hahaha, maybe.. Out the West tho, I'm riding with KD and the Thunder to go up against, hopefully, my Clips.. Russ should have it together by then, but my Clips won't be fully meshed yet I don't think, so OKC should come out of the left coast, the best coast, which is the west coast..

Tunes

Well well well.. First off, musical taste, as any other taste, is completely opinionated, so don't be trippin if someone likes certain things or whatever.. Off my chest, like a bench press.. But umm, a boat load (really just used that?) of music has been circulating since my last entry.. To speak on all of it would take too long so I'm gon holla bout some things I like and the hypest (invented word) things.. The infamous Cole vs Drake is up first..

I've been listening to both for the same amount of time, and I ride with Cole the heaviest.. Drake got some cuts for sure, dude is niice, especially when he does the relationship raps, that's when he at his best.. Be singing a tab bit too much tho to be a rapper, but it's him.. Dude is seriously weird, I mean he is from Canada tho.. But Cole brings that hunger, every single time.. His album is ill to me.. Touches on so many subjects man, from the struggle, to making Dreams come true, abortion, cheating, relationships etc.. Favorite cuts off that, and a must on your playlist are, Breakdown, Dollar and a Dream III, Nothing Lasts Forever, Rise and Shine, Nobody's Perfect, Lost Ones, Lights Please.. Hahhaa darn near the whole album.. I really can't even skip a song on the album 'cept Work Out and Cole World.. Drake album is solid tho, real solid, can't stunt.. Too much singing tho, but smart move by following the formula of the first album.. Tracks on there I'm digging for sure are Shot For Me, Good Ones Go, Doing it Wrong, The Ride.. Sidenote: Drake's last like 6 bars of The Ride are incredible.. But overall, I f with Cole, no knock at yall, just my pick..

Giving Drake album an 8.. Digged the content for the most part, little too much singing, and a lot of the songs were pretty short with like 2 verses.. PS: Drakes best song ever is Club Paradise.. No question.. And that Motto joint rocks.. But neither was on the album..

Gotta give Cole a 9.. Some of the songs were old, and some of the bonus tracks should have been included in the final cut.. But a very good first album, with a lot of the production coming from Cole himself, so that's pretty cool.. To call it Classic tho? I might, ahahaha..

Wale dropped his album, Ambition, and it was pretty dope.. He still aint back to that old Wale that I was feeling a couple years ago.. If you don't know what I'm talking bout go get his Back to the Feature mixtape and peep it.. That's the Wale I like.. But the album was still coo, got some pretty coo cuts on there.. Favorites gotta be Illest B**** Alive, Legendary, Lotus Flower Bomb, Sabotage, Ambition.. Solid first album tho.. I'd give it a 7..

Never really listened to The Roots but their album Undun is incredible.. Amazing.. Sensational.. Hahaha, all that.. Give it a solid 9.. Real good production, and Black Thought has a smooth flow over smooth beats, you can't lose.. Features on the cd fit perfectly, and I barely know any of the people.. Favorite cut off their is Make My with Big Krit.. Uncut dope, Blue Magic..

Those are probably the albums that stood out the most to me.. But there's a couple albums I wanna put people on.. That Robin Thicke - Love After War, Tyrese - Open Invitation both are great R&B joints.. Robin Thicke songs I'm digging are I Don't Know How It Feels To Be U and Mission.. Ty got a joint called Takeover, niice.. Probably some more, but that's all off top..

Got some cuts that I done came across that are ill, but a little different.. John Mayer - Free Fallin, Gravity, (really his whole Continuum album) Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, James Morrison - Right by Your Side, I Won't Let You Go, Rascal Flatts with Natasha Bedingfield - Easy, Anthony Hamilton - Who's Loving You, Mayer Hawthorne - Get To Know You.. Low key a bunch of slow stuff, but ol well, that's mainly what I listen to anyway..

Common album is coo too, 5 or 6 really good songs on there.. Rest is solid, gotta give it another spin tho..

Lupe Fiasco - Lightwork, SLR, Joaquin Phoenix, Life Death and Love from San Francisco.. All off his Friend of the People tape.. All dope.. Different sound by Lu, I still needa spin it more to give it a rating tho..

Rant

Being that my hands hurt from typing this, I'll keep this short.. Just gon make a statement.. It's no point in being in a relationship with someone if you don't see yourself with that person in the future.. Why even waste time? So you can feel comfortable? Drake said it best, "We live in a generation of, not being in Love, and not being together, but we still make it feel like we're together, cuz we're scared to see each other with somebody else".. Haahha, I would use a Drake quote tho.. But anyway, even if the title aint there, people gon still act like the title there.. Sometimes I mean.. But to each it's own.. Just an opinion..

