“Let’s go to sleep in Paris, wake up in…” – Lupe Fiasco
“…roam like a cell phone in Italy, in search of the real shit” – Phonte of Ltitle Brother
“My women friends get tennis bracelets/ trips to Venice get their winters replaced with/ the sun it ain’t even fun no more, I’m jaded/ man, it’s just the game, I just play it to play it” – Jay-Z
Oktoberfest 2009
“Imagine all the [white] people…” – John Lennon
“All of which is legal in Amsterdam…” – Kanye West
Yo yo yo…finally got some decent Internet connection and I figured I’d post some visuals of my excursions. I don’t know if they do justice to the live viewing but use your imagination and come with me through my journeys!
Me and my cousin at the wedding of my other cousin, Helen. Once I found out she was getting married in Germany, I KNEW I had to get to Europe this year! I’m here!
Me and my momma went to Berlin for a day and a half. Beautiful city full of history and magnificent architecture. I know it might not look much through your computer screens but look how small those people look in front of this gate! It’s a sight to see…
This here is the castle of Versailles located right outside of Paris. When I saw this, I thought, “I didn’t know places like this still exist”. I am such a Disneyland baby. Me and my lady toured the palace and started brainstorming for our future filthy, unnecessarily large abodes.
Oh, and this is the backyard…
Finished walking through the Lourve in Paris and decided to stunting on top of Mary Magdalene’s burial place (for all you Da Vinci Code heads).
Okay I’m just gonna post this much before this wack ass internet shuts off on me again. Knock on wood…
I’m taking hella pictures here so holla back if you wanna see some more! Miss ya’ll. Peace.
For those of you who don’t know, the iLL-Lit Fam has transposed from the Bay to New York. And in two weeks, we’ve managed to shoot our music video, do a photoshoot, do a show, pack, travel across the country through hail storms and lightning in the middle of August, see the Grand Canyon, AND find a beautiful spot in the heart of Brooklyn. Now it’s time to blog…
So I’m changing the direction of this category. Instead of posting the music you need to hear in order to understand a certain artist, I’m posting the music you need to hear in order to understand iLL-Literacy’s debut album iB4the1. I start from the top. You’ll understand soon. For now just listen.
Yo, I did not know how many videos there were of us on YouTube. I usually only check the ones we post but there are this whole ‘nother series of iLL-Literacy performances posted by fans. I mean, most of them have about 60 views but nonetheless, they’re there. Maybe we can help get this count to 100. I performed at this b-boy/martial arts/hip-hop event a weekend before last and for once, I really felt that the my “Owed to the DJ” poem was a perfect way to kick off this fresh hip-hop event. It’s hella noisy but I still do the thang. Shout outs to Emmerine, Nicole, Boogie Monsters and all the Capitol Roots folks!
Their next event is this weekend and I seriously recommend if you are around!
So a bunch of emcees that have heard Live From The Boondocks: Commencement have been like “Yo, D! What’s good with that contest you was talking about on ‘Welcome to My Cypher’?” And like my response for when folks ask me about the next mixtape or album, I tell ‘em, “Yeah…you know…it’s coming”.
Bullshitting.
But today, there is hope. Although the contest has not officially begun, the website that will be hosting it has kicked off. And how fitting is it that the only true Black man (Sorry/FuckU Nico) in a collective that is 50% Chinese has his song remixed in Chinese by none other than the Chinese emcee who wanted us all to “Learn Chinese” (if I say that there was too much “Chinese” in that last sentence, am I being racially insensitive?). Anyways, the man is none other than 106 & Park Freestyle Friday Champ and Ruff Ryder recording artist, Jin. I remember coming home from school to watch this cat beast on opposing emcees. Crazy!
Anyways, check out the tutorial for the website and the freestyle below and make sure to definitely take a peak at MyCypher.com. Shout outs to Drew!
Tutorial:
Freestyle:
Oh, and as for the album/mixtape/contest…yeah…you know…it’s coming.
I told this girl, “I’m very disappointed that you’re hating on Drake”. And she was like, “I’m very disappointed that you been drinking the kool-aid”.
“The kool-aid????”
So my delayed response to her goes as follows: 1) you obviously haven’t heard iLL-Literacy’s upcoming single…hehehe …and 2) you obviously haven’t really sat down and listen to the man who accomplishes the difficult feat of living up to, and even excelling, his hype. And if nothing else, you must respect whatever ability he has to impact the masses. Check him out performing the screwed-up “November 18th” in Houston below.
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