The Beacon

A Little Thursday Prose From A Wednesday

2013-07-25T09:52:00.002-07:00

They say there is a time and place for everything, but they say a lot of things.
Divine intervention...perhaps.
Maybe I need to slow down, but I got too much on my plate.
How much weight can a plate hold, anyway?
In the fast lane going nowhere fast; stay in your lane.
Up, down, up, down...and down again.
Try to find the good in -- cut off ...honesty stayed and guilt fled.
I need a pen; my camera on my phone will do.
Document everything. Such a tedious process.
Eyes deceive, perception is altered, so what's the point of documenting?
Men lie, women lie, but numbers don't; unless its time.
Even if you understand the concept of; you will always be deceived by time.
It always moves faster at the most inopportune time.
This time around it was the fastest slow motion replay I ever witnessed.
This time around I wish I had a couple seconds to spare because that would have given me back an hour of my life.
But there's that concept of time again, an hour of life...
Imagine if we hadn't had those couple of seconds?
That hour I wanted back could have gone a lot different.
More headaches, but no heart breaks.
Perhaps that's divine intervention..
Perhaps something to be learned, maybe something owed; premiums.
But end of the day and looking back on that hour all live are accounted for.

Thoughts on Tribal Workers.

2013-05-09T11:07:00.001-07:00

It has been a while since I've blogged. There are a number of reasons I could list as to what has kept me away for so long -- perhaps that could be a blog in and of itself. But, more importantly is what compelled me to come back to blogging today.

I woke up to an email this morning from a friend sharing an article called, "Tribal Workers." It focuses on this "new generation" that is made up of people in my age group; a group of people who embrace, or are trapped, by an "employment lifestyle" ...a lifestyle I have been associated with.

"...when people can convince themselves that all they need do in order to lead fulfilled and happy lives is to work long hours, they can quickly start to lose reasons for their existence. As they start to think of their employment as a lifestyle, fulfilling and rewarding of itself - and in which the reward is proportional to hours worked - people rapidly begin to substitute work for other aspects of their lives."

At first, I wanted to take offense seeing as how I am involved in a little bit of a lot. But this doesn't justify my involvement in the slightest. I generally keep my ventures separated; in my opinion, it prevents people from questioning my commitment and dedication to my field. Over time I have found that people are more willing to accept, or embrace, a creative persons venture when they are they are perceived as "all-in" on their sole niche.

Quick sidebar: there is a distinct difference in the quality of work between someone who has multiple interests/hobbies and has taken the time to invest in their craft, verses someone who is just out there trying different things in an attempt to find their "thing" or even themselves. For the latter, I can understand people who don't take them serious or see them as searching for a "thing" to use in order to fulfill themselves rather than doing something fulfilling.

Now, the idea of having to pick just ONE thing that I want to do or invest myself in didn't quite work for me. When I found something I loved to do I like to explore the possibilities of where I could take it, and where I need to grow to make it happen. I like to see how it fits into the grand vision of making my contributions in this world worthwhile. But unlike many cases discussed in the article, there was never a need for me to keep my time occupied in order to feel more fulfilled. It was more so that I have a passion for different fields; all of which have presented lucrative opportunities that I've learned to welcome with open arms.

One of the main reasons why I am able to handle multiple ventures is because of the time Cliff and I spent early on in our careers learning how to maintaining balance in our lives. It definitely wasn't an easy task nor did we quite figure out the right balance on the first try, but its why we don't burn out every month taking on new projects either.

Speaking of balance...three of the people who spoke on relationships really stood out to me. One who was willing to relocate for a job and move in with his girlfriend yet still maintain this long distance type relationship. I just don't understand the point staying in a relationship with someone who is so indifferent about the relationship. The second young man, whose career had international ventures and had him moving around quite a bit made it a point to avoid relationships or any type of emotional investing in a partner due to the fact that he would soon be leaving for the next job. I understand that more; why be in a relationship with someone you can't be even be with, right? Then there was Kathryn...

"Kathryn is a successful American academic, 29, who bucked the trend of her generation: she recently turned her life round for someone else. She moved to the UK, specifically, to be with a man, a decision that she says few of her contemporaries understood. "We're not meant to say: 'I made this decision for this person. Today, you're meant to do things for yourself. If you're willing to make sacrifices for others - especially if you're a woman - that's seen as a kind of weakness. I wonder, though, is doing things for yourself really empowerment, or is liberty a kind of trap?" she says."

