Mute Point

Love Thy Labor

2010-11-09T07:12:00.000-06:00

If you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy. ~Kahlil Gibran

Untitled

2010-11-07T04:50:00.002-06:00

Inspired by God

Influenced by the devil

Alhumdolilah

Curse shaitan the rebel

Heavy metal levels

Increase the decibel

Crack the sonic levee

Flood the vestibule

Keep the MP close

It's clearly a nestled tool

Ground held by not murdering

But wrestling fools

Use tactics overlooked

Like subtle signatures of crooks

Spend time crafting

Auxiliary moments spent between books

And though I might use seconds, minutes & hours

Constantly remind myself of the source of the power

The grower of the flowers

Sustainer of hero and coward

From Shalamar Gardens

To Watts, LA California

The most grants my sustenance

Keep your cornucopia

Android market misfits

Frames fragile as Nokias

But Phraim 's fortified

Emcee producer bonafied

They stuck between Halloween and Thanksgiving

Gratefully mortified

Jacks' Trades

2010-11-01T03:42:00.001-05:00

When I go into my garden with a spade, and dig a bed, I feel such an exhilaration and health that I discover that I have been defrauding myself all this time in letting others do for me what I should have done with my own hands. ~Emerson

The Bright Side

2010-10-29T02:55:00.000-05:00

Stay steady, between "barely break bread" and "bountiful"/the struggle beautiful, drink daily from youthful fountain to.../keep the shady medical system away/and while I'm at it keep them sharks at and outta my bay...

Long Overdue; Right On Time

2010-09-26T13:36:00.017-05:00

Earlier this year, just a few weeks after the release of Silver Lined (and Super Bowl XLIV), I received submissions for a design contest from a group of student artists from Westwood College in Astro City aka H-Town bka Houston, Texas.

Accomplished artist and instructor, Rabéa Ballin, gave the participants an overview of the music, its meaning, and exposed them to my sites for background and essence of the energy behind the sound. She then led her class through the process of conceptualizing and completing of the project.

These talented graphic designers brainstormed and ultimately fleshed out their feelings while listening to the album in class. Some chose the route of an overall album cover design while others selected their favorite song. They truly captured the essence of the music.

Selecting a winner WAS NOT easy. Every piece was on point in meaning and mega-creative. There were three that did grab me a little bit more than the others...

First Place: Frank Jennings

Frank successfully squared everything I was trying to wrap up in "Blood Of Mine." I didn't have official liner notes for the LP, but if I did they would've explained that the track was an ode to my unborn children whose souls are with The Essence awaiting an earthly existence. Not only did he capture the idea of creation on Earth and within woman along with triple-darkness, but he also used one of the most significant colors of creation, green. The image is sharp, crisp, well processed and the font type is slick. Congratulations Frank.

Second Place: Jorge Madrigal

The Oldsmobile 442. That's four-four-two. (4+4+2=10 or a dime). Pure muscle car. Four barrel carb, manual four speed trans, dual exhaust. My pops built and raced cars (I was practically raised in a garage). He was mostly of a Dodge dude. Me too. But, one day I saw and heard this beast growl past me.... Yeah. The rectangle design is as out the box as the track-work, witty. The 'headlights', camera, and ACTION type is showtime. What better color than red? Good work Jorge.

Third Place: Jonathan Thelisma

"Men are from Mars, women are from Venus." I mean, that's what they say, right? Men are anything but Martians. We might not be angels, but we're definitely not...I'll just stop there (although you know there's a story behind the music). Jonathan took all the celestial noise of the lead off track and framed it. It rocks. The Alien-esque space invader sci-fi "PHRAIM" with the forcefield border was a nice touch. Simple, yet outta this world.

Who knows, maybe a remastered physical copy of "Silver Lined" will see the light of day. Maybe these will be in the real-deal liner notes. Maybe the artists will play a role in the design of the next release that's dropping in T-minus....

Essence In Rest

2010-04-21T09:31:00.003-05:00

Slick ode RMX via MADLIB to a MAJOR 'enflooence' on me.

Service of Sacrifice

2010-04-09T11:23:00.001-05:00

In my music, my plays, my films I want to carry always this central idea: to be African. Multitudes of men have died for less worthy ideas; it is even more eminently worth living for.

~Paul Robeson (April 8, 1898- January 23, 1976)

Complexion

2010-04-08T13:25:00.003-05:00

(Circa 20'wouldn'tyalike2kno...?)

Complexion

They say beauty is only skin deep...

I beg to differ

Complexion can be the key to affection

Inflicting men with an intimate infection

Call it love

See the bible said that Queen Sheba was,
“Black but beautiful,” or was it “Black and beautiful?”

There is a difference you know.

I’ve been taught to believe,
No, I’ve been told to know that “Black is beautiful”
A complexion like the darkened waves of a roaring ocean at dusk reflecting the moon
This visible and awe inspiring manifestation of a life sustaining force

Like the ebony skin of the black mother
A vast unknown lies beneath the surface

Complexion...

Dark like the skin of a ripe summer plum
Shielding the fruit once nourished by water and light
Only to in turn give nourishment to a hungry mouth

Refreshing

Fulfilling

Fruits are plentiful upon this blessed Earth

Just as is the black woman

In various shapes and sizes
She waits to be harvested
As she makes her presence known via her colorful display that states,

“I am woman, choose me and hold me dear”

1 UP

2010-04-04T19:53:00.005-05:00

The next project. I'm workinonin. Melodies move from my heart & mind to whatever is around, in this case, a wireless keyboard. By the time this composition is heard again it'll be real deal. 'Til then...

R & R

2010-03-25T12:00:00.000-05:00

From the passenger position, he muted the beat's sound, silencing the lows of the woofer's drivers...quieting the highs from the tweeters.

He spoke, full of inquiry. "Can you hear?" He asked? "Yes-of course" she replied.

Placing her hand on his heart he suggested and proclaimed "Listen. There's resonance & renaissance here..."

The True Kind Never Dies

2010-03-23T11:09:00.003-05:00

Bella featuring Will Widdoss by Phraim

Flyy On The Fly

2010-03-23T10:52:00.010-05:00

I got down at Elastic on Sat. 3.13.10.

Looking forward to more performance this year.

Contact me at phraimamind@gmail.com for booking.

The Real Dealin' With Dilla

2010-03-16T17:04:00.004-05:00

Chicago: Jaylib tour.

It would be the only time I would hear this man live and direct.

After the show, I was lovin' how mad approachable this kat was...how he hung out on stage until the last affectionado gave his/her respect. I usually don't approach many people in the biz to let em' know just how much I don't EN-VE but rather respect what they bring to earth. I admire from a distance and let them live like I like to live. Never been the autograph getter, although there's nothing wrong with that, as long as it's in moderation and cordial/respectful. But, I had to let this kat know he was the head honcho.

So I walk up, check eyes with him, stop, click my heels together, and straight salute this dude on some militaristic ish. And he turns into a lil' kid, smiles, bends over dying laughin', and took it more humbly than any general would. Soul shook him up and bounced to the sounds of the beat lieutenant with Phat Kat over Dabrye's "Game Over" BANGIN'!!!

Left the spot feeling like, this dude is the H.N.I.C.

Was and still is...

Throwback Endeavor

2010-03-08T03:54:00.002-06:00

This throwback video is something shot a couple years back. The area? Chicago's Hyde Park. The music featured is from a set of 5 24-minute mini-cds that I'm considering releasing. Though the beats were from an OLDER vault made at a point when my craft was FAR more simplistic, I feel I was thrice as calm and plenty blessed with "the genius" as a friend would say. And now, without further adieu..."Goldenrule."

Phraim

Preemptive Strike Promo Viddie

2010-03-06T06:28:00.002-06:00

The Show Must Go On...

2010-03-04T12:26:00.003-06:00

Sat. 3.13.10.

Elastic

2830 N. Milwaukee

Chicago, IL

$10

Doors at 7pm/Show at 8pm

Portion of proceeds donated to Partners In Health

See you there...

A Measure of Success...

2010-02-04T08:05:00.009-06:00

"I love it when a plan comes together..." ~John 'Hannibal' Smith [A-Team]

Gritty Goat will continue to relay all donations from the downloading of Silver Lined to Partners In Health. Own the music. Heal the people. Donate.

