Top 5: "Worst Things About Being An Aspiring Musician"

None of us have posted on here in a while. 

You'll have to get over it, as if there's any getting over to do. We've all been out working on our various projects for the past couple months, which brings me to my next post.

Top 5: Worst Things About Being An Aspiring Musician.

I'm sure most of you that might stumble upon this probably make music, of some sort.
If you do, it will be inevitable to relate. If you don't, this will at least let you in on the things that most of us deal with on a daily basis.

So, without further ado.

5. No one believes in you

This could apply to a lot of things. Your parents, friends, family, etc. Most of them think you're wasting your time, or could be doing something better. But most of them don't understand the passion you have for it, because they've never been passionate about anything before....which is pretty sad.

4. You have to trust your own gut

If you weren't aware, most people, in general, have the aptitude to lie. This truth is even more evident when you ask someone an opinion on your song. People will lie to you about their opinion to avoid hurting your feelings, but honestly, it sucks more when someone wont say your music is trash & you can tell by how they say it. "its cool" "i like it" or the most popular "nice song!" is the surefire way to tell someone their song sucks without actually saying it. Some people wont even listen to your stuff & just say something positive to avoid being a dick. So in that case, you have to observe what people would want to hear from you. 

3. Locals Wont Support You Even If You're Good

This happens all too often to local rappers down the street all around the world. Word of mouth is a dying trend, especially with the relevance of social media & the internet. Someone could like your music, but wont go the extra length to show other people just because they know you personally. It's kinda depressing. It's funny though, when people want new music but wont listen to what's being chucked in their backyard. 

2.People Think What You're Doing Isn't "Real Music"

People love to think that they 'know what real music is' and that they 'have a good taste in music.' And because they only listen to popular over compressed music, they think that all music should sound like the stuff they hear on the radio. So if your music doesnt sound like Tyga or for the more "tasteful, original" people, they think your music should sound like Kendrick Lamar or Tyler The Creator's. If it sounds like any thing different, they block it our and it's not real music. Then they bash you for making and not being popular.


1. The Lack of Attention People Give You

There is literally nothing worse on the planet than being ignored. And yes I know that you can't come up over night when making music, but god damn. People are just such ass holes about paying you any form of attention. While I understand that they don't owe me their attention or anything, they should at least have the decency to glance at me for 2 seconds. Boring crowds and unreceptive people in general are easily the biggest discouragements for any artists. People don't want to give you attention because you're a 'nobody.' But little do they know if they didn't just blank out and stare off into the distance when you show them your music or try to talk to them about it, you could gain a fan base and no longer be a 'nobody.' - CS/L$G

New Music: BossLife Ed x Closer To My Dreams

BossLife Ed is no stranger to the Eastland Collective blog, the two times he's been on the blog his songs have had features from the Hefner Bros who are also regulars of the ELC. But this time he decided to release a solo song. It's only right that he would do this song by himself, because it would be awkward to feature anyone else on such a personal song. This is a nice break from the other songs that I have heard by BossLife Ed. While I absolutely love the street rap of Detroit, I also like diversity in artists. This song shows that there is more to BossLife Ed than the tough street lyrics in his previous songs. He gets on the 4 and a half minute track and vents about the inevitable facts of growing up in the streets of Detroit. That some people close to you will die or go to jail unfortunately. I applaud him for doing this because a lot of rappers aren't brave enough to put their true feelings on a song because they're scared of being called 'soft' or something. But those people just put on tough facades and the fact is everyone who has had this happen to them has felt absolutely horrible. It's like when you hear the news you're just frozen and stuck in time for about 5 minutes. He showed his brother respect by dedicating this song to him and talking about the good times they had together. But it wasn't extremely soft like you would expect. Like of course it was a slower more sensitive song because of the subject matter but it was real at the same time. It wasn't like Drake or Dougboy Roc level sensitivity. I would recommend you listening to this song if you want to hear something a bit slower and realer than BossLife Ed's previous songs. I'll post the link to it below. -L$G

                                                 Bosslife Ed x Closer To My Dreams

New Producers Starting Out: Where To Find Samples Online

So, apparently a lot of beatmakers starting up have troubles trying to find samples. Well, I'm gonna try to give you a helping hand, whatever that may be, because it's really not that fucking hard. I'm gonna set it off in simple sporadic sentences for you. Let's begin.