Kathryn's story stood out to me. There was a point in time in my early 20's when I was ready and willing to uproot my life for the woman I loved. This was even before I had a desire to leave the state of California. Where ever her job landed her I knew I could relocate and run my business from there, or at the very least get a job at the same university. Overly confident, young, and not thinking things through? Perhaps. But I was never discouraged from this. Maybe I just had a great support system. What baffles me is the fact that making such a bold decisions can render someone as weak. That takes so much conviction and confidence, I fail to understand why its looked down upon as weakness; sacrificing some alleged power. But I digress...

In this new generation of young professionals, we will see many more people with a broader general knowledge and experience base. Specialists will be farther and fewer in between, but there will still be the few that dedicate their lives to one thing -- and there will be a time and place for their impact and expertise. Much like in health care, more Physician's Assistants and Nurse Practitioners will be handling family/general practice while physicians will be more focused on specializing. For the rest of us, we are no long living in a box nor confined by limitation. But what deserves a moment of reflection is how does everything you're involved in come together for your greater goal? We surely know it is perfectly fine to be talented at, and invest in, more than one thing ...learning how to maintain that healthy balance in life, that's the most neglected investment.

What's Your Number?

2012-07-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

There are certain transitions that seem logical or obvious but aren't as easy to make as you would think. Being a entrepreneur doesn't mean you will be a successful business owner. Many entrepreneurs struggle to make that transition to CEO, and often times their companies out-grow them. That's why many of the most successful entrepreneurs have had a multitude of successful start-ups, and end up taking a role on the board of directors, or advisors, rather than drive their company into the ground. They know their strengths, and more importantly they know who to hire to get the job they need done, done.

The thing with a successful business plan is that you have to know your niche, and have an exit strategy. Entrepreneurs focus on the beginning, the establishment -- developing an idea or concept; many times which comes from creating a convenience that they wanted but couldn't find. Their end is when they either bow out gracefully, sell or...become the reason it fails.

When ever you start a business, you always have to know your exit strategy -- or know where to go once you've reached what you were working for. Whether you have a number you want to reach financially so you can walk away and never have to work again (ie, retirement), or your company goes in a direction you do not agree with; and part ways.

Initially, my plan was to establish this company, remain as majority stock holder and appoint a CEO to manage the team and run the show so I could focus my energy elsewhere -- at the time it was returning to being an artist; now its more about philanthropy. Since I've grown, that has somewhat changed. My heart isn't in being a performer, as much as I may miss it or enjoy the brief moments I get to be on stage. I mean, the plan is the same but I wouldn't go back to being an artist; not full-time anyway. [The reasons I wanted to be an artists were rooted in the idea that that would be the best, and only, way I knew how to reach the people and community, and contribute to making changes, and the impact in my community. I now know better ways to initiate the changes I want to see and make the contributions I want to make...but that is a blog for another day..]

I wouldn't consider myself an entrepreneur, although over the past few years I have started growing into that role and contributing to the start-up of many different projects that I am passionate about; I never would have been able to be at this position without AG One. I didn't start AG One to be an entrepreneur. We started it because we knew what we wanted to do, and no one would give us the platform to do that unless we did it ourselves. I never went into the music industry with the sole purpose of getting rich or obtaining fame, but I was conscious of the fact that it was a possibility -- the good and bad.

The reason I'm reflecting on this today is because while I was at my buddy's house helping him unpack from his move he asked me, "Where do you see yourself and where do you want to be, will you be doing AG One forever, or do you plan to walk away?" Honestly, no I won't do it forever. Once I reach my number -- not including assets, property, or investments -- I will gladly walk away and move into the next phase of my career and life. I would be able to dedicate my time to my family, and building my own family; and being involved in the philantrophic and community organizations...maybe even get my credentials and get back in the classroom. But for the time being, I have a mission to accomplish -- and these are all career moves that will get me to the place that I need, and want, to be in order to really make the passion moves I intend to make.

Picking Up the Towel.

