June 16, 2010. Tupac Shakur would have been 39 years old. He was tragically murdered almost 14 years ago and still to this day his music, words, influence, and legacy lives on; probably will do so forever. Why? Because the man lived life with a purpose. He had his fun, he messed with women, smoked and drank, but the true essence of Tupac was to stand for something.

Me personally, I hold Pac in a very high regard. His music, his acting, his passion for women; all things that I admire. It’s ironic that Pac was a poet because this particular website was started to serve as a platform for free-writing, creative discussion, artwork, and of course poetry. I’m guilty of sitting back and hoping others would believe in such a platform and help me get this website off the ground. It’s had it’s moments and I thank all those who’ve helped up to this point but if there’s anything I learned from Tupac it’s that we can’t wait for anything or anyone. We get one world and one life.

So with that said, I plan to give this passion project the proper attention it deserves, starting today. It may be photo’s, it may be videos, it may be poetry or music, but it’s going to always be something that’s going to help someone somewhere some time.

R.I.P to Tupac and thanks for the reminder.

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Daniel Weisman, founder of Elitaste and manager to rapper Wale, isn’t a fan of HBO’s latest attempt to be cool. HBO has had some great shows in it’s day; The Sopranos, The Wire, Entourage, and several more. HTMIIA is simply not great. It’s not even good to be honest. But don’t let us tell it…..courtesy of Huffington Post, read these decent words from a Weisman.

“Disappointed doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel about HBO’s much-hyped new series How To Make It in America. Three episodes in and the “from-the-creators-of-Entourage” tagline is wearing off. Where Entourage is a genuinely sweet show about a core group of likeable people,How To Make It In America falls somewhere into a no man’s land most closely resembling a 2K10 version of KIDS.

How To Make It In America has no identity. I’d be giving the producers too much credit to suppose they are letting the show meander in some “cool” twilight zone on purpose as a treatise on the Me Generation’s self-absorption. We’ve seen this “moment-in-time look into the lives of a group of New Yorkers just trying to make it” countless times before, and in better form, from Woody Allen to dare I say, Hype Williams’ Belly. The show is a gimmick. And while Entourage takes the gimmick of celebrity and turns it into a cast of characters worth tuning into every week, HTMIIA takes the gimmick of the past four years of “underground” culture and attempts to make it into something mainstream. Unfortunately HBO viewers nestled between the two coasts don’t really care who Damien Hirst is nor do they care if exclusive Japanese denim is being peddled at bargain basement prices by a Sean John wearing Mafioso down at the docks. This sort of post modern commercialization of formerly underground movements is a perennial phenomenon for film and television most of the time resulting in embarrassing caricatures (Homeboys From Outer Space) and rarely ending in a quality piece of television (remember New York Undercover or Miami Vice?).

Even from a purely technical standpoint, HTMIIA jumps between traditional storytelling andArrested-Development-meets-Guy Ritchie cutaways and edits that could stand to be replaced by some solid acting and better dialog. While Entourage works because it’s continually entertaining to see what sorts of predicaments any of our favorite cast members will find themselves in next week even if the plotlines stagnate at times, HTMIIA would be better served as a feature length film (albeit with some serious casting changes and rewriting) that truly existed as a moment in time, rather than some amorphous ongoing saga that is these twentysomethings’ desire to make money. Money, although ever present on Entourage, is not the modus operandi of most of the characters (even Ari) and thus doesn’t leave you walking away feeling empty; remember E’s short-lived Murphy Group or Turtle’s management career? Entourage is more like How To Make It in America And Keep Your Friends while How To Make It In America is more like How To Fuck Over Your Friends While Trying To Make A Buck.

HTMIIA is parading around as a hip, edgy, docudrama and maybe 15 years ago they could have gotten away with it, but this is almost like a series made by its own target audience and nothing more. I wouldn’t be surprised if at the end of the season, one of the characters in the show gets his own fictitious TV show picked up by a cable network. And while long-running HBO series likeEntourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm use similar art-imitating-life devices, great acting, storytelling (sometimes) and comedy spare those shows from falling victim to a self-reflexive vortex,HTMIIA swallows itself whole, focusing entirely too much on style and next-to-nothing on substance. Critics hurled insults at Entourage last season for plots unfolding at a snail’s pace and having out-of-date issues of Sports Illustrated on the show but I’d trade that in a second to see one less “cool” cue on HTMIIA and one more character like Ari or Drama. I’m just not buying any of the actors on the show. Sopranos, Sex and The City and The Wire all had actors that made me believe the characters were real (in some cases they were in fact plucked from their environs); even the best writing in the world is useless if the actors aren’t selling you.

While I generally loathe self-indulgent, meme films like Garden State and 500 Days of Summer, there’s something to be said for their genuine hipster tendencies and their ability to get audiences to wholeheartedly jump headfirst into the world of the characters. HTMIIA tries way too hard to be cool and instead comes off as cold, alienating and downright depressing. Aside from the music, which I must say is deftly picked and placed (thanks to Entourage sups Scott Vener and Gabe Hilfer),HTMIIA literally has nothing going for it. Music fans will be excited at hearing some genuinely cutting edge cues but will be equally disappointed by the under usage and over-advertising of rapper Kid Cudi who has spoken maybe ten lines in the first three episodes.

Come on HBO. You made us care about four New York shopaholics, a Mafia boss, cold-hearted Baltimore drug dealers, a shitty Hollywood actor’s entourage and Larry David; all of which are feats in and of themselves. Why is it so hard to make us care about some New York hustlers? I guess this is what happens when Hollywood tries to spoon-feed “cool” to the masses.”

- Daniel Weisman

The question is have you watched the show? and do you agree or disagree with the criticism?

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First let me start by saying I’m not one of these PETA type people who become vegetarian to save the world. I don’t knock their hustle but I also don’t knock the hustle of people who eat meat three meals a day. Humans have consumed animals since the beginning of time and more than likely will continue to do so till the end of time.

Myself personally have decided to give a vegetarian lifestyle another shot. When Da Fam Sports Group gets to where I want it to be, I would like us not just to represent athletes but also personal trainers and fitness “gurus” for lack of a better term. A healthy living is important to me now that I know firsthand the benefits of it.

I’ve been on my health conscious thing on and off (mostly on) since January of 2007. I’ve tried it all from starvation (didn’t work) to low-carb (never stood a chance. I love baked goods too much) to excessive running (worked but I started to look like a sickly person).

Let me not digress into diet because that’s a whole other article on it’s own. Let’s get to this Vegetarian thing. The last time I did it was summer of 09′ and it had me in the best shape of my life. Unfortunately I was doing something wrong because I used to feel lightheaded at times. I think I wasn’t getting enough protein which is a struggle for most vegetarians.

My #1 reason for doing it is to have my mind as clear as possible. For my particular lifestyle, a clear mind is probably the single most important resource I could have. I’m sure some can eat steak and drink beer every morning and think clearly but I can’t. I need to exercise restraint and control in different aspects of life in order for my mind to function at it’s highest level.

#2 reason is to show others they can do it. Of my friends and associates I’m probably the weakest one but no one knows it because I constantly push myself to do things others view as difficult or impossible. I do this to show myself and them that it’s not that difficult or impossible. If regular ole Phella can do it then why can’t you?

#3 reason is the physical. Since my accident in October (damn drunk bastard) my shoulder is in constant pain and I can’t do my boxing workouts as frequent as I used to. Boxing had me in great shape but now that I can’t do it I’ve noticed a few things getting out of perspective. I don’t plan on modeling underwear anytime soon but still, staying in shape won’t hurt.

#4 reason is the competitive aspect. This really should be #1. I love pushing myself. Sunday was Valentines day and I was at Cheesecake Factory. The challenge of scanning their whole entire menu and passing over item after item laced with meat, chicken, and fish, just to find the few items that weren’t, was fun to me. It gives you this invincible kind of feeling.

What to eat – Here is where it gets rough. If you have a nice budget to spend on food per day then being a vegetarian won’t be so tough. You can just eat out three times a day and get pasta like I did at Cheesecake, or Potbelly’s Veggie sandwich, or veggie Pizza etc. However if you’re balling on a budget you might want to consider Boston Market vegetables and side dishes or Taco Bell’s Fresco Burrito that’s just beans and vegetables (personal favorite and I think it’s like $.99). The key is to never get hungry. The moment you find yourself starving, you will probably revert back to meat. It’s like when you’re in dire need of loving and call up that ex that you know you shouldn’t call.

Here’s some stuff to consider at the grocery store: Cereal, chocolate milk, bagels, Thomas’ english muffins, natural peanut butter, jelly, wheat waffles, pita bread, hummus, beans, corn, protein drinks (Odwalla Vanilla Protein is a good one), potatoes, eggs (if you’re a lacto-ovo vegetarian – meaning you eat eggs and dairy products but no meat). Now that you’re saving on all the calories meat brings you can probably afford to eat more and a bit later. When I’m not on my vegetarian game I usually eat no later than 6pm. Right now it’s 10:36 pm and I got cream spinach, potatoes, and pita bread next to me. The luxurious life of a vegetarian baby.

Remember to stay full, drink a lot of fluids, get creative when it comes to protein, and get your cheese pizza on from time to time. Depending on how you’re body adopts you’ll find yourself adjusting in a matter of two weeks or less. Good luck and if you need encouragement just holla.

- Phella

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Wow. I’ll try my best to complement Phella’s magnificent post…

I’m  on Day 12 or 14 of being a vegetarian now. Now, before you continue, let’s get one thing straight. I’m not a f*ckin’ gimpy tree-huggin give peace a chance type of guy. I love – or used to love – to eat dead animals. My favorite food is steak. When I went to India I would eat at the same non-veg place three times a day. I love Chicken Teriyaki. When I’m in full beast work out mode, 3 or 4 humpty-dry chicken breasts are the norm.

Or, shall I say…were.

A few weeks ago, I can’t remember what it was that I was eating, but something made me stop and say, “Dude, chill, this thing used to be alive at one point.” And I didn’t give the thought much credence. Then, a few days later, it just hit me. We are needlessly slaughtering innocent animals. At an insane pace.

Now, bear with me. Humans are the dominant race, we need protein, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah, shut the fuck up. If humans are the dominant race, I want us to be eating lions. Eat gorillas. Eat the king of the f*ckin jungle. Not some pig or cow that’s not gonna defend itself. We live in a society so full of access…to food, water, idle time, porn, everything - that we’re fighting a battle vastly different from our ancestors. Our ancestors fought to survive, we fight to limit. Limit ourselves from over-eating, over-indulging.

I used to eat Bacon for Breakfast, Steak for Lunch, and Chicken for Dinner. I don’t care how much protein I need, or whether I’m God-made to be omnivorous or carnivorous, but that can’t be natural. To eat another living thing for every meal of your day. Every day. For your whole life. If we lived a 100 years ago — it wouldn’t be physically possible to 1) afford, or 2) have access to all that meat. Just because we have access, doesn’t mean we have to indulge.

As a bigger picture, me stopping my eating of meat has to do with me being conscious of everything that is me. What I say, what I do, what I eat — if I believe it unnatural to to eat meat every meal of the day (and YOU can’t convince me it’s NOT), but continue to do so, what does that make me? Either a liar, or a cheat, or a swindler or a hypocrite — either way, nothing good.

Just because we have access to things doesn’t mean we need them. And like most decisions in my life, this was spontaneous, unprovoked, and just happened. I didn’t premeditate it. It just happened. And I just go with the flow.

For years I’ve seen those videos about slaughtered animals and all, but the realization came after the fact that I decided to quit eating meat. So tell PETA those videos didn’t sway me. As a matter of fact, they probably have the opposite effect.

But think about it. For everytime Kanye & Amber show up looking fly wearing mad fur, and catch hell for it, it’s a great publicity piece for everyone involved – the PETA a*sholes included. But now, really think about it. If When I have a million bucks, there’s a million more things to spend my $$ on.

So, the most important reason, it’s not humanely natural to eat meat all day every day. The other rationale is that I hate bullies, and killing animals is bullying (lol as corny as that sounds). (I’m not even going to get into the hypocrisy … you know what, f*ck it, I will)

Jews & Muslims don’t eat pig. Why not?! What made God make this one un-edible animal?? And then give it the most scrumptious smell ever (simmering Bacon…mmmm)?! If you’re gonna eat meat, either you eat it all, or you don’t eat it at all. None of that in between sh*t. Either God made it for you to love all animals, or ravage them all…none of that pick-and-choose sh*t.

Anyway I’m through ranting. Now on to the effects.

From going from a staunch anti-veggie crusader to a non meat-eater in the span of a second, I have the usual sneers from peers and family, like “Let’s see how long this lasts.” And the truth is, I don’t know how long it will last. It happened on a whim, so it may change on a whim. But most good things that happen to me, happen spontaneously. So maybe it’s here to stay. Who knows. Only time will tell, so I stress it, ironically, much less than my surrounding bodies (can I use the term haters here?).

The first few days were tough, as I ended up having a BMT at a SuperBowl Party (but I knew I would anyway — it’s the SuperBowl!) Physically, it’s draining. I’m working out as hard as ever, and maybe that has something to do with it, but I’m fatigued all throughout the day. (I’ve also cut out anything with High Fructose Corn Syrup and coffee, etc., so that could be another reason). Workouts are still intense, and I’ve gained strength and lost fat. But I think it’s too early to determine.

The fatigue gets annoying, but I’m determined to ride this wave out and see where I end up. I like it.

Diet-wise, the lack of protein isn’t that astounding. Breakfast is the same as usual, egg whites and/or oatmeal. My intake of fruits has risen tremendously – apple, banana, and orange daily – with strawberries and others mixed in sporadically. Subway’s Veggie Patty has 25 grams of protein, and tastes great. Plus, I’ve come to the conclusion that you don’t really need 2 grams per pound to gain muscle. If my Myoplex says that I’m getting 42% of my daily recommended dose in one serving, I’m good!

I’ve finally begun to eat my mom’s cooking for the first time in my life (and that’s not just a phrase — it’s literally true. First time ever.) I used to whine & bitch about trips to McDonald’s when I was a kid and we would visit relatives…they’ll be happier to know that I’ll eat whatever they cook. Benjamin Franklin was pretty astute in saying that it’s a good idea to keep your diet as low-key as possible; so when you travel, you can fit in anywhere. (He was also a veggie, until later in life, when he went fishing. He caught a fish, opened up, and saw other fish inside. Then he said, and I paraphrase, “If you eat other fish, then I may eat you.” True story.)

Indian bread (Roti and/or Bhakri, not naan), are generally made from whole wheat, so too much carbs or enriched flour isn’t really an issue.

Also, bodybuilding.com has a great array of articles relating to being a vegetarian and still training. So the diet I’m cool with, but the fatigue I hate.

All in all, I don’t have the strength yet to turn down an invitation to Peter Luger’s, or a great BBQ (at least I don’t think I do — who knows what happens when the time comes). But I know I’ll feel remorseful after. (I guess the Jewish/Islamic idea of Kosher & Halal gets some cool points). And I’ll be more conscious of what I’m eating, rather than just stuffing myself.

Other than that, as Gandhi asked: “Do you eat to live, or live to eat?”

- Nisarg Lives

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Let’s talk. Can we? You know, the way we used to do.

