Finally Here- Sorry for the wait.

All I have to say is I'm a man of my word.  As far as the music video I was working on, I don't think it's going to happen due to the high standards I uphold for my image on this blogger website.  I just don't have time and when I do things don't happen the way I want them to.  Other then that the mix-tape is already done but I'm adding a couple adjustments here and there so I'll be 100% satisfied with what I distribute.  Stay tuned in for more.

I'll Make It Up To My Followers...

I'm feeling a bit embarrassed because I don't like to break my word, and that's exactly what I did to everybody who follows my project.  I have gained followers over this year, and I feel like I let them down so for that I will make it up to you all.  I will do so by one posting up the "go getta" song that I said I would during spring break, and I will give you all the full world preview of a music video I've been working on.  I hope that sounds appealing to everyone.

About the music video, to my surprise I've learned that it's not as easy as it sounds.  I want a really good video and I am not satisfied with what I have so far.  I need to get more people in my video, and most of all I need time, which is one thing I don't have.  So far not good, but it's only an obstacle that I'll find my way around just like the rest.

A Snippet

I just got in contact with my old friend Bebo, (Albert Flores), who once worked with me to help start off my passion for music when I was in sixth grade.  He is now one of my panel members and will help mewith my project by providing me with a professional studio to record in.  Here is one of the songs he wants me to be on and we currently have started a song titled "gone with the wind" which I will post here on the blog as soon as we get it finished.  During spring break it will be posted as my next blog for sure.  So here's the snippet of what I will be working on during the break and who I will be working with.

Connecting The Dots

Things are starting to look up for my project.  Lately I've gained and re-gained musical contacts to help get my project jumping off.  My panel member Three-zo (Tyrone Hill) hooked me up wit his nephew J.Marquis who is a producer and CEO of MarqMillion Productions.  From now on I'll be receiving beats from him and working on separate projects outside of school.  I haven't talked much about it with him, but hopefully I can get in his studio and record a couple songs professionally. I have a studio connect  close to my house that I just started going to this past weekend.  It's a home studio where we recored in a sound proof closet, but he has a better microphone than the one I am using now.

Last and the best of the news, I re-gained contact with my former colleague Bebo.  This guy was like a big brother to me back in the day when I was in middle school.  He put me in the studio and introduced me to the rap game.  We lost contact a little before I came to Chinquapin due to the fact that I left rap alone and got more involved in the streets.  He commented on my last blog post before this one; he left me his phone number and told me to call him.  That only means good news for my project.  It means that I will have a rap mentor/coach, studio time, performances to come, and a CD to be made.  I'm starting to connect my dots and visualize the bigger picture.

Creativity Week Performance

Video provided by my panel member: Three-Zo

Burrs Varsity B-Ball Team Short Video Clip & Soundtrack

Something I did just for fun...  Jeremy Duncan shot this video and uploaded it to you tube; all I did was rap.

The Documentary (Almost Done)

Here's about 90% of the documentary that will be shown at my end of the year presentation for my panel members, family, friends, and overall supporters of my musical movement.  The only footage I need to add is the footage I will take as soon as I get enough money together to record at a professional music studio where they will charge me by the hour.  Once I record that experience, and add it to this video you probably already watched, that will be the final touch to this documentary.

Perseverance

With a week consisting of two tests, a late book report that I had to turn in, and going to the Gala, I must say this week was hectic. I wasn't able to get much work done with my music, but next week is creativity week and I'll get about two official songs,and half of the documentary done. I can't wait!! I'm going to get an early start by checking out the school laptop so that I can compose a couple beats over the weekend and get some lyrics knocked out so that when I get back to school I'll mainly work on recording and presenting to one of my panel members, Mr. Dillworth. He will give me constructive criticism on my songs and from there I will spend the rest of next week working on bettering my tracks. Mr. Dillworth has also offered to help me by filming me for the documentary. Thanks Mr. D!! Fueling off of motivation, I'll face my goals with perseverance; one step at a time moving around obstacles in my way.

On The Road to Success

So far so good with my project except for getting my beats uploaded to this page. What I will do is upload one of my songs to youtube and hopefully embed it into my E-portfolio. I say hopefully because I've made a soundtrack for a short video of our Burrs basketball team and I had no success with embedding it, but I did link it to my portfolio. With that being said, if your reading this now check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVoh-YAXsAs

On the other hand, I've been working on songs that will be on my final product, but haven't yet completed one. Although, I have been making songs for myself that I just do for fun which serves as practice and a sort of training for the real showdown: the CD. I've been experimenting with new styles of writing and working on collaborations with singers such as, Shomari and Chassidy so stay tuned in.

Beats 101

Over the break I was dying to make beats, but had no access to garage band so that I could translate my funky ideas into the form of something you could bob your head to. Ever since I've gotten back to school, I've been taking advantage of my resources of the proximity of the macs on campus and have made two final beats that will be put on my CD. That's impressive on my part considering that making a beat takes a lot of time and patience, and I had to balance my academic work with my own personal work. I have been trying to upload my beats onto my blog so that I can get feedback from my followers, but it seems that I must convert the format into an mp3 in order for me to embed it on my page. By next week I should have at least one beat up so you can hear the young talent that awaits you and hopefully help me get better with some constructive feedback. This has been my progress over the past two weeks since we've gotten back from the Christmas break.