Wrap it Up


Can I say that this Summer of Hoop was exciting to watch with all these NBA players putting on shows across the country.. But that's it for now, even though it's a grip to read, read it chumps.. I know I slipped up and aint get to the WTT, but next Blog dedicated in full to that.. So hold tight, rollercoaster bars.. And trust I will be back on the blogs.. I mean it's a New Year -___-.. Hahahah..

Shouts to my peeps man.. E, P, Ike, Drew, Steve, NeLoc, Smit, B, G, Frankie..

Follow @dnorrisii dnorrisii.tumblr.com all that good stuff..

Track I'm spinning back: Phil Ade - Coming Home.. Real smooth..

Til then, it's always..

Peace, Love & Soul..

1..

D.No..

Entry 17..

"So much on my mind, I wonder how it fit in my brain" - J. Cole..

It's crazy.. Things like time, money, cancer, life, death, disease etc., affects us all the same no matter ones ethnicity, creed, religion, sex etc.. Yet, we as people decide to treat each other differently based on these factors, and it's pointless.. We're steady making things harder on ourselves as a people, not just a country, but a human race.. It's already hard to make it in society, so why make it more difficult by stepping on the next person working hard? Instead of using others as a step, how bout we all find the staircase and step together, or at least figure out a way to get to the next level, collectively.. It's a whole world to go around, a piece for everyone.. Grab yours..

RIP Steve Jobs..
RIP anyone who lost their lives today, period..
Prayers out to all friends and families of the deceased..

Lyf is rough.. But we in it for lyf, so live it right..

I heard someone say that death is all around us.. I said true, but so is lyf.. Don't forget that.. Endless cycle, vicious, but it's reality..

Good Music: John Mayer - Free Fallin' (Live)..

Til then it's

Peace, Love & Soul..

-1

-D.No..

Entry 16..

"Dark Knight feeling, die and be a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become a villian"  Jay-Z..

Man, I heard this line on the Kanye West's So Appalled (feat. JAY-Z, Pusha T, Prynce Cy Hi, Swizz Beatz & The RZA).. Song a little dated in this age of songs having about 2 days of lyf, but I had to bring it back.. Got a lil more insight into that guy.. Let's roll tho..

Seems like mad hate/shots been thrown at J lately especially with the release of Watch the Throne competing with the Carter IV as well as the addition of Weezy shot at Jay-Z.. People know this line is from the Dark Knight flick, that's obvious, but the spin J put on it was dope.. Basically saying he's torn between whether or not he should seriously retire (die and be a hero) or keep doing music (live long enough to see yourself become a villian)..

Seems like in order to be seen as the greatest/best/Hero/Legend you have to die or have a shorter career.. Seeing how Pac and Biggie are seen has Legends in the rap game with their early death.. Don't get it twisted they are for sure the two best to ever do it, but Jay is up there as well, as much as people hate to admit it, you gotta respect the fact that dude been doing this in the rap game for this long.. Not to mention his work outside rap with clothing, label, clubs etc.. But he's saying if I retire I'm gon be acknowledged as a Hero, or Legend..

On the flipside tho, the reality of the situation is that he aint retired.. So just like in the movie, the Dark Knight is seen as the villain at the end of the flick as J is saying that he will become cuz he's still rapping.. There's plenty of shots taken at dudes age.. I just got his whole catalog last night, and judging off the first half of Reasonable Doubt vs Watch the Throne tunes, all I see is growth, a grip of growth.. He's a good rapper, period.. I mean, why would you stop if you getting better and making more money?.. But, he's seen as a villain in that he's going to get hated on by more and more people the longer he stays in the game..

Now, I aint like a sponsor of Jay-Z or nothing, I'm just throwing out my opinion of what I get from this line.. That's what makes a good rapper to me, someone who can drop one or two bars, that can lead on to a full discussion..

Just a quick little run.. Tumblr rockin now, follow up at dnorrisii.tumblr.com.. Will return the favor..

Track I'm Spinning Back: Josh Lehman, Daniel de Bourg and Jeremy Passion - Trust Issues (Cover).. Smooth cut right there man.. Straight up..

Have a Blessed off day folks.. Til then, it's always..

Peace, Love & Soul..

1..

-D.No.