{New Visualstum} Killah Priest- Quantum Spirit

New Killah Priest visuals! His last project, Planet Of The Gods, was released back in June, and now he is back with visuals for Quantum Spirit Of Creation. Priest drops serious knowledge,as usual…I image this the soundtrack for many hard core hip hop heads with a conscious mind.

Killah Priest Album Cover Art (2)

Show your support and cop Killah Priest’s Planet Of The Gods on iTunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/planet-of-the-gods/id992286365

As tradition would have it, salute the brother on twitter @killahpriest

#DoItNow

{New Music} Roman GianArthur- Ok Lady

Ooohhh Happy Saturday! The Wondaland Arts Society has blessed us with a new EP from Roman GianArthur. He covers some RadioHead joints and fuses his sound into some exciting melodic cuts that you will get hooked on. Don’t say I didn’t keep you in the loop. Follow his twitter @RomanGianArthur #Go

{New Visuals} Sterling Duns- Freestyle #12

Y’all Know I hate being late with new sounds and good vibes! In any event, Philly emcee Sterling Duns is back giving you hip hop realness with this new freestyle. You can always expect positive vibes with his sound, and it’s always authentic. I’d love to make it to Philly to see him perform live! Show your twitter love @SterlingDuns and keep it hip hop!

#DropaJewel4Mayor

WHY NO ONE REALLY WANTS TO BE CREATIVE

It will never cease to amaze me, the glorification that runs concomitant with being genius, creative, etc; or more precise, the implications and positive connotations that people place on the word “genius or creative”. I once heard someone say “genius is enduring great pains.” I’ve always hated that quote, but when one looks at the darker aspects of being creative, the more I realize the weight that particular quote holds. Don’t get me wrong, I understand completely where the misconceptual origin springs from; You see companies like Apple, that have now become the hallmark of creative thinking and pushing ideas forward, “thinking different”. But as Steve Jobs passed away- you see tons of books usurped that “nice, creative, guy”, image with stories of Tyranny.

So, you may ask, what are the cons of being a creative person in a society that rejects the actions but love the premise of thinking outside the box? Creative people are risk takers. They would much rather travel the road that hasn’t been trailed or tried, then the road proven, paved and tested. They are nonconformist. They often break all forms of convention in their campaign find the truth. Even in the face of failure, rejection, doubt, they travail all in search of a solution… putting in long, hard, hours, abandoning much to the dismay of family and friends, their personal lives. But if one takes solid note of the copious list of cons of the creative type, you notice none of these are traits conducive to group efforts in a large organization financially, socially, or other wise. So it’s completely understandable why more creative types, own their own company, don’t make much money or are just plain jobless. They are a financial nightmare. It’s a situation of “the risk isn’t worth the reward”.

Perhaps creative people are altruist people that accept personal risks, and cost that will only benefit the larger collective, such as an organization or society. Perhaps creative types are slightly tilted individuals who don’t really mind the endless nights nursing a laboratory experiment or the social isolation that comes with taking the minority viewpoint. For the few, taking the creative route is something that isn’t a burden, but a burden that makes inherent sense; second nature if you will.  Perhaps, one could call this a small form of arrogance; but I see the beautiful parallels that accompany being a creator and having a sacrificial mentality.  The highest form of sacrifice is the sacrifice of ones body – much like Christ did for his people. It’s so much destruction in our minds. We create- more worlds and things that will never see the light of day, or fall on ears, nor viewed for anyone’s eyes but our own.

We have, and always will have – endless – admiration for the creative type, only in retrospect. We admire: the successful small business start up, the scientists, the writer, designer, and musician. But given the choice, the average person would not make the same decision, given its odds of failure. Look at yourselves as lucky! We have them, in which they’re people wiling to take this treacherous and lonesome path.

Day dot Mizo ….

[New Music] AJ Suede- Necronomicon ft. Noah23 & Blam Lord

New visuals from the big homie AJ ‘mutha f*ckin’ Sueeede! This is a cut from  one of his elements series albums Gold and Earth. He teams up with Noah 23 and Blam Lord to give you Necronomicon. If you aren’t familiar with him by now, you might want to get hip! Check out the site freemindscollective.com and show your twitter love @AjSuede.

#DropaJewel4Mayor

Artist Spotlight: Davon Carey

Happy Saturday, art lovers! Last night I attended an art exhibition at the Downtown Cultural Arts Center in Baltimore. The artist in showcase was a young brother by the name of Davon Carey. A good friend of mine put me on to the event, as I am somewhat of an artist myself but most of all…an art lover. The event had complimentary wine and food (right up my alley), and there was a rainbow of hues in attendance. I was blessed to see so many different shades of people, all for the support of a very talented Baltimore artist. I don’t know Davon personally, but I could tell that he is well loved by many. There was no riff raff present…all smiles and hugs, even in such a packed crowd. There were a few opening acts consisting of gifted singers and poets. Overall, I had a blast!

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I was very impressed with Mr. Carey’s honesty, line work, subject matter and color schemes.

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I didn’t get many pictures (the body painting was soooo dope) but I would just like to share a few.

