1st aka "The Pretty Girl" - Do You Remember feat. Purple Chrome & April Catherine

1st is back with a really smooth track that features dope vocals by Purple Chrome & April Catherine! This song was written and used as a wedding song and will be on 1st debut project under the Enteprize Entertainment label coming soon. The track is produced by NovaKhain Enterprises own Chuck Platinum. Check it out after the jump

DJ Self Talks Love & Hip Hop, Career on Power 105.1 and The Gwinin Team with Roc Runna

It's always good to see peers do big things! Shouts to my brother Vegg hitting the offices of Power 105.1 in NYC to interview "The Prince Of New York" DJ Self! This interview talks about Self's humble beginnings of his career and Love & Hip Hop! Check it out after the jump.

New York Rap Vs. New York Wack

I cram to understand how people can be mad at Trinidad James for speaking the truth. The bottom line is that New York hip hop is suffering from a case of garbageitis and its been like that for quite some time now. There are so many elements that play a part to this and I could easily go about this blog by blaming all the bum ass rappers that have lost their footing by sounding like these rappers down south. Now we got rappers on lean and molly, rocking over these trap beats; but wonder why you are not selling an abundance of records.

We don't have artists like we did years ago that prided themselves in being trendsetters. Everyone wants to sound like someone else instead of taking the time out to really create something different and not being afraid to stand out. Then when you do step out the box you do NOT get the support from the people that need to be supporting. It's so hard to go into a club and get "turnt up" I don't get "turnt up" I get LIVE we WILD OUT. We never had TRAP houses we had CRACK spots; now everyone is in the trap, but when will we get our identity back?

We will get our identity back when we can come together as a unit. New York rappers don't support each other. I guess Nas was ahead of his time when he said hip-hop is dead because it is. There is only a few people left carrying the torch. Thank GOD for Nas and Jay and there are several NY OG's I could name, but for the sake of relevance and being in the forefront I thank these two although Jay did make kind of a southern song with that fuckwithmeyouknowIgotit; but for the most part he tried to keep that NY sound flowing. Nas got praised last year because he made Life is Good. It was the last true depiction of what our sound is supposed to sound like right now, that's why his album was praised.

We can also thank these dick riding DJs that spin this on the radio and the club. The radio and the club go hand in hand because clear channel controls radio they are only going to play the most popular music and New York music is non existent on New York radio; which is the reason why I banned myself from NY radio because it sucks. If you look at any rotation on NY radio there is hardly any NY rap that is in regular rotation. Why? Because NY don't support their own region so why would the DJs support what people don't support; it's a bad bad cycle.

Hopefully we can get back to when rap music was real rap music. It doesn't have to be exactly like the 90s; I do recognize that the 90's was almost 24 years ago, but we have to put that soul back in music. I love J. Cole, but where are the NY rappers making heart felt songs like that? I'll wait. People will claim the King of NY because no one is standing up to take that crown. I am looking forward to getting back to the basics, but we have a lot of work to do before we get there and it will start when people stop making music for money and make it for the art again. We will see what happens in the future.

Chuck Platinum - Got Cake (Pound Cake Freestyle)

The Fall Reflection

Wow it's been all summer since I have put my thoughts down and I must say that it's been great this year. I did something this summer that I have not done in 18 years....I let go. I let go of all of my insecurities, let go all of my fears, let go all of the things that I didn't understand and I made a decision to become free.

It has not been easy. I really had to expose some things that I really didn't want to, but I had to make a decision if I wanted to go a certain route and after that it was okay. I refused to be chained to my past because I was more concerned about it affecting my future. I couldn't keep apologizing for the mistakes that I made in my 20s when I am about to turn 35 and then it hit me that.....I really am turning 35.

Did I become sad? Not at all. I am very happy to reach this age. It has come with so many lessons. It has made me more aware of my decisions and in tune with my thoughts. I am more selective about the company that I choose although some you cannot always read their character. Most importantly, I have been learning how to love myself. Loving me has been the best gift that I could have given myself. It has taught me about full acceptance and how people will look at you and judge you. You begin to realize that people don't really know you as well as they may think they do. I am learning that my legacy is deeper than the man who is in this body. I am learning how to become in tune with the world and balancing my interests and the relevance of mankind.

Loving myself has taught me all my wants, needs, and desires. It has taught me what is most pleasurable to me and I do whatever I can to reach that pleasure. Loving myself is making me feel good and not depending on others when they can't. I have watched several peers suffer from that "what happens what the (love) is gone" syndrome. That has become silly to me because when love is true? it is unconditional therefore it never dies! A loved person is not disposable and they are worth the fight because eventually you won't fight once you gain understanding of self and other people.

