Sometimes, I think in riddles and conundrums, unconsciously. On occasion, I’ll wake up rapping in my head, and honestly, those bars be some of the craziest shit that I’ve ever thought of! The rhymes be so impressive, I’ll realize that I’m dreaming and wake up with that spine-tingling feeling that a lot of us get when we hear dope shit. The problem is, once I’m fully awake, I never remember the fucking bars. Plus, for whatever reason, I can never tap into that headspace consciously. The dream-state should be studied more thoroughly, because there’s something about that quasi-conscious realm that’s transcendent. Again, I don’t have an addictive personality, but I understand why escapism is a lifestyle for so many people. Life can really suck at times, and those sucky periods can seemingly last forever. An escapist is someone who seeks distractions and relief from unpleasant realities. And those distractions can come in many forms—like mind-altering substances, fantasy role-playing, reading, video games, etc. Anyone who attempts to shame people for needing distractions from boredom or bad luck is a piece of shit, and they’re very likely delusional. Even though some distractions will undoubtedly exacerbate unpleasant realities, those who’ve experienced life at large should be at least partially empathetic. I don’t mean to trigger anyone, but how often do you be like, “I’m so fucking tired of this shit!”, and just long for an easy but safe way out? The way my brain is wired, I can’t persist in any emotion without a logical self-explanation for everything I do while emotional. Self-explanation is basically the process of providing a pertinent purpose for every single step in a course of action. For instance, washing your hands when they’re dirty is self-explanatory, right? Now, wouldn’t it make sense for everything you do to make that much sense? Of course, sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures, but you should never make a habit of making desperate decisions when you aren’t distressed. Let’s say someone pissed you off and you’re contemplating on what to do about it. What are your options? Well, you could ignore it and find a nonconfrontational way to blow off the steam, you could ask for advice from a trusted advisor, you could avoid the culprit to circumvent the exacerbation of your pisstivity, you could invite the antagonist to a fight, etc. The key to operative rationalization is to be objective and remove your emotions from the decision-making process. By putting yourself first—prioritizing your health and happiness—you can avoid placing yourself in positions to plummet or perish. Emotions may be unavoidable, but they are additionally transient. The problem is, people let their emotions get the best of them, as they are gratified by the outward expression of dissatisfaction, and that short-lived gratification ultimately leaves imprudent people principally and constantly unsatisfied. Needless to say, unsatisfied people are miserable as fuck, and misery loves company. I don’t know about y’all, but I can always tell when someone is pretending to be unbothered by things, and I pity them. And I don’t mean pity in the sense of placing shame on them, but to feel sympathy for them. Aside from escapes being periodically necessary, what’s wrong with being real? Integrity is a scarcity, which makes honesty a rarity. To reprise, with everyone aching for normality, normalizing social scarcities like integrity could dramatically decrease the dramatics in life. When you need a confidence boost, there’s nothing like realizing that you’re not alone in your bad experiences. But when you don’t have any confidence to boost, it might seem suitable to seek to suppress other people’s confidence. Though I am genuinely mentally tough, I try my best to humanize myself in my writing. I often leave typos in just to prove that I’m not perfect. I don’t want to portray myself as if I believe I’m flawless or faultless. But the fact of the matter is, in many ways, I’m better than you motherfuckers! Can we all just accept that? Thanks.
As a fan of Drake and Kendrick Lamar, I am relieved that they’ve mutually decided to squash their beef. And as someone who’s actually aiming to make a difference amongst niggas, I hope I aided in the arrival of that decision. Personally, I had no clue where Drake’s house was located before it was used as the cover art of a diss track against him, and I’ve listened to all of The Boy’s albums. Did you know that Drake owned a property at 21 Park Lane Circle, North York, ON M3B 1Z8, Canada before the beef? To reiterate for clarification, being unaware of who shot the security guard at Drake’s Toronto home—in the streets—pretty much makes every opp and potential opp a suspect. That means, all static could turn drastic. Not only that, stupid niggas are motivated and invigorated by violence. So, everywhere that Drake and his entourage would have had problems with locals almost guarantees the escalation of said problems—especially had the disrespect continued—and especially in California. Like I said before, you can be “outside” and in the mix all you want, but if you’re stupid, that means you don’t know shit and don’t understand shit! Without question, had most of the rappers that we’ve lost to violence played it safe, they’d still be with us. As men, it’s best for us to rebuff the judgement of motherfuckers that we don’t owe explanations. For me, I don’t give a fuck about what niggas think, and I’ll be a “sucka” before I’ll be an actual sucker by willfully and unnecessarily putting myself in a fucked-up predicament. Luckily, Dot and Drizzy aren’t the type who’re too shy to put their pride aside. And to keep it a buck, none of this shit was called for! If anybody is to blame, it’s the rappers. I enjoyed the songs, but from the beginning, as a fan, I proclaimed that I wished for “the artists I like” to remain physically and mentally healthy. Beef is inherently stressful and drama-prone. Duh, niggas! Digressing, if you don’t know or don’t care, multiple battle rappers have been beefing on wax for the past few weeks. And from my perspective, all they’ve been doing is reassuring the claim that battle rappers can’t make hit songs. A lot of y’all niggas should just stay off beats, because you rap off-beat as fuck! Off the top of my head, aside from Cassidy, Aye Verb was the last battle rapper that made a song that I liked. Moving on, as it pertains to violence in hip hop, outside of territorial or affiliative disputes, can you think of a bigger contributor to hatred than jealousy? There’s no doubt in my mind that a lot of rappers are envious of Drake’s success and dominance. Unfortunately for the haters, Drizzy’s mark on the culture is indelible. The same can be said for Kendrick and Cole—they can’t lose. Hypothetically, for all intents and purposes, if Drizzy never made another dollar from rap, he’d never need to make another dollar from rap. Hopefully, I won’t have to write about the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar beef again. In my opinion, Lauryn Hill’s “Lost Ones” is one of the greatest diss songs of all time. In the song, L. Boogie is allegedly sending shots at former Fugees bandmate, Wyclef Jean. It’s been confirmed that Hill and Jean had been intimate during their time as bandmates. The lyrics of “Lost Ones” suggest that Wyclef attempted to exploit and manipulate Lauryn, and tried to stunt her growth as an artist, among other claims. Disagreements are natural because feelings and perspectives are bound to differ. And as someone who has been angered and frustrated by perpetual bullshit, I recognize that it’s healthy to release those ill feelings via communication. Differences aren’t always reconcilable, and reconciliation is never a requirement in my book. If you don’t need a motherfucker, there’s no need to proceed with the relationship or continue the connection. That’s it. Peace.