Hot Raps for the Masses

… Here is another piece NOT to sleep on.

Michael Manasseh – Mikestands (Click to download)

Three reasons why this album is great:

1. The beats are on point. Not overly complicated but catchy, representing a wide variety of moods. At 21 tracks you won’t get bored.

2. The raps are solid. Michael have a scruffy voice, kind of like Buck 65. He stays on pace with the diverse beats by switching up his pace and delivery.

3. Adam L. I posted a video I found of some live footage of Adam rocking a set (ironically with Michael Manasseh too). Mike is another 1/3rd of BSIDES. Adam kills his guest spots here. So smooth and fresh. If I find more BSIDES stuff I’ll post up the info for sure.

Plus it’s free. Check it out and drop a donation at the Sphere if you feel so inclined. Michael also has a pretty decent blog.

—

In other news, this statement from Syntax Records concerning RedCloud. This is the second of these types of statements to come out recently (first being Ambassador) and this one hits closer to home. It’s hard to know how to treat these situations. Are labels to follow church models for discipline spelled out in the Bible? Do these statements release too much information to people who don’t really need to know? There’s some really good discussion with multiple viewpoints going on at the Sphere boards right now. Check out JustMe and Heath McNease’s posts for some good insight. I pray the RedCloud’s humbleness carries him and his family through this season.

Peace.

Wow I have been sleeping. I’m going to drop a few hot raps to make up for my absence.

First: The Train Song music video from Listener. Heavy and real:

Serious implications.

Lots of other stuff going on in HHH. Bad news about CM’s Ambassador. Yes, rappers are human. Grip of new stuff to come out this summer from Lightheaded, Theory Hazit, Othello, DS5, Ahmad… You name ‘em and it’s probably coming out soon. New dope Podcasts from the Sphere…

Short post, but I’ll leave with this. It’s a gem I discovered while searching through Youtube. You might remember Adam L from his Ohmega Watts and Lightheaded guest appearances, but here’s him live:

Impressive. Peace.

Word. With the PB&J party only TWO WEEKS away you can imagine that I’m pretty pumped. There’s still one slot open too if you’re up for a 11 hour car ride one way for a 4 or 5 hour show (though this will be the best 4 or 5 hours of your life). I’ve been busy finishing up student teaching (wow that went by fast) but now I’ve got a moment so I’ll drop a post.

Today I bring Glue. You may remember them from my Non-Traditional Christian series (part 1 or part 2). I’ve worked out a way to include one of their gems in this blog. I try really hard to only throw up legitimate copies of songs that were promoted by the artist. You can easily find any song you want to listen to on sites like youtube or imeem but I want to keep it legit. There are a lot of dope artists breaking their backs to make music and make a living and there are also a lot of people working hard to promote that music and ensure a sustainable industry. I want HRFTM to add to the scene, not take away. This is why I believe in investing in a CD rather than downloading a free copy off rapidshare or mediafire. All this to say that this post comes close to that fine line.

One of my favorite songs by Glue is Fighting Ends. There are no live renditions that I could find, there’s no MP3 copy at the Sphere, but it is available on their myspace. Using a little net magic I was able to pull it and embed it to this post. Both myspace and glue are credited but if I get any angry letters/e-mails I’ll take it down and just put up a link. This works in Firefox on linux, not sure about anything else but it’s really not that complicated so it should. Worst case it autoplays the song or maybe the internet will collapse. (Cross-browser and cross-platform are not my areas of expertise.)

Wow this is going to be a long post. This is a pretty crucial song. Take notice though that I threw up the explicit category for this post. The worst you’ll hear in Fighting Ends is “damn”, but some of Glue’s other songs in the player are more colorful and the myspace player randomly chooses the next song. Here’s the player. Don’t click till you’re ready to hear the song.

The Player

Alt link: myspace popout player or Glue’s myspace.

