Sitting here tonight in thought of the road ahead of me. I have many plans and many goals. I am not one who subscribes to the concept of New Years Resolutions. I feel we must continue being productive 365 days a year and not wait for the turn of the new year to make positive transformations in our lives. I am not saying don't look toward brighter horizons in the upcoming year, I am saying don't hold off on accomplishing your goals. We must continue moving forward every day of our lives. Don't get me wrong, it is a positive practice to look back on what you accomplished during the current year and strive to do more but remember time is precious and does not stand still therefore, we can not afford to put our lives on hold until a new year arrives. We must keep climbing higher and higher over coming all obstacles in our way. Wishing you all the best for this upcoming year and beyond.
I came across a post online which asked the question does Africa want us back. Many feel Africans born in the Motherland would not want us Africans born in the States Repatriating back to Africa. The truth is due to Social Engineering many Africans of the Diaspora have become products of their Environment. Many have lost touch with their identity. This is why Duel Citizenship is a great concept. Many People of African descent are not open to the idea of Repatriation but would be more open to having duel Citizenship in African Countries. I feel it is a misconception that Africans would not want to Unite with their Brothers and Sisters abroad. Many times it is the other way around. I have witnessed Brothers and Sisters snubbing Africans who have moved to the States. This is disgraceful and shows lack of Unity. When I see African families I will usually walk up and welcome them or give them a warm and friendly smile. The truth of the matter is if we show them Love most likely they will reciprocate. I am not ready to grasp the concept that Africans don't want us Africans of the Dispora in Africa. I am interested in how others feel about this topic. We must bridge the gap between Africans abroad. This is the only way we will build a strong African Nation.
Sitting here at 3:31 AM up late again meditating, planning, debating, contemplating, anticipating...There are a thousand thoughts racing through my head at once. I often wish I could be ubiquitous. I wish to accomplish many goals simultaneously but when these thoughts surface I try to suppress them because being overly anxious is not good. In time I will reach my immediate goals and then set new goals which will supersede my previous accomplishments. I'm listening to Miles Davis at the moment. The song happens to be (Blue In Green) I'm drifting and in a zone. Just Miles and I relaxing late night grooving to the mellow sounds. The beautiful sounds coming from his horn is as if the horn has empathy of it's own. I'm deeply in thought about the plight of Conscious Black music. I had one solid contact, a major connection for a possible publishing deal. They asked me to submit my music, I did and it seems my Pro Black persona and Liberated lyrics warded them off. I had the connection and was so close to walking into this major business deal but when they got a whiff of who I am and what I stand for.....Well you already know. I admit I did feel slightly disoriented. It caught me off guard because they were so much loving my voice and my writing ability. They were speaking to me by phone and we talked for at least thirty minutes about their plans and expectations for me as one of their team members. The first song they heard from me was a jingle theme song I created for their company and that did it..They loved it! and wanted me as a writer, artist etc. I was told they were gonna pass my music to the top executives. They asked me for more material. When I packaged up a few of my Conscious music and sent it over. I heard nothing further and my emails went unanswered. I noticed when I gave them my name Conscious Plat, there was hesitation just by the Conscious portion of my name alone..I am well aware that if I drop the Conscious Plat Title and begin singing the same type material as the other mainstream artist who get mad radio play and are at the top of the charts then I am sure I would have a chance but what would that make me? A sellout....I would be hypocritical, not true to myself. My music is much more than words and beats. The music is a movement, a statement, truth, Powerful! Music which can uplift and inspire others. We have been beaten down by Society due to oppression, Injustice, Racial Profiling and all the other negative aspects of being Black in America and abroad. I will not allow the record companies' decision to knock me down. I feel the best thing for me to do at this point is regroup and find