Get Wild, Wild, Wild!

I dunno...I love Dilla with all my heart, but it's hard to choose sides on this one.

All I can say is that - yes. Better avenues should've been taken on this. Dilla would never produce my LP from the grave, but I believe in being INFLUENCED by him.

*ahem*

INFLUENCED.

If you've known Charles as long (or as short? - no homo) as I have, you just come to expect all of these cosmic, otherworldy, sonic/sun-ra-ish ideas he can come up with. He's a mainiac-brainiac rapper cat who is just assured in the style of living he's created. No one can "bust his pink bubble" so to speak, because there's no pink bubble there. So - I say let him believe that a vinyl element added to his sound is an "influence" from J Dilla. Of course - in all eyes of the law this does not constitute J Dilla inhibiting a 'Executive Producer' slot on CH's album. He knows this - he just wanted to test how far he could let you in his "pink bubble" - BZZZT!!

Charles Hamilton - that sir, is where you messed up.

Humble thine self! I speak through the blog because even as a human being in the flesh on this earth I cannot communicate to you through speech. You are too far gone. Don't allow fear to allude you from being a humble individual! It works!

*sigh* I love Dilla. I won't say I always did, because a large part of my life I didn't know dude. But I knew that sound and loved that sound - and if you're trying to say that by giving him props on your album, cool. Just go about it a better way. Don't trap yourself in a corner with lies, it's NOT a good look.

J Dilla: Beat Savior

Call me old-fashioned I guess, but nothing is better to me than coolin' out on an weekend afternoon, smokin' a blunt and listening to Dilla beats. I have my reserved theories when it comes to religion and whatnot, so I won't bother bending your mind with those. (if your one of those religious freaks that can't quite handle a transcendual comparison please stop reading this) However - while listening to some Dilla joints this afternoon, I was feeling regretful that I never once got to meet the dude, but it still seems as if I've known him my whole life.

Then it hit me.

J Dilla was Hip-Hop's Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ was supposedly a carpenter who just happened to make miracles, right? Constantly building and constantly teaching others to enjoy life for what it is, not what the kings and queens were trying to make of it...he was an social outcast, yet appreciated by the few who truly understood his message and purpose. Alas, like Dilla - his work was only fully appreciated after his tragic (and early) death.

I feel as if Dilla had to bear the cross when it came to Hip-Hop (real hip-hop, yall), because his style wasn't always accepted...especially not through mainstream. This is the same bullshit any REAL artist would have to deal with, because the mainstream controls so much of where you go and how many people are exposed to your talents. Mainstream even then had the audacity to finally bend towards Dilla's sound, but chose not to give him any credit WHATSOEVER. It wasn't until he was reunited with the earth that people started realizing the body of work he left behind and how he had NEVER stopped working, even until his last days on earth - making beats in ICU, on his death bed.

It's always the great ones who go unnoticed, but is it because we choose not to notice their greatness - or is it because we have taught ourselves to be completely oblivious to all that is great, so that when a miracle occurs its seems almost unbelievable? Dilla didn't just create music - he created miracles. Soul-shaking, heart-taking, spirit-captivating miracles. I will NEVER be able to do what Dilla has done, all I can do is learn from what he has given me - something I had in my soul my whole childhood, from the day I was born.

It's a shame I came up on Dilla so late, because I liked Dilla's stuff before I even knew who Dilla was - that's how much of an impact on my life his music made. I had been hearing Dilla my WHOLE LIFE and didn't even know it. The same vibe, the same swing you get when you hear a Dilla joint - that vibe has been in my bloodstream my whole life...

...so to me, Dilla is like a brother I never knew, or very similar to Jesus in alot of ways. Here today, gone tomorrow - but they live on forever through the lessons they've left for us. I guess it's up me and the folks who actually care out there to progress and move forward - to do what we love so that we may too leave something behind worthwhile for the future generations to appreciate.

Dilla, I'll meet you someday.
And when I do - I'm twistin' one up while you're diggin' in the crates.
(can you believe Madlib and Jay once had a 30 blunt cypher? craaaaazy...)

-H

PS: Totally off topic, but Cam'ron's new album is kinda dope. Like REALLY dope. Harlem, all day. ;)

Artists I'd Like To Work With (Here and Posthumous)

Since this topic always takes a "Fantasy Football" approach, I figured I'd give it a whirl accompanied with a slight explanation for each collaboration.

