Need It to Breathe
If I remember right it was the summer of 1994. It started off just like any other summer. My brother and I would wake up, hurry and get dressed to go outside and play with our friends. More than likely it was great game of pickup basketball going on at the nearby court. Afterwards we would chill on the block, grab a couple of quarter juices, chips and rap the latest verses from some of the favorite artist like Tupac, Biggie, and Nas. ( We all know them as hip hop legends now) And just like every other kid on the block I dreamed of being a hip hop artist but the reality of actually one day landing a record deal seemed a million miles away. As innocent as being a child is, growing up in Detroit was not the easiest, it was as they say a "Hard Knock Life". Let's just say that there weren't many of us with that could afford designer clothing, the flyest sneakers, or even just a stable home environment for that matter. I found myself in the center of a struggling music scene made up of guys that were for the most part younger than I was. This meant that I was often posed as the leader, the organizer, the make it happen, or whatever else anyone needed to make our dreams a reality. Truthfully I just wanted to hang out. Well, on one of these hot summer days I came back home after a long day with the fellas. To my surprise to see my dad at home sprawled out on the floor with at least dozen of vinyl records in front of him, smoking the last of one of his two doobies. I had asked him why were there so many records out, when you can only listen to one at a time. As he sat me down, he began to explain the devastation of what our family was getting ready to experience, because he had lost his job and they were already behind on rent. And that he needed all is music because he needed IT to Breathe.... Literally Fast forward two decades, 5 produced records, several signed artist, and a million other musical experiences along the way and it's still that feeling that I get when I think about my life and career as a musician. I need IT to Breathe. It is the very essential part of who I am. Regardless of what is going on in the world it I is my identity. It is our culture's identity. It is our history. It does not lay in the books in school, it is not the television programs they show us, there is little to no visual documentation on it. It is in our song. It is in our music. It defines us from generation to generation. At least that's the way it's been for me. But perhaps more importantly it means that to You, the listener. I look forward to many more sometimes hard, sometimes ugly, always worthwhile experiences along this musical journey. It's our history. Here's to hopping that you are part of that journey. If you'd like to hear the most recent milestone of that journey, join my mailing list for more music! Thank you for being a listener and for making it our history.