another route to push my music. Many times I wish I had an agent (Music agent) that is. : ) I have enough secret agents spying on me and trying to intercept my ever move...I'm speaking about a music agent, promoter, manager. Many times I wished I had someone to take control of my promotions and pushing my music but it is not easy finding someone you can trust and also who will make your music their top priority and promote you with supreme dedication. It seems this type of business connection is almost unheard of...I am not a promoter, my forte is singing, writing, producing, etc. Therefore I feel I am lacking in the promotional area. I have a few other contacts that I will utilize. I will send more music out but tonight I sit here reflecting on my music, my mission and which road I must take. I once read a post someone left on my Facebook which said, when you go mainstream don't allow yourself to sell out or become a part of the rat race. Well I may not have quoted exactly as it was written but it was something to that effect and I thought about it for a while....Perhaps my destination was not meant to lead me down the mainstream corridor. Perhaps my work is meant to reach only a certain group of People and not the masses? Only time will tell. Conscious Black Music is not prevalent but it is needed. When slave masters feared slaves gaining Knowledge they made it punishable by death if slaves learned to read. They tried to keep Knowledge away from slaves by any means necessary. This is how I feel about message music. They make sure music which lacks truth and substance is dominating the charts and air waves but music which has the ability to wake the sleeping, open the eyes of those who are enslaved with mental shackles or uplift and inspire those who have already elevated their minds this type of music is often shunned and rarely reaches the masses. It's as if Conscious Black music is a plague and the mainstream Black audience avoids it at all cost. Perhaps one day we can turn on a radio station or a video channel and hear songs about Nubian Gods and Goddesses, Black Liberation, Black Love....How beautiful that would be....If you all did not know..I am a daydreamer. It is one of my favorite past times to sit and imagine. I think I will continue listening to Miles tonight while I imagine how wonderful it would be if Conscious Black music ruled the airwaves. I found a video of the song I am playing. I will add it in this blog for those of you who also listen to a little miles every now and then. Peace and Goodnight.
Tonight I'm chilling and listening to Coltrane. The song playing right now is ( My Favorite Things) at this moment I'm on a natural high with Jazz music being my supplier. I am being led in the direction of recording a full Jazz album. I am not sure which part of my brain is coercing me into this venture but... :) I think I will go for it. I sing many different formats of music but Jazz takes me in a different element with my vocals. With Jazz I can be creative and free, do many different things vocally. I'm only brainstorming tonight but soon my thoughts will evolve into a new CD project. What will I name the CD? How many songs will I include and should I redo a Sarah Vaughan tune or recreate another song by a popular Jazz artist? These are the many thoughts going through my head. I'm gonna continue relaxing tonight and meditating on my plans to record this album.
I am still outraged and very passionate about Trayvon Martin's death. The thought of a F...... Punk walking around with a neighborhood watch title and a gun hunting young Black victims is very hard to bare. Excuse me for the indication of profanity. I am one who rarely uses profanity. This is a issue which really causes hurt and anger. This case is proof that this Country does not give a damn about the rights of our Brothers and Sisters. If they did George Zimmerman would be locked away like the savage beast that he is. He would be rotting in a prison cell perhaps looking over his shoulder in fear of another inmate exacting revenge for the senseless murder of Trayvon. We must realize that no one is safe and at anytime you could become a victim of racial profiling ultimately leading to your death. I'm up late 2:30AM and felt the need to vent for a little while about this situation. How in the hell can you say this fool (Zimmerman) was defending himself when you could hear Trayvon yelling for help. Another key factor which should have led to the arrest and conviction of Zimmerman, is the dispatch operator told Zimmerman not to follow Trayvon and what does he do? Not only does he follow Trayvon, he shoots and kills him. I am really disturbed by Trayvon's death and the pain will not ease up until Zimmerman is dealt with accordingly. Rest in Uhuru Trayvon.