Entering into the fall and winter I can honestly say that I have grown immensely this year and I look forward to growing more. Life is looking way up and as long as I keep this attitude God will direct me right to my promise land. I will continue to give as long as I live whether it be time, my mind, money or other I want to continue to be used as God's vessel to serve people. My music will live forever even if I perish. I am confident of my legacy. Forever me.....forever free

I Am Coming Into My Own

I have always felt like I was different. My mother has always shown me things early in my life to make me self sufficient and she made sure that I was always able to do with myself. At some point in my life I got sidetracked by my love for women. My love for women has caused me some time and some lessons that at in my 20s I couldn't appreciate it and it lead me to a careless and promiscuous lifestyle. I am so grateful to God for protecting me enough for me to love myself again.

Because I did take a crack at love at an early age it left me open to become hurt and when I got hurt I became angry. I was angry because I didn't understand how something that felt so good, so strong, so real could be tainted by one persons actions. I felt deceived and as a result I didn't care anymore and along the way some very good women got hurt because of my actions.

It kept taking a trip downhill I had a child with someone that I don't believe wanted to have a child with me in the first place. I had another child with someone that I basically had a 2 night stand with and never had a relationship with and then had a 3rd child with someone that I met on a journey of trying to get over a failed marriage. I wish my instances where storybook fairytale stories of love and hope and white picket fences, but because of decisions that I have made that was not my life and I accepted that a long time ago.

When I turned 30 I had to make some decisions as to where the rest of my life would go. I had just separated from my wife. I had to drive all the way from California back to New York in shame because I felt like I had failed God by failing my marriage. I had to make the most difficult choice in my life because you never want to abandon your spouse, but what do you do when you for see the future? The truth of the matter is that you can not see the future so you have to make a choice for you that was the first difficult choice I had to make.

When I came home to New York I was basically homeless and thanks to my brother Deyvon and his mother they took me in and gave me food and shelter and I had nothing but my car and clothes. I had to rely on faith to get me through that and it was very tough as a man who once had everything that had to come back and start from nothing all over again. I never thought that it would be me, but it was and I was so ashamed of myself.

Throughout these instances though I made some great decisions and I am proud as to where my life has taken me and so grateful that I made the choices to lead me to success. It's not easy looking at your ugliness and pointing at yourself and saying hey no matter what these people did to me? I have to change my ways and see how I could be a better person. I have been on a journey of personal development and really getting to know myself and understanding myself. I understand the things that I want in life, what I don't want in life and what I will not settle for. I had to love myself to be able to do that. I had to separate from all my temptations and things that I would have normally done to try to keep company to make a firm decision to not get into another relationship. I had to sometimes pull my impulses back to save friendships with people that mattered to me. I had to restructure my life.

I am now coming into my own. I own my life. I own my decisions. I own my rights. I own my wrongs. I own who I am and what I put into the world. I own my soul. I own my pride. I own my dignity. I own my individuality. I own my time. I own my way of life. I own my interactions. I own my choices. I own everything that is me and I own up to being the best that I can be for me and my energy will continue to seep into others because I own the right to live a life of complete positivity beyond measure. I appreciate life these days much more and I am addicted to making myself better for the world. It's a beautiful thing. I am coming into my own.

The TakeOff

I have been waiting for this moment a long time. Building my belief as I kept checking and rechecking and over checking and then checking over and over again. I have flown small planes before, but I have never flown a plane this big. Am I ready for this? Am I ready for this feat? Am I
ready to fly these friendly skies that God has open the gates for me?

When it rained I said not today. When it snowed I said tomorrow. When it was sunny I smiled and said I have to get the landing gear right and figure this measurement out. When it was warm I would work. When it was cold I would work. One day I had to stop working and sit back and look at my plane and say wow you built this just sit back and admire what you have built.

I have tested out the plane a few times and have experienced some turbulence at times, then other times the flights would be successful. I have done several simulations and they have been successful too. It is now time to fly.

I am leaving all of my worries behind and my fears are no longer. I have completed the phase of testing and now it is time to experience so I can live out the testimony. It's time to enjoy what I built and go in with my belief and seize the moment.....Carpe Diem! I am now in the captains chair.....all systems are a go I am ready for take off.

The plane is my life....and I am now in control. Hello possibilities and dreams......I waited forever for this moment. I am ready!