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9/11 • best lyricist • brooklyn • deal music • distraction music • dreams • entertainment industry • hip hop • mixtape • n-word • papoose • racism • rap • saigon • say something • sha stimuli • stack bundles • stimuli • the clipse • the juice crew • the underground music awards • the wire • tip • uma • wrap up

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The Nigga Entry

I started to think maybe I don't like writing journals or I'm too busy to gather my thoughts to sit and write em down for the public. The truth is I was trying to time this entry with mixtape releases but I heard from a few people that I offer quite a bit of shameless plugs and not enough insight. And here I was trying to water down entries so I wouldn't sound like a geek or a journalist instead of an emcee. I guess I'll just see where this one takes me and y'all can judge the content as you see fit. I've been a little busy rehearsing for this independent film I'm in with Pain in Da Ass, Rock from Heltah Skeltah and my man Tah Born called “Gotta Get Mine.” We haven't started shooting yet but it’s going to be a good joint to check out and it’s already turning out to be fun as hell. I was supposed to have a bigger part in Terrence Howard's film Fighting but I got reduced because of some SAG issues. Being on the set for 3 days was crazy though. I connected with some real cool people (shout to Kaleber and my boy Floyd) and laughed at everybody else.

So I got this mixtape with my boy LEGEND from Cali called "The Present and the Future” which is real hot. He put it together himself and I don't even know how he got some of the records he has. It feels good to know a DJ thinks you're worthy of his time to not just let you host his CD but do a whole mixtape of your joints. He did sneak on a song that I originally did for The Official Boondocks mixtape for the cartoon with DJ Wally Sparks. I didn't mean to leak that one until I got word from the show if they're going to use it somehow and of course I wanted Wally to have the exclusive. But due to powers beyond my control "The N Word" done over The Roots "It Don't Feel Right" is on the net. It’s sparked a lot of convo and I've gotten mad feedback from it. I hear the name of Nas' album is "Nigga" so I guess my joint was right on time. The idea of this song came when my homie Angie had me speak at a panel for racism at St. Vincent Youth services for young black males in foster care. I didn't have much to offer other than a story about my experience playing ball in junior college in Iowa for a year and growing up being a black male harassed by the police. Although the young dudes listened I felt like with a little more popularity I could’ve really touched a life or two.

Anyway the N-word came up and I heard different ideas about the word. One kid said we took the offense and negative connotation out of the word. Sort of like "queen bitch" or "superho," we turned “nigger” into “nigga.” I get that one. And we really did. We made "nigga" a cool word that replaces "friend," "guy," "dude" etc. Another person said he uses it and when he's around other people of different ethnic backgrounds they use it and it’s ok. My Spanish nigga, my Chinese nigga. We're all minorities. I get that. Then another man said he didn't use the word at all because he grew up during the civil rights movement and the word still stings so there's no way to take the negativity out of it. He was there during segregation and Jim Crow. His parents cleaned houses for white folks. "Nigga" was always poisoning to his ears. I couldn't argue with that. Then there was a question that made me think of myself. I play ball with Caucasian dudes every week and when me and my boys toss around the N word I cringe a little because I know one day one of my Caucasoid boys may slip and use the word and of course we would all want to fight. Is that justifiable? Maybe but who's to say? I actually have some Blanco friends that admit to dropping the N-bomb as they like to call it, of course in jest which is where my line about Brad and Steve come in (listen to the song/shameless plug). So like I was saying the question arose would you be upset if a Caucasian used the word. Everyone said yes and it kind of amazed me.

Well not really but I didn't hear anyone defend our stupidity with intelligence enough to say that if we made the word cool then why can't they. We all know it’s the fact that that white person could be a racist just waiting for the chance to show it in the sneakiest of ways. It’s the same reason we can get away with calling them crackers or why comedians can base their careers off of Black/White stereotypes and have either be the butt of the joke. It’s why George Jefferson can call Willis a honkey and why Chris Rock can say he hates niggas. We somehow feel like "the white man" owes us for slavery and segregation and racism. And now it’s ok to berate them publicly on their speech pattern, lack of rhythm, good credit, whatever. The N Word song just talks about all this shit in a clever way and is an attempt to get myself to stop using the word. Hoping that as I repeated the word in the hook that artistically it would irk me so much that I wouldn't want to do another take in the booth. I hoped that hearing the truth in the verses would spark me to make a change somehow. It didn't really work and it’s a shame I called out Jay-Z to help me out (see 3rd verse). But its real, Jay is a major trendsetter that waves his hand and makes throwbacks go away, has all of us checking the back of Range rovers and now Cristal isn't even in the clubs anymore. I don't know what Nas album is about but I got a verse for it. By the way the song he's on on Jay's album is crazy. Where was I? Oh yea nigga. I hear there are more nooses popping up and more racial inspired beatings on tape. We think we've come along way and then one day you realize people will always hate. This country was built on it. It just surprises us at times I guess.