Twice Nice

2010-02-03T10:30:00.004-06:00

Suraisu [Sliced] by Phraim

Orange Peppermint by Phraim

Con Fucco; Con Moto

2010-01-31T00:47:00.013-06:00

Impressions?

Cool, but I'm so farsighted

With aim to astonish

Into years not yet lit

Towards dawns yet to dim

Before dusks that haven't trimmed

Horizons

I'm fond of them like sparkles in the eyes

When four meet from two

Beneath star, sun, and moon

Between air, earth, consumed water, fire that burns within

Throughout lungs, under feet, inside bellies, around hearts

Souls encompass the art-of-noise

Yells quell to subtle tongues

That tell tales of time taken

Much, yet not nearly enough

Smooth as shells the ocean relinquishes

When the sea is rough

She waves

I ride tide

Reside on sides of town

Might catch a glimpse of me

May never see me around

Carry pounds

Two-fifteen

On a frame of six-feet

And inch of miles of man

Weighing ounces of planned prevention

Timing each and every decision

They say I'm sort of... "particular"

Burnt orange tints my vision

Optics blurred

Can't get rid of the

Pictures given my mind

To have and hold

No sickness much health

Speak now

Forever holds pieces-of-peace

Hostage on shelves

Unreachable for not passing prerequisites

Comprehension and etiquette

Of higher learning considerate

Calm for benefit

Transformations [Exhibit B]

2010-01-20T18:44:00.006-06:00

Gotta crawl before you take flight...

The Art of Silver Lined

2010-01-20T03:11:00.013-06:00

The creation of the music of Silver Lined is directly linked to a series of square placards. I designed these frames to capture the essence of what I was feeling for each respective track. Much emotion and energy goes into music above and outside the process of producing it. To say they're symbolic is an understatement.

He'artbeats 4 Haiti

2010-01-18T22:40:00.004-06:00

I released my first downloadable collection of production via Gritty Goat.

10 tracks for your enjoyment with the proceeds of your contributed donation going towards helping Haiti recover from the earthquake.

100%, I repeat, 100% of proceeds will be utilized by Partners In Health in their medical efforts to tend to the citizens injuries.

E-mail either Gritty Goat or myself if you're interested in other donation amounts or alternative payment options.

Thank you for your support. TURN IT UP!

X-tra X-tra

2010-01-15T01:02:00.002-06:00

'Nuff Said...

Turned Tables

2010-01-07T11:57:00.000-06:00

Let me checkmate your heart in two moves/one that settles your guard the other calms & soothes/track record like needles in between vinyl grooves/B-side you, blended tempo of each pulse, subtle moves/

[to be continued...]

Knowledge Is Key Vol.1.o

2010-01-06T09:36:00.005-06:00

There are few things more unforgivable than when men unknowingly betray themselves

During the deepening mood of rebellion that characterized the Black Sixties, a new generation learned an ancient lesson—that power makes concession only when challenged by counter-power. Those bright-eyed idealists who began by singing "Black and white together" and "We Shall Overcome" ended with the sober recognition that, in a racist society, Black and white will touch only tangentially, their "togetherness" a pathetic defiance of a pattern as rigid and as immutable as death. And what was "overcome" was little more than their innocence, the cold realization that all the flowery and thrilling talk about "freedom" and "justice" and "equality", criminally, has meaning only in the Disneyland atmosphere of high school civics classes. The Black Consciousness Movement was born of this stark reality: If Racism savaged the the nation's soul, then the psychological survival of those singled out as victims demanded that they first clearly identify their enemies and then systematically act to gain the power and unity with which to confront and, ultimately, to defeat their enemies.

As we approach the mid-Seventies, we find ourselves already moving in cadence in a familiar cycle of hope and disillusionment. Thousand of the ablest and potentially most valuable blacks are plugging into those especially designed slots on the periphery of the prevailing structure, their primary motive the pursuit of a "safety" and "security" no pariahs in a racist society can ever find. "Making it" is proving as strong a religion after Watts and Detroit as it was before those citizens explosions. A few valiant Black men and women across the country carry on their backs the awesome burden of revolutionary spirit, struggling not to crumble under the weight. The Black Community languishes, as yet generally unreached by the profound revelations and the new vision which would begin to set it free. The crucial lesson of the Sixties—that power yields to power—goes largely unheeded.

But we know what we do and what we fail to do. After nearly 400 years of racist subjugation, Black people have no justification for repeating the cycle of hope and disillusionment. If we do not seize the instruments of power and use them, we must admit that is our terribly conscious choice.

~From Black World: A Johnson Publication Vol. XXII No. 5 March 1973

Haven'ts

2010-01-04T06:44:00.000-06:00

He might cry, except his tears might freeze.

Nothing comes with ease but look-a-ways of by passers.

One man's trash is another's daily bread.

One man's daily read is another's bed lining.

No silver lining when the clouds open up. Golden ticket is a scatch-off bringing an abrubt fortune.

You ever felt the shiver knowing that a sliver of the American Pie is an unobtainable portion?

Piece of mind, mind on money, money's time, time's awastin', waste not-want not, not a dime of stock option.

Gotham City, city stickers, stick-em-up, upward mobility locked away deep inside a coffin.

Every breath a step closer to death, deaf-dumb-and-blind don't have sense to measure the short distance.

Never forget just how long it took to get what you've got and rest assured it could blow away in an instance.

EVOLutionairy [12/23/09 @11:48pm]

2010-01-03T07:18:00.007-06:00

I love it.../

Witnessing s'thing grow/

For some it's passion/

For others it's cash flow/

I hate it.../

The feeling of being behind/

Living the best you can/

Every breath; a deadline/

While you dash around in life/

Dotting 'i's crossing 't's/

On your 'p's and 'q's/

Separating real from untruths/

Hard work is like a husband/

Dedication is his wife/

Vice-versa/

Reverse vices/

Turn your nastiest to nicest/

Stand still for a stop/

When you're steadily on the go/

Watch the fall of the snow/

Bask in winter sunglow/

"There's nothing like a man with a beautiful mind..."/

Say nothing less than women who want nothing less than time/

Imagine.../

Not needing to pretend to extend/

Satisfaction of the mystery between now and then/

Atop counters/

'Dirty' sensual encounters fresh and clean/

Amongst ya'selves/

Passion equals wealth/

Y'all know what I mean/

And if you don't do your best to find out/

Obscene excess is left/

Leave it travel down the right route/

Moderation/

Stimulation/

Education/

Contemplation/

Ovulation/

Fertilization/

Gestation/

Continuation....

Soft Shells

2010-01-01T19:24:00.001-06:00

Naw-homie/

I ain't got no time to joke/

A foot from the curb or the black pistol smoke/

A white cloud of dope, red cloak, and silver dagger/

Care less about a dull star and his dim swagger/

Listen.../

Look & observe 'em like a half hearted astronomer/

These guys with ties/

Evil disguised/

Temperature rising/

The thermometer.../

Burstin' like gun-shot/

Off the top of the dome piece/

A house is not a home if your hearts not in it/

Own or lease/

What matters most?/

Ask Luther Vandross/

Big Luther, not Skinny Luther/

No Rae Carruth when it comes to/

Workin out disputes domestic/

From poppin' trunks to hiding in 'em/

From in the closet to confiding in men in 'em/

Askin' fathers to forgive 'em for they have sinned when/

There's no intercessor between them and The One whose wind/

Blows through my city/

Fairweather friend I am not/

Nor terroist/

I might enlighten, but won't blow up your spot...

Dash

2009-12-30T02:26:00.001-06:00

"Mark..."

*BANG!*

Nothing beats the start

Of a seven year dash

Journey into the parts of your life you don't forget...

Happiness

Some regret

To reach twenties intact is like fulfillment of a bet

Thirteen...

Did you have any idea..?

BLK TNT

2009-12-28T12:53:00.004-06:00

Black Dynamite is hands down the heaviest 180-gram vinyl to touch the table in 2009. So to the point that I have it in HEAVY rotation and expect to it to continue well into 2010. That's the short and sweet of it. If you can't land on of the 2,000 limited edition pressings, do make sure to gift yourself, someone, or yourself and someone a compact disc or digital download.

Solid.

Not Forgotten...

