Q Quotables: Things I'm Feeling..

ok, this is some new stuff i'm on right now.. taking a page outta my man C3's book, i'm going to hit y'all with any and everything.. each week, i'm going to discuss "Q Quotables" aka "Things I'm Feeling".. you can love and hate em at the same time.. oh well.. do what you do.. it's my site, danggit!!

1. Busta Rhymes - Don't Touch Me Remix

ok, i thought i was in love with the original version, but i was wrong.. that was some lust stuff.. the remix?? yeah, that's love.. the beat? sick.. don't believe me? zshare that bad boy.. if i'm lying, i'm flying coach besides the bathroom in the back of that joint.. ain't happening.. i ain't lying.. the verses on this joint?? the line-up?? come on man, dude had Nas, Weezy, Game, and others.. but shoot, he got Big Daddy Kane on that joint.. Big Daddy Kane.. the b-i-g d-a-double d-y k-a-n-e.. shoot, i even made my own dance to that joint.. wait till the video blog, the Harlem Shake don't have nothing on me!! "throw water on 'em".. welcome back Bus.. we need this dude.. his energy is crazy..

2. Summertime

i'm feeling Memorial Day, because that is the official re-release of Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff's "Summertime".. think i'm lying.. think back to years past, and this year.. it's like Labor Day.. that let's you know that you can't wear white no more and look fly.. Memorial Day is when you can play that joint and get away with it.. matter of fact, people will give you dap for no reason.. none at all.. gotta love it..
3. Barack

the dude don' did it.. what else do i need to say? other than get at me for those fundraiser dinner tickets for the June 29th Fuzion/Barack event here in NYC.. get at me..

4. Kobe

i can't front, dude is a beast.. the best in the game.. hands down.. wish he was in that Bulls uniform, but it is what it is.. i'm feeling his game and how he elevated a team nobody (even him) thought would be on the verge of another championship.. he killed it this year.. MVP.. too many nasty dunks.. dude pulls up and every shot looks like it's going in..

5. Paid in Full - The Movie

i popped that in the DVD player this week.. forgot how much i liked that movie.. classic material.. dudes playing trash can basketball for 5G's a pop.. can i find some of them dudes to play with?? come on, please?? i can use the cash.. remember Camron watching his own dang porno in that joint? or when he shot dude in the ass? classic..

6. So You Think You Can Dance

guilty pleasure of mine now that Bad Girl's Club is off.. i thought i wouldn't miss hearing "pop off son, pop off", but i do.. so this show is my new pleasure.. i think it was last week that had that dude out in LA that basically was like a human rubberband.. he danced to Swizz Beatz' joint.. crazy.. that beat is sick.. but that dude was sicker.. i gotta give to him.. but the other dancers were crazy too..

7. ARC/Optimum Fitness
i'm on my workout game right now.. 3 to 4 times a week, plus i picked up boxing.. i gotta give it to my man Tony VP for training me this hard.. i ain't gon' boast, but dang if i don't brag.. don't believe me? challenge me.. pushups, dips, pullups, 1-arm joints, whatever.. i'll be your huckleberry.. my boxing game is getting better, and i'm looking for some sparring partners.. not worried about them being in my weight class either.. with Tony VP in my corner, i'm feeling pretty dang arrogant with mine.. so, i'm on this fitness kick, eating oatmeal in the morning instead of my bacon and eggs.. and i hate oatmeal.. but i hate throwing up my breakfast more, so i do what my trainer tells me.. if you're in nyc, get at me if you want a trainer.. i'll let you borrow mine..

