GOT THE INTERNETS GOIN NUTS...

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I said I was gonna double up and do two blogs this month. I'm sorry, for those of you expecting the Tipping Point or the NFE(everybody asks what that is), neither are quite done yet mentally. The NFE might be the Pinnacle of all that I have written so far.

This one is gonna be kinda informative...and probably somewhat opinionated and somewhat of a ramble. If you notice the title, you'll see it's from a Paul Wall Song. I have no idea which one, nor do I care to look it up.. I just remember him saying it and thought it was funny.

I was just on a friends of mine's page and he was talking about where we are now... Facebook. How it's became juvenile, and High Schoolish and plain ignorant. In many ways I see what he's talking about, but I cannot compare it to Myspace, as many of you might be able to because I think I logged into the myspace page I had maybe twice. I think before I joined FB, there was a mass Exodus from Myspace over to FB. Am I correct? If anybody knows that background, please inform me. I used to always think FB was just for college kids so when people would say, "Dav, you gotta get on FB.." I was like, "Yo, I'm 30, son.. I dont wanna see any college kids doing what we was doing on Blackplanet( Oh don't you lie, you know you was a BP junkie back in college... hell, I joined BP back when it was only 400,000 Members and now it's like 30 million or something.. and Dav won't lie, I adored BP like it was Willy Wonka with a lifetime supply of Chocolate... cuz you know, Dav loves chocolate.)

Hell, I remember when they blocked Blackplanet at work.. Ni**s damn near lost they mind. Salty the entire day.. Damn near boycotted like it was the Freedom Riders or something.

It's crazy, but there is a reason for this overwhelming attraction. CONNECTIONS. (And for my Louisville people, not the place where you go see the Drag show)

Regardless of what we may think.. We are all connected. The universe binds us in a way that nothing else can. It's been that way from the Big Bang(AKA GOD's VOICE) and It will continue to be that way until God decides to turn out the light on this little planet.

One of my favorite Hip Hop Albums of All Time is by my fav group, Foreign Exchange. What is it called.... Connected? If you are a true hip hop fan... AMAZON.COM or WWW.THEFOREIGNEXCHANGEMUSIC.COM and get that album. It is amazing. Created in 2004 and still damn near better than ANYTHING out today.

If you know about the group, you know how they found each other. If not, Dav will give you the story.

Foreign Exchange is originally composed of two memebers. Phonte of Little Brother( who has knocked out Common of the top spot as my fav MC ever) and Nicolay (Super Producer from the Netherlands)

The two met on a MESSAGE board... Called Okayplayer.com. It was a place where Hip Hop heads go to place beats, or rhymes or read up on whatever what was going on in the Hip hop world.

It was on this message board that Nicolay began placing Beats he created while overseas, wondering if anybody was feeling his style. Nicolay was in a band I think if I remember correctly and was on the verge of getting a real job before his music career took off.

Phonte just happened to be scanning the board that day and came across the Beats and immediately he was blown away. As I listen to CONNECTED now as I write this.. and my favorite song, RAW LIFE is about to come on(Damn this song makes me wanna jump up and just bop exxxtra hard errrtime I hear it) I can see why. Nicolay is amazing. Anyway, Phonte heard the beats and was like, "This is bananas" and I believe he contacted Nicolay and asked what he was going to do with the beats and Nic was like he was just looking for feedback. I can't remember which beat Phonte heard first, he said it at the Concert in the Nati back in Jan 2009 but I was SMASHED with my cuzzo and So geeked that my fav group was performing and still trying to pull Nati Chicks that I can't remember which one specifically. I wanna say Nic's Groove. Could be wrong. I'll ask his wife next time I see her logged in.

Back to the story.. Anway, Phonte then tells Nicolay he'd like to Flow over his beats and see what came up. Nicolay was like, Cool.. and Phonte went to work making Gems.

{Sidebar. I'mma grown ass man. I'm secure in my manhood. I have no problem saying that Phonte, LYRICALLY is AMAZING. Dude literally is blessed by GOD... and annointed with Truth. A focused Phonte Coleman, Lyrically, to me is on Par with all the greats. Jay, Nas, Em, Rakim, Etc. That's big shoes to fill, but not to play with words on the name of the Album, As far as CONNECTING, with what a person says.. I've never linked up and was eager to hear what else someone said on the Mic as I am with Phonte.}

Okay, i'mma get through this story.. But As time went on, they continued to interact. Nicolay would continue to send Phonte Beats, Phonte would continue to kill them. Mind you, these two have NEVER met. This was all done over the computer through IM's and Emails. They didn't actually meet until the ALBUM was done. With the help of Others in Phonte's crew of the Justice League.. The Connected Album was mixed and mastered and brought to life by something as uncanny as CHANCE.