2009-12-27T08:20:00.003-06:00

Finality

2009-12-27T05:55:00.003-06:00

Yearn for the longing of a fragrant blossom whose sweetness burns gently into my memory through the nostril and lingers long after leaving, remaining behind with me by staying on my mind like warm clothing upon my back.

So essential.

To wear you, not wear you out.

Perfect is often either poorly defined or overrated.

Some days call for the enjoyment of a snug fit.

Others, a bit looser than one is use to.

Dedication, moderation, and variation is so key to two souls intertwining to the point of becoming locked.

Fused.

Inseparable by blues because they jazz up the rhythm with the gifts the good Lord gives them.

I hop back and forth between me and you and them and us and we. Purposefully. No trip. I speak of it like time is relevant.

Would rather nibble on a lip than bite my tongue. A feeling that I held so tight from such a young age and now I am faced with a page that is almost done yet not began...before you were a woman I could not wait to be a man and take the fingers from our hands and intertwine them. Stare into your eyes until I lost nearsightedness because of how blinding they are.

Lashes so lovely whip up a sentiment inside me that causes me to not want to flee, but submit to the binding. It is a giving in that is, to put it frankly a surrender which ceases the life of a pretender.

No more make believe. Make me believe. Make me breathe cause I have been simulating the life sustaining act for long enough to slay the myth with you. Have courage, please. Adore, take, and receive. Concur, stake, and retrieve all the fine feelings filed far away from the surface of me for safe keeping 'por tu.'

And you alone.

Your royalty has sat in the land of my dreams atop a throne.

My loyalty has been sweetening compact inside a comb.

Intact, solid as stone.

Syntax and an embrace that is home.

seven/eleven

2009-12-26T22:08:00.006-06:00

seven/eleven

Crap!
One thought he wouldn't be on 'CPT'
Fine
Too much on my mind leaves me two poems behind
For the exercise
I take it seriously
Three's company
They look at me so mysteriously
For awhile the four of us laughed and smiled
Five seater SUV with roughly 80,000 miles
Six was the pick-up time
No need for a pick-up line
They recognize the math of seven in me
Plus I'm so friendly
We ate a little at eight
A plush date
Fish on the plate
Stories they could relate to
With weight too
No conflict in schedule
Smoke for purpose municipal
Keepin' it sober off general principal
At nine unwind over something fresh-brewed and find
More of-TEN than not we're all cups from the same pot
Eleven o'clock
Relaxed with wonderful flowers
No better way to spend a day before the midnight hour...

The Night Was On My Mind...

2009-12-26T05:49:00.002-06:00

Moto-vated...

Pace Ya'self...

2009-12-25T02:01:00.002-06:00

"It's a funny thing. This guy, this counselor at Lewisburg......Mr. Seawald, once said to me: Charlie, you run out of steam. You can't sprint all the way. You gotta stop sometime. You can't buck it forever. It catches up to you. It gets you. You don't get reformed...you just run out of wind."

~Carlito Brigante bka Al Pacino via "Carlito's Way"

Untitled & Random

2009-12-25T01:46:00.002-06:00

A shadow/

Cast in a sun lit room is just shade/

Bright beams of light in dark spaces equates to Jedi sabers/

Yin & yang, equally the others next door neighbor and in fact/

Balancing act, both needed for a leveled race track/

Handle trials in life that living it tends to hand you/

With the stamina of teams that practice suicides/

Strength of half ton offensive & defensive lines/

On either side of a ball with laces/

Grates & grills covering their faces/

In a sense hiding their identity/

At the same time shielding their vulnerability/

Stars are hot, but a playmaker with sensibility?

Cooler/

One who seems to be measurements' ruler/

Kingpin amongst men/

Linchpin for women/

The key to procreation/

But even that's not true/

Cause ladies, as much as you need us, perhaps it's more we need you/

It's all about units/

You in it as well as I/

Us as well as them/

Most important prescription we need refilled is love/

Natural heart medicine/

Weathered Report

2009-12-24T00:20:00.010-06:00

RE-constructed Ver. 1.2

5-day forecast

weekends are optional

climate ain't optimal

yet we still reign true

to handle stress

cannabis cumulus clouds some do blow

others sip extra special XO

I scribe mind-flow

A clash of wit

Me and my alter self go toe-to-toe

Round and round

Where my focus lands

Not even I think I know

Still,

It's for the exercise

Remove my pair of extra eyes

Sometimes it's actual-factual

And other times I fantasize

Whether fact or fiction it's in essence of myself

Weathered actions list experiences on my shelf

My memories like trophies

Bronzed, silver lined, and golden

Honestly molded

Not a single aspect of them stolen

Red Light. Green light.

2009-12-23T00:20:00.005-06:00

Even blanks my mind draws are full of smoke/
tanks half full not empty mentality is "I ain't no joke"/
nothin' to laugh at, the craft that artsy lovers dig/
promise a love stonger than pride and I won't renege/
such love deluxe, I'm a lovers rock & roll ballad of power/
decorated soldier of love in a quiet storm's midnight hour/
the dirty harry for a flower/
mind's water provoking bloom/
like morning dew/
do believe me, I will not arrive soon-er than you'd have me/
familiar with visitor etiquette/
advanced fantasy? Ingenious, I'm sorta ahead of it/
not braggadocious/
call it confident/
vault for a confidant/
locked in the look of love 'til cops knock/
'til cresents become crossaints/
preserves & butter/
word-life givin' mother/
NYC Undercover/
arrested the cardiac of a caramel complected brotha/
foreal...

Spark Sumthin'

2009-12-22T11:49:00.003-06:00

Fused by Phraim

Sand & Glass

2009-12-21T05:58:00.001-06:00

He,

Sees her,

Just slightly longer

Than before she him.

Less than twenty-four hours.

Birth barely separated by a decade.

On the dawn of seven days

He left her amazed

With two words

Too many

One...

The hourglass inverted,

Grains of time began to pass

Like sand through fingers...

He is more than the bones that build him.

Smile adorning his face.

So much more than the strings that bind him.

Anchors holding him in place

However linked,

However strong,

He tugs at them

Like a ship begging to venture off into the vast deep sea.

Wind driven...

Sail full...

Sun shines on him.

He once heard the sun always shines for the cool.

Looked for one cooler with whom to run towards it with,

One whom with loving and living was school,

Always in session,

Always impression to be made.

Discretion everlasting

More than fashionable escapade

In the midst of calamity

Calm prevails.

Sure nails in one's coffin is worrying often.

Vanilla skies in chocolate cities?

Time will tell

If a trail that led them closer will lead them to closer still.

Transparency,

Currency in the bank

For a long trip ahead

Lighter than lead in the tank.

Parcel in possession

Of which only she can receive...

Peace awaiting,

The likes of which he hopes he can't believe...

But does,

Cause he knows disbelief forces faith to falter.

Dying to make a sacrifice so he can see the moon forever.

Living to make a living by the means of him being quite clever.

Carving his essence in existence on stone that will never weather.

Or erode into sand,

Then into glass which to be broken.

Offers his all as a token,

All at once

Into the open.

Half Past Three Quarters Plus One

2009-12-20T18:00:00.000-06:00

Looked for you in my dreams lastnight...

They were ones that trickled into a morning slumber like rainwater off a cottage roof. Made clear as the bright sun shined through every glistening pearldrop. Thoughts of a a fresh source running to a lesser.

I traveled back to a land before this time. Searching. And time after time, your face eluded my sight.

You moved just like the wind...

Still, I followed your voice, unheard yet familiar, closer and closer until I realized I moved slightly too slow to capture such a special moment. A vision of the sad but true fact that we often fail to seize the day, however evident. A somewhat painful awakening leaving one sore to their core.

Things like this are to be kept to ones self to avoid humiliation and avoid sympathy that might otherwise never be.

Still, things like that are to be told on mountaintops so that if any other finds themself face to face with their heart's weakness and desire, they might realize that both can exist in the same space and time and then choose to place their ego and fear aside for the sake of the greater good.

They might gain what most lose. Very well may know what others never; may find solution to the mystery.

They might draw conclusion that they should have exited when they had a strategy. Be forced to backends of "what if-s." Might die a life of passionate misery.

But whatever is the case for either, whether such a deep slumber or a very lightsleeper. I believe in the burden of absence one simply cannot bear. Believe in gazes into eyes. Believe in fragrance throughout hair. Believe it engraves and etches memories that last one's whole life. Ones that surface from time to time in the third-quarter of night.

