Greetings and Salutations, my blessed and highly favored!
Welcome to the day that you finally put the past behind you and begin to live life to the fullest! Today’s Daily Word is dedicated to Today! The past is gone, the future is not here yet, so today is the only day you know you have for sure!
Many people waste today because they spend so much time in yesterday, thinking about what could’ve been done differently not realizing that everything happens for a reason! What may seem like a mistake is a blessing in disguise… Every moment carries its own lesson, but if you are too busy feeling sorry and having regrets, you will miss the lesson completely! Know that TODAY is the only day you fully have in your control! What’s done is done!
Stop giving your power up to shoulda, woulda, and coulda!! There is nothing they can do to change your circumstance! You are the only one that can change your situation in any direction you want it to go!! Effective immediately, I need you to put away the past!! It is what it
is, and it got you where it got you!! Start TODAY making sure that TODAY is the best that it can possibly be! If you do that EVERYDAY, then tomorrow will take care of itself! Every new day is an
opportunity to do it better! Take advantage of that fact, and make it great!! You are in TOTAL control!! NOTHING CAN STOP YOU!!
-Ash’Cash
“One problem with gazing too frequently into the past is that we may turn around to find the future has run out on us.” -Michael Cibenko
“Stop acting as if life is a rehearsal. Live this day as if it were your last. The past is over and gone. The future is not guaranteed.” -Wayne Dyer
“People who live in the past generally are afraid to compete in the present. You’ll have your faults, but living in the past shouldn’t be one of them.” -Sparky Anderson
“If only. Those must be the two saddest words in the world.” -Mercedes Lackey
“If we spend our time with regrets over yesterday, and worries over what might happen tomorrow, we have no today in which to live.” -Unknown
“What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment. And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new. Right now.” -Unknown
“Whatever your past has been, you have a spotless future.” -Unknown
“Your past is important but it is not nearly as important to your present as the way you see your future.” -Tony Campolo
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Ash’Cash is a Business Consultant, Motivational Speaker, Financial Expert and the author of Mind Right, Money Right: 10 Laws of Financial Freedom. For more information, please visit his website, www.IamAshCash.com.
On April 28 at the Gibson Amphitheater located at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, “Back In The Day” Hip-Hop Station 93.5 KDAY held their annual Krush Groove concert. This year’s lineup included Brooklyn rapper Masta Ace, Ras Kass, The Pharcyde, Mystikal, Cypress Hill, and Ice Cube closing and putting an exclamation point on the show.
Crowd favorites included “Born To Roll” by Masta Ace, “Passin’ Me By” by The Pharcyde, “Shake Ya A**” by Mystikal, and “Insane In The Brain” by Cypress Hill. Ice Cube (joined by his partners W.C. and DJ Crazytoones) then took it to another level by strictly performing an old school set that included “Natural Born Killas,” “Straight Outta Compton,” “Jackin’ 4 Beats,” “Check Yo’self,” “You Know How We Do It,” and many other of his classic cuts from the 90’s.
AllHipHop.com was on hand to take pictures and to interview artists backstage. Check out our Krush Groove Picture Gallery below:
When pressing play, the first thing to greet you on The Wurxs’2nd Win EP is the comforting, soothing sound of Kenny Powers’ braggadocious voice rambling about his self-importance in a way that only Kenny Powers can. It sounds contradictory, but shortly after the laughs from the audaciously cocky (and hilarious) introduction concludes, Gee Moolah and Trons both come in to prove their self-worth over five songs, which are all self-produced and – more importantly – all well done. The West Philadelphia production/rap team showcases their chops behind the boards and on the microphone for less than 15 minutes, but the brevity only shows promise if you’re looking for dope artists that you’ve never heard of, and validates the reasons for Black Thought, Dice Raw, and other Philly acts being affiliated with them.
As mentioned before, the five songs present don’t even top out above 15 minutes, but each song displays their abilities to a certain degree. The production bounces around to different tempos, but remains undoubtedly Hip-Hop the entire time. Lyrically, they don’t miss a step as well and manage to include slick rhymes into their flows patterned for each beat. There’s no weak link as well; the cousins both do heavy lifting while spitting with relative ease and dropping memorable lines throughout from the beginning. From the clever laid back vibe of “Vacation Music” (“I hit the grass twice, chick’s Mulatto, half White / we fornicated then I skated like a halfpipe”) to the aggressive bars in “Decompression” (“But this the recession so they neglecting me like bad stock / so I’m on my NASDAQ, tryna get my cash back”), it’s all an enjoyable listening session.