First off let me start by saying I enjoyed last night’s GRAMMY awards ceremony. As an artist myself, a Grammy is our equivalent to a Super Bowl or NBA Championship. Unfortunately with the latter two, it’s all about your performance, where as with the Grammy’s, your faith lies in the hands of voters who could be wrong. Nonetheless it was a good show. Very balanced and filled with great moments. I personally liked the performance from the Dave Matthews Band, the Green Day performance, Solange Knowles’ son’s speech, or lack thereof, Michael Jackson’s tribute and Jamie Foxx’s performance.

What made Jamie Foxx’s performance standout to me was the fact that he shared the stage with his sister who suffers from Down Syndrome. I’m sure the jokes poured in from several angles, especially online where an ‘lol’ or an ‘lmao’ is worth putting down another human being – that’s another story. What I’m getting at is that Jamie Foxx, amidst all his peers is not afraid to show the world what’s really important to him. Yes he likes to party, probably loves his sponsors, enjoys the company of a groupie from time to time but last night with just that simple move, the man showed character and courage. I applaud him.

Fear
That’s the elephant in just about all of our rooms. Ever wanted to do something but never quite got around to it? Procrastination you probably called it. Maybe even laziness. That could be the case, but more than likely it was fear. Humans are creatures of habit. Life shows us on an hourly basis that we can’t predict it but yet we try on a minutely basis to do so. We want to know what will happen, when, why, and how. In the absence of those answers, fear seeps in. Then the only way to avoid the perceived danger is inaction – not doing that thing that we want to do due to fear of the unknown.

I’m a fighter of fear. A lover of it, in the sense that I see fear and I go towards it. I say, “Hey, fear what’s up? ain’t seen you in a while. You think you’re gonna stop me from doing this, think again.” Then usually comes society. You know, your “friends”, friends, “family”, family, “team”, team, so on and so forth. The ones who really have their own personal best interest in mind as well as those who have yours. They indirectly or directly give you advice and suggestions that nurture that fear. That turns a small whisper to a loud echo in your head saying, “Don’t you dare try. You will fail. They will laugh. Hahahaha.” Dare to ignore their misguided warnings and these friends, family, and team will look at you strange. You’ll possibly be labeled one of the following: rebel, idiot, crazy, psycho, spoiled, immature, lazy (how ironic right?), angry, dreamer. They will support their advice with citations of history – telling you of times when others have failed.

My friends, please, don’t ever let fear guide your actions. Ever. I’m the embodiment of what happens when you wake up everyday and fight fear. I’ve done so since January 2007 and I’ll continue to do so for as long as I live. Now some would say, “Who the hell is Phella to be giving this kind of advice? Is he rich? Is he successful?” My answer first of all is that it’s not advice. I’m anti-advice. I may give suggestions, what I believe to be wisdom, knowledge, but never advice. I don’t know who’s reading this and what situation they’re in. To advise them would be silly. Secondly, no I’m not “rich” or even “successful” by the 2010 societal accepted definition. But yes, I am rich as hell and successful as hell by my own definition.

I have lost everything I ever thought I wanted and gained everything I truly needed in a matter of years. I worked so hard to please certain people, get certain things, go certain places, only to find out that those things weren’t even what I wanted. What I really wanted was THIS! Who I am today. Unfortunately and fortunately, I took the scenic route. The scenic route is good though, assuming you live to tell the story, you’ll see lots of things that will help define you when you arrive at THIS! Speaking of which, THIS isn’t a final destination – it’s fleeting. Meaning that you have to fight to keep it. Secondly, it’s lonely. You find yourself everyday trying to get others to join you, hence me typing this free write at 7:30AM. Most will shun you. Some may even react violently and accusing you of trying to change them. Change? Improve? Learn? Grow? God forbid we do that. We were born to stay the same, right?

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We polled a diverse group of individuals to ask what their favorite mixtapes and albums of 2009 were. When you start talking about the best there’s no way to compile a list that will satisfy everybody so we’re going to show you a consensus of what our poll yielded. Think of it as our own panel of experts.

10. Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt. II

9. Lupe Fiasco – Enemy Of The State

8. Rick Ross – Deeper Than Rap

7. Lil Wayne – No Ceilings

6. J.Cole – The Warm Up

5. Wale – Attention Deficit

4. The Clipse – Til The Casket Drops

3. Jay-Z – Blueprint 3

2. Drake – So Far Gone

Kid Cudi – Man On The Moon: End Of Day

The voting was close but at the end of the day there can only be one winner. Out of our 22 person panel, Cudder received an impressive 10 votes.

Jay-Z was no slouch either coming in second with 8 votes for his Blueprint 3 album. Tied with the Jigga Man is VA’s finest duo The Clipse and their Til The Casket Drops offering as well as newcomer Drake and his So Far Gone mixtape. DC rhyme slinger Wale also had a good showing, rounding out the top 5 with Attention Deficit.

As with any list not everyone that was deserving made the cut so we’re going to throw out an Honorable Mention lot. That list, in alphabetical order, is as follows:

- Chester French – Love The Future

- Daniel Merriweather – Love & War

- Dom Kennedy – FutureStreet/DrugSounds + Best After Bobby

- The Dream – Love vs. Money

- Grizzly Bear – Veckatimist

- John Mayer – Battle Studies

- Miike Snow – Miike Snow

- Mike Posner – A Matter Of Time + One Foot Out The Door

- Ryan Leslie – Ryan Leslie + Transition

- Trey Songz – Anticipation + Ready

- Wiz Khalifa – Deal Or No Deal

Thanks to all who took part including: 87Films, A.J., Adil, Audra, Benny, Byron, DC to BC, Jeremy, Joe T., Joe M., Matt W., Patricio, Shawn, Shomi, Whitney C., Whitney H.

