9/19/10

Up All Night w/no foresight

Today was a day about the things that matter for me: music, family, and love. I went to go see my Uncle, who is recovering from a recent fall in a New Jersey physical rehab center. He has lost the ability to move his legs and will most likely remain in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Keep in mind that he is a Catholic Priest who is one of the country's foremost scholars on Christology and the Liturgy according to the Holy See. He has been an inspiring figure for myself and many of my family, as well as presided over countless weddings, baptisms, confirmations, Communions, and funerals for my family & friends. It's going to be a long road of healing for him, but I was glad to be with him and lift his spirits.

On the way home, I listened to some of my favorite music and held good conversation with my father & sister, not to mention baby-talk and smiley-faces with my little niece. I'm realizing now more than ever that in consonance with my art & its creation, this is what life is really about. These are reasons why I can't submit myself to the will of Corporate Music. Not in the way it would have some of us submit. There's too much love & good songs at stake to make choices based on exponential financial profit. There's too many amazing things to be had from the gifts God has given me to pervert or distort them for a 6-figure check.

Does this mean I'm abandoning the music business? Well, I know the haters would love that; sadly, haters, no, I'm not giving it up - I'm simply doing good business with good music and good people. On my own terms. If I can't do it that way & see success the way I want to see it, then there is nothing left for me in this industry, and I will most certainly move on.

When I returned home this evening, I was hit with several pieces of media pertaining to 1.) the coming changing of the Universal guard (i.e. the shifting of the Ages which is happening in our World), and 2.) how MONEY, in all it's corrosive and deadly power, has driven us so very far away from what's really important in our lives: Love. While so many of us who claim religion or some form of divine worship would whole-heartedly deny that we have made the pursuit of wealth a demi-god (at the very least), the truth is even though it may not be entirely our fault, it is what it is. While brooding over these thoughts, I couldn't help but be smacked in the brain with a line from Drake's song, "Up All Night." The line was thus:

"Niggas with no money act like money isn't everything..."

When re-read and absorbed, Aubrey "Drake" Graham couldn't be more right. When you aren't focusing precious energy on the "Hustle," you can come to realize how insignificant it really is. My father used to always say, "It's just paper;" somewhere down the line I took that to heart, and in more recent years this creed has manifested itself fully in my gut. With continued research on the history of paper money, I now understand how true it really is. I guess at this point I have to point out that while artistically nuts (wink), I'm not crazy. I promise you I'm fully sane & in control of my faculties. But with the Drake song and the other things I watched & read today, I saw how Drake's verse in "Up All Night" plays into my own personal revelations, if only adversely so. Here's the full verse, with numbered bullets:
  1. Kush rolled, glass full, I prefer the better things
  2. Niggas with no money act like money isn't everything
  3. I'm having a good time, they just trying to ruin it
  4. Shout out to the fact that I'm the yougest nigga doing it
  5. Cap on, brim bent, Denzel, everytime
  6. She ain't trying to pop that shit for pimp okay well never mind,
  7. I I I tried to told you, Drizzy still ain't nothing nice
  8. Bracelet saying you should quit, cars saying fuck ya life
  9. Okay now we outta here
  10. Toodles to you bitches
  11. And if you dolled up
  12. I got the voodoo for you bitches
  13. I'm busy getting rich, I don't want trouble
  14. I made enough for two niggas boy stunt double
  15. Famous like a drug that I've taken too much
  16. I never ever trip
  17. Just peace happiness and love
  18. I got money in these jeans, so they fit me kinda snug
  19. Plus the game is in my pocket, nigga this is what I does

The numbers are there to help me break this down in a simple & clean way. And I'm not pointing Drake out, which is why I've used all of us as an example. Follow me on this one:
  1. The better things won't ever be found in weed or alcohol. With weed, some enlightenment, maybe, but that depends on how you toke it.
  2. As I've said, money isn't everything, and my experience has shown me that those folks in the industry who have gross amounts of it have amassed as many problems as dollar bills. The question then stands to reason: is it worth it?
  3. People with great wealth always feel that those on the lower end of the totem pole are trying to grasp at their piece of the proverbial pie: they're right. When one has taken nearly half the pie without asking, spit on the rest, and shit on the serving knife, some folks are going to feel salty. Not me, I'm just saying.
  4. Age does not directly equate with skill, maturity, or experience.
  5. [N/A]
  6. [N/A]
  7. [N/A]
  8. It is implied here that our possessions now speak for us, which means we've put material wealth before many other things. I'm not really sure how I'd feel about that.
  9. [N/A]
  10. [N/A]
  11. [N/A]
  12. [N/A]
  13. There is no way possible that the quest for great wealth, especially if successful, is not going to destroy someone else's life in some fashion, so to say we don't want any trouble holds little weight, since we may have facilitated it by default.
  14. [N/A]
  15. [N/A]
  16. [N/A]
  17. The peace, happiness, and love spoken of here is a fallacy. Peace can't happen in a world of violence that is fueled by greed; true happiness cannot be found in album sales or plaques (it can HELP, but it's not the end-all-be-all); and love is not the byproduct of wealth - in fact, Love in its true essence has nothing to do with money whatsoever.
  18. [N/A]
  19. Have we as humans ever really sat down and asked ourselves what it is we're doing?



Now at the end of this, please understand that I do know that what Drake does is all just entertainment. It's part of the business. That's why I reiterate that this is NOT a diss blog to Drake. Even as I type this, I know some ignoramus will think differently, and even some of my friends will probably ask, "Yo P., why did you go in on Drake like that man?"

My answer? I didn't

This was, as previously stated, a breakdown of the ethical value of the VERSE. I was literally analyzing what was said and putting it into context with my life experiences in the hopes that some of you who read this will understand where I'm coming from. Why I'm so adamant about making sure that was I do isn't tainted by the lust for wealth or that the "Grind" is truly a grind to make good music & be successful with that good music. If Drake or his network ever see this and become personally offended, I'm sorry because that's not the intent. But I doubt that someone will get upset enough to respond. That being said, I really DO hope that you, my faithful pals, will see how important it is that we put LOVE first in life. Whatever that love is, so long as it's genuine, it will carry us though.

So on that note, peace, Pals, and Love is Love.


P.

0 comments: