Letter to Britt

What you're about to read is something I wrote probably 4-5 months ago. Unfortunately, one of my cousins was convicted of a crime and went to jail. Well upon hearing he was actually going in I knew that it was going to be hard on the family. The night before he had to turn himself in (the end of last year) me, my bro, my girl (best friend then), and my cuzz all kicked it out. Well needless to say I ended up way gone off alcohol that night as did he. I remember waking up to a call from him. After saying hello he simply stated "Yous an Asshole you know that." LoL. Apparently I was the cause of him getting fucked up. LoL. Oh what a memory.

Unfortunately my communication with my cuzz has been damn near nothing since that morning. I somehow expected that it would slim though. I know you're probably thinking you can always write him. Well unfortunately, I knew that me being able to sit and write him would be a difficult thing to do. As many blogs, poems, and songs as I write you'd think sitting and penning a few paragraphs to my cuzz would be easy.

Well I will admit that it has been even harder than I expected. I definitely felt bad about it, yet still couldn't get through enough lines to write a letter. However, I knew he was doing okay as he called and checked in with him mom and even my brother fairly often. Well a few weeks ago I got a call from a blocked phone #. Normally I would disregard such a call, but I was expecting an important call so I answered. I was too shocked when I heard it was my cuzz calling me from jail.

When I heard the voice on the other end he sounded his normal silly, jovial, and positive self. Of course I apologized for not writing. But he definitely understood. He actually stated that his mom had been printing out our blogs here and sending them to him. That made me happy that even though I hadn't written, he was still in touch with some of what had been going on via our blog. Well after that conversation I decided to dig out what you're about to read below. Although I hadn't written him a letter I used my other talent and wrote him a song. My intentions when I wrote it some months back were to do a youtube video and actually perform this song. I never got around to doing that.

But for your reading pleasure you can envision me reciting these words below. I wrote it using the "Letter to B.I.G." beat that Jadakiss used. I know everyone was doing their own version of this song back then, so this was my version. The video is below. I would have preferred to have just the instrumental playing while you read but I was unable to find it.

So without further ado, here it is ya'll my "Letter to Britt."



Its been a few months you're probably wondering why I haven't wrote yet/ the truth is/ its no excuse/ I just can't focus/ to think of you being locked down just messes with my mental/ so I scribble/ a couple lines and just put down my pencil/ to explain how much I miss you/ was just hard to do/ easiest way was to sit and write these bars for you/ you behind bars its true/ but I still reminisce about/ the night before you turned yourself in and how we kicked it out/ I drank away the pain I didn't wanna see you go/ my younger cuzz man I used to watch and see you grow/ now you all grown up doing things like a man do/ got caught up in some shit life don't go the way we planned to/ too...just gotta handle what they hand you/ you know the court system they just tryna make examples/ outta young black youth/ the truth is hard to swallow/ too many dead or in jail no one is promised tomorrow/ my motto/ to keep it movin despite circumstances/ we all make mistakes but deserve second chances/ so when we get out/ just take a different route/ so much going on in the world I hate you missing out/ your baby girl getting bigger with every day that pass/ I know you gotta make that cash/ but I pray that's past/ future's yet to be determined they say life's what you make it/ anxious/ for your release but just gotta stay patient/ mean while just keep your head high/ aimed to the sky/ I wipe away your moms tears but I'm too gangsta to cry/ while you facing your time/ try to focus on God/ think of life as a poker game no folding the cards/ knowing its hard/ and I still can't believe myself/ you get out I got your back if you need my help/ this letter is heart felt/ I hope it reach you well/ I pray your time flies by and you find peace in jail/ when you read this mail/ know that when you get home/ celebration on/ got them bottles of patron/ ain't been long/ but it feels like forever to me/ and if you been through this storm then try to weather with me/ whether it be/ just a few months/ or a life sentence/ we all just tryna see through the dark like night vision/ in an instant/ dark nights change to bright days/ when christ came/ we all noticed how your life changed/ its quite strange/ I'm sure it made you a better man/ cuz what you going through man/ I know that I never can/ as the sands of time pass through the hour glass/ know the future ain't always defined by our past!!!

Love You cuzz, can't wait to see you come November!

Don't Save the Last Dance

"People don't dance no mo' all they do is this..." Goodie Mob

I'm Not sure if Goodie Mob was trying to be prophetic in their statement they made in those lyrics back in 1998, but it seems they were right. I will forewarn you that if you watch the videos on this particular blog that it may take away minutes of your life that you can't get back. I unfortunately was subjected to hours I can't get back while searching for these vidoes. So just know I took one for the team on this one. lol. Also, I apologize in advance if this is a bit long winded.

So as we all know the majority of music (especially rap) these days sucks. And when I say sucks I mean sucks like a vacuum, on a hoe stroll, standing next to a black hole. Sorry for the visual, but I'm sure you got my point now. I just doubt this is what our fore-fathers in hip-hop had in mind 30 years ago when they thought about where the craft would be in the future. This is precisely why I don't like to listen to the radio. The few times I have tuned in as of late, I often hear the ads requesting the citizens to help keep the radio free. They encourage us to call or write our local congressmen about the pay for performance tax. I don't know all the issues regarding the tax, but to be honest I could care less. The radio rarely plays anything I like to hear, so if they have to pay to play that crap then that's what they get for playing it.

So keeping on the topic of (C)Rap music I must admit that I can sometimes barely tolerate most of what falls into this category. But there is a particular trend in rap music that I have zero tolerance for. I'm sure from the title of this blog and my opening quote you realize that it's those Goddamn Dance songs! You just don't know how bad they irk the hell out of me!

Some of you that perhaps like these songs or just don't see my point may be asking yourself but why? Why don't you like them? Well it's simple first off the songs to me are just that...SIMPLE. It sounds like my 5 year old son wrote these lyrics using nursery rhymes as reference. As a rapper I find them highly insulting. Second, upon hearing them and not even seeing the dance I can visualize how stupid the dances look. Lastly, it's just another dumb ass trend. It's monkey see monkey do. So and so wrote a dance song so let me do the same. It's no different than when every rapper was a rock star and made rock songs, or when everyone wanted to rap fast. It's all the same. It simply boils down to No originality!

So when I began to write this blog I figured I can't just go in on the dance songs when most of them I have yet to see. Let me give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe I spoke too soon and could perhaps adopt some of these new dance moves the next time I hit the dance floor. Well good people, here come the minutes of your life you won't get back. Sorry to say. I spent hours watching this crap and finding these videos so I hope you enjoy the Uncle Tom Foolery you're about to see.

Stanky Leg


When I first heard this crap I cringed then I pictured what the dance would be in my head. Well when I finally saw this video my suspicions were confirmed. Just down right ridiculous. Ugh! Not stopping with the success of their first dance song. The follow up single by the GS Boyz is "Booty Dew." Feel free to look that one up yourself if you want to see how it's done. The videos I found may be a little too racy for some viewers.


Swag Surfin


Now when I first heard this song I was down in ATL back in May. I liked the beat and it was semi-catchy. Well by the time it came to Chicago Radio they of course played it out. And when I heard it was a dance song it immediately went on my do not play list. I get it the motions of the dance mimic what a surfer would do. But it still looks stupid. No thanks.


Chicken Wang


I'm almost sad to say the originator of this song is from Chicago. I love my city and try to rep the fellow artists from Chi. But I would be lying if I didn't say Chicago puts out a lot of garbage music. Not to mention we try to be like everyone else, so knowing that, this song is not a huge surprise. But watch as this guy demonstrates this dance. The bird flap are you for real? I mean Harold's Chicken (As seen in the video is good chicken but not good enough to make up a damn dance too. I'm mad this grown ass man doesn't even realize how dumb he looks! Damn Shame! Then he mentioned another dance soon to come "The George Jefferson." Oh lord please no!


Bird Walk


I personally can't stand Soldier boy so it's no wonder I didn't like this one either. But after the success of the Soldier Boy you should've known he'd be coming with another dance. This looks just as stupid as the first one to me.


Soldier Boy


I don't want to say this one started it all but it was definitely one of the more popular dances. I recall first hearing of Soldier Boy some years ago from one of my younger cousins. I heard him playing the song from his phone and doing this dumb ass dance. I just laughed at him and thought to myself there's no way a song or dance like that could ever become popular. Well lo and behold 2 years later I eat my words about the popularity. But I don't change my opinion it's still a stupid dance.


Ricky Bobby

I have never seen the movie Talladega Nights before, but apparently this dance is based on the lead character in that movie Ricky Bobby (played by Will Farrell). Perhaps if I saw the movie I would understand the meaning behind the dance more. But I didn't have another 2 hours to spend watching a dumb movie to figure out a dumb dance.


Walk it out

The best thing about this song to me was the re-mix with Andre 3000. Besides that thee song was crap. The dance is just about the same if you ask me. But I guess it's not as bad as some of the more recent ones. I know DJ Unk also did the song "2-Step." But I was unable to find anything depicting that particular dance.