Like my boy TI, when I met him he was Tip. He had just got signed to Arista and we rhymed for each other in the VIP area at 112 because I was out in Atlanta rapping on the street for everyone and my name was getting around. My demo sucked so I had to rap for folks and when we shared bars that one time we kicked it for a month straight. I don't think success happened too fast for him but I do think someone may have been out to get him. Tip wasn't paranoid to be around his people and now the government is showing once again that we as entertainers are still just Black males. They infiltrated his camp and are trying to take him down for gun possession. I don't have an opinion about him being right or wrong I just wish he himself wasn't connected to the firearms. I'm sure there's a reason and I'm sure this is a wake up call to all entertainers. I pray I never have to have a gun fetish on purpose or by force but right now my prayers go out to him and his family. Its obvious this man is not about to go to war or is he in a position where the guns would be used by him for anything other than protection. In a court of law all they will see his skin color and all they will hear are his abrasive lyrics that may even get played as evidence. Chris Rock would probably call Tip a nigga who got money and got guns. Rappers will use his name in punch lines and at the end of the day he'll be made an example of whether he serves time or not. My song made me remember why I love rap music. I can have a conversation about some shit, put it in a rhyme and it becomes entertainment. No other genre allows you to reach so many topics. Country music may be the closest but there are just some things you can't croon about.

DJ Victorious and I are finished The Rehab so if you've been hating on me this is a chance to get it out of your system. I'm about to give away a slew of shit to get y’all prepared. The Rehab is just a treatment and a basic sketch for what I’m about to do. The Séance is my next CD and it’s a trailer with a piece of the plot and some scenes to pull you in to my independent film Cinderella Man. All of these are musical movies to set up the major Thee Emotion picture, don't steal that! Everything is visual. Catch me on mtv2 still doing my thing. I'm the sucker free artist of the week, shout to Derek Jones, good looking homie, I mean nigga. I know I'm forgetting mad shit. Oh yea much luv to DJ Vlad for inviting me to that battle at Fat Beats. Nah I wasn't in it but I did show people why I won Best Lyricist at the UMAs. And speaking of battles I got to shout my dude Math for his win against Iron Solomon on Smack. Yea I'm biased but that is my dude and he kept his composure and got busy. Not to mention we tore down a show uptown a few weeks ago and I’m on his album. “Best Of Me” online somewhere. Check the myspace…hit me up.

-The Present
myspace.com/shastimuli

41 Comments             

The 'Obligatory' 9/11 Report

I'm back like I never left. New material done, new deals brewing, movie roles locked. I'm still riding off the high of the Best Lyricist award and I carried that high into SOB's last Wednesday for Chaundon's mixtape release event/concert. It was kind of nuts with all the performers that are also featured on his CD. Sean Price, Skyzoo, Poison Pen, Torae, Mag, NY Oil, Emilio, DV Alias Khrist and myself to name a few. I had an outer body experience rocking some new songs for the crowd in there and getting a lot of love. It always feels crazy when people get the words I put together. DJ Ease held me down and even as I asked the people in the place to tell everyone they know that shouldn't be rapping to “put the mic down,” they were still with me. The video is on the way. Shout to Peter Rosenberg as well, whenever you're ready to show me some love I'm here man.

I gotta thank my boy Memphis Bleek for inviting me to his video shoot Friday at the 40/40 in Atlantic City. Lotta ladies, liquor and I got my cameo so it was worth the trip. Seeing Beans and the Young Guns with the new breed of the Roc Uncle Murda and True Life it looks like Rocafella may be returning at some point. We were there til about 4am rocking to his new single and Beans joint with R. Kelly as well. It’s a big deal to see Bleek is doing it by himself without waiting for Def jam $ for this video so I had to come out and support the homie. My dude Red Cafe got The Co-op dropping real soon with DJ Envy so pick that up, it’s been a long time coming for Red.

So everybody's asking who's going to sell more Kanye or 50? I would sound like a hater if I said I could care less because it’s just 2 millionaires making more millions but I am a bias Ye fan. We go back to when we first started to appear on mixtapes and we were featured on a few of the same CDs. He inquired about me and I was fortunate enough to be in Baseline studio and hear College Dropout very early. I went on to tell people he was a problem and 2 albums later he's still doing it. I'm sure he'll break records along with Curtis but all the excitement about the 2 LPs is really big since we are in an era where the album format is becoming a secondary focus for major labels. Graduation is an innovative album, a real breath of fresh air; I've had it for a few weeks and its definitely good music. I'm hearing Curtis is not the best installment from 50 but I'm no critic. I will say that all the attention these guys are getting leads me to believe that the industry is turning into a place where they will be 2 extremes: the iconic legends that have a fan base and will continue to sell records and the one hit at a time, big single, ringtone and download artists that may not sell albums but are creating revenue with singles. The middlemen such as Common, Talib or even Swizz Beatz will suffer though because although the first 2 I mentioned have strong fan bases and the latter had a string of hits, no one is rushing to the store because there isn't enough hype or in Swizz's case there is no connection to desire a whole LP of party records. The game is a little different right now than it’s ever been. There's no blueprint for success yet some people still believe there is and the artists try to fit into that concept and set themselves up for failure. I'm talking as if I'm not a part of it right? I guess that why I focus on more than just rapping my ass off. I saw Mos Def and Dr. Cornell West on Bill Maher's show on HBO. Quite a few people told me they saw it and were impressed with Mos on the show. I thought he was animated and well-informed, a little opinionated but most rappers probably couldn't even get up there and have 2 sentences to contribute to those political topics. I know I would’ve been all opinion with a tad bit of fact and an ounce of history had I been a guest on that show. When Mos said he didn't believe Bin Laden had anything to do with The World Trade Center falling I don't necessarily agree but I understand what he meant by saying we as Black Americans experience American terrorism and don't have time to be afraid of what we can't see. I also believe that if Bin Laden did do it that the government was either informed a long time before or hours before. It’s tough to not pick up on an aircraft headed to an area where there's no airport. But of course there is no reason to give Americans information that would make us less patriotic. Although watching footage of Bin Laden praying, giving thanks and looking extremely happy after the event makes me wonder how this video was obtained and also what would make a country of people rejoice at such a heinous act. Unless of course they had been attacked 10 times worse over the years. Children were dancing in the street on 9/11/2001. Bill Maher tried to blame the Islamic Faith for terrorism as Mos defended it well. I doubt a religion can force a people to kill if those that do not wish to be a part of it but speaking for a typical American I also see where his ideology comes from. The bottom-line is we are all pretty much a nation without any knowledge of a lot of the things going on around us. Watching that program or should I say hearing about that program from some of the most thuggish dudes and uhhh non-political females let me know that our people may not be willing to use their brains all the time but if its entertaining or you throw a little hip-hop in the mix its a whole new ball game. Maybe BET might pick up on that and incorporate something to bring some real talk to their programming. Is Travis Smiley still on there? They have a bunch of video shows; I think folks would enjoy substance and hearing their favorite emcees talk about different things other than their new album, mixtape or movie role.

By the way Cinderella Man is sounding better and better. J. Cardim is really focused and his beats are getting snatched up everyday, holla at the boi. The Best Of Me is done and will be available next week online. Also DJ Victorious and I are cooking up a few projects for the streets. I'm thinking of dropping The Rehab which will be a 12-step freestyle program for the sick rap game as a prelude to The Séance. Titles may change but the material is done so I will keep hitting y'all with joints every week and keep the shameless plugs until you get tired of me. Oh yea I'll let out the title of that movie once we start shooting but I nailed what I went out for. Now if I can jump in Spike Lee's next joint I'm good money. Look out for me on MTV2 and on BET's "spit game" on rap city. I heard Foxy Brown got sentenced to a year of prison. I don't know if that's true but for Kim and Fox to be in the positions they were in 12 years ago and to see what they're going through now it says something about how we view women in hip-hop. The 2 women that dudes looked up to and believed in as emcees and sex symbols have been involved in more drama outside the booth than in during the last few years. I can't figure out why that is but I do know I miss the days when Fox was bodying records and I enjoyed hearing Kim kill some shit and I miss a female presence in hip-hop. Remy can't do it all alone and even she is going through legal issues. Maybe it’s more difficult to have street credibility as a woman and still maintain sex appeal in rap music. Maybe it’s unnecessary if Eve went from being a pit-bull in a dress to a diva with a sitcom. Who knows? I'm just blabbing. Friday September 14th Air Pizza in Williamsburg, Brooklyn I'm performing as J Hatch's artist Sic Osyrus does his thing at the show they lined up. Shout to Precise, Hometown Heroes, Klockworks, Mister Fame let's get it this year. Oh and whoever the hell is making up these Stimuli mixtapes and putting them online with artwork  that I didn’t approve and songs that I wasn’t even releasing yet and posting them on message boards and getting people talking about me…keep doing it!

-The Present
www.myspace.com/shastimuli

Be sure to check out the new joint from Sha Stimuli, entitled "The Present" in the HipHopDX Audio Section!

5 Comments             

Best Lyricist / Ready to Die?

What up? I have to start this off by thanking every human being that cast a vote for me at the Underground Music Awards. If you haven't heard by now, one week ago I took home the Best Lyricist Award and I have to say it still feels pretty good. I mean a little more than good because I promised myself I would celebrate every accomplishment no matter how major or minor it may seem at the time.

This is my first award as a soloist and I was nominated like every year so it’s been a long time coming for the kid. I have to thank Mister Fame for pushing me, holding me down and keeping me in the public eye. I would like to thank my publicist Stephanie Carnegie for going extra hard for me and keeping my spirits up. I gotta shout out Brandi for putting up the lyrics on myspace to let people know I really do say some shit. Sunny Redd and Flash were in BB Kings to hold me down on stage at the award show and MTV mentioned our Hometown Heroes mixtape on their Mixtape Mondays section. I can't say I didn't expect to win one of the awards I was up for but actually hearing my name called as the winner made me feel like I accomplished something this year so yea I'm running with it, might mention it in a freestyle or 2, maybe on Mtv2 or something since they called me to do another suckafree joint. Look out for that! We celebrated at Negril's last Thursday along with Esso who won for best mixtape. We had a real good turnout and I have to congratulate the other winners Lydia Caesar, Harlem, Jae Millz, Big Lou, Grafh and Joell Ortiz(still waiting on that ball game) to name a few.

Aight imma stop with thee award talk but like I said, being given something for putting words together in a time where they say lyricism is dead is a big deal to me. A day after I got the award I attended the wake for a friend of mine I grew up in the hood with Ms. Brandi McNutt. It’s always tough to see a young person leave prematurely, especially a mother of 3. I'd like to tell her family stay strong. Wakes get me down but somehow move me and remind me that no matter what I'm dealing with it could be worse. Ironically I was in the studio a few days after that and the engineer handed me a copy of X1's mixtape. X1 was Sticky Fingaz little "brother" and an acquaintance of mine through music that took his own life this summer in Vegas. I wonder what would make things get that bad that you would want to end it all and actually go through with it. Some people say the best emcees have an obsession with death and always speak on it and actually prophesize their own in their music. Whether it is "Ready to die" or "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" there may be some truth to that statement, however I feel like it could be the passion for life that drives artists to rap about passing on and their fear of it. I think Pac was in the studio so much because he felt it could happen at anytime. I think Biggie knew people wanted him gone and I believe Fifty is trying to dodge that same fate. I mention the end in my music because at one time it used to fuel me to know that if I leave here I have material that lives on. Its sort of like music makes me immortal.

Some people say hip-hop is dead so I'm finishing up a new CD called "The Séance" which should be available in 2 weeks along with the "Best of Me". And since a lot of rappers out here don't know that they're dead I'm dropping a digital EP called "The Sixth Sense." There goes that obsession again but anyway, keep your ears open...and your eyes too I just went out for the lead role in this film called "Gotta Get Mine" last week as well. The director was feeling me so I'll keep y'all posted with how the casting turns out. I'm not sure when my interview with DJ Bedtyme 357 and his lovely co-host on his hatemoney radio show airs but you can youtube the video footage of the whole show.

It's real talk for a few minutes about my whole record deal situation and my next moves. I always feel the need to let the public know what happened to me can happen to anyone. I'll elaborate more next time but all I can say is if you are trying to break into this business please study it and knowwhat you want out of it. I'm gone.

11 Comments             

Put the Mic Down

I'm later than ever with this one but being busy is a good thing so I can't complain. Let me start off by congratulating myself and my NY State of Mine mixtape for making it in the Tale of the Tape section of The Source magazine (yes they still exist). I have to celebrate every small accomplishment like its day one so I'm still hype about the Underground music award nominations. I mentioned it before but I'm up for BEST LYRICIST and MOST DYNAMIC ARTIST. I don't know if I can tell you which site to go to vote for me but just incase I can, go vote at hiphoppalace.com daily. A lot of my peoples are up for awards too, Skyzoo, Esso, Nina B., Maino, Joell, Harlem, Lydia Caesar... just to name a few.

Also I've gotten crazy submissions from all over the country for The Say Something project and I was going to set a deadline but I'm gathering up songs from the heavyweights in the next few weeks first so if you're an artist that knows me don't be surprised when I hit you up for that exclusive. July 17th I'm back at T-Ny on 52nd between 8th avenue and Broadway in Manhattan. My boy J Hatch keeps me working.

I'm still doing the Leanin' video but in the meantime since the myspace footage of my joint produced by J. Cardim entitled "Put The Mic Down" has been getting so much love, I'm gonna do a little hood visual for that joint. Thanks to Geoh for filming that Baseline studio footage. At first I wasn't sure about that song because the lyrics seem a bit harsh and haterish toward the up and coming rapper. For those of you unfamiliar I made a record about people who seem to get in this business for the wrong reasons. Some folks want a quick check, they want to follow a trend, they like rap and think that they don't have to be good at it or they may believe street credibility, money and/or image is more important than talent. A lot of these things together can make a great artist. Street cred means that you live what you rap about, money helps pay for product, promo and even spins, and we all know if people want to become you when they see you then your music becomes that much more likeable. I'm saying all this to say when I'm chillin’ with my dudes playing ball in the park and we get to talking about who's hot and who's not, there's always the topic of how wack the game is or how everybody's a rapper nowadays. “Put The Mic Down” is my way of telling people it’s ok to be a regular person with a good job that may enjoy music or even want to be a part of the industry, but not everyone has to be an artist.

There used to be a feeling of wonderment when I would hear a Kool G. Rap verse or when I first heard Nas flow. I thought that what they did was impossible and plenty of fans agreed. In today’s climate of music if you hear the simplest song but it’s catchy or you hear someone on the radio that is not that gifted lyrically people are sitting at home automatically thinking "I can do that," "I want to be rich too." MTV cribs maybe slightly responsible, blame 50 cent for making the mixtape so important, blame Jim Jones for continuing the "I'm not a rapper" phenomenon, I’m not really saying there’s a blame but in the last 6 years the rap game seems to be wide open compared to the early 90’s when those that rapped actually thought you had to be good at it. I may sound like a hater with this one but I'm still breaking down the inspiration for my record. When I mention that people want to be T.I but they don't have IT or I say that “pathmark” rappers need “supermarketing” or I tell dudes that monster.com is right there for them I can't help feeling like a dream killer. In my defense, I feel that anything you do you should love and have a passion for. You should wake up and go to sleep dreaming about music. Even if it’s not your dream to be the best rapper in the world and rap is just your way out of the hood, I applaud that and I feel it but you still have to respect the craft.

This is just my opinion and there's no real rule to this thing but I make songs about real shit and my song is really just crackin’ jokes about what I see. In reality I wouldn't know how to tell someone they need to move on to something else. There's dudes in my hood that give me demos and mixtapes or send me songs that display either a lack of writing skill, a lack of knowledge of music or you can just tell they have no seriousness about the art form. Its obvious how long they've been doing it or if they've even studied it. But can I or you ever really tell another human being they should stop chasing a dream even if they've been doing it a few years and their rap IQ goes back no further than Big's Ready To Die album? Yea you can but you'll sound like a prick. Jay mentioned there needs to be an exam like any other profession or a course or something these people have to pass. Coming from him it sounds like a plan, coming from me it sounds like I'm salty 'cause there are not enough spots out there. There's enough food for everyone to eat though. Those who need it and those who don't appreciate it can all eat and I can still talk shit about who I want. That's the beauty of the microphone. So if you know someone out there that is using rap just because they think its easy tell 'em your flow should be effortless, your rhymes should come naturally and even if you think you can become a celebrity overnight, the mic isn't the ONLY way out the hood...Oh yea you can still vote for me though. Lol. Shout to Trey Songs and Kissk and everybody I kicked it with at the Wendy Williams movie shoot yesterday, I’m starting my movie career nice and slow. Keep watching MTV2 too.

Check out Stimuli's latest joint Am I Different

15 Comments             

R.I.P. Stack Bundles

What up world? Yea it’s been a few weeks so what? I can't lie I've been feeling a little weird lately and I keep trying to make these entries light but then I walk the thin line between entertaining y'all while plugging my ongoing events and the side of me that wants to vent and make myself vulnerable. But I figure the latter is what things like this are for anyway so with that said...a few weeks ago the hip-hop world lost a real individual, someone I was fortunate enough to meet and become cool with, my man Stack Bundles. I thought it was one of those stupid rumors when I got the email that morning but after 5 more emails I learned there was some truth to the message. I don't want to depress anyone with this entry but I have to speak on my dude for a few. I meet a lot of up and coming artists, some more popular than others, some humble, some arrogant. When I met Stack he was still with Clue and on a bunch of mixtapes but was just learning that he had to go out and show his face. I had just got signed and we talked about getting together to push my street buzz and help him secure a deal. We exchanged numbers and actually spoke on the phone from time to time. He would call me if he heard something I did that he liked and I did the same. Someone called me one day and said he dissed me on a record but when I heard it he praised me for being and internet God that wasn't getting love on the mixtapes. The song was creative and no harm was intended. I'm mentioning this because as much as we respected each other we never got to put that plan in motion where we would record some joints together and life can pass us by at any second. I hear people saying he shouldn't have had a Porsche living in the projects and all types of stuff but I believe a man should not have to die because of his possessions. We lost a talented dude and it makes me wonder how many of us rappers are being watched and plotted on if a man can get murdered outside his home. I think about how many times we talk about killing, threaten murder or simply flirt with the end ourselves. There’s an invincibility that goes along with being a hip-hop artist I believe. I was an ignorant fool myself standing still as bullets were thrown in my direction some months ago as if running would’ve made me a coward. The big picture is that if one of those would have hit I would just be another up and coming dude down and gone. Rappers have a heartless feel when they talk about taking a life and making it sound so simple, I think violence has replaced the average “I’m the best” bravado in today’s thug music. And I’m a part of it so I can speak on it. The thing that’s puzzling is today people try to test the words of the artist. They want to confront them, rob them or embarrass them for DVDs and to think my man was a victim of jealousy is really bothersome. I heard someone else died in retaliation already. I guess it comes with the hip-hop persona so we will have to live or die with that.

I said I try to keep these entries light and I'm here talking about death. I just found out my video shoot is dead for now. That kind of sucks but I think everything happens for a reason. On a higher note some kid named Stimuli got 2 nominations for The Underground Music Awards for most dynamic and best lyricist I believe, don't quote me. But the voting begins on June 28th on hiphoppalace.com. As cliché as it sounds, just getting nominated really does feel crazy. Winning would feel crazier so I'm starting my campaign now. Shout to Kitty Radio, Maya and Jen the Pen had me on their hot radio show this week, I gotta go back though. I've been getting Say Something submissions from all across the country so I'm about to get it poppin and put the first one out in August. Myspace.com/thesaysomethingproject. Keep your eyes and ears open. I promise its going to be some changes in this game. I got a "Best Of Me" CD coming real soon and "Stimuli Returns" is right behind that all in the month of August. Watch out for that Hometown Heroes video "Hometown" and keep watching MTV2 at random hrs and if you see my face hit me up myspace.com/shastimuli. I performed yesterday at T-NY on 52nd and 8th avenue in NYC for J Hatch’s Istandard beat battle. 40 producers going hard, shout to G.I Joe who took 2nd place. My dudes Lenny S, Just Blaze and Riggs were the judges. Saigon did his thing on stage, oh yea Big Lou performed and I got props from a hip-hop great Buckshot which made me feel pretty good. I had a hot performance, my boy Flash Da Biskit held me down and I got a bag full of beat CDs that I’m going to go thru in the next few days. Shout to everyone that came out last night. Oh yea I'm in label talks again but I refuse to bore people with that crap until stuff is finalized. Everyone trying to break into the industry should understand a major record deal is a last resort nowadays. Do what you can without them. R.I.P Stack Bundles and YB.

Be sure to check out Sha Stimuli's new track, Hard to Kill.

14 Comments             

Sha Stimuli: Entry #3

I think I’m like a week late with this but sometimes in this music business thing I forget about the reason that I'm doing it. I don't mean that in some corny spiritual, God put me here for a reason crap. I mean He did and all but I'm talking about in the simplest way one can really think about it. We as artists get caught up in writing songs and working on material to gain buzz, to make mixtapes, to get on radio, to get record deals and again forgive my corniness but we forget about connecting with the people. Its not until I do shows like the one last Thursday at Galapagos in Williamsburg, Brooklyn am I reminded that people yearn for good music. I myself want to get open off of a punchline or a singer's voice or just relate to some words I hear. So when I'm on stage and it seems like I'm conjuring up thoughts out of nowhere and I'm delivering songs like this is my first and last performance ever it excites me to see people vibe, enjoy it and even participate. The performance also featured Amanda Diva, Nina B., Torae and Skyzoo closed it out.

Everyone really dented the stage going hard and it felt like a strong movement of some sort that reminded me of 90's hip-hop. It’s hard to explain but I told all of them we need to form some type of group or tour or mixtape project alliance. Maybe I was bugging or maybe not. Up and coming artists for some reason find it hard to get together and pull each other up but I can't help but think about the crews in the past from The Boot Camp to The Wu-tang Clan to The Hit Squad and I can go on and on with movements that were true representations of a region or a particular sound. Shout to everyone that came out that night, DJ Premier, Black Buddafly, Lisa Evers, Tee Smif (Bk Stand Up video director), Raks who did his thing hosting and all of my supporters and teammates (Fame, Steph, Brandi). DJ Ease held me down and most importantly I got to see some talent and it inspired me this week to remember the people that buy the music or download the music or whatever.

Anyway what I'm trying to say and what my brother always told me was to think about the fans first. Fans don't really care about how many bars are in your verse or if you're on enough mixtapes before they decide to like you. If they feel you they feel you and in this industry we look for approval from so many other places than where it counts. The funny thing is that I’ve been doing this for years and I’m finally learning the difference between a show and a performance.

Good lookin’ out to DJ Concept and Mickey Knox for having me on their Sirius show last week. It was a great experience for me, it may have seemed like I was just rapping but I gave them an 80 bar venting session. Thanks. Oh yea Mtv2! What more can I say? The love I've been receiving for that freestyle is ridiculous and to believe it’s that long and y’all cut it down some. I owe somebody in that building lunch, dinner or a rub down or something (females only please).

I'd like to take this time to point out that I'm hearing a lot of talk about censorship and cleaning up music. And I'm not here to take a side at this point because I would need my own talk show for that...but what I am working on is a mixtape series with my boy DJ Victorious and I'm inviting any and everyone DJ or artist to be a part of it. For anyone out there that feels like they would like to use music as a tool not just to get on or get money (not that there's anything wrong with that) but I want to provide an opportunity for folks to "Say Something." So I'm starting the "Say Something" mixtape series and I'm taking submissions right now you can send music to SoWhatchuSaying@gmail.com. The only stipulations are we pick the best music and the song or freestyle has to be about something. I don't care if it’s conscious, political, hateful, loving, and preachy or not. Whatever it is as long as it’s something you as an artist believe in and would like to get out there. The mixtape market is saturated with ignorance; the DVDs are plagued with foolery. I contribute to it enough that I can say that and not feel bad and at the same time provide an alternative to it. Soooo, we can make this shit as big as we want and we can make this hip-hop thing real again. I feel like the business of music, mainstream America, Oprah Winfrey and some powers that be are closing in on us and want to turn rap totally into finger-snapping hollow music. I feel if there's a yin there has to be a yang. And for every 2 live Crew and NWA fan back in the days you had a Brand Nubian and Public Enemy supporter on the other side or you could be into both. I don't proclaim to be Grand Puba, Chuck D. or Uncle Luke but my point is we need balance. I've blabbed enough. Oh yea go pick up that DJ Rhude Block Music volume 4 hosted by yours truly and the hiphopdx.com tape should be out real soon.

-The Present
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/SHASTIMULI

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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

9 Comments             

Sha Stimuli: Entry 1

    For those of you that don't know me I go by the name of Sha Stimuli, Stimuli, S-T-I, whatever you would like to call me but I'd like to thank hiphopdx.com for letting me welcome y'all to my world. To give you a brief history I've been doing this music thing since I was a kid following my brother Lord Digga as he did production for Masta Ace and Biggie Smalls and got signed to Atlantic Records. I was always in the studio absorbing what was going on and a whole lot of years later I got Unsigned Hype in the Source magazine, the top spot in Show and Prove in XXL and got signed to Virgin records in 2005. So why the hell am I writing a journal and when is my album coming out you ask? The 1st reason is that I'm the poster child for letting people know that a record deal on a major label is not the end but the beginning and the 2nd reason is because when you're headed for greatness people love to be a part of the process and witness the rise from nothing to something.

    Soooo with that said I'm back in peoples faces, jumping on every feature, any remix, a bunch of freestyles and as many projects as possible to be heard. I'm working on an independent album with producer J. Cardim called “Cinderella Man,” a new mixtape entitled "Stimuli Returns" and "Thee Emotion Picture" is still in the works. Aside from that I have to shout out Jesse Jess and Mr. Raw for having me perform and speak on the panel at the A&R Power Summit last Sunday. That was a beautiful networking experience and venting session. Shout to Lenny S, Sha Money XL, Midi Mafia, Riggs Morales, Chris Styles, DJ Jaz, Sickamore(loved the intro) and all the folks that were there that showed me love. I also won artist of the month on another site for my video Brooklyn Stand Up. Check it out on video music box, much luv to Ralph McDaniels. I can't explain how big it is to go from being a little dude watching that show everyday to finally appearing on there with a video and getting an interview. Its one of those steps that you have to be glad you didn't skip. Oh yea go cop Joell Ortiz's album on Koch, The Brick. Stay posted for our one on one basketball game. The album is fire and not just because I'm on it. The real emcees have to stick together in this industry.

    Speaking of sticking together I'm going to pause this introduction and say that my next journal entry may be coming sooner than later because I don't think I can cram my personal on goings and the issues of the world today in one blog. But...let me quickly address the current attack on rap lyrics and the Virginia Tech shooting that went on last week. While the 2 subjects may seem unrelated because the families that are mourning right now could care less about a Don Imus comment or an Oprah show this tragedy should alert us that life can be taken away on a street corner or college campus. Life is precious and those 32 people that did not expect to take their last breath on that day should remind us all that we could pass at anytime. Music, movies and television may influence, affect and even persuade our decision making and lifestyles but it is us as people and human beings and parents that shape our society. I'm not sure if a rap line would’ve made a man go on a shooting spree or if a kind word from a family member would’ve halted it. But I will say this; a war against negativity is still a war. And instead of targeting the disrespectful lyrics and trying to censor rap and moving onto other genres and facets of entertainment, Oprah Winfrey and whoever else should focus on bringing more positivity to the airwaves. Labels should consider pushing a Talib Kweli with the same marketing dollars as the artists they are saying bring degrading lyrics to the public. I said I wasn't going to go too deep into this so I'll fall back a little. Shout to mtv2 for blasting my freestyle for 3 weeks, sorry I rapped so long but I got a lot to say. Hiphopdx.com, Joel, Legend good looking. Shout to the whole team, let's get it!

-The Present
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/SHASTIMULI  

11 Comments             

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