Lit lounge show may 10th 2015

I got invited to rock a show at Lit Lounge, on May 10th 2015, by Crowned Eagle Entertainment. this was the first time I rocked a show at Lit Lounge. Which might seem a little weird because I've performed at a bunch of venues in New York.

This wasn't a traditional Hip-Hop show. In fact I was the only Hip-Hop artist on the bill. I was opening up for the other groups that were rock&roll acts that put on a really great show!

Here's the flyer:

I love branching out and doing gigs where there isn't a hiphop crowd. People are listening with a fresh pair of ears and are more open to you experimenting with new things. There's also the fact that I'm performing in front of people who have never seen or heard of me before. The vibe is just different. There are plenty nights though that performing for a hiphop crowd can be tribal, the audience just gets it, and you relate to them as much as they relate to you!

The first group I opened up for goes by the name 'Universal Truth Machine', led by vocalist and guitarist Lee Lawless. Who I'm standing next to in this pic below.

They killed it during their set! More on them later!  

This is me, in front of the venue before the show. Jesus,  I look so happy to be there, lol.

I was though. When I walked in and went downstairs I was greeted by the door person, the lovely, Kirsten Wicked. 

 She taught me a thing or two about my own camera shhhh! Don't tell nobody.

Universal Truth Machine

Yo this band is sick! They did some cover songs of the Rolling Stones which sounded great. Their original songs were great! they mixed satire and informative lyrics that curse the way media and government manipulate the public. Give them a listen and check them out at :

www.facebook. com/universaltruthmachine

&

www.youtube.com/universaltruthmachine

Lee Lawless the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band was even nice enough to give her take on my performance that night:

Nothing but love! I look forward to the day when we share the stage again! Most definitely sooner than later. 

Now she mentioned my song lyrics "vagina monologues", and "riot squads". Those are from my song 'Henny on ice', off of my album #Goneistheillusion. It's a song about my sexual experiences with the opposite sex. A dream of mines came true on stage that night when I had a dancer perform on stage during my performance of that song. Check it out below!

HENNY ON ICE

https://youtu.be/V48mA1CFssE

You like? Yeah I bet you do! Hahaha. Shouts to Warren Britt for filming this song and my set. I have more pics and footage, Ill post them in part two of this blog!!

Cover art to my album 'Gone is the illusion '.

I have been waiting for this day to make this post. It's been long over due. The cover art to my album 'Gone is the illusion', due out March 31st.

The finishing touches were done by Brokemc. www.brokemc.com he did the coloring and final edits to the text on the drawing I originally did.

Here is the drawing, before hand, pencil & ink.

I'm very proud of the process this went through.  I was going to knock this out by myself but it would have taken me forever to get it done. So I had to swallow my pride, and I'm glad I did because it came out fresh!

The concept behind this drawing is getting past your personal demons, the walls blocking you, and realizing it's all in your head. Thats what the focused face is about, completely tuning out the demons in his head.

The sand in his hands are those very demons turned to ash going through his fingers.

It was also influenced by the lyrics of the chorus of the song with the same name.
It goes like this "Ashes to ashes dust to dust, gone is the illusion the wall is crushed, when the world talks shit and you call it's bluff then gone is the illusion the wall is crushed".

Along with color schemes, the outer space  background was really something that just felt right. Like that's how it should be. Just pure creative inspiration.

Gone is the illusion drops March 31st!
There will be physical and digital records for sale!

On the road again! ! Lyrically fit show at the legendary venue the "Trocadero", aka the Troc.

Thursday March 15th I had a show in Philly at the historical venue the Trocadero. More on that in a few. The show was thrown by hiphop website www.lyricallyfit.com

It was originally supposed to be thrown March 5th (one day after my birthday). But was postponed because due to inclement weather conditions aka, a snowmaggedon!

Lol. As extreme as people make simple shit like one layer of snow seem these days, it actually was pretty bad that day to have a show. So the Trocadero postponed the show until the 15th.

I was really excited to do this show from the jump because of the venue. The Trocadero is the only 19th century Victorian theater still in operation in the United States.  It's listed on the U.S. register of historic places.