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I can see nothing but peace and prosperity for Mr. Davon Carey in the future. As always, show him your twitter love @DavonCarey and let me know your thoughts @DropaJewel. #DoItNow #Salute

{New Ish} Jared Evan- The Making of The Art Form of Whatever

Jared Evan is a new eclectic semi electric artist with his artistry displayed in different mediums. He paints, sings, raps, writes and offers his creativity to you in visual form, with a behind the scenes look at The Art Form of Whatever. The album is available for free download here  http://bit.ly/1BHzj3G

#DropaJewel4Mayor

{New Music} J*Davey- Strong Anticipation

Yesssss! New music from Jack and Brook. As a fan, I’ve been waiting for new tunes from the duo. The video, Strong Anticipation, was directed by Thed Jewel. Their upcoming Pomp EP is expected to drop this May. If you are not familiar with the two, make it your mission to dive in head first to their website weareJDavey.com. As always, show your twitter love @WeareJDavey. Thank me later.

#DropaJewel4Mayor

Reasons To Love Janelle Monae’s Yoga

Ms. Monae returns with new visuals for the second single coming from The Wondaland compilation The Eephus.

Allow me to reintroduce myself as a fandroid. I’ve been completely smitten with Ms. Monae after hearing a few cuts from The Audition, back in my public radio college days (My Favorite Nothing still goes). I saw her at the 930 club in DC, by the time The ArchAndroid dropped…oh what an experience!

As a die hard fan, I’m thankful to see people FINALLY getting hip to The Wondaland crew. I’m still enjoying Deep Cotton’s Runaway Radio EP. This go round, Ms. Monae teams up with Jidenna to bring you the hypnotizing Yoga. I love it, now let me count the ways:

  1. The video is serving up Janet Jackson realness. You remember the That’s The Way Love Goes video? Janet and her homegirls kicking it in the crib dancing and jamming out. Yeah…The opening scene of Yoga gives me that laid back feel. It’s somewhat nostalgic.
  2. The song is catchy as hell. As soon as the beat drops, you are instantly immersed into charismatic word play and trap beat vibes. All love! I’m so hip hop to the core, all I could say was “yup”. ** “sweatin in the club, call me dirty Diana”** “You can not police me, so get off my areola”**
  3. Ms. Monae shows you another side to her femininity. She gave you just enough skin to say “Im comfortable, I’m bad, and I don’t have to be naked for you to see that”. Amazingly enough, this reminded me of when Aaliyah’s We Need a Resolution video dropped. I hadn’t really seen Aaliyah in a dress and it was mysteriously captivating…like she wanted to show you another side of the “street but sweet” girl.

I said ALL of that, just to hope that you check it out for yourself without trying to objectify the artistry or put Ms. Monae in a box. Enjoy the music for Christ sake!!! Also, I compared her to the likes of the legendary Ms. Jackson (cuz I’m nasty), but understand that Ms. Monae has created a lane for herself and her Wondaland family. Stay tuned as The Eephus drops in May (I can’t wait) and show your twitter love @JanelleMonae @Wondaland.

#DropaJewel4Mayor

JYoga

The School System Fails…Again?

Welp…

About a week ago, I sat in studio and listened to a talk show host go on a rant about the public school system, over the airwaves. This is a conversation I am all too familiar with. The rights and wrongs within the public school system is a conversation that spans generation after generation. No matter what race, creed or class you represent, I’m sure you’ve heard one of these topics at a given time:

  • Prayer should be put back in schools.
  • Schools do a piss poor job of updating their textbooks.
  • Black (ethnic) literature is not properly showcased in class.
  • Where are the art and music programs?

Well damn, who left the flood gates open?

In watching a TED Talks lecture, the newest of dialogues I’ve heard was “schools kill creativity. They need to put as much emphasis on the artistic/creative subjects as they do English and math.”

Wait. What exactly are the public school systems responsible for? What are the parents responsible for?

I’m actually pretty disturbed that parents expect schools to pray with and teach each child about his/her cultural background. Parents, what the hell is your job exactly? I remember the phrase “learning starts at home.” Can anyone guess where I learned said phrase? From my Dad…in our home.

Let’s take it back to my day (wait for it). My parents saw my love for art in grade school, so they always bought me:easels, colored pencils, paints and books to encourage me. They saw my interest in music so I played the: drums, keyboard and trumpet to see what I would like. I still remember all of my art and music teachers because they always inspired me. They always took time with me because I was excited and they gave a damn about their students. Yes, my childhood was awesome.

To a degree, I agree with Ken Robinson (TED) that schools can hinder creativity. I think the most important aspect is that parents worldwide should take more time with their children. If you feel that the institutions of learning aren’t cultivating your child as an individual, it may be time to challenge the system. Teach your young leaders in the home, in addition to what they learn at school. Fair enough?

Yes, textbooks should be up to date. Yes, schools should nurture the creativity of students.  What role can we play, however, to ensure that artistry is encouraged in our children? Parents, stop relying on other people to mold the futures of your children.

Check out the TED talk that sparked the conversation http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity?language=en

#DropaJewel4Mayor