Think about it. These two just happened to link up. One was Thousands of miles away in another land. One was in NC trying to blow up in the group Little Brother. They've been together for going on over 7 years I think.. And they were just nominated for a Grammy for their Second Album, Of which I have tattooed on my arm, LEAVE IT ALL BEHIND. I actually was lucky enough to meet the guys a few times, and there is even a picture of Us together in my "DAV" album.

I just think that's an amazing story. They are now, GRAMMY NOMINATED THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE.. Doing shows all over the United States. If you get a chance to see them. I swear, it's worth it. I've seen them twice and will see them every time they come in this area. But think about how it all happened. What if Phonte, the day before he met Nicolay online, said, SCREW OKAYPLAYER.. I'm never logging in again. I'm tired of the wack beats on there. Wack Emcees who are a bunch of wannabees, fakes, and frauds. BUMP that BS, I'm done with that joint.

Then we'd never have got Connected. From that I never would have got Leave It All Behind... And it may have delayed a mentally breakthrough that I had while constantly playing that Album over and over and over...

When me and Jax's mother split... As much as it needed to occur, it was still a BIG shift. I was now a Single man, with a child trying to not let his boy become a statistic. I was a little clueless. Still Angry because of time wasted that coulda been used more productively... I didn't have my Father to lean on for Advice. My sister had her own family to focus on. It was just me and Jax. I'll admit. I was a little scared of the unknown... But I needed a mental breakthough. I was so drained mentally that the devil was able to delay gifts and ideas God had planned for me because I entertained thoughts he gave me.

But I serve a good God. One that will come down in the trenches and Pull you out if He has to. It was just that I couldn't hear God.. not because He wasn't speaking but because there was so many other noises going on in the background of my life that I couldn't focus.

God's brilliant as well. For some reason, right around that time we split, Foreign Exchange just HAPPENED to drop their second album. When I say Leave It All Behind was a HUGE help to me.. I'm not lying. So much so that I'll have it permanently marked on my left Forearm forever with the Chinese symbol for "THE PAST". It was such a great life lesson when I realized it. The album itself, it was just like a good friend who made sense to you. It was emotional, during a time where I was less Logical and more emotional(hell, I'm human). I loved all the songs, but the final song on the Album.. The Title song... LEAVE IT ALL BEHIND was extremely special. On this Album, Phonte sings alot more than he raps. He's influenced Drake a great deal. But he sings starting off talking about singing to his Son or just SOMEONE's son... and I think I read in his interview that the song was like a Lullaby. Anyway, the hook goes,

'Cause only heaven knows What to make of these changing times But for tonight, let's just leave it all behind I know this world's so cold But don't let teardrops change your mind So for tonight, let's just leave it all behind

And I remember the first time hearing it.. and I was like... "There it is." And I played that song like 10 times in a row.. and It was like I big lightbulb was placed over my head. The song just kinda spoke to me and I snapped RIGHT outta my funk. Called up my Tattoo dude and was like, "I need to get in today, can you fit me in?" And he did. And that's the story of how I got that tattoo.

What I'm trying to say in somewhat a long winded way is that YOU never know what your gift is and when it's going to come to fruitition and from that, who you will help and what you can change.

That's why I try to add a new FB friend every day. It never appealed to me to have just a link to people who I already know. There was no need to reconnect with anyone of my past because anybody to me that was in my past that was Important was always still in my life in some way or another.

I use FB for the opposite of others. I love adding people I don't know. People who I may look at and think, Yo, They may be interesting. I play Six Degrees of Separation a lot. I'll add friends of friends of friends of friends of friends of Friends. Hell, I have more FB friends that I DONT know personally than those that I do.

