Apostle's Blog

Subject: APOSTLE & DJ Quest in your area! With special guests, Goddess Alchemy Project

APOSTLE — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:54:04 GMT

Attention Soldiers, Revolutionary sounds are headed in your direction. In times like these, we need voices that will stand up for truth in the face of the onslaught of political rhetoric. Come together with us and invoke the spirit of change for the betterment of this world, it's the only one we've got. The future is counting on us. Myself and DJ Quest, along with our sisters, Goddess Alchemy Project will be in your area to give you just what you need to get through these hard times, music to move your mind body and soul. Here are the venues we will be at: Thursday 10-02: Santa Cruz: Moe's Alley Friday 10-03: San Francisco: Get Connected Summit Saturday 10-04 Eureka: Red Fox Tavern Sunday 10-05 Ashland: Stillwater PEACE -- APOSTLE www.7soldiersproductions.com www.myspace.com/sevensoldier

Lyrical Activism CMJ Chart Debut #29

APOSTLE — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 23:33:37 GMT

Showing Hip Hop Chart For Issue #1051 All charts are subject to change prior to print TW LW 2W PK WKS Artist Recording Label 1 1 2 1 4 DEL THE FUNKY HOMOSAPIEN 11th Hour Definitive Jux 2 2 1 1 7 AKROBATIK Absolute Value Fat Beats 3 5 7 3 5 SUBSTANTIAL Sacrifice Hbd Label Group 4 3 3 3 7 CADENCE WEAPON Afterparty Babies Anti 5 9 13 5 4 BISC1 When Electric Night Falls Embedded 6 6 6 6 6 MOE POPE AND HEADNODIC Megaphone NatAural High 7 8 16 7 3 JUNC OPS 2013 Circuitree Records 8 7 5 1 19 LUPE FIASCO The Cool Atlantic-1st & 15th 9 12 17 9 3 GURU Jazzmatazz: The Timebomb - Back To The Future 7 Grand 10 4 4 2 9 ONE BE LO The R.E.B.I.R.T.H. Subterraneous 11 13 11 10 7 SONIC SUM Films Definitive Jux 12 10 10 1 11 MIKE LADD Nostalgialator Definitive Jux 13 14 - 13 2 TEARGAS AND PLATEGLASS Black Triage Waxploitation 14 18 20 14 5 DOMER Vaguest Vacation Mind Spray 15 21 23 15 3 BLACK SPADE To Serve With Love Om 16 11 8 8 10 TOUCH AND NATO The Representatives In Intelligent Design Up In Arms 17 17 - 17 2 EDUCATED CONSUMERS Write Hear VerIZum 18 15 15 5 11 GHISLAIN POIRIER No Ground Under Ninja Tune 19 25 30 19 3 CONNIE PRICE AND THE KEYSTONES Tell Me Something Ubiquity 20 27 18 9 16 WYCLEF JEAN Carnival II: Memoirs Of An Immigrant Columbia 21 19 9 2 10 BREEZ EVAHFLOWIN AND DIRT E. DUTCH Troublemakers Little Ax LLC. 22 - - 22 1 JEAN GRAE AND 9TH WONDER Jeanius Blacksmith 23 16 12 7 8 THE YMD Excuse Me, This Is The Yah Mos Def My Pal God 24 20 14 3 18 Y SOCIETY Travel At Your Own Pace Tres 25 28 24 2 12 FOOD FOR ANIMALS Belly Hoss 26 22 21 1 19 BUCK 65 Situation Strange Famous 27 30 29 23 8 NICOLAY AND KAY Time:Line Groove Attack 28 - 36 28 2 GNARLS BARKLEY The Odd Couple Downtown 29 - - 29 1 APOSTLE Lyrical Activism Seven Soldier 30 26 31 18 10 RUCKUS ROBOTICUS Playing With Scratches Grease 31 - - 31 1 KIDZ IN THE HALL "Drivin Down The Block" [Single] Duck Down 32 23 19 1 30 TALIB KWELI Eardrum Warner Bros. 33 32 - 32 2 SANTOGOLD Creator Downtown 34 - - 34 1 Y-LOVE This Is Babylon Modular Moods 35 36 - 35 2 ATMOSPHERE "Shoulda Known" [Single] Rhymesayers 36 24 22 5 10 YAK BALLZ Scifentology II Flospot 37 37 - 37 2 BRAILLE The IV Edition Syntax 38 - - 7 24 M.I.A. Kala Interscope 39 29 34 4 11 VARIOUS ARTISTS Night Owls 4: A Shot In The Dark Syntax 40 - - 40 1 POEMS Special Delivery HipHop Is Music

Your Skin

APOSTLE — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:35:10 GMT

In your skin I see the begining of time and space and misconceptions evaporate in the magnetic field of your fermones created from the skin tone pulsating through pores parcipitated in the air the fragrance you wear I devour in less than an hour we fill the room with our laughter and a connection is made in the context of mutual appreciation from our dating frustrations to our life aspirations to our financial complications, we engage in meaningful conversations about what we could do if we ruled the world and for a second, I thoght that together we probably could. Then I realized if I could cause you to revolve I would be the man I am but again your skin is like something I want to be consumed in redeemed in cleansed in for all my sins, I find salvation in your embrace replacing confusion perversion instead uninhibited expressions of love eroticsm mathematical tantric medicine confessions of my obsessions I can't seem to stop thinking about the flawless texture of your exterior organ a blessing to behold you, to hold you, I told you what I would do to have my light absorbed in your darkness like the sunshine when it stimulates the reaction of melanin in your skin your beautiful skin your perfect skin when can I see you again? APOSTLE

The Way of the Soldier (The 7 by 7 Program) Part 1 of 7: The 7 Point Agenda

APOSTLE — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 05:33:17 GMT

1) To demonstrate the Power of Music through: The cognitive connection to rhythm, rhyme and melody, vital signs in the body known as "biorhythms", and slang as the evolution of language. 2) To utilize the Power of Music for its original purposes of: Celebration, communication, education and healing. While providing an alternative media's mass marketing of violence, materialism, and misogyny. 3) To provide a framework for dialogue, strategy and implementation for social change that is enlightening and inspirational for those who find bliss on the dance floor. 4) To galvanize a strong collective of people with diverse talents that recognize the trans formative power of participating in the live performances as ritual 5) To develop a network of independent artists, grassroots community organizations, and independent media outlets to provide an alternative to mass medias' blackout on non conforming voices. 6) To mobilize a collective of artists, educators, activists, and healers to travel nationally and internationally to expand the impact of the Power of Music. 7) To unite people separated by cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and socio-economic boundaries through the Power of Music. APOSTLE

