QOTD 7.22.10

“The majority of the general public doesn’t belive in their own ideas long enough to make themselves successful.” – 50 Cent

QOTD 2.28.10

“When I nearly died it made me think- this can happen again any second. I better hurry and do what I want.” – 50 Cent

QOTD 1.30.10

“People talk about my getting shot like it represented something special. They act like they’re not facing the same thing. But some day everybody has to face a bullet with his or her name on it.” – 50 Cent

QOTD 12.14.09

“Feed the wolves or the wolves feed off you.” – 50 Cent

QOTD 12.4.09

“Ambition is not a learned habit, it’s part of a person’s character.” – 50 Cent

QOTD 11.28.09

“What I’ve offered is myself… There’s artists out there that can beat me at a lot of different things but they can’t beat me at being me.” – 50 Cent

QOTD 11.14.09

“They don’t understand, we was just tryna’ make it/ but where I’m from, when you want shit, you gotta take it.” – 50 Cent

QOTD 10.9.09

“Your opinion of yourself becomes your reality.” – 50 Cent

Book Review: The 50th Law

This is a review from my Favorite Books list; the link from which will be also on the Books Page.

***

“The greatest fear people have is that of being themselves. They want to be 50 Cent or someone else. They do what everyone else does even if it doesn’t fit where and who they are. But you get nowhere that way; your energy is weak and no one pays attention to you. You’re running away from the one thing that you own — what makes you different. I lost that fear. And once I felt the power that I had by showing the world I didn’t care about being like other people, I could never go back.”

When I heard that my favorite entertainer besides myself (50 Cent), and my favorite author (Robert Greene), were doing a collaboration, I knew I’d have to have it the day it came out. Alas, I ordered it on Amazon to save money and waited a week. A week later, my mind is 300 pages richer. If you have read any of Greene’s works or are a fan of 50′s work, this book is a great combination of each man. The 50th Law deals with the power-sapping abilities of the emotion of fear and how 50 learned to overcome this emotion as he rose to the top.

QOTD 8.31.09

“It’s not a secret that I’m crazy, right? I think it’s necessary for you to be crazy enough to believe in yourself when there’s nothing around to support that aside from your personal gut feeling that you’re gonna be a success.” -50 Cent

Buck It

So Young Buck, he of the sobbing phone convo, wants off of his G-Unit contract now. Buck made some negative comments publicly about his lack of money received a year or so ago, and 50, who has always stressed loyalty within his crew, immediately declared Buck out G-Unit the rap group, but that Buck would still be obligated to his contract with G-Unit records. Smart move by 50 of course; 50 made a similar move when he dropped Game from G-Unit after Game’s first album.

Young Buck should have known better. After all, he was around when the same thing happened to the Game, who made a seemingly innocent comment on the radio about being wiling to do records with artists that were, at the time, lyrically feuding with 50. 50 took exception to those comments immediately and took action against Game. Buck spoke about not receiving any royalty checks for his work; 50 repeated his pattern and immediately ex-communicated Buck from the circle. Now Young Buck is stuck between a rock and a hard place; signed to G-Unit but not down with G-Unit. If he wants to make money rapping, he’ll need to release new material to the masses via an album, which will lead to tour dates, downloads, etc. But he knows that releasing said album will generate money for 50 Cent and G-Unit records, whom Buck has already gone on record dissing in songs, and even recorded a mixtape with Game.

Gotta give 50 credit; he always seems to have been a step ahead of his adversaries, and even the fans, in retrospect in these rap conflicts. He’s done it again in this situation. The phone conversation, Buck says, took place a whole year before there was any problem between Buck and 50. But 50 could see ahead that he may need that as ammunition, and lo and behold, it came in handy.

But let’s also not overlook Buck’s lack of sense here… he should have known better than to speak off the cuff the way he did. He could be in a position now in which he’ll never be able to make a other honest dollar from music sales again the way this is looking.

Sw-

I had to post about this because it involves some hip hop artists that I’m a fan of. And it probably involves you, or someone you know.

Earlier this week, Jim Jones came out talking shit about Jay-Z’s Vibe magazine cover shoot…. Jim is basically saying that Jay-Z stole his swag from Jim Jones.

I like Jim Jones. I liked him when he was just Cam’Ron’s sidekick and hype man. Summer Wit Miami is one of my favorite songs to listen to when I drive. We Fly High (Baaaallliiinnn’!!!) had me working on my shooting form. But it seems that Jim, since We Fly High died down along with his mainstream buzz, has resorted to negative talk about more popular rapers to keep his own name in the news. To quote Jay-Z:

“…I’m setting myself apart from rappers who use other peoples names
So other motherfuckers can watch ‘em…”

I know, 50 Cent did the same in a way. But remember, 50 came out with a track naming names of rappers (more), had a slight buzz going, fell off the map, came back out with quality material, THEN got back to calling out rappers- but by that point 50 was beyond famous.