True enough, Facebook has its moments. The constant, "I'm having haters status updates" or the Facebook Subliminal shots at Ex Boyfriends or Girlfriends.. Facebook Beef. People hating on others who have more than others. People faking who they are trying to get some attention.. Even though If you are on FB more than 2 hours a day.. You love attention. Dav included. That's the fun part of it if it's done with Moderation and you remain who you are and don't come out of character to get it. I have TONS of female friends. Mostly attractive. But from them, I get so much information that they don't know. Characters and ideas for Movie scripts. For plays, Novels Etc. There are some that I've taken pieces of one girl, pieces of another, and two more and made one character.. So if you see a J. Brandon Davenport production soon.. and you look up and think, "Damn, that sounds like something I have done or would do." Probably check to see if we're FB friends. Cuz yes, Dav is always watching everyone.

FB is as powerful as it's members. So while yes, you may feel like you above some of the ruckus, Uncle Ruckus(no relation) I feel you. Just take FB for what it is and what it can be.

I challenge you to make new connections for whatever reasons. Meet new people you probably wouldn't have ever met in any other circumstance The world is much bigger than our towns, and Cities and States... FB helps shrink it. I have friends In California, Ohio, Texas, Florida, New York, Chicago, Hawaii, England, etc. and many more. Some tell me in notes, "Dav, I know we dont talk much but I read all your blogs and they really help me and thanks for taking the time to write them."

I get that alot. Not everyone wants to comment, but they let me know they read and enjoy. And if I'm helping them.. I'm doing a good thing.

So if you got a gift, or whatever you think you can share with others.. I challenge you to share it with someone you DONT know. Meet people who have no idea of your fears and your dreams and hopes and have no preconcieved notions about you. They've never hated on you or talked about you behind your back because they've yet to meet you.. And if you do meet them... Allow them to see who you really are. Don't be afraid to be who you really are.. Even when other eyes are watching.

Who knows, that person you were about to delete may actually be one day away from reading something you write that could begin to help change their life.

I know many of the new friend I've found have helped change mine.


This is the Middle Finger... Giving TWO in the air of what his name is to all the ignorance and BS that is in the Universe... Trying to beat it back, One Blog at a Time

When The Party's Over....

I was meaning to drop The Tipping Point, but I'm holding it back just a little. I didn't do a blog in June so I guess I'm one behind. July I will have to Double up.

I had no idea I'd write this one.. but that's usually how this talent of mine works. When it comes.. it comes.

Today, I learned that a friend of mine lost her father. From the interactions and readings of this network, it seems that quite a few people have lost someone recently.

I'm no expert on death. I'm not an expert on anything. I'm just a guy who's F'd up just enough that it left me with the ability to speak on the pain and problems of life with as much honesty and truth as I could possible muster.

As many know, I lost both of my parents before I was 25 years old. If you did not know that fact...You do now.

Everything in this Universe, I truly believe has both a Yen and a Yang. A beginning and an End. It is within thoughts and meditation on this truth that one can see this hypothesis being proven, in no better way than the Uncertainty of Life and the Certainty of Death. Isn't that something? You have no idea what you're going to get in Life... When you're born you don't know how long you'll live or what job you'll have, or who you'll marry or how many kids you'll have or where you'll live and who you'll meet along the way. The part of life that makes it beautiful, and encouraging is the Uncertainty. When you're up, will you go higher? And when you're low, will you sink deeper? One of my favorite artists, Talib Kweli had an Album called, "The Beautiful Struggle" and I think that's an accurate portrayal of what life is and will be like along the way.

However, no matter how hard any of us try we can not truly sever the universal bond between taking our first breath and taking our last. It is in my opinion, that I do not believe we should.

I'll come back to that point, but right now.. I just wanna kinda ramble.

It's difficult at times to accept things that are constant and absolute in our lives regardless of how hard we try to combat them with as much effort as we can. None of us really enjoy hearing an explanation of "That's just how things are and it's how they are gonna be."

Nothing makes us as humans feel more weak, more insignificant, more desolate and powerless as in the death of someone we love. It's one of those things that WILL COME FOR US ALL. Death is a race that you cannot win, but only run in the hopes that your clock ticks as long as humanly possible. Eventually, that opponent will begin to stalk you down, then pull even with you, and then certainly pass you by.

A man once told me, "Live everyday thinking as if it may be your last, for one day, son, You'll be dead right."

The Death of My Father and The Death of my Mother were each totally different. My mother was victim to Cervical Cancer. This was the 1980's. Cancer treatment was nothing like it is 30 years later. Her death was not painless. It was not quick. It was agonizing. For her. For my father, for my family, me, and probably most to my sister, Rosalyn.

