Life Logs
Notes from the World Arts Expo panel on art, ownership, and the Crayola story my high school art teacher told me. Why every creator needs a paper trail — and why people see courtroom sketches in my work without knowing my background.
Read MoreFrom drawing Donkey Kong as a kid to speaking on a live panel, this is how I built my language as an artist—and why it still evolves.
Read MoreTHE BASEMENT
FIRST SIGN OF INDEPENDENCE
The Basement has been a cornerstone in the community for years. Basements were so important that there was a whole tv show acting like they was in a basement.
Rap City’s The Basement helped emulate the raw feeling of listening to music in your basement, you actually felt like a guest in Big Tigger’s (pictured right) home.
You may ask yourself why would someone act like they was in a basement, what is the significance of that? The answer is, the basement represents an organic feel and serves as a starting point towards an individually led life.
I remember the basement in several ways. The Basement had minimal supervision by adults which allowed you to operate without someone watching your every move.
Basements were the place for parties, creating music, many dreams starts and unfortunately ends in the basement. The Basement as previously mentioned is only supposed to be a starting point.
When in the Basement mindset, expectations are low, you can work with restrictions, and you’re living life without urgency. It’s all about fun and just making the most out of the situation.
But at some point, the Basement should be left to cover higher ground in life. It is acceptable to see a 17 year old or younger in the basement but the older you get the less acceptable it becomes.
Reason being is the Basement is limited in what can be accomplished. If the Basement started as your gym, you wouldn’t work out down there forever, even if you may have all the essentials, the more you get into working out the more you would desire a true facility.
Making music in the Basement can get tiresome at some point as well, you have to worry about the noise or the quality or even the overall atmosphere. At some point you will desire to upgrade and surpass the four wall limit.
No matter what you do the goal is to obtain complete freedom to operate in the full capacity that is desired for yourself. The Basement helps us realize our origins and with enough work & dedication anything we did starting in the basement can be taken worldwide.
THANKS TO ANOTHER PAGE: THE AVENUES OF PROMOTION
Today I was watching insta-stories and I watched Skepta’s (skeppy what’s good) and seen that Novelist (UK mc/producer) dropped a new album.
Purchase New Album: Novelist Guy by Novelist https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/novelist-guy/1342665826
I love Novelist and I follow him on Instagram but I had no idea he had a new project out. Which lead me to the thought of good thing information doesn’t only comes from one source.
Relying on one stream of information can lead to no information or possibly worse, misinformation. Some news may be simple as finally finding out one of your favorite artist has a new album or it could be something detrimental.
Imagine not knowing an important date or an extreme loss occurred all because the source you followed dropped the ball on delivering the information.
Today’s mishap is also more reason to why Instagram should switch its algorithm back to chronological order but, that is an argument for another day.
Due to the overcrowding of social media I’m grateful that other pages can serve as sources of info so I can always be in the loop for things that matters to me. In fact, you should be grateful just as much.
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ONE WRONG TURN
Yesterday we was driving down the freeway and we were unsure on which exit was the one we wanted so we went ahead and exited right. Upon choosing that exit we realize that we chose the wrong exit and it took us all out of the way from our original destination causing to do more driving than required.
The misturn made me think of how quick a person life can change from making one choice. Often wrong choices can stem from indecisiveness. Just as we were unsure to pick the correct exit, certain people are unsure of what path to choose in life. If we were sure and trusted our gut instinct we would've never have to go out the way to reach our original destination.
So the next time you have time to ponder correct life decisions, ensure that you are decisive in what you want and you too can avoid an unwanted wrong turn.
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THE "ME" IN TEAM
This week I've watched documentaries on two of the greatest players to ever touch a basketball, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.
These two as we all know possessed many qualities that made them as great as they were but what isn't discussed is the obstacles that were self-induced and if it weren't overcame we may have never got the Kobe and MJ that we see today.