Discovery: The impossible. Part 3 of 3

APOSTLE — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 06:51:07 GMT

As I began to piece the dream back together, still recovering from my exhaustion cold, I reflected back on my life with newfound appreciation. I've had an amazing run of it so far, I'm so thankful I'm still here to experience more. Amazingly I've been able to hang out and rub elbows with many who would be considered Hip Hop royalty at the beginning, peak and ending of their careers. My new purpose gave these experiences a much deeper context. When I was barely a teenager, I met Crazy Legs of the "Rock Steady Crew" during a promotional tour for the movie Beat Street. In my early twenties, I met Tupac Shakur and promoted a show for him on New Year's Eve 1991, just a few months after he dropped his first solo record "2Pacalypse Now". Then in my early thirties, I met KRS-ONE, who has had the most influence on me as an artist. Although I didn't think of these experiences as a spiritual experience at the time. I realize that who these people were spiritually had as much impact on me as who they were as innovators of the culture of Hip Hop. Equally influential to me were the social justice leaders of my community in Denver who I had the privilege to have in my life as mentors. Dr. Paul Hamilton, author of "Shattering the Myths: African People's Contributions to World Civilizations". Another mentor of mine is Dr. Vincent Harding, author, and colleague, classmate and friend of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Finally the person who had the greatest effect on me as person was Brother Jeff Fard. He taught me that the first rule of empowering self and others was to "know thy self". This influenced my spirituality, politics and professional life. I have truly been blessed with an incredible amount of guidance, it would've been a shame to have it all go to waste because of something that could've been prevented. Even still, my work as a youth service provider to over 8,000 youth in over 70 schools with over 50 fellow Colorado artists is quite a satisfying and fulfilling accomplishment. As well as being able to rock crowds of thousands of people with my former band. I am grateful for this incredible life I've had, and the chance to experience more. What I have yet to experience will be even more incredible still. What I've been through and what I'e achieved was only boot camp. Now I am ready for spiritual combat with the enemy. I spent about 3 days just remembering the dream alone. I wasn't sure if I had remembered everything or if I had added anything in from trying to hard to recall. Had my imagination filled in the gaps? Did the cold medicine have an effect my dream? Once I had it all written down, I began a 4 day research escapade on google like a cyber-space Indiana Jones searching for everything I could remember. The number 7. Tariq, What is Alumbra? Is it even a word? Turns out there is no meaning in english but in spanish it means "to illuminate" or "enlighten". I found that to be strange since I don't speak spanish. The name Tariq means "messenger" or "one who leads the way". Ironically enough so does "Apostle". I always knew the number 7 held special significance to me. Since my birthday, date and time of birth all equal 7 when adding the sum of the numbers together until you reach a single digit. It was always my lucky number. I always saw it randomly in my employee numbers, telephone numbers, addresses, mailboxes, serial numbers. I've always had sevens around me. In a number of spiritual texts and cultural traditions around the world, it's symbolic meaning is very interesting, as well as in all of the world divinations. I always thought of myself as a teacher, or a "messenger" of some kind. I always wanted to say something thought provoking at the very least in my poetry. Could it be that it's in my nature to do so by some divine course written in the stars and planets? I have begun to believe in just that even more. I was always told when I was a kid, I would be a "preacher". That used to always make me cringe because I saw preachers and politicians as one of the same. I didn't really trust them. The funny thing about that is, many people often tell me coming to my performance is like going to church. How could I possibly thought I would avoid that comparison with a stage name like Apostle? I don't know. At this point, I felt there was no turning back. I was given yet another chance to live and there is no better explanation than it is because of some divine purpose. I must use the talents I have been given faithfully for the invocation of the spirit of my ancestors. So now what I am about to say may stun you. I will probably lose friends over this. Others will say I have gone crazy. I don't care. The reason is what I have told you about my life thus far is completely true and the undeniable incredibleness of these events, whether they be traumatizing or inspiring, they were not by chance. For over these past 7 days, I have finally discovered my self. I am a vessel for a spirit whose time has come to ascend to mastership. The work I do from this point on must affect this world in a dynamic way. My lyrics are not zoned out THC enhanced rants of randomness, but divine words of inspiration from my soul in ascension. I have so much more work inside of me. I am a servant to humanity through the will of my ancestors. I will create experiences of enlightenment for those who find bliss on the dance-floor. The intention is to create powerful music. Music as powerful as the drum circles of West Africa, that crossed the ocean in slave ships, resurfacing on plantations and igniting the passion that led to the revolts that overthrew the "Master" long before the civil war. Music as powerful as the music Ray Charles created which gave him enough influence to desegregate the chitlin' circuit of the deep south in the 60's with the threat of a boycott. As powerful as the music of Bob Marley, who brought two heads of state together of opposing nations on stage to embrace. As powerful as the music of the mid 70's that brought two gangs in the Bronx together, and fostered a world-wide youth culture that crosses racial, political, cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic boundaries. I know this kind of talk turns some people off. I don't care. My work is far more important than a popularity contest. No matter how precarious the path is for me, I will traverse forward. I will stay on course. The truth about my dream is it was not a dream. I was visited by my ancestor. Some people will say it was the fatigue or the cold medicine or whatever, but I know what happened. I have accepted their gift. For a very long time I've been a proponent of the idea that we choose our own reality. I still believe that, but I did not choose this path. I was chosen. Now is the time for me to step up, go forward and do the impossible. Experience the ritual, and move your body to this.