It’s interesting, especially if you consider this only took them a month to make (two if you count the sequencing), but it’s only real flaw is the same thing that makes it great. By the time you get a feel for the group lyrically and understand their appeal and talent in their production, it ends. The one thing that’s for certain is that they do indeed have the skills to validate Black Thought wanting to develop them further, and all of those said skills are on exhibition for this quick listen entitled 2nd Win. The duo knows they are talented, and the Kenny Powers skits that hinge the project only comically state what they believe to be true; if they continue working, it’s no telling where we’ll see them end up next.
“Let Freedom ring with a buckshot/but not just yet/ First we have to understand/ the nature of the threat” – “Nature of the Threat”, Ras Kass
After 10 long years, the day had finally come. Juaquin Davis was finally graduating. As he swaggered across the commencement stage with his pants saggin’ just below his graduation robe, he took a moment to give a shout out to his homies in the audience. They returned the love by holding up a giant cardboard sign that said, “Kongrachulashunz!”
We have officially entered graduation season, the time of year when college seniors are taking their final exams and preparing to go out into the real world to make a difference, not only for themselves, but for their communities.
Well, that’s how it’s supposed to be. Unfortunately, in recent times there has been a decrease in the respect for knowledge, even among the college-educated.
There was a time in our history when knowledge was celebrated, and those who were fortunate enough to obtain a higher level of education saw it as their responsibility to uplift others. According to Lerone Bennett in his work, Before the Mayflower, the first Black college graduate, John B. Russwurm, used this intellect, not to open a strip club/rim shop, but to establish the first Black newspaper, Freedom’s Journal, on March 16, 1827.
So, what happened to our sense of communal responsibility?
In his 1903 essay, “The Talented Tenth”, Dr. WEB DuBois blamed the failure of “the educated and intelligent” to raise the level of consciousness of the masses on “slavery and race prejudice.”
However, Dr. E. Franklin Frazier in his 1957 book, Black Bourgeoisie, suggested that they merely, got their degrees, got hooked up with a nice j-o-b-, bought a fat Caddy and left the ‘hood and never looked back.
Perhaps this over emphasis on material wealth is why today’s college-educated rappers make music for kindergartners.
It must be remembered that 2 Chainz, Gucci Mane, Plies, and many others are said to have either graduated from or at least chilled for a semester at institutions of higher learning. Also, although Lil Wayne is said to have taken classes at the University of Houston, a 2009 Wall Street Journal article mentioned a study that alleged that peeps who listened to Weezy had lower SAT scores than those who listened to other types of music.
Really?
Unfortunately, these are the people who many high school kids look up to as models of success which carries over into college life.
You may remember the controversy that erupted back in 2009, when according to the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, prestigious Morehouse College, initiated a “get back to the legacy ” dress code that cracked down on such official Hip-Hop gear as saggin’ pants, caps, and hoodies.
The glorification of anti-intellectualism has not always been the case in Hip-Hop. Even during the pre-conscious era, Old School pioneers like The Disco 4 were rapping about the value of education on “School Beats” and Kool Moe Dee was droppin’ mad multi-syllabric words in his rhymes. Although not usually mentioned in the same breath with conscious rappers such as Mos Def or Talib Kweli, in ’96, Ras Kass released what remains possibly the hardest hitting, most in-depth “conscious” song ever, “Nature of the Threat,” on which he quoted Dr. Ishakamusa Barashango among others.
But in recent history, this has been the exception, not the rule.
Even today’s more politically conscious Hip-Hop artists rarely rise above the level of what can be called “ghetto scholarship.”
The term “ghetto scholarship,” was popularized a few years back by Dr. Wesley Muhammad, author of several books including, The Book of God. According to Dr. Muhammad, “Ghetto scholarship refers to a type of particularly poor scholarship; poor because the methodologies upon which this scholarship is based are poor” He goes on to say, “Ghetto scholarship has nothing to do with degrees or formal education, or the lack thereof…”
Of course , he was not really referring to Hip-Hop, but if the Jordans fit….
Even though, Nas gets an A for effort for rappin’ that Alexander the so-called Great blasted the nose off the Sphinx on his hit, “I Can” (even though scholars argue that it was Napoleon), I can only imagine how many kids failed their history exams for listening to a Hip-Hop CD instead of doing their own research.
