Sleep evades me right now, so it proves prudent to get some marketing and digital upgrading done. Sometimes those early afternoon naps can cause insomnia. Reflecting on one's past can also shed the light on how to fool proof yourself from repeating the same mistakes. Over the last few decades, I've been fortunate enough to have the drive to start my own music industry. One that doesn't bend to the will of society's desire to absorb music that can be repetitively detrimental to your health. Sure, in my youth I was down with the sexualization, violence, partying and basic disregard for others as I pursued my own ambitions and dreams. That seems to be the norm, no matter what your race or gender is. However, as life traversed on, I've also learned what's important and who is just noise and static. Being nearly 50 years old and still writing songs about going to the club, getting drunk or high, gunplay and trying to be the best conqueror of sexual partners, knowing that at home you have a wife and children, screams to me the red flags of confusion and the inability to forsake the temporary gratification of a dying world. I can't fathom how one can be confused on how the human body can only endure so much pollution, both physical and mental, before it puts you in your grave. Trading your life's value for fame and/or pleasure is an uneven trade. I digress...that's not the real point of this blog. I thought I would throw that in to segue into the genuine desire to write this.
The older you are, the more focused you must become. For the first time in my music career, I’ve reached a part of the level that I envisioned decades ago. Why did it take so long? My confusion on separating friends from business partners and my inability to cut ties with the branches that stifled my vision’s growth. Obviously, I understood that it was up to me to reach the zeniths in my life, but rarely does anyone accomplish success alone. I failed to see how those around me didn’t have the same drive to elevate themselves from the underground. I took the initiative to learn and share what I could about the business side of the music industry. I labored and spent money to figure out how to make beats and record music by looking over the shoulder of my now good friend Mr. Tao as he engineered our sessions in Philly. Booking shows and radio interviews is another thing I willingly put on my plate, as well as, practicing how to put an album together for distribution. That is what one does when they are hungry for more from life. Decades went by before I finally allowed myself to see the truth.
By 2018, I can safely say that I’ve invested well over thirty grand in building my path. We are talking about studio time, recording equipment, setting up a publishing company, copyrights, getting cds replicated, touring and so forth. What did my old crew invest in? Beer, women, drugs and clubbing. I’m quite sure a good portion of them are still without their own publishing company and have failed to register with a PRO as a songwriter. Which is fine if you want to do this music thing as a hobby. I stopped that train of thought when I decided to go back to college to learn what I didn’t know because I have a further reaching vision now. Just a few years of isolating myself to address my dreams has yielded a better understanding of production, recording, mixing, mastering, marketing and company infrastructure. I finally have taken on the thought of help me fully or get out of my way…I love you, but I just don’t have time to play this game with you. As the clip that is circulating around social media goes. I don’t need a whole bunch of people. Give me three bad ones and I’ll conquer the world. I said it once and I’ll say it again. If anyone is going to take your vision serious…make sure it is you. I finally have reached the stand firmness to not feel the same frustration I once did so many moons ago. I now refuse to wait for situations to correct itself. I no longer have the desire to wait for others to catch up to me. I won’t take on the responsibility of holding people’s hands and walking them through to success. I had came unto my own and my own received me not, so I had to go outside my camp, my comfort zone, my knowledge. Eventually, we all will have to face the truth whatever that may be for you. I continue reaching outside of my circle and it has elevated my situation. If you are stuck in a rut. If you feel like you are not getting anywhere close to your goals. If you are voluntarily surrounded by dead branches that stifle your growth, then I pray that truth will slap you across the back of your head. I pray that you will awaken to the reality you are avoiding. I pray and therefore I know that you will see the light.