First off, the simplest way to find good samples is, well, listen to music. Sounds easy right? that's because it is. You gotta search & search & keep searching for new & different sounds. That means, stop sampling James Brown. Stop sampling The Temptations. Stop sampling the same 5 David Axelrod songs. Stop. sampling. the same. shit. that every other. fucking producer. samples. If you sample what everyone else samples, then it doesn't really make you a producer now does it? Now, I'm not saying don't sample a song if its been sampled before. You can flip any song by just chopping loops. I'm talking, don't take the same 4 seconds from "I Only Have Eyes For You" by The Flamingos & act like the Fugees didn't sample it 18-19 years ago. Come on now. Look for new sounds everywhere. If you're in a fucking department store & hear a smooth jazz song over the loudspeakers while ya ma is fiddling her yams then pull out that song identifier app, whatever the hell it's called. Anyways, moving on.

The internet is literally your playground to find all kinds of music. But, sometimes you can only find things on vinyl, and vice versa. Even madlib has been using the internet recently to find samples he couldn't find on vinyl. Use both sources. Go crate digging at a record store if you have one. Go e-digging on the internet. search for music blogs by the genre you're looking for. You can sample anything, but some of the best genres to start with are soul, soundtrack music, easy listening, and jazz. Don't forget that international jazz, soul, easy listening, and soundtrack music exists too. Europe didn't just create orchestral music. dipshit.

 

Also, stop looking up YouTube videos on how to make beats. That shit wont help you a damn bit. You're better off fucking with it for 2 hours & learning a couple things instead of watching a 5 minute video and getting confused even more. No one EVER fucking said making music would be easy. You just inferred that because your neighbor down the street has skills & has made a couple beats. "But hey, if he can do It I can too!". If you don't even have the dedication to sit at a computer for four hours and look for samples to make a beat instead of taking the lazy way out, maybe you should reassess what you're spending time on. No one else can teach you how to be good at something, it takes time & dedication to build up hard work into experience, which therefore helps you fix your mistakes & builds toward your craft. What do you think calluses symbolize? - CS

New Music: Boss Life Ed ft Hefner Bros x Boogie Down

Boss Life Ed and Hefner Bros previously released a song that also had a sped up funk sample. These beats are dope as fuck so whenever someone gets on then I pay attention. I don't think Boss Life Ed is in the Hefner Bros, he just had an affiliation with them. The songs he's dropped so far have been hard so ill fuck with his mixtape if he decide to drop one. I just love original Detroit music and I can guarantee no other city can make music like this. I would recommend checking this song out, it has a street feel but joy like a forced street feel that a lot of artists in Detroit have. In better terms you can kind of sense they're not boosting heavy and they talking about what they know. As I've said numerous times, I like to keep their posts relatively short because an interview with them is coming soon. Well anyway I'll post the link and my favorite lines below.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dv6b1lFQ0dM&feature=c4-feed-u

Favorite Lines: 

First Verse: "Got yo girl sucking sick she look like the surprise emoji"

Second Verse: "Niggas want a feature cuz they know we blow up/ what you got that we ain't got lil nigga better ?"

5 Reasons Why I'm The Only Lightskinned White Person to Ever Exist

This blog post is pretty self explanatory & maybe a little degrading to myself & other people I know personally. Fuck it. It has to be done.