Maybe rappers spent too much time “diggin’ in the crates,” instead of diggin’ in the books ?
With all the “Hip-Hop” courses being offered at universities, you would think that somebody would have started some remedial classes for rappers. Unfortunately, Professor Carlton “C-Money” Banks is more interested in teaching Skippy and Heather in his Wacka Flocka English 101 class the deeper esoteric meaning of “Round of Applause” than he is enlightening the aspiring young rappers who live in the ‘hood surrounding his campus.
This can not be separated from the overall emphasis of Hip-Hop to teach middle-aged, White people how to be hip – the low point being when Busta Rhymes taught Martha Stewart the proper way to pronounce “What-tha-deely-yo?” at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards.
There may be other reasons for the dumbing down of Hip-Hop. Miami’s Tony Muhammad, a.k.a. “the Hip-Hop educator,” believes that Hip-Hop has been dumbed down by corporations to create “an unintelligent consumer base.” He said that the same companies that control the music industry also run the liquor companies and the prison industrial complex.”
As they say, “a fool and his money are soon parted.”
Back in the day, Public Enemy said it was their overall purpose to raise up 5,000 Black leaders. This should be our responsibility now more than ever. Even today, Hip-Hop still can play a major role in educating the masses.
So, as you get ready to grab your degrees, please remember your responsibilty to use your education to raise the consciousness of the Hip-Hop Nation. To remix a line from Dr. Dubois, your task is not to make men better Hip-Hop artists, but to make Hip-Hop artists better men.
In a time when popular opinion says that in order to reach this generation, you have to communicate on fifth grade level, you must stand your ground and yell, NONSENSE!
Lupe Fiasco said on “Dumb em Down”:
“They tell me I should come down, cousin/ But I flatly refused/ I ain’t dumb down nuthin'”
Neither should you.
TRUTH Minista Paul Scott’s weekly column is “This Ain’t Hip Hop,” a column for intelligent Hip Hop headz. He can be reached at in**@*****************ed.com, on his website, www.NoWarningShotsFired.com, or on Twitter (@truthminista).
(AllHipHop News) The trial of Baton Rouge, Louisiana rapper Lil Boosie begins today (April 30) in the rapper’s hometown.
According to The Advocate, 150 local residents will fill out forms to begin the selection process.
Jurors will not be questioned by State District Judge Mike Erwin until tomorrow, when the process continues.
As previously reported, the 12 jurors who will ultimately be selected will be anonymous, sequestered and under heavy security.
Lil Boosie is on trial for the first-degree murder of a man named Terry Boyd in October 2009.
The rapper is accused of hiring a teenager named “Marlo” Mike Louding to commit the murder.
Louding is also charged in five other murders, including Christopher “Nussie” Jackson, who was allegedly killed on Lil Boosie’s orders.
Lil Boosie, born Torrence Hatch, it’s not charging any other slayings except the Terry Boyd murder.
Last week, District Judge Mike Erwin will that Lil Boosie’s lyrics could be used against him in court.
Prosecutors believe that Lil Boosie has admitted to some of the crimes in his lyrics, while his defense attorneys claim that he is simply a rapper and that the lyrics have nothing to do with this particular case.
If Lil Boosie is convicted, he faces an automatic life sentence.
He is currently being held at Angola State Prison.
AllHipHop.com’s resident Daily Word guru and all-around inspirational guy, Ash Cash, is back with his latest installment of “Ask Ash Cash.”
Watch the video below his response, as he offers more sound advice to readers:
Greetings and Salutations, my great people!! Today’s installment of “Ask Ash Cash” comes from Ms. Jessica Pace…. But I also want to hear from you.. If you have any business or finance questions, please tweet me (@IamAshCash) using hashtag #AskAshCash, or e-mail me your video or question to Qu*******@********sh.com. I also stream live every Monday at 9AM on Wave45.tv!! It’s time to get our Mind and Money Right!! We no longer have any excuses!!
Dear Ash Cash: How does a Checking Account work?
