2011 has been quite the year, hasn’t it? It was the year of the revolution and the year of the protestor. We saw deaths of Bin Laden and Gadhafi along with the Occupy Wall Street movement. In addition, we saw stories about the Royal Wedding, the Casey Anthony trial, Steve Jobs, the shaky economy, and the earthquakes of Japan. Between that and stories about Kim Kardashian, Rebecca Black, and Charlie Sheen, there was a lot that happened this year.

With 2011 winding down (which I still can’t believe), I wanted to take a look at where I’ve been. I wanted to take a look at the year that was 2011, but not so much the news; instead, I wanted to visit the stuff that I’ve been through both personally and professionally. It’s definitely been an “eventful” year to say the least, and I felt like capturing that. In addition, it was a pretty interesting year for music too. So anyway, in this hybrid edition of the Opinions Column, I’ll talk about everything 2011.

The Rap Life

Yes, 2011 was good to me in that there were lots of milestones in my rap career. What were they? Well…

My first single was finally released – Yup, my single for “Blow” was finally released. I finally dropped the first song from my upcoming CD “Something to Prove” which I’ve been talking about for years. Working with longtime collaborator June25th, I wrote, recorded, and released the song that is now available on iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, and more. It was an amazing and exhilirating feeling, and there’s lots more where that came from.

My first music video was released – With the single for “Blow” releasing, it only made sense to shoot a music video. And so, that’s exactly what we did. I shot the video for “Blow” and had it premiere at the India International Film Festival (IIFF) in Tampa, FL, alongside other great videos by great artists. The reception for the video was great (I loved the way it turned out myself). Moving forward, there’ll be lots more of that too.

The Number 1 Spot on the Rapnetwork Record Breakers chart – In addition to releasing the song and video for “Blow”, it was important to get the word out that I had this new song. So, I reached out to a lot of different media outlets to feature the song. It was picked up by lots of different DJs and college radio stations and they really dug it. Anyway, the single for “Blow” steady rose over the course of two months and finally hit the number one spot on the Rapnetwork Record Breakers chart (which tracks college radio) for the entire U.S.! Trust me, I was amped Lol.

My new website was launched – Now I know I’ve talked about this plenty, but that’s because it was such a big deal when it happened. I spent about six to seven months working on relaunching this site, and even longer working on the design of it. I lost lots of sleep and pulled out lots of hair in the process, but it was all worth it. I think it was a special thing to me for two reasons: 1) I had been wanting to relaunch the site for YEARS and finally made it happen and 2) I put in so much hard work and it’s an incredible feeling to see all your hard work manifested. So yes, this was really a big deal.

Personal Life

As always, my personal life had its share of ups and downs. I won’t get into everything on here, but I will admit that it was more “peaceful” than 2010. I saw friendships strengthen while others weaken. I saw relationships come and go. And as always, I did a lot of soul-searching especially on the darker days. That sounds pretty consistent with my life, so no surprises there.

The India Trip that Never Happened – This was perhaps the most trying and consuming thing that happened to me this past year. Earlier in the year, I was offered an opportunity to work in India for a few months. I accepted and was SUPER excited. I mean, I downplayed it krazy, but I was really lookin’ forward to going. The process dragged on for months with several ups and downs and eventually ended up with me not going. I was really devastated (especially since I really hyped it up) but refused to let it bring me down. I told myself, “You know what ‘Jaxxx? So what if you’re not going…there’s something better in store for you here.” I tried to keep a positive attitude about the whole thing which is something I’ve gotten better at this year. And with 2012 around the corner, who knows? Maybe I’ll make that trip after all.

New York/New Jersey Trip – Although I didn’t do an extended trip, I went to NY and NJ this past year and it was awesome. I really needed a few days to just get away from everything. Whenever I go to NY, I feel exhilarated. Actually, refreshed would be the more appropriate word. I ended up going to the city and linked up with a lot of friends. It was GREAT. Can’t wait to go back!

I became an uncle again – I had a new nephew a few weeks ago. Family’s important to me, so whenever you have an addition to the fam it’s an amazing thing. And of course, the rest of the family is super excited too…especially since his birth comes right around the holidays. With the newest addition to our family, you can imagine how many more people are looking at me now like, “Hey, what’re you waiting for?” LoL and I guess that’s a great segue into the next topic…

When are you getting married? One of the prevalent questions I continued getting throughout the year was when I was gonna’ get married. Haha, no surprises there, right? I can’t even say this was JUST 2011, because it’s been going on for the last few years now. LoL I’m slackin’, right? If you’re Indian, that’s like the #1 question you receive as you get older. And with all my peers around me either getting married or having kids, all eyes were on me. After a few failed relationships, I don’t know what to say anymore. Hopefully 2012 can answer that question, because I definitely don’t know the answer.

