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July

July 1, 2004

I'm not going to lie to you all -- I'm trying to chill this summer. Got my calendar of concerts, movies, and events around the city for the next few months, so you may just see me on a blanket in some park in some borough! (Aiight, so it's only BK or Manhattan, but you know) . . . What's what, fam? I was trying to explain to Mom Dukes the other day about the difference between my crowd and other DJs'. What I was able to surmise is that many DJ's have followings, but I have a FAITHFUL. Whatchu know about that! Thanks for always supporting - keep bringing those parties to your boy!

Hope your summers are going well. Look for Jalen and me in a park or zoo near you (remind me to tell you about how Jalen sings the Bobby Caldwell song Common sampled for "The Light"!) . . . Big birthday shouts going out to the July heads: Leevert, Nakia, Ebony, Dave, Kamiya, Aliah, Frances, Elias, Dale, Mari, Breakfast, Clay Dogs, E Double, Cazual Phil, and Ali! Happy one-year anniversary to my dogs, Malcolm and Sakina.

- The Soul Provider
(Thanks Busby)

"Name in Lights"

Growing up, you always have someone telling you to aim for the highest height. One of my favorite quotations is: "Shoot for the heavens; even if you miss, you'll be among the stars." It may read like motivation to be sure you never settle for mediocrity, but seems to translate into more than just being the best you can be. Like, you shouldn't be satisfied with being a company exec - you should be the CEO. Don't just be the best player on the team, be the best player in the league. There's nothing wrong with being a chef, but why settle? Own your own restaurant!
    For some reason, it was never my aim to stand at that apex. Take basketball for example. I loved the game as a kid and took it really seriously. On Saturdays, in between an episode of Night Rider and a Kung Fu movie, I was outside with the rest of the neighborhood practicing moves that would one day take me to the NBA. But, most of those kids wanted to have their own poster and maybe their own shoe one day. Me? I just wanted to give better interviews than the athletes they always chose . . . Seriously, it used to kill me, even as a kid, to watch Moses Malone stumble through an unintelligible post-game chat leaving viewers and writers struggling to decipher what he was trying to say. My father used to say, "They shouldn't interview players right after the game." I used to think, "I would give such a better interview."
    Even in music, most of the artists I know have always dreamed of rocking a huge stadium and selling millions of CD's with their faces on the cover. I, too, had dreams - used to write my little rhymes and all. No, it's true. Had my little blue notebook that combined three of the four elements of hip-hop: had my tags (graffiti), my rhymes (MC), and eventually began keeping track of my mixes I was feeling (DJ). I found it the other day - had some sort of creative rap in the style of Common Sense or Das EFX, before they came out! (Something about eating Daryl's Strawberries in Sally's Fields . . .) My fellow Wes heads can tell you that I was even known to drop a freestyle on WESU. But, again, my goal wasn't every other aspiring artist's goal. When I bought a tape or CD and tore it open, I would pop it in the player, sit back, and read the insert. I don't know why, but I always wanted to see whom the artist thanked. There were always names I recognized, like Quincy Jones or L.A. Reid, but it was the other names that I wondered about. Who were those people? Knuck-Knuck, Ray-Ray an 'em. I would read off these names and think to myself, "One day, I want to see my name in the shout-outs."

    Well, I have finally achieved a childhood dream. No, Jim Gray has yet to give me the opportunity to deny him an interview; Brent Mussberger has never asked me about the playoffs. But, a few weeks ago, I ordered a CD in the mail. I could have easily just asked my man for the CD, since it was him and his group that created it, but I am so glad I didn't. There I was in my routine - bobbing my head to the beats, reading who produced each track, steadily making my way over to the thank you's and shout-outs. Sure enough, "DJ Center sends love and light to . . . Van Vader . . ." There were others listed, but for some reason, mine was a bit bigger, a bit bolder. I had to read it twice, just to be sure...
    Center did not have to shout me out, and never even mentioned that he had. I'm sure that even upon reading this piece, he won't realize what it meant. Let's see . . . Do you remember the scene in The Five Heartbeats when they first hear their song on the radio? It felt like that . . .

- VanaVada

P.S. Last week, I received another package in the mail - DJ Crooked's latest double CD. I was shocked again to see a brother's name on the cover. It took 'til 30, but it's finally happened . . .