1. I get sad when I get curved
This shit is hella explanatory. When a bad hoe curves me for the nudes on the DM's, I get hella mad & go play Fight Night Champion on PS3 to relieve the anger. This involves me turning on the 2nd controller & sitting it on my stand unattended, & then proceeding to beat the shit out of Bernard Hopkins. Most of the time I use Oscar De La Hoya cause dude has hella stamina & I can just punch the shit out of Bernard Hopkins' face while looking at Oscar De La Hoya & seeing the pain in his eyes, realizing  he probably got curved more than I did. The fact that I even know what a curve is gives me extra points, & brings me to my next point.

2. I use terms in everyday life that only black twitter uses
The other day, I was appalled as shit when a white girl asked me to explain myself when I called her foul. Really? I really have to explain to you what foul means? Really? Am I really that weird to yall? Really?  Is it like where's Waldo to you when you find something funny on your TL for once? Really? FOH & don't talk to me when you want to complain, I will pause your conversation & go listen to Luther Vandross

3. I'm a white rapper
Please don't make me explain this. Locals are still appalled that white rappers exist....like Beastie Boys, Eminem, & even Vanilla Ice's wack ass didn't happen. Appalled that they exist yet I still get curved when it comes to them listening to my music. But it's cool. I don't have a grudge. Just angry. Cause I'm whiteskinned.

4. I can't relate with anyone else

This kinda adds into the last one a bit. I caught myself feeling this when I was talking about sampling to someone & they said "what's sampling? Like taste testing or something?". Don't make me put the walls of Jericho on these locals bruh. Really don't make me do it. I don't want to but next time I get some dumbass shit like this someone's getting a 5 star frog splash.

5. I automatically get annoyed when someone tries to debate with me
This goes with locals & music. I could give a fuck less about twitter. These locals...man these faggots the type to say Drake is GOAT compared to the Wu-Tang Clan & he helped them out with "Wu Tang Forever" all because drake is popular right now. & I'm literally expecting someone to say this. I already had some faggot tell me that Wu Tang Clan is gay & A$AP Rocky is his favorite rapper. You realize how contradictory that statement is? These faggots don't understand anything about hip-hop whatsoever. These faggots the type to think every rapper makes their own beats. These faggots the type to think vinyl records are gay & only 50 year olds own them. These faggots the type to think a rapper is superior to another because he raps faster. You know why certain rappers rap faster? It makes up for their lack of content with flow. You dumb motherfuckers. Don't make me go on bruh cause I will slander everyone in the state of Ohio bruh. Really. -TS

New Music: Teef Sweat ft. Sly Quota - Muta.

Teef Sweat is a writer for the hip hop section here at the ELC. He was asked to be a writer because he is absolutely in love with hip hop, from lyricism to beats he pretty much loves everything hip hop and engrosses himself in it. In addition to being a rapper he's also a producer he specializes in chopping up samples and wrapping over soulful beats like a lot of lyrical rappers before. The first thing I notice about the song is the effects on the vocals, normally Teef goes for traditional vocals just EQ, Compressor, and Limiter. He lets the lyrics speak for them selves, but the effects fit with the song so I didn't really mind. The sample was mesmorizing and I had to listen to the song a couple times to really pay attention to the lyrics and alot of things flew over my head. I'm still trying to figure things he said in Cactus and he released that ages ago. All in all if you like classic lyricism and chopped beats this song will be perfect for you. I'll post the link to the song below. -L$G

https://soundcloud.com/teefsweatinsight/muta-ft-sly-quota?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=twitter

New Music: Hefner Bros x Add It Up

The Hefner Bros are becoming familiar faces on the ELC, and we're starting to see more and more with each song. This is easily my favorite song they've dropped so far, their lyrics are a bit more tight and clever on this song. It sounds professional kind of like they're beginning to come into their own, as of now I'm wondering that their mixtape will be like. On The Table, Add It Up, and Tonight all have pretty different feels to them so it just makes me more curious about their mixtape as a whole. Some of the artwork was cropped out when it was converted, but the bottom said a video for the song is coming soon and that's something to look forward to. As of now we've only heard their music and that's all we have to go off. But when the music video drops you'll get a better feel for them and become more engrossed because you have something to associate the lyrics. I've said this in previous posts, but an interview with them is coming sometime soon so I don't want to go into much detail. But all in all I can't really them apart because I don't know who's rapping what verse but the video will solve that problem. I think my favorite is Rel Hefner if that's the dude who had the 2nd verse on both this song and Tonight. If you like Detroit rap then you'll absolutely love this song. I'll post the link and  my favorite line from each verse below.