Also check out the lyrics:

Kill these distractions that keep me from my loved ones,
Who tell me that I’m on the humble road to being someone,
People talk about, people reach out too,
People are my business so I’m blessed to have a mouthful
Of advice, but at what price, do I start to pay the overdue fees?
Challenged by the mortal power to set all the zombies free,
It doesn’t come easy when you lose the angel strength,
Numb to your bleeding elbows you lose a lifetime off your reach,
To catch the glimpse of your purpose, to make eye contact with death,
To finally have an answer, dealing with the pitch black left,
By the big unknown it took 66 books to describe,
Without mentioning our obsession with asking the question why?
The tortured ones walk endless with a set list in their pocket,
Because every song is a commandment rarely broken to be cautious,
Of the monsters holding a candle under sleeping eyelids,
Relighting when the flame fades, jaded from the human virus,

They will never understand, the curse of giving guidance,
One day we won’t have to use all these excuses,
They will never understand, how much we take for granted,
Keep its back to the wall keep the strength death refuses

Chances are you’re gonna see it in their eyes,
But don’t be surprised when the volume of the voice starts rise,
I can’t believe I’ve been standing here all night,
What kind of insight, can talk theology,
Without starting a useless fight,
From the makeshift pulpit, 3 feet off the floor,
With every glass of water I drink, the liquid recycles through my pores,
So I’m ready to begin digging graves and playing records,
On a second wind provided by the search for something better,
I swear in this environment the world always spins backwards,
The jukebox pays you, to drown out rooms crowded with laughter,
But I won’t start until they are all paying full attention,
I can’t find a compromise or give myself a deadly weapon,
To end the evening with a bang, with ghosts in my words,
To make god smile just once with no favors to return,
Never mind, what kind of sacrifices we all had to be make,
Let the burden blend into the drums as your backbone breaks,

They will never understand, the curse of giving guidance,
One day we won’t have to use all these excuses,
They will never understand, how much we take for granted,
Keep its back to the wall keep the strength death refuses

The spectrum is exhausted, costing millions piece of mind,
The bi polar angst of a world constantly wasting it’s time,
Conquering your rebellions to better the wealthy cause,
By brainwashing role models to give you drugs and bruised jaws,
We suffer now so blatant; songs start to get repetitive,
They sell you life for $20 dollars but never included medicine.
And we hardly have patience for the first scratches to heal
But we’re convinced the last 5 years haven’t been real,
We’ve experienced it all but haven’t lost the will live,
We’ve seen people take their lives but something’s got to give,
If no one told you to keep fighting, then let me be the first to say,
The promise holds weight no matter hour, second, or day,
The connection pulls us closer, we all relate to getting older,
Whether protester or soldier someday these wars are over,
Life never leaves but stays away from changes burn,
Death will answer questions but has to wait its proper turn.

The message at the core of this song is an almost jaded exhaustion from being called to rap. The feelings can be extended beyond to include any debate or any suggestion of advice but Adeem is mostly speaking as Glue’s front man MC. I love the way he displays the gospel in his message. Never does he use the word Christ, but it’s like looking into the Grand Canyon. The rocks don’t spell out “Jesus”, but to those who believe God created the universe it couldn’t be a clearer picture. The references are subtle, but they’re there (finally having an answer, setting zombies free, “66 books”, strength death refuses, etc).

The first verse sets up Adeem’s struggle with even just finding his purpose. Welcome to just about everybody I ever come in contact with. This is why Purpose Driven Life sold millions of copies. It really is a struggle to find what you’re supposed to do and simply becoming a Christian doesn’t automatically answer those questions. God doesn’t just hand out career cards to everybody. I suppose it’s an effort to produce simpler lives in us that much more often he lays out daily tasks rather than 10 year goals. However Adeem has caught a “glimpse” which was to rap. I feel I’m in a similar boat with my call to teach.

You also start to get a sense of the difficulty of the task in the first verse. Strong language like “tortured” shows some of the jaded feelings:

The tortured ones walk endless with a set list in their pocket,
Because every song is a commandment rarely broken to be cautious,
Of the monsters holding a candle under sleeping eyelids,
Relighting when the flame fades, jaded from the human virus

This goes directly into the chorus which again is not so cheery.

