Income: $10/hr FT
tithes: 10%
bills & other expenses
savings – $50/month

House: Under $100, 000
new expenses
savings $25/month (I need a new job)

I planned for this. It hasn’t taken me fully by surprise. I understand that my expenses will increase. But I’m grateful for the opportunity for it to increase. Plus, I can get tax benefits as a home owner. Trust me, once you have a goal, it is obtainable with discipline and prayer. (Hops down off of soap box). Testimony service is now open. Ha ha ha!

Where do you see yourself financially by this summer? By next year? Have you thought about the money you are spending versus the money you are saving? Are you saving at all? We want to “get wasted like the white boys” but do we want to put in the work like the slave boys? Sigh, Django moment. We want to go places but we barely have a starting point. Who and what do you owe? And why? *insert serious face emoji*

How many of you are ready to take it to the next level? How many of you can be open about what you spend and what you save? Have questions about budgeting and sticking with a financial plan? Mention @HarzeezReport for your answer. No marketing gimmicks. No extra charges. Free help to anyone willing to try Jesus, I mean my advice. Ha ha! I couldn’t help it.

Financial tip for week one: Write down your reoccurring expenses. Write down your income. We are starting with a plan. You can’t reach a goal if you don’t assess the situation. Now you can create your goal. So list income and reoccurring expenses, and set a goal. Simple right?! Yeah, I came up with that all by myself (hits the new harlem shake).

-Indebted Sole

Download “Verbalizing” record HERE

Also, download Dizzy Wright’s latest project, ‘The First Agreement’, from iTunes HERE

Follow Dizzy Wright on Twitter HERE

Feel free to leave any comments below & also hit up ATLANTA GOT SOLE on Twitter HERE

This particular video wasn’t shown until much later. Why do you think? So it would be more entertainment rather than call to duty. It is like watching a remix video. You are numb, to some extent, to the full content. Yes, he did try to drive home a message. It wasn’t so much of an outburst as it was a message that we have to ignite and work toward the betterment of our own. The 1% wants to remain the 1%. Interesting fact for all those ex-con Jordan Brand fans, MJ has ownership in privatized jails. “Things that make you go hmm.” Yes, we yell out about gun control laws but it is not guns that kill people. People kill people. The motor behind the machine.

Yay! We finally agree to attack bullying but even that is done lightheartedly by many. You’ll grow out of being bullied. “Forgiveness my eye! He stole my lunch money and I want ransom.” Yes, that is how an immature mind would think. Add unnecessarily prescribed medication, drugs, peer pressure to retaliate, and little to no encouragement within the home or neighborhood and you have a disaster brewing.

Remember that man or woman who took time out of their day to be available to love you, hug you, teach you, discipline you and tell yo mama? Don’t let your daddy find out. Oh lawd, you mind as well run away for a week until they are too saddened to whip you. I miss her. I miss him. I hope to become her. That woman that sits on the front porch yelling at the children to stop playing in the street. Now, that woman gets cussed out by the parents of those children for trying to tell their children what to do and stopping their fun. When the hell did we lose our respect for our elders and their authority?!  (Okay, back to the point.) When we lost her/him, we lost a key component of our community – accountability.

There are so many issues in our community but we can’t complain about the government not doing anything when we turn the other cheek to teenage domestic violence, bullying, cop killing, gang violence, fast girls and baby daddy encouragement. The solution for our issues is within all of us. We all hold a part of the solution within us. Sad part is we are too busy getting ours that we don’t notice someone not getting theirs. Closing the doors of opportunity on the ones after us scared of competition. House niggers were trained to be scared and watchful of others vying for their positions. After all, we all want to be in the house, right?! Right?! Crab barrel mentality stops with you and your fear of one day being mediocre. If we really cared about ourselves, we’d help ourselves out through guidance and knowledge sharing. When was the last time you volunteered for anything that involved knowledge sharing, adolescents or schedule clearing?

