• » Name: Nino Bless
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	December 2007
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Blessed to Be Where I'm Headed

Being Lyrical Still Counts!!

Week 8 with the blogs (damn 2 months already?). The response to "Four In A Clip" was absolutely crazy. I had this idea when I put the record together and I got all the artists to contribute about how I thought it would come out. I knew it would get a good response ‘cause that’s what Hip Hop fans wanted to hear; but little did I think the word "classic" would get thrown around. The response on my verse has been insane as well. My people's hitting me up on the jack going on google then showing me dudes responses and it’s crazy. My name is growing the more that record gets out there. I'm glad dudes out there still respect raw lyrics and taking it back to the essence. This rap shit is getting boring in a way and I feel that part of the reason is because cats look at lyrics like it ain't as important anymore. EVERYTHING is about "swagger." Look ya'll, swagger is cool and you have to come with it that goes without saying but dog there IS such thing as going overboard with "swag." Trust me I hear it too often where cats OD with the swag sounding like their crying in their verse and not saying anything lyrically potent. Step it up lyrically and tone down ya swagger a bit rather than the other way around.

I hate to sound like I'm giving anybody advice. It ain't like that at all it’s just a matter of preference for me personally. I personally can't be the only kid who wants to hear somebody say some dope shit more often than he says something with "swag." What’s the point of being an MC if you can say wack lines but deliver ‘em like you in the middle of a high pitch yawn and kids would be like "oh he killed it with that swag." Come on man it’s a balance. Say some hot shit and say it like you mean it and you'll be good. I can't even begin to thank all of ya'll who checked for my verse and actually analyzed the shit and etc. I'm going to say this real quick cause for some reason people think I dissed 50. I did not diss Fif at all! The line is "like 50 Cent hooks, I'm what The Game's been missing." That is not dissing 50. If you don't get that line then I'm sorry but just read it like 5 times and you'll catch it. I didn't throw no subliminal disses on "Four In The Clip" to any other rapper either. I was just spittin trying to be clever and be “swaggerish” for the swag lovers. Oh man, can't let that go.

I gotta shout out my homey Joe Budden. We chopped it up and he gave me dap for my verse on "Four In the Clip." That shit meant a lot to me ‘cause I'm a fan of dude and for him to give me love like "you bodied that shit." Joe's one of the few cats pushing the pen now out of the new breed that motivates me. I usually bump my golden era catalog but these days few cats got me pushing the pen and Jump Off is one of them. G Rap definitely got me pushing the pen. That nigga does not stop! If you holla at G in another 20 years he'd jump in the booth and destroy the new young nigga then too. Shout outs to the father G Rap. I can't say enough of how amazing this dude is to be relevant in the mid 80's and still hang/and outshine the young kids today. Who else is doing that? Better than G? To think Jay Z said "hearing me rap is like hearing G Rap in his prime." Dog G Rap's prime never ended sorry Jay got love for you but mmmmm yeah those are the facts.

I want to leave ya'll with some suspense now but I'm dropping the single for the Mixtape "Untold Scriptures" on Jan 7th. This record isn't another "Four In The Clip" but it is something just as good. It’s me (Nino Bless) and another MC (you'll find out soon) who's on top of his game right now and very relevant with a buzz right now. I don't want to give it away but check for it on the 7th sorry if you feel it’s too long to wait but I'm setting up my pieces correctly. I'll drop another record about a week after that and then the mixtape will be available for free download. Right now we're looking at 18 or 19 tracks but that can change quickly who knows. I'm trying to build the buzz right now and get things cracking for the New Year and then finally make some type of stamp on this game. Now that 07 has come to an end I leave you with 5 joints that had me pushing the pen and some stand out moments.

Joints this year that were hard (which inspired the kid) in no specific order…

1. Scarface "Never" (Don't have to say too much, Face went in point blank. Another legend that still got it.)
2. Joe Budden "Hiatus" (The way he flowed on this beat with certain schemes...crazy. Mad replay value.)
3. Pharoahe Monch "Gun Draws" (He recycled the "Stray Bullet" concept but his flow (NOT SWAG) on this was flawless!)
4. Jay-Z "No Hook" (I still don't know what it is about this song that made me listen to it 40 times in a row.)
5. Various Artist (I don’t hate cause you on radio but most of you are wack and that inspires me to not be, thanks!)

Five Stand out moments of the year…

1. Lupe Fiasco getting scorched by every purist ‘cause he didn't know Tribe lyrics and him responding with "do you know 8 Ball & MJG lyrics." (Loved it!)
2. Jadakiss telling Green Lantern the crowd don't want to hear some of his biggest hits. Next time just put any instrumental on and let Kiss freestyle bastard!
3. Joe Budden on Green Lantern show spazzing hardbody. No matter what Green said to him he was pissed and then killed it in front of The R.O.C crew before bouncing right away. ("don't ask me no questions I ain't come here for that … nah fuck all that") YES!
4. Kanye vs 50. This shit was hysterical ‘cause I actually gave a fuck like everybody else. Great marketing ... (understatement of the year)
5. Saigon snuffin Prodigy on stage. The best thing about this was the video (Mobb's version) that says Saigon is under the table. When ya'll do shit like that at least digitally insert Sai under the table don't just put an arrow near a table. All I saw was a book bag, a North Face vest, and some Reeces Peanut Butter wraps under there.

Get at me: myspace.com/ninobless

til next week … I mean ... til next year … yurp!

Drive home safe ya'll and make sure ya'll pack them rubbers before the ball drops. 1

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Getting Things in Motion

Week 7 with the blogs. Finally got this posse cut done! Peep the joint (http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/audio/id.3876) properly titled "Four In The Clip." 4 bullets in the clip and each one goes off and that’s what Hip Hop is about to me at least. I missed the days when I just heard dudes spit some raw shit over a beat. This one doesn't need a hook or a bridge you got 4 and a half minutes of lyrical gunfire. Shout outs to Styles P who came off, Joell Ortiz as well and the legend who stole the show (again) Kool G Rap. How many times has Kool G Rap outshined cats on records man? This shit is starting to get too fucking old. In the late 80's he outshined Kane in my opinion where he rapped til the tape popped. Some say he hung with Kane and others think he outshined him, I'm one of those. Mobb Deep caught it hard on "The Realest" on Murda Muzik. As much as I like Saigon's "Letter P" verse I thought G Rap did him in too. That’s 3 different decades! Now that defines longevity! How the fuck does G get overlooked? G Rap to me is the most consistent MC of all time and that to me makes him top 5 ‘cause he did it in every era. Never did the times pass him by and what rapper doesn't have G Rap in them? Talk street shit, hustling, trying to make it big from the ghetto, kick word play with intricate rhyme schemes? Well whether you know it or not G Rap fathered you.

It’s crazy to me though cause on this particular record it wasn't about 4 cats battling to get the best verse. Too often Hip Hop heads want to make us compete with each other. Why can't rappers just do music together rather than always be compared? I can't front sometimes it’s just obvious and blatant but other times I just like to hear a song without comparing the MC's to each other. On this song I hope people acknowledge how sharp everybody came across. As of me I was just trying to hang with these lyrical flame throwers. As for my first line "you know I'm sick of what these lames be spittin/ like 50 Cent hooks I'm what The Game's been missing" ... no it’s not a diss. Everybody who's heard it says "ahh you getting at Game." No I'm seriously not. It’s a slick double meaning punchline. I'm just stating the obvious as well. Then again, aren't we all missing 50 Cent hooks? Shit a 50 hook won't hurt nobody, I don't care what ya'll cats say about the man’s flow, rhymes, or image. That dude could write the shit out of a hook. Hate it or love it... no pun intended. So I'm excited that we got one of the big joints out the way. There are a few others coming real soon. I'm dropping the single off the mixtape. Mick Boogie has just agreed to be a part of my mixtape which is called "Untold Scriptures". Which if all the chips fall into place like they should, comes out in January. Mick is obviously very credible and he's on top of his shit so this should make this a bigger project now that he's involved.