Dream: The Purpose. Part 2 of 3

APOSTLE — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 22:46:25 GMT

I couldn't sleep. The accident was a constant memory playing over in my head. Every time I would close my eyes, I kept thinking about what if I had died, what if I had lived and killed my roommate, or if we were paralyzed or anything. Why weren't we? What does it mean? This kept me from getting sleep for a few weeks until finally my body sick from exhaustion, I collapse in my bed. I contemplated how I was going to be able to afford to repay my roommate for the truck and motorcycle I destroyed. I thought maybe this was a wake up call to take my life in a new direction. I don't even remember falling asleep that night. I just remember this booming voice ask me "Do you believe in destiny?" Without hesitation I responded, "Yes". Before I could react, I felt my body moving as if I was being pulled forward by something, it was completely dark all around me. It felt like I was moving upward at an incline, I said to myself "Don't panic you are only dreaming", all of a sudden there was a light in the distance, I was traveling towards it and it seemed to have a hum coming from it. As I got closer, it grew stronger until I was engulfed in the light and standing directly in front of a Man. He stood about 6'1" with very broad shoulders, dark skin, a long beard and a long white robe. He reminded me of someone, but I couldn't place who it was. I asked him, "are we related?" and just then the light that surrounded us separated into 7 spheres and formed a circle about 25 feet in circumference. They slowly rotated around us clockwise. They were humming as if an electric current was running through them. "Who are you?" I asked, and his voiced came through the seven glowing spheres as if they were amplifiers. "You come from a bloodline of great warriors, your ancestors were betrayed and they are seeking justice." He continued, "You were selected at your birth, to be given a very special gift of guidance and protection, in adverse, you were tested time and again. You were born at a very crucial time in history, and just as I have led, you to will lead if you choose to accept your destiny." His voiced turned cold and direct, "If you choose to not accept who you are, you will not only be turning your back on yourself, but the people who love you, care about you, and know who you are." Then his voice grew louder "What do you choose? Do you accept this gift?" "I accept" I said as I remembered my mentor once telling me something about paying attention to what the universe is showing me, and not to marvel at it in wonder. The next thing I remember happening is we were suddenly in a palace. It looked like a fortress of some kind. The man who was talking to me then said. "My name is Tariq, and you and I share the fact that we are warriors, but we are also from the same blood, for we are one." I couldn't tell if he meant that I was his descendant, or a reincarnation of him. Although we did not look alike, I certainly felt like I was looking at myself in another body, and in another time. "You come from a family of healers, teachers, communicators, artists, inventors. You come from a family of great Warriors. Your family was brought to North America by kidnappers, and tortured with servitude. 7 generations later you are born as the seal of a sacred covenant of our family." I stood there at attention as if I was receiving direct orders from my superior officer. " You must restore unity consciousness to the masses through the alumbra vibration." All of a sudden again we were surrounded by light. I couldn't see anything except Tariq. "You were given a gift at your birth, your were also tested, and no matter how hard times got for you, no matter how impossible your obstacles have seemed, you have always overcome them. Now I am giving you your final gift. That gift is purpose. No matter how impossible your obstacles seem, with purpose you can do the impossible. Use your gifts that you were given at birth to change your life, then use it to change the people around you, then the greater community, your nation and the world. For the time is at hand. Go forward without fear, the seven alumbra are around you." "What is the 7 alumbra?" I asked, and just then the sun peaked through the window and I awoke. I immediately grabbed my notebook and pen to jot down what I remembered. I didn't remember everything, only pieces at first. The name Tariq, the light, the palace, the 7 alumbra, the hum, the gift, spheres of light. The more I wrote, the more I began to remember. -- To be continued APOSTLE

Death: TheMiracle. Part 1 of 3

APOSTLE — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 22:42:11 GMT

t was the third time I had escaped death. This time I fell asleep at the wheel of my roommates Toyota Tacoma pickup truck with his motorcycle mounted on the bed of the truck New Year's morning 2008 around 7:45 am. My roommates asleep in the passengers seat, after a night of partying, stressing, laughing, reflecting, and drinking. A typical New Year's experience, anyway I had just left one of the most frustrating shows I never played. After a night of hurry up and wait, I couldn't wait to get out of Los Angeles. I left the club without pay, without a place to stay, without enough money for a hotel, without any patience to take a step back, breathe, and process the situation. Taking that step could've been the step to save my life. Instead it was the seatbelt that saved me instead of common sense, because common sense said "Wait a minute, you didn't even sleep the night before, and you need to slow down before..." and before you know it, BAM! The guard rail smashes like aluminum foil as the four wheel drive, half ton pickup goes right over the cliff. The back tires hit the ground and this throws the nose of the truck directly vertical in a split second as we flip once, then we go around a second time and the roof of the cab hits the ground and the windshield shatters as we continue flipping until the truck lands right side up. I ask my roommate if he was alright, he had slept through the entire thing. We both walked away with minor bumps and bruises. After the accident, I couldn't sleep. I kept having nightmares of the sounds and sensations of being upside down, dirt flying, steel bending, glass shattering not to mention the thought of what could have happened. I knew that things could definitely be a lot worse. As I thought about what the tow truck driver, the paramedics, the highway patrol all said; "That I'm lucky to not only be alive, but the fact that we were not seriously injured was nothing short of a miracle." The tow truck driver elaborated that he had seen many fatal accidents with much less damage to the vehicle. The miracle to me that was keeping me up was the fact that this was not the first time I had heard almost these exact words almost exactly 4 years ago to the day. It happened while crossing the street during a snowstorm one night when I was hit by a car traveling at 35 mph. My body rolled up the car which projected me forward, my body flipped in the air three times before I landed on my back sliding about 15 feet down the middle of the street barely avoiding being hit a second time by on coming traffic. I left the hospital 2 hours later with a prescription for Vicodin and a pair of crutches. My right fibula barely broken under my knee. The doctor, paramedics, witnesses including the cop who gave me a ticket for jaywalking, all said it was a miracle that I was alive, and after I leave the hospital, I should buy a lottery ticket. Much earlier in my life than that, a drive by shooters bullet that came through the window of a 711, where I was working at the time, landed in the back of a customer, instead of my head. The customer was bent over picking up a pair of 2 liter bottles of Coke a Cola. As he stood up straight in front of the cash register, the bullet came through the window, while I was waiting at the register to ring him up. The cops told me that from where the bullet came through the window, and from where I told them I was standing, if he was not standing there, I would've been dead. The bullet was removed, and the victim survived without serious injuries. I seemed to have the same experiences each time it happened. I remembered every last detail. it was as if it all happened in slow motion, my body never reacted negatively, such as going into shock or panic. It was as if I had an innate nature to think fast and react in dangerous situations, or maybe it was that I had a so many people out there praying for me, or maybe it was just luck. I never really believed in luck or coincidences, and so I felt there had to be a reason why all of this had happened. --To be continued

Waiting on Forgiveness (A 17th and Capp St. story)