When the dust settles, do we still settle for the total blame being on Chris Dorner? Does the LAPD have any responsibility in this matter? Will they look into how their organization operates, communicates and interacts? Do we settle for the blame being totally on the two young shooters in Chicago? Will the local Chicago government be forced to admit then apologize for their part in the corruption of the city? Will gang leaders be “forced into burning buildings” like Mr. Dorner? Will the children of Chicago be moved to the point of protest? Will the pharmaceutical companies be forced to regulate their drugs properly? Will doctors who prescribe medicine for financial gain be forced to give up their licenses? Will parents begin parenting again? Will the judicial system finally get that extreme makeover we’ve been praying for since emancipation?

At the end of the day, I’m fed up.

Yet motivated.

-Fist Comb Sole

Wara had a listening party for this work of art tuesday night. Pretty bold statement for an up & coming rapper from east Atlanta. Take a listen to The Ill Street Blues

So give us your name & let the people know why we’re talking to you.

Wara From The NBHD. And you’re talking to me because I make good music. Basically I’m that nigga to talk to right now.

Where are you originally from?

Brooklyn New York.

What’s the name of your project?

 The Ill Street Blues

We’ve known about you for a while but as a blogger at first. How did you make the transition into music?

I always like writing & literature. I used to blog because I wanted to talk about the shit I was into. I guess it just evolved into something else?

What does the title of your project represent?

Basically a nigga who’s doing bad, but trying to come up. However you want to take it honestly.

What item best describes what your life is like now?

Dice.

Why?

Because Dice to me represent risk taking & rolling with the punches. They kind of represent life. Plus I roll a lot of dice. Been in & around a lot of dice games. What they represent to me now is the risk I’m taking with this music shit. I mean, I dropped out of school for this. I hustle on the side so that’s a risk too. Its all about perserverence & I think dice best represent that. Very Well.

So dice represent life’s gamble. Is this something you plan on making a reoccuring theme?

Yes. My next project is called “Broken Amps & Cee-Lo Champs”

What made you choose that name?

Well I originally got the term from one of my favorite songs of all time. Nas’ “The World Is Yours”. The line where he said “Standing on the corner with the cee-lo champs. Laughing at base heads tryna sell some broken amps.” So I just altered the meaning. The broken amps represents the down times in life. This part continues the story I started with TISB. The Cee-Lo Champs represents the perserverance. The name implies that the album will consist of two different feels. The wilding out side. The struggle. And then the transition.

Before we started this interview we we’re talking about your personal taste in music & what you listen for. Who do you think your music caters too?

I honestly want to say it caters to both the lyrical listener & the musical listener. I tried to step it up lyrically. I’ve always been a fan of lyrical hip hop music. Sonically I’ve raised the bar too. With “Broken Amps & Cee-Lo Champs” I’ve added a lot of live instruments. That way if you mute my lyrics, the overall production will still be ill.

Who’s your favorite rapper?

Either Ghostface Killah or Nas.

How long have you had these particular dice?

 About six months.

For those that don’t know, if you play a lot of dice you tend to go through them quickly.

(laughs) Hell yeah. I’ve actually kept these for a while. I guess that’s a good sign.

What else describes you as an artist?

I feel like I’m a sponge musically. Whatever I see or listen to tends to come out when I write. Usually when  I’m in my writing phase I can’t listen to too much of the same thing. I may listen to Illmatic & then throw on some Pink Floyd. I take everything from that & try to make something original.

What’s getting heavy rotation in your itunes?

I’d probably have to say Kanye West’s “Late Registration” & Kid Cudi’s “WZRD”.

I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews on the new Cudi. How do you feel about it?

I think its beautiful. It should be nominated for a grammy. Fucking shame. Some other shit I’m listening to right now is Kendrick’s album & N.E.R.D. “In Search Of”. Kendrick is like my favorite rapper right now.