Tides Tried & True

2009-12-19T06:20:00.001-06:00

I'm hard pressed to find a more mint condition gaze...eyes so beautiful, hue of cocoa...

Flawlessness is something I've often thought over-rated, until my own two brought a vision of you into focus...

Can't say that a more captivating image has lingered in my mind like smoke from a stick of incense burning slow with no draft to be blown by and no where to go...

You shine so. Your face a shrine to which pretty pays homage. A page on which gorgeousness is defined...all at the same time...

And I watch...and I wait...and I anticipate...and I smile...and I wonder...and I think "Yo, I'm under a spell..." and listen close when I tell myself to focus cause that which is closest keeps me from hell, sure as I'm oldest of seven...three boys, three girls, and myself, I know all about love...I know all about wealth...and lack thereof, and I know, I know-I know about shells that wash ashore from their mothers and learn to breathe by themselves, and all the stories they tell when their eyes well up and swell, and the how the shape of their lips can kiss words "Bye" when they ex-it entrances of their of mouths before they slide down their necks to clavicles that call out "Look, I just wanna be held" and how the thump of hearts of queens say "King come into self" and how passion trumps so much lost, how when passed on it haunts, and haunts and haunts 'til the loss of a caress fades and not dwells, and how beds all to yourself can be cold as shelves of ice on either pole of the earth 'til one's heart warms and then melts the crisp stiff sheets with help of another between various thread counts, and curious gazes, non-furious rages that simmer to subtleness underneath dimmer luminance since gentler gestures more than get points across...tell me what the fcuks a boss when you volunteer all your essence...and make just one simple request...of "Let's make it so bless'ed..."

And bury your soul in a chest...

And carry your whole to the next...

With hopes they hold on ex-tra tight...

Through days, throughout nights...

For the rest of your life...

For the rest of your lives...

Through many, many moon cycles...

Like rising of tides...

Nuff Said...

2009-12-18T17:35:00.005-06:00

Rev. Jeremiah A Wright is a man my family has known since lonnng before I was a thought. I respect him beyond words for having the courage to speak out against the blindfolding of America, the scapegoating of the meek, the illusion a of post-racial New World Order, and, even though we don't share the exact same ideologies regarding faith, I steadfastly consider him a cousin of sorts. Above all, he is a source of inspiration and mentorship & I NEVER once had an issue with his sentiments leading up to the election of the current POTUS.

What he said has come to pass, and, although this too shall pass, a WHOLE lot of people might want to consider the way he was systematically cast aside by some & lynched within the media by others.

Here's a GREAT piece of journalism detailing the apology he's owed by many. If you happen to be one, get in line...it's a long one.

Value Self

2009-12-18T08:14:00.005-06:00

"INSIST ON YOURSELF; never imitate. Your own gift you can present every moment with the cumulative force of a whole life's cultivation; but of the adopted talent of another, you have only an extemporaneous half-possession. That which each can do best none but his [her] maker can teach him [her]."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Domino" Cascade

2009-12-17T14:56:00.011-06:00

"Domino" Cascade

D.C.../

Capital "D" in a domino cascade.../

Legislature over things from prisons to air raids.../

Built by slaves/

Masonic ways/

Day-to-day.../

Cross-nation with me to the San Francisco Bay...

"O"ak-l-a-n-d, Cali-for-n-i-a/

Ballers balled/

Players played/

Short Dog sensationalized a/

Word for woman.../

Ironically, the jungle of Panthers/

Self-respect...

Defense.../

No police brutality without answers

"M"iami.../

Cats make a cameo just for the candy/

90 miles from Cuba/

Mamicitas are dandy/

Dudes is like "come to daddy"/

Pull hair harder than gravity/

Sexual second nature/

Too many fall vic to cavities...

I'm from "I"ll-i-nois/

Gunshots/

Deafening noise/

The wounds/

Brings death to boys/

And men/

Children with toys/

And then/

The women mourn/

Municipality scorns/

Exploit it to adorn/

Chi-Skyline/

Southside war-torn

"N"-Y-C/

To the N-Y/

G-r-double e-n/

Backs/

Empires State's/

Great prominence/

Dominance/

Land of Knicks/

Nickled & Dimed/

And crime/

Rhyme/

Subway lines/

Bridges bind/

Sometime blind lead the blind

"O"hhh say can you seee.../

Byyy the dawnnn's earrrly liiight.../

What so prouuudly we haillled.../

Is phcuked up...

Fa'real...

A $hhh...itty deal/

Still/

We manage to more than try/

Like & love/

Smile & cry/

Give & go/

"Hi" & "bye"/

Pray above/

Hope & die/

Cope & strive/

Live our lives/

Cascade/

'Til we arrive/

Maintain stride...

WarmCold

2009-12-17T00:59:00.002-06:00

Warm yet cold as apple pie a la mode/

Type that makes a brotha wanna break his leather tri-fold/

Old school vernacular/

Smile so spectacular/

Love to watch it crack like cocaine drug traffickers/

My only offense is my demeanor miss.../

Lonliness intense, meets certain confidence.../

Problematic in the sense I'm an overdose addict for the static cling when around you pretty young thing/

Imagination runs wild as steeds.../

No night-mares/

We pair well as a couple colt forty-fevers/

Understand roles like starters & relievers/

Quarter-backs & receivers/

Point-guards & paint eaters/

The X's & O's/

The "Oh"s from ya Ex's/

When they see you sportin' a simple heartfelt charm on a necklace.../

Agate maybe malachite/

Turquoise, polished Lazurite/

Ebony onyx, make-up mix of opal, Black Dynamite!/

Explosive.../

Cross a room like a fuse/

Lit/

Light on your toes/

Legs justly juxtaposed/

Scent definition of a woman/

Tongue roll is papyrus/

When speaking your birth dialect/

You've captivated this/

Listener/

Just in a/

Minor motion of moves/

Things you think so miniscule/

Things that more than just soothe/

The checkin' of a mate before he even manifests/

You know him when he shows cause he looks at your eyes not breasts/

'Til time is proper/

Appropriate to author.../

Romance scene performance/

Worthy of more than Oscar.../

Weather storms through doppler/

Instilled within the soul/

Stroll/

Through life hand in hand/

Man & woman/

To have & hold...

Poinsettia

2009-12-16T01:05:00.004-06:00

Accelerated renaissance keeps debutants listenin'

Phraim on the instrument is like heaven-sent gift to men

Peace, practice, & discipline

Is how I've achieved magnificent

Things

Birthed in the spring after overheated fling

What I bring is like light to the overshadowed specimen

Approach your town with gems like the Three Kings did in Bethlehem

Golden as the dome that sits in the heart of Jerusalem

Overlooked like Palestine when Israel abuses them

Misusing them

While the U.S. missle cruises ten

Times or more

Blowing the script off mosque doors

A direct act of disrespect and hostile force

Muslimin stay the course even though the trail is coarse...

Ya muslimin stay the course even though the trail is coarse

A straighter path

Lesser spite, hate, and wrath

Do the math

With formula for much more shallow bloodbath

When you check the epitaph on my marker

I hope to die a martyr

Not $#!% starter

Nor the abuser of daughters

I thought sons were suppose to shine?

Illuminate, shed light, and warmly lead the blind

Stars,

I guess that I'm a different kind

Gifted mind

Bless'ed lines

Timelessly

Not timely is how I rhyme

Stands the test

Rest seldom

Conscious is constantly

Advising me

To be the best that I can be

Outside their army

No technology in existence can harness the

SOUL POWER

Better than paper, pen

And tenth of hour

Flower...

Sizzle...Fizzle...Sizzle...Fizzle...

2009-12-15T03:36:00.006-06:00

How fitting...

The 15th of December

At night we glow bright

Warm as an ember,

Orange as a slice of the moon

Pie faced child, ya drive me wild...

Tell me how could I not remember

The directions to that spot on ya atlas

Where there's no stress

A renaissance man

Dem boyz need GPS

Such a mess...

Much a test

An exam to be passed

QUESTION #1

"How to make it last?"

"For-ever..."

Keepin' the sweat in the pores,

Respect my world

I won't dissect yours,

Whirlpool detected

Man & woman

love overboard

Checks been written

Neither can ill afford...