2012-07-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

I was supposed to have written this a few months ago; Picking Up the Towel (fast forward the video to 3:20). It was going to be a follow-up to a post I wrote on the Speaker Box . Then life hit -- ironically, what I spoke on at 3:02 became relevant to my life, again. You would have thought I would have learned my lesson the first time. But it wasn't until I was writing the blog I wrote last week about my selling my phone that I was reminded me of this. Now, while it wasn't the actual story that triggered the realization, it was again the book, "Produced By Faith" by DeVon Franklin -- another theme that was a #dammitrandy moment.

I'm not one to pay attention to signs; figuratively speaking. So when God, or the universe, is speaking to me or trying to direct me down a particular path I don't always acknowledge it. In most cases, its leading me in the direction I am not trying to go in so I, regrettably, make a conscious effort to suppress it. Then I finally give in. I accept it, and more doors open I could have ever imagined. Things start falling in place faster than I can keep up with and its like, "why didn't I do this sooner?"

In some ways, that's why I have been on somewhat of a hiatus from blogging. Well, I've been blogging, just not on here. I'm sorry for that -- but really its myself I'm apologizing to since I created this blog in part to document my journey of growth, trial and triumph that I will one day be able to share with my legacy.

In the past 7 months, I've started a new business venture; Edizon Flix Fotografia. Although modest, its growing pretty rapidly. It started out as a hobby, if you could call it that. It was more of a necessity for my artists -- head shots, shooting live gigs, etc. I had numerous friends and colleagues asking for me to shoot for them, but I politely declined since it was not my specific area of expertise. One day I agreed to shoot with Arnold Randall...and the next thing I knew gigs piled up and I had some of my work in a feature for a local publication. And a new business venture on my hands.

So this was me, again, refusing to pick up the towel, and get in the game. It only took me 3 years to realize that this is something that I really excel at, as well, being rather lucrative with. Whether it be the growth of confidence in my ability, or the idea that something kept pushing me down this path, I'm here now and I'm enjoying it. I've always felt like folks who have too many creative ventures are indecisive, or don't know what to take seriously so they try to do it all. That is why I was reluctant with owning this craft. I never want to venture too far from AG One, but I do feel this is another avenue in which I can build within the company and support my artists with -- and that was my sole purpose when I started out.

Only time will tell where it goes from here. But I've picked up the towel, and for me that is always the hardest part.

Remember Who You Wanted to Be.

2012-07-13T14:09:00.002-07:00

I am in the process of changing phone carriers. I figure, I could make a small profit -- or at least supplement the cost of the new phone -- by selling my old one on craigslist. I put it up for a modest price, same amount you would pay in deductible cost for a "lost or stolen" phone, which is still twice as much as you would get from a buy-back program. I got several hits, and committed to the first guy who agreed upon my asking price. Later that day I got an email from another guy who was in dire need of a phone and was willing to pay me enough above my asking price if I were to hold it for him. I agreed. But when we met to make the sale, he didn't have the full amount agreed upon.

A number of thoughts went through my head:

- I got greedy; I got duped.
- I have a waiting list of people who I can get more money from.
- This isn't my problem; no sale [walk away].

It was at that moment I had to check myself, and take a step back. I wasn't present in the situation, nor with the person in front of me. My industry can leave people very jaded, and its a conscious effort to be able to recognize when its happening; to maintain compassion.

So lets paint the picture. Initially we met at Starbucks, but ended up going to the near by sprint store so someone could help us with the change. I pull up looking for a green car, and right away I spot him in the back row by himself chillin in his car. He was pretty grimy. He had no shoes, and his feet were pretty dirty from walking around barefoot for what seemed to be quite some time. A dirty white shirt with holes and khaki shorts that looked like they haven't been washed in some time. I can only assume he works in the construction industry or possibly in the window installment business because of the company name and logo on his shirt. A job in which not having a phone meant he wasn't getting calls for work.

After not being able to make the switch over the phone with account services, we decided to go to the sprint store. I can't even explain the loud screech that came from his engine as he turned on his car. As we drove, it appeared that he wasn't able to go over 35mph -- thank God that the Sprint store was only a few blocks away. He had one tire that was a spare, and the rest had mix matched tires and rims. It looked like he could have been living out of his '92 corolla, but he had shared with me that he had just gotten that car that morning.