I had to keep this short man peep "Four In The Clip" if you still care about lyricism and raw shit in this Hip Hop shit the joint is for you and there's more where that came from. Gotta get to work and wrap up this mixtape in time. Get at me…

myspace.com/ninobless

til next.... yurp!

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Industry Rule Number 4080...

Week 6 with the blogs! About last week I knew I would draw some critics and I'm glad some of you expressed what you thought. If you listen to my new freestyle (hiphopdx.com/index/audio/id.3824) there's a part where I say:

most can't relate none, it ain't impossible...... try!
they say rappers need to be responsible.... why?
this is our life we ain't doing your chores
we got our own kids why dont you raise yours
all along, I thought we had freedom of speech
I was wrong now all they want is us to start preaching and teach
and reach the youth but truth is some do it to eat
if u bought what u was askin for that'd be their newest release
either way all we do is speak the view of the streets
but all you wanna disect is when we shootin police

I hope cats understand I wasn't trying to say that we are innocent but too much is expected from us rappers and it’s like we're given this responsibility we didn't ask for A. and B. it’s not our job to handle these issues. I'm a firm believer that people are responsible for their own actions and if all you want to do is sit here and dissect the negative aspects of what Hip Hop represents, I don't even want to hear you. You can voice your opinion elsewhere. I'm going to respect it but I'm not going to sit and vibe with you on the subject.

I'm going to keep it funky with ya'll cats. The more you in this game the more you realize there are zero friends in this game. Everybody is out for self. I don't know if it should be like that or if that’s just how it is but there are many cats who are asshats all spread out through this bullshit. I wrote for a few of them and I've worked with others. This is a bit different but I was involved with a situation one time that was abstruse. I had a producer who I placed a beat for on Chamillionaire's album. His name is Twinz check my dude out he produced a track for Chamillionaire called "Void of my life." The kid Termanology one time got at Twinz about using that beat and Twinz told him the beat was taken by an artist that he can't use it. Some how it still wound up on a Termanology mixtape as well as a major website. Which is crazy cause if Cham or his peoples found out they could have been like "dog what are ya'll doing." Reason being I helped pitch Termanology's mixtape to Universal before so they know I had a relationship with this artist somehow.

We called up the kid and his manager on 2 separate phone calls and both of them sounded prepared for it. They both replied with the response "that’s Hip Hop, it happens all the time." I can't front maybe it’s just ironic or maybe not who knows. I was thrown off though and the funny shit is the beat they rocked to wasn't by my dude Twinz at all nah they had a producer who ironically made a beat with the same sample. That’s very possible I can't front. What threw us off was how they never reached out to Twinz at all about that knowing Twinz gave dudes free beats in the past to work with and all that and he already placed a beat with the same sample they wanted. The shit is, with this situation nothing happened. We got at the site and told them to take the song down and they did. Actually the manager got at the site as well and he's cool for that. He could have been a dick about it but he wasn't. This entire situation could have gone sour had Chamillionaire's peoples thought we shopped the same beat to dude and didn't respect the fact he purchased the beat and was putting it on his debut album which wasn't released yet. If it was released then shit ain't no issue man, now "THATS HIP HOP" and then it’s all fair game. The situation went down funny style and there's no beef towards those cats at all. Certain situations get blown up bigger than what they should. If anything I feel like it was miscommunication. This is no knock on those dudes cause I know they’re about their business and handle it well cause I know those cats and they are very professional. Let’s say they didn't mean to do that shit at all and had no foul intentions at all look how it could have been interpreted? I know initially I was pissed and so was the producer but sometimes shit can be perceived differently.

These cats weren't blatantly doing some foul shit though looking back. They went about it as best they could and since then have been doing what they doing and I give em props for all that hustle. Shout outs to Termanology and his entire camp. There are other cats though who blatantly come out and disrespect, not give a fuck, and are very unprofessional. If you’re coming up in this game watch yourself seriously and tuck in ya chin. Dudes don't play here at all. I want to big up my dude Sha Stimuli who's writing a blog here too. He's been grinding for the longest and he and I know each other very well as we're from the same hood in Flatbush Brooklyn. I TOLD YOU FUCK THESE MAJORS DOG!! I wish my nigga just dropped an independent album and didn't go major. He could have shut a lot of shit down. Its all good my nigga just keep grinding you'll get ya shine. A kid that nice and well rounded shouldn't try and fit with a major's formula they should adjust to him. We went over this already though in blog 4 lol. So yeah vibe with the new freestyle I did which is like a lil soundtrack for blog # 5. Shake good looking on waiting for that I'm sorry but I shouted you out my dude! Shout out to my dog "I See On" who's from my hood in BK and I just got back in contact with through the world of myspace. Shout outs to RNS, most OG cats in NYC know about RNS and Charlie Hustle. Its dope to see cats I knew coming up from the hood doing their thing in this music shit. Its good to see cats grinding and trying to do something positive rather than just still posted up on the corner or fucking with the wrong niggaz and not doing nothing productive with themselves.

www.myspace.com/ninobless

til next week... Yurp!

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Something Bad Happens, Blame Hip Hop. Why?

Week 5 with the blog… but first off RIP to Pimp C. I know his family and close one's are hit hard by this unexpected situation. Bun B man hold ya head I spoke to you a few times and you a real good dude. That dude was as loyal and ride or die for Pimp as you would see anybody else be with anybody. Sad shit and a huge loss for Hip Hop. UGK set a trend that’s still relevant today if you don't see just listen to anything dirty south and grimey hard hitting 808's and bassy talking that gutter shit and that’s all influenced by UGK. Geto Boys were out before UGK but they didn't do southern shit the way UGK did they did different type shit that even New Yorkers knew what time it was. UGK was the first of its kind and at first wasn't accepted like that cause they shit was so different but set off a trend and it’s the reason why every south artist paid respects to Bun and helped dude out and eventually he made himself so hot he established a name for himself as a solo artist. Bun kept the buzz alive for UGK and they got some of the respect they deserved recently. Hate him or love him, Agree or Disagree with him but Pimp C said what was on his mind and didn't sugar coat and for that I always respected the man. We need more cats like that in the game.

Now let me get to my blog if I can. So Don Imus is back on radio. The funniest shit about this dude is he's like the White OJ yo. This guy blatantly does some foul shit and then rubs it in your face a lil bit later like "ha ha I got away with it." He goes on radio with 2 black comedians and says "I got my black buddies here and they are going to let me know when I say something wrong." Are you fucking serious? Whats funny is how he said Hip Hop influenced him to say that and he's like "they say that themselves, I thought it was ok to say that." Word, I remember that song "nappy headed hoe" went to the top charts this past year. That definitely influenced him I must say. It gave some right wing dickheads in the media the space they needed to sit back and say "oh Hip Hop is at fault here lets attack them." Man they are so fucking stupid if they think Don Imus is bumping Jay Z, 50, and 36 Mafia in the whip. Is he serious? "I thought it was ok to say that Hip Hop said so." Forget the GZA. He's the GENIUS! I never knew what he looked like but when I seen him I wasn't surprised to see he looked like Robert Redford aged 16 years and dressed up to host a redneck raffle right after he volunteered to go to Citizens Border Patrol. No disrespect to Robert Redford, dudes a great actor shout outs to "The Natural."

