November 2011 Opinions Column: Progress

“On to the new, on-on to the new shit
Jigga wouldn’t even take my CD when he seen me
Two years later bitch we made it on, on to the Blueprint
Now how’s that for persistence?”

J. Cole on “God’s Gift“

Whatup world? What’s gravitatin’?? Once again, you know what it is…the single spot on the entire planet where you can get deep within my head and view it for all its worth (I keep getting more and more disgusting with each month, don’t I? LoL). I guess that’s appropriate with Halloween right behind us. But yes, welcome one and welcome all to the Ajaxxx.com Opinions Column. I’ve got lots and lots to ramble on about, so I hope you’ve got your popcorn ready. It’s gonna’ be an interesting column (as always!).

Soooo, progress. Yes, progress. I named the column title this month “Progress” for a reason. This past month, I really went to work. I buckled down and told myself, “Hey, Ajaxxx. You really need to get the ball rolling again on finalizing these songs.” And so, that’s what I did. I started working again to get my new songs for “Something to Prove” mixed down so we can finally release it. So far, it’s been coming along really well. I’ve been carefully going through each song and cleaning them up and getting back some great-sounding stuff. So far, I’m pleased. I’ll continue to get the songs mixed and mastered throughout this month with hopes of releasing the CD soon! I probably have a few more videos to release between then, but at least we’re inching closer to completion. I am excited.

Where else in my life have I been making progress? Well, I’ve been hard at work with my language lessons. I got sidetracked there for a second, but really got back on track this past month. I’m always trying to do everything I can to better myself, whether that’s eating or exercising or learning. So despite getting set back, I made some sacrifices and got back to learning. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again…productivity is like a drug. Once I start, I can’t stop. So as you can imagine, the more I got into it the more enriched I felt. LoL haha I sound so prophetic. Anyway, the trend will continue this upcoming month too.

What else, what else? Well digging a bit deeper, I felt that I’ve progressed a lot spiritually too. Not necessarily in the month of October, but throughout the past year. Let me explain. So October (like every month) presented itself with several obstacles. And, some of them took a toll on me. Some were family related, whereas some were career related. Anyway, it was craziness. Despite the setbacks though, I didn’t let it phaze me. I’ve said this before, but these things really would’ve affected me in the past. I don’t know if it’s just a part of growing up or what, but I really feel like I’m changing for the better. I didn’t think too much about it until Diwali, when I spent a good amount of time reflecting. During the various poojas and just throughout the day, I did some thinking and realized how I’ve changed. Actually, let me rephrase – I realized how much I’ve “progressed.” (Ooooo!) LoL

So stepping back from my life for a second (believe me, it hurts me as much as it hurts you), there was a lot of “entertainment” I absorbed this past month. From music to movies, I was checking out a lot of stuff. Some of it was old, while most of it was new. I also wanna’ share some of the videos I came across this past month that SUPER inspired me!

1) Shady Cyper 2.0 – Now c’mon, how could I go without mentioning the dopest cypher of the BET Hip Hop Awards? Hands down, this cypher was ridiculous and each emcee came through. If you happened to miss it (gasp), it was Eminem, Slaughterhouse, and Yelawolf all rhyming while DJ Premier was on the tables. It was a beautiful sight to see, and the lyrics…damn. I’m a lyric enthusiast, so you know I ate it up. Anyway, here it is.

2) Nas – “Nasty” – Yup, Nasty Nas is back at it and doing what he does best. This has gotta’ be one of the most “refreshing” singles of 2011. Not only is the song fire, but the video is just as dope. It’s him in a limo with chics, in his neighborhood, and in his boy’s crib recording. I mean c’mon, that’s what I call a GOOD day LoL.

3) J.Cole – “Lost Ones” – This was one of my favorite songs off J.Cole‘s debut CD, and I’m really glad he released a video for it. This is a song about a guy who gets his girl pregnant, and how he feels about it. It’s such a dope song on so many levels and this is one of the reasons why I really respect Cole. If you haven’t already seen this, I suggest you check it out.

4) “Chammak Challo Song Making” Feat. Akon, Vishal & Shekhar – So R&B singer Akon teamed up with Indian producers Vishal & Shekhar to create “Chammak Challo”, the lead single for Bollywood movie “Ra.One” (which is out in theaters now, more on that later). Definitely a change from the videos above, huh? LoL. I love this video because it shows the behind-the-scenes of the song, which always interests me. I love seeing people in the studio creating. What’s extra dope about this though is it’s an American singer collaborating in a Desi setting. I can’t explain it, but this video keeps inspiring me. I’ve watched it mad times now.

5) Boyz II Men – “One Up For Love” – Yup, the Boyz are back. Boyz II Men have been in the game for twenty years now and release their first single from their new album “Twenty” with this one (there will also be more on the album below). The single is cool, and it’s got a positive vibe to it. It isn’t the typical R&B ballad-y type stuff we’re used to hearing from them – this one has more of a rock edge. Nevertheless, it’s still a good song.

In addition to some of the videos I’ve been checkin’ out, here’s some additional stuff I’ve been feeling. I told you I’ve been absorbing.

On the movie front, I watched a bunch of movies this past month but the one that stood out the most was…well, it was a Bollywood one – Ra.One. Can you believe it? Outta allllll the movies I saw, I liked a Hindi flick the most. Talk about…wait for it…PROGRESSION! LoL. But yes, about the movie – starring Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor, it was a story about a video game come to life. A lot of people have been hating on the movie (at least from what I’ve seen on various blog sites, Facebook, and Twitter) and I think it’s unfortunate. Hindi cinema has come a LONG way because of this movie and that needs to be recognized. In addition, outside of all the gorgeous special effects, the movie at the core is very powerful. It’s about love, family, and persistence. I feel like some people have been hating on it because SRK is the lead actor, whereas some people just want it to fail because of the insane amount of promotion it’s been getting. I mean, how can you already deem a movie a failure and you haven’t even seen it yet? How does that make any sense?? My suggestion? Leave your pre-judgements at home and enjoy the movie for what it’s worth.

New albums? Again, there were a bunch of new albums I heard this past month, but the one that had the most bearing with me was the new Boyz II Men CD “Twenty.” The CD has some standout tracks and definitely has a more mature sound. So a little background on me – I’m a HUGE B2M fan. I’ve been down since the beginning, always getting their albums when they dropped here in the states. Their skills are unmatched, and they’ve got so many songs that are engraved in my past. I’ve gotten through some crazy times with their music. Anyway, it’s weird – with every new B2M CD, there’s always a different girl in my life. I don’t know why or how that is, but it just seems to always happen like that to me. Anyway, there’s always songs on each CD that describe THAT girl at THAT time. With this CD though, it’s different – it’s like there are so many different songs on the CD about different girls that I’ve had in my life. Whether the songs are happy or sad or something else, there’s a lot of different moods on there that make me think of a different girl from the past. The fact that this is the first CD to do that suggests to me that I’m at a crossroads. It’s like things are changing…either that, or you guessed it…I’m progressing.

November. So what does November have in store? Well, I didn’t touch on it too much, but I had a bunch of new career opportunities present themselves to me this past month. I was actually gonna’ steer this entire entry in that direction, but decided not to do that. Anyway, things are definitely gonna’ take their course this month. I’m gonna pursue leads and see where they go. All I know is, by the time I write this entry next month, things will be mighty different.

And with that said, I’m outta’ here. As always, thanks for reading and keeping up with Ajaxxx. Until the next episode…stay up, stay safe, and hold ya’ head…Ajaxxx signin’ out, PEACE!!!!!!!!