8. Women

mom's day passed, but i'm still feeling y'all, and it wouldn't be appropriate if i didn't let y'all know in my inaugural quotables.. i love y'all.. addicted to y'all.. not necessarily on some "i wanna get with you" stuff, either.. i just love y'all.. my barber is a woman.. the best in the game, too.. i'm surrounded by you.. and i want to stay surrounded by you.. at a safe distance, though.. but still want to be surrounded by you.. y'all get on my nerves as often as the opposite feeling, but i still can't run from y'all.. i catch cramps on purpose.. pull up lame on purpose.. just to be around y'all.. just to be around you.. in the same vein, i need more from y'all.. stay by my side.. please.. stay by our side.. we men have issues, but we ain't ish without you.. so don't give up on us just yet.. i promise not to give up on y'all..

SEX and The City..

so i ventured out on Sunday evening to catch the new Sex and the City movie.. i wanted to see it.. chick flick and all.. i watched the show, so i wanted to see the ending.. more than that, i liked the show.. i'm man enough to state that.. so there i was, going to see this movie in a sea of NYC women and gay men.. and guys forced to go by their significant others..

the lead up was just as funny as the movie.. i mean, you saw groups of four women (majority white, but it was still a mixed crowd) seeming like they were trying to audition for a role in the movie.. dresses.. crazy outfits.. hair done up.. i was trying to figure out if the movie theater was where they would find one of the 2 L's that the movie spoke about.. if they knew what i knew, they wouldn't be..

then there were the gay dudes.. too qute.. i'm pretty much over my homophobia, so i feel more comfortable speaking about this.. we had to wait in this long line an hour before the movie began.. that wasn't working for me.. my ADD was kicking in.. stand in that long line? for an hour? with gay dudes and Carrie wanna-bes?? shoot, i can get caught!! somebody might see me! (only jokes, i ain't running from nobody but bill collectors).. yea, that scene wasn't working.. i snuck upstairs only to see another long line and the manager.. not a good look.. i played it off and went back downstairs to that long line..

2 Black gay dudes were in the front looking like they knew me.. we caught eyes, i immediately looked sideways and then back to them.. i gave them the head nod, they gave me one back.. i had to do my own lion stance and let them know that i was not the one.. i was searching for women to piss on.. (ok, that's gross and slightly disturbing, so i take that back).. i went back and stood in line.. sigh..

so then they let us upstairs.. no one said the people that work in theaters were geniuses.. so we get up there, only to run out of room.. the escalator was turned off, so ppl were just stuck standing on the escalator, as there was no more room in the lobby.. then the brilliant minimum wage dude tries to separate us into 2 lines that looked more like 6-8 depending on the angle you were standing in.. a mess.. i went to get something to drink..

as i'm down there, i do what i do best.. choose the wrong line to get in.. the people in front of me can't make up their minds, and the worker is the slowest on staff.. my ADD is going crazy.. where are my meds?? then this white chick behind me whispers something in my ear.. i have no clue what she says, so i halfway turn around and acknowledge her, ready to hit her with the "nah, i'm good" line.. she is dressed for the part.. i know she's going to see the movie too.. she says, "i'm sorry, but you have a string hanging off of your hat that i'm going to remove for you"..

what?

i was confused.. trying to figure out why she was staring at the loose string so hard that she wanted to remove it for me.. i smiled and said "thanks".. not sure what trap i was about to fall in, i wanted to be safe than sorry.. i've seen American History X, y'all ain't getting me that easy!! so, she proceeds to remove the string and then show me.. i smiled and said "cool, thanks".. all i was missing was "dude".. i ignored them as i waited another 10 minutes.. when i got my pop, i turned and said "thank you, have a good one".. she smiled..

back upstairs i went, and we were finally let in.. a mad rush to find seats.. i'm like "there are only maybe 30 people in front, why is everyone rushing to get seated in an 1000 seat place?".. but no one else is thinking like that.. so i get my spot, and i proceed to people watch.. i think there were about 589 four-somes.. yeah, my math is off.. chicks together.. what was most disturbing is the mothers that brought there kids.. are y'all crazy?? don't you know what type of movie this is?? SEX and the city.. why do you have infants and 6 year olds with you?? sex was all over the screen.. from scene 1 to 69.. it was there.. i saw it.. some of it i tried not to see..

pause..

movie directors, if you want to turn your movie into soft porn, please find more attractive white women for the job.. i did not need to see 50 year old women getting tapped out.. i still have not recovered from that..

un-pause..

some people do need parenting licenses.. i believe in that now.. y'all don't have no sense, and you definitely don't make any.. kids were crying and covering their eyes.. shoot, i was covering mine!! then i'm having to see Rico Suave onscreen fully naked.. i mean, for the gay dudes, i get it.. now i see why y'all were in there.. y'all must've bootlegged it before, and knew what was coming.. pause.. me? i was thinking that they were not allowed to show penises and grown men asses.. wasn't a good look for me.. then again, i wasn't the intended audience..

but, overall it was a good movie.. a nice ending.. could make and break your relationships, so be careful who you go with!! i don't want to give it away.. just be prepared to experience NYC like most of us never have, see places most of us would dream to see, and feel what it's like to be a 40+ white woman trying to find love and labels in NYC..

it was worth it.. gay dudes and all.. (i still want the rainbow back!!)

Guess Who's Baaaaack..

yes sir.. welcome, welcome, welcome.. after a long hiatus, i'm back in a difference place.. long overdue and a lot of stuff to get outta my head.. my goal is to keep this updated weekly, and turn this into my blog home.. with vlogs (video blogs), my own brand of photojournalism, and anything else i can think of.. it's going to take some time and some effort from my creative friends for the look to be "me", but bear with me..

i currently have old blogs up here, with most of them being a series called Anatomy of a Gangster which is featured at TROUBL.org, but i'll also bring some of my old favorites in one place, as many of you were not able to see them.. this will be my place to rant about any and everything, but hopefully with an educated voice..

i kinda want this to be anonymous, but y'all already know it's me.. my words have nothing to do with my work or ideals of that company that i scream about all of the time.. that company does not necessarily stand by all of the words that i speak in this forum.. i mean, they could, technically, but don't not do business with them based on a highly opinionated blog..

other than that, i just hope y'all enjoy it.. agreeing and disagreeing with me.. don't be silent either.. leave comments.. comment with others.. that bashful stuff doesn't work over hear.. i don't like people that "dip and dap".. i have issues.. the Man is after me.. my phones are tapped.. i'm that Ghetto Boys video.. so, yeah, don't make me even crazier.. argue with me.. tell me i'm stupid and corny.. i can take it, cuz i can def' dish it.. trust..

what does that mean, exactly? trust.. why do we stay shortening sayings? we are too dang lazy.. we dropped a word.. me.. one syllable.. that was putting us over the top, huh? true.. true that.. out.. i'm out.. good? you good?? y'all mickey fickeys are too lazy for me.. but y'all catchy..

why does Usher seem like an old Chris Brown? isn't it messed up that when CB first came out, he was just a younger Usher? now, with Usher having been gone for a minute, marrying his stepmom and ish, he looks like he's trying to be CB.. and what is up with these marriages? can someone name a recent celebrity marriage that looked like it made sense? Jay and Be? i get it.. his swag got her.. but it still don't look right to me.. mariah looks like nick's mom.. kimora is dating a former slave.. janet is dating a troll.. ray j was wooing whitney.. what is going on..

ok, ok, i'm done.. just like this post, my blog is going to be all over the place.. ADD (hopefully) at its' finest..

out.

The Choice is Yours..

Common ground is a lot like common sense.. Sounds good to say.. Everyone understands it.. Not many have it.. Finding the balance, finding a calming place, finding yourself is just not easy.. Too many choices.. This or That.. Hov or Nas.. Beyonce or Rihanna.. Bulls or.. Nah, no choice there.. Corporate or Streets.. Single or Married.. For some Boys or Girls.. For me, Her or Her Too.. Friends or Enemies.. Life or Death..