So now Hip Hop is to blame for all the violence? For all the negative shit going on in the world and to the young generation of today's fucked up mindstate. Isn't the young generation always fucked up? What about the Hippy era where they tried any drug they could find. Before Hip Hop the young generation was always influenced and there's always something to blame it on. What bothers me and seriously saddens me is when Hip Hop Media themselves target artists as well. When they sit here and say "rappers need to be more responsible." I was listening to Peter Rosenberg's show, the clip with him and Joe Budden. Now this is no disrespect to Pete cause he's a true Hip Hop head and is stating how he feels but why the fuck do rappers need to be responsible with what they say? We make our music and that’s that. We aren't raising your kids, you are! Why do we have that responsibility to teach your kids how to do right? This shit is silly. Music is a reflection of what rappers have seen and etc. It ain't always about what they've done. Is it too negative at times? I'll admit it, yes it is. This is entertainment though. Try doing a movie or a show without negativity like drugs, domestic abuse, death, suicide, and etc. Let’s see how interesting that’s going to be.

So all this bullshit had me pushing the pen and I just did a freestyle. Shake should have it up by Sunday night or Monday the latest. This is wack to me, you have artists like Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Black Thought and more who don't talk about how they're killing, hustling, pimping, and running the streets. They talk about reality as well and how these things go down but overall they don't "promote" the negativity. Who sold the most records in Hip Hop this year? Kanye West! So what’s the issue here? Hip Hop isn't just limited to one form of music. You have artist who talk about negative shit but you know what? If it wasn't for that, some people in the mid to late 80's and early 90's wouldn't be aware about some of the problems that exist in the ghetto believe it or not. We educated many people and pointed out what was really going on. It was rappers who talked about police brutality, how shit is set up for us and many other issues. We utilized the mindset of men like Mumia, Marcus Garvey, Malcom X as well as others who have our struggles. We had a huge outlet too; millions of people across the board were listening. We made people aware as much as anything. Media wasn't covering most of the shit we were broadcasting on our music. They were distracted with "bigger things." Hip Hop woke people up with all the "negative" talk. "I'm hungry nigga, I gotta rob somebody to eat." Oh wow and some people related; even in the ‘burbs they were like "oh I would rob somebody too if I had no other way to eat." They had a question though "Why do you have to rob though?" AHHHH. This is where we've influenced and educated more young minds than anything else since the late 80's. Don't try and sit here and blame us for all the fucked up shit going on in society. This was going on long before Hip Hop came along. Cut it out people.

You don't want to listen to the negative shit in Hip Hop then don't. Go turn on something else. It’s not for you then and if you’re a Hip Hop fan bitching then go bump some Common, Talib Kweli, Kanye West, Black Thought, Lupe Fiasco, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Beastie Boys, Biz Markie, Slum Village, Dilated Peoples, Little Brother and stay away from that horrible negative thug, killing MUSIC!. Here's a list of a few other heads on a lower scale if you want to try: Aceyalone, Abstract Rude, Gift Of Gab, Supastition, Murs, Atmosphere, Tonedeff, Blackalicious, Solilaquist of Sound, Brother Ali, and many others. These men all make music without killing people in it 24/7 and promoting constant negativity. You see Hip Hop isn't limited at all. We have all different forms of music. What these labels decide to broadcast or what fans tend to support more is beyond our control but Hip Hop has MANY MANY different forms of music. Fans all over have their own taste and what they tend to like. Some people like hearing about murder just like people like action movies with shooting scenes. Some people want to hear conceptual and well thought our music just like people like watching suspense and thriller flicks. Some people like hearing spirited and uplifting music and others don't want to hear cursing. You have all of that in Hip Hop and if you don't like Hip Hop there's many other genre's out there go listen to what you want that’s why God gave mankind freewill. You all have a choice. One thing I tell you folks though. Don't criticize something you don't understand. Whether you care or not, you look and sound more ignorant than you care to do so. Understand what you are criticizing before you get into details. As for me I don't give a fuck. I was just listening to Outkast, Talib and now I'm bumping some Mobb Deep street shit. BLAM BLAM MURDER DEATH KILL! GRRRRRR. I'm about to go outside and clam me a nigga for fun!

www.myspace.com/ninobless

P.S Dude who said last week if I blow up don't stop with the blogs. Never that! Let’s hope DX keeps me on board ya heard! Freestyle Sunday night or Monday. It’s a good one I promise; it’s like the soundtrack to what I just wrote. Posse cut next week!

Til next week, Yurp!

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