I follow moonbeams,
Looking for center,
A lunatic, chasing
Mirrors.
I shadow box the aurora,
a danse macabre
sans death.
I am a pilgrim,
Returning home
Again and again
To masquerade in a world
Of mannequins.
Past-Partum
For today's blog, I'd like to post a rhyme I wrote recently that attempts to explain the psychology behind the birth process; we divide from our mergence with the infinite, and slowly separate through birth itself, and the things we are taught in society...
The light hits my eyes
I awaken and cry
Taken from salvation, placed in a station, and tied
I'm on display as a patient
and I'm wasting no time
To gain some motivation, and ace it this time.
Life is confrontation in this matrix of mind
and my parents show me basics, while erasing divine.
I can't escape it,
but my hesitation is high
while I watch my parents argue
I think hatred is life.
Screams and cracks
in dream-like patches FLASH
I see myself in ego-self and laugh
When i be my Self, I see my Self in half
Can't redeem myself while freedom's in the past!
I'm taken down with the demons of a being believing
that he's the reason people scream and treat each other like heathens.
Not really seeing how I'm slowly being taken from freedom
by my thoughts that are leading with the notion of sin;
So begins
the road of the loneliest men
Only the holy see the coldness as a motion that ebbs.
I'm growing older, so are the fractures within,
fissures of a broken home cracking the kid.
My sister joins existence on the planet of riches
becomes a stitch sewing vision with the love she delivers.
My parents see religion as an antidote to venom
that they've spit into the lives of their family to end them.
I begin to see faults in the logic that lies
within the scriptures that the system provides, and relies.
Wonder why rocketships are etched in pyramid lines
6,000 years before Apollo in '69.
In the skies are dark vapors they spread on our lives
The water's packed with poison, so our daughters stay high,
while our father's think the television gives them the signs
on how to choose a President to lead us through life.
The teachers need obedience, so history is meaningless;
Columbus gets a holiday, Malcolm is a deviant.
The outcome is believing you've achieved the truly treasonness:
alleviated God with the doubt of your belief in him...
The light hits my eyes
I awaken and cry
Taken from salvation, placed in a station, and tied
I'm on display as a patient
and I'm wasting no time
To gain some motivation, and ace it this time.
Life is confrontation in this matrix of mind
and my parents show me basics, while erasing divine.
I can't escape it,
but my hesitation is high
while I watch my parents argue
I think hatred is life.
Screams and cracks
in dream-like patches FLASH
I see myself in ego-self and laugh
When i be my Self, I see my Self in half
Can't redeem myself while freedom's in the past!
I'm taken down with the demons of a being believing
that he's the reason people scream and treat each other like heathens.
Not really seeing how I'm slowly being taken from freedom
by my thoughts that are leading with the notion of sin;
So begins
the road of the loneliest men
Only the holy see the coldness as a motion that ebbs.
I'm growing older, so are the fractures within,
fissures of a broken home cracking the kid.
My sister joins existence on the planet of riches
becomes a stitch sewing vision with the love she delivers.
My parents see religion as an antidote to venom
that they've spit into the lives of their family to end them.
I begin to see faults in the logic that lies
within the scriptures that the system provides, and relies.
Wonder why rocketships are etched in pyramid lines
6,000 years before Apollo in '69.
In the skies are dark vapors they spread on our lives
The water's packed with poison, so our daughters stay high,
while our father's think the television gives them the signs
on how to choose a President to lead us through life.
The teachers need obedience, so history is meaningless;
Columbus gets a holiday, Malcolm is a deviant.
The outcome is believing you've achieved the truly treasonness:
alleviated God with the doubt of your belief in him...
STLP Presents: May 2009 Newsletter
Ladies and gentleman, sorry for the delay on this month's STLP newsletter; the crew has been cruising up and down the Northeast, crashing stages for the new After.Words' album, Before the War. It went a little something like this:
The crew braved the shitty weather, and hiked up to NYC--loaded with blunts, and hip-hop (no stunts; sorry ladies)--to rock with Louis Logic. Apollo's Sun was diggin the "Harold and Kumar" White Castle we passed, as we shot up to Saratoga Springs to rock a DOPE ASS SHOW. Unfortunately, the first leg of the tour came to an end quickly, and we sadly trekked back to PA to rock in Lancaster (thankfully we got down on some burritos, and jammed with our homeys, High Life, at a quasi-local show). After painfully sparring "reverse culture shock" for a few days, we resumed our travels to Erie, where we were introduced to rocking beneath Christmas lights (at Easter), and disco balls (pictures of this will be uploaded on our sites soon enough). If any of you don't believe in "lake-effect" wind, I highly recommend a trip to Erie; it won't take long for you to commence ball retrieval and regress to your former "home". We bee-lined to Buffalo, where the locals welcomed us with praise, lots of blunts, and some other substance offers (these we passed on, but seriously: Buffalo mu'fuckas sure as hell get down!) Portsmouth, NH held it down for real hip-hop, where the "lyricist lounge"-like feel, coupled with the "live free or die" attitude provided the fertile ground for a really dope show. We crushed D.C. with our homey, Ardamus, rocking the Adams Morgan "brackish water" section of town (as one local referred to the cultural intermingling), and rolled to Allentown for our final tour stop with Reef the Lost Cauze and King Magnetic (Army of the Pharoahs). Here we were greeted like kings--a half gallon of Captain, backstage access, and the go-ahead to "smoke anything you want"--and we ended the tour with a serious bang. Many albums were sold, friends were made, and life resumed...