I. THE "PERFECT" IMAGE.
Michael Jordan once stated that He's "More Image Conscious then I would like to admit". It was even rumors that if you didn't act in a way that complied with Michael's public image he would heavily chastise you for it. Kobe not only took a lot of his game from Michael but he also took the way Michael carried himself with the media. They both went out of their way to appear as role models and upstanding citizens without any blemishes. However both were exposed that despite they're charisma and charm they were still human beings that made mistakes. For Michael it was his extreme gambling habit that even lead to a league investigation and some people are audacious enough to blame MJ's habit to be the cause of his father's death. As for Kobe, his act of adultery lead to rape allegations and jeopardized his entire career & life.
II. "LET ME BE GREAT"
Jordan trusts John Paxson with big time shot
As we all know no players that played with Kobe or Michael can say they outworked them. Only thing on their mind was to be better than they were yesterday and that was only achieved through practice,practice, & more practice. However as they would soon find out solo play could only get them so far. Michael used to take on 2,3,4 defenders at a time instead of passing it to a teammate. Kobe was so much about his personal performance his own teammates wouldn't even cheer for him after he made a spectacular move. Both came to the realization without the trust in their teammates the furthest they can go is just being known as a "great player" but they both wanted more, they wanted to be "CHAMPIONS".
Often times we do not realize that we can be our own barrier to the success we want. Certain things in life is just meant to be achieved with the help of others. Also our lives aren't meant to be lived perfect it's meant to understand that we're not perfect and that's okay. If these two never realized these self-induced burdens the legacy of these GOATs would be greatly tarnished. It's time to do a self check and see what's holding you back and once you find out nothing can stop you from becoming a GOAT!
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LAVAR BALL: The Father You Never Knew You Needed
The center of media attention right now is none other than father of UCLA basketball superstar and two high school stars , LaVar Ball. Criticized for saying his son (Lonzo Ball) is better than Steph Curry, LaVar have the whole world speculating is he serious or is he seeking media attention?
UNIVERSITY BALL by Jaevonn Harris, https://instagram.com/p/BRow_AEBaLV/
Here are two takeaways that shows LaVar isn't out of his mind and he's only being a good father.
1. HE PUTS WORK ETHIC FIRST
When LaVar is constantly asked by sports media journalists like Chris Broussard or Shannon Sharp what makes him think Lonzo is better than Steph Curry, he always responds with "He knows how hard his boys work". He even mentions how he would have them compete against each other to see who can make 50 shots in the yard first and he would have them compete against much older players to propel their growth even further. This shows that LaVar doesn't believe in being "all talk" it is clear his confidence stems from the effort he see his sons put on the court each and every day.
"It's 3 B's on my hat and it's gon' cost you at least one of em" is the response LaVar gave when talking about wanting a billion dollar shoe deal for his sons. He explained that he doesn't want his brand to be owned like Lebron's king logo or Kobe's Mamba Symbol, he want his brand to co-exist with the biggest brands like NIKE, ADIDAS,etc. He said if those athletes ever decided to leave they wouldn't be able to take their brand that they've built with them and he refuse to sacrifice something he built for a check. The amount of belief you have in your brand can dictate how much the public have belief in your brand. If you think your brand is worth a billion dollars then baby it's worth a billion dollars, it isn't worth it until its proven otherwise.
What LaVar wants for his sons is bigger than money, its LEGACY. The way he speaks on his boys even if they can't live up to the expectations should be respected by EVERYONE simply because of the lack of fathers that are even in their children's life. At the end of the day we're discussing basketball and basketball is simply entertainment. Say what you will about LaVar Ball but I bet you're going to say him and his family is as good as entertainment gets.
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SETTING ASIDE DIFFERENCES
Last night, the unthinkable happened during the 2017 NBA ALL STAR GAME. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant actually cooperated with each other for one of the night's most memorable highlights. For those who are unaware of the significance, Kevin and Russell struck bad blood once Kevin decided to join the Golden Stare Warriors. A team Russell and KD almost defeated TOGETHER in the Western Conference Finals last year. Russell chose to resign with OKC and ever since then it's been a heated rivalry between the two NBA superstars.
Comparing their situation to our day-to-day experiences, there will always come a time where you will have to work with an enemy or former associate of some sorts in order to get the job done. Russell and KD are recognized as two of the NBA's best players and they had to come together for a Win for the sake of their conference. You may have to align with foes for the sake of the community, a project, or even your employment.