A checking account is what you would use to conduct everyday transactions. Some people like to walk around carrying cash, but when they do so they become vulnerable to theft or losing their money. Opening a checking account is the best way to keep your money safe and pay bills. It is also a convenient way to receive money that is owed to you, whether its direct deposit from your job, money from your side hustle, etc;
To open a checking account, you need proof of identification, like your drivers license, passport, or any other state government-issued ID (It must have a photo) – or proof of residence, like a utility bill or lease – and an opening deposit. Once your account is opened, the bank gives you a checkbook and a debit card that you can use to take money from the account as you need it and also to make purchases (not more than you deposit of course). If you use more than you have in the account, the bank will charge you an overdraft fee, which can range from $30-$35 per item. This can be very costly if you don’t pay attention to your budget.
You will receive monthly statements so that you can balance your account against your records, as well as have the ability to check your balance and recent transactions online, over the phone, through the ATM machine, and by visiting the branch.
Ash’Cash is a Business Consultant, Motivational Speaker, Financial Expert and the author of Mind Right, Money Right: 10 Laws of Financial Freedom. For more information, please visit his website, www.IamAshCash.com.
Although Roc Nation artist Rita Ora says that Beyonce is her idol, it seems as if she is really following in the footsteps of Rihanna. First Rita took Rihanna’s style, then she stole her song, and now her sloppy seconds?
According to The Sun Rita was seen making out with rapper Drake after his show in Newcastle, UK. Check out what they printed below:
The pair were spotted kissing backstage at his Newcastle gig this week, where Rita was the warm-up act. Rita’s new single, “R.I.P”, is written by Canadian hip-hop star Drake – and they have known each other for ages.
A source says: “Rita and Drake have been good friends for a while now but things seemed more serious this week.
“They were all over each other backstage at the gig on Monday and weren’t trying to hide it.”
I’m not sure following Rihann’a blueprint is going to work for Rita Ora. Just be yourself, sweetheart!
With the recent release of his new mixtape, Henny On the Rocks 2: The Bottle, “Chicago-bred, California-raised” MC Paypa is closer than ever to making his dreams of releasing his debut album, Feel Good Music, a reality. With several mixtapes under his belt and a host of collaborations completed with some of the game’s biggest names like Game and Raekwon, Paypa is showing no signs of slowing down. With H.O.T.R. 2, the gifted lyricist believes that the only way to move forward was to “pour out” his past.
AllHipHop.com spoke to Paypa on the eve of H.O.T.R. 2‘s release about the creative space he was in during the recording process, who he believes is the G.O.A.T., thoughts on Tupac’s Coachella hologram, and much more. Check out our exclusive interview with Paypa below:
AllHipHop.com: First things first, your government name is Marcus Moody, but your rap name is Paypa. Explain.
Paypa: Well, Paypa was a name that I was given growing up. I played basketball in high school and middle school and everything, and I used to ride around on a bicycle with a backpack on, and everybody used to crack jokes and say I looked like the paperboy. So it started out as just a joke, and then it just stuck, and everybody was calling me Paypa for short, and I just rolled with it.
AllHipHop.com: Okay. I knew you were a military kid as well, and you lived all over the country, but where would you classify as your “home”?
Paypa: You know what, that’s the hardest thing in the world, man, ‘cause it’s like I was raised in two places equally. My roots is the Southside of Chicago, Illinois. That’s where I got my beginning, and that’s where my whole family is from, and that’s a lot of who I am. On the other side of that, I grew up in California, too, and that’s a huge part of who I am as well. If you “x” either one of them out, then you wouldn’t have Paypa, man. Chicago is my roots. What I say is, “Chicago-bred, California-raised.” It’s pretty much the same thing, like a 50/50 split, I’d have to say.
AllHipHop.com: Being that you rep California and Chicago, I have to ask how those separate regions influenced your sound and music. Did you find yourself connecting more with the music scene in one city than the other?
Paypa: Well, Chicago definitely had a huge impact on my sound just because I feel like as an artist, you sound like whoever you grew up listening to. I grew up listening to a lot of Jay-Z and then Chicago cats like Kanye, Common, Twista. On the West Coast, I used to listen to a lot of Ras Kass growing up. I would listen to a lot of [Dr.] Dre, Kurupt, and that whole thing, so I think I got my soul from Chicago as far as my passion and delivery. But I think I got my ability to play in any lane; my versatility comes from growing up in both areas and being around two styles of music.
AllHipHop.com: That makes sense. Since you just brought up Dre, I have to ask about your thoughts on the much-talked-about Tupac hologram that “performed” at Coachella. What was your initial reaction when you saw that?