Let's look at it this way,

Then look at it that way,

Let the love spray

Check my tech of sway

Rock steady

Hot, heavy

Overlapped limbs make medley

Breath breeze

'Til the breakin' of your levy

Let's lounge in a bayou 'til the eve of the annual...

Don't need the mistletoe to exercise the mandible...

Much talk of how a man don't know how to handle you

Savagery sexually behaving like a cannibal

The lower self's overriding of the higher

Best explanation for a tiger goin' tiger

Let's walk a straight path a la tightrope baby

Not cross the thin line 'til the sun becomes shady...

Bad GI JOkE

2009-12-10T15:09:00.006-06:00

When life & liberty won't flourish & breathe/

It becomes harder for a mother to nourish her seeds/

Father travels farther than he ever has before/

Bartering time for monetary compensation in war/

Nah, it ain't his gripe, but the pipeline's more important/

Better enlist than to entertain the risk of being deported/

Besides.../

He's toted guns since the age of 13/

Hurting/

Anything in sight that might be worth green/

His team's all locked up/

Dead, dumb, & doped up/

Really don't wanna be part of the system's quota/

So he explained the horrors to his wife when he wrote her/

Told her of the lifeless-limbless-bodies/

The odor…/

His UMI told him he'd get wiser as he got older/

Foolish father left him behind up in the colder/

Atmosphere/

To escape the gravity of the ghetto/

He took to gettin' high and guzzling' on 40 bottles/

Now he's in the desert/

Floorin' the HUM-VEE throttle/

"Shoot first; never question orders" is the company motto/

Wardrobe went from thug, to business casual, to tactical/

High school, to college technical…until the rent was due/

Until his wife went from overdue to with child times two/

His status went from "No Thanks" to "Available..."/

Decided to name his gemini Tariq & Abdul/

In hopes that one day they'd both become righteous generals/

Instead of being by their sides, he brandished sidearms/

Ambushed at a roadside checkpoint; lost his right arm/

Can only hold only one child on the left with the arm that's left/

I guess that brotha never shoulda left/

But.../

What the f--k can you do when your back against the wall/

Like Mike Jackson & action in heat of battle calls/

From a D.C. area code/

Collecting person-to-person/

Poor get poorer/

Rich get richer/

And situations worsen...

Selection On The Menu

2009-12-09T00:38:00.003-06:00

Love shown to my works by On The Buzz in the Lifestyle section at http://www.onthebuzz.com/

A solid site. No question. ➠ Food For Thought

Respect to On The Buzz for shining a likkle light on me.

℗hraim

Grea✝ La✬e'$ ¢urren¢y

2009-12-07T11:57:00.014-06:00

And I have.../

robbed Pe✝er ✝o pay Paul/

$o ✝o ✝he poin✝ he wen✝ AWOL/

Fu¢✬ a Wall $✝ree✝/

Go✝ Hill $✝ree✝ Blue$.../

Many men wal✬ a mile in ✝he$e $hoe$/

✝ryin' ✝o $✝ay away from 50 ¢en✝ balan¢e$/

I ¢ho$e ✝o ✝a✬e ✝he road le$$ ✝raveled/

Load up on ¢redi✝ hour$/

Analyzing ✝he da✝a/

¢ommunal $✝all $hower$/

$pen✝ day$ in rural Wi$¢on$in/

$pon$oring ✝he hope$ of a be✝✝er life/

¢areer, ✬id$, and lovely wife/

✝he whole ✝ime my world unraveling/

Exer✝ing energy a$$o¢ia✝ed wi✝h ✝he hurl of a javelin.../

Wen✝ 4 my ma$✝er$ in/

Ma$$ ¢ommuni¢a✝ion/

Grandma'$ di$in✝egra✝ion/

Of heal✝h de$✝royed my pa✝ien¢e/

A revela✝ion.../

of ✝hing$ ✝ha✝ ¢ould never la$✝/

held i✝ ✝oge✝her li✬e ✝he dread be¢au$e $he $aid "✝hi$ ✝oo $hall pa$$..."/

And "Gye Nyame"/

I✝'$ only ✝he ✬nowledge I'm holdin'/

✝ha✝ ha$ ✝hi$ mor✝al feelin' li✬e I'm $o golden.../

Yeah...

Make No Mistake About It...

2009-12-06T16:33:00.001-06:00

Music IS The Weapon...

Ode To The Gifted Heart

2009-12-05T22:01:00.003-06:00

Corazon (Take Heart) by Phraim

Say Cheeze...

2009-12-05T21:13:00.001-06:00

Laughter rejuvenates the soul...

Wineless Bars

2009-12-05T01:44:00.001-06:00

Calm as Clint East in Unforgiven/

Non-liquored, only sip the Easiest Livin'/

A tall drink of water from the city where the children/

Believe they can fly thanks to Pied Pipers rhythms/

Where there's forever a fiesta, party, or somethin'/

The hair and nail salons are pre-celebration customs/

And for us husbands, present, past-tense, or otherwise/

It's wild how we men fall victim to the love of thighs/

Me? I'm a sucker for shoulders, hands, and eyes/

Peer deep into her soul imagining her clavicle/

How hands lay upon laps and how they clap/

One of life's most beautiful things is an afternoon nap/

With the/

One you love/

A ceiling fan up above/

Sexual Healing/

The sounds of Trouble Man got me feeling/

Like/

Fallin' apart/

But no Napoleon Bonaparte/

Complex/

In affectionate/

Exhibit-tion/

Tonz of love from Trailer Load of girls/

Ranks last on my list of things if I Ruled The World...

Start Your Endings

2009-12-02T12:00:00.000-06:00

What can I say?
I'm a heathen.
Impossible to ignore the possibility
Even though I tried

And from day to day
Fought against leavin.
You've got to know the reason is cause
In my heart love no longer resides

The same

Tried to place & put my finger on the,
Particular problem preventing passion's prevail

The name

Sake might be the reason for the torture
The horror of livin up to the King whose name I claimed

A lame
Excuse-if you if you're one who makes up excuses,
But rather I feel it is a way to best explain

The pain
produces a reaction non-exclusive,
Difficulty factor makes it a task just to maintain...

(to be continued...or not...)

Violencia

2009-11-23T13:20:00.004-06:00

Do people believe that the behavior of 1865-1877 just simply disappeared? Energy doesn't just vanish, it transforms.

Phillip Dray writes, in "At The Hands Of Persons Unknown: The Lynching of Black America,"

Whipping was the Klan's preferred mode of punishment in the Reconstruction South, explicitly reminding blacks of their former status. "The habit is so inveterate among a great many persons," noted Carl Schurz, "as to render, on the least provocation, the impulse to whip a Negro almost irresistible."

Fair Trade

2009-11-23T00:40:00.003-06:00

Bahia splits into an upper & lower city. Hard to explain, but there's a big elevator, Elevador Lacerda, that takes you between the two. That's where this little guy ran up to me, spun around, and stuck out his palm. I traded him reals for a snap.

Segment

2009-11-22T14:52:00.003-06:00

We barreled down slaloms so ice cold/rode rivers of flame the names have been changed/to protect the innocent, God blessed & heaven-sent.../a match made by Him for us, ain't it evident?

Of course it should be/the question is would we/recognize "Real Love" & handle it like MJB/yo, please don't press thee/issue, please pass tissue/crying is like bleeding when $#!% is handled improperly...©

Times Have Changed

2009-11-21T11:40:00.002-06:00

"The whole record industry is ambivalent to start with, because it's dealing in a commodity on a profit level, and yet it's also dealing with art, which is not a commodity, and which is not produced for the purpose of making profit. I don't know how it can be reconciled, short of a revolution."

