Thought For Today - Glass Houses

"If your house is made of glass I hope you built a stone proof hut on hypocrisy island. NONE of us are perfect. We all have done dumb shit." - Tisean M. Bell (me)

Man On The Moon: The End Of Day - Review

So, as many people know I am an AVID Kid Cudi supporter. At times I think avid would be an understatement. :) In lieu of his album release I thought it only right to give my thoughts on the album. I will humbly admit when I first heard the album I wasn't feeling it as much as I wished I would have. On the surface it appeared to be just too dark for me. I categorized it as "razor blades & lemon juice music". In the beginning of my journey with this album I was a little disappointed because I felt Cudi made it seem to be bigger than what it was (upon first listen). Not making excuses but sadly I think I let the biased opinions of nay sayers and "die hard" Hip Hop fans cloud my judgement. With the album leaking a weak prior to its scheduled release, I was getting a lot of mixed reviews. It was like a LOVE/HATE war going on. Some folks loved it, others loathed it. I myself, well I was in the middle. I don't know if when I first listened to it I wasn't at an open minded place or what. [It was about 2am and I was DEAD tired!] I guess I wanted something more uptempo at that point in my evening! lol. Who knows. Either way after a considerable amount of spins I came to appreciate this album more and more with each listen. Cudi was right about one thing though. Either you will love it and think he's a genius or hate it and think he is insane.

This album definitely takes you on a ride. I love the cinematic nature of it. i.e. the Acts and the Narration by Common. It just works. I love the production on the album. So many amazing artists on it from Ratatat, Free School, MGMT, The Larry Gold Orchestra, and of course Mr. West. This album is to be especially appreciated in a pair of Skull Candy headphones. It is just a beautiful journey. The synths and genre blending is exactly where we need to go in Hip Hop. Although, truthfully I don't even feel like this album can be classified as just Hip Hop. It is a mix of Hip Hop, R&B, Pop, Electro, Alternative Rock, etc. It pushes the envelope of creativity. I think a lot of people were expecting Cudi to be an exact replica of Kanye or some other artist. [Mind you Kanye pushed the envelope with 808's which is an AMAZING album. One of my favs of ALL TIME lol... no pun intended.]

Aside from all of the positive things I just listed about MOTM my favorite thing about this album is the HONESTY. It seems like people expect rappers to be hard all the time. Cudi put pieces of himself out there to let the world know his struggle and his thoughts. I think society is accustomed to men not being this expressive. I applaud Cudi for his remarkable BRAVERY. He let us into his world. I think this very same point is one of the things that turned me off at first. I came to realize that the fact that I identify with Cudi so much scared me and I didn't want to be in that space of those depressing yet, REAL emotions. I think I had a wall up because some of the things Cudi went through/is going through, I went/go through too. I could identify with him in various ways. I think many of us have the same thoughts Cudi had. We are just too afraid to admit it. I love this album because it speaks of things we think about but may not be able to express or want to express for fear of being misunderstood. Cudi openly admits being misunderstood but for those people who have actually gone through something in life, we get you Cudi. My top 5 tracks on the album are Cudi Zone, Pursuit Of Happiness, My World, Soundtrack 2 My Life, & Enter Galactic/Solo Dolo ((tie)). [I was looking forward to In My Dreams the most at first... its still DOPE btw] Even with the "darkness" of the album it is still one that you can pop in and just vibe out to. The musicianship on it is incredible!

I truly believe Cudi accomplished what he set out to do. He gave us a piece of his world, with an open minded approach to music and expression, He did it in a way that told a story. Thats what music is about right? It's about the story of the artist. Not this fake, meaningless, foolery we hear on most radio stations. One quote that I feel is so appropriate right now is one from the Kid himself.
He said:

"ummm, im not da most insightful rapper, im not ya Talib Kweli, ya Mos Def, ya Kanye, uhhh ya Common, or anyone like dat...i dont consider myself a genius, but i aint a dummy either...if u like my music its not gonna b bcuz of some witty line i said or me bein political, its gonna b bcuz u connect with me as a person n u relate 2 my story at the same puttin yaself n my SB Dunks u feel me?"

He's right... he's not any of these artists... and he doesn't have to be... being Kid Cudi is good enough.


I have my Deluxe Edition Copy and if you haven't supported yet I suggest you do so NOW



This is a design I did just because its what I do and Cudi inspires me. :)

Acts Of Faith September 12

It is so funny now God speaks to us through different mediums. My 'Acts of Faith' book by Iyanla Vanzant has been such a blessing to me. I believe I shared one before but today's I definitely have to share. It speaks volumes in my life right now and is something I believe was meant for me to read today.

When the law of an eye for an eye operates, all the people will end up blind." - Bishop Desmond Tutu

You simply cannot pay anyone back for something they did to you. Look for the lesson and move on. If one man treats you badly, rejects you, abandons you, abuses or disrespects you, you cannot hold all men accountable. Look for the lesson and move on. if your ex-wife took your money, lied to you, neglected your children, and your home, it does not mean no woman can be trusted. Look for the lesson and move on. If some White people are racists; some Black people thieves; some intellectual people condescending;some uneducated people lazy; some light people uppity; some dark people ignorant; it does not give you the right or authority to treat all people who look the same or act the same any way you choose, based on your past experiences. Ask yourself, What can I learn from this situation> What can I do this time that I did not do before? I there is nothing, simply move on.

I am doing the best I can right now

This passage hit home for me in such a way that kind of made me speechless. Reading this today was kind of like wow God, you are definitely trying to tell me something. I have been struggling with a certain situation regarding a friendship/relationship that I constantly felt reminded me of a past situation I've been through. After some thought and reading this I realize that I am so caught up in the past situation that I have my blinders on causing me to believe that this situation is gonna be the same as the last. Because of past situations I have approached each situation after as if the same thing will occur and indeed it has. I believe my thoughts have overpowered the situation. When you think negative, you get negative. When you think positive, you get positive. I let the pain from my past hinder my present and future. In the last situation I walked away because I knew that person was not true to me. In this present situation the person is true to me yet the circumstances are complicated. What can I do this time that I did not do before? I can let the past go and move on. I can be presented with the FULL TRUTH (unlike before) and be given a choice as to which way to go. Left? Right? Or Straight? Either way my destiny has already been laid out for me. God is just waiting for me to learn my lessons and catch up.

Common Projects 2009 Fall Footwear Collection

I'm definitely diggin these. I'd rock them with some nice vintage jeans & a simple tee. (Via HypeBeast)