I like to think that I make choices based on trying to find common ground or a nice balance, but I’ve told myself that I’m not able to do that.. I like to read (hooray for nerds!) and pick apart any and everything.. Breaking things down to the least common denominator.. Over the last 2 weeks or so, I’ve been focused on trying to understand a bit more about myself.. During my self-reflection I read an article about a business man.. Someone we all know.. Doing big things.. The article touched on him being misunderstood.. Everyone saw him as one guy.. He knew he was someone else.. Shoot, I knew he was someone else.. I knew his government.. But his government didn’t allow for him to be much more than those that came before him (which was nothing to really be proud of).. So, he became someone else.. Someone we appreciate.. Now he’s stuck.. He can’t go back.. No one would believe that he’s not this or that.. It appears he no longer has a choice..

Sometimes I feel trapped in a similar dilemma.. We all made choices to do what we do.. I graduated from college and went left instead of right.. During that time I became someone else.. I was no longer myself to many people.. That was a conscious decision I made when I wasn’t conscious of the outcome.. I didn’t have a path to follow.. No one really to look to.. So, like Hov told to Freeway, I kept going.. I remember going back to high school and people being surprised.. Never thought I would be the loud type.. I was always quiet.. Went back to college, and the same.. I wasn’t that quiet, but I wasn’t the dude that was loud about my intentions and goals.. I was the silent type.. Now?? Things don’ changed.. Now? I can’t really go back.. It’s something I have to live with.. I think it’s something that those that I want to follow have to live with as well..

Life has a way of humbling you.. The gangsters get humbled.. Get too big, they’re coming.. Ask Oprah.. Ask Barack.. Ask Hov.. Ask Frank.. Ask Kobe.. Cry a river if you want, but no one is listening.. I needed to be humbled.. I was floating for too long.. I knew I breathed the same air as everyone else, but I wanted to find that new air.. I wanted to walk on it.. I did for a bit.. My heart was in the right place, but my brain wasn’t.. I made too many wrong choices.. I won’t call them bad, cuz I don’t feel that they were.. They were just wrong.. Wanted to be right, even when I knew I was wrong.. Wanted to ride it out.. I rode it out alright! Straight to the demise of a lot that I worked for.. I needed it though.. I made the choice.. Now I feel like I can make another one.. I know I just said I was stuck, but I think my fall has allowed me to change..

I can change.. It’s up to me.. My circle is smaller.. My heart is bigger.. My brain is right there with it..

I’m making the choice to be right.. For me.. For more than me.. For my future.. Here’s to hoping that we all make better choices and we all find people who can steer us in the right direction.. Black Sheep..

Q.

AOG Series: Baby Powder Awards..

Recently we’ve seen a lot of moments that have either angered us, embarrassed us, or called for us to disassociate ourselves with someone or something.. In the spirit of this recent history, I announce AOG’s 1st Annual Baby Powder Awards..

The Baby Powder Awards are given out in the spirit of the strong desire to “smack hot fire” out of some of us.. As AGs, it’s our responsibility to hold each other accountable, but in a manner that speaks in the voice of Riley (Boondocks).. “That’s so not gangsta!”.. So, everyone, hold out your hand, sprinkle some baby powder to lessen your own sting, and get to smacking..

1. Rev. Jeremiah Wright
This one is difficult, but even my Chicagoans can get the five fingers.. Rev. Wright, you know better.. If it wasn’t for Barack’s prowess, you might be up for 2 smacks, but since Obama proved how gangsta he was by providing landslide slaps to Mrs. Clinton, he saved you.. You could have been the scapegoat for Black people losing its opportunity for a Black President.. THE Black President.. You were fine when you started, and they were getting on you about 8 second sound bites.. You were right to be upset.. They didn’t know you.. They shouldn’t have come at you like that.. But, then you took a long break and came back with nonsense.. True to stereotypical form, you were “all late” with your response.. Then you started shucking and jiving like a scene from Bamboozled.. That was so not gangsta! You even called out Barack, when he referred to you as a “spiritual advisor”.. Negro please.. You knew what he was doing.. He was speaking to a larger audience.. Or in your game of semantics, a larger congregation.. People understand “advisors”.. Not everyone has Pastors, Deacons, Church Ladies, etc.. But, here you come acting like he was referring to you like you were Candyman or some other boogeyman.. Congrats, Rev, you’re the first to get smacked..