 This is outside in front of the Troc.

This is called the 'Balcony', this is where the lyrically fit show was held. On this stage is where everybody performed. 

Now this is the main hall right behind the balcony between two wooden doors. It reminds me alot of the Manhattan Center.

I would more than kill to rock this part of the Troc in front of a packed house! Ain't nothing but hardwork!

The Trocadero use to be known as the Arch street Opera House. Back in 1870 and throughout,  they use to throw musical comedies, vaudeville, Burlesque,  and minstrel shows! How ironic that decades later myself and other mcs would rock here. 

Back inside on the balcony, closer to the stage, you get to see this bar setup which I thought was pretty dope to take a picture of. 

when it was all said and done, I took a post show wrap up photo with Coach Jay, Founder of lyrically fit and DJ SoulBuck,  who held it down on the 1s and 2s all night!

My stamp at the door, reminded myself to take a pic of it before I dipped.

Me making my exit from the Troc after business was handled. 

'Clean Slate', song lyrics from Gone is the illusion

Hook

Post winter laced, thawed lakes, spring break Clean Slate! 
Ruffies in beer, a mind disappears Clean Slate!

Comatose Amnesiac awakes Clean Slate!

I need a fresh start with my past erased

Reincarnation in a new birth place Clean Slate!

Before illusions drained me of my faith Clean Slate! 
Hard Drive cleaned freeing up space Clean Slate! 
I need a fresh start with my past erased

Verse 1

Remembering the moves that brought me to the dance

I waltz with skeletons with a icy long glance

So cold a polar bears fingers would catch cramps

and a paraplegic would brush frost off his pants

I got distracted going against my very nature

From taking what I want and reaching my goals

Never having to prove anything to these fucking assholes

They don’t suffer with me, so I don’t give’em that control

So, yeah bitch gimmie the blue pill dream

Like Jessie Pinkman cooking methlamine

to get that rare hue of methamphetamines

so euphoric I leapt from a mezzanine

landed in a space shuttle slash time machine

Searching for the restoration of my old base

Gone is the illusion, I have a clean slate

Hook

Post winter laced, thawed lakes, spring break Clean Slate! 
Ruffies in beer, a mind disappears Clean Slate! 
Comatose Amnesiac awakes Clean Slate! 
I need a fresh start with my past erased

Reincarnation in a new birth place Clean Slate!

Before illusions drained me of my faith Clean Slate! 
Hard Drive cleaned freeing up space Clean Slate! 
I need a fresh start with my past erased

Verse 2

I’ll Terra-form the moon busting nuts at night

That go up & down like suborbital flights

That cause torrential down pours & new signs of life

A fresh start yes but that doesn’t change the game

The only way diamonds are forever

is if pressure is a crucial success measure

like diamonds from the players club casting weather

Only when you know pain can real change occur

I should slam my palms on salted broken glass

shoot myself in the knee stab both of my calves

Just so I can start penning my rough draft

Like Tuskegee  Airman operating aircraft

But I got better luck having my prostate exam

By a blind cardiologist with hooks on his hands

But when the mappings of my brain are left in gods hands

I guess he isn’t laughing much at the layout of my plans

Hook

Post winter laced spring break thawed lakes
Clean Slate!
Ruffies in beer a mind disappears, Clean Slate!
Comatose amnesiac awakes Clean Slate!
I need a fresh start with my past erased. Reincarnation in a new birthplace Clean Slate!
Before illusions drained me of my faith, Clean Slate!
Hard drive cleaned freeing up space,Clean Slate!
I need a fresh start with my past erased

verse 3

Call me autonomous prime with my inner chi

With the energon I produce from my energy

I could power a city from new orleans to sicily

and keep away these strange creatures from my vicinity

They are those who’ll be frightened by your journey

will give you every reason to pack it in a hurry

But disappointed if you quit and decide to live safely

That some psycho shit or maybe you just hate me?

There are those who want you to escape hell & bust ass!

