it starts life chaotic, a flare
scrawled furiously on a napkin
translated in a language
of scribbled beats that few can speak
from that point on, the words
struggle to take shape and form
a smudged blot of ink here
pounded into a kick, the next a snare
connect the dots
take it slow
the rhythm within them starts to show
a crash, a hat, staccato flow
before
you know
you have
control
rein in the noise
the scratch work patchwork of melodies
and basses and keys
and riffs and hooks and samples
and strings and fills and breaks and builds
and loops and choirs and drums and horns
the snatches of songs
penned desperately on
notebooks, sheets, receipts and wrappers
reign in the noise

Show Rap Up: Navi w/ Mighty Heard, Mello-D and the Rados, Bomani Armah

Happy November, kids! Lots of new updates in the life, but I'mma limit this entry to a show rap up of the show on the 30th at the Red and Black in NE DC.

I've known Lee - the drummer from the Mighty Heard - for a while now, and when he invited me to open up the Live Funk and Hip Hop show on Hallow's Eve, I jumped at the opportunity. I mean, shit, I'd have to work Halloween (Cypress Hill at the club) and partying with the Heard and the extremely talented Bomani Armah and Mello-D and the Rados the night before sounded amazing. And it was.

A lot of up and coming musicians fear playing to an empty/unresponsive room. It's understandable. I've seen a lot of bands freak out about this and it is a very scary idea - being up on stage (in some cases, alone) and trying to warm up a crowd that a) doesn't care and b) isn't there. I've seen other bands sweat bullets over these things and as a result it doesn't bother me. Before I went on, there were maybe ten patrons at the Red and Black (thanks to all my people for showing up and supporting me!). I hopped on stage and once those lights blinded my eyes, it didn't matter if there were ten or one hundred people. Being on stage is something I love. My music is something I love. The crowd is just along for the ride.

My set went extremely well. Managed to prevent myself from getting fucking drunk before going on stage (always a plus) and killed every song - in my inflated opinion. The crowd built up by the time I was finished, and I feel like they enjoyed my last songs (Snakecharmers -> This Room is a powerhouse combination). Got back on stage during Heard's set for an encore cypher of Hasta Manana (download the audio here). Looking forward to rocking with all of the other musicians again!

We (Sleeper Cell Productions) have a show coming up at the Velvet Lounge on Nov 10th. It's going to be live as hell, featuring Reemstarr, myself, Flex Mathews, as well as DJ As 1 spinning a routine, freestyle cyphers and an all around good time. Make it out if you can, otherwise I'll see you soon!