Let’s have another year of enjoying and supporting good music.

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Last night was probably the coldest and windiest night in New York City history. That didn’t stop me from dragging Nisarg to what was being labeled “the Ultimate Joe Budden show” on Varick St. It was my first time seeing Joe live so I was eager. Kanye West is the best performer I’ve seen live. Second would be Jay-Z and third will be Lupe Fiasco.

Who Is Joe Budden? - In 2003, right around the time Interscope Records signed a monster by the name of 50 Cent, Def Jam was looking to add some fire power to it’s rap roster. Kevin Liles and crew found it in New Jersey rapper Joe Budden. The Just Blaze produced “Pump It Up” was the commercial hit of that summer and things looked up for the young rapper. Underneath all that were a series of mixtapes where Budden went into depth about his struggles with drugs, his parents, being stabbed by girlfriends, abortions, label issues and so much more. This would be dubbed “Mood Muzik”. After being dropped by Def Jam Joe took a long hiatus from rap that ended with 2005’s “Mood Muzik 2″. I remember this vividly because it was my first year off to college and I was going through a lot. Mood Muzik helped me get through it like it helped thousands of others get through their issues.

By mainstream fans Joe was labeled a weirdo that blew his opportunity to be as successful as Fabolous. He was called a complainer and accused of making boring and depressing music. Those depressing songs which fans consider masterpieces were all put on display last night at S.O.B.’s. During the 3 hour set Joe ran through several cult classics from the Mood Muzik series as well as album material  from the cd’s Halfway House, Padded Room, and Escape Route.

The Atmosphere – S.O.B.’s by no means a large venue. Through out the night I wondered if a Gucci Mane or a Drake would be able to contain their legion of fans in such a compressed building. For Joe however the setting was perfect. He prides himself on having a one on one type of relationship with each of his fans. Thanks to his live broadcasts and personal songs they know everything about him and he knows a lot about them as well in return.

Amidst what seemed like a sea of white boys that will kill for Joey were other fans of his including his mom who was dissed several times on some of the old songs Joe performed (Joe and his mother have since re-built their relationship). Also in attendance was Shade 45 host Angela Yee with guest Jay Electronica who Joe joked with from the stage towards the end of the set.

Highlights – As I mentioned previously, no stone was left unturned. Joe had to perform easily 40 to 50 songs ranging from 10 minute album cuts to his recent freestyle over Rihannas ‘Russian Roullete’. Fans jokingly asked Joe to perform ‘Porno Star’ which is hailed as one of his worst records of all time. As a response he offered a free sweatshirt to anyone who could recite the God awful first verse of the song. Several fans tried until finally one kid who obviously must have liked the song came up and delivered it flawlessly. Joe talked to his mom from the stage, blogged from his iPhone, broke up fights, smoked cigarettes and drank apple juice. Needless to say the show was a bit ADD but I don’t think any fans went home feeling cheated. That spontaneous and sometimes reckless attitude that critics hate is what fans love and appreciate about Joe Budden.

Lowlights – No one became a Joe Budden fan because of his beat selection. He’s always been heavily criticized even by fans for picking bad beats or good beats mixed poorly. At a Kanye West or Jay-Z show there’s a perfect harmony between the track and the performers voice  (mainly because both use live bands) but that wasn’t the case. Joe’s DJ kept having to lower certain tracks to balance out his vocals; kind of annoying at times. Also annoying was that Joe performs with a backing track which kind of takes away from the live aspect. To his credit he did a great job of memorizing all 50+ songs and several he did acapella but his lyrics would probably standout more if he got rid of the loud backing vocals.

Final Grade  - B+. Great artist, loyal fans, three hours, emotion. All reasons why the show was worth the price of admission.

Below are some videos courtesy of Rap Radar

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If you read, whether on a regular basis or on occasion, please feel free to share with us some of the best books you’ve stumbled across. This is called Da Fam Ink after all. Here are 5 books that may be of some interest:

1. Purple Cow – Seth Godin

2. Flow – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

3. The 50th Law – Robert Greene and 50 Cent.

4. The Odyssey – Homer

5. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin – Benjamin Franklin

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CG asked me to add on to his Allen Iverson retirement post but I feel AI is worthy of two entries if not more. Living all of my adolescent life in the DMV area, Allen Iverson is a name we’ve held to a very high regard for over a decade now. From his days at Georgetown where coach Thompson took a chance on him, to setting the league on fire with his patented crossover, Dr.J afro, jewelry and tats. Long before Jay-Z became the epitome of ‘cool’ there was Iverson. Every boy wanted to be him and every girl wanted to be with him.

Needless to say I practiced the dribbles in the mirror, bought the shoes, and at one point even tried to grow the hair. More important than the aesthetics is the hope that AI gave to all of us. He was our height, from our neighborhood, with a past that would make the strongest individual crumble. I remember the stories of him visiting his biological father in jail and giving him the sneakers off his feet. Or the governor pardoning him after serving jail time for his part in a bowling alley brawl which bystanders say he was simply trying to break up. Basically, he had it rough.