APOSTLE — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 05:37:05 GMT

Waiting on forgiveness They live out of their 1986 Toyota Truck, She turns tricks whenever she can and he just tries to stay one deal ahead of his addiction. He can park on the busy street where there's no parking meter and shoot up in the front seat, nobody's paying attention. It just looks like he's waiting for somebody and in reality, he is. Waiting for Jesus and the Rapture? Waiting for the President to send in the National Guard? Waiting for his parents to finally understand him? Waiting for his girlfriend to come back? No. He's waiting for someone whose name he doesn't know, whose face he's never seen, someone whose voice he's never heard, because believe me, he's heard it all. He's heard the big promises, he's heard the great ideas, the get rich quick schemes, the sales pitch, he's read the big book, the good book, and he's been to the support groups, so he has no time for any of that just the needle and this strap and the smack. He can do that while he waits for something new, someone new who will say something new and do something new that will give him the reason to care. He's waiting on forgiveness. He's waiting to forgive himself, for all the things that led up to this moment on this block, in this truck, he's waiting on forgiveness for all the excuses, the lies that he told himself. He waits. And while he waits, she provides a steady income, in come the clowns looking for someone to cum in and she knows just how to play them. She doesn't feel pretty anymore and she doesn't think it matters she's just creating a way to survive this world because she don't need to feel love, she doesn't need to remember emotion because that doesn't work in this line of work. She doesn't think about escaping she's got too much to think about. She no longer wonders if she will survive she's seen death a thousand times and now she's never scared. Now if you ask her if she's waiting for something she will tell you no but in reality she is. Waiting to laugh again, waiting for someone to show her some respect, and waiting for a new definition of dignity that will resonate. She's waiting on forgiveness. Forgive her self for letting go, forgive the man who was supposed to be her shining example of what a man should be, the man who turned out to be the example of every other man she's encountered in her life. She's waiting for clean clothes and a hot shower but the shelter is full so as she is turned away again and people shuffle along the sidewalk averting their eyes as they pass her, she glides slowly back and forth just in front of the parked cars to avoid getting hit by oncoming traffic, as she looks through their car windows trying to catch a glance, she waits. Just down the block he's in the front seat of their 1986 Toyota Truck slipping in and out of consciousness, he looks out of the window, and he waits.

I Am a Man

APOSTLE — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 00:05:00 GMT

The average White person in America has absolutely no regard for Black people of America, period. Generally speaking, White people will never respect Black people as a community, culture, or on an individual basis. In turn, the average Black person holds nothing but contempt for White people. As long as we are entertaining White people, we are OK. As long as we have created a level of wealth, we are considerd to be human. If not, you will be treated as if you do not deserve the benefits of American society. I have tried to live above this thinking, I have always felt my intelligence could transcend this low brow consciousness. The only problem is, the rest of the world does not feel that way. Can you tell I just came home from shopping? Why must these notions continue to be reinforced in my everyday life? What am I doing to bring this energy towards me? Am I holding some sort of contempt subconsciously that brings the negative energy towards me? Maybe it is a lack of respect for myself that is bringing this energy towards me? Am I thrusting myself into communities and networks where I will always feel alienated and awkward? In a major city like SF, cultures collide continuously and there is a lot of interaction between people of all different ethnicities. A lot of the individual interaction is not positive, which unfortunately creates precognitive notions about one another in general terms. One might say I am contridicting myself since I just made a very general statement, fair enough. I realize I have made a generalization based on my present emotions. I have plenty of people in my life of various backgrounds that I absolutely love with all my heart. That does not mean I should ignore all the subtle encounters of racism I experience on a daily basis. I will further acknowledge that I am hyper sensitive, and uncomfortable with my own identity. I attribute those characteristics of my personality to my experiences growing up in the suburbs, public education, and the life choices that I have made that have put me in court, jail, or other compromising positions at the hands of White people. I completely understand and acknowledge my faults. Why am I looking for the approval of White people or anyone for that matter? I am extremely happy and grateful now that I write record and perform music for a living. It is truly a blesssing to have a career based on your abilities to creatively articulate your perspective. If I had not grown up alienated as the only Black kid in my class, feeling like everyone was looking at me all the time, would I be so interested in the attention people pay to me? Would my career be based on keeping peoples attention? If I looked like everyone else in the classroom growing up, and not felt constantly stared at, would I have chosen to be the person I am today? One of our recent tours in the Pacific Northwest and Canada, during Halloween weekend, my band played for several costume parties. One of the most popular costume items is the Afro wig, which was often accompanied with the Dashiki. Although I'm sure most of the people wearing them don't consider themselves racist, symbols of cultural pride being mocked as costumes does not sit well with me. I also saw many costumes with three finger rings, sweatsuits, oversized rope chains. Even though I feel like some of these items are silly to wear, I wonder if the people who wear them as costumes are mocking the silliness of the items, or the people who made these items popular? I also realize that there are plenty of White people who have worn outrageous gawdy jewelry, but I don't believe that was what was being made fun of. Is there anything wrong with making fun of each other? Not necessarily, but does it give me an insight to what you think about me and my culture? Even if it a subconscious idea of me? The majority of my gigs as a performer, the audience is 99.9% White. I never write from anyone elses perspective except my own. My words come straight from my own heart. I am told often from White audience members that they love what I do and respect me and my "positive message". I often wonder if my soul, my frustrations, my perspectives are understood, and if so, is the only value of that understanding the "entertainment" value? I wonder if when I say things like "That's not Hip Hop , That's not Black" in my song "Destroy The Industry," does it ever make anyone stop and think when they see those stereotypical images played out in society whether it be in real life or on television? Do people really only discern the character of an individual based on the actions of that individual even when they may exemplify traits of a stereotypical image? Are my words as an artist only good for entertainment, or are they inspirational as well? Am I making a difference by being out there, or does my energy need to go elsewhere? Am I fooling myself into thinking I'm affecting the social conditions of my own people while playing to a few hundred college age White kids in bars and an occasional festival? Or am I just a reinforced stereotype myself as the angry black entertainer who's life depends on an all White clientele base? Am I a sellout? Where do I fit in? American society is complex. The issues of tolorence and diversity go far beyond Black and White. I can only speak for myself. I want to feel good about myself and my purpose in this world. I want to know that the love and respect I feel from people whom I consider friends is sincere. I want to know that people hear me when I get up on that stage, and know where I'm coming from. I want to know that people are really ready to dialogue with me about societal gaps, cultural differences, systemic policies that marginalize everyone who does not fit into the status quo. I want to know what I can do to make a difference in regards to race relations in this country. Most of all, I want to feel comfortable about myself no matter where I am and who is in the room.