So now STLP has returned home to announce our latest and greatest upcoming events. First, Mid-Tempo Thursdays return MAY 7th with windchILL of AOI and After.Words, CODA, and Ladii J! Come get your hip-hop fix for free, every Thursday at the Mid-Town Tavern in Harrisburg, where the latest and greatest hip-hop artists around the country will showcase their skills each week. This month's schedule is as follows:
May 7th: WindchILL of AOI and After.Words w/ CODA and Ladii J
May 14th: J Bair
May 21st: Advanced Placement
May 28th: Phynite and Unit 13
*For more information on Mid-Tempo Thursdays please go to: myspace.com/midtempothursdays
Following the success of After.Words' debut album, Before the War, and his groundbreaking solo debut, I Have Arrived, windchILL (of AOI and After.Words) has announced Self-Medication, the sophomore offering from one of Pennsylvania's most recognizable underground faces slated to drop in September of 2009. The album features production from a slew of hard-hitting producers from around the globe. WindchILL intends to have the lead-single and video, "Live As it Gets," available for free download by July. Stockpile your sick days, because you're going to need some time to soak in chILL's musical remedies this fall.
*For more information on windchILL, please check out www.myspace.com/windchillofaoi or http://www.stlp.net/
Finally, Artists Over Industry (windchILL, Wellis Fool f.k.a. Inkwell the Biologic, and DJ Gard) has been nominated for Best Live Act for the 2009 717 Music Awards, and will be performing live on June 6th at Gullifty's Underground for the event. Pre-sale tickets are available at windchILL's myspace: www.myspace.com/windchillofaoi for $10. The night will feature all your local favorites, rocking for one night at one of the area's dopest live venues. Come out and party with the crew, as we celebrate six strong years of live show's for the greater Harrisburg Area.
Well, that's it for our post-tour ramble. Hope everyone is feeling the vibe as Spring has finally descended upon us. If you haven't already, check out www.stlp.net for the latest updates on STLP's summer plans, our new and improved "STUDIO", and our on-line store! We have plenty of entertainment for you in the months to come.
One,
STLP
www.stlp.net
The crew braved the shitty weather, and hiked up to NYC--loaded with blunts, and hip-hop (no stunts; sorry ladies)--to rock with Louis Logic. Apollo's Sun was diggin the "Harold and Kumar" White Castle we passed, as we shot up to Saratoga Springs to rock a DOPE ASS SHOW. Unfortunately, the first leg of the tour came to an end quickly, and we sadly trekked back to PA to rock in Lancaster (thankfully we got down on some burritos, and jammed with our homeys, High Life, at a quasi-local show). After painfully sparring "reverse culture shock" for a few days, we resumed our travels to Erie, where we were introduced to rocking beneath Christmas lights (at Easter), and disco balls (pictures of this will be uploaded on our sites soon enough). If any of you don't believe in "lake-effect" wind, I highly recommend a trip to Erie; it won't take long for you to commence ball retrieval and regress to your former "home". We bee-lined to Buffalo, where the locals welcomed us with praise, lots of blunts, and some other substance offers (these we passed on, but seriously: Buffalo mu'fuckas sure as hell get down!) Portsmouth, NH held it down for real hip-hop, where the "lyricist lounge"-like feel, coupled with the "live free or die" attitude provided the fertile ground for a really dope show. We crushed D.C. with our homey, Ardamus, rocking the Adams Morgan "brackish water" section of town (as one local referred to the cultural intermingling), and rolled to Allentown for our final tour stop with Reef the Lost Cauze and King Magnetic (Army of the Pharoahs). Here we were greeted like kings--a half gallon of Captain, backstage access, and the go-ahead to "smoke anything you want"--and we ended the tour with a serious bang. Many albums were sold, friends were made, and life resumed...