J-Dilla (obvious reasons; it would be more of a learning session on my end tho)
Madlib (blunted in the bomb shelter; crate diggin; b2b DJing)
Busta Rhymes (lyricist; old-school; pure energy; realist)
Chrisette Michelle (modern day Billie Holiday; fly; soulful)
Kanye West (idealist; thinker; natural genius; acts on emotion)
Common (realist; old-school; resemblance (?))
Ol' Dirty Bastard (spirited; unique; good-natured; lyricist; wild)
Eminem (talented; lyricist; realist; crazy; limitless)
Flying Lotus (adviser; kindred affection for video games; b2b DJing)
MF Doom (blaze trees; adviser; crate diggin')
Danger Mouse (funky; limitless; b2b DJing; crate-diggin)
Jamiroquai (funky; soulful; expressive; blunted; preserver)
Kurt Cobain (leader of expression; acts on emotion; idealist)
Dibiase (beatsmith; crate diggin')
Black Milk (beatsmith; b2b DJing; crate diggin)
Fatboy Slim (adviser; b2b DJing; crate-diggin)
Georgia Anne Muldrow (spacey; afro-centric; expressive; limitless)
Jill Scott (fly; good-natured; rooted; fun; inner-beauty)
Pharell (business minded; precise; fun yet efficient)
Nas (prophet; thinker; wordsmith; purist)
Slick Rick (dope; lyricist; character; realist)
Q-Tip (realist; lyricist; humble; multi-talented)
Christopher Wallace (lyricist; realist; adviser)
9th Wonder (beatsmith; adviser; old-school; b2b DJing)
James Brown (innovator; soul-power; selfless)
DJ Shadow (innovator; true-artistry)
Liam Howlett (multi-talented; advisor; b2b DJing)
Styles P (old school; realist; hardest out)

That's all I can come up with right now. I'm sure I'll be adding more as time goes on.

MajesticallyModest.

Humility is such a difficult virtue to obtain, yet it is one of the most valuable treasures life has to offer.

This world turns ever so fast.
Haven’t posted in a few, only because so much has been going on. What exactly? Too much to sit here and write about right now, so I’ll just go into what I logged on here to rant about.

I love how the truth is coming to light now that “industry” artists are now outing the industry for what it is.

SHADY!

The SAME industry everyone wants me to break ground in, the same industry that cuts the big checks and makes all the decisions regarding YOUR future as an artist on THEIR label. Basically, I’ve come to the decision that while I would have no trouble producing a track for a major label artist, I myself won’t be signing ANY papers to join a major label. I enjoy the freedom and versatility that comes with being an indie artist so much that I can’t ever see myself giving that up for the mental and creative “shackles” that would accompany a few extra zeroes.
I wish I could help my family and friends see that point clearer, but the only way I can truly accomplish this goal is by making it as an independent artist and living truly happy.

The thing these record label execs have to realize about me (and I’m sure I’ll make it abundantly clear once I get in the position to do so) is that I am a man of simple pleasures and hospitality. All I need is a home (not a HOUSE – but a home) and my own space to make music/perform, and it would be all I ever ask for. With the revenue my music would generate, I would do things like create beat making seminars and DJ lessons/sessions so that teens and aspiring musicians could learn how to make music and truly find their own sound. I was making music before I learned how to DJ, but when I actually started attending a DJ class – I found a home away from home. I would want to give BACK if anything – and as long as I have a constant supply of food, a stylish way to get around (never would I blow more than $100,000 on a car) and a roof over my head, I’m GOOD.

I don’t know what the future holds for me, but I’m sure I’ll be quite content with releasing an LP on a Stones Throw or Nature Sounds type of label. Yes, I know this limits the audience that is exposed to my work – but I kind of like it that way. When I first heard of Dilla, MF Doom and Madlib – I had to FIND them, but I had heard their style of music all my life. This special sound that you identify with that (as an artist) makes you say to yourself “Yes. This is what I’ve been looking for my whole life. This is the music I WISH I could make”. That’s the same feeling I hope to reciprocate in others when listening to my music. I feel as if I would be watering myself down if I aspired to be the “Next Hit” maker or if I attempted to tailor my sound to meet a generalized standard. Not my style at all.

Anywhoo, life has been good and busy. Spending a lot more time with my girlfriend (quality time at that) and it’s causing me to reconsider the fashion in which I live. I am nearing twenty four years of existence on this plane, and wifey is nearing twenty three. We love our family and most importantly we care about the family we live with dearly. However, as our relationship progresses and as time goes on (we’ll be TWO years on July 14th! WHOOOOOOO!) I’ve begun to re-evaluate our current living situation.

A little monkey (yes – not a monkey wrench, but the whole monkey) has been thrown in the “comfortable” gears that is my life at home, and that monkey is none other than my mom. Hah! I know, right? That’s fucked up, H…but no, all jokes aside – my mom is coming up in June and I don’t know exactly when (or if) she’s going to bounce (damn - I should be looking forward to my mom coming up more earnestly. I miss her and my sis to death and I'm always excited to see her, I just know that with me being unemployed and constantly in and out of the house, we're going to be breathing down each other's neck).

Anyway – it’s already enough that my grandmother and I share a TV so when she wants to watch something, I’m usually making plans to be somewhere else – but now my MOM is coming up to stay (and possibly bringing my sister) and while I love my mom and my sis with ALL of my heart – ummm, I’m going to have to figure something out – FAST.

As much as I hate the workforce and ANY form of corporate labor, I feel this is my only exit strategy until something better comes along. I need to start looking at my future as something that is impending rather than I dream waiting to come true. I’ve spent almost a year being lazy and inactive as far as obtaining a new occupation is concerned, and with the economy in the state of disrepair that it is – I’m honestly scared to return to the workforce. Yet, in order to meet the personal and creative goals I have set for myself, I need to just bear down and bite the bullet on this one. Yeah, yeah – I’m an ARTIST – blah, blah, NATURAL TALENTS.