While we were at the sprint store, he was sharing with me the story of what he had been through the past couple weeks. If anyone needed a break, it was this guy. So after all the hoops we had to jump through to get the phone activated, I asked him if he had the money. He looked at me and said, "I did this morning...but I needed gas to get here, and I was hungry...and this is what I have left." I don't know what face I made but he looked a little worried to ask, "Can you work with that?"

Initially I was gonna snap and say, "No." Have the rep switch everything back and be on my way because like I said before -- I had other people who were willing to pay me more. But when I took that step back I was able to see, whats a couple dollars if its really going to help this guy out? I almost missed an opportunity to help someone who really needed a W in the win column.

I think this moment came so timely and weighed so heavy on my heart because of the book I'm currently reading, "Produced By Faith" by DeVon Franklin. He speaks on a very heavy theme through out the book this far; not compromising who you are for your career. I can't say that I've stayed the same person; its impossible. But what I can do is be conscious traits that I do not want to to be part of my character.

When I started down this career path years back, Cliff and I made a promise to each other not to lose sight of who we wanted to be, and how we wanted to get there -- and keep each other accountable. We've spoke about this recently, and he said I needed to get back to blogging...hence the story. This was one of those moments. Always remember who you wanted to be.

[hindsight: I could have had him make a deposit via paypal to hold it for him, and collected the rest in person...but that's not the point of this story]

The Most Interesting Man in the World

2012-05-07T11:37:00.002-07:00

I love this stuff. When ever an ad comes on the radio...it makes my day.

The Power of Words

2012-01-20T14:16:00.000-08:00

thank you for sharing, arnold.

"Rant worth listening too"

2011-12-16T11:17:00.000-08:00

pretty well thought out.

Measuring Success your Way

2011-10-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

This piece was featured on Being Latino, Inc.

Recently, Being Latino prompted the question, “Do YOU feel that you need a college education in order to be “successful” in this country? Why or why not?” It’s a loaded question to say the least; in trying to answer it you have to know how to you define success. That in itself can be the root of one’s demise -- spending a lifetime trying to achieve “success” without understanding what their own definition of success is. But the definition of success isn’t what I wanted to address. It was the responses.

Many replies referenced the unemployment rates that many graduates are facing once they leave the comforts of the university, reiterating the perspective that a degree doesn’t promise anyone a job. Other people spoke on how hard it has become to find a job that doesn’t require a college degree; jobs that in the past only required a high school diploma, if that. The common thread: both perspectives share the desire to work or be working. For a lot of us, we grew up with this ingrained: do well in school so you get into a good college, do well in college so you get a good job, get a good job so you have a good life.

We are conditioned to be workers. Employees. We’re not taught to think about creating our own employment opportunities or entrepreneurship. The thought of being a business owner never crossed my mind, nor was I encouraged to explore that possibility. I decided to pursue a career in education because I couldn’t fathom the idea that making music could provide me the consistency and financial stability to have the life I wanted – but I stand here as an entrepreneur. It was my “ah-ha” moment that came once I had the audacity to pursue a career in music that I realized no one was going to give me the opportunity to create the type of music I wanted to make. I had to create the outlet, or opportunity, for myself. Growing up I wasn’t encouraged to take risks (especially financially) nor was I taught that if I fail then it’s not the end of the world. The hardest thing I had to unlearn was that failure isn’t the end of the journey -- its just the beginning.

College, classes, and professors will not make you proficient. They will provide you with knowledge which you apply to life, work and/or career. But what many people do is look for the path that is laid out like the yellow brick road; expecting success to be at the end of it. Just because you obtain a degree that doesn’t mean everything is going to be laid out for you on a silver platter. You have to figure out what you want to do and how to put yourself in a position to achieve that goal. Maybe a degree isn’t even part of that path, but you can’t expect to find success with a formula. You have to put in the work and pave their own yellow brick road.

Having a degree or multiple degrees does not determine nor define your potential for success – you do. It all depends on how hard you work to make it happen.

@OccupyLA Anthem - A Call for Revolution

2011-10-06T20:17:00.000-07:00

I hope you have been keeping up with whats been going on on Wall Street and the Occupy LA movement. This absolutely the most amazing time to be living in right now. We are making history.

and this is a little contribution from some of the 99%-ers at AG One.

