“Drinking every night because we drink to my accomplishments”
– Drake on “Headlines“
You ever work so hard on something and finally complete it? You ever bust your ass like krazy and then finally reach the finish line? You ever put so much of yourself into something and it actually manifests? Well that’s how I feel right now.
Whatup my peoples? What’s going on? Welcome one and welcome all to the April 2014 Opinions Column. For those that’re new to the site, this is the main place in the whole universe where you can dig deep within my brain to find out wsup. If you’re returning to the site, welcome back! Anddd with that, let’s talk more about why I feel so accomplished.
After months and months and months of hard work on completing my music video, I finally made it. I FINALLY finished editing “One of a Kind” the video. Between all nighters, all day-ers, and lots of trial and error, I made it. By completing the video, I felt an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment. And of course, I learned a lot along the way too.
The story of “One of a Kind” is a long one. I recorded, re-recorded, and re-re-recorded this song. I had to get the chorus done over several times and had to tweak certain parts a bunch too. After it was finally recorded, I got it mixed down by I-don’t-even-know-how-many engineers before I finally got a version back that I was content with. Then I got it mastered more than once too. Overall, it was a mission to get the song completed. While the song definitely made me krazy, it wasn’t the end. I had to get the video finished too…
Last year, I traveled to NJ for a two-day shoot for the” One of a Kind” video. The plan was to have it completed in two months. Well, that didn’t happen. In December, after giving the director pretty much the whole year to edit it, I traveled up to NY to get the hard drive (of all the video footage) myself. Once I acquired it, I had all the files to edit myself. Not so fast though lol. Once I got back to Florida, I couldn’t get the actual hard drive to work (and neither could a few of the stores I went to). After a couple of weeks, there was a place that was finally able to get the footage from the hard drive. Andddddd then (finally), it was on.
Editing the video for “One of a Kind” was nothing short of a mission. It’s been a hot minute since I edited something using Premiere and After FX, but I channeled my skills and made it happen. I also had to watch a few tutorials to really get the grasp on things, which was good for me. It took a few months, and I pretty much ignored other areas of my life to get this done. I can’t lie though, as much work as it was…it was truly a labor of love. I really enjoyed working on my own project. So after lots of effort, I was finally able to finish the video and post it online. And in case you missed it, here it is.
Here’s the video for “One of a Kind”:
Outside of the video, I’ve been checking out a lot of new (and old) music…
Mobb Deep – “The Infamous Mobb Deep” – The QB duo returns with their newest release, which is actually pretty dope. While it doesn’t compare to their classics, it’s still a dope release. I honestly had low expectations going into it, which is maybe why I dug it so much. And with a second CD of unreleased material from the 90’s, it makes a great album…especially if you’re an old school fan like me.
Saigon – “The Greatest Story Never Told Chapter 2: Bread and Circuses” – What’s sad about this is I didn’t even know this album came out…and I’m a big Sai fan. I went to like mad different stores just to find his last album on the day it dropped. I know I could’ve easily DL’ed it, but I really wanted to support. Plus I have a bunch of his older mixtapes and I was a big fan. Anyway, I learned about this release by watching a 2012 Breakfast Club interview, which really surprised me. The album is dope NY rap and it contains a really positive message too. Combined with some creative tracks, and this is a great follow up to the first album. Nice work Sai.
50 Cent – “Smoke” – While this isn’t an album, 50 still came out with his new single for “Animal Ambition” featuring Trey Songz. Produced by Dr. Dre, this is really vintage 50. What I really like about this song is the NY feel of it, especially at a time where there’s a lack of this sound in the game. Trey definitely kills it too. Really looking forward to hearing the album…
The first few months of 2014 have been super busy. At times I wonder if this is what I should be doing or if I’m going in the right direction. When those thoughts come over me, I remind myself to stop analyzing so much and just do stuff. Things don’t happen on their own – I have to get the ball rolling. So, here’s to a busy 2014 ahead of me! And more feelings of accomplishment too!
And with that said, I’m outta here! Stay up, stay safe, and hold ya head…Ajaxxx signin out, PEACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