Music in the Making Reflection (Final Blog Post)

From all the progress I’ve made with my project, I’m now on to the last step before actually getting to work with composing my CD: inviting four people to be on my panel. I already have two members: Mr. Dillworth (Dale), and Theo Hill (Three-Zo), Ahmad’s dad. The other two members I anticipate on being are Dave, and my mentor, Jeffery Mitchell. So, I have two faculty members: Dale who has experience in the media field and making videos, and Dave who has experience in the music field from making lyrics to making his own instrumentals on the piano. Theo Hill (Three-Zo) is a computer scientist who has a passion for music and makes music on the side. My mentor, Jeffery Mitchell is an IRS manager, and my mom’s boss, who also has an ear for music, but never pursued it.

Dale insisted on recording me for my documentary and editing my music video. Since I plan to produce a documentary of my process of music in the making, he will be recording me as I brainstorm, write lyrics, record, edit, and basically all the hardship I encounter within producing my final product. In May, he will be judging and grading me based on the media part of my project.

Dave will be guiding me through the process of composing beats together to fit my rhymes since he is a master with instruments. He will also be helping me with my rhythm and the smoothness of the sounds within my songs so that they come out as perfected as possible with the help of a veteran in music. In May, he will be grading me on the beats of my songs and how well they match the lyrics. He will judge me on how well I get across the moods I want my listeners to feel.

Theo Hill (Tree-Zo) will be guiding me in how to transform my thoughts to lyrics in a professional way, almost how Susan helps us write papers. He will also serve as a connector for my project with introducing me to anyone that would be able to help me in any way possible. In May, he will be grading me on how well the lyrics come together and sound.

Jeffery Mitchell will be helping me with donations for my project in order for me to get the cover of my CD looking at its best. He will also serve as a connector for my project and I. In May, he will be grading me on everything from the lyrics, to the beats, to the cover, and the documentary.

With my research done, I have contributed the facts that I learned into the composition of my beats. I’ve learned that depending on which instruments you use can portray different moods. I’ve contributed this into my project because I will pay special attention to the types of instruments I’ll use in making beats in order to project the certain mood I want my listeners to feel. I have also learned, from statistics, that most underground rappers who make the most success are the ones who have more than one talent and can make music form more than one genre. So from this I have decided to consist my CD of no genre meaning, My CD will have music that will suit every type of person whether they like techno, rap, hip-hop, rock, ect. Over the winter break, I need to do some more research on the best way to get my project known and heard. I must do more research on how to edit songs and beats so that I can tweak my songs to sound up-to-date with effects most producers are using.
With the research I have now and the research I will have done over the break, I will be ready to hit the ground running come January and get started in producing my final product.

My Sentence (Exam)

Over this year I’ve distributed my inner most motivational thoughts to the students of Chinquapin through a CD composed of my own self-made beats and lyrics which provoked my listeners to not give up on life and re-gain confidence to continue on through any obstacle life has for in store for them them.

The Script (Under Construction)

I want you to think about almost every incident in your life and realize what has always been there to help out: music. In some way music has always been there for us and will always be there. There are different types of music for different types of people that stimulate the minds of people in magnificent ways.

When I first became a teen, I went through this crazy phase that most teens go through, but even worse. I used to think life was a joke and would try to live life to the fullest everyday in the wrong kind of ways. I would cheat on girls, distribute, and consume drugs all the time like it was nothing. Then one day I got arrested. I was convicted of a misdemeanor and stayed in jail for three days until my court date came up because my parents were so upset with me. In there, there was nothing to do and after all the movies I’ve ever watched with some jail experiences in it they just work out, so that’s what I thought I was supposed to do. That didn’t last long. I started to whisper lines of songs under my breath that helped me keep faith in my situation. Then I started making my own music to keep faith in myself. This became a therapy and an anger management for me. It helped me cope with the place that I was in and gave me something to look forward to doing when I got out. It gave me something to do to pass by the long boring days, but most of all it gave me motivation to keep my head up and know that this wasn’t the end of the world, and that mistakes happen.

The Research

It has been proven tht music can music can actually affect brain wave patterns in severall ways. I believe this is true because when people work out most of the time they take music along to excite the experience and get pumped. That's a way music can stimulate the brain and send adrenalin rushes through our body. Music is also used during Yoga to calm the body and mind which proves the affect music has on us. Everybody loves music and uses it in some kind of way to arouse a certain mood. Music is used to get a party jumping and it's what people make tuns of money off of through opening up clubs derived from music that brings about dancing all night. Even way back then when there wasn't radio stations, ancient indian tribes would beat on drums dancing and chanting. Through my research, I've found all other ways that music affects the mind: common sense, and statistically based.

"Music is Medicine"

I can relate and expand on Robert Gupta's thesis, "music is medicine to the soul," because I agree that music is an inspiration to us. Since my project will be based on creating music to inspire others, after watching this video I have picked up new ideas of how to prove that music is inspiration by giving surveys on comparing the outcomes. From this video I have gained the fact that through whatever instrument or musical talent you have, music could be used as a sort of therapy, or a personal expression; therefor music is what gives us sanity in a way.

THE DOCUMENTARY

I plan on creating a documentary of myself going through the process of creating motivational music with my own lyrics and self made beats. I love every aspect of filming, and I definitely love making music; so why not combine the two. Along with the documentary, I would like to make a music video that promotes positiveness in our lives. The beneficial cause to this project other than just doing what I love to do, is to bestow the school with everything I receive such as money, etc. The pricing for my project isn't much other than the professional CD cover consisting of a picture, names of songs on the CD, and advertising. So basically my project is almost priceless due to the fact that all the equipment required is at school such as garage band on the laptops for beat making and voice recording, a video camera for filming, and editing on final cut pro. I plan on my mentor being Dale or Dave, but either or who isn't my mentor will be on my committee. So you can expect to receive some of the hottest motivational music brought to you by some of the youngest talent ever.