Jim Jones also generously used a term in the above-linked interview that is starting to lose fire- be forewarned!!- “Swag.”

From Urban Dictionary:
swag
appearance ,style ,or the way he or she presents them selves.
Ex: He got a killa swag.

Swag is a hip-hop- generated buzzword that is on it’s way to the graveyard after a very short shelf life of about 18 months. It will join “real talk (“real rap”),” “gangsta,” “thugged out,” “bling (I raised an eyebrow when this word was highlighted in my spell check- didn’t Oxford add this to the dictionary? I did some research and found that the dictionary- correct term, however, is “Bling-Bling.”),” and some others that I have chosen to erase from memory.

The circle of life for these terms goes like so: A person or group of persons uses the term exclusively, and as this person increases popularity, their catch-word becomes the current fad; The masses begin experimenting with the term to see how it sounds coming off the tongue; The term becomes common in rappers’ song titles and MySpace display names; The term’s use becomes like eating to much candy, and only lames and dorky white folks are using it from then on. “Swag” is at the tail end of the MySpace stage.

Let your friends know to stop using this word.

Notes

- Happy BDay to my main man and senior year college roommate, B Battles.
- Wes grabbed my camera and captured this gem in 24 Hour Fitness, in return for me filming Wes’ triumphant return at LA Fitness 2 weeks earlier:

- I like to point out sites/ blogs of note that have grabbed my attention, and former NBA coach Eric Musselman’s blog is a great read for anyone who, like me, loves to read. Musselman reads a goddamn lot; the way he writes about articles and books, it appears to me that he reads 2-3 books at a time.
- I still have not received my ThisIs50.com T-shirt…
- DreAllDay.com shirts are on their way to a few early recipients as of the conclusion of the week. When you get them, take a photo of yourself wearing it and email it to me.

- On another note, I did some work over the summer (non-basketball) that is / will be coming to light over the next week or two. I’d love to share it and the details with you all, but I think I’ll hold off on it until my bball deal is done. That is, unless you find out about it from somewhere else…

They See Me!

- I’ve been doing the Youtube thing for about a year and a half now, and I’m at close to 400 subscribers. Very proud of that. Lately, however, there have been some rogue accounts using my name and tags to show their own vids (like this one; though this one would be good for any bored, lonely guys out there. Thank my name for it). Here’s one for cars. I must be drawing the watchers in if there’s people using my name to get views. I’m happy about this.

- In other goings-on, I came into LA Fitness this morning and was greeted by the two people I see in there every day (though I know neither of their names)- the front desk lady and my man who does maintenance in the building (he is responsible for the much-better condition of the gym floor I discussed here). The maintenance guy stopped me and asked if I had a website.

“Yeah.”

“What’s it called?”

“DreAllDay.com (this was the first time I’ve stated that so matter-of-factly, as opposed to the usual tone I use when telling someone of something they’ve never heard of).”

He went on to tell me that he and a friend were online and came across m site while looking for something else. He said he saw my photo on the home page and said, “I know him!!”

- Adrian Peterson’s trucking of Al Harris last night wowed me.

- Where the hell is my ThisIs50.com t-shirt??? I ordered it almost 2 weeks ago. The site store says, “ALLOW 7-10 BUSINESS DAYS FOR DELIVERY.” Time’s almost up.

Two things about this issue:

1) Yes, I did write here that we should invest in ourselves instead of others’ ambitions, goals, or whatever else they’re selling. In my defense, i wanted a ThisIs50 shirt back in march, before DreAllDay.com even had a hosting account attached to it.

2) The ThisIs50 store advertises it’s shirts for $19.50 + $5.00 s&h. But, when you go to Paypal to complete the transaction (they only accept PayPal), the price of the shirt jumps to $20, and you cannot change it. So they stole an extra 50 cent from me. Coincidence, or another great marketing ploy by Curtis???

UPDATE: from the Store site:

“Due to overwhelming demand, the THISIS50 Store is now CLOSED We are currently processing the unsent orders and apologize for the delay Store will be back up soon with even MORE choice!!!”

How did I KNOW this would happen when I saw that the shirts were finally for sale?!?!

Hopefully I get my shirt on time; i bought one the damn day they became available. And this goes to show just how popular 50 is.

- In contrast to 50, I’m handing out my shirts for FREE; but just like 50, there will be a wait before you actually get it. But it’s free, so no complaining.

What I Want You To Know, Pt. 1: 1/13/08

I received an idea from Wes about maybe doing a running diary of what goes on out here; after about 12 hours of tossing the thought around in my mind, I decided the best way to do it was to jot down some interesting things over the course of every week and make it a weekly thing (uh, when i get to it). I am literally typing things to myself when they occur or directly after, so I wont use links, and will probably be somewhat off-target on quoted facts. but you’ll figure it out. Let’s get started.