Transformation

APOSTLE — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 00:47:45 GMT

Transformation On behalf of our staff, board of directors, volunteers, contractors, youth participants, parents of youth, and donors, we thank you for giving us the opportunity to be an example of creativity and leadership through our services as an organization. This December, The Colorado Hip Hop Coalition (CHHC) will no longer exist as project of the Colorado Non Profit Development Center (CNDC). This will not be the end of our work that we have done; this is rather a transformation. Since 1997, CHHC has provided education programs and community events that empower underserved youth through Hip Hop Culture. By bridging the gap between the artists community and the greater community by engaging Hip Hop artists in the in the academic careers of the next generation, we have not only identified Hip Hop’s academic and social value, we have been instrumental in the development of the creative spirit in our communities future. While educators within local school districts only saw Hip Hop through the lens of corporate media, exploiting our culture as misogynist, violent, materialistic entertainment corrupting the minds of youth, we reclaimed our culture from the powerful media corporations and redefined it as art, literacy, technology and business. From 2001 until now, CHHC completed 10 leadership trainings, 10 assemblies, 17 after school programs and 86 workshops all within the contextual framework of Hip Hop education. CHHC served 8,418 youth from elementary age to college age in this same timeframe within 71 schools and youth based agencies that hosted our programs. In addition, CHHC employed 56 artists from our community and raised a total of $197,652 in the name of Hip Hop education. Yet to continue in this capacity would restrict the growth, leadership and peer to peer education initiated by the youth and artists that have participated in our program. It is now the responsibility of these artists to pass along what they have learned from this organization and their experience of finding their individual creative voices through Hip Hop Culture. Danica Brown has spearheaded a new project called “Denver Native Hip Hop Dancers”. This performance troop of Native youth from diverse nations has begun performing regularly throughout the state while spreading the message of health ever since their first performance at the Native Games earlier this year. Danica developed this group out of her volunteer work as a board member for CHHC. 2 of our students from our Montbello High School program recently purchased their own DJ equipment and performed their first professional gig at a teen dance club in Arvada Colorado. Master B-Boy Michael “Fate” Sierra will be moving our curriculum into the private sector, offering classes in the 4 elements through his newly formed Hip Hop Academy. Paul “PAAS” Mathews, (formally of The Future Jazz Project and The Break Mechanics) an accomplished artist and well respected lyricist will continue to advocate for the culture of Hip Hop in the public sector for both youth and artists alike. So weather it manifests within the creative self expression of youth and artists as they address issues affecting their communities, or through inspiring the entrepreneurial spirit of young people and artists, the work of CHHC is at the beginning of a powerful transformation. As for myself, I have been blessed with the opportunity of a lifetime. I will be relocating to San Francisco California to write, record, and perform music for a living full time. Everything I have worked for and dreamed about as an artist is beginning to come true. I am living proof that we have the power to determine our own reality. My group “Heavyweight Dub Champion” has developed a very strong support base on the West Coast as well as the Pacific Northwest region. I anticipate touring 6 – 8 months out of the year in 2007. I will also volunteer at an organization called “The DJ Project” which is an entrepreneurship program built on a Hip Hop Foundation. I will also participate as a member of the Bay Area local organizing committee of the National Hip Hop Political Convention. My last day at the CHHC office will be this Friday, October 13th. If you would like to be in contact with any of the people I have mentioned that will be continuing the work, or contact me for any other reason, I can be reached at the CHHC office (303) 296-0966 until Friday. You can also reach me at jeff@coloradohiphop.org. So again thank you all for the incredible opportunity to grow with you. The work we have done is not over, it is simply in transformation. CHHC is not the exception to the Hip Hop community of Colorado, we are rather the example. Sincerely, Jeff Campbell, founder and director of CHHC.

My Reflection in the River

APOSTLE — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 21:55:29 GMT

The thought of the two us in love inspires me. Will you love as though your love could eradicate hate? What will you sacrifice so that I may be forgiven for all my sins? And if I truly love you, I shall have everlasting life? And your soul And mine combine to multiply within your fertile waters and you shall give birth to everlasting life in abundance. Together we will live among the peaceful nations and tribes. Surviving through our loved ones, for blessed is the seed. Returning to our inherent nature to live in total syncopation with the rhythm of the universe. We are the biorhythms of consciousness transmitting through DNA strands throughout time. No beginning and no ending. Complete. I know you are out there. Imagine such a love between us? I see my reflection in the river and I pray for your love. Will you play by the rules of those who ridicule you, those who do not understand the life of those of us outside the status quo? Will you live a life blind to the poison they feed us and the lies they teach us or will we take responsibility to feed and teach ourselves? Will we travel nomadic as we once did living, touching, listening, tasting the world in all its dimensions while learning to respect and appreciate the uniqueness of us all? Will we no longer judge others on the basis of old ideas from outdated ideologies that uphold oppressive power structures because our love brings the whole world together? Will our love give power to the liberation process and transform what it means to be alive? I see my reflection in the river and I pray for your love. I pray to touch your face and converse closely listening for clues about you. Your healing energy is magnetic like the natural way of life that you choose. Your eyes are strong and intense; your voice is a soft melody of wisdom and temperance. I am convinced you are the Goddess of my universe and the Mother who bares my indigo children. Let us bring forth a nation who only knows peace. Let there rise a generation of minds that do not know the meaning of disease, poverty, pain, oppression, hatred, war, jealousy and greed. Let us love one another in the name of the revolution. Let our love absorb all negative energy. Let our love change the world. But where will I find you? I see my reflection in the river and I pray for your love.