 Atlanta’s very accepting of new music currently. What are your feelings on the surge of new rappers?

I mean, I like it. Everybody wants to be a rapper nowadays. The good ones are making it more often than not. But not a lot of these niggas are going to last. Just like in sports. You’ll have a million basketball players but they all can’t go to the NBA. That shit don’t stress me though.

What is your creative process?

First of all, I’ve got to hear & feel the beat. I want everything to be cohesive. It’s got to make sense. Sometimes I don’t even write. I’ll just go into the booth, say some shit to use as a reference & build off that. Other times I just get in the zone & I block everything out. It’s almost like me tapping into another world.

Greedmont Park (@GreedmontPark) founders, A.ware (@AwareMach5) & Corey Davis (@WhoIsCoreyDavis), who make up the duo Mach Five (@MachFiveUSA), recently released the visual for “Just Kickin”, which produced by the legendary DJ Burn One (@DJBurnOne) and from their recently released, well-received project ‘Art Rap’. In the Corey Davis-directed video, the fellas just kick it like Mach Five does; smoking, sipping, and women all while DJ Genesis (@GenesisHTX) provided the sounds. Hell, this is probably a Wednesday night for these guys. So check it out as Corey & A.Ware show you how they kick it:

“Just Kickin” appears on Mach Five’s ‘Art Rap’ project. Download it HERE

Follow A.Ware on Twitter HERE
Follow Corey Davis on Twitter HERE
Follow Mach Five on Twitter HERE 

Feel free to leave any comments below & also hit up ATLANTA GOT SOLE on Twitter HERE

Small World Creatives’ and Atlanta’s own, Rome Fortune (@RomeFortune), is set to drop his upcoming, highly anticipated project, ‘Beautiful Pimp’, on February 20, 2013 on LiveMixtapes. If you don’t know Rome, I suggest you get familiar. You can check out some of his music HERE. Check out the trailer for Rome’s ‘Beautiful Pimp’ mixtape/documentary directed by Jack Stillz (@JacKorStillZ) below:

Again, ‘Beautiful Pimp’ is slated to drop February 20, 2013 on LiveMixtapes. When that day arrives, you can get it HERE. Also, make sure you come out to the ‘Beautiful Pimp’ Release Party at 595 North Ave on Feb, 23, 2013. More details HERE

Follow Rome Fortune on Twitter HERE

Feel free to leave any comments below & also hit up ATLANTA GOT SOLE on Twitter HERE

‘Animals vs. Machines 2 Side: (M)achines’ is set to drop very soon. Be on the lookout for that.

Follow Go Dreamer on Twitter HERE

Feel free to leave any comments below & also hit up ATLANTA GOT SOLE on Twitter HERE

Atlanta-based clothing brand, City of Savages (@CityOfSavages), recently dropped a short film to help promote the brand. Without giving away the plot, I must say, that it is pretty captivating  in addition to be being a very well-shot visual (Directed by Kreative Zenith [@KreativeZenith & @KodiVanArt]). Big ups to Caesar (@aFuckingSavage) and everyone at City of Savages. Check out the film below and don’t forget, “Live Free or Die”.

Visit City of Savages’ website HERE

Follow City of Savages on Twitter HERE

Feel free to leave any comments below & also hit up ATLANTA GOT SOLE on Twitter HERE

A good friend of ours was featured in Hypebeast’s Essentials piece. For those that aren’t familiar with this regular post, it’s a piece that takes what makes some of today’s most infuential taste makers & compress it into one photo. Frank Cooke of Wish has been creating great collaborations for sometime now. With succesful joint ventures with the likes of Mishka, 10.Deep, Android Homme, Publish, & more, Frank is a heavy hitter. But he’s always been a mellow guy. This ain’t a big deal until someone you know makes it on hypebeast! If you haven’t seen it yet head over to Hypbeast & check it out. Big shout out to Alex Maeland for always putting on for the city.