They will never understand, the curse of giving guidance,
One day we won’t have to use all these excuses,
They will never understand, how much we take for granted,
Keep its back to the wall keep the strength death refuses

Never understand, Curse of giving guidance. Harsh words. Yet it’s finished with Keep the strength death refuses. Sounds hopeful to me.

The second verse goes to the stage, the makeshift pulpit. Frustration ensues, what kind of insight can talk theology without starting a useless fight? Ever felt that way? Ever read a Christian forum or seen disputes in the comments of youtube videos? I think we have done an injustice to God and to children today in letting them assume that their part in the gospel is always offensive, on the attack, rather than letting the Holy Spirit attack while we respond with meekness and fear. Wise words take insight. Despite this frustration Adeem sticks fast to his convictions:

The jukebox pays you, to drown out rooms crowded with laughter,
But I won’t start until they are all paying full attention,

While ultimately it’s out of his control:

I can’t find a compromise or give myself a deadly weapon,
To end the evening with a bang, with ghosts in my words,
To make god smile just once with no favors to return,
Never mind, what kind of sacrifices we all had to be make,
Let the burden blend into the drums as your backbone breaks,

The third verse starts with a Listener-esque tirade against some of the claims of the world. We suffer now so blatant. However, Adeem ends with more hope:

If no one told you to keep fighting, then let me be the first to say,
The promise holds weight no matter hour, second, or day,
The connection pulls us closer

I’m not sure if the connection is referencing Christianity or merely humanity in itself (which, as an extension of God’s creation, ultimately would pull us closer to him). Stay encouraged in your advice giving which you have been called! Arguments will ensue, advice will be ignored, but if you have been called what else can you do? Remember the promise.

I’ve made it this far into my analysis without referencing the beat of Fighting Ends. Phenominal. Driving and complimenting Adeem’s emotion. I especially like the interlude between the verses and hook. The play between the vocal sample cuts and piano are nothing short of beautiful. Maker’s talent is pretty much unparalleled in my book. DJ DQ tears up the cuts as well.

So word. Most epically long post on HRFTM yet. This track comes off Seconds Away, which is most definitely a CD you should invest in. I’ll leave with another lyric to stay encouraged in your struggles:

Whether protester or soldier someday these wars are over. Peace.

Word. Here’s a real update. As promised, I’ll be bringing more Mars Ill goodness. I’m going to drop a little history but still bring the dopeness. To start, here’s a song not by Mars Ill:

John Reuben – Move

Why start with a post on Mars Ill with John Reuben? If you watched closely you probably caught Mars Ill’s Breathe Slow on the tv at the beginning. That’s because both John Reuben and Mars Ill used to be on the record label Gotee. Gotee is probably most notable for housing Relient K and Reuben’s current mix of rap and rock.  There was a time where the Christian Hip Hop underground made it to the mainstream (well, Christian mainstream). I’m sure there are other examples as well but I’m no database of all that is HHH. (Check the Holy Hip Hop Database if that’s what you’re after.) I think Gotee was a nice partnership. Mars Ill was able to drop two albums with them and get a good amount of exposure. There were some sample clearance issues that delayed the release of Propain (sometimes popularity bites) but two classic albums were widely released to the fans so who can argue? You could actually pick these albums up in stores (Family Christian but major retailers too like Best Buy). Novel ideal huh? Maybe being a part of the mainstream limits your ability to be creative but Mars Ill is proof that an underground crew doesn’t have to compromise their fresh sound when hitting the mainstream scene. Here’s the video evidence that they could hold it down in the spotlight:

Mars Ill – Breathe Slow

So what’s this legendary crew doing these days? After the Gotee chapter closed they put out a couple rough, gritty sounding albums on their own. As far as I know they aren’t “broken up” but have just been working on projects independently. The new Deepspace5 album which drops this year (hopefully) will reunite them at the very least. Here’s some of the latest work of Dust with Poems:

“Will Not Be Sold” Poems and Dust from Dust on Vimeo.