Intelligent Movement

APOSTLE — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 01:01:40 GMT

Heavyweight Dub Champion is a diverse group of artists that form an experimental urban dance collective. Our diversity is our strength, we utilize components of different styles to create our own unique sound. This makes it hard for us to fit into a particular genre. Some consider us to be Dub, because of our name, others would consider us to be Hip Hop, and often we have been labled electronica, but none of these categories truly define the amalgam of influences and components that ultimately define who we are. So how do we define Heavyweight Dub Champion? For marketing purposes to radio stations and record stores, we will definately have to pick a traditional genre in order to benefit from those mediums that are vital to our success as an organization, however, to those who are so inclined to delve deeper into HDC+ they will not be satisfied by such constrictive titles. Music is ulimately music, and what we do is timeless. We did not invent it, we simply tapped into it. Our work is defined more so by a stream of consciousness, rather than a genre of music. With Totter Todd's avant garde influence, his saxaphone and effects processors push the boundaries of those who are new to jazz theory. Resurrector and Patch, the musical foundation of the group, combines dub with industrial and electronica to ultimately give the sound a unique root. Stero Lion, whose life principals are deeply grounded in the Rastafarian philosophy, brings a dancehall vibe that serves as a call to our spiritual senses, to rise against the forces of babylon. DJ Illnaughty and myself share the component the Hip Hop, not from the corporate perspective but rather the cultural perspective. These componets although seem very different, have three main parts in common from a musicology standpoint, which requires futher analysis: The cognitve connection to rhythm rhyme and melody, slang as the evolution of language, and the history of creative expression utilized as resitance to oppression in indegenous cultures around the world. We have defined this stream of consciosness as "The Intelligent Movement". The origin of Hip:"aware, up-to-date," first recorded 1908 in "Saturday Evening Post," but said to be underworld slang, of unknown origin. Variously said to have been the name of "a fabulous detective who operated in Cincinnati" or a saloonkeeper in Chicago who "never quite understood what was going on ... (but) thought he did." Taken up by jazz musicians by 1915; hepcat "addict of swing music" is from 1938. The origin of Hop: popular dance, 1931, it originated in Harlem, N.Y., named for Lindy, nickname of U.S. aviator Charles A. Lindbergh (1902-74) who in 1927 made the first solo nonstop trans-Atlantic flight. The dictionary defines “Hip” as Keenly aware of or knowledgeable about the latest trends or developments, very fashionable or stylish. The dictionary defines “Hop” as To move with light bounding skips or leaps, Informal. To move quickly or busily: The shipping department is hopping this week. Hop also means to jump on one foot, to make a quick trip, especially in an airplane, to travel or move often from place to place. Often used in combination: party-hop. The Human brain is a pattern seeker. It seeks patterns to put information into in order to make information easily retainable. This is one of the cornerstones of modern musicology. When we are 3 or 4 years old, we learn the songs such as “Twinkle twinkle Little Star”, and other nursery rhymes. These songs are never forgotten, even in states of senility or Alzheimer’s disease. The reason is the pattern or rhythm or melody in the song. These same principles are applied to the memorization technique known as word association. Rhymes and rhythm are used in education for pre-school aged children up to high school. From hooked on phonics, to memorizing the capitols of the 50 states, educators utilize rhythm and rhyme as a memorization technique. Griots of West Africa would recite the lineage of the village in poetry to teach the youth of the village the history of their heritage. Rhythm, rhyme and melody are a basic component of human thinking, utilized to simplify memorization. Have you ever listened to two or more doctors talk to each other about the condition of a patient? What about listening to mechanics make an analysis of your vehicle before they charge you an arm and a leg to fix it? Have you ever eavesdropped on two computer geeks about which model to purchase and why? Have you ever heard a skateboarder talk about the techniques of different stunts to another skateboarder? Ever tried to read a contract without a lawyer, then give it to a lawyer and find yourself relieved you hired them? Each of these sub cultures has their own ciphers or codes in which they speak to one another, excluding those outside of the sub culture. The language they speak was created by the need to define what was not defined before, giving unique definition to the new developments in technology or culture that was created. Culture creates language. So as urban youth culture changes shape from generation to generation, it creates new words to define itself. Those “hip” to the word “crunk” know exactly what it means, in its many contexts, yet there really is no written agreed definition as of yet in any dictionary. Does the definition exist? Of course it does. Will it be in the dictionary eventually? Of course it will. Thanks to technology, slang evolves language more rapidly than ever before in history. Youth from all over the world are utilizing the same language to communicate to one another. As youth culture continues to develop this “universal language” that excludes those outside of youth culture, it stands as a potential threat to the old way of communicating because language fosters it’s own logic. As culture evolves, language evolves. As language evolves, logic evolves. The history of creative expression utilized as resitance to oppression is a vast topic which is beyond the scope of this essay. Examples within our recent history include but are not limited to; Slave revolts in the rual south, which were lead by high priests after drumming and chanting in slave quarters on plantations. The protest music during the civil rights movement by the popular Rock and Roll artists of the 1960’s. Bob Marley, the artist who single handedly brought two conflicting heads of state together to embrace during his concert. “Strange Fruit” recorded by Billie Holiday. “Fuck Tha Police” recorded by NWA. There are many other instances where music has been a catalyst of inspiration for people to stand for the movement that changed the social conditions of those people. We can all think of a time in our own lives when music and artists have personallyy inspired us to resist, take a stand, change our mind and mood. Music combined with the power of intention, and a a clear objective, could infact be the most powerful tool we have as a people to combat the oppression we have grown desensitized to in our current society. Does Clear Channel or Viacom understand the power of music? After 9-11, Clear channel published a list of songs that were eliminated from their playlists. If music is simply entertainment, why would they take such action? How does the major corporate conglomorates of music and media tie in to oppression beyond the information blackout and denying access to their mediums to artists who do not fit into the mainstream playlists? Although one cannot deny that this is definitely oppression, it only scratches the surface on what these same companies are really up to. The parent companies of the media outlets have all invested in building bombs and prisons. They sell us our food, clothing, telecommunications services and devices. They have their hands in energy, oil, automobiles, and news. With such a stranglehold on American society, they make up almost 705 of the entire worlds wealth. Not to mention the magnitude of their influence on what we see, hear, read, and ultimately think. Heavyweight Dub Champion understands the magnitude of such influence, and yet refuses to contribute to the agenda of the ruling plutocratic establishment. We are an independent entity, although not separate from America’s capitolist society, we work within it in order to subvert the dominant paradigm. We can not do this alone. Our mission is to open the eyes of those who have not seen the light, and empower thosse who have. HDC is not a cult, or a political action group. At the very heart of our collective, we are simply artists, activists, educators and entrepreneurs. A combination thereof is needed in order to celebrate communicate educate and heal through our creative expression. The Liberation Process is in Full Effect. Please post comments, and questions on this thread. PEACE, A.P.O.S.T.L.E.