The Kushé Collection by Arnold Randall [fotos]

2011-09-26T10:46:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday I shot Arnold Randall's latest creation: The Kushé Collection. We hit the Orange Circle with my favorite models Tanya Thomas and Akapela Jonz on a whim, and it turned out pretty cool. We found a couple dope spots to set up; these were a few of my favorite shots..

Like Father, Like Son

2011-09-24T20:48:00.000-07:00

Strong genes, and seemingly the same shoes.

Its kind of crazy how similar my pops and I are. Similar tendencies, tone of voice and expressions. Only difference would be that I'm a natural lefty -- I just learned to do a lot of things right handed because I used his old golf clubs and baseball gloves. Leaving my teens and going into my early twenties one of my part-time jobs was working at lids. I ended up having a hat collection of over 20 LA fitted hats. Come to find out my pops had about the same amount of hats at the same age. There are a lot of other instances my mom likes to point out to me on how history is repeating; such as how we both have a guitar collection consisting of about 4 or 5 each.

I don't think its a big deal, but when people meet my father they are stunned by how much we look alike -- when they meet my grandfather they are speechless.

And to reiterate these genes I was referring to...here's my a recent picture of my grandfather.

My family is the perfect example of pursuing the "American Dream" in the fact that each generation lived a better life than the previous; and they were able to accomplish more because of sacrifices made to give their children better opportunities. As for myself, it takes a conscious effort to make sure those sacrifices were not made in vein; being aware of my blessings.

People often talk about "failure" as not being an option for them. Failure plays a quintessential role in achieving success. Giving up, however. That is not an option -- its unacceptable.

I Don't Need Your Help

2011-09-14T20:20:00.000-07:00

This article was featured on Being Latino.

Well, at least didn’t think I did. I suppose you could say I’m prideful -- machismo, even. But I am not arrogant nor am I disrespectful. Part of the problem is that I don’t like to ask for help. I know I am fully capable of completing the task at hand on my own, but sometimes there’s just too much to do. The other part of the issue is I couldn't recognize that people want to help because they want to see me succeed -- and being able to trust that someone else had my best interest at heart isn’t the easiest task.

When I started my business four years ago I made a couple major mistakes that limited my potential for growth; all because of my pride. The first one was when I decided against accepting money from investors. I didn’t want to have any pressure over my head of having to pay anyone back -- I also wasn’t sure I was even going to be able to. I didn’t understand the concept of spending someone else’s money before spending your own -- I wanted to do it my way with my money. The second mistake was in building my staff, and learning to delegate responsibilities. I didn’t want to inconvenience people that I really couldn’t financially afford to have working on my team. So I ran myself ragged trying to do it all myself.

The issues bled into my relationship. I am very adamant about keeping my personal life and my business separate, but I wasn’t demonstrating that very well. I became, and sometimes still am, one dimensional. My lady was only able to experience one facet of who I am, and since I was being consumed by my business, that is who she knew; and that's who she wanted to help. That led to many moments of frustration and even arguments concerning boundaries between our relationship and my business.

That was my biggest misconception.

She wasn’t trying to over step our relationship nor was she trying to take over what was mine. Her way of showing love and appreciation for me was to contribute to what she knew meant a lot to me. But I wasn’t open to accepting it; I wasn’t able to recognize what her love looked like. The same way I wasn’t open to investors; people who truly believed in me and wanted to help me succeed by providing much needed capitol. The same way I refused to delegate tasks to people who were more than willing and wanted to be a part of the company I created -- giving their time even when they knew there would be no financial compensation up front. But I couldn’t see that.

Pride can be blinding. In my case my pride was holding me back from receiving the blessings people wanted to give me. I was stuck in a state of mind where I was the only one that could do what needed to be done. I confined myself by believing there is only one way to complete a task; or only one way to show someone love. Machismo has gotten the best of me, but I’m learning to grow through it. I just keep reminding myself, “No one ever choked to death swallowing their pride.”

Does the hyphen syphon equality?

2011-09-02T09:21:00.000-07:00

This piece was featured on Being Latino Magazine. And yes, that is a picture from my soccer playing days.

