Whats goin on world! Im back with another blog entry. I received a lot of good feedback on the last Fan Etiquette blog plus I think I mightve chased away about 20 fans of my own. This time Im not shooting for any particular subject since this has been one of those weeks where bad news follows good news and good news is followed by bad news. I guess Im taking the journal approach this week. Okay here we go
Well first off, this isnt a name-dropping contest or a cheap attempt at winning over some credibility. This is just me being obliged and appreciative of receiving praise from people who have always respected. I think I experienced one of the best moments of my career recently when I was tuned in to DJ Premiers radio show on Sirius and unexpectedly he played the Marco Polo/Supa joint*record screeches* I damn near jumped up and down like a hyperactive 3 year old when I heard Primo play the record and introduce it (check my myspace page for the audio). Respect to my boy Prince Ali for providing the mp3 of it. Now Im one of the biggest Premier fans out there so to even be mentioned and played on the air by him is an honor within itself. Im just grateful to get support from some of the more established artists in the game because I damn sure dont get much support in NC (then again who really does?). This past year has been incredible for me honestly. Ive performed in over 13 countries and been on 4 tours overseas (mostly ones that I headlined) in one year!!! I remember performing in Aarhus, Denmark at a huge festival and then walking off the stage to see J-Ro (from Tha Liks) quoting my lines. Even better is when I returned to Denmark again to perform a few months later, he came out to the event just to support and show love.
Another moment was being interviewed on Spitkicker Radio by Heather B (allglocksDOWN!!!) and Mr Walt of the Beatminerz on XM Radio. I was sitting there in shock during the interview because 2 people that I grew up listening to were now interviewing me and they actually knew about my career and accomplishments. Then, hearing cats like Evil Dee, Rhettmatic, and Evidence saying that they are fans of my music it makes it all worthwhile. A few years back, I remember getting that phonecall from ?uestlove about performing onstage during their set in Charlotte during the Okayplayer tour. For all those of you out there who have always gotten dissed, slept on, and fronted on thats an example of persistence paying off. How many people can honestly say that they performed onstage with The Roots at their first Roots show??? Yet it is a VERY humbling experience to headline a European tour and then come home one week later for them to give you the 8:30 treatment at a show. But you know what I can live with that and sleep at night knowing that. Im grateful to be acknowledged by those who enjoy my music and I dont focus on the rest.
Just as I was rejoicing hearing about the Primo thing, I got an email from DJ Pos2 (out of Columbus, Ohio). He hit me with the shocking news that my homie DJ PRZM had just passed away. Damn yo he was one of the realest dudes out there. I originally met Chris (PRZM) when he was on tour with Blueprint and Illogic during their Charlotte date. I hit him with a CD and we kept in touch always discussing possible shows and collaborations. A few months later, PRZM booked me for a show in Columbus @ Bernies (man it was grimey as hell but the crowd was dope as hell!). I remember me and my cousin were supposed to rent a car the day of the show to drive to Columbus but something happened with his credit card and we couldnt rent the car. I called up PRZM all frustrated to tell him the bad news that I wasnt gonna make it to the show and he calmly replied, nah dont worry were gonna get you here some way, somehow. Let me try to work some things out. After we unsuccessfully attempted to find last minute flights, needless to say I was on a Greyhound to Columbus! PRZM promised me that it would be well worth the trip if I did the show. The crowd at Bernies showed love and they appreciated lyrics unlike alot of other spots Ive been to. He introduced me to his Spitball fam as well as Copywrite who also performed at the show that night. Since I had a full day before I left, we decided to work on some music. In one day we knocked out 3 songs (1 for his project, 2 for my album). For the record, DJ PRZM was one of the first producers that I worked with on Chain Letters. We recorded one song which was actually entitled Chain Letters and another song which later became Step It Up. The studio session lasted all the way up until it was time for me to leave for my trip back to Charlotte.
Unfortunately, I didnt even have a chance to get a mixdown of the songs but I remember them being so fucking dope! Thats all I could think about on the way home. PRZM was supposed to lay down scratches on both of them and then send them to me later. I guess we both got caught up with life and our own schedules and I could never get those versions of the songs. I couldnt afford to wait any longer (the album deadline was approaching) for the mixes so I had to re-record Step It Up to the M-phazes beat and record a whole new album intro altogether. We always had that certain mutual respect for each other and he was a friend and a big supporter of my music. You can ask any of my friends and people who know me, I can go months without speaking to anyone sometimes. Its not because Im arrogant or they have done something wrong, Im just a person who operates better away from everyone. I knew Chris had moved to Cali in hopes of receiving a heart transplant. We spoke through emails from time to time and it was all love. It was one of those things where you always think man I need to reach out to so & so to see how he has been but you just get caught up in other shit. You just never know when someone is going to be taken away until its too late. I never got to make that call to PRZM and that was the last time we spoke to each other. I want to send my condolences to his family, friends, and everyone out there in the Columbus hip hop scene. His music and words touched a lot of people and he will be missed. On another note, Ive seen some disrespectful things said from some people on the internet but Ill say this disrespecting the death of someone and being sarcastic about it is seriously the lowest you can go as a person. For you to think that someones death isnt as important as another because of their level of success is just straight up ignorant. When someone close to you passes away one day (and I will never wish death on nobody at all), hopefully you will understand how serious it is to some. Check out
On that note, I am out and Ill be back soon with another blog for yall.