Favorite Music

Honestly, 2011 didn’t have enough “FIRE” new music for me as years past. A lot of the newer artists that a lot of hip hop sites were featuring didn’t really do it for me. Does this mean I’m gettin’ old? I hope not! But there was still lots of dope music that came out this past year. These were my favorites of 2011. If I missed something, let me know.

Bad Meets Evil – Hell: The Sequel – Eminem and Royce da 5’9″ finally linked up after years of separation to drop a super dope EP. If you’re a fan of lyrics, you’ve probably already checked this CD. Em and Royce have a certain shared chemistry that makes their songs turn out even hotter, and their attention to detail is ridiculous (it makes you rewind a lot, let me tell you). And with some bangin’ production from Mr. Porter, Bangladesh, and Eminem himself, this is one of those CDs I’ve had on repeat.

Common – The Dreamer, The Believer – Common came back STRONG with his newest release, which is quite possibly my favorite album of the year. That’s a bold statement, isn’t it? It sure it, but let me explain. Comm’ has always been one of my fav MCs, but I feel like he doesn’t always pick the right beats or tackle the right moods. With his newest release, he joins forces again with No ID, who laces him with some amazing production. The result? Trademark Common. I feel like No ID provided the soundtrack where Comm’ could really tell his story.

J. Cole – Cole World: Sideline Story – As one of the most anticipated albums of 2011, Jay-Z‘s newest protege J. Cole did not disappoint. I’ve been checking for Cole for awhile since his Blueprint 3 debut, collecting mixtapes and listening to remixes along the way. His album had high expectations, and he really came through. If there was one thing I might’ve changed, it would be the production on some tracks. But outside of that, he dropped an awesome CD. Cole’s got a bright future ahead of him, and I’m looking forward to hearing more.

The Roots – Undun – The Roots have been one of the most consistent hip hop groups in the game, so I was expecting some fire from this album. Black Thought and the crew didn’t disappoint with the newest collection of songs, which played more like a story than just a bunch of random songs. One of the things I really enjoyed about this CD was the focus on the production more than the lyrics (at least that’s what I got from it). And with dope songs featuring Dice Raw and Big K.R.I.T, this album was super dope. Much props to the whole Roots crew for doing it again.

Game – The R.E.D. Album – What can I say about this one? As one of the most hyped up albums of the year, Game really came through after the “okay” last album. With features from a host of artists (I’m not even gonna list them all because there’s so many), the album had a lot of dope moments. The only thing I wasn’t thrilled about from this album is that because there were so many features, Game tried to switch up his style too many times which hurt the consistency. But if you can overlook that, it’s fire. And the Chris Brown and Primo tracks…mannnnnn!

Honorable Mentions: Joell Ortiz – Free Agent, , Saigon – The Greatest Story Never Told, Jay-Z/Kanye West – Watch the Throne, Lupe Fiasco – Lasers

The Wrap-Up

In retrospect, 2011 has been a good year to me. Although I had some low points, I did my best to pick myself up. I go back to the Dada Vaswani event I attended last year in NJ where I was really enlightened in a lot of different ways (especially with changing my attitude). That helped me get through a lot, especially the challenges I encountered.

I feel like there could’ve been some things I did differently this past year, especially musically. Although “Blow” did well, I wish I dropped more videos, more singles, and more music in general. Yes I appeared on several new mixtapes, but in my opinion I could’ve done even MORE. So for 2012, that’s the goal. The goal is to be on more mixtapes, more stages, and on more websites. I wanna get more involved with mixing and production too. And yes, I WILL be dropping my new CD “Something to Prove” this year! I’ve been saying that for FOREVER, but I’m finally doin’ it. That’s my word.

In addition, I wish I traveled more this past year too. The India trip really screwed up a lot of those plans, so I can’t say much. Outside of the NJ/NY trip I took a few months ago (I also took a trip to NC), I didn’t go anywhere outside of Florida. Compared to 2010, that’s a big difference! So for the new year, there will be lots more traveling on the agenda and there will definitely be an international trip too. I’m only young once so I gotta live it up while I can. Yessir!

I plan on continuing with the gym but going even harder. I plan on continuing with the language lessons I’ve been doing. And yes, I plan to expose myself to lots more Hindi music and movies. I don’t know what else to expect for the coming year, but I know there are lots of wheels turning at the moment. If I continue to work towards my goals, I’m confident that everything will turn out the way it should.

And with that said, have a happy 2012 peoples!

Filed under: Opinions by Ajaxxx
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