I forget how old I was when I first learned that I am Mexican. This to me is not necessarily a bad thing — depending on how the information is presented. You can easily shape a child’s perception of specific people or put a chip on their shoulder at an early age. What is that going to do for them? Ultimately, it will affect the way they build relationships growing-up and in school. Understandably, later on down the line they will wise up to the realities of society; so no need to pollute their minds early on with what we think. That inhibits progress, but I digress.

When explaining my background my grandmother always told me, “you are American of Mexican descent.” It wasn’t until I just wrote that sentence a few seconds ago that I realized how deep it truly is. It’s a strong, strong statement declaring that I am contributing member to American society and deserved to be treated as an equal American citizen; it also embraces my rich family heritage – which is significantly different than identifying as “Mexican-American.”

I have an issue with the hyphen. African-American. Asian-American. Meixcan-Amerian. Second-Class. While it gives me the outward appearance that we are able to embrace our culture when we identify our nationality, I feel that by adding the hyphen we allow a degree of separation from what society identifies simply as “American.” I’m American, too. Why do we have to be a sub-category or sub-classification of what type of Americans we are?

Maybe the greater issue of identity lies in the question, “What does it mean to be an American, really?” So much effort goes into figuring out what everyone is because there is no real definition of what American is -- to each his own. The beauty of this country is its diversity; its downfall is equality.

You would think equality would have been a standard by now. Some may argue it is, which to an extent is true. The rest of us would say there is still a long road ahead to reach that point. Equality is something that will never be achieved over night on the mass level. It starts at the individual level; how we raise our children. Teaching them we are equal, and in order to be respected as an equal we must treat all people equal, ourselves. Embracing our differences culturally or superficially, but being accepting and open-minded with other cultures -- its proven to be more difficult than it sounds. I truly believe racism and prejudice are taught in the home; children aren’t born with these ideas or misconceptions. If we want change how we are perceived, it starts with us. In our homes. Educating our future.

MOVE

2011-08-04T13:01:00.001-07:00

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

I thought this was really cool. Courtesy of Howard.

When was the last time you listened to the radio, really?

2011-07-17T23:30:00.000-07:00

I was recently asked what my thoughts are on the state of mainstream radio on my formspring. More and more, this is becoming a prominent discussion point among my peers. It was no more than a week ago that I got a call from Mr. Notes talking about his frustration with the radio and how it is all sounding the same to him. Ironically, I had just read an article by Bob Lefsetz talking about the role mainstream music is playing in today music industry. I love how he relates major labels to mass manufacturing companies, and people are interested in supporting small business because the have better quality products.

"No one has the magic keys. Top forty radio is a formula fed by a conveyor belt no different from the one at GM, but with a lot less innovation. If you're interested in making a Cruze or a Camry, sign up. But it's the aforementioned Prius which is sold out and unavailable, it's what people want, what they're willing to overpay for, even though GM killed its electric car. It takes a while for the public to catch up. The Prius was not an overnight success. Hipsters and the green signed up first, Toyota improved the product, gas prices went through the roof and voila, a mania! Manias are not manufactured, not ones that last, they're all about being in the right place at the right time, anticipating the market, not playing it safe, but being dangerous." - Bob Lefsetz

In the past year I have found myself listening more NPR, or podcasts such as Gordon Gartrell Radio. Notes hit the nail on the head when he said, "its all starting to sound the same to me." Some may say mainstream radio is playing it safe, others may argue that they are just playing the artists who have the marketing dollars behind them. Its a lot of static sound, no one that is getting air play can say they are pushing the envelope musically, really. There a few acts that are, but they aren't getting as much love as they should. People with the budgets -- that are slowly dwindling -- are taking less risks on acts that THEY can't see as being immediately profitable. Instead, they are banking on revenue from these cookie cutter sounding artists that were successful during this current trend. But once that trend is over, then what?

I miss how DJ's used to break local acts by giving them air play -- and due credit should be given to those such as DJ Roial 1, Nicky Valens, and other DJ's who still practice this. Radio used to be a balance of top 40, as well as regional artists. Now you can go from city to city across the states and just hear the same songs. That's why so many people are hitting the internet so tough and are devouring all the music -- especially the free music -- from these unsigned artists.