http://4shomag.com/2014/01/hefner-bros-add-it-up/

Rate: 8.3/10

Favorite Lines:
First Verse: "2 bands make her pussy wet/ 2 bands get a pussy wet/ Borrow pussy fuck the pussy/ give pussy his pussy back"
Second Verse: "I gave this ? whore her first ever bite at Beni's/ then tore her weave out but fuck it cuz it wasn't Remy"
Third Verse: "Get the bows keep a knot like a bow tie nigga/ doing numbers pockets smarter than a 4-eyed nigga."


Sidenote: Whoever was rapping in Rel Hefner's ask box need a feature on the mixtape that nigga was hilarious

New Music Video: Monster Mike ft Kolby Woods x It's Straight Pt.ll

I'm beginning to love Chicago more and more with every new song that's released. Monster Mike and Kolby Woods team up for 'It's Straight Pt.ll.' The subject matter sounds like a more thuggish song, there's several references to hitting licks and robbing niggas. But the beat it self is more of a classic hip hop beat, something you wouldn't associate with the topic. The video itself is very minimalist and does the song justice. Since the song is pretty simple and straight forward, having more to do with lyrics than flashy beats or anything else, the video does well to reflect that. The flow is really cool and it caught my attention. I've listened to the songs a couple times to attempt to grasp some of the lyrics I might not have caught before. I didn't know who Monster Mike or Kolby Woods were before I saw this music video, but I'm definitely going to check them out after this post. I'll post the link to the music video below. -L$G

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ean5ovrAPbE

Emerging Artist: Max Wonders

The Chicago rap scene, along with the Bay Area, is quickly emerging to the forefront of rap. Max Wonders is a part of that scene. A Chicago native who adds to the melting pot of music that is Chicago. It's a melting pot because you have so many different variations of music unlike most cities in the country. You have artists like GBE, then there's artists like Chance, then artists like Vic Mensa, and etc... Being from Detroit where all the music sounds pretty much the same, I'm somewhat jealous of this. I wish there was more variety in my city. But back to the subject of Max, I think there's some weird water in Chicago. Because it's home to some of the strangest light skinned people of all time. The first light skinned person that comes to mind is Fredo Santana, that niggas not even human, yet alone light skinned. Then there's Chance The Rapper, who many considers makes off the wall music, contrasting the typical light skinned raping full of tears and Jordans. Lastly, there's Max Wonders, he's paving his own path and doing music different from everyone else's. I believe that no where in the country, are there so many different style of music and light skinned people. Well except for New York, and French Montana isn't the typical light skinned person. But then again he's African so it doesn't really count. Well anyway, I've listened to Max's album 'Complicated Simplicity' several times, and the only word I can use to describe it is, hope. Hope for my generation. Hope that there'll be something from my generation that I can be proud of. Complicated Simplicity is one of my favorite types of work. It's not one of those albums that you would listen to on certain occasions. A lot of artists put out music for certain things, for example, Drake puts out music for crying, Meek Mill put outs music for punching a hole in your wall, Wale puts out music for sleeping, etc.... This is one of those tapes where, you can listen to it pretty much anytime. I've listened to it at the gym, doing homework, during long car rides, relaxing, sleeping, etc... I personally think that it's harmful for artists to make music for certain occassions because they eventually get boxed in and it's extremely hard to get out of. Complicated Simplicity was an album of diverse music, but it managed to stay cohesive. While the songs were different in nature, they all kind of ran together, which makes for very smooth listening. I've been trying to think of the negatives of this album to attempt to help Max better himself as an artist, but it's honestly not many negative things I can say about this album. The only thing I can say is Max shouldn't hesitate so much, during the interview he told me that he hesitated to put 'Goodbye' on his album. Along with White Walls, that's my favorite song by him. That would of done something amazing to the album, I realize that it's just one song, but it was a definitely a song that should of been on there I believe. But besides that, Max Wonders has an extremely bright future ahead of him, I listened to his older music such as 'Lucid Dreams' because I like to see how artists progress, and MAx has been doing that fairly well. Seeing that he's a young artist, he's still perfecting his style and I'm very much anticipating when he perfects and releases his master piece. But until then, I'll just ride along on the journey, so when he does reach that point I can say I've heard him since the beginning. I was able to get an interview with him which will posted below, along with his soundcloud and his music video to White Walls. -L$G