2. Louis Johnson
Y’all might not know this dude.. Actually, he’s probably about to be more famous by receiving this award, because he was nowhere close to being an AG.. This is the dude at the center of this OJ Mayo story.. If you don’t know, OJ Mayo will be a Top-10 NBA draft pick this year.. Was LeBron after LeBron left high school.. This year he made it look easy as a freshman at USC.. We all knew he was going pro.. He’s been groomed for the NBA.. All of the big players know him.. Carmelo Anthony got him into hot water this year when he gave him tickets to the Nuggets vs. Lakers game.. They are boys, and he was just hooking his friend up.. The NCAA didn’t like that, and OJ had to pay Melo back.. Now, ESPN breaks this story after some sorry former writer/drug dealer comes forward about OJ getting cash and gifts since he was in high school from a “runner” who was provided funds by BDA Sports (a large sports agency headed by a Black man).. This story is only told after Louis was kicked out of OJ’s circle.. I find it funny that this 40-something year old Black man is referred to as OJ’s “former confidant” by all of the media (headed by ESPN).. Really? A confidant? That dude was around OJ for a paycheck.. It’s sad that the media can’t see right through this.. That they can’t see that since he’s been kicked to the curb, that now he wants to do what’s right so that OJ can get the wrong people out of his corner.. Let’s not forget that OJ has done nothing more than work his behind off and become a future NBA star.. Let’s not forget that at 13 he started having all of these old men get at him “in his best interest”.. Really? Now OJ’s world is turned upside down and everyone is looking at him as just another Black athlete getting paid to play a sport.. Getting money because he’s good.. Puh-leeze.. If the NCAA, ESPN, or any other media outlet wants to really crack down, let’s look deeper.. Let’s do an analysis of some of these baseball players that get jobs and other perks that no one talks about.. Louis? Who are you?? You tried to be a pseudo sportswriter, then a pseudo drug dealer/addict, then a “confidant”, and now a snitch.. I have 2 handfuls of baby powder for you..

3. Hillary Clinton
Get out.. Leave.. It is no longer a race.. Check the new cover of TIME if you don’t believe me.. You are just wasting money and time.. If you’re for the party, then do what your colleagues are asking you to do.. Bounce.. Get gone.. It’s not a competition if you can’t win.. And at this point, you can’t win.. You tried.. You really did.. You lied.. You and your husband did something that I didn’t think was possible.. Loose the luster with Blacks.. I liked Billy.. I really did.. I always said that he spoke better for and about Black people than most Black people could.. Now, I can do without y’all.. Especially you, Hillary.. I know it’s not right to slap chicks, but you, my former friend, are deserving of one.. Even if it’s a nice, soft, playful one.. Just enough to put the nice handprint on your cheek.. You deserve it for just being this dang stubborn.. For changing your stance and lines to fit what you felt would generate more votes.. That’s so not gangsta..