Internet radio has its moments. Pandora or Slacker sometimes throws me for a curve ball and hits me with something or someone I've never heard of and is really dope -- I have high hopes for spotify, once I really get it going.

Podcasts like Phonte and Zo (gordongartrellradio.com) will do mixing classic hits and new music, and it never fails, I always end up researching who just played so I can hear more from them.

But to answer the question I think people that are really looking for new music aren't listening to mainstream radio. To have your song played on mainstream radio is more of a status marker opposed to the best music really getting to most spins.

What are your thoughts? Where do you go to find your new music?

Continuous Play part 1

2011-07-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I was at a fish fry with my friends. While sitting around, Cliff asked everyone at the table what their all-time favorite album was -- the album that they could listen to over and over again and not get tired of. For me, I couldn't answer. I am all over the place with my musical tastes to be able to narrow my choice down to just one album.

This last week I have been reflecting on what albums I like to listen to. Since my taste is somewhat diverse I figure I would break it up into two posts -- this one will be on hip hop. Its rare to find an album in any genre I can listen to them in its entirety -- from beginning to end without skipping a song. For me, these are them:

The Renaissance - Q-Tip

This album is one of my favorite albums, hands down. I often argue with Cliff about which albums is Q-Tips best. I say This one, and Cliff always sides with "Amplified". In all honesty, both are dope albums. I think I just chose this one because its actually what was playing in my car this morning.

Biyani - Blue Scholars

My line brother put me up on game when it came to the Blue Scholars. The first song I ever heard from them was No Rest for the Weary, and from there I was a fan. I love that they possess the essence of the old school Producer/DJ and Emcee duo. The production sometimes has unique elements, but doesn't lose familiar sound of hip hop. I admire their dedication to empower the people -- true activists.

Fishscale - Ghostface Killah

This was definitely one of my best purchases during my college career. The album is solid. As great as the follow up album, "More Fish" was, That seem more like a compilation of songs that didn't make the cut for "FishScale." The Production knocks -- but Just Blaze never really has a weak track. Lyrically, Ghost is one of the more influential writers on my own writing and if it wasn't for my little bro, I probably wouldn't have as much of an appreciate for Ghost as I do.

Reasonable Doubt - Jay Z

A classic. Ironically it was my friend Mischalay who gave me my first copy of this album my freshman year of college. Back in the dorms I told her I had a brand new ipod with no music, and a few minutes later she dropped off a couple GIANT books of cd's -- that looked like this! I spent days uploading music...I could listen to this album any time and it is just so timeless.

Finding Forever - Common

I dont know what it was about this album, but it was definitely one of my favorites. Now granted, I've been a fan of Common for a long time and this is arguable the most pop he has gone (with the exception of endless summer)...but I loved it. I had this on repeat in my elantra back in college. I might be the topics he spoke on or where I was in life, but for me I could listen to this all day. The production on this project really influence my style as producer. Its a given that as a writer Common's catalog of music has been very influential.

Honorable Mentions:
Busta Rhymes - Big Bang
Kanye West - Homecoming
Common - Be
Big Pun - Capital Punishment

Now please do not get this confused....this is not a declaration of any kind stating that these are the best hip hop albums of all time. These are just simply some of my favorite albums because I am able to listen to continuously.

What are the hip hop albums that you can listen to on continuous play?

Nick and Yadi's Wedding [fotos]

2011-07-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

I love this shot.

We stopped traffic..

These were just a couple of my favorite shots from the day.

I forgot to post these a while back...a wedding I helped shoot last year.

Encouragement

2011-07-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

I immediately loved this when I first saw it. Everyone has a starting point, but where they go from there is directly correlated with how much their loved ones believe in, and encourage them to continue to grow.

Happy 4th of July.

oh, by the way...do you think this would have had the same ending had the little boy been brown or black?

Planking

2011-07-02T19:47:00.000-07:00

"PLANKING= slavers stacked slaves on plank beds face down,hands chained to there waist & called planking there slaves..."