(circa 1971 by A&R/Producer for Impulse Records Bob Thiele)

Matter Of Fact

2009-11-18T04:35:00.002-06:00

From an era of dual-deck high-speed dubs, but still get digital for bruhs.../

The art-form will never again be what it was, I'm vice like Miami's Crockett & Tubbs.../

Moto-boat spray when I hold onto a.../

Mic-phone, flow goes back & fro like two-way.../

More frozen than a windy winter Monday.../

An Endeavor blastin' defrost/

By any means, at all cost/

I'm trying' to make loose ends meet 'til payday.../

Friday, on some Frank Sinatra "My Way..."/

Hit he highway, get interstate for a minute/

"Got it Made" like Ed on a mission with dreads/

And the head nods/

Cause this matter of fact/

Over a Saturn track/

Is hard to handle as a low-post battle with Shaq/

Kill at the wheel when I deal/

Maneuver like Manu, when surrounded by steel/

And fiberglass/

Free at last in a sense, gas costs too many cents/

These D.C. hillbillies are raising the rents/

Brazen with intent to slay an innocent/

Man, woman, & child/

My mind moves with the miles/

Still ain't got 40 acres, so I mule over rough terrain/

Cultivate my field of dreams from kernels of pain/

Fertile from hurdles, Damn right, I keep it in stride mayne/

Thoughts on the dome as I saddle and ride lane...

For Babies & Those Who Love Them

2009-11-17T08:52:00.002-06:00

Blood of Mine by Phraim

Cells, Sales, & Mo' Cells

2009-11-13T09:52:00.010-06:00

Sex cells are the reason sex sells, they are the reason sex sells to underage and underdeveloped sexes, both girl's and boy's have these sex cells that enable sex to sell, they end up selling themselves short because of these sex cells, never becoming man and woman, but instead grown up boy and girl as sex continues to sell, as it entices their sex cells, and as the sexes seeming loose sight of just what sex they are in cells, in prison cells that are built in order for corporations to sell prisons, the boys become girls in these cells as the sexcells run wild, and the wild run through the corridors and cell blocks in search of sex, overpowering one another until they no longer have to, and as the prostitute roams free on the streets selling sex, but she isn't free, she is prisoner of sex because it sells, and she is a slave of the money that it is bought with, just as we all are, unless...

1<3

2009-11-06T16:33:00.005-06:00

Morning Sun by Phraim

featuring Russ & Alpha Blak. Produced by Alpha Blak

Aka m'akoma

2009-11-06T04:14:00.003-06:00

She of the brown eyes unpacked her violin, and we went through the duet several times. I was soon lost to all other thoughts in the delights of music and love. I say delights of love without reservation; for at no time of life is love so pure, so delicious, so poetic, so romantic, as it is in boyhood. A great deal has been said about the heart of a girl when she stands "where the brook and river meet," but what she feels is negative; more interesting is the heart of a boy when just at the budding dawn of manhood he stands looking wide-eyed into the long vistas opening before him; when he first becomes conscious of the awakening and quickening of strange desires and unknown powers; when what he sees and feels is still shadowy and mystical enough to be intangible, and, so, more beautiful; when his imagination is unsullied, and his faith new and whole-then it is that love wears a halo-the man who has not loved before he was fourteen has missed a fore-taste of Elysium.

~James Weldon Johnson

The Autobiography Of An Ex-Colored Man

¢ents

2009-11-05T22:55:00.002-06:00

What up Akh...enaten

2009-11-05T04:47:00.007-06:00

Blessed to have walked in the Valley of The Kings. This is how it felt...

ONE ONLY by Phraim

Internal Drive

2009-10-29T03:55:00.004-05:00

I've been thinking about it more

These past few days

About the miracle of a seed being brought to maturation

All the emotions associated with the phenomenon

It is what we were born for

To be fruitful and multiply

Regardless of what the oppressors NOW say

Now that how many of us they can breed, enslave and bleed is less relevant

Now that they've made their fortunes and all but perfected their methods of maintaining and increasing them

Seriously, is it not a part of faith?

To find and fertilize a fertile and fine fair and favorable friend

Some call them wives

Others coin other appealing names for them

For you

For you who read this

For you, o tender and trusting souls

Hopeful and half crazy

As you exercise your all

In heartfelt rituals you pray lead you to fully experience what it is to be women

In acts that enable you to push your vessels to the limits of their feminine fashions

Though you know the pain that awaits

The tearing

The pain

The tears

The joy

The passion

The peace

The burden

The blessing

How could you not know if you're ready?

By the time you begin to wonder whether you are or not, you probably have been

Usually, your reason matches your season

And rightfully so

I can recall

Oh so vividly

The night I lay alone

Underneath red light

From a red bulb

Writing upon white paper made red

With a red pen filled with red ink

Spilling my heart on pages blindly

For writing with red ink in red light on white paper made red makes is nearly impossible to read what you feel, think, and scribe

The thought

The feeling

The desire

To save each and every one of you

From myself

From my selfishness

And the selfishness of those like me

And those not

To divide myself as many times possible

As many times necessary

To provide all with a "me"

To supply all of me

To give the same version of myself to each and every one of you so that you might know just how much I love you

Knowing all along that my one true desire was to know but one of you

Forever

For as long as possible

As long as necessary

To provide all with me

To supply part of me

To give a new version of myself to us so that we might show the world just how much we love them

The desire

The feeling

The thought

The blessing

The burden

The peace

The passion

The joy

The tears

The pain

The tearing

The cry of arrival

The calming whispering in their ears of God's Greatness

The comforting and calming assurance that everything will be alright

The disbelief that the four fingers and thumb that rest with the palm of my hand used to be mine

The reason to live

And die if I must

To ensure that I've done my part to nurture their maturation

By God's Will

Though I know the pain that awaits them

In a world that calls for them to push their vessels to the limits

As they exercise their all

Hopeful and half crazy

Chasing fortunes that oppressors have all but placed just beyond their reach

I pray they strive to perfect their methods

Maintain and increase them

Obtain half my faith times two, ten-fold

Find their fine fair and favorable friend

Be fruitful and multiply

Until...

Win Or Lose

2009-10-28T05:32:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I lift weights.

Sometimes I press pads.

Sometime soon I'll lace this with vocals [God Willin].

Til then...

Word To My Brotha

2009-10-11T13:01:00.001-05:00

Good vibe kudos via Safari Black

http://safari-black.blogspot.com/2009/10/phraim-mondern-day-beat-genius.html

NOT To Be Forgotten: Sankofa-Sankofa

2009-09-29T03:09:00.007-05:00

Obviously (Cotton Candy) by Phraim

There's Nothing Sweet About The Descendants Of Those Who Clothed & Fed This Nation Being Killed In The Streets By Descendants Of Those Very Same People As A Result Of Inequalities Via The Politics Of Descendants Of Those People Who Were Fed & Clothed By Them [AND Continue To Be]...

Heavy Duty

2009-09-09T19:23:00.003-05:00

Check out me, Phraim, putting my 2¢ in via interview with everydaybeats.net dj'ournalist Ian Head http://everydaybeats.net/node/148

[Yes , Vitamin Dee froze the frame. No, no I do not weigh 750 lbs]

Development Arrested

2009-09-09T02:33:00.001-05:00

Heart attack

An acute episode of heart dis-ease marked by the death or damage of heart

The heart dies or becomes permanently damaged

Chest pain is a major symptom of heart attack

Other symptoms may include anxiety, cough, fainting, light-headedness, dizziness, nausea or vomiting, palpitations, shortness of breath, & sweating

Mellow Drumm Addict by Phraim

sh√ed

2009-09-09T02:23:00.000-05:00

i am a canvas
painted over
whether it be by your hand
or mine own

a stroke
of genius
is as debilitating

i now sit
perfectly still
closer to the earth
than i have ever been
our love
the equator

paint me, love

i am a painting
in reverse

my blues
will disappear
as Will...
arises

Solstice Will i am

arise fair love
and face the glorious morn

on this
the shortest day of the year
it has become
to bright
to write

December 21, 1998

pp. 113-114

Revolutionary Rhetoric Vol. 1

2009-09-01T22:15:00.003-05:00

"Music is serious. You don't play with Music. If you play with music, you will die young." -Fela Kuti

Fela was one of the most revolutionary artists of not only Africa's Nigeria, but all the world. He spoke of the spirituality of music; of it being a gift from a higher power. He used his gift to challenge his oppressive government and to address the dubious involvement of western corporations in Africa. Such a threat was he to the powers that be that his home was raided and ransacked, his wives were beaten, raped, and tortured, and even his mother was thrown from a window. He and his entourage were jailed on several occasions and Fela himself was beaten brutally for his addressing of issues pertinent to the liberation of Lagos, Nigeria, Afrika, and all oppressed persons of the world. Inspiration should be drawn from such a man.