But don’t believe you have the strength for the task

They just tell you these things so you won’t feel bad

Their just great salesman blowing smoke up your ass

Because everyone wants you to do good but not better than them

These are leeches, not friends - cover your skin

Only through evolution can we leave the past behind

That’s how you get a clean slate that’s how I got mine…..

Hook

Post winter laced, thawed lakes, spring break Clean Slate!

Ruffies in beer, a mind disappears Clean Slate!

Comatose Amnesiac awakes Clean Slate!

I need a fresh start with my past erased

Reincarnation in a new birth place Clean Slate!

Before illusions drained me of my faith Clean Slate!

Hard Drive cleaned freeing up space Clean Slate!

I need a fresh start with my past erased

'Lionheart' Lyrics from 'Gone is The illusion'.

Verse 1

Gimmie your best shot pal I can take it!

Heart got strong from people trying to break it!

Pardon my tease I wear my heart on my sleeve

I rather move than freeze give up & cop pleas

an who are these niggas to ever judge me!?

You were never around when my chips were down

I was the only person who lifted me off that ground

an if I ain’t winning then I go down swinging

I can take a beating & keep on ticking

try to push me away and take my position

Your bones will snap so good luck with benching

So if you ain’t here to put a smile on my face

put money in my pocket and reach new landscapes

The bulk of my time don’t you dare waste

Step to the side I got moves to make

Verse 2

In the scheme of things, the punchline is real simple

What - don’t - kill- you- makes- you crippled

What don’t kill me makes me stronger

Scientists use my white blood cells on viral monsters

I ain’t talking thermals when I say your under armour

when you make as much sense as an igloo in china

an a neighborhood with a curfew and a all night diner

If you think I should settle for less an expire

an be miserable like you a coward & a liar

I got a thick skin like metal plating

with padding like line men in gear in the off season

charged with unnecessary roughness & brutal beatings

That’ll get me banned like odd future from New Zealand

My will is strong! My pride is beaming!

Your will is weak, your pride is peeling

My heart larger than a water bed hit’n a muthafucking ceiling!

Verse 3

I’m a warlock with words the way I split halves

Off top the head or pen game Witch-craft?

I wasn’t always that nice I had to bust ass

Like a freshman fighting 8th graders for his bus pass

Ain’t nothing like being on stage in front of a rough crowd

They could hate my guts tell me quit but I’m too proud

Salt in my wounds but it made me better

Went home mead notebook on the dresser

I won’t be denied or bow down to the pressure

Your boyfriends only better than me in your dreams

hes only recognized  because of a marketing team

but I want it more with or without the machine

I’m the last man standing might as well climb to the top

I’ve seen artists lose it all and go back to the block

I’ve endured a lot where most would have stopped

But I pick up momentum like a fucking juggernaut!

Verse 4

I’m cut from an art form born through renegades

I’ll stand my ground on George Zimmermans grave

Channelling the spirits of African slaves

Facing the adversity of dogs & riot brigades

My heart is a vibrant torch lit flame

That guides me through the darkness, where I was born like Bane

I move in silence like the “D” in Djangos name

when constructing the framework of my game

I ain’t talking angry birds in the hood tossed in there lane

Ignored like kurds slaughtered by Saddam Hussein

I mean having the courage of expressing my range

That reaches further than peaks, valleys, & groves

Deciphers prophecy in books, numbers, & codes

Stripped more bare than beauties in burlesque shows

Leave fans screaming like Yasiin Bey with tubes up his nose

There is no spoon, there is no manual! #Goneistheillusion.

I recently read an interview featuring fellow MC 'Dama Nilz' in the village voice, titled 'From Jimmy Fallon to Applebee's to Warped tour'. If you haven't read it, it's a must read for any aspiring artist and the like about the ups and downs of being one. It's as real as it gets. Here is the link check it out. http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2014/05/dama_nilz_feature.php?page=2

After reading it it made thoughts resurface in my mind of similar experiences I've been through. Plus for me everything right now is all about my album 'Gone is the illusion'. So I thought it would make sense tying everything together in this blog to understand the meaning behind the title of my album.