1. Tell everyone who you are and what you do.

Hey, I'm Max Wonders aka Wonders Max aka Billy Ray Cyrus aka aka Yung OG Shadows aka Wondaboy. And I create stuff.

2. What do you think of the most visionary man of our time: Lil B?

Protect Lil B, at all costs. Task Force

3. You're from Chicago, how has that influenced your taste, and as well as your style of music?

Chicago is a big melting pot, so I was exposed to all different music being young. It applies to my music as well, but I expand beyond the city for listening and for what I make.

4. I saw that you performed at Pitchfork during the summer, congratulations on that. That's definitely something that's huge to an artist. How did that happen?

(laughs) I didn't perform but Treated Crew did, so I was on stage supporting. Same for Lil B, we all went crazy on stage with him, cool dude. Soon, I will be, though, God willing.

5. What's your role in Treated Crew?

Of course I make music, but I'm also a creative as well. Besides that, that's my family. We all create raw products.

6. I'm kind of late on it, but Complicated Simplicity was an absolutely amazing composition. Could you explain how you went about making it?

Thanks, man. I'm glad you like it. It was just a genuinely fun project, after school, on my own time, just creating. Now looking back on it, I'm not even a big fan of it, since I'm working on new things, and I like them better. Yet, I'll never shun away from the project that pushed my name out there, ya' know?

7. You're very into clothing, I've seen that you even make some of your own clothes. How did you get I to that?

I've always been interested, just didn't know the mechanics. Then, once I learned more, I was like maybe I can make some cool stuff. Then, I got bored looking at some lines, and was like "I'll make stuff, that I like, but others can feel out."

8. My two favorite songs off of Complicated Simplicity are 'White Walls' and 'Fake Reality' could you expound on those songs a bit?

Appreciate it. White Walls, man, I finished recording that song at 3:00am, I remember I wouldn't stop until I got it right. It was real, a visual of some of the dark scenes of Chicago. Letting people see, while they listen. As far as Fake Reality, I heard the beat from Caleb Crowe, and immediately text him like "yo! I love this", wrote it, it was kind of about females, and some of the second verse was about my ex girlfriend. Sent it over to my fellow Void Squad member, Young Goliath, and there you have, "Fake Reality".

9. There was also a great song that didn't make the album called 'Goodbye' could you tell us about that?

Goodbye was, real, as well, one of my favorites. Everyone always tells me I'm an idiot for not including it. But, it wasn't mixed and mastered completely, just a forgotten song, but when I went back, I was like "woah, this has potential." At the same time, like I said, it was real for me, and I don't think at the time of the release date for the tape, I was ready for it to come out. Then one day, I just said "Lets just finish this up, and out it out." Glad I did.

10. What's your opinion of the Chicago rap scene right now? And what do you think your place is in it?

The Chicago rap scene is evolving, and I can see who's apart of the that evolution. Many different sounds. Man people bringing their own styles, I love it. A lot of those people are friends of mine, so I enjoy all of it. As far as my part, it's my "job" just to leave my mark, and add to the evolution, opening the lanes for people after me. Showing people Chicago has a lot to offer, as my fellow Chicago artists are doing.

