True Service to Humanity must also serve the God within and He bumps Young Turbo and in all black everything... To me, the music is more than a few beats and rhymes, but a way of life and by no means am I implying that includes the luxuries in Jay-Z's videos but rather the hustler mentality. Needless to say here, I have found that many of my colleagues and acquaintences felt very strongly about one thing: 'They hated Jay-Z"...
Under the rough exterior of guns, the streets, the hood, dealing or just calling a woman a bitch or a ho, there is something more there. Real music and heart spilled through the the "gangster packaging" for me, but not for most I knew.
General reaction of my friends, fans and the dance underground when I became a ROC soldier.
I almost remember the day vividly. We were in a borrowed BMW x5, driving down Michigan Avenue on New Year's Eve in '05 and I had associated how I felt at that time with the CD playing in the player, which happened Jay-Z; 'The Blueprint'... That feeling of driving an exotic whip and listening to "Never Change" or "Song Cry" at that time in my life just hit a chord.
From 1993, I started a path in music that many know as the Rave or Club Underground. From djing parties across North America, to running a DJ agency from my loft with the world's most influential artists (33 of them), or even to putting in hours at Gramaphone Records doing their website for records, I was always connected and involved in what went down with techno in my microcosm of Chicago.
For me the "Blueprint" was not Jay-Z's but James Ruskin, who is one of my favorite techno producers and 3 deck techno djs on the planet. Before 2006, I would have told you all about The Advent, Rino Cerrone or Steve Rachmad or whoever was on my roster.
Since 2003, I began producing and doing live shows and on 05-03-2003, performed the main stage at Metro with the show and went on to perform the show at the first Decibel Festival in Seattle, Discotheque and Baktun in NYC, Chop Suey in Portland, Aria in Montreal, Dagobert in Quebec City, Bangkok City and the Ascot Room of the Quest Nightclub in Minneapolis,and many more high profile dj dates around N. America.
If anyone has heard the track "Fallin" by Hov on American Gangster (I prefer the Hi-Fly remix on the American Gangster Remix album that my online homies MAK sent me a while ago), then you might understand what happened in 2005... It was the end of obS Productions, the end of EAR Bookings, my marriage, relationships I had built over many years of basically sponsoring the artists and even some of their families to come to the states. As I began ending and losing so much in my life, I decided that I want a clean start because I did not regret my decisions to stop running a techno agency, or even be so involved with artists from the EU and having them over to perform. So, I gave away all my things. Every possession. In a divorce, things get split up naturally, however, in my case, I returned home with just the shirt on my back and verses of Jay's resonating in my ears...
I kept on because Jay's words kept me going... I knew I was gonna Brush the Dirt off My Shoulder in a Just Blaze second. If I missed any past relationships, I could pop in Song Cry. When I wanted to fight the "Fall", I could go to Fallin'... Nowadays, I have tracks like "So Ambitious" that remind me that well... that might have to be another blog post.
I remember an instance where I had sent a fellow techno producer a message about being excited that American Gangster was out because Jay's music was all over the Ridley Scott (I hope I am correct on that) film. My detroit friend told me that "he is not into Gangsters or anything related to Jay-Z". I would say that as I lost my music collection of some of the best techno and house records and mix cds assembled in the Midwest States, I did not care as I had the Black Album, Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprints, Roc La Familia and the downloaded American Gangster Remix album. I went through a period where I was basically homeless for a long period of time, and even unable to correct my vision problems which were measured at a -9.25 nearsightedness with glasses. Even without corrective lenses or glasses and if I was lucky a contact lens a friend had just given me from their disposable box that was like a -2.00, I kept going. I took ever punch, and just fell like Jay told me to in "Fallin" and didn't fight it ... the lines about the arm candy that I left my ex for and how I might be sick of what my life was be-coming and look now your ex has a college degree coming, just left me ... "speechless"...
Being that I threw techno parties and most of my friens were ravers, who prided themselves on being hip to the most out there and rare electro techno or in my case, knowing people like Scan 7, Derrick May, Mad Mike Banks, Derrick Carter, Cisco Ferreira, Rino Cerrrone, Steve Rachmad, Magda (and the list goes on and one) personally... So, here I come, going through one my life's biggest battles and upheavals and bumpin' the most commercial and popular artist in the world. It drove some people nuts and you can ask them as well and most would say, "Oh great, let me guess, Mani is gonna play some Jay-Z"... Well, yessur!
Eye am A ROC Soldier, not for money or pride, but just from what is inside.
Eye come from the Dirt of India and if I wanna REP what I believe in, I am gonna do so, and yes... even if it is the Greatest Rapper of All Time and no longer the most "Bangin'" 4/4 techno being heard in the vault of Tresor Nightclub.
I am sad often that I lost all my techno wax as it represented an era for me, however, there is a thing or two :) that Jay taught me that no one else was able to impart to me: EYE WILL NOT LOSE! and most importantly, doing things on your terms and taking care of you, standing on your own two and also looking out for FAMILY...
Of course, I never worried about anything, because I found God through my music and especially Jay's and KanYe's (D'Evils, Jesus Walks, Touch the Sky, etc.) all made me realize so clearly how things are connected or in respect to KanYe or Jay's life stories, how they persevered from broke and the projects to ballin' and private jets. God helped them find a way and I truly believe that when Jay spits a rhyme that he clears his mind, Let's God in (or however you want to perceive that energy) and from the top, you have HOVA DA GOD MC...
Naturally, even if the systems as we know it collapsed, Jay's music also taught me that THE STREETS ARE WATCHING and I cannot tell you how many times that I have seen this notion in full effect or been walking without being able to see and an SUV pulled up playing music from that release... FRIEND or FOE?
to me... anyone who badmouths the DYNASTY = foe and anyone that throws it up = friend whether or not they even get to know me in the end...
WERD...
I guess this would make Blog Post #2
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