Indeed, he felt it a personal obligation to use his gift, his life, soul, and sound to uplift his people through this tool we call music. Just as it can be a progressive means of challenging oppression and suffering, it can equally maintain them. As griots, as keepers of the flame, emcees and Hip Hop related artists are obligated to the ongoing struggle of liberation and to the progression of their race & the human race.

I find it difficult to respect ANY artist who rises from the ranks of displaced Afrikans in America if their artistry serves as another link in the chain that keeps minds bound.

Shouldn't they rather strive to be one of the many keys required to unlock their salvation? Without question they should...

The Deepest H2O

2009-08-29T22:55:00.003-05:00

America...FAR too often the same soup, just reheated...

Smoke Swirls & Fresh Brewed

2009-08-28T02:45:00.001-05:00

Retrospect...

Sorta Charming

2009-08-27T02:33:00.002-05:00

SOS by Phraim

Pretty Winged Thing

2009-08-25T14:14:00.002-05:00

8/24 @ 9:36 on Flight 2632 HOU to MDW

2K9 Until

2009-08-14T21:40:00.005-05:00

Chill...

Perhaps

2009-08-10T15:20:00.004-05:00

This vidde convinces me of three things: a) I spend entirely TOO much time indoors. b) A trip to LA is kinda overdue. c) Sangin' is good for the soul...

Ola, Ola, Ay...

2009-08-08T21:25:00.000-05:00

I hear in colors
and see in sounds
thoughts run laps around each other

two before the one sometimes
moonlight before the sunrise

in sublime succession
my mind's
neurons firin’
when

i layer canvas it illuminates def
frame and proceed to spit it til my very last breath

top-notch heavy equipped lips on lease until my death
heart on beat man pon fire with desire til he’s left

nothing to gain

keep your fashion, fortune, & fame
gimme passion, prosperity, warm breeze, honey & rain

peace & love
was the advice of my great-grand
with understanding a baby crawls to be a great man

I loved her

and still do
it still reigns true
though clouds cover

the eyes
every once and a while
smile cracks like thunder

lightening my souls burdens
illuminating my words when
I plane, train, & automobile
Teachin’ & learnin...

Just Ridin'

2009-08-01T16:39:00.004-05:00

Goldenrule

Producer: Phraim
Director: Phraim
Casting: Phraim
Starring: Phraim
Director of Cinematography: Phraim
Editor: Phraim
Audio: Phraim
Stunt Driver: Phraim
Wardrobe: Phraim

Chin Up

2009-07-30T11:42:00.003-05:00

Our Women Keep Our Skies From Falling

our women keep our
skies from falling
our days from dying
our nights from crying

carrying deep
within themselves
the sacred sun loves
of African-american lives

embers which fire
black generations are
securely embedded betwix
broad baobabian hips
and gleam sparkling forth
from deep lakes of
blue/black brown
dark ebony eyes

their song is
healing song, and
calling soung, and
culture song, and
though no one
can stop the rain

our women keep our
skies from falling

-Kalamu ya Salaam

Truth Told

2009-07-28T09:33:00.006-05:00

Tell me whom you love, and I'll tell you who you are...
-LOUISIANA (CREOLE)

Anything Less is Just A Cat-Dog Shame

2009-07-27T01:34:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday, Minister Louis Farrakhan made a very interesting comment regarding the crucifixion of Michael Jackson. He spoke to the fact that Michael was found innocent of all charges against him in a U.S. court of law, but found guilty of civil charges in the following case, and thus stripped, demonized, and ultimately broken.

Tomorrow, just some six-years ago, Noam Chomsky wrote an essay entitled John Negroponte: From Central America to Iraq. Within this composition he details how the U.S. Government, under the Reagan administration, supported and covered up atrocities committed against Nicaraguan citizens via the Honduran military, was taken to the World Court in The Hague by Nicaragua, was found guilty of "unlawful use of force" and ordered to cease covert aggressive behavior towards the victim state and pay reparations, and completely...ignored...the ruling.

According to Chomsky, in 2004, Nicaragua was ranked as the second-poorest in the hemisphere, with 60 percent of its children under the age of two afflicted with anemia from severe malnutrition.

Michael, Farrakhan said, was listed in the Guinness World Book of Records as having donated over 300 million to charities and organizations with a mission to heal the children of the world, more than any other entertainer across the board.

Not only was he the King of Pop, but he was also a champion alms giver.

Shame on any scum-bucket politician or media figure that tosses even a pebble of criticism at the memory & essence of the one Michael Jackson.

Shame on us for letting history "repeat itself" time and time again in regards to the systematic lynching of our warriors for peace, and the continued disdain of our governmental administrations for INTERNATIONAL law.

Since 1984

2009-07-24T04:57:00.006-05:00

Masjid Al-Faatir
(founded by Muhammad Ali & Jabar Muhammad)

Above nightshot via me; via another by daylight

Say Words...

Mos Definitely Hearts Japan

2009-07-23T12:53:00.002-05:00

That does it...Japan is "mos def" on my place of nexts, inshallah...

Oodh (Verse Two)

2009-07-22T03:31:00.012-05:00

Baskin in oodh from a double-dutch incense holder...
the night gets colder...
my mind's flight's airborne...
the dime's light's dawn's light...
temp rising like a mobb deep in Arizona...

Permanent resident...
to earn a bit hesitant...
still...
hand me that piece of steal for thrills...
fa'real I'm blessed with it...

Spring baby into summer fall into the winter...
nineteen-seventy-six-april-twenty-seventh entered...

The stage of my life...
enraged from the strife surroundin' my mother's
womb...
between conceived and presumed...

Between the "boom" of her heartbeat and the rush from her fear...
the breaking of water like waves crash against pier...

The sounds to my ears...
the rumbling past her hips...
umbilical clips
and the first kiss from lips...
the milk of her breasts...
the tranquil rest on her chest...
the calm of the storm before elements of stress...

Use to find much fault in her departure...
think "damn, I thought cupid was more accurate an archer..."

Came to realize he was, though he's imagined...
"have real love, will travel" is the motto & the anthem...

I suffer from the same...
seeking buffer from the flame...
it's gettin' tuffer mayne...
out the front window pane...

I'm lookin'...

Lower the gaze to not be so in amaze...
existing in a maze...
before I let go let me say...

I try to not,
try to everyday...
try in each and every way...
to try to laugh...
try to play...
try to smile...
try to stay...
but the breeze causes sway...
try to break while limbs bend...
try to heal...
try to mend...

All that trying without success...
instilled a strong appreciation for a beautiful mess...
yields a realization this is realistically a test...
deal with issues at hand and seal/stamp the zeal of zest...

Remembering Rio

2009-07-20T05:50:00.010-05:00

Daredevil Baby (twothirtyseven)

2009-07-19T08:33:00.004-05:00

Twothirtyseven by Phraim

Out of balance/
SO to the point that/
Breathing's a challenge/
Unfulfilled by long exhales that put sighs to shame/

Magic stick next to the spine seems SO broken/
Given props still/
How does one play fair having lost his token/

He's no credits/

Life is gifted/
Divinely scripted/
Left for man's edit/
"Live & Let Live" Chapter 23 Verse seven's SO sorrowful/

Futuristic thinker wondering "Where'd tomorrow go?/
And "Why don't blue jays fly beside cardinals?"/

Is it possible?/

Isn't anything on earth's face?/
A bitten tongue ignoring pain delighted by the bliss of promise's taste?/

Deflated hearts rising above darkened skies/
To bask for days in sets of sun that rest beyond bright horizons of brown eyes/

Showers bathe and wind blows
Both give way to rainbows/
Opposites exist regardless of just how the grain goes/

A harvester's greatest wish is for good golden grain groves/
Grows produce for purposes beyond the vanity of those/

Who are of no concern/
And if any, then very little/
Guilty only for wishing there was some sorta ground for acquittal/

Deliberating evading evidence inevitably/
Replacing speech with sonic sentiments strengthens telepathy

Pieces v.1

2009-07-18T04:28:00.001-05:00

"I Love M. Makeba (oooh); I Am 4-Reeal..."

2009-07-17T04:54:00.012-05:00

Nice 45 find @ "an undisclosed location." (Until that talk has
been had. You know the one. "Pay-me-my-money... *HA-Ha-ha*
IN~CASH..." a la Fender Roads aka Basher Tarr bka Don Cheadle)

But to have seen it live... Priceless.

