I have found, as a lover of hip hop and most other music genres, that I am also a lover of street art. As our decades have unfolded a variety of precious pictures ranging from abstract expressionism to feminist art to plurism, it boggles my mind that the new form of street art has been yet to be glorified. Yes, it is recognized in some places and even if it is another form for simple "graffiti" , it is something that connects the otherwise "disenfranchised" artists to their roots on the streets. As a piggyback to my previous article, who is to say what is art and what is street art for that matter? If these pieces were placed on a blank canvas and portrayed in a renowned place of art worship, would you then be likely to view it as a great piece of work? Or can the appeal of where it is located (on the side of a friggin building) also cause you to appreciate art in general and the message that the artist is trying to convey? Well, I appreciate it and I love it. In fact, I am so in love with it.

06/24/08, 1:08PM PST

How can you even rate art? If you were using a universal scale, would everyone have the same sights and experience about a particular art as you? The old saying - what is one man's junk is another man's treasure, could surely be applied to this topic. A kindergarten's scribble is no doubt priceless to a mother. Why then is your neighbors' watercolor rendition of children frolicking in front of a fire hydrant, a masterpiece to him and a disgrace to you? I think art is based on how people are moved by what motivated you to create the piece. If they get what you got, then it must be extraordinary. Then again, perhaps I am wrong. Perhaps artsy is fartsy and it is really open to anyone's interpretation and that is what makes it great. I, personally don't get it completely. What I do believe is that trying to define yours or others' expression of art is impossible. Do what you feel. In this way, art sucks for me because it is something that cannot be controlled...

05/25/08, 5:02PM PST

It's not that I'm lazy. I just don't feel like it sometimes. This applies to everything that I do. It takes alot of effort to become something in life and not just rot the days away. When i say effort, I literally mean that when I feel like sleeping, I have to keep the windows to my soul open. When I am thirsty, I must open my mouth to let it flow. When I want the world to know who I am and why my talents are special...it's not that they can't already see it...it's that I don't feel like I need to keep saying it.

05/19/08, 7:06PM PST

There is an undeniable expectation within the Entertainment industry that album sales are the only measure of success for an artist. Not your vision, not your inspiration, not even how well you sing or the amount of talent you possess. As saddening as this may be, what is most disturbing is that under this philosophy almost every hip-hop artist would be considered an underachiever. I say this because, having the most album sales equates to convincing 10,000,000 people to buy your album, thus reaching the Diamond status. Only three hip hop, or rap per se, artists have reached this level. They are: MC Hammer (Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em), Outkast (Speakerboxx/Lovebelow) and Notorious B.I.G. (Life after Death). It is uncommon, however, for other genres of music to achieve these numbers in album sales and when they do, it is not acknowledged as extraordinary, but rather “expected”. Artists such as Garth Brooks, the Dixie Chicks, N’Sync and even Britney Spears to mention just a small few, are among the ones who have gone “Diamond” and are considered successful. I’m sure I don’t have to mention that Michael Jackson, Prince, Elvis Presley and Billy Joel are icons that have undeniably sold enough albums to reach the Diamond status also.

Having your album go “Diamond” should be the new aim for hip-hop artists. After selling ten million or more, an artist is no longer an artist. They become a legend. There is no doubt, Hammer, Outkast and Biggie Smalls are legends, but we know there are other rap artists that deserve this title as well. Can three albums really represent the essence of hip-hop music, when they serve as the only representation among an elite variety of music? No. Not in my opinion. And if Diamond is the peak measure of success, then boasting about “gold and platinum plaques” and “having my album about to go multi-platinum” are just pointless and useless conversations that do not make rap artists stand out in a collection of musicians who strive for the highest level of music achievement. Since, there is nothing greater than the Diamond status…as of yet, it is the epitome of self-recognition as far as your talent goes, and the height of mass appeal. So, having only three rap artists in this category, to me, is actually insulting as a fan. Therefore, rappers worldwide need to step up their game. Make new achievements and set new goals for themselves. They should stop making music for a select few because as you can see, these select groups of people are not allowing them to reach “Diamond” in album sales. Gold, Platinum and multi-platinum are within the eye’s reach but Diamonds…they can be blinding to those who are afraid to strive for it.

03/09/08, 10:53PM PST