The Jerk


Okay when I watched this video I first thought wasn't that the "Kid n' Play" dance they just did at the beginning? Then I thought was this nigga pretending to jump an imaginary rope backwards? Wtf is this the actual dance? They look like fake break dancers in pants that are way tighter than any man should ever wear. The Jerk? Yeah that's the perfect name for what they look like doing this dance. I'm good on this one.


Halle Berry


When I first heard the song I figured well it's Hurricane Cris so typical crap he put out before. I mean I think Halle Berry is fine too (top notch), but she gets her own song? Well I had no clue until doing research for this blog that there was a damn dance to the song. The video is from the Ellen Show and has Halle Berry talking about the song/dance and doing it as well. Halle Berry and any other woman can do this dance all day. She looks good doing it. But no grown ass man should be doing this dance!


Roll Your Neck

Just as indicated on the last dance and most of these dances I'll say it again "No grown ass man should be doing this dance." With that said I bring you a new dance that has yet to hit the national market yet according to the video. It's called roll your neck. Well it's self explanatory. The guys doing it in this video may as well change the name of the dance to "out the closet." Fuckouttahere with this!


Lean with it Rock with it

Again we go back a couple years and see how the dance song craze began. We all remember the lean with it rock. Then Lil' Jon came with snap ya fingaz, which was just another variation of the same dance if you ask me.


Shoulder Lean

Here's the thug version of the dance song. I guess Dro and T.I. were a little too hood to come up with a corny dance song. So they came up with the shoulder lean. I know gangstas don't dance but it's okay to do the shoulder lean. If you say so.


Chicken noodle soup


This I song to me was horrible. I'm not from Harlem nor have ever been. But I guess it was a big thing out there. So of course someone had to come up with a song for the dance. So here we have the chicken noodle soup dance. I still don't know why it's called that. Campbells makes some good soup, but I don't know if that necessarily warrants a song and dance. But then again who am I.


Harlem Shake

I blame Puffy (or Diddy as some call him) for bringing this dance to the forefront. Honestly, this could've stayed in Harlem. However, after he had the little kids doing this dance in the "Let's Get It" video. Everyone was doing it. Again, as evidenced in the video grown men should never have been doing this dance. The comedian "smokey" described this dance best. It looks like what happens to a crack head after they hit the pipe. LoL.


Crip Walk


No disrespect to anyone's gang or anything but again I didn't know that gangstas danced. I'm not sure which crip invented the crip walk, but I guess he made it cool for them to dance. Since then it's become more mainstream and everyone from lil' Bow Wow were doing it. But I people like Xzibit, and Snoop made songs about getting your walk on.


Tootsie Roll

Let's take it back to what like 94? The 69 Boyz were some of the originators and came up with this song and dance for what they called the Tootsie Roll. They took another popular dance "The Butterfly" and created their own variation called the "Tootsie Roll." I'm still not sure why it was called this, but I'm sure the Tootsie brand saw an increase in their sales over the 2 year span this song and dance were popular.


Humpty Dance

If you ask me Shock G was a mogul in the making back in the early 90's. He already rapped as himself in the group Digital Underground. But then he thought of the bright idea to create an alter Ego named Humpty Hump. Humpty was supposed to be Shock's cousin who got his nose burned and wore the humpty nose/glasses because of that. Humpty also rapped. Many didn't know shock and hump were one in the same person. He then went on to make a song and dance called the humpty hump. He was one of the originators of the dance song. It's funny I've heard this song and seen the video hundreds of times, and he even breaks it down in a verse. However, I still don't know how the dance is done.
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Well I'm sure I left out plenty of dances and songs. But the bottom line is that its a trend in rap music that will soon be played out and we'll be on to something new. I'm not hating on them I just don't like them. They have no substance and are all stupid looking. I'm not a big dancer anyways and even if I was these wouldn't appeal to me one bit. Also, I don't go to clubs that often, but the next time I do I won't be participating when these songs come on.

However, I will proposition any choreographers out there to hit me up. callmecrecks@gmail.com or @crecks on twitter. Let's come up with a stupid dance move and make a song out of it. You do the dance I'll write and produce the song. We can do it, it can't be that hard. Wait! I already got one! The "Hula Hoop." I can hear the hook for the song now. "Do the hula hoop, do the hula hoop, work them hips 'round like you would a hula hoop. Girl do the hula hoop, do the hula hoop, you can do it too, girl, don't think you too cute!!" The dance moves can mimic something like you would do while playing with a hula hoop. LoL. I'm clowing but I swear I'll write this shit. It would be a ghost written song however for MC Sambo or whoever I could find to be the artist. But I would gladly take the royalty checks for writing it. Matter of fact I'm going to copyright the lyrics today for all you biters out there. LoL. That's it ya'll sorry it was so long.