'There is no spoon, and there is no manual to this rap shit, gone is the illusion if you thought so'. The first thing that came to mind was my experience going to A3C in 2011 in Atlanta Georgia. For those reading this and don't know what that is, it's a hip hop festival that happens every October. I registered to perform there through reverbnation.com. I wasn't chosen but they offered me discounts on travel, lodging, and entry to the event. I stayed at the Atlanta Days Inn where most of the artists performing were staying. Everyone from Sean Price, Freddie Gibbs, Malice of the Clipse and more. I got to mingle and network with a lot of people during that festival. Some memorable moments included having shitty diner food with Kosha Dillz and the legend Percee P after one night. I have footage of that I should upload from my flip cam if I can find another disc with that program on it. Another moment was taking the shuttle bus on the last night of the festival with Ras Kass, M.O.P, their manager, and the Brown Bag Allstars. Aside from that I learned so much about the independent grind while I was there.

But reality sets in the following morning when I'm boarding my plane back to NYC. That reality being many of those artists are on to the next gig, or in preparation for cmj later in October, or sxsw in the spring. While my ass was heading back to a day job. Albeit the job I was at had its rewards, but standing in the middle of a gym floor knowing your peers are off living the dream was and is a bit depressing. It's like missing the senior trip, or prom, hell graduation. Which all three I never had the experience of taking a part of (that's another story).

People try to cheer you up but no one can relate, so it can be hard for them to identify with how unsettling it feels to be back in the grind after such an experience. Such is the life. You have to keep yourself busy, the moment you don't, it hits you! Crazy looking back on that, I laugh because it added a bit of thickness to my skin that I still have to this day. I had no idea I would experience that feeling after going there but I don't regret a moment of it.

Now there is the element of T.V. which in itself can be very misleading if you aren't on the other end of the spectrum,  man behind the curtain type of deal. I've been on T.V. myself having been on the Candid Camera reboot on TV Land hosted by Mayim Bialik of hit shows Blossom and Big Bang Theory. Also hosted by the son of the original Candid Camera. I was in a segment with Peter Rosenberg made to look like rappers were auditioning to be on hot 97.

Now I don't know the terms of Dama Nilz appearance on Jimmy Fallon but usually you get paid a small fee for being on there similar to my experience with candid camera. It's nothing glamorous,  it won't get you out of loan debt or some shit.

I'm very grateful for the opportunity, but I can't speak for everyone else involved, it didn't bring me a new following on twitter and facebook or increase plays on soundcloud but you never know who is watching. From my vantage point only my grinding of getting my music heard has made the earlier mentioned happen.

A lot of artists I know including myself have fallen into opportunities.  Your talent just lands you gigs even without a full proof plan.  That's a good and a bad thing. The good is exposure and room to grow your talent.  The bad is there is no plan, no endgame. So when the oppor-tunity is all said an done...What happens next?

But even with a plan unforeseen occurrences can and will happen. I've known artists who've orchestrated lengthy tours and album releases only for music fans or other opportunities not come to them in ways they expected only to be left with that sinking feeling of what do I do next?

There are more downs than ups in the music biz as a friend once put it. But make sure your ups last longer than your downs is what I've learned. To the point that's all there is.

NEW JOINT ON MTV HIVE " SEPPUKU" Feat. CAVALIER.

This is the new track I mentioned in my last post that was coming out today. Producer/Beat Maker Steel Tipped Dove did the beat and put the track on the 2nd volume of his mixtape series titled "Steel Tipped Dove & a whole bunch of crazy motherfuckers". It's being distributed through indie record label "Modern Shark".

The track was originally conceived to be on my forth coming project G.I.T.I "Gone is the illusion", and it still is. It has caught waves and made its way to MTV's mtvhive.com here is the link: http://www.mtvhive.com/2013/07/01/steel-tipped-dove/

It's also on another blog titled "Potholes in my blog". Here is the link: http://potholesinmyblog.com/steel-tipped-dove-a-whole-bunch-of-crazy-motherfuckers-vol-2-mixtape/

You can stream the song by itself on Modern Sharks bandcamp http://modernshark.bandcamp.com/track/cavalier-super-king-armor-seppuku

Check it out! Lemme know what the people think! Peace! More to come as always.