Ancient Ritual meets modern technology

APOSTLE — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 21:27:26 GMT

For thousands of years, tribes have known the force and power of the creative expression. The powers that be fear this creative spirit the most. This creative expression when used correctly can change reality as we know it, for it is the source of all creation. Tribal people are closest to this source of creative expression because they utilize it within their lifestyle. Knowledge of harnessing creative power is inherent, intuitive and instinctive. It can also be taught, because it is something that we all posess. Often we will see creativity changing the appearences of our American culture, without recognizing the forces behind it. Technology is not seperate from the creative force. Everything we utilize in modern society was once somebodys' idea. Just a thought, a possibility. Knowing how to harness the power of possibility is the key to giving birth to miracles in our daily lives. When we get hung up, or caught up, or wound up in the everyday life of modern society, we get away from our inherent tribal nature. It's time to return to what we are, creative beings curating every possibility imaginable. Yuroba People of West Africa were known for several forms of creative self expression in their Spiritual practices. Drumming, Chanting, Improvisational singing, and Dancing. Each one of these forms of Creative self expression served a purpose within the community, thus creating Folk art, or art in which those who are watching the art performed are also participants within the context of the ritual itself. Presentation art only came later to Yuroba People after explorers came to visit and learn from them. Presentation art is when those observing the performace are spectators, not participating. The creative expressions of the Yuroba People had four main purposes: Celebration, Communication, Education and Healing. To celebrate the arrival of explorers, dancing, singing, drumming was common practice. Tribes who could not communicate verbally, often used drums as a way of communicating. Jalis or Griots were Historians who kept the lineage of the Village recorded in their brains and often sang them out in poetry, as a way to teach the youth of the tribe about their heritage. Shaman are also known for song, dance, and drum patterns that increase cognitive response and vitality in people who were not well. These spiritual practices may seem primative to some, and the results may be debated by skeptics, but for thousands of years, Yuroba People practice this, and it was their reality. Yuroba Peoples' spiritual practices can be found all over the world in many names. Ifa, Condumble, Santaria, and Vodoun are several of the names these spiritual practices. It is also important to note that 80% of the Africans who were brought to America during the Trans Atlantic Slave trade were Yuroba People. During Slavery, revolts often began on Plantations when High Priests would conjur spirits in a drum circle. When drums were banned, and Christianity was introduced, a common practice known as the "Field Holler" transformed into the "Negro Spiritual" which later became referred to as "Gospel". After the Civil War, there were two significant developments in music created by these Africans, one was called Blues, which finds it's origins in the Mississippi Delta. Another form was called Jazz, which was created in New Orleans. After World War I, The Harlem Renaissance exploded in New York. This was an advancement in African American literature, sparked by the W.E.B. Dubois book "The Souls of Black Folk". This era of Literature was the Africans perspective on American society during Jim Crow. After World War II, Chuck Berry was the first artist to double the tempo of Blues and make the Guitar the lead instrument of his songwriting. This became known as "Rhythm and Blues" and later "Rock and Roll". This form of music began to break down racial barriers and young Americans Black and White began to "participate" in the music in integrated venues. It should also be noted that during the 60's, Rock and Roll became the soundtrack to the Civil Rights Movement. After the Civil Rights Movement ended in 1969, Africans in America experienced a different level of citenzenship, freedom unlike ever before. Hip Hop emerges as the closest thing to the ancient practices of the Yuroba People. Drums were at the forefront of instrumentation of the music and improvisation was key. It was truly ancient ritual meeting modern technology in a post Civil Rights America. Heavyweight Dub Champion seeks to be an extension of the Celebrating, Communicating, Educating and Healing of Creative Expression. We like to call it, "The Liberation Process". It is a process of healing that continues in the traditions of the expressions that came before us, with our own style to it. We understand we are not doing anything new, there is nothing new under the Sun, we are simply returning our art to one of participation with those who come to witness it. When we ask people to dance to the music, we ask they move their feet to increase their biorhythms. This alleviates stress and increases heart rate. When you don't feel stress, your mind is open and prepared to see things from a higher perspective which we call "Higher Elevation". This is when particiapants are able to contemplate new possibilities in their personal reality. Once people are ready to consider new possibilites, we introduce the idea of "The Dissillusion of Time". That is when we make the statement that the future and past do not exist, and the only thing that is real is the present, and that is where you bring the future into reality and where you create the results of what you want out of your life. Not everyone will have this epiphany during the process, but when the statement is made, the "Liberation Process" is complete. Those who do get it, there lives will be forever changed. Those who do not get it rigt away, will witness their friends and others around them having the experience. This is not a conventional way to sell records, but we are not a "band" in the traditional sense of the word. We would rather sell 100 CDs to people who get it than a million who don't. We are an independent entity who is looking for like minds involved in the music industry, social justice, food co-ops, engineering, and all things independent of the ruling plutocratic establishment. Please let us know who you are, where you are and where you would like to participate in this Liberation Process. It must come from our collective efforts. Heavyweight cannot do it by ourselves. Thank you for taking the time to hear where we are coming from. Questions or comments are welcome.

Apostle Article in Westword Thursday November 24 2005

APOSTLE — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 15:41:22 GMT

Alter Call This Apostle's work here is almost done. By Dave Herrera Published: Thursday, November 24, 2005 For more than a decade, Jeff Campbell, aka Apostle, has been a cornerstone of hip-hop in Denver. This spring, however, if all goes according to plan, he'll be leaving the Mile High City to join his Heavyweight Dub Champion bandmates in Northern California. While this news is likely to send shock waves across the tight-knit scene, Campbell humbly downplays his impending departure. "I'm just Jeff from around the corner," he says with a laugh. "I ain't nobody special to Denver." Many would beg to differ. Campbell's contribution to the local hip-hop scene has been invaluable. As an artist, he's released three well-received albums on his own -- 1994's The Chosen One, 1997's Dayz of Darkness and 2000's Last of a Dying Breed -- in addition to being a member of the Dub Champs, with whom he's released two discs. He co-founded the Colorado Hip-Hop Coalition in 1997 and has used it to reach countless kids by creating programs at the Spot; implementing and overseeing an after-school program at Montbello High School; and authoring the curriculum for a semester-long course on hip-hop history and culture for the PS 1 charter school. "I wanted to bring my thing to the table and say, 'Hey, DPS, all your kids are interested in this,'" Campbell explains. "You want to get their head in a dictionary? Hmm...let's get them in a rhyming dictionary. You want to get them doing something creative after school instead of fighting? Let's get them painting. Let's get them dancing. Let's get some physical education. Hip-hop taught me how to write a business plan. Hip-hop was my educator, period. I was so driven to do this stuff, it created its own path." In 2000, the Coalition earned non-profit status and became a full-time endeavor for Campbell. The impact the program has had on him since then has been profound. "I could go on and on about kids whose personal lives were changed," he says. "A kid who I met -- when I met him, he was in juvenile diversion. Now he's in college studying psychology. Then there's a special-ed student who had cerebral palsy and used to get poked fun of walking to her locker. She got enough nerve and came to our class every day, practiced the dance routine and then got in front of 300 people and danced! When her special-ed teacher told me I changed her life, I almost just broke down in tears right there. I said to myself, 'I don't care if I ever perform again, if I can do that.'" Although Campbell has accomplished a great deal in the past five years with the Hip-Hop Coalition, he believes that in order for the organization to realize its full vision, it's time for him to step aside and make room for a new leader. "With what little money we've been able to rub together, we've served almost 6,000 youth in five years," he notes. "I'm so proud of this organization. I can walk away tomorrow and be really proud of its accomplishments. But I'm not going to walk away and see these youth not get served the same way that we're serving them, because nobody else is doing what we're doing. "I feel like what I have done is only build the template," Campbell goes on. "I've only built the outline, the infrastructure. It's for the hip-hop community, most importantly, to now step up. Look, the educators are behind it. The non-profit sector of foundations, they go bananas over this idea, because they know. The hip-hop community only sees this as a self-serving venture for Jeff Campbell. They see this as Jeff's program, Jeff's organization. But I never put this organization together for Jeff Campbell. This organization -- at the very beginning of it until right now -- has always been for the hip-hop community." As hard as it is to imagine Denver without Campbell, the timing is right for him to move on. Heavyweight Dub Champion is starting to make some headway. This past September, the Heavies had a breakthrough performance at the Earthdance festival in Laytonville, California, which sparked label interest and generated a substantial buzz. Campbell and Stero have been commuting back and forth since the band's other members -- Patch, Resurrector and Totter -- relocated to San Francisco a year ago. Until now, Dub has mostly been a side project for Campbell, but things have changed considerably in the past few months. "We're getting these guarantees to do these club gigs and this touring and stuff," he says, "but most of my cut out of it from the band is going to my plane ticket. So I think I need to narrow the distance between me and the rest of the band. It makes much more sense for me to be out there and to put my full energy into that whole scenario." Sadly, Heavyweight Dub is only the latest outfit to leave Colorado in search of greater acclaim. Although Denver has a vibrant hip-hop scene, homegrown acts don't really get the shine they deserve until they move. Both the Procussions and Deux Process, for example, didn't start turning heads nationally until they uprooted to Los Angeles. "We couldn't get fifty people to come see us in Denver," Campbell says. "But then we move to San Francisco -- well, they moved to San Francisco -- and we got welcomed with open arms. Not only that, but, you know, you travel a couple hours, you're somewhere else; you travel a couple more hours and you're somewhere else. It's a big difference to be able to start off in Seattle and work your way down to San Francisco -- and everywhere in between, it's the same thing: There's a minimum of three to five hundred people showing up to see you. We were just completely and totally different. We don't look like MTV's version of what hip-hop is -- or MTV's version of anything. I think that people in Denver are not used to pioneers. They are used to settlers, you know? My mentor, Brother Jeff, always tells me that the pioneers get killed and the settlers get the land." But Campbell, always known for being outspoken, believes that Denver's hip-hop scene will get its due when those involved in it learn to work together. "It's simple," he concludes. "It's all about cooperative economics: If you got a studio, I need to use your studio, but you need to give me the very best price. And that's just one example. If you're an artist, for instance, and you do graphic design, then you need to be doing the album covers out here, the posters and the fliers out here. There's a strong hip-hop scene, but it's very small and isolated. And as long as it remains divided -- as long as everybody's isolated from one another -- it will never show up on the radar screen."