--C-Recks--

Life After Death

"It sounded like Vietnam man."


I nor him had ever been in the Vietnam war; However, as he described the story it was reminiscent of stories told to me by my Grandfather who actually had been in the Vietnam war.


I sat there listening intently. I was in awe at the words coming out of his mouth. A lump formed in my throat that I couldn't even begin to attempt to swallow away.

"Man we kicked it out at club Ruby that night. We didn't get into it with anyone it was all good we had a good time. After the club we went to Maxwell's right off of the E-way. It was six of us in the van. As we're riding along I barely had 2 bites of my polish when bam!!

They began to shoot up the van. "Man it sounded like Vietnam."

"They shot over 20 times into the van. Elliot got hit 6 times. Then one of our other guys in the back seat also got hit once. We didn't see anything. It all happen so fast. The craziest part is that I was in the passenger seat. But after leaving the club I was cold and the driver had the air blasting so I was trying to change seats with someone in the back. But no one would switch with me. They even joked around and even threw me a blanket up to the passenger seat. So I could've easily been in that back seat as well."

"The only explanation the police could come up with was that it may have been some type of gang initiation. We were in a Hispanic neighborhood and you know those Mexican gangs you have to kill someone to be initiated."


The only response I could muster was man that's crazy. I mentioned it was so hard to imagine and I had just seen him the week before in the barber shop.

"Man I cut with him every day and have worked with him in different shops for 10 years, so imagine how it is for me. I still can't believe it. It still hasn't even hit me yet."

The subject then turned to his daughter. "Her 5th B-day was yesterday. I stopped by and dropped something off for her, but it just wasn't the same man." I replied "She's the same age as my son and also starting kindergarten next month." He replied back "Man my daughter is only a few years older. So that could easily be me."

As he said that I looked over at Elliot's old barber booth station. I noticed his barber chair was gone. However, they had created a make shift memorial in his honor. They had pictures up along with his obituary and flowers.

Of course still saddened by his loss. Seeing the memorial some how gave me a bit of comfort. I felt like it was great to honor his memory in that way.

If you read my last blog entry "Senseless" I talked about the tragic death of someone I knew Elliot Thompson, that was shot and killed a few weeks ago. The above story is recounted by someone that was there in the vehicle that he was shot in. Well a week prior to hearing the actual story I attended his funeral. Like all funerals this one was definitely a sad one. But for a few reasons this was sadder than most. Perhaps it was because he was still so young (only 31 years of age). Or perhaps it was because he was a young father (his daughter would be 5 this month and starting kindergarten next month). But when I think about it I think that what hit me most was the fact that I have seen myself in his place...

Let me explain what I mean when I state this. I am in no way a person that always discusses death. In fact, I don't even fear death. I realize it is something that will eventually happen and nothing I can do will prevent it when it's my time. So in my expect the worse hope for the best mentality, I simply hope and pray I stick around long enough to accomplish a few more things and see all those I love do the same.

However, when I think about death and really get around to answering the question of how and when I think I may kick the bucket, (buy the farm, push up daisies, meet my maker, give up the ghost or whatever death idiom you prefer), its pretty specific. Now I know you shouldn't speak n certain things because of the chance of speaking them into existence. However, as I stated and as we all know death is something that is unavoidable.

But to be real this incident that killed him was something that could have happened to anyone that was driving in that area at that particular time. I for whatever reason see myself going out in a sad unexpected manner such as this. Nothing that I provoked, nothing that I was doing reckless, nothing that was anticipated and I knew was bound to happen. However, I think it would/will be something swift and totally unexpected that will happen much before my time.

I say all that to say that today is barely promised and tomorrow is out of the question. It's a blessing of God that I'm sitting here typing these words. And if I'm here tomorrow to be able to do the same it's even more of a blessing. Life is precious. I enjoy living every single day I get to do so. Although I may see myself going out sudden and perhaps tragically, I pray God has a bigger plan for me, which includes living a long time and seeing my son (and/or future kids) and grand kids grow up and live their lives as well.

However, it's sad that some don't see just how precious lif is and will do things such as take another life. They don't even see how far past the person they're killing it affects. That's someone's father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, niece, nephew, grandmother, grandfather, grandchild, etc.

For some reason it took me a good while to finally finish writing this blog as it stayed in draft for over a week. Sorry if it's all over the place.

But all I can say is embrace those you love and Live life. There are no guarantees in life except...Death.