What I See - February⁰⁸ by D2Nott

Sorry to keep you waiting. I've been a little busy, but excuses are like rap albums these days, everybody has one. Going at this hustling thing everyday has its ups and downs. Now its time to celebrate! Its 2008 and still breathing, so I must be here for a reason.

With all that was accomplished last year meaning nothing, this year can only be better. Staying creative in an unoriginal environment is harder then ever. Still working and going to school, all while trying to stay myself. It's a hard job, but I guess I am the one to do it. Music is the common denominator. Listening to some of the feedback and criticism I have received for my writing I still don't know what to tell you. It's a new year so maybe I should take more risks and try to enter with boldness; the timid tend not to get respect.

Talib Kweli - Get By

We keeping it gangster say
"fo shizzle", "fo sheezy" and "stayin crunk"
Its easy to pull a breezy,
smoke trees, and we stay drunk
Yo, our activism attackin the system,
the blacks and latins in prison
Numbers of prison they victim black in the vision
Shit and all they got is rappin to listen to
I let them know we missin you,
the love is unconditional
Even when the condition is critical,
when the livin is miserable
Your position is pivotal,
I ain't bullshittin you
Now, why would I lie? Just to get by?
Just to get by, we get fly
The TV got us reachin for stars
Not the ones between Venus and Mars,
the ones that be readin for parts

Where to now? Its tax return time and means many new opportunities. Knowing that life is what you make it and the only constant in life is change. Knowing that I have to step up but not knowing how to go about it is only a small piece of the puzzle. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up, without looking at the big picture to see that you are doing better than ever before. Continuous hard work and effort cannot go unnoticed for long. The public's attention is always shifting and is somewhat unpredictable with comedy and drama selling now more than ever. A voice echoes from the background saying tell them what they want to hear.

Az, Shawty Lo, B.G., Pastor Troy, Jim Jones, Cheri Dennis, Erykah Badu, Mac Dre, Dead Prez, Kool G Rap, Lauryn Hill, Trina, Havoc, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne and even Notorious B.I.G. are all set to release albums soon. This year's One Stop Shop producer's conference was scheduled to take place March 8 and 9 in Phoenix, AZ, featuring top industry professionals, platinum track-making producers, and new technology trends from companies like Microsoft, M Audio, and Traxxpad.

Let me run through the highlights for the uninformed.  Note that there is not much to do in Tallahassee, but Florida seems to be a hot spot for visitors.  Amazing what a trip to Miami will do for your wits and swag. Hip-hop lives on, like it or not.

It is not hard to tell and shouldn't be a surprise to see how hip-hop shapes lives, communities and society so much that now Senator Barack Obama is interested in utilizing rappers to educate youth with Hip-Hop.  While the possibilities are endless, Obama said that he still remains disturbed at some of the harsh images represented in Hip-Hop music.

Cleveland Hip-Hop group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony recently recorded the "The Negro Leagues Anthem," the official anthem sanctioned by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. According to MLB.com, NLBM Marketing Director Bob Kendrick selected the track as he was assembling a compilation CD about "black baseball," which is being produced to raise funds for the museum.

Rock n Roll Hall of Fame inductees Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and rapper LL Cool J will be among those featured in a new Smithsonian exhibition on Hip-Hop culture launching in February.  The exhibit, titled Recognize, is the first exhibition at the Smithsonian to examine the influence of Hip-Hop music and style on American culture. Photographs by David Scheinbaum will be displayed at the event, as well as paintings by Kehinde Wiley, video self-portraits by Jefferson Pinder and several works commissioned specifically for the show, which showcase Hip-Hop as a cultural phenomenon.

Three young break-dancers influenced by the current state of Hip-Hop founded Eta Iota Rho, also known as HIP. For the first time in Hip-Hop history, a college fraternity is dedicating itself to Hip-Hop, and in the process they are becoming the first Hip-Hop fraternity in existence.

A little off schedule, as I am still recovering, but ready for black history month even though we make it everyday. They say if you don't know your past you are doomed to repeat it.  Always moving forward not having much time to dwell on the past anymore. Just as on this website, trying to stay creative and original all the while relevant. Guess you could say I have to pave a new way.

Is money that hard to come by people selling they body and selling out for fiat currency?  Living better than ever with deals on the table still wanting more and more striving for perfection.