11. Ultimately what do you want to accomplish with your music?

Ultimately, I just want to create a great product. That can be appreciated for years to come, timeless. So that kid sitting on the bus going home, can play my music and enjoy him or herself, and not think of anything else. Just as I have done with other artists. Those long walks home. So long, (laughs). I want people to feel as though my music helps them in their life, whether it's to party to, or to relax to. All of which, helps. If I can change the emotions of such people, I'll be happy. That's what all the great have done.

12. Thank you for the interview, it's greatly appreciated. Anything you want to say before you go? Like any new projects or anything coming soon?

First off, thanks for the great questions, you'd be surprised how boring interviews are sometimes, (laughs). But, my new project, The Wonder Tape, comes out in 2014. More specifics soon, but not late 2014. I can say that. Probably before June. Um, I like spaghetti, and Chinese food, and if you'd like to send me Chinese food follow me on twitter, @maxwonders. Thank you.

https://soundcloud.com/lilmax

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaTxDNXmeNE

New Music: BossLife Ed ft Hefner Bros x Hating Already

BossLife Ed and The Hefner Bros teamed on the 'Nigga With Cheese' beat to make Hating Already. What you see often, especially in Detroit, is people using the same beats and sounding exactly like the original song. That is not the case with this song, well it would be almost impossible because Crispy Quis's style is very difficult to replicate. But the point I'm making is, that they didn't try to copy the original song. This is my first time hearing BossLife Ed and I can say he genuinely kept my interest. Every rapper in Detroit pretty much emulates Doughboyz style so I get bored of them quickly, but this song wasn't necessarily like that. I liked it enough to replay it a second time. For a second, I thought Doughboy Scooch was featured on the song because the nigga on the 3rd verse voice sounds exactly like him. But all in all, this song is pretty good. While I've only heard a few songs from The Hefner Bros, what I have heard seems to consistent. I look forward to their debut mixtape coming out, and hopefully an interview with them still coming soon. I'll post the link to the song below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe4FrsllvPY&sns=tw

Artist To Watch: Lost ArCHIves

With rap & R&B being at the forefront of the black community, we are pretty much strictly bound to these things unfortunately. It's not very often that someone breaks away and tries to does something different, and even if they do it often gets met with disdain. This is not the case with Spoken Word artist, 'Lost ArCHIves.' While she does sing and play piano, pretty greatly, what stands out to me about her is her spoken word. They're insightful and the true meaning of poetic, I always enjoy when an artist clearly loves what they do and attempt to put their selves into their art. This is evident with her, listening to her spoken word, or even her covers you can tell that she is very passionate about what she does  and she's put her time and soul into making these pieces. She seems like an artist that doesn't belong in this time to be honest, she seems as if she belongs in the era of 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.' When black women in popular music had things to say. I was lucky enough to get an interview with her which is posted below.

1. Tell everyone who you are and what you do?

So my name is Chioma, but I like to go by Lost ArCHIves, or LA. I’m a spoken word artist and as well as an aspiring vocalist. Surprisingly, I’ve been labeled as a rapper before, but that’s really a stretch, lol.

2. A lot of poets don't do spoken word because they're scared to show people their work. Is that something that you had to get over, or were you always open with your poetry?

I was scared to show people my work for a pretty long time. A year actually. My ex-boyfriend was the only person to see my first piece of writing – as a matter of fact, it was a piece that I had written for him. After that piece, however, I didn’t show anyone anything for an entire year until I found the courage to do so. I finally shared a heavy piece with everyone. I was scared that the piece would make people think of me differently and act differently around me, but instead I received a great deal of positive feedback. After that, it became increasingly easier for me to show people my writing.

3. What inspires you to make a poem, like does it have to be a large event in your life, or can it just be a tiny little thing that made your day or made you upset?

I personally believe that there is inspiration in everything. Inspiration for my writing can come from anything – from something big that happened to me to a person I saw to a song that I listened to. On occasion I sometimes write about made up scenarios or from the views of other people just to practice relating to others and stepping into others’ shoes.