Wasn't aggressive enough with an opportunity to study abroad
in Johannesburg for a semester. Then, ironically, I passed up
S. Africa to visit Brazil. It was for good reason, but still...

There needs to be talk of a movie somewhere.
I'd like credit for casting K. Washington when
it manifests please & thank you.

Be sure to get your "pata-pata" on Saturday nite.
Be smart. Be safe. Be well.
Be.

~p

P.s. "1, 2, 3, 4..."

My Mind On Cuba; Cuba On My Mind-Pt. 1

2009-07-16T02:33:00.068-05:00

In the Spring of 2k sum'in-sum'in, I was BLESSED to visit a very special, special place. I've not had a more fulfilling experience. Only the second time outside U.S. borders to that date, I found myself feeling more content in a society with so little (as a result of the extended paw of oppression from El Norte) than I did amongst all the comforts of..."home." I did my homework, literally, as far as learning about the Cuban Revolution, its fathers & mothers, the immediate aftermath, and the long standing effects on the symbolic David that chose to stand firmly against the Western Goliath.

From Santiago, to Santa Clara, to the capital city, me & several of my comrades 4-life embraced the culture, people, and FOOD of without complaint. Well, sorta. There was the lodging in Santa Clara that featured a small petting zoo complete with bats, snakes, a shower-thug scorpion, and an eight-legged terrorist who earned our respect & the title "Mr. Tarantula." Balancing all this out were dope beaches, frijoles negroes y arroz con pollo, an impromptu Cuban equivalent to the Ebony Fashion Fair, and mojitos straight from the source (a "virgin" for yours truly). Nightlife was crucial. Hip-hop was well represented.

One night in front of the club Le Coqtail, the true essence of this universal art form we love was in full effect. Freestyle session, a cubano who gave Scratch, Rahzel, Biz, & Doug a run for their $$$, and breakers. Language barriers were bridged with broken English/Spanish, but more importantly intonation and non-verbals. Havana was in the house. Period. Chi-chilla represented. Period. After finishing a leg of the cipher, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see a BEAUTIFUL woman whose face I can't seem to forget. "Excuse me brotha, but uhm...where are you from?" She spoke with the flavor of NY borough. I told her. "Uhm-and who am I speaking with?" I asked. She answered & assured me she wasn't trying to take me away from the festivities, but asked if we could talk when I was finished. I agreed. And there was, in all its grace, the moment I met "Auntie." For the next several days this wonderful, wise, and witty sista made sure my remaining time on the island was genuine. I learned SO much. She reminded me of women I'd been raised by. I left things near & dear to me with her with the promise that I would one day come to "reclaim" them. I miss her dearly and did so from the very moment the plane's wheels lifted from the runway. She was kind enough to embrace me. I'm man enough to admit my tears. Bless you for the goodness NEHANDA ABIODUN

Tomorrow brings many good things -TONGA

I put together this square after making a track in the spirit of Cuba & all the revolutionary mindsets & movements across the globe that seek justice, peace, & equality. It would be ideal if diplomacy & kind-heartedness were enough to counter the evil that men do. That, of course, is not the case. The rich want to not only remain rich, but get richer. The poor just want a better life. 90% of the people in between are truly only one step away from a life of "lower class" and if/when these "BARELY havs at the expense of the have NOTS" realize it and act accordingly, the world might just see a brighter day.

Stop allowing for the martyring of our freedom fighters (actually physical death or social execution via media & economics) and FREE 'EM ALL!

This song/viddie (which I'd never heard/seen before I decided to bang out this segment) captures the spirit of a people who are resourceful as they are unique. With the current policy change who KNOWS what the future-face of Cuba will look like. I hope & pray for progressive inclusion w/o exploitation. Viva la Cuba. Viva la Revolucion.

One of the last shots of the Molecon directly outside the tele in Havana. Lake Shore Drive doesn't hold a feather to it. Sweet spring/summer breeze like that of the gulf or Caribbean beats the Lake Michigan summertime wind hands down.

¿Que Bola asere!? Claudio. My mixtape homie.
We kicked it quite hard. "Paaaaz..." (2 be con't)

Tapes Fa' Sho

2009-07-14T01:37:00.015-05:00

Period of MUCH, much change for me. Instead of hitting the streets hard like I normally would, something set into me. I pretty much began to distance myself from the hood while still 'smack-dab in the middle' of it. Drinking; halted. Smoking; *pause* (PERMANANTLY). Wholeheartedly embraced the deen via a transition from the 5% Nation and the rest is history. My pastimes involved much study, calisthenics, swinging weights, and swinging a broom in hopes that my embrace of the hadith about the Prophet (saws), which tells of his dedication to sweeping the home, would make me a better man.

There's a big difference between Chicago 1964 & Bronx, NYC 1995...kinda. The days when a man could cop a single cassette, but NOT preview/download an mp3 off the net was a golden age in hip-hop. "Coolie High" shot as high/low as #25 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles. Though smooth & possessing plenty "pop Champaign" appeal, it wasn't DUMB like club-bangin, chart-toppers of today. I've never desired to use the word "swag" for anything, but if any hip-hop personalities had CRAZY swagger (besides Slick Rick or Dres of Black Sheep) it was SURELY Sonny Cheeba & Geechi Suede.

Am I the only b-boy that WASN'T mesmerized by a couple of Queensbridge's finest? Cause I wasn't. I remember how I would be in the spots and the infamous ones would come on, everybody would get hype, and I would...*yawn*...get sleepy. I was in Musicland one day and decided to really try to give dynamic duo a chance. After a couple listens, it began to grow on me. But what I did notice from the get go is what I'd been to stubborn to embrace in the party; the snares and kicks were CRISPY (a factor that Havoc is STILL proud of 'til this very day). And rightfully so, if you do the pride thing.

Look at the 2nd track title. Yeah, you know it. You probably even know a good amount of the lyrics by heart. I think it's safe to say that, while "Hip-Hop Hooray" is a legit anthem, "I Used To Love H.E.R." is THE ultimate ode to the art form. I'm not just being biased. The single put the once bottle o'beer-toting, gun-toting denouncing local rapper turned modern-day mega-star on the map, and Chicago with him. No I.D. proved himself production-wise. If there is any narrative of my teenage years it is this sophomore release from "C-O-DOUBLE M-O-TO THE N."(P.s. Check the lowercase typecast. Dope.)

Every man's true to life "I used to love her" ballad. Classy hip-hop during the era. J.B. got 10 times more heated than Slim Kid Tre about having had the rug pulled from underneath his heavy heart. Maybe it was because James, RIP, was off the shine while Pharcyde was off that Cali-bud. Perhaps it was the jazzy horns. Naw-James had the most gangster horn section in all of brass-dom. Whatever the case, the tearjerker found in a place in my soul and my collection. I had the LP, but the reason I bought the cassette was because the B-Side hosts two CRAZY slow-drag remixes (one by L.A. Jay & one by Angel). While the 1st was probably more popular, the latter was my favorite. Listening to it right now, it's obvious that it nestled into my subconsciousness and manifests when I do what I do. My uncle was an acclaimed percussionist back in the days. He taught me to play the set when I was six & I was always banging around whenever I got a chance. My grandmother was a jazz-historian who gave me the green-light on her upright piano. More importantly, it was she who told me "this too shall pass."

I don't have to close my eyes to picture myself waking into a friend's house on that sunny day and barely being able to see the tele because of the rays through the window on the screen, but being able to hear that signature water-torture drip into at the video's beginning. "What-what's this..?" I asked (high as Wudan Temple hills I might add). My inquiry was met with either an "I dunno," "Unnuhuh," *shoulder-shrug* or silence from every other scud-missile in the form of an overstuffed PHILLIE cigar smoking Do-Do in the room. And then the drums kicked in. Primo. And then the "...freaky, freaky, freaky-freaky flow..." got spit. Game Over.

Shhhhh...

2009-07-13T17:42:00.002-05:00

Silence itself is eloquent-FULANI

Cookies Vol .1 (Ehl-Ohh-Vee-Eee)

2009-07-13T04:51:00.004-05:00

The Genius: Artistic Disclaimer

2009-07-13T01:28:00.004-05:00