Worth A Thousand Words

I need you to know, if you don't already that Khemist is an artist you need to get familiar with. Khemist and Dilemma shutting it down at Hampton University this past weekend. I remember this kid's first performance ever at a JME event in like 08 and now he is taking over VA!

Dope Writers - Miguel

So ... I knew a little bit about this kid before he released his debut album All I Want Is You. Only because I knew that he was one of the writers on "Findng My Way Back" with two of my mentors, Carvin and Ivan. They created this amazing story that I'm sure resonates with so many people, so that peeked my interest. Then all of a sudden I was hearing the hard hitting track "All I Want is You" featuring J. Cole. It's funny how writers are often around so long before many of us even know their names. He's also worked on records such as Ifuleave, Musiq and Mary J. Blige, and for Usher on both Here I Stand and Raymond vs. Raymond.

This is one of my favorite songs right now tho. The hook is really the selling point for me.

Insanity

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Well, I’d say that most of us are probably insane … break out the meds and padded walls. Constantly in life, I get to a point where I feel like I have it all figured out, only to realize in a short amount of time that I know absolutely nothing. Nothing. I get so comfortable with a thought, a feeling, a way of life and then something comes along and flips everything I thought I knew UPSIDE DOWN. How many times can I forget that I can’t rely on my own understanding! Your own sight is not to be trusted; things are never quite what they seem. So why on God’s green Earth can’t I just stop trying to figure things out? Even the simple things in life can turn out differently every time. For instance, my hair, one night I may do something to my hair and it comes out one way, the next night, I try to do the same exact thing and get a completely different result! I mean besides the fact that natural hair does what it wants, I think that is telling me something. I have to stop expecting that one thing simply leads to another. That is not the case in life. I would like to be able to turn my brain off! I think that is the only way I will stop trying to figure out how things work. Sometimes you just have to be able to go with the flow of life and there are just plenty of things that WON’T MAKE SENSE! Sometimes that is the hardest thing for intellectuals to accept. But get on board people, it is true! I am breaking the cycle of my insanity. I am on a path to stop trying to understand things because every time I do, the same result of the unexpected is lurking.

Just a Thought 3/16

"What can one say to have known you?
How much has life changed?
Who were we before I even knew your name?
Metamorphisis
I'm altered.
I know I'll never be the same
Touched slightly different
Kissed with more pressure
Pulled in a new direction
My eyes see my reflection in new light
Walk aligned slightly to the right
Love veils me a different shade
Gold tinted, bright like the sun
I'm shining
Hope you can feel my rays
Reciprocating the energy we create"

-Ashley Coleman 1/22/2011

Train Rides

Lately I find myself coasting on the Regional Rail lines of Philadelphia. If you have to take public transit in Philadelphia, the Regional Rail is kind of your best bet. It is pretty funny the large difference between regular SEPTA and the Regional Rail … it’s a lot more peaceful on the train. In the mornings I found myself reading The Confident Woman by Joyce Meyer. I found that it was an excellent way to prepare me for the day ahead. I started getting off the train with a nice bounce in my step ready to seize the day. Coming home on the train is a different world. Either work or a session is done, or both, and I am headed home to take a load off. Sometimes I throw on the Beats and just zone out. Other times, like when I took the photo above, I just zone out and stare out the window. I’ve come up with some great lyrics on the train. Something about the low hum and steady pace of the train really can take me far away. It’s scenic traveling high over the city and somehow, I think of love, I think of regret, potential, promise, all types of things. It’s surprising how something as simple as a train ride could create such great moments.

You Too Could Randomly Be in a Magazine!

So ... by day, I work at The Recording Academy. One day, I left the keys to the office at home and I had to go to the front desk so that they could let me in. It was an easier process than I thought. However, the security guard comes over to me with a magazine and says, "Does she know she's in here?" Referring to my boss Carol Riddick. I look down and see a full page picture of the Fabulous singer/songwriter Carol Riddick! The photo was taken at a Philly360 event and she had no idea she was in Where Traveler Magazine.

This could happen to you too! lol. I'm hoping it's happening to me as I type!

Make sure you check out the single that she did with Mister Mann Frisby, David Gainz, and Idris Davis "Round Two," Carol Riddick  http://tinyurl.com/493ewax

Everybody Still ...

 Album Art Work: Photo: Jay Smith, Graphics: Karim Rashad

So if you haven’t heard about the project yet, you clearly have been under a rock. Shout out to my music partner in crime, Dilemma who released his sophomore production album, Everybody Still Wants a Beat From Dilemma. You missed the party, which was insane! Sigma Sound was out of control on February 18^th. But the good news is … you still can check out the CD/DVD! The album features Tone Trump, Gilbere Forte, Gucci Mane, Karina Bradley, Ab Liva, iCan and the list goes on! I was even privileged enough to make the bonus track! My pen graced the record “In Love” which is only a preview to Musical Chairs the EP to come.

Check out the album online:

http://mrhelloworld.bandcamp.com/

 

Hooks and Overseas with Preview of "In Love"

You can view more clips of the DVD on:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/HelloWorldMusic

http://helloworldmusicpresentsakai.blogspot.com

Are there some that are born with an undeniable, predisposition of GREATNESS. I recently watched Whitney Houston sing the Star Spangled Banner flawlessly. I remember having a conversation with two vocalists about how difficult of a song the National Anthem is to sing. She made it look easy. There are some people that you watch and think “this gift can only be straight from God’s hand.” The Oprahs, Stevie Wonders, Barack Obamas; when they were born did the sun shine a little brighter? How does greatness happen? Is it the culmination of finding the very thing God cultivated inside of you and hard work? Is it something you either have or you don’t? Can it be learned? What kid is growing up in the country in the south, or being trekking across countries with their parents, or running the streets of the city that will be the next great…