So now STLP has returned home to announce our latest and greatest upcoming events. First, Mid-Tempo Thursdays return MAY 7th with windchILL of AOI and After.Words, CODA, and Ladii J! Come get your hip-hop fix for free, every Thursday at the Mid-Town Tavern in Harrisburg, where the latest and greatest hip-hop artists around the country will showcase their skills each week. This month's schedule is as follows:
May 7th: WindchILL of AOI and After.Words w/ CODA and Ladii J
May 14th: J Bair
May 21st: Advanced Placement
May 28th: Phynite and Unit 13
*For more information on Mid-Tempo Thursdays please go to: myspace.com/midtempothursdays
Following the success of After.Words' debut album, Before the War, and his groundbreaking solo debut, I Have Arrived, windchILL (of AOI and After.Words) has announced Self-Medication, the sophomore offering from one of Pennsylvania's most recognizable underground faces slated to drop in September of 2009. The album features production from a slew of hard-hitting producers from around the globe. WindchILL intends to have the lead-single and video, "Live As it Gets," available for free download by July. Stockpile your sick days, because you're going to need some time to soak in chILL's musical remedies this fall.
*For more information on windchILL, please check out www.myspace.com/windchillofaoi or http://www.stlp.net/
Finally, Artists Over Industry (windchILL, Wellis Fool f.k.a. Inkwell the Biologic, and DJ Gard) has been nominated for Best Live Act for the 2009 717 Music Awards, and will be performing live on June 6th at Gullifty's Underground for the event. Pre-sale tickets are available at windchILL's myspace: www.myspace.com/windchillofaoi for $10. The night will feature all your local favorites, rocking for one night at one of the area's dopest live venues. Come out and party with the crew, as we celebrate six strong years of live show's for the greater Harrisburg Area.
Well, that's it for our post-tour ramble. Hope everyone is feeling the vibe as Spring has finally descended upon us. If you haven't already, check out www.stlp.net for the latest updates on STLP's summer plans, our new and improved "STUDIO", and our on-line store! We have plenty of entertainment for you in the months to come.
One,
STLP
www.stlp.net
A Case of the "Church Giggles"
Well, it’s Monday, and I’d like to start the week out with a little dose of humor to fuel the thought-fire on this rainy day. This weekend I had the distinct honor of attending my 7 year-old niece’s first Holy Communion. While I haven’t been to Mass in quite sometime (I was raised both Catholic and Methodist by divorced parents) there were a few instances of dogma and practice that made me chuckle throughout the morning:
First, I had forgotten how frequently the congregation is asked to respond, “Lord have mercy,” before the administration of the Eucharist. This may not strike some of you as funny, but after years of listening to reggae, it seems I have lost the ability to sing “Lord have mercy” the “white” way. Naturally, each time the response was called for, I belted my best Rasta “lawd ‘av mercy”, and found that this made mass much more enjoyable for me. Hopefully those around me weren’t too offended, but if they were I think such an injection of humor into their lives could be a great folk remedy for the “I take myself too seriously” disease plaguing contemporary America.
Secondly, it is customary throughout Catholic mass for the congregation to respond to certain phrases spoken by the priest with a pre-ordained mantra, as I alluded to earlier. Hands-down, the funniest of these exchanges occurs at the very close of the service: the Priest concludes mass by announcing, “The mass has ended. Go in peace,” while the congregation replies, “Thanks be to God!” I found it very funny that the close of church is announced and every one basically shouts, “Praise the lord!”; although, I must give some respect to the Catholics for consistently modeling the practice of counting ALL blessings in life, including the closing of a long church service.
While paths through our universe—and maybe other universes, too—are many and rather diverse, truth is always one. Though I would never proclaim to be an avid church-goer—or religious in the traditional sense of the word—I find that the divine follows wherever one is willing to look; and for a sinner like me that could even mean church.
First, I had forgotten how frequently the congregation is asked to respond, “Lord have mercy,” before the administration of the Eucharist. This may not strike some of you as funny, but after years of listening to reggae, it seems I have lost the ability to sing “Lord have mercy” the “white” way. Naturally, each time the response was called for, I belted my best Rasta “lawd ‘av mercy”, and found that this made mass much more enjoyable for me. Hopefully those around me weren’t too offended, but if they were I think such an injection of humor into their lives could be a great folk remedy for the “I take myself too seriously” disease plaguing contemporary America.
Secondly, it is customary throughout Catholic mass for the congregation to respond to certain phrases spoken by the priest with a pre-ordained mantra, as I alluded to earlier. Hands-down, the funniest of these exchanges occurs at the very close of the service: the Priest concludes mass by announcing, “The mass has ended. Go in peace,” while the congregation replies, “Thanks be to God!” I found it very funny that the close of church is announced and every one basically shouts, “Praise the lord!”; although, I must give some respect to the Catholics for consistently modeling the practice of counting ALL blessings in life, including the closing of a long church service.
While paths through our universe—and maybe other universes, too—are many and rather diverse, truth is always one. Though I would never proclaim to be an avid church-goer—or religious in the traditional sense of the word—I find that the divine follows wherever one is willing to look; and for a sinner like me that could even mean church.
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