Real Recognize Real?

I'm sure everyone has heard "Right Above It" by now, and like a lot of you guys, I think it's a true pump up song. Beat is sick, Wayne doesn't overdo his little whiny voice, and Drake absolutely destroys his verse.



The choice to release this specific track as Wayne's "comeback from jail" hiatus was a good one, but there's only one issue I have with this song, and it doesn't have anything to do with Weezy. I was surfing Youtube at work the other day (let's hope my manager doesn't read this), and stumbled across this video that was uploaded over two months ago.



Sound familiar? Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Drizzy fan but really? You took a prewritten verse (who knows if he has a ghostwriter) and played it off as a "freestyle".. and still messed up? I'm pretty disappointed actually -- this coupled with his BlackBerry incident has knocked him down a few notches in my books. Nobody doubts Drake's talent, but I'm just skeptical of his integrity.

I think what makes a good rapper is a consistent flow and the ability to address real issues in a clever way. Nowhere does it say you have to be adept at freestyling, so the way I see it, if you can't do it well, just admit you can't. Don't go around selling yourself beyond your capabilities. Over the years, many industry legends like Em and Nas have been heralded for that gift, but it does not mean every other rapper has to pretend they can match up similarly -- they can't.

Maybe it's the crappy mood from my ankle talking, but I guess I just didn't appreciate the fact that Drake really thought nobody would notice. So yes, we may live in the same building, but we really do have different views.

Love The Way You Lie.

Everyone knows Em killed this track, so I was initially hesitant to release my cover of it. I actually wrote the verses for this song in late June when I was in a pretty dark place, and I guess even now, I'm still treading water there. It's kind of funny that in hindsight, the song is even more applicable in light of the truth. That's why I'm glad I got around to finishing it -- everyone deals with heartbreak and emotional trials in their own ways and at their own pace, but there comes a point where we just have to face the finality of the ending without lying to ourselves.

I have to thank Carmen for her amazing voice and her cheesy video editing skills. I hope you guys enjoy this one; it's probably my most meaningful cover yet.

Side note: I can't believe that the perfect ending to this crappy summer has me on motherfreakin' crutches.. great.

Turn The Page.

There's a good scene from (500) Days of Summer where, after Summer leaves Tom, he decides to visit his sister at her soccer game and she offers him this quote;

"Look, I know you think she was the one, but I don't. Now, I think you're just remembering the good stuff. Next time you look back, I really think you should look again."

--

Now that the writing's on the wall, it's easy to think of her as the girl who strung me along for six months, then left me hanging for two more before throwing me away. It's not hard to point out the fact that she never wanted to commit to me, or how quickly her feelings changed about what we had and what we could have been, or how she's heartless enough to just up and leave when the going got tough.

But as much as I hated it when she put the blame on timing and used the "it just wasn't meant to be" excuse without ever giving us a chance to be anything, I just can't find it in myself to be angry with her. I'm disappointed, but I keep questioning, how much of it was my fault that things turned out the way it did?

Let's be honest, I chose to put myself in a position that would lead to me getting hurt in the end. I was the one that kept pursuing every time she wouldn't commit to "us" even though I could have, and maybe should have, walked away much earlier. I was the one that let her dictate the terms of the relationship so that it made it possible for her to walk out and then walk back in whenever she felt appropriate because while she had me on the backburner, I would literally drop everything and make her a priority. At the end of the day, her actions easily outweighed her words, but I ignored all those warning signs and blindly held onto something that had already left without moving on myself because I naively believed that the strength of my feelings alone could overcome whatever challenges and issues we were facing. I guess I chose to overlook the most important fact -- that falling in love takes two hearts, not one.

--

There's really no benefit in rehashing the past over and over again now that the chapter is closing. The wound is still fresh, so this will probably be the last time I address this. Live life with no regrets; I gave it my best and I can live with that. I guess I could react hatefully and bitch and whine like a 16 year old, but really, what's the point? Playing the blame game won't change a thing; it was on me as much as it was on her -- and by now she's probably long gone anyways. Next time, I'll just be sure not to be caught with my head down again.

Look, in the end, I just wanted to genuinely wish you all the best in teacher's college and whatever you choose to do in the future. I know you'll be great, and I hope someday, when you're ready, you'll find someone who can give you what I never could.


Who Is - Bruno Mars

Nothin' On You.

So about half a year ago, I wrote a couple verses to B.O.B.'s now overplayed "Nothin' On You" and showed it to a couple of friends in my Japanese tutorial. Apparently, they were interested in a collaboration at the time, but of course, life had to get in the way.

We finally ended up finishing this project (my first official Youtube collaboration with other artists), and even though I might not be in the same mindset as I was when I penned the song, the lyrics still bring back some good memories, and I'm sure you guys can relate. Andy took care of the Bruno Mars vocals and Ken added a bit of his flavour to the end. As usual, I hope you guys enjoy our rendition!

Don't Waste Your Breath.