Classic Dust sound. Manchild spent a year selling individual tracks through his own subscription service. I’m anxious to hear any of his latest work too.

Final thoughts on the mainstream: If you’re a dope crew, you’re going to rock any venue. Sure the mainstream screws up. Hip Hope 2009 (Gotee) called Braille a newcomer (5 released solo CDs to date with two more dropping this year and two group projects out). If it gets the message out, cool. Rock on. There is much frustration and miscommunication but both serve their purpose. Peace to the crews who hustle and peace to those who get the spotlight. To each shepard there is a flock. Rock rock on and thank God for what you have.

P.S. PLEASE check out the Sphere podcast 28 (iTunes). Another real banger. 30 minutes of hot raps. Peace.

I promise to get back to the domination that is Mars Ill next post (with fresh beats from Dust) but right now I gotta talk about Listener. I will be checking out Listener/Listernerproject/DanSmith (not sure what he’s currently going by) along with Spoken Nerd in Richmond tomorrow. It’s been like a year and a half since I’ve seen a show and this one should be pretty dope. I’ve introduced listener briefly before as a member of the Deepspace 5 crew and Labklik, but I’ve not really given him a proper introduction. This is it:

Here’s the full song from the DS5 crew as well:

Deepspace 5 – Stick This In Your Ear

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Download | From: Sphereofhiphopmp3.com

Listener is not your typical rapper. He doesn’t always rhyme. His raps can come across as a little strange. The first time I heard Ozark Empire I thought he was a little crazy (it’s a concept album about a knife salesman who gets stabbed in the end). Then I saw him live and really gave what he was saying my full attention. Listener is generally not to be taken lightly. Sure he can spit some “just raps”, which you can catch on any DS5 project, but much of his work takes at least a couple listens to even scratch the surface. When I saw him before it was on his “tour of homes” where he played in hundreds of people’s houses all across America. I also got to eat dinner potluck style sitting across from him. He was funny in a very dry and sarcastic way but when somebody asked a serious question he was very genuine. Plus it was Listener who turned me onto Qwel.

In short, tomorrow’s going to be dope. Check out Ozark Empire if you want to dive into Listener. Also check out this post on the Sphere for the intimacy of the DS5 crew. PEACE.

I think I’m going to post without a hot rap this week. I’ve been listening to some Ohmega Watts a ton lately, even dancing to his instrumentals in my second grade class, yet it’s Sintax.the.Terrific who led me to my pondering. This will not be a musical post, just what I’m currently chewing on. This passage comes from Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling, though I was first attracted to it on Sintax’s track Isaac (off Simple Moves, a CD you should invest in). Here it is:

Would it not be best all the same to stop with faith, and is it not disturbing that everyone wants to go further? When people nowadays – as is in fact variously announced – will not stop with love, where is it they are going? To worldly wisdom, petty calculations, to paltriness and misery, to all that can put man’s divine origin in doubt? Would it not be better to remain standing at faith, and for the one who stands there to take care not to fall? For the movement of faith must be made continually on the strength of the absurd, though in such a way, be it noted, that one does not lose finitude but gains it all of a piece. I for my part can indeed describe the movements of faith, but I cannot perform them. When learning how to make swimming movements, one can hang in a belt from the ceiling; one may be said to describe the movements all right but one isn’t swimming; likewise I can describe the movements of faith but when I am thrown into the water, although I may be said to be swimming (for I’m not among the waders), I make other movements, I make the movements of infinity, while faith does the opposite, having performed the movements of infinity, it makes those of finitude. Lucky the one who can make those movements, he performs a marvel, and I shall never tire of admiring him. Whether it is Abraham of the servant in Abraham’s house, whether a professor of philosophy or a poor serving-maid is for me absolutely immaterial, I look only at the movements. But those I do indeed look at and let myself be fooled neither by myself nor by anyone else. The knights of infinite resignation are readily recognizable, their gait is gliding, bold. But those who wear the jewel of faith can easily disappoint, for their exterior bears a remarkable similarity to what infinite resignation itself as much as faith scorns, namely the bourgeois philistine.