4. How you did get into writing poetry?

As I sat in the crowd during a talent show and listened to this boy read his poem. I felt as though the words reached for me – they held my mind and pulled me closer, entangling me in endless lines of metaphors, similes, and rhymes. It was such a beautiful experience that before he walked off the stage – before he even said his last word – I had already promised myself that I would spend the next chapter of my life trying to understand the power of words. This boy inspired me. This piece I wrote explains it all: http://feelingthatempathy.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-beginning.html

5. Have you ever considered getting your poems published?

I consider it all the time. I have wanted to release a collection of work for the longest time – whether it I end up releasing a collection of songs or a collection of poems. Right now, a collection of poems seems much more feasible than anything else. I’m currently trying to decide whether I would publish already released poems or completely start from scratch. In any case, expect something soon!

6. What are your hobbies outside of poetry?

As I mentioned before, I am very serious about creating a music career for myself, so outside of poetry, singing is a huge hobby of mine. In addition to that, I enjoy meditation, engaging in intellectual conversations and debates, playing the piano, reading psychology books, discovering new music, photography, video editing, and listening to song covers and spoken word performances on YouTube. I am also heavily into sports, which involves watching and playing basketball, playing soccer, and running track.

7. By far my favorite piece on your soundcloud is "Ten Things To Know Before Falling In Love With A Poet" could you expand on that poem?

This was a piece I started while on vacation in Vegas over the summer. I had the hotel room to myself, so I got my notebook out, got comfortable, played some Toro Y Moi and XXYYXX, and started writing. At first, it was going to be a piece about myself, explaining how difficult it is to be with me, but I figured that I could make this piece more dynamic by compiling several observations that I have made about the poets/ writers I have met in my lifetime. I called on several experiences and memories and got ideas from several pieces of writing and combined them all to create this piece. It was a difficult process, but the funny thing is that the hardest part about the entire piece was giving it a title – that alone took about two days, lol.

8. Another interesting one was 'Introduction To The Black Man' could you expand on that one also.

This piece was initially inspired by the Trayvon Martin case and Zimmerman trial. I started it the night that Zimmerman was found not guilty, and I continued to write over the next two days. As I wrote, I decided to use the piece to not only discuss the Trayvon Martin case, but to discuss many issues that are arise in discussion about the black community. I could have written it from the perspective of a black woman, but I figured that it would be more of a challenge for me to write it from multiple perspectives – a black man, a black woman, and myself – in order to properly address the different issues. This was not only an informative piece, but also a venting piece, as it was very relieving to be able to talk about all of these different problems within the black community.

9. Who's inspired you to write poetry? Also do you get inspired by musicians in your work ever?

As mentioned earlier, a boy that performed a spoken word piece at a talent show two years ago inspired me to write. His name is Farouk. I also get constant inspiration to continue writing from Malanda J, an amazing spoken word artist, thinker, and person. And yes, musicians inspire me every single day! The world of poetry and the world of music are so closely intertwined that is hard for me to separate the two of them. I get inspiration from all artists that I listen to in one way or another, but to name some of my major inspirations, you have Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Oddisee, Lauryn Hill, India Arie, Ab-Soul, Blu & Exile, and many others.

10. Well thank you very much for the interview I appreciate it, anything you want to say before you go?

And I truly appreciate you taking the time to interview me! I just want to leave you with a quote from Oscar C. Cisneros: "And so it goes, one candle lights another, and another lights another, and another lights another until the first spark fades to smoke and darkness, living only in the pinpoints that follow." That is the breakdown of the concept of inspiration. When you inspire one person, you enable that person to inspire another who is then enabled to inspire another, and so on. When you inspire one, you inspire many, so be sure that your inspiration is nothing but positive. Thank you again for interviewing me!

All in all, LA is an amazing with what I believe to be a great future, I'm more than excited for her future releases, I'll post the link to her Soundcloud below.

https://soundcloud.com/lost_archives