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Sha Stimuli: Entry #2

   
    Someone left a comment on some website in regards to Sha Stimuli that asked the question "What is he rapping for?" "Yea he's dope and all that but what's his message?" I have to admit I didn't pick up my pen 17 years ago thinking about a marketing plan. Damn it’s been that long? I did however start out aiming to be the best that ever did it. Unfortunately being the best in the music business is unlike being the best in something like basketball. When I played ball it was simple, if you drop 30 and 10 you had a good game. If you average 25 and 10 you're nice. In music you can sell 10 million and still be considered wack. You can win every fight klub battle and be a terrible songwriter. You can win all the critical acclaim with freestyles and songs leading up to an album but without notoriety you're just a good emcee...but the best? The best has to do it all. I sit back and think what if Jay, Nas and Big had to release over 100 pieces of material before their debuts. How potent would Ready to Die be if Big had to drop 4 mixtapes, an indie and do 50 DVDs first? Would Reasonable Doubt be Jay’s true first testimony of his life in the underworld if we heard the story on cds hosted by DJ Such and Such for 3 years prior to it?

    All this to say the game has changed and although I began trying to just out rap anyone that did it I ended up not loving the business, missing the days when hip-hop gave me a feeling like no other and finding myself making music as a release and as a tool for those who don't have a microphone in front of them.

    What most artists are afraid of is being themselves. Saying that they are not killers or multi-millionaires on record is dangerous when there are kids sitting at home wanting to become you. What reason would they have to become Stimuli if Stimuli says he rides the train, never got rich from the block and even worse got stuck in between label deals? Would you want to be him? Or would you feel him when you know you can identify with having a dream you can't give up on. Would you equate getting up in the morning for work with his 24hour grind? Would you believe that one day he will be the best? In the last few weeks I've been featured on websites, mtv2, had a bunch of magazine interviews, hosted dozens of mixtapes and been on DVDs. I’m on the average grind of anyone trying to distance themselves from the unknown as much as possible. The difference between these features and the time before I got a deal is that back then I was trying to get by and I hoped to get signed everything was in order to get a situation that would allow me to do what I love doing everyday and get a check at the same time. Now when I'm doing interviews and I'm rapping my heart out I'm thinking about everybody that misses real music, everyone that thought hip-hop was dead, everyone that believes you have to change who you are to make it and most of all I'm doing it for any human being that feels like they should quit when they hit a wall.

    It’s hard to believe I'm writing this sitting in a club, shout to The Union. Will, Snatch1, Snap, all the djs showing me love when I'm out. I had a conversation with DJ Self one night and he joked around telling me I needed to make a record like the one that was playing at the moment we were in the party. I can't remember if it was T-Pain or Unk or somebody but I laughed it off as he explained further that he was a fan of rap and not hip-hop. He said he plays club joints and that he's a party DJ. "That's what I do" he says. As much as that makes my spins in the nightclub scene tougher because I refuse to cater to any one particular audience during creation I respect Self for being real enough to say that. This industry is full of folks that hate to say "no" so they avoid you until you want to fight them. The key to this thing and the reason I spilled that little convo is because it kept me focused on my path to continue doing what I do. Unfortunately I am not just rap, I am hip-hop and I am not just hip-hop, I am life. I live life everyday, I speak on it, I observe it, I pull from it, and I deliver it to you. Maybe my God complex kicks in as I breathe life into mere words and touch folks enough for them to listen, download and even purchase what I do. The next time someone asks why I do what I do I can tell them this is what I'm supposed to do, I'm here as a voice for you. For you stuck at your job, for you going so hard, for you trying to get on, if you’re someone's baby's moms. Do I do it for loot? Do I do it for cheese? No I do it for you, but the money's for me. Haaa.

-The Present
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/SHASTIMULI

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