2011 is coming to a close and it’s about that time I’ve give you my thoughts on this year. I’ve been on my first deployment for the majority of the year and before that I went out to sea for some short stints. At first it was really sucky and it still is sucky, but now I’m growing more accustomed to the lifestyle. I visited some interesting ports-Malaysia, Bahrain, and Dubai. Got a taste of some different cultures, copped some new gear, and saw some fine breezies (women for those of you who can’t catch my slang). I went cranking in food services and learned how to cut some fruit and vegetables and make a nice salad. Also, I almost got stabbed over some cucumbers and then I returned back to my shop as a MC-basically a super journalist. Besides that ship life is pretty boring, but I work out and write news stories on the daily.
I finished re-writing my novella “A Lightbulb’s Lament” at the beginning of the year and started a new novella called “The Partymeister” which is about half-way done at the moment. In terms of short stories I pumped out a few horror pieces and some bizarro bits here and there. I sent out a small amount of stories and the majority of them were accepted for publication. But the important thing is I got back into the swing of writing this year and I improved in spades.
Musically, I dropped a project entitled “rightbrainmusik” which received little to no acclaim; however, it was a necessary step in my growth as a rapper/emcee. My breath control improved so I can rap a lot faster even though I speak very slowly. I learned more musical terms and my mixing skills are on a whole ‘nother level.
I read a lot of books but not as much as I would have liked. Cameron Pierce’s Abortion Arcade had to be one of the best books I’ve read this year, plus Jeff Burk’s Cripplewolf had me dying of laughter.
I was waiting for a lot of music this year, but I was disappointed on many occasions. Weezy was okay on Sorry for the Wait and Carter 4, but I know his off-the-wall metaphors and stream of consciousness raps were lacking something. Maybe he should get back on that lean who knows. J. Cole came out with a fantastic mixtape-Friday Night Lights but his album was just so so in comparison. Wale was another disappointment with his second album Ambition. He talks about bitches and chains and everything he was against back in the day. He has grown in terms of lyricism and flow and I like that he has a bigger platform, but he’s letting it all go to waste. Perhaps this is an artist evolving, but if this is true, he’s regressing. The lyricism is still there, but he’s a little too ambitious. But wait, there were some good albums released as well. Danny Brown’s XXX has to be my favorite album this year and might end up being one of my favorite albums of all time. Brown speaks about his hard-knock rise to the top. Popping pills, fucking groupie hoes, stealing metal and aging in the rap game. He raps with an over-the-top swag, but his delivery is desperate at times and downright chilling. Finally, all of his hard work has paid off with a label deal with Fool’s Gold which he refers to as “gnarly.” These are the words of man who’s getting older and is always down to dance with death. “Your pussy ain’t shit until you’ve had some Danny up in it.” Damn right.
Another dope album was Kendrick Lamar’s Section .80.
2011 was an okay year, sort of a prelude of events to come. Big things are planned for 2012 so watch out young world.