4. Media
Y’all get this award for being too blatant with your racism.. Pacman Jones, Michael Vick, Carmelo Anthony, Cedric Benson, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens.. One of those kids is doing their own thing.. Guess which one? That’s right, Mr. Clemens.. Mr. Cy Young.. Mr. Yankee.. Mr. I Can Get Paid $2 Million For Each Game I Play.. Mr. I Did Not Take Performing Enhancing Drugs, But My Head is the Size of Shaq’s Rims.. Mr. I Did Not Rape a 15-Year Old Country Singer, Even Though She Co-Signed the Allegation.. Mr. I Know I Was Married with 2 Kids at the Time.. Mr. I Will Use Your Wife, But I Won’t Steal Her From You.. Mr. My Trainer and Former Teammate/Training Partner Have No Idea What They Are Talking About When They Admitted That I Did It Too.. Come on now, enough is enough.. Media, you’re getting the smack, because through all of the recent news that came forward, you found a way to ensure that it wasn’t online or in your news.. I mean, nowhere.. It disappeared.. When the Vick non-sense came out, y’all had cameras around him 24/7.. Remember when Allen Iverson had that issue in Philly with his wife? When he went to find her after he got into an argument with her? Y’all camped out at his house for about 3 months.. Do you not know where Roger lives? Let me know, I can google it for you.. Barry Bonds can’t get a job.. Cedric Benson is being aired out one day about being one of the worst NFL dudes in the game, and when his friends and family come out in defense of him, you limit the airtime the story gets.. What’s up with that?? You blasted him for 2 straight days, and when accounts, pictures and 911 records came out to support what he was saying, the story no longer gets airplay?? What’s really going on? Where are our sportswriters at? Why are we not taking the time to defend one another? That’s so not gangsta..

5. Myself
I get a slap for staying away from y’all for so long..

So, yea, those are the initial awards.. Who else is up for nomination or a clear path to the slap?

AOG Series: From the Block to the Boardroom..

I love B.I.G., but we’re taking his rhymes a bit too seriously.. The man could definitely wax prophetic from line to line, verse to verse, song to song, but let’s move away from making his words the Ten Commandments of what we can become.. I know I have y’all wondering what I’m talking about, and I’ll get to it in a second..

I keep hearing the “voice” of our people (at least to mass media, which I disagree with) in magazines, interviews and every other outlet they can reach quoting BK’s finest..

“either you slang crack rock, or you gotta wicked jumpshot”..

Stop it!

I’m saying that with my Grandma’s (RIP) face on.. That no nonsense look she would give us spoke volumes.. No other words needed..

Stop it!

My jumper is sick (I know cuz I tried it out over the weekend after not taking a shot in a year), but my brother’s is sicker.. He dabbled on that other court too.. I didn’t.. He’s locked up again.. I’m out free with a legal team.. The fact is that we both grew up together.. The fact is that I didn’t choose those 2 avenues that leaves my brother facing yet another bid.. I did something different.. I went left.. I didn’t think it was crime or sports.. I saw crime and sports.. I played in 1 more than the other, cuz the other was just stupid.. But I knew I could get out.. Again, I went left.. All those others went right.. Going in circles and never got out.. That dude that was sick with his right hand, but couldn’t go left.. That dude never made it to college, cuz coaches knew he couldn’t go left.. Stuck..

Where’s the line, verse or song that talks about him having other options? Oh my bad, we can’t find it.. At least nothing that becomes a quotable for the potential talents we have in communities and neighborhoods across the country.. I’ma be real.. My jumper didn’t get me no further ahead in life.. High School? Man, yea, it felt good to have people shout your name.. College? Yea, it felt good to put it on dudes with scholarships.. Where does it leave us now?? The drug game? Well maybe Biggie didn’t lie about that! Pfizer has been killing the game to the tune of billions.. But that ain’t what we’re talking about..

We came from the block.. We built the block.. We built up the block.. We became the block.. Then we got stuck on our block.. A block most of us don’t want to live on.. That ain’t the part I’m mad about.. It’s about leaving the block and heading to the boardroom.. That can be corporate america, philanthropic work, church, wherever.. Just a place that you’re building up so that it’s not all about making it rain (bball reference or Pacman) or pushing weight..

Speaking of pushing weight, isn’t it ironic that the likelihood of those actions will leave you pushing weights in a facility that houses more Black men than most project buildings in the U.S.? I’m just sayin’..

