Sunday, June 11, 2006

Who is the nicest life or lifeless on these writing devices and I dont bite this....

Master… it is a powerful word, full of meaning, and today I am going to explore it’s depth and scope. It is loosely defined as one who has achieved a level of perfection within their craft. It is the difference between being “good” and being “great” at something. For instance, everyone can turn on a stove, but everyone can’t cook. Additionally, have you ever heard the difference between using a clock radio to play cd’s versus a regular house system? For all intensive purposes, I’ll assume that you have. Essentially, the fullness is lost when listening to music on a device that, while it may have some of the necessary elements, it clearly is not designed to deliver true quality. They both are designed to play a cd, but one of them simply does it better. Now that we’ve constructed a foundation, let’s delve further.

Have you ever met a master of a craft? A person that is so good at something that their brilliance makes you question your own life’s purpose? This person has figured out what they were born to do and you wonder, how did they do that? How did they figure out life and break it down so simplistically to grasp and attain complete ownership of one skill? Normally they are very easy-going individuals who don’t want anymore than to be paid for the days they were working, when the world was at play. There is a certain amount of precision (to their work) that cannot be explained. It comes from their shear determination and, despite how much I hate to admit it, hard fucking work. It’s when a doctor gets a feeling that something isn’t right and wants to run a few more tests… even when all the instruments and his training say nothing is wrong. This doesn’t come from his training; this comes from a love and passion for what he is doing and the people he serves. Many people love to do what they want, but rarely what they must. There are those lucky few that absolutely love what they have to do and choose to do nothing else. As I mentioned earlier, this requires a love for what you are working on and a deep appreciation for everyone who works with a similar passion (whatever pursuit/endeavor that may be).

The development of these skills requires something that is beyond value; actually it’s a very personal question we all have to ask ourselves. How much are you willing to invest in yourself? This includes not only time and money; it is the desire to be considered one of the best. You live to not only be regarded as great, but to move the entire profession further than it was before you became associated with it. These are the days spent inside, developing your skill, while others take the most important thing on Earth for granted. What is that, you may ask? It is time… the second you lost not working towards bettering yourself is gone forever. There is nothing else in this world, with the exception of family, that you lose and cannot replace. After brief reflection, I must say that, too, can be considered a sub-set of time. Mainly because it’s only after loved ones are gone that we think about the time we should have spent with them.


I’m cool with a dee-jay by the name of Jay-Clipp. He owns turntables that allow him to use cds instead of vinyl records, so he doesn’t use crates like he did for first twelve years of his cultivation of his craft. I went with Clipp when he did the 4th annual Linen Party in Dallas, TX. I asked Clipp if he could hear the difference between the digital tables and normal ones and he immediately said “yeah.” Seemingly without having a second thought he said, “nothing beats the sound of vinyl; there is a difference but you can only hear it if you know what you listening for.” Those words were what inspired me to write this post. One night, after he had purchased the set he has now, he was doing a house party. It was a party for a fraternity and because of the wattage required by his tables, he didn’t have the power needed to use them. His only option was to use a single disc cd player. He had a hype man come through with a hand held mic, telling jokes during the night, to keep things moving. We talked about what was needed to power his tables and he knew the exact wattage and the modifications that were required for them to work properly. He was intimately attuned to the ins and outs of his tools needed to do his job at its best. Even though he has the finesse to use a single cd player for future gigs, I got the feeling he doesn’t want to do that ever again.

I am still the same dude, but this year I lost my grandfather, my uncle and my great aunt (the last two within a week of each other.) Normally when someone passes in your family, a man thinks of what has he done in his life that he is proud of and up until lately, there really hasn’t been much for me. I once read a quote by Leonardo Da Vinci that said, “If people knew how hard I worked on my art, no one would think I was a genius at all.” I love that quote because it made that dude seem normal. Like… Da Vinci was this cat that will be discussed forever and he was a regular dude. He had to bust his ass to get his shit done. It was hard and he would start on things and never finish them… sometimes he even fucked up, but he kept working. He had ideas about the world, enjoyed fucking, and loved creating. If he can take the time to really work on his art, then I should be willing to do the same. My goal is to work on my craft more and more each day; to make something I’m truly proud of for years to come. Even with that said, I’m still the dude that took a girl to a hotel knowing I couldn’t get a room and fucked her in Tony J’s car in the parking lot. Right after that, I took her home on Tony J’s horrible ass brakes (LOL). Note: You know I had to throw a story in there right quick. Anyway, I am working on my craft; so let me grow a little bit. All I am trying to do is make my shit the best. I might be the only fucking straight Black man writing anything at all (at least it seems like it). You don’t know how much time you’ve got here… So why are you sitting there at a job you hate, making enough to be broke, but too much for assistance? Today start mastering anything and create something that you can be proud of… you never know, it might be the last thing you do.


©2006 YoungBreezy.com

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Breezy, all I can say is thank you, fam. I'm glad to know that a statement I made inspired you to write. That's GOODLOOKIN'
We still have work to do though. Being on the road for the last 2.5 weeks has been good to me. It has really given me the RECHARGE I needed to continue to keep pushin' It's also posts like this that keep me grindin'. NYwas dope, I wish you could have come out to the city and see how we do it when I come back.
GOODLOOKIN.
P.E.A.C.E.
Jay*Clipp

Anonymous said...

Read your post yesterday and found it very interesting. However, we should not forget that a little luck and financial support always helps in this quest for perfection and recognition. With the World Cup events unfolding before us, I am reminded of how many "master" athletes there are out there and how many countries and their people love this game. It also makes me wonder how much more talent there really exists in these other countries.

Commercial after commercial it is apparent that the youth of our world are very talented in this game, but might not have the opportunity to shine through, but it is also far more apparent that in their absence of financial stability, their love for the game drives them to be the best. I definitely credit that. I, however, wonder if maybe these kids had more financial gain, or were recognized by those with the financial means, that they might actually have the opportunity to become noticed and further their development and education. I believe that there are very talented people in this world that do not have the means to become noticed and, perhaps, simply give up. So, now, I pose a new question: Do people strive to become the best at their craft, or simply, to become noticed as the best in their craft?

I do not find this, so much, to be the case when it comes to that arts. I honestly believe the arts can bring out the best in a person. The arts can push a person to the fullest forms of expression but, I also believe that when true talent is recognized and exploited it can lose personal gain and value. The product, may, no longer be a product of personal perseverance toward perfection, but instead a path to means of financial gain.

I would like to believe that love for what you do would be enough to strive to perfection, but become wary when I see our country's fascination with professional sports and entertainment business and find it hard to decide whether it is for love the game, or for love of the money and attention. Personally, I believe our best talent lies with "underground" roots, where there is no corruption of huge financial gain. Sure, we need to pay rent and make due, but do we need to live like kings to simply be lucky enough to do what we love?

Finally, when I am feeling their might be no true creativity anymore, I look to the "masters" of our past; Da Vinci for example, and hope that others in our future will pursue creative and intuitive paths, simply, for the love of the truth and new perspective. Simply.

Josh

Anonymous said...

the new post was dope homie. made me realize i'm not puttin enough time into my craft like i should be. now i'm dope when i'm rockin a party don't get me wrong, but i don't practice nowhere near as much as i should. i'm gonna get started on that, you just make sure you keep on writing dope shit! lol
Joe Nasty 97.9 the jam in Jackson, MS

Anonymous said...

I believe I'm gonna have to submit my addition to your page. I'm sick
of
dealing with these stoopis ass phuckas that try to buy cars! WTF? We'll
talk
later. Be one with the force master breezy!
RobMac