For those that don't know, I'm not a morning person. I'm pretty grumpy when I wake up -- partly because I know I have horrible bedhead and partly because I have a genuine disdain for that wave of exhaustion you're hit by when you first open your eyes.

The first thing I felt this morning were back spasms (probably from those back to back games). The second was a shooting pain from my left buttcheek when I sat up (probably from all those times I landed on it). The third was a stinging soreness in my left elbow when I reached for my glasses (probably from when I got hacked on that play). The fourth was a dull soreness in my right ankle (probably my body telling me I overdid it). Couple all that with the fact that I had to force myself awake at 8:45am to go in for work and you'd think I would be in a terrible mood right?

Actually, even though I was bruised and battered, I felt pretty accomplished. I went head to head with a level of competition I hadn't played against in God knows how long and I held my own. Granted, I didn't come out unscathed, but neither did they. I knew going into that tournament that I was going to put up a fight no matter what -- I came out of it knowing that I was definitely good enough to keep up. That reward alone is enough reason not to be weary of the bumps and scrapes along the way. I remember when I was younger, I was somewhat of a hothead, and I always let my emotions get the best of me on the court. I reacted negatively too often to trash talking or dirty fouls with no regard for the game, the situation, my teammates or those that were watching. Eventually though, I realized that I'd rather have wins than technicals and I'd rather contribute to the team than be ejected. That's why it was so important to me yesterday to remember that;

When they ran their mouths,
..it was because they were afraid.
When they couldn't say anything,
..it was because they understood I was better.
And when they fouled me hard,
..it was because they knew they couldn't stop me.

So why should I be upset at all?
I'm just flattered.

--

Sometimes in life the truth becomes buried under layers of complications and circumstances. As cliched as it sounds, when we are unsure of what to trust, we should always remind ourselves;

..actions speak louder than words.

Don't hold steadfast to pretty promises and empty conversations; we have them too often to be meaningful and what we say is as fleeting as the weather. What defines a person's true emotions and desires is what they do and how they do it, so why don't we let the actions do the talking instead?

Peace.

One of the benefits of having time to yourself is that you get a chance for self-reflection. As much as solitude is associated with negative connotations, I think perhaps it is often underrated. I know, I used to believe it sounded like cliched "loser-talk" too, but lately I've been questioning whether being pathetic and being at peace is just a fine line of mirrored perception.

I will admit that regardless of what everyone else thinks, I've rediscovered the beauty of being able to sit on my porch on a bright, sunny afternoon with a novel in my hands and a Diet Pepsi at my feet. Time seems at a standstill, and I can't exactly describe the feeling of tranquility and quietness that I've been ignoring in the pace of my daily attempts at searching for the all that is missing in my life. Perhaps it is during those moments that God is trying to speak to us, but we are often talking too loud to listen.

I was making my way through a great read -- My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult, and while many may question my choice in literature (especially since I read The Last Song last week), this one honestly has a lot of complex interdependencies and food for thought to digest. I won't go into detail and ruin the book for you guys, but there's a quote I want to share that I found to be true and tragic at the same time;

"I wondered what happened when you offered yourself to someone, and they opened you, only to discover you were not the gift they expected and they had to smile and nod and say thank you all the same."

Bittersweet.

Vic, do you understand?
Do I even have a choice?
--

Debut: AVMusicProductions

Finally! Ambrose and I launched our collaborative channel, AVMusicProductions! Please check us out and support us by commenting and subscribing if you enjoy our music. While we can attribute the delay to the harsh realities of life, we tried to find redemption by releasing dual singles. You know what they say, two is better than one, right?
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Fading

We wrote Fading sometime late in 2009 and recorded it before Christmas. It's a spinoff of Fort Minor's "Where'd You Go?" and is generally the type of music Ambrose and I enjoy writing for. It's based loosely about our challenges with our relationships at the time and how we went about coming to terms with it, so the track holds a special place in our hearts. I'm sure many people can relate to the circumstances outlined in the lyrics, which makes it perfect for a first release. I hope the music will be appealing, but more importantly, move and inspire those that listen.
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Say My Name

This one was a fun project we recently finished this month and we decided to release an official music video for it. We wanted to subtly poke fun at the stereotypes in hiphop and rap when it came to Asian artists by taking the very same criticism and satirically playing out the parts. At the same time, we tried to write the lyrics to the best of our abilities -- albeit somewhat out of our usual characters -- and we challenge everyone to break the mold while having a good laugh too (at our expense). Enjoy!

Just The Way You Are.

Not a lot of time to write a long entry, about to head out to ball. Just wanted to post this cover I did today -- a bit of experimenting and a bit of my own flavour on a beautiful song by an amazing artist. It's such a meaningful tune, and at the same time it evokes some tough emotions right now. It's all good though, that's the power of music. Hopefully you guys like it!

Keep your heads up for me and Ambrose's channel here, by the end of this week we will release two singles (Fading and Say My Name).