Paypa: I was blown away, man. It was a real surreal experience, and I can only imagine how it was for someone who was actually there. Coachella is actually only about an hour from where I grew up. But I was blown away, man, ‘cause I was watching it, and I knew it wasn’t real and that it was a hologram [laughter]. I was like “I know Tupac is dead; I know this is not him,” and then when he came out looking so real and shouted, “What’s up Coachella!”, it just f*cked me up, man.
AllHipHop.com: Who would you say is your favorite rapper, and who is the G.O.A.T.?
Paypa: It’s the same answer for both, Jay-Z. I’ve had many conversations about who the tops were, but if you in the conversation about the “Top Five,” then it’s an argument. But my personal favorite, and who I think is the greatest of all time is Jay-Z. That man has a story for anything you might go through, from the hustle to the struggle to the love to family to whatever. That’s Jay. He did it better than anybody ever did it, if you ask me.
AllHipHop.com: Before we talk about the project, I want to ask you about your brother who lost his life to kidney failure when you were younger. I wanted to know how that tragedy helped mold you into the artist, and more importantly, the man that you are today. How do you channel your brother through your music on a daily basis?
Paypa: Well, you know, when my little brother passed away, that was a very trying time in my life. It’s crazy, because I didn’t do music; it wasn’t my thing. I played sports, but my little brother was an actor, dancer, and a rapper and, you know, I would do the rapping for fun, just joking around with him, but it was never anything I took seriously. And then when he passed away, it was odd how it happened. I just kind of jumped on it and just took it and ran with it.
AllHipHop.com: Why was signing with S.R.C. and Universal the right move for you in your eyes?
Paypa: Man, we had met with different A&Rs and different execs and everything like that. When we met with Billy J over at S.R.C., he was just real and one hundred about what he could do and couldn’t do, and what to expect from him and what he expects from us. He was the first one to believe in the project and the team and what we were doing and trying to do.
AllHipHop.com: Now, tell me about the new project Henny On the Rocks 2: The Bottle. It’s been about six months since you dropped the first H.O.T.R., which is quite a feat to release two major mixtapes in such a short amount of time, but take me into your creative state of mind as you were putting H.O.T.R. 2 together.
Paypa: Well H.O.T.R. 2 was really easy for me to put together, because I knew where I wanted to go. I had so much bottled up, hence the name “The Bottle,” so much stuff that I wanted to say and wanted to talk about and get off my chest. There were things that bothered me, and I just went in and elaborated on all of it. I had a lot of time to think while I was out on the road and on tour and that was a huge learning experience for me. The last year has been such a year of growth and development, and I just wanted to pour it all out.
AllHipHop.com: Definitely, and I think it’s interesting to see names like Raekwon, Naledge, and Chip Tha Ripper on the project since they’re each from different regions, and you have the “Chicago-bred, California-raised” mentality. How did you decide who you wanted to work with on H.O.T.R. 2?
Paypa: It all starts with the music for me, man. I go in the studio and just pick a beat and figure out what the beat is saying and how I want to approach it and I come up with the record. Then I sit back and figure out who would sound good on it. I choose to collaborate with people that I’m fans of and admire their work. I’ve got Emilio Rojas on this tape, who is an up and coming MC who’s absolutely incredible. Raekwon’s on there who is an absolute legend, and who I’m just lucky to have the opportunity to have him on my mixtape, you know?
AllHipHop.com: For sure. That record with you Raekwon, JD Era, and Nick D’s is fire, so I can’t wait to hear the rest of the project.
Paypa: Yeah, Nick D’s is my little homie from my crew from Reno Valley. He’s 18 years old.
AllHipHop.com: What’s the name of your crew?
Paypa: It’s B.C.C. Blue Collar Coalition.
AllHipHop.com: I know you popped up on Game’s mixtape Purp and Patron last year, so I have to ask why he’s absent from H.O.T.R. 2?
Paypa: It was just timing, you know? He was on my mixtape before last, Tunnel Vision, and you know, then I was on one of his last mixtapes. I was on the road, and he was on the road. We just weren’t able to make it happen this time, but that’s my partner, man. He always shows me a lot of love, so we’ll definitely be working together again in the near future.
AllHipHop.com: Looking ahead past H.O.T.R. 2, will there be another project before you release your debut album Feel Good Music?
Paypa: I don’t want to talk about it too much, but I will say for sure that I’m working on another project right now. There’s more than enough to sit with for a little while on H.O.T.R. 2 though.
AllHipHop.com: Alright, man, sounds good. Thanks for your time.