I haven't really found the humor in this recent obsession [click here for images of planking] that has hit pop culture, and now I understand why. I've seen kids all over taking pictures of themselves looking stiff as a board.. I've seen my peers indulge in the moment. I just hope that those that do know about history are taking the time to share this with our youth. Too many people, not just children, are walking around uninformed and not because the information isn't readily available or accessible -- some people just don't care

Maybe it was just me. Maybe my struggle to find out where I belonged led me to dive into finding out where I came from. I can never get enough knowledge, history, and stories from my family. My grandparents especially. There were many sacrifices, many set backs, and many struggles that happened, but my family and my community still made it to where we are today. Now WE -- you and I -- are blessed with the burden of responsibility.

I believe that if people know better then they will do better. I hope the above image isn't what they are looking to imitate or recreate.

what are your thoughts?

Save Your Work. [life lesson]

2011-06-26T04:46:00.000-07:00

I can't sleep. So I'm writing.

I've been on a bit of a hiatus from blogging in the last couple weeks -- almost a month, actually. Yeah, I posted a couple videos I liked here and there; just to stay in the groove...but I haven't really written anything or even picked up my camera to take any pictures recently since I returned from my grandmothers funeral in Texas. I'm not sure if discouraged is the word to use, but I just haven't feel too inspired lately because of some recent events.

I'm sure its a combination of the stress that life produces... The heavy heart from the recent loss of my grandmother. The frustration of losing all my work as a photographer, musician and writer. Losing the funding for my grad school classes because of a policy change. The uneasiness I have each time I've received a text in the last month when my grandmother (paternal) and/or grandfather are sent to the hospital.

Out of everything I touched upon, only one was within my control to be completely avoidable. Saving my work. I thought I had a secure way of saving it all, but I've found out the hard way that I was wrong. When I bought my last laptop I purchased an external hard drive to save all my work on. I figured all my computers in the past crashed because I saved too much on the hard drives, in an effort to preserve the life of my computer...well yeah. I lost my hard drive. Everything was on there. Well, everything but the AG One and ENOGA catalogs. At the moment, not all hope is lost -- I still have a friend that may be able to get the data transferred over to a new hard drive....but we'll see

In the meantime I'm researching servers to save and back up all our work -- especially our catalogs. But this was definitely a hard lesson to learn. Computers don't last forever, external hard drives dont last forever, CD's dont last forever.

So remember, saving everything isn't enough, it all needs to be backed up.

LIVE AT DISNEYLAND - TIGGER is The real Cat Daddy (Tigger does the CAT DADDY)

2011-06-09T13:22:00.001-07:00

Cliff sent this to me today. It really did make my day.

Divine Intervention?

2011-06-04T10:30:00.000-07:00

Let me apologize in advance to my readers who feel that images of a cemetery are morbid.

As some of you may know, my grandmother recently passed away and I spent a week on the road to be at her memorial services with my family in Texas. While in the process of making reservations in Fort Davis, Texas, we found out that many of the local hotels were booked up from displaced residents of the town due to brush fires.

When we arrived in Texas, the fires had stopped -- thankfully. But what was amazing to me is that the fires had completely gone around/avoided the cemetery that my grandmother was to be buried in. The adobe house -- the place my grandfather, his nine brothers and sisters, and parents called home-- that stood between the cemetery and town, gone. The house across the street that belonged to the town judge, gone. In the pictures above you can see how far spread the damage from the fire is, but the cemetery is completely untouched.

Side bar, while on the way to the cemetery my Tio Joe (my grandfathers baby brother) was telling me how this cemetery was reserved for the Mexicans, and the "Angelo's" had their own cemetery on the other side of town -- supposedly it actually had green grass, but I couldn't confirm this.

Interesting tidbit of history.

Afternoon Sun

2011-06-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

I love how the colors came out. I shot this while driving through either Arizona or New Mexico. I cant wait till this October when I hit up the Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico

Ricky and Olivia's Wedding

2011-06-03T12:00:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago I had the honor of being in my cousin Ricky's wedding. I'm very proud of the man, and happy that he has found such amazing partner to spend the rest of his life with. I got a couple shots during rehearsal at the church

A couple shots from the church during rehearsal. I love the one of my tia taking video

a lighter shade of brown?

addicted.

Here are a couple teasers from the shoot I helped coordinate. I just took a couple shots here and there...these two were a couple of my favorites.