It's Been a Minute, no?

According to my blogger archive, the consistency of my posts has, between January and February, dropped significantly. I went from nearly a post a day in the beginning of the year to a single post this month - and that was just an embedded video. This doesn't, however, mirror any inactivity in my life, but indicates such movement that I haven't found significant time to dedicate to the maintenance of my blog. Contrarily, this post does not indicate a lack of imperative for as we speak I am in preparation for an impending performance, imminent studio time, unending marketing and networking AND I still haven't found a job.

But my blog is important to me and I hate to neglect it and its supporters.

So we'll pick up where we left off.
One of the biggest moves since my last few posts was the addition of Speak Up to my growing library of original songs. Speak Up is the second single from the Unsung mixtape set for release at the end of March. The funny thing about Speak Up is, it was never intended to be released as a single. In fact, I'd initially envisioned it as a sleeper track - a gem for devoted fans and supporters, originally not intended to see much exposure, however I wasn't receiving much production cooperation with the intended second single. Additionally, the increased demand for another track, because of the naturally short-lived window of relevance in contemporary music, impelled to make a move rather than wait on what I wanted - and although my next logical release was The Resistance - an introductory track to THE MOVEMENT, Speak Up was written and its accompanying instrumental was done.



So there I was, balls deep, facing the potential of losing steam with each passing day. I had no money, no sessions booked and the promises of an even better next single - Speak Up was forced to suit up. I began the process of laying down what I went in thinking were rough-draft vocals in my dorm room. There I stood, garageband running on my macbook, using the laptop's built-in mic for vocals and my roommate's girlfriend's earbuds so the track wouldn't be picked up externally. And on February 13, 2011, roughly around 10pm, I stood in my room and listened to this rough draft - my roommate, Cliff, now in attendance - I listened to the rough-draft of my next single from beginning to end.

And it was the most amazing thing I had ever put my heart into.

At that moment, Speak Up was no longer a rough-draft thrown together in haste on my laptop in my dormroom - instead, it almost instantly became my greatest work, the second Bornfree single and the perfect follow-up for Heart.

You can read more about Speak Up in the coming "Behind The Lines" post.

Since then, Speak Up has racked up over 450 plays on soundcloud, the majority of which was done within the first 120 hours of its release. For the time being, Speak Up represents the pinnacle of my work, which isn't saying much, I guess - considering I only have two tracks out anyway - but still, it represents that I have intentions to only take my music higher and greater with each release.



As a result, I was granted the opportunity to perform Speak Up live at the University of North Texas's NAACP/ABSE/CoBO Tribute to Blacks in the Arts. Monday, February 28 (the LAST day of Black History Month, smh), I performed my second single live for the first time and despite the small crowd of mostly my supporters, I couldn't imagine it going any better. It felt really good to be on the stage again and having the people who have been supporting me the strongest in attendance finally able to witness Bornfree in his natural environment. There's currently a video up on youtube, recorded by my boy, Jose, but the official video will be available in a little less than a week, I'm sure.



In fact, the performance couldn't have come at a better time. It was only a couple days before, the Saturday preceding the program, I took my DJ friend, DJ MADD of KNON 89.3, a respiratory therapist at Baylor Hospital by day and one of Dallas's most premier Hip-Hop DJ's by night, up on an offer he'd extended me earlier in the week to MC a wedding reception alongside him. So Saturday afternoon, I held down the mic as he ripped the tables for a bunch of cigar-smoking, timeshare-owning, cap'n crunch and disney princess dressed ass white folks at TWU here in Denton and we rocked it. Though it's significantly more difficult - in my experience, at least - to motivate middle-aged white people to party, we received affirmations after the reception that they'd enjoyed our contribution to the ceremony. That night, shortly after breaking me off the coolest $75 I ever made, MADD offered me a job as his permanent MC - allowing me to escape plain ass Denton every weekend or so for the vibrant and more favorable Dallas contemporary Hip-hop club scene. I agreed and he assured me that I'd be hearing from him regarding the next show real soon.

I haven't had this much good news to share in a minute, and it only gets better from here.


In other news, yesterday, I officially added another producer to my roster of track credits for my upcoming mixtape, Unsung. Devin Canady (http://bit.ly/hrWyAC) of Krunchtastik Beats will be producing May This Feeling Last Forever - a celebratory tribute to my mother's contribution to my successes and triumphs. I have no doubt that his particular take on the concept of the song will create a beautiful track that both I and my mother would approve of. His sounds can be found on Soundclick.com (http://bit.ly/gKsbiw).

In addition to all of this, I was also contacted by Caroline Gates, a friend of mine who shares many similar views and visions of society as I, about contributing to a track for her experimental group, LongLiveLunacy (http://bit.ly/g7VdJh). I was honored that she'd even consider collaborating with me and the track she made to accompany our song - OH MAH GAWD! It's a beast. I spent a good four or five days writing and mastering my contribution to the song and though I sense a little impatience growing between the two of us, I am certain that this duo is well worth the wait. I commenced my first verse before the wedding Saturday and depending on what direction Ms. Gates intends to take the song, I may even have another to compose.The song is entitled Conceived In Greatness and I've decided to forgo adding it to my mixtape lest I release a special edition alongside the free download of Unsung once it drops.



This track, much like Do Work: a compilation I'm set to record with Kane Jetson (http://bit.ly/g7VdJh), Shoulders of Giants: a duo with Bobby Sessions (http://bit.ly/eFvxqN) and Mr. Me Too: a track I have with them both is among the many features I plan to hopefully do in the near future in an attempt to raise not only the public perception of myself but other quality local artists as well. I'll be showing them a lot more love in future posts because we're all in this together. If Dallas/DFW/North Texas artists combine our talents collectively, require more from ourselves individually and seek to actively support our fellow artists, we can usher in a new era of independent music here - one that seeks to enlighten our supporters, promote a higher standard of quality from our region of music entertainment and grant Dallas and its surrounding areas the respect it deserves on a national stage.

Granted, these dreams are huge and maybe I'm expecting a lot from a little. But I believe in me and the artists and individuals I vouch for. A step at a time and we'll all make it.

Speaking of which, I'm not the only one with good news. Special shout out Bobby Sessions for linking up with Fly Times Ent. I'm scheduled to see them, upon his request, to rerecord Speak Up as well as lay down Shoulders and Mr. Me Too with KaneJetson. In the meantime, he's managed to make some major moves with the team, including this:



So here we are tonight, I just got off the phone with Hip-hop legend DJ EZ Eddie D of 89.3 fm KNON here in Dallas. Homeboy has the second-longest running Hip-hop show in America and is facing losing his show because it's publicly funded. We're facing losing one of the most historical pillars of not only Dallas Hip-hop but Hip-hop as a whole. Knowing this, that the DJ I've known since before I'd learned to love Hip-hop, I contacted him and after a long, much-needed conversation affirming that my mission in music is justified, Sir Eddie D agreed to give my cuts a listen and inform me of any upcoming shows or events that I could contribute my craft to. Just as I witnessed my dad years ago handing his demo tape - back when mixtapes were actually TAPES, I've done the same - I've put my music into the hands of one of the most prolific figures in Hip-hop culture and, at this point, can only hope for his approval and wait patiently as the hours age into days.

Ultimately, I guess this update was intended to ensure both my friends and supporters that I'm still making moves, things are going great and hopefully the Resistance continues to grow. Stay tuned to both my Twitter (http://bit.ly/fCw30I) and Facebook page (http://on.fb.me/gjV73l) for updates and exclusives! Until next time, BE INSPIRED!