It seems true Love has not yet found me. I am not one to engage in promiscuous behavior therefore one night stands and flings don't appeal to me. I am from the old school and believe a Queen must preserve herself for her King. She should draw attention from possible suitors based on her intellect and not her body therefore, I will not go out seeking an individual solely to fulfill my physical needs. I await a soulmate, one who will make me forget about any negative experiences that I have ever encountered during the dating faze. I admit, I have witnessed outrageous behavior from a few Brothers but I can not classify all Brothers in the same category. In my past I dated Brothers who were not relationship material, were non monogamous, aimlessly wondering through Life seeking others to try to manipulate or use for their own personal gain. My past experiences led me to write and record a song on my new CD The Reawakening 2012. The song is called Soulmate. The song speaks about my negative experiences with seeking Love. I created the song because the negative experiences I had caused me to question my faith in Love. I have never been in Love but I long to know the feeling of being totally committed and Loving another to the point of no return. I know I will one day be in Love and connected with a Soulmate but right now I am a Warrior Queen who has much work to do in the Struggle. My music and mission to reach the People takes precedence over seeking Love. When the time is right I will find Love but I must seek an individual who will not stifle me and take me off course with the work I must do. I am a very complexed individual and I am not sure anyone can find all the pieces to my puzzle but I seek one who can come pretty darn close. I admit I have major trust issues based on my past negative experiences but if one is upright, honest and genuine I will eventually begin to let my guards down. My potential mate must have patience, compassion and understanding if they want to penetrate my mind. Many times situations and negative experiences can create a mental void when it comes to seeking Love. I did not want my past experiences to make me become bitter. I could not allow myself to classify all men as being disrespectful, unfaithful and insensitive. I know there are some good Brothers out there but the task is being able to decipher those who are sincere and genuine from those who are gamers with ulterior motives. When we seek mates we must ask for guidance and decernment. When you look at Black Love in general you begin to see why there is a major disconnect. To many times I have heard Sistas referring to Brothers as dogs, no good, lazy and other negative titles. I have also witnessed Brothers using derogatory names for Sistas. The bottom line is, we can not appreciate Black Love until we change our outlook on one another. When we show disrespect we continue to stifle our own growth preventing the union of Gods and Goddesses. We must also realize our negative behavior will send negative messages to the Black youth. We can't allow Society to dictate who we choose as mates we must reclaim Black Love and celebrate it to the fullest. It is time we begin seeing one another as worthy components for relationships. We need to see one another as Kings and Queens, Gods and Goddesses. When we open our hearts and elevate our minds only then will we restore Black Love.
There are numerous Religious sects in the World. In Christianity alone their are countless denominations. To many to list in this blog post. The question is, what role does Religion play in the division of our People. It is a known fact that many Religious groups break off into separate entities refusing to fellowship with other Religious groups. Thinking back to the Civil Rights Movement many of our People came together under one umbrella despite Religious preferences. It seems they United first based on their obvious commonalities which were oppression, discrimination, being impoverished etc. This was a crucial time which warranted the People to band together and become allies fighting the same fight. It is a known fact that when we multiply we increase our Power and the ability to rise above obstacles in our view. Let's think back to the African Diaspora, our People were taken from their homeland and forced to migrate all over the world.
This was the worse atrocity committed against our People. It created a disconnect from our roots in Mother Africa. Many of us no longer identify as Africans. Many of us have become unattached to our African Ancestors. My analysis of the situation is summed up by using the following parable. When you separate the root of a plant from soil you stifle the plant's growth. This is why we are so divided as a People. We have been uprooted from our homeland and indoctrinated with eurocentric ideologies. The truth is we were never truly released from slavery. They may have removed the physical shackles but they replaced them with mental shackles and the worse form of imprisonment is the enslavement of ones mind. The dilemma with Religion is, Religion is a very powerful source so powerful that many will die for their beliefs. We need to figure out how to come together without interfering with the belief system of our Brothers and Sisters.
When we accomplish that task then we will witness the global Unity that we have sought for so many years. I believe the first step in obtaining global Unity is to rid ourselves of the slave mentality many of us have adapted as a result of the enslavement of our Ancestors. We also need to deem our Ancestors as being worthy of the highest honor known to man. When we learn to Unite despite Religious differences then we will ensure that our Ancestors suffering was not in vain. Religion has been present for many years and by now we are all aware that Religion will remain. Therefore, we don't need to waist time debating with one another on who's Religious belief is supreme instead we need to enforce setting Religion aside while we focus on reclaiming our roots, obtaining global Unity and breaking free from the mental shackles that enslave many minds.
We are not free! We have come a long way since our Ancestors were shackled in chains and carried on ships but we have not yet obtained freedom. The first step in obtaining freedom is to use the power of our minds to overcome the adversities which we face. We must also set aside our differences and join together with Brothers and Sistas all around the world. When we begin to see ourselves as Africans then we will identify with our roots. This is a crucial step in seeking global Black Unity.