I dont have many memories of my mother.. It's like Swiss Cheese in my brain when I think of her and that is ironic because my memory is usually impeccable. I can actually see the memories when I close my eyes but I also literally see the holes in them. They are incomplete completions. I still keep pictures of her and when I look at me growing up I see our resemblance. I do not, however, hear her words as I do my father. She still speaks, but it's channeled through my sibling.

I remember a story my sister told me once of her being in a laundromat with my mother and she had an orange. She had to be younger than 10 because I wasn't born yet and I'm going off memory so I may not be totally accurate. Anyway, there was a young girl in the laundromat as well at the same time. She was looking at my sister eating the orange and my sister told me she recalled it was a look as if she wished she had an orange as well. So Rosalyn, being a normal kid... said she begin to REALLY enjoy the orange. Somewhat teasing the little girl because she had an orange and the girl did not. My mother, all 5'2 of her, came over to my sister and smacked the orange right out of her hand. I remember Rosalyn telling me that and I'm chuckling now because I can really see the orange falling out of her hand in slow motion, hitting the ground and then rolling away.

I remember Rosalyn telling me something like our mother saying, "You shouldn't do that to people. Be thankful for what you have because you might not always have it.. Like you no longer have an orange."

Roz, if you reading, and it's different, feel free to correct me... and I am now wondering if I didn't get my witty sarcasm/ a hole side, from my mother. They say she was funny.

From that story.. I did learn a little more about the woman I couldn't remember much. I know that Rosalyn is now a total 180( Not 360 for those of you who screw that up) from that day as a child and it's rubbed off on me. Actually, both our parents were like that. If they had, they gave to those who did not. I think that's why me and my sister both have a voice that sounds how ours sounds. We are usually ones people come to for advice because we are both very straight forward and raw. Roz is a little more straight forward than even I am.. I think I am a little more "Ah-ha ish" if that's a word. You'll get Roz's point more often right then and there.. With me, you usually get it a little later down the road.

Dad's death was unexpected. I believe that's why I took that one so hard. I had just talked to him the night before and honestly, if things didn't happen in a certain sequence of events, I never would have got to have that final conversation. I've told a few stories of me and My father in previous entries so I won't re-hash them here.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that although death puts a barricade up between the ones we love, nothing can block out the memories and life lessons that they taught us.

For all the things that my father bought me.. wanting me to have the best of every thing... not one of those gifts, or toys, or trinkets compare to the knowledge he gave me growing up.

Telling me things such as certain Bible verses like, "Guard your heart.. For where your heart is, your treasure will be also." And the stuff would come Random and I'd be like, WTF?

Or, "Stop being predictable.. You've done that move three times now.. A good guard is gonna see that and start timing you and it won't work. Stop thinking so much and let it flow."

Funny, I hear me say both of those things often now. Telling some of our players the same stuff he taught me. Scolding Jax the same way he scolded me. Caring for others, even those I did not even know the same way he cared for me.

Even though he's gone and been gone for over 7 years the pain doesn't get any easier. The hurt is still there. There are still moments early in the morning in the shower when Jax is still sleep that I may softly weep as the water runs down my face and hides some of my tears.. Wishing he was here to watch Jax grow. Or a phone call away to ask for advice.. or to meet a lady friend of mine and ask her what he thinks..

For my sister, it has to be double the agony because she has vibrant memories of them both.

Back to the point that I was making earlier.. It's the time between the first breath and the last breath we take that gives us the only weapon we have against death. Living a fruitful, plentiful, filling and memorable life.

It is in this that we can take solace. When we lose a grandmother who held the family together or a mother or a father, or close aunt or uncle.. We honor them and their memory by being the best we can each day that we have with them, and being even better each day we have without them.

Death is the balance to unbalanced equation that is life.

So laugh.. make good memories, enjoy time shared and love shared while we have them, but when they leave us... Mourn and Grieve, Sob and Cry.

Nothing of this world lasts forever. We're all eventually going to return to the dirt from which we came. Ashes to Ashes.. Dust to Dust.

Speak in the wind to them.. They will hear you. Ask them to Hold it down until you join them.... but until then Live your life to the best that you can.

It's what those who Death has already came for, would want you to do.


This is The Middle Finger... Wondering if you look at your life up to this point... If Death asks you, are "you ready" ?