Don’t get me wrong.. I’ve had visions of playing in the league.. That stopped when I realized that I was blessed with the short gene from my Mom.. Shoot, I’ve even sat and thought about how easy I felt the grassroots (peep the subliminal) game is.. Just seemed like with a little more common sense, we would see more Marlo moments than corner moments.. But I was smart enough to realize you can never be smart enough when you have to employ niggas.. I mean that not in a color sense, cuz I’ll use that term for any “ignant” mickey-fickey that I come across.. The whole drug game has a serious STD.. Those crabs are no joke.. All the more reason to stay protected, and in that game abstinence is the only way to avoid catching a case..

So, I’m calling on us to use another line.. Gangstas to use another verse.. Shoot, make your own song.. Just make it a different tune..

From the Block to the Boardroom..

A line to emulate..

AOG Series: Key Messaging

This Friday your boy (with my Fuzion counterparts) will be leading a forum at an NYU conference on Media and Messaging as it relates to the Black/Latino male population.. I’m excited and as I’ve been doing my due diligence on the media, I’m turning this vehicle into a sounding board for voices of reason.. AOG style..

A change is coming.. We are in the midst of a cultural revolution.. Yet another one during the storied history of America, but the first one that most of us will live through.. It’s exciting.. I was talking to my boy this past week, as we were in the midst of the revitalization of Harlem.. He mentioned that he felt he was born in the wrong era.. He was more Harlem Renaissance era than this other.. The look, the style, the opportunities, the love.. All of those things we know and appreciate about Harlem, is what he was referring to.. I felt the same.. But then I thought longer.. And I think I needed to have been a time traveler, cuz I would say I’m part Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights struggle, 80’s Baby, and now.. I see myself in all of those eras, and wanting to be in those eras.. As an 80’s baby, I’m not proud of all the stuff we went through, but I appreciate it and know it’s a big part of me..

But then I think about now.. This new cultural revolution.. This one has blogs, vlogs, and dogs that get treated better than middle-class Americans.. This one that has shown a change in politics and a viable Black president.. This one that has turned television from Must-See TV to Everything That I Can Possibly See TV.. Where Flava Flav can get 3 seasons of dating ugly chicks with phat asses, and then land a sitcom on another network.. This one has Sofia from The Color Purple pretty much owning The Color Purple, Green and her OWN network.. This one has the rebirth of the Harlem Renaissance and TROUBL owning the word nigga.. That’s real..

I like this one the most because of that last bit.. Because of TROUBL.. Because we have more resources at our fingertips and more voices to spread the message.. Shoot, TROUBL has the TROUBL blog site, TROUBL Magazine, TROUBL Radio, and soon TROUBL TV.. What other era really made that possible for us?? That’s what my talk is going to speak on this Friday.. So many opportunities for us to create and distribute our own messages.. So many vehicles.. Many less excuses.. And that’s what I love.. On Friday I can tell them all that they can make their own voice be heard.. If they choose to use what they have in front of them.. You don’t have to wait on a job with the NY Times or BET.. If they drag their feet you can make your own The Economist magazine and Oprah Winfrey Network.. That’s only if you really want it..

Think about the irony of “don’t talk about it, be about it”.. Many times you can be about it, and don’t nobody know.. I mean, it should be, first and foremost, something that you believe in and don’t need the acclaim or props for it.. But, many times it can be something so big or so good that everyone should hear it, and it doesn’t get covered.. So I’m glad to live in this era where we can say “talk about it, be about it” and we can actually do both.. And it be positive.. With or without the help..

So, as I’ll be challenging the future voices of reason at NYU, I’m also challenging the future AOGs.. Talk about it and be about it.. Let your voice be heard, and put it into action.. While you’re doing, make sure your message is being heard.. Make sure you find vehicles to support your AOG cause.. If you don’t find any, make your own.. Pedal your bike down the block and scream it.. Get at TROUBL.. Make your own TROUBL..

Just make it happen..