This is what I’m racking my brain on. I don’t read many books. It’s not that I don’t like books. In fact, I love Maniac Magee and To Kill a Mocking Bird. I do, however, hate spending a ton of time reading a book only to find out that I don’t really like it. I have high standards for the quality of the lyrics in the music I listen to; I have higher standards for the books I read (there’s no beat helping the book along). Lately I’ve sort of been on a theology kick. I read a good deal of C.S. Lewis over the summer and really enjoyed it. Last fall I read much of John Piper’s Don’t Waste Your Life but didn’t finish it because I thought it was pretty repetitive. Now I’m on some Kierkegaard but it’s pretty thick. Maybe some day I’ll take a class on Kierkegaard. If you’ve got any suggestions for something to read, let me know.

Here’s to real faith, which stops with love rather than babbling on and complicating life to it’s own destruction. Maybe I should pay more attention to those who make the movements and take faith seriously so I can learn something. Peace to the lyricists who rocked without a beat.

Word. I’m starting this post off with a track I really don’t know much about. This track is Global Warming by Ohmega Watts, Braille featuring Billy Puddles. I’m not sure how old it is, though I’m guessing it’s a few years old because Braille’s style is a lot harder (like his early stuff). I don’t know what CD this track comes off of either. In fact, I don’t even know who Billy Puddles is. (Googling gives me he dropped a CD on beatmart at one point.) This is just a timeless track that I remember hearing off Sphereofhiphop’s soundclick page, one that grabbed my attention along with Mars ILL’s Sphere of Hip Hop Part 2. This is a track that brewed my love for HHH. Enjoy.

Ohmega Watts & Braille – Global Warming (feat. Billy Puddles)

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From: Spereofhiphopmp3.com | Download

I love the beat. It’s simple but not boring. There are lots of parts (a great bass line included) that all fit together nicely. It’s also perfect for the mood of the song. I think it’s an Ohmega beat, but again I’m not sure. All three MC’s kill their verses. It’s almost funny listening to Braille cause his style has changed so much but he still holds it down. I think the main reason this track has had such an impact on me is Ohmega Watts’ verse. It’s just a great depiction of sharing the Gospel. As I was typing out the lyrics for this verse I hardly even had to listen to the song. Six years later and the words are still in my brain.

I span. I span this atmosphere of hip hop to teach the masses,
Across seas with missionaries like John the baptist
A trip to mainline China led me to their Zodiac
I saw a black sheep, outcast from passing out tracks
A customary tradition is to listen before you speak
Now in Africa on the crossroads of the Nile and the (cre?) [river that touches Nile?]
down by the delta as the water pours into the Caspian
some indigenous men ran up like some hooligans
screaming, “Can the word of God manifest in us?”
I said “Sure, clear your thought and give Christ your trust.”
Thou vow, oh Lord, is upon me ’till death
From the darkest of hours till the day of my last breath
Up in the sky, is it a bird or a plane?
It’s the great maharajah on this Amtrack train
I shed sincerely, I knew the stages of reincarnation
and told them the truth of the word, plus this misconception:
this God is for the white man. Plus the yellow man,
and all the rest who burn their tans, from the melanin
Goin’ beyond, the stratosphere and outer limits,
We crush kill and destroy Weigi board and crass spirits
I try and prose on, but sail it like a fraction on (?)
Blood pressure exerts to the max, the flat line to Hell gone,
With the quickness, see if you can catch this.
The setup soon begins, hide your lips from a Judas kiss.

Ohmega’s presentation of missions work (sharing the Gospel) is both powerful (effective) but not like the crusades (humble). I want to break it down and examine it, but this is a really solid verse. There’s humbleness (listening before you speak), excitement over the gospel (hooligans), reassurance (Thou vow), preparation (knowing the stages of reincarnation), unity (who this God is for), and uncompromising victory (crush, kill and destroy). All are displayed as hot raps. Word.

Now I’m chilling to some dope instrumental hip hop which will definitely be handy when I start writing again next week. If you want a preview of next week’s post, check out Dert. I’ve also got a few minor site revisions bouncing around in my head. Until next time, peace.