When found in this seemingly compromising situation just remember that the alliance is temporary and it's never as bad as it may seems.
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LIFE IS OPEN WORLD GAMEPLAY
If you ever played games like Grand Theft Auto and Final Fantasy then you have played what are categorized as "open world" games. Meaning games that encompass the player to "free roam" and not follow a linear structure. In open world gameplay, you have the main storyline alongside a bunch of side quests/missions that are optional to complete but may give cool bonuses.
The gameplay is quite analogous to life in which, the storyline is our life's purpose and anything outside of our purpose may be positioned as a side quest. Knowing our lives are much more explorable/expansive than a video game it takes great responsibility to stay on track for our purpose. Often times we can get caught in the things that don't matter and it can delay the time on fulfilling our purpose[storyline].
Final Fantasy XV, available now for XBOX ONE/PS4
Life is meant to be fun and enjoyed from many different angles but we must remind ourselves that we are working with limited time. Learning to work efficiently and staying on track is key to enjoying our lives to the fullest extent.
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TRICK SHOT
Trick shots are unconventional, requires patience, and are mastered with a lot of practice (sprinkled with some luck).
Trick shots are just like the risks we take in life. Most people stick with the fundamentals and what always work. If people know they can always make a mid range jumper they seldom attempt to hit a three from a half court.
People that take risks in life are admired[sometimes shrouded as hate] by others who don't take risks. Seeing someone take a risk and succeed is amazing to see but if they fail it's generally expected because, most people don't attempt to go outside the norm anyway. It's equivalent to watching someone play pool and make a crazy shot, you write it off as nothing but luck if they succeed and aren't surprise if it fails because those are shots you're not used to seeing anyways.
The main objective of this article is show that the positive result people have in taking risks isn't strictly due to luck. People who take risks are constantly pushing themselves past their normal limits and the more they do this the more the supernatural becomes the very natural.
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KNOWING WHEN TO STOP
Sometimes it can be very easy to become addicted to winning. The thrill of achievement and overcoming can be a feeling many people don't want to let go. However everyone should proceed with caution and know not to go pass their intended mark of victory.
This is an idea mainly supported by one of the 48 Laws of Power but in recent history it can be seen enacted by NBA Player Zach Lavine. Zach Lavine is a two time back-to-to NBA SLAM DUNK Champion. After giving two historic performances people thought he was bound to go for a three peat. To the shock of many he declined the invitation to participate this year in New Orleans. He told ESPN "I feel like I've accomplished everything I could in the dunk contest".
To come to such a stunning conclusion one must know their self and know their true purpose. If Zach's purpose was just to accumulate another accolade for the hell of it, then there would be no reason to participate again. It is clear that his objective was to push the limits of the dunk contest and once he felt like he accomplished that he knew it wasn't a point of going any further. So the key is never to do something just to do it, always have a purpose no matter how minuscule it may seem.
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HOW THE BAD THINGS IN LIFE CAN MAKE FOR A GOOD STORY
Vito Corleone's death scene in The Godfather
Barry gets dismantled in his first encounter with Zoom
Today on my morning commute, I was thinking about a great win we took last night and all the hardships we had to overcome in the past several years. I thought to myself "man if somebody was watching this on tv they would be going crazy after seeing all these rollercoaster rides" and that's when it hit me, as cliche as it sounds it really is about a journey. Think about how uninteresting it would be if The Flash beat every major villain in a single episode or The Godfather just showed Marlon Brando reigning supreme all day. No story is complete without drama. Even though, people strive to live without petty drama it is the dilemmas/problems that give our life story depth.
Michael Jordan didn't come out the gate being the greatest basketball player of all time, he didn't even make varsity squad in high school on his first attempt. Van Gogh only sold one painting in his lifetime...ONE! A major lesson I've learned is not to be outcome dependent, meaning being hyper focused on the results of an outcome instead of just taking it as it comes. That's equivalent to rushing ahead to the season finale without watching any of the core episodes.
The Red Vineyard was the only painting Van Gogh sold in his lifetime
If you are wanting to rush to the "good parts" of life chances are you're already in it, enjoy the show baby you're going to be here for a while!
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