That’s why every time I saw him speeding down New York Avenue in his silver Lamborghini or on Florida Avenue with his Rolls Royce Phantom, I made it a point to let him know that I appreciated everything he’s done for the game and for us underdogs. As I grew older I made friends and associates with people close to AI and through them I was able to get an even closer look into his life. A former athlete client of mine is good friends with AI and he knows him simply as “Bubba Chuck”, a nickname used by close friends and family. Everyone of them will tell you that Bubba Chuck is the most down to earth superstar you will ever meet. I can vouch. Two summers ago I saw him stand in the rain barefoot (after giving away his sneakers) shaking the hands of every kid that came to his charity football game.

So with all that said, thanks Allen. I caught the tail end of the Michael Jordan era. Magic and Isaiah were way before my time. Allen Iverson was the only player that could even get my mother to tolerate basketball. If he was playing, the TV didn’t have to go off, even on school nights. When you are who you are and you give your heart and soul to what you do, people tend to like you like that. I’ll remember the “practice” rant. I’ll remember the sub par rap album. I’ll even remember the fiasco that one summer with wifey. But none of those things can overshadow who The Answer really is; a warrior, a humanitarian, a family man, and a basketball legend.

I think this video sums up Allen Iverson and his ability to overcome obstacles.

-Phella

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In case you missed part 1 yesterday, you can catch up here. To conclude our interview, we discuss with Shomi the creative process between Illusive Media and it’s clients, spiritual growth, and what the future holds for the company.

Something you just said is real interesting – you mentioned the fact that Malice – and others you work with – are very creative. Is there ever a clash of ideas?

With the Clipse – with their growth – it kind of coincided with my growth – so not so much. Some artists they’ll just come to us with some ridiculous ideas. In the past, if they had money, I’d do it, but now, I’m just a lot more conscious – we look for quality.

Is that because of your growth as a company, or because of your growth spiritually?

I think my growth spiritually…and our company, we were on hiatus for six months…almost a year…and we were the talked about company…so people were talking all this gossip….saying we were done with…so when we did that vlog with Malice –

People said you were back on top?

Out of no-where! We didn’t expect the number of hits…I mean, we did an insane amount, just off of NahRight posting it, WorldStar, and all these websites. And we did that just off of passion. That resulted in our company getting our name back out there on the streets. Now, we kind of mold the artist – not the Clipse – but those that may not have direction – that’s been our new approach. Say, ‘Hey look, try it like this, this is how you should do it.’

What are some of the bigger, more successful projects – obviously, The Clipse – that you’re proud of, that you’ve worked on in the past?

Pharrell had a campaign going on with Pepsi – but he does so many things, bringing in millions every year – but they forgot that they had to include an interactive website for Star Trak. So Che called me up, saying it’s got to be done in like five days! So the Pepsi collaboration was a HUGE success – it was on every Pepsi can – so that was a really cool project. The whole Myspace – we make it so interactive – sometimes people forget they’re on Myspace!

A lot of times, people go to our website, and see that we’ve worked with Pharrell, with the Clipse, and they get intimidated. But really, the services we offer, our prices – they’re really affordable. And no integrity is sacrificed. We work based on their budget.

At this point, what do you think is the most challenging part about what you do?

The most challenging part is letting the artist realize that once you give them a product, they kind of have to run with it and use it for their benefit. You can always create a website, or a music video, BUT…if they’re not gonna promote it themselves, and go hard…call up these blogs…you can give some a Lamborghini, but if they can’t dri…

…You can take the horse to water, but you can’t make him drink it.

Exactly! We can make you look official, but if you don’t have that hunger for yourself, it’s only going to go so far.

What was the genesis of your spiritual metamorphosis, and how does/will it affect your current and future work?

I got caught up with the money that was coming in, I feel in love with the business, rather than the art. You’ll just work with anybody and take on projects you’re not really that enthusiastic about, and it’s like a virus – your whole team feels it. Everybody’s making money, but nobody has that same hunger and passion anymore. You as a person start changing too, you start becoming more shallow and all these things. I was becoming this person that I didn’t want to be. Being a younger kid coming out of college, being so naïve, I looked at these other cats in the industry as the types of people we didn’t want to be, and that’s kind of what we were approaching at one point. On a miniature scale obviously, not on the scale of big entertainers, but on the scale for what we were doing, ya know? I’m a Muslim, and Malice is Christian – and when we debate – it’s  more to find a common bond, instead of…my bond with Malice and Clipse got closer because of spirituality, rather than business. I showed and proved – that these blogs were about much more than my business, but about getting the message across. We got attention – in a good way. A lot of good things came out of it.

Eventually, they wanted me to co-direct ‘Doorman’ with them. That was done in like two weeks. They just shot a video for Popeye’s, and out of no where, it was like, ‘Shomi, I want you to do it’. It’s cool when you’re a fan of the artist you’re working with, so you put your all into it. After doing two major videos – one with Kanye West, and one with Pharrell – you exhaust a lot of your resources. You’re not gonna have as much of your budget left. This was a very guerilla-style, low-budget video. We didn’t want it to look very polished – that would be corny. We wanted to capture what it was like hanging out with these folks – their lifestyle. And there’s a disclaimer, you see someone getting arrested at the end, and that’s what really happens. You don’t just get the Lamborghini’s and Maserati’s and everything’s good when you deal dope. There’s a consequence. The video is basically a celebration of the lesson that was learned. These dudes are definitely NOT ‘cocaine’ rappers – they’re labeled that sometimes, but they’ve grown past it.