Word. I’m coming back from thanksgiving outside of Philly with the family just listening to some tunes on headphones. I haven’t listened to music through headphones in a long time. It’s weird how different it is. My car doesn’t have the best audio system (front speakers are blown) and the speakers in my apartment are generally just for background music. Headphones really force you to focus on a track. Even on this cheap pair from target the songs sound fuller. I notice the pans between the ears and the vocals and beats are better mixed together. It’s nice to really be able to dive into a track. The interstate is boring to look at so there’s nothing left for me to pay attention to.

I was listening to some Surreal, then Ohmega Watts latest album (I’m addicted to it lately), and finally adding some Kaboose. I could give you some professional tracks to listen to on headphones but I can’t really pick one so I’ll drop some of me and my bro’s originals. Put on some headphones if you want to be able to pinpoint what a difference $300 worth of sound equipment can make on sound quality. Here’s the first track:

Are Your Hands Dirty?

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Download | Lyrics

This is off our first CD. The first thing you should notice in the headphones is the super dope Halo samples my brother worked in there. The drums are on point with gunfire acting as the snare. In this song I talk about three scenarios, the one fictional, two real. This could fit in pretty well with the Don’t Waste Your Life John Piper study we recently finished up in Sunday school. The track is just about examining what you’re doing in life to see if it has any real significance. The gospel can be presented in billions of ways. Am I taking advantage of my time? I think about how often I’m on my computer scrambling for something to do so I can waste time. I wonder if David ever looked back at any of the psalms he wrote and though, “Wow. Convicting.”

Next:

The Power of Ignoring

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Download | Lyrics

This track follows the theme of the last one. It’s off our latest CD so I like the overall quality of the song better. I think my delivery is a lot better too. Again my brother is on point with the beat, especially the drums. On headphones you can tell how he crafted the snare rolls specifically. This track is another convicting one based on a summer class I took last year. There was only six students in the class and one of them was a kid who just didn’t fit in. Check the lyrics if you want to dig deeper into the story.

Wow, long post. I guess that’s what happens when there’s a 5 hour car ride. Traffic has been perfect though so I can’t complain. Back to the professional stuff. I believe some Othello is in order. Peace.

Updated (11/17/08).

Word up. How do you like the new banner? I used GIMP to create one and it was absolute trash. Then I learned that you can use Photoshop brushes in GIMP, found a nice set with all the arrows, stole the color scheme from a GIMP tutorial, and presto! It took me roughly 2 months to come through on the promise to spice up the site. Luckily it won’t take me as long to come through on a discussion of Kaboose’s latest CD, Excuse Me. Here’s a video of Kaboose in case you don’t know who he is. Ironically, this song uses a beat from Redcloud’s Water World which is on Fashion Expo: Round One which I happened to order at the same time as Excuse Me.

The first thing you’re going to want to do before reading this review is to check out Kaboose’s myspace and check out the songs Goin’ Outta Control and Be First. These are two tracks available off the new CD. My brother encouraged me to pick up Excuse Me after he ordered it. I’m glad I didn’t sleep on this one. The production is real solid. All the beats are at least an 8 or 9 out of 10 except for Goin’ Outta Control which gets a 15. It’s got kind of a mainstream feel that could easily be bumped in a club, yet I don’t hate it. Quite the opposite: it’s phenominal. It’s available to listen to on his MySpace too so check it out. Every track isn’t a club hit. Don’t Go To Bed Mad At Me, Reveal Yourself, and Excuse Me have some nice vocals in them and kind of remind me of Sackcloth Fashion’s epic The Lone Flower (which, by the way, is a great transition from traditional worship music to HHH (if you could find it somewhere)). Inbetween the mainstream and more traditional worship sounding songs lies some bangers. I could listen to Build It Up and Be First all day. Like I said, very solid.