- in case you didn’t know, I’m in the country of Montenegro and a city called Herceg Novi. Montenegro is a part of the former Yugoslavia along with (off the top of my head) Serbia, Macedonia, Bosina & Herzegovina. I’m sure I’m forgetting one or more countries. Herceg Novi is more of a town than a city; no fast food restaurants, little police presence/ crime and some other small- town things Ill get into later. HN is right on the Adriatic Sea, more specifically a bay whose name escapes me currently, so the winter temps stay between 48-62 F. Spring and summer in this town rivals Miami’s South Beach during Spring Break time. Or so I’m told.

- the native language here is Montenegrin, which is the same as Serbian, which is very similar to Russian (think the Spanish- Italian relationship). The hello- goodbye word here is “Ciao,” which I previously thought was French or something.

- Phillip & Danny are two teammates who take considerable joy in teaching me Serbian terms, like numbers, some bball terms, etc. I’ve decided to get by for the next 6 months with English and demonstrative body language with those who don’t speak “American. ” both the head coach and assistant coach fall into the ‘No English’ category. So far I’ve learned “wassup,” “chicken,” and “fries. ”

- Monday before training (Euro speak for “practice”) a teammate of mine, Zoran, mentioned out of the blue to me that he had recently seen 50 Cent’s “Get Rich Or Die Tryin’” film, and that he liked it. He wants to see it again.

- we had training at 8:30 AM on Tuesday. I go back and forth to the sport hall with my 2 neighbors, Danny & Phillip, and 1 other teammate has come with us the last couple days, his name is pronounced ‘Sasha’. So, as we are walking, Danny asks me if I’m tired, to which I respond, “na. You?” Danny says that he is not tired, but “dead. ” we had just completed to percreding training session about 12 hours prior, so I understood. Sasha, whom I had yet to hear say anything in English except “yeah,” refers to Danny as a “Dead Man Walking. ”

- you know how, when you have basketball practice in a gym that has a slippery floor, and you have to wipe the bottom of your sneakers with your hands at every opportunity? Well at Tuesday night’s training our assistant coach went on a 5-minute semi-rant about this. I couldn’t understand his words, but I could tell by his mock-shoe bottom-wiping what the topic was.

- after Tuesday night’s training, a disgruntled Danny told me that our assistant coach was drunk during practice. I have no way of confirming this. Even though Danny’s English is great, it may just have been a saying that got lost in translation; kinda how we will call a person “retarded” or “high” when someone expresses a viewpoint that we highly disagree with.

- we got a new player on Tuesday night, he’s from Bosnia and his name is Eli. He speaks pretty good English- he says he just came from Atlanta, Georgia playing in the ABA. Eli has a cell phone the plays music out loud like a radio. He asked me if my phone could do so, and when I told him no, he decided to show off his (not that I wanted him to. Seriously). His phone begins to (loudly) play “How We Do” off of The Game’s first album. Mind you, this is all happening as we are walking through the town square, and is beyond annoying. It’s like his personal boom box. I think Eli soaked up a lot of American culture, just not the correct parts. (update: Eli repeated this the following night after training- even as we sat down in the internet cafe (!)- and ended up not being kept by the team, so he’s back in Bosnia. Not that the music- playing cell phone had anything to do with it.)

- I use the internet cafe that’s next to my apartment daily, which reminds me of the one thing I really dislike about public internet places: people looking over my shoulder while I’m on a computer. And it’s even more pronounced when you’re the only Black person maybe in the whole country right now, and people are staring at you anyway. I guess the fact that I like to shorts & a hoodie outside on 50 degree days may draw attention, too.

- 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, and Eminem are very popular here. Most of the hip hop that gets thru to here, however, is several years behind the USA. Except for 50′s latest album (‘Ayo Technology’ is a big hit).

- our assistant coach sometimes runs entire practices, and sometimes comes to training but never utters a single word.

- there’s a freshwater lake close to this town, so I can safely consume one of my favorite drinks: tap water!

- there are no barbers out here suitable for me, so ill be buying a new set of clippers and handling hair-cropping duties myself. Ill let you make your own punchline.

- before Friday evening’s training session, our coach spoke for about 5 minutes about… I don’t know, he was speaking Serbian. When he does this (often), I watch him as if I’m understanding his words. But today he looked directly at me at one point, pausing as if awaiting a response from me. Usually when / if this happens, I answer with a head nod or a raise of the eyebrows, but this time I responded, loudly, with the Serbian term for “wassup” (pronounced “schtaima”). Everyone doubled over laughing. Glad I was able to break the monotony.

- at first glance, I believed our home gym, in which we train and play our home games, seated maybe 300 fans. Then I counted the seats, and there are over 1,000 seats. And there’s enough space around the playing area to hold another thousand that don’t mind standing. the place just opened a month or two ago, and there is still constructon going on on things on either sideof the building (known in Euro speak as ‘Sport Halls’).

You may leave a comment, question, or say nothing at all; I won’t be offended.

See you next time.