360 degrees completed

APOSTLE — Tue, 08 Nov 2005 18:08:45 GMT

With 36 years completed. 3+6+9. 9 symbolizes completion since it is the final digit in the number system before we ad on our 0 and begin the process over. So as I complete my journey this time around, I see symbolicly I am challenged with the notion of discovering something new and beginning another path in my life's journey. Although I feel the destination is the same, the path at this point must take a definate detour. Four the past 9 years, I have been working at the grassroots level, as the founder of a non profit organization called Colorado Hip Hop Coalition. Since 2001, the CHHC has searved 5,767 youth through our education programs. WE have raised well over $100,000 in the name of Hip Hop Education, a concept that was foriegn to the education sector of Denver Colorado, let alone it's small Hip Hop community. At alternative schools, we facilitated accredited courses, at more traditional public schools, we've installed after school programs where youth not only learn the history and culture of Hip hop and it's art forms, but they were also given a leadership model to follow within a Hip Hop context. Youth who had never performed on stage, or been to a college campus found themselves having those kind of experiences through CHHC. Unfortunatley, our program is in jeopardy of ending forever. Funding a non profit organization is a very difficult thing to do. Especially one as subversive as infultrating the education sector to utilize the very culture of the young people in that school to think for themselves about who they are and what there culture is and what value it has. Proving the effectiveness of our program is difficult to do with numbers and data, but the looks on a Childs face doesn't lie. That smile, that shift ini attitude does not lie. Unfortunately, those smiling faces, and shift in sself esteem do not give our organization the credibility it needs to be "effective" or "sustainable" iin the eyes of most grant making foundations. So why must an organization be so reliant on foundation money in the first place? Why isn't an organization whose name embodies the words that represent a $5 billion world wide phenomenon be struggling to keep it's doors open? Because the practitioners of this said Phenomenon do not value the academic relevance of themselves, nor do they value the community in which this culture finds it's origin. When youth all around the globe identify themselves as a part of Hip Hop Culture, yet Hip Hop moguls like Viacom and Clear Channel, the ones who profit the most from this culture refuse to support the grassroots efforts of the community in which this culture finds it's origin, you will have a synthetic example of the culture, feeding off the organic root of the culture until it eventually consumes the soul of that said culture entirely and the organic root must morph and adapt into something else. So in other words. I guess I'm no longer Hip Hop. In completion of this cycle in my life, I have to acknowledge the culture that gave me a voice, yet has not enough life left in it to continue to do so. So I must become something else. I can no longer attribute titles to what I do in the sense of my creative self expression. It is authentically me, and originally my own. I have been influenced by the greats, yet I will no longer breath life into man made genre titles and categories, because they only imply judgement. When we seperate Hip Hop from Rap, we are making a judgemental distinction. We do the same with Republican, Democrat, Black White, Gay, Straight and so on. When we look beyond these societal categories we find people who want to live love and be loved. Who want to express create and celebrate. We are not so different after all. Let us learn to communicate without these restrictions on our lives. Let's begin to look at things from a new perspective. So as I come to a completion of 360 degrees yet again, my Scorpio energy has me look to create a new direction in my life without listening to the outside chatter of what the world is telling me who I am and what I must do. I will now be able to, without any judgement, truly follow my heart.

Operation Raise the Dead

APOSTLE — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 21:36:17 GMT

As Winter approaches and Fall finishes it's transformation, we reflect on the past year and look at what strides we've made in our movement. The next phase is to visualize a future we intend to see and pull it towards us so it may become our present existence. The disillusion of time means to erase the notion that there is somehow an uncontrolable future and that it is dictated by our past. Once we see that our past no longer dictates our future and the present moment is where our power lies, then the liberation process is complete and we begin to access the miracles that are within our grasp. These miracles evade us mainly because of judgement of ourselves based on the mistakes we've made in the past. The power of the Otium gives us such access. The O tium is so powerful, when you put it on, you find yourself acting as if time is no longer your dictator, you become the dictator of time. There is power far beyond the societal norms of consciousness that cannot be explained any other way. Take action, take control of time and gain access to a greater world. The Liberation Process is in Full Effect.