Kaboose also brings it with the raps. He’s got a great presence on the mic and his sick flow is probably best recognized on The Land of Lakes. Kaboose gets pretty heavy on a few songs as well. In Two Sides which talks about his Duality from a white mother and Native American father. The guest spots are pretty nice too. Then again, how could you go wrong with MaxOne and Redcloud?

You can preview the tracks or grab this release off Syntax Records here from the Sphere. I would highly recommend it. This could easily be my favorite CD of 2008. Don’t sleep! Peace.

Update (11/17/08): Check the Sphere’s latest podcast to hear Kaboose’s Build It Up. Podcast is available here.

So I was going to write another post about a dope rap, but then I started reading a post at the Sphereofhiphop forums and decided to try and direct the HRFTM readers to the issue. You can read the whole topic here.

Invest in The Have Nots by the Scribbling Idiots and pop it to track 12, Residual, to be able to relate better to this post.

The post on the SOHH forums was talking about an artist wanting to quit the HHH scene. It’s not a glamorous life. You either tour your guts out to try and get your name out there and do HHH as your sole ministry or you pick up a regular 9-5 and do rap as a side project praying to somehow get exposure. There are various problems within and from the outside of the scene which causes artists to get discouraged. It’s kind of the same as with any ministry. When you truly get passionate about serving Christ in a certain area there are going to be circumstances and people (other Christians especially) which are going to let you down.

There are several big names which posted in the topic at the SOHH forums. It makes me sad that so many people are struggling. I wish I was a billionaire so I could fix all the problems, get groups exposure, put together some truly dope shows, and get the songs played on the radio. I consider purchasing CDs from the Sphere and throwing a couple extra bucks over there as supporting ministry the same as helping a dude go on a mission trip or paying a pastor.

Here’s a quote from Plastic’s post on the topic:

JustMe wrote: as much as I want to quit at times, I can’t avoid the fact that hip-hop is what I know and God wants me to use what I know to glorify Him.

This is the single thing (the last part) that keeps me going. It’s the only thing that’s worth it anyway.

I pray that each of us would adjust our thinking to see how we can truly serve Jesus with our time and talents. Maybe some of these frustrations will never go away but at least as individuals we will know that we’re having an impact (for better) on people.

I now work a day job 25-30 hours a week because I was getting stiffed by PR/Radio clients more often than I was getting paid. LOTS of money. I mean, a lot and for me it was enough to pay our family bills AND cover the website debts. This was the single most crushing and discouraging time of my life and it really messed me up. I thought “How could Christians, especially those in such leadership positions, do this to me?” I allowed it to steal my motivation and crush my passion.

It was hard to deal with the fact that I was chosen, entrusted with so much etc. Quickly I became bitter and frustrated. A few of you reading this have heard me at my worst on the phone sharing how broken this all felt to me.

In the last 12 years I have given up hobbies, free time, enough money to buy a house + pay off all my debt + buy 2 new cars, etc… to serve. BUT… If given the choice to do it all over again, I would without hesitation. I’ve been blessed to help illuminate the path to Jesus for many people. I’ve been blessed to help equip hundreds of artists to do their thing. I’ve been blessed flat out to serve and give.

The beef… if we’re serious, is small potatoes when it comes to kingdom building. It’s painfully obvious, to me at least, anymore when someone is really focusing on the right things and not of trivial side shows. I often got caught up in that. Too much. I try to flee from that focus stealing sin as quickly as I can anymore.

Not sure if this means anything or not… I would encourage each of you to continue on and worry only about pleasing the Father and following His Word. Pleasing man isn’t worth the time or frustration.

Remembering that struggles are “small potatoes” is tough but necessary. Putting things in perspective is crucial. This makes me think of the Roman’s 8 reference to being accounted as sheep for the slaughter, being killed all day long. BUT: it doesn’t end there. Our struggles are not futile. Through Christ we can make differences in eternity. Struggles are plentiful and heartbreaking. Hope is crucial. Focus is crucial. Keep keep on. To quote Braille, “We can’t always trust what we see”. We may not feel like we’re making a difference or really doing something important but if we’re following God’s will, we are.

Peace. Keep keep on.