“Everybody right here, what you need to do is to be thankful for the life you got
You know what I’m sayin’?
Stop lookin’ at what you ain’t got and start bein’ thankful for what you do got”
– T.I. on “Live Your Life”
What a month. February was an eventful month for me, and I can’t help but be grateful for it. Let’s be clear though…I’m not JUST grateful for February, but I’m grateful for everything. But with last month, I can’t help but look back like wow…I’m in good shape. It’s hard not to look around and be appreciative of everything, y’know what I mean? Of courseeee you do.
So what’s up everyone? Welcome to the March 2012 Opinions Column, the sole spot on planet earth where you can find out what’s up with Ajaxxx. For those that’re just visiting the website for the very first time, thanks for joining us…I’ll be the captain of this ship. This is where I talk about anything and everything on my mind, so be prepared. And to those that’re returning visitors, welcome back and thanks as well for visiting as well. AND with that said, let me tell you WHY I’m in a grateful mood.
On the musical tip, I feel like I got back on track this past month. I FINALLY dropped a new song, which feels awesome. It’s been mad overdue, so I’m glad I’m able to put something out and give something back to all the people that support me. As I get older, I realize that it’s not as easy. A lot of that has to do with the people I’m surrounded by, while a good part of it has to do with time. Compound that with all the non-related rap BS that you have to deal with, and it’s like ahhhh. Well anyway, after several re-recordings, like four different engineers, and some other issues, we finally got the song done. I’m telling you, it feels GREAT.
So tell us about this new song of yours ‘Jaxxx. Gladly! The song is called “Do It 2 Me”, and it’s hip hop with an Indian twist. Some time back, producer Sureet of Digital Desi sent me a beat. I reallyyy loved the energy and uptempo-ness of it, but knew I needed the right hook too. I hit up my good friend and singer Jabi of Miami to jump on the song with me, since we both wanted to collabo on something. He laced the hook, I did a backflip, and the rest is history. The song is now planned to be on the upcoming Digital Desi mixtape. Check it out below if you haven’t already.
After recording the song, I was contacted by my good friend Monica Bassi about music for her upcoming film. Ironically, it was right around the time when I was wrapping up “Do it 2 Me” for a different mixtape. Talk about timing, right? Anyway, as you might’ve guessed, the song made it in time and was featured in the film “Uncoupled” at the India International Film Festival in Tampa. You can’t help but be grateful when things like that happen, can you? Anddddddd that’ll segue me into the next topic.
So yes, Tampa threw its third annual India International Film Festival. If you remember last year, I premiered the video for “Blow” there. Well this year, I returned in a different fashion. My new song was featured in the film “Uncoupled” (which I mentioned above) to a packed theater. It was an amazing and exhilarating feeling to hear my song played in a movie theater, let me tell you. Outside of that, the rest of the event was super dope too. Between documentaries, shorts, and Bollywood, there were a variety of films for everyone. I only wish I would’ve stayed longer…oh well, next year fa’ sho!
So between releasing a new single and having it featured in a film, you can imagine why I feel so thankful right now. And the craziest thing? There’s more.
So perhaps one of the biggest highlights of this past month (and shoot, my whole life) was attending the NBA All Star Game here in Orlando! Yup, I managed to get tickets to one of sport’s BIGGEST events of the year, and wow was it amazing. Between the national anthem sung by Mary J. Blige (wow), the halftime show with Pitbull, Ne-Yo, Nicki Minaj, and Chris Brown, the awesome skits and events that went down during the time-outs and in-between quarters, the way they decorated the arena, and the game itself, I had a BLAST. The fact that it was here in Orlando made a big difference too, let me tell you. I’m a HUGE NBA fan, so being there among the top players in the league was kraziness. I saw Kobe, Lebron, Wade, Dwight, Melo, Rose, Griffin, Paul, and so many more. It was really cool to see how the players interacted on the court too, whether they were trash talking or laughing. I’m telling you, it was such a great experience and I’m so glad I went. I was really close to not going either, but I’m glad I pushed myself to go. It’ll definitely be an experience I’ll take with me for a long, long, long time.
Some of the most enjoyable parts of the entire event were the things taking place during the time-outs. They had a mascot dance-off where all the NBA mascots in the league danced to different popular songs, an “older” dance group that did a dance number, little kids dancing, these super funny skits where teammates would quiz each other on word games (they had one with Blake and Paul, and another enjoyable one with Kobe and Bynum), and perhaps my favorite: Cookie Madness. Dwight had to get a cookie from his forehead to his mouth without using his hands. Needless to say, it was HILARIOUS. I could see Wade and Lebron rolling when they played that.
Again, the combination of everything really makes me feel grateful (especially this past month). I didn’t ASK for any of this, but sometimes things work out for the best. So I’m saying, when things aren’t going your way, stop and remind yourself of what IS going your way. If you look past the BS you’ll be surprised at what you see.
On the music front for me, I’m still working on getting these songs mixed down. I’ve got a lot in the vault and the process is moving along, although not as fast as I like. I’ll keep pushing and stay optimistic about everything. More music is on the way, trust me!
So with everything said, let me wrap up with this. This past month has been tough. There have been numerous things that’ve tried everything in their power to bring me down, and trust me, they’ve done really well. Despite all that though, I refuse to let it get to me. Instead, I’ll remind myself of all I do have and why I should be grateful. There’s so many things in our lives that aren’t going our way, but you know what? That’s how it’s supposed to be. So accept it, don’t falter, and embrace what’s going right. Not only will it make you feel better, but it makes sense. Be grateful!
What to look forward to in March? Well, I’ll be even more busy, but I’m going to continue getting songs mixed and mastered. In addition, I’m gonna continue to dabble in production (I already did some dabbling this past month, believe it or not). And of course, I’ll be writing and recording too…you know me.
And with that said, thank you for reading this. Stay up, stay safe, and hold ya’ head. Ajaxxx signing out…Peace!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