Yeah. Wish I could get an apartment with just talent.

The day they start givin’ away these $2,000 a month condos based on how well you can make a beat, sign me the fuck up. Until then, I guess I’ll keep being a optimistic dreamer in an modest reality.

-H

Royal Reality Checks

Yo.
First off, what up.
It's been awhile.

I'm going to stop issuing Reality Checks to people who can't cash them. I do that alot, which is why (essentially) I keep my opinions (checks) to myself.

Hmmm! Got alot to catch up on...

Let's seeee...ummm...got my Tax Refund which was complete shite because the WHOLE thing hasn't even come in yet. Fuckin' stimulus. I LOVE how those ritzy white folk get bailed out with the quickness, but it's always a waiting game with the common man.

Anyway, it was fun while it lasted.
Some good came from it, I got Resident Evil 5 for the 360 and TRUUUUUUUUST me, shit is DOPE. I wasn't in the least bit disappointed (storyline had me laughin' - they bit off of everything from Gears to The Matrix) and it helps that my girlfriend LOVES Resident Evil. I installed RE3 on her computer awhile back and she was killin' it! She's not a fan of the 360 controls (blame my earlier Halo days for me being so used to the XBOX control scheme - believe me, it was weird for me too at first), so that and getting a game she actually would become immersed in was always an ordeal. With RE5 tho, she does everything herself and all I do is watch and occasionally help. It always makes me smile and feel like I've met my companion when we share a connection doing something we BOTH enjoy.

Yeah, son.
So yeah, I got that, another memory card and the new GOW2 maps.
See - this is what makes people HATE Xbox/Microsoft.
Not even the fact that it's probably the least popular of the "Big Three" (PS3/Wii/360), but because you have to pay for EVERYTHING. Add-Ons? Gotta pay for 'em. Full internet capability? You payin' for dat.
I frickin bought Resident Evil 5 one day, bought a Microsoft 1600 points card for $20, purchased the new GOW2 maps and wasted ALL my points, then the very NEXT day they issue a Versus Add-On for RE5 for 400 points. WHAAAAT?! I was FURIOUS. I woulda bought that Versus add-on if it had came out sooner instead of those dumbass maps that half of the time i can't play because my GOW2 disc is all of a sudden "unreadable"...Uggggh.

Altogether, that ran me about $100 roughly. Out of $300? Hah. That was my little treat to myself, because I knew I couldn't spread that money. $300 is about the amount I wanted to spend on getting my CD duplicated (AerosolHeart), so once that went belly-up I just decided to have fun with it. We saw my dude Q and his Girl (and his little daughter! que lindo! she is sooooooo adorable...little tiny thing full of life and wonder...) and winded up blowing money on 42nd street at Applebees (one place I NEVER will feel obligated to go to again...X THAT...the whole Forty Deuce strip can kiss my ass, because shit is WAAAAAAY too X-Spensive down in them parts of town...) then we got the crazy idea to go downtown and look for tattoos and piercings, so we headed to the village and my girlfriend got a nice "snakebite" by her lip.

I wanted a tattoo of the GOW symbol (a gear), but the dude first wanted to charge me $85 for it, then when he sketched it out - it was too small and I told him i wanted it to cover my whole bicep, he raised the price to $120. My girl felt some sort of way (which in turn made me overthink the situation, which was good because I was going off of drunken instinct) and it wasn't THAT hot of a sketch, so I decided against it. Good thing I did, because now I remember that I wanted the Gears symbol with the wings on the side.

So, between cabbin it, coppin trees, gettin hammered on drinks and feeding myself - the rest of the money kinda just evaporated.

The April Fools

Okee doke. In the cab w/ CH on the way to the cop spot. Yes, there is NO weed man in West Bumbafuck so we must venture into the big city for the big score. LOL.

Seems like the gossip of everyday existence still effects those who are anxious enough to stoke that fire. Shame, because all the Miss Info's and Karen Civil's in the world will never possess the very thing that they sought after...and that thing is RAW talent. Now really. In all seriousness. A WALE and Charles Hamilton beef? That's like Kid Cudi beefin wit Drake. Its unbelievable how these non-industry people try to create friction with new up-and-coming artists. Can we let them drop an ALBUM first before we start this hypothetical shit?

I'm glad CH is a heartfelt dude, because rather then black and murder someone who just got caught up in the moment (ahem Soulja Boy ahem) he decided to be a man and confront dude on the phone with Karen on the line so he could see the leech for who she is. Karen Civil, get a REAL job. Done.

Hangin' With The Hamiltons

Hey.

Reporting live from Mr, Hamilton's humble abode here in West Bumbafuck AKA Green Hill Zone, in the kitchen.
Bri and Ree are hooking up the ILLEST Chicken Parm - Charles is upstairs releasing "At Most I'm Just..." for all the world to hear...it's been a WONDERFULLY CRAZY last 3 days at this dude's crib...on some real WOODSTOCK shit.

Really dope.

So umm...back to reality. SOON. Until then, me and the REE are here blackin' out...