Music 4 da soul: Sho Baraka

My boy Sho B is comin' with the buttery hotness on this track. If you're not familiar with him, he's a christian rapper with Reach Records (w/ Lecrae, Trip Lee, etc...). He had an album and a mixtape which were just amazing. I'm soooooo looking forward to his next album entitled ''Lions and Liars''. Anyway, I saw this snippet on YouTube about this jam:



I'll tell you one thing. This album will be on repeat for a while.

Shalom :)

Dreamers & Doers

Do you ever feel like you're meant for something bigger in life? Not necessarily a better position in your company, but using whatever gift you have and making a career out of it? Back in the day, I wanted to be a video game tester. I mean, think about it. You're paid to sit there and play video games all day! It sounded like a dream job to me but it was more of a hobby (Still playing PS3 though). Music and poetry are two things that have been burning inside me for as long as I can remember. It takes me to a zone where I can forget everything around me and focus on the words and/or melody being played through the speakers. I can see myself being that dude on stage speaking knowledge or singing my heart out. I think most people would be happier if they just followed their passion. So many times, I talk to friends, family, co-workers and they start talking about their dreams with so much passion, you start feeling it yourself. As soon as you ask why they didn't pursue it further, the flame is extinguished and all of a sudden, they're brought back down to reality. Most will say it is because of money or lack of motivation, all understandable reasons to settle for less. But I can't bring myself to that level. I can't see myself sitting at a desk job for my life while I could be pursuing what makes me so happy. So my goal now is to pursue the dream of being a full-time poet. It may seem sudden to some and I KNOW FOR A FACT that the haters will be there to try and bring me down to their level, but it's something that I've wanted to do for some time now and I'm not getting any younger. I share this with y'all fellow readers because it's important to be accountable to others. It puts that needed pressure on you to follow through on your objectives (Lord knows I need it from time to time). To cap things off, I want to make a toast to all my fellow dreamers:

"The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do." - Sarah Ban Breathnach

Shalom y'all :)

Urban Scribes: Alysia Harris

This girl is simply AMAZING! What makes her stand out from her peers is the emotion that she puts into each of her poems. You feel each of her words and are drawn in. She's one of my favorite poets:





Shalom y'all :)

Community

It's now been a week since Haiti suffered a massive earthquake and I had a chance to look at how the world around me has responded. I have to say that I'm impressed. People have been very understanding and have offered to help in any way they can. I personally have been involved with B.R.I.H.N. and we're making "Aid for Haiti" bracelets. They've been selling like hotcakes and some have even offered to help make them! This shows that there are still some genuine people in this world that are willing to sacrifice either time, money or both for a greater cause. It's also been a time where churches are praying more than ever; kinda like when 9/11 happened. One thing has to be remembered though. We should move forward and not backwards. The money, volunteer hours, etc... is all great but it has to be kept up on a regular basis. Too many times, we live in the moment and as soon as things get better, we go back to normal. As Tonic (christian rapper) would say, "we go back to livin' in 9/10".

For me, this tragedy has turned into an eye opener. I'll be doing a lot more volunteer work for non-profit organization around Ottawa. It'll be a great way for me to get involved in my community and also introduce them to Christ.

"Be the change you want to see in the world" - Ghandi

Shalom :)

Ayiti Chéri...

Words can't express how I feel right now about the tragedy in Haiti. It seems like the country can never really get a break but God has His reasons for letting things happen and I encourage everybody to keep praying for all the victims and their families. I wanted to take this time to share a poem I wrote. I dedicate it to all my Haitian people worldwide:

''A Poem for Haiti''

The media says that we are on the brink of destruction

That our glorious nation which was once know as the

Pearl of the Caribbean has become nothing more

Than a mudstone

The media says that we

As a people

Have brought this hell on ourselves

By letting president after president

Promise sweet nothings in our ears

And keeping our eyes closed to reality

Now we are left to fend for ourselves

Our security is only one machette away

Man

Woman

And child die on the daily from hunger

Violence

Or both 

So they say

But what you see is not always what you get

See the media would like for you to believe that we are a bunch of 

Savages only interested in ourselves

Lacking moral values

To them I say

''What do you know?''