When you think of business, what do you think is the most important thing to run a successful business nowadays?

Trimming the fat. Work with as little as possible. Especially in this type of economy, flyers, radio ads – they weren’t that effective. Viral campaigns, associating with the right people. You’re interviewing me today – why? Because a video we did caught your attention. What you gain from that, even though it was a low-budget video – the results of that, were so much more. Write-ups…we may be known on a local level, but we’re still growing on the national level. It’s really about aligning yourself with the right people. You’ve got to have a couple of folks that you can reallytrust. Having no ego. You just can’t have an ego. You think you’re working with the Clipse, but the next guy is working with Jay-Z. And he may think he’s all that, but the next guy is working with the President! And also not burning yourself out – at one point I wanted my hand in everything. Now I’ve got people that I trust, handling things for me.

Do you expect to see Illusive Media on the silver screen anytime in the near future?

Absolutely yeah! We’re actually talking about doing a couple of movies. We’re working on a Re-Up Gang Films, a partnership between Illusive Media & The Clipse.  We’re getting a lot of inquiries about music videos and stuff, and I’m real happy with the ‘Doorman’ video. Everything lately from the Clipse has been so big-budget – I feel we got something gritty for the fans from before Hell Hath No Fury. It’s like we got Grindin’ and We Got It For Cheap and everything in between.

Any current projects in the works?

I don’t know if I should mention it too much….Pharrell’s people came to me, and we’re putting together ideas and new ways to market N.E.R.D. We worked on a reality show with Pharrell that we’ve pitched to his agency, Endeavor. You work on a lot of projects, and hope one of ‘em…hits!

I also run a clothing line called Dumskeme (www.dumskeme.com). I’d like to start pushing that clothing line once I get a chance. The entertainment stuff is fun, but it’s the corporate projects that pay the bills.  

                                                            Nisarg Lives

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Da Fam Inc. recently had the pleasure of interviewing Shomi, the twenty-seven year old mastermind behind Virginia’s media powerhouse, Illusive Media. During a soul-stretching forty-minute sit-down, an animated Shomi gave us insights into Illusive’s inception, hiatus, and, eventually, tremendous spiritual growth. Featuring humorous and unexpected anecdotes about Malice, Pharrell, and Danja Handz, the interview can be read, in its entirety, below. Shomi’s work has galvanized an entire region, and it is with much excitement that we bring it to you:

How did you get your start directing videos – how was Illusive Media actually formed?

Basically, I was going to college at O.DU. in Norfolk, VA…and I was studying computer science, doing programming. As a younger kid, I was definitely a nerd and I was always into video games, so I got into programming. I wanted to be a hacker and all this crazy stuff, but at the same time, I was always into music. My cousins are all hip-hop heads, and techno heads, so I got to listen to a lot of diverse music. Right around when I was in college, The Neptunes were starting to blow up also. I was a big fan of them, being that they were from my area, and I started getting interested in music production. The first artist that I worked with – as kind of just a ‘fun’ project, a passion project, something I did while I was in school – was Nicholas F.

So this is around ’99, ’00? What time frame are we talking about?

This was around when the first Clipse album dropped; I didn’t even know the Clipse then. I was definitely a big fan of all the VA hip-hop coming out; Skillz, Nottz, and I wanted to be involved in VA hip-hop. So I was working with Nicholas F., and at first I was just producing beats – I was just using Frooty Loops, didn’t have any other equipment. At first I’d try to pitch him some beats – and Nick’s very picky with beats – so out of a hundred beats, he’d only pick one – and he rapped on one one time, and we were really hype. More and more, I wanted to push my production from a media perspective. I was never really a web designer, but I was always good with computers. So, I made a website for myself, to promote our entertainment (stuff) – just for fun, really. My mindset was still, ‘Once I graduate, I’ll be a programmer’, and music was always going to be a hobby .

So I was making beats for Nick, and eventually, I ran into Magoo, and he was interested in managing me as a producer. Magoo was actually the first to tell me not to mess with the music, he told me I should focus on the web aspect, and that I was good. I never really realized that – it was just something that I did for fun to promote our music. I never really planned on doing videos, but I just loved music, so I was toying around with any kind of media –so we just became multi-media by, kind of being around Nick, by having no budget. If he needed album artwork, I learned Phothoshop; if he needed web design, I learned HTML. Working with Nick, who was an unsigned artist – but he still had a lot of hype around him – to me that was a big deal.

I took Magoo’s advice of not going into the music industry through the production sense, and I wanted to go in doing my own media thing. So I just started learning stuff online, and eventually, through Nick, I met Doug Life – who’s now co-owner of Play Clothes with the Clipse – and Doug introduced me to Fam-Lay, who was just coming out. His buzz was strong, but I don’t think Def Jam really understood it. It was a weird situation, but I took advantage of it. So I showed Fam some of my stuff, and he liked it. So I ended up doing his album artwork, and just being around him in the studio, I would run into Pusha, Pharrell, Chad – and they’d always see me, but they’d have no clue what I was doing there. They had no clue I was doing Fam-Lay’s website, hooking up his Myspace, filming him behind-the-scenes – they had no clue. Eventually, Pusha saw some of my stuff.