A few slides and videos does not 

And will not 

Ever

EVER

Represent us

They don't know our history and what it took for us to 

Be here

They don't understand that it was because of our unity

That we were able to gain our freedom and independence

And for that reason always believing that 

L'union fait la force

They don't understand that our nation stood up 

to the Spaniard conquest when they landed

And threatened to enslave us 

They don't understand that our story was bloody

But necessary to keep the French from leaving 

Their footprints on our sands

We may SEEM like savages 

But what do you expect when you are stripped

of your freedom and rights and cornered like Jackals

To this day, we still fight

Only now our battlefield is extended

We are in universities, colleges, law-firms,

hospitals and every institution on this planet

We don't need to shed blood 

To leave our mark 

Just look at Wyclef in the music industry

Or Ronald Agénor on the tennis court

Or Jacques Alexis on the poetry scene

Or Manno Sanon on the football field

Or Jean Michel Basquiet with his paintbrush

All Haitians

Overcoming the odds of our nation

Rising through the rubbles of poverty and injustice

Some of us were not born on Hispaniola

But it doesn't change the fact that her blood

Runs through our veins

Because we are Haiti's beloved children

Victims of heartache

But keepers of hope

Freedom fighters

And nation of strength

So I don't care what the media may say about us

As long as the truth is engraved in our hearts

We will live to see 

Another day.

We should always remember that we are a strong people. It may take us sometime to bounce back from this, but we will eventually. It's our history. Kinbé la; Pa lagué.

Shalom

R.I.P iPhone

Today's a sad day. My iPhone has passed away (let's have a moment of silence........................and we're back!)

But as the saying goes, with each death comes a new life, so I'll be heading over to my local Fido store and getting the new 3GS. I'll be honest, I should be angry because I had EVERYTHING on this phone (Good thing I back it up on a regular basis), but I've been wanting a bigger iPhone for a while and this seems like the best time to get one. I've learned a valuable lesson today; ALWAYS KEEP YOUR PHONE WITH YOU. I broke the rule for a day and look at the outcome:

Shalom :(

Urban Scribes: muMs

I'm a huuuuuuge fan of Def Poetry and thought I'd share with you guys some of my favorite pieces. This brotha muMs is on another level. You may not get the poem in its entirety, but his delivery is on point. Have a peep:

This one is a bit deeper to understand but once you do, it is mind-blowing.

Shalom folks :)

Confessions of a veggie eater

For those who don't know, I took the step and officially became part of the veggie community on December 1st 2009. Contrary to popular beliefs, there was no deep spiritual revelation commanding me to put my jerk chicken down (R.I.P. Jerk). I simply woke up one day and decided to try it out. So far, it's been a pretty easy journey filled with the occasional moments of I-needs-me-some-chicken. But recently, I had my family over at the crib and there were some haitian patties being passed around. I thought I'd play it cool but alas, it was inevitable. Just the smell of it had me in a relapse state reaching for the nearest piece of tofu I could find. I had no idea that meat could have played such a big part of my life. Now that I've stopped, I feel lighter on my feet and my stomach hasn't been beatboxing as much. For anybody thinking that this journey is a piece of cake, guess again. It takes dedication and commitment to follow through.

''Don't worry about temptation-as you grow older, it starts avoiding you'' - Unknown


I'm gonna keep on going strong and stay on the path. If all else fails, I always have veggie meat.

Shalom :)

Success=?

Today I was at my local Chapters browsing the poetry section (I usually just sit and read for a few hours) when I noticed that they had a black studies section. I landed on Hill Harper's book ''Letters for a young brother: MANifest your destiny'' (recommended of course). For those who have no idea what the book is about, the book features advice and encouragement to young men, draws on Hill's own experiences growing up and features letters and email that he received and responded to. One thing that stood out for me was this quote about education:

''Use school. Don't let school use you.''

I myself attended college and wanted to become a law clerk. But I figured out quickly that it was not something that was going to make me happy so I dropped out. It may seem weird to say this, but we tend to put the importance on school and not the EDUCATION that we get out of it. Is school important? Absolutely! Is it for everyone? I don't think so. Everybody has a different learning style. While some take the standard path of going from high school to university and/or college, others will get the knowledge themselves. Most see success as being your salary. If you look at it through a biblical perspective, prophets were never the wealthiest of people. They travelled a lot sometimes not having a place to call home. Jesus himself stayed at other people's homes often. But nobody can tell me that they were not successful in their path chosen. Not everyone can be CEO or a high-priced lawyer; we need secretaries and nurses too. Whatever your dreams may be, get the necessary tools and make it happen. George Bernard Shaw said it best:

You see things; and you say, "Why?" But I dream things that never were; and I say, "Why not?"

Shalom urrrbody :)