The first time I got to work with the Clipse, was doing the mixtape cover for ‘We Got It For Cheap’. Once I designed that cover — that mixtape became buzzworthy anyway – I basically became Pusha’s assistant. Now I was getting closer to the whole Star Trak staff, and my name started going around more. I remember going to Pharell’s house, since they were all roommates at one point, to work on covers and stuff, and he’d be like, ‘Yo, who is this kid?!’ We’d be having these casual conversations about marketing and stuff, and I’d just sit there, soaking it all in.

That cover, and that mixtape, became so big, especially within the indie market – it just opened so many promotional markets. Right around this time, they (The Clipse) were going through that whole situation with Jive, who just didn’t understand them. So we were doing everything on our own – whether taping a little viral video, putting it out on Myspace – we would do it. Me and Pusha’s business relationship became cool, and it was my senior year, and I really didn’t care about being a computer programmer anymore.

Me and Philip (my business partner), in the sixth grade, Pharrell’s mom – she was actually our teacher! We’d be sitting in class, and she’d tell us that her son made Rump Shaker, and we’d be like, ‘whatever’. Years later, we’re hanging out, and I tell Pharrell, and it kind of sparked more conversation. He was still kind of hard to reach out to, because right around this time, his success was just – he’d be in Miami, L.A., all over the place. It almost felt like I would go to Pharrell’s house more than he would. Che was also starting to take notice of what I was doing – it almost became like a family over there.

My first paying gig – The Clipse called me from Texas – they had a lot of money, and they said, ‘These guys just paid us for a feature – let’s shoot a video’; it was a video for a song called “Soldier Ride”. Their ex-manager, Tony, he was everywhere – Miami one day, he was in Texas. Who else could they find so last minute, to just go out there, and shoot a video? They offered to pay me cash, and pay for my ticket – so the next day, we flew right out. We went out to Texas, with no idea of what we were going to shoot.

Malice is always a creative dude – so we just came up with a bunch of ideas based on their previous lifestyle. This was at a time when I still didn’t know much about videos – around the time the ‘Mr. Me Too’ video came out. We used the money from that video, to rent out an office, and we were the talk of Virginia. If you want to get anything media-done, you’ve got to go to Illusive Media.

Virginia is mostly known for its producers, so the Clipse are looked up to as – well, if you’re working with the Clipse, you’re the shit. Pusha and all those guys would always come to our office, so that also brought a lot of attention. A lot of our early clients were just straight-up dope boys that wanted to get websites done. Music videos, all these kinds of things – the money was coming in fast.

Eventually, Danja Handz became one of our clients. I remember he would come to my house, just doing construction. Then one day he was like, ‘Yo, I’m placing stuff on Justin’s album’. I was like, ‘Shit! I’ve got to get you a Myspace!’ So we created this crazy concept for it – it was like an MPC – and I think it’s been three years, and I still get work from that. They haven’t changed it yet.

Now we have Danja on the roster, we have the Clipse, and through Danja, we got J.R. Rotem as a client – I ended up doing his Myspace. We met with Sean Paul’s manager, the clients just started coming in.

About last year, maybe the end of ’07, I was starting to get worn out. I was making good money, but since I’m hardly use to seeing money like this, I started doing dumb stuff – I bought a Benz in cash, Infiniti truck here. We were so excited about it, but within the company, ego’s were developing, and people started going in their own direction. By ’08, the company had broken up.

Me and my partner Philip, we broke away, but kept the name Illusive, and my other partner, Curtis, he had gone a different direction. It was all because we were all being stupid, being around so much celebrity, it just got to our heads.

I wasn’t really happy with myself, and at that point, I was going through a lot of personal struggle. At the same time, Malice was actually going through the same thing – a spiritual struggle. One day, Pusha called me to film a segment for MTV for Play Clothes. I didn’t want to do it, but my brother told me to go. I went, and Malice just had this look on him – when we talked, he was never really the business, “business” type of person. He always played the background, even in the Clipse. You’d know him for his lyrics, but visually, you’d never see him as much. At that point, he was going through all the experiences – spiritual things – and so was I, so we just kind of connected. We were just talking about it, and we were like, ‘I know there’s a way to take this stuff, this entertainment lifestyle, and flip it into something positive.’

A couple months later, their manager got indicted for all these things, it was just crazy. Malice was like, ‘Yo man, we gotta make a change’. Spiritually, he was closer to God, and he said, ‘We’ve done a lot of things wrong, but that’ not the message we wanna show’. There’s the story – but then there’s also the downside to it. Even if you do live that crazy lifestyle, you can’t glorify it – there’s got to be both sides told. When it comes to ideas – Malice is genius – so these vlogs start coming out. He’ll call me and be like, ‘Yo, I got this idea, straight from God’ – (laughs) – we gotta get it done!

By Nisarg Lives

In part 2 of our interview tomorrow Shomi discusses Illusive Media’s first time getting paid, breaking up over ego, working with the Clipse and Pharrell, finding spirituality and making a comeback.

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