“Whoever you are, wherever you are… I’m starting to think we’re a lot alike. Human beings spinning on blackness. All wanting to be seen, touched, heard, paid attention to. My loved ones are everything to me here. In the last year or 3 I’ve screamed at my creator. Screamed at clouds in the sky. For some explanation. Mercy maybe. For peace of mind to rain like Manna somehow. 4 summers ago, I met somebody. I was 19 years old. He was too. We spent that summer, and the summer after, together. Everyday almost. and on the days we were together, time would glide. Most of the day I’d see him, and his smile. I’d hear his conversation and his silence. Until it was time to sleep. Sleep I would often share with him. By the time I realized I was in love, it was malignant. It was hopeless. There was no escaping. No negotiating with the feeling. No choice. It was my first love. It changed my life. Back then, my mind would wander to the women I had been with, the ones I cared for and thought I was in love with. I reminisced about the sentimental songs I enjoyed when I was a teenager… The ones I played when I experienced a girlfriend for the first time. I realized they were written in a language I did not yet speak. I realized too much too quickly. I imagine being thrown from a plane. I wasn’t in a plane though. I was in a Nissan Maxima. The same care I packed up with bags and drove to Los Angeles in. I sat there and told my friend how I felt. I wept as the words left my mouth. I grieved for them. Knowing I could never take them back for myself. He patted my back. He said kind things. He did his best, but he wouldn’t admit the same. He had to go back inside soon. It was late and his girlfriend was waiting for him upstairs. He wouldn’t tell me the truth about his feelings for me for another 3 years. I felt like I’d only imagined reciprocity for years. Now imagine being thrown from a cliff. No, I wasn’t on a cliff, I was still in my car telling myself it was gonna be fine and to take deep breaths. I took the breaths and carried on. I kept up a peculiar friendship with him because I couldn’t imagine keeping up my life without him. I struggled to master myself and my emotions. I wasn’t always successful.

The dance went on.. I kept the rhythm for several summers after. It’s winter now. I’m typing this on a plane back to Los Angeles from New Orleans. I flew home for another marred Christmas. I have a windowseat. It’s December 27, 2011. By now I’ve written two albums. This being the second. I wrote to keep myself busy and sane. I wanted to create worlds that were rosier than mine. I tried to channel overwhelming emotions. I’m surprised at how far all of it has taken me. Before writing this I’d told some people my story. I’m sure these people kept me alive. Kept me safe… Sincerely. These are the folks I wanna thank from the floor of my heart. Everyone of you knows who you are… Great humans. Probably angels. I don’t know what happens now, and that’s alrite. I don’t have any secrets I need kept anymore. Like it…as much as I do sometimes. I never was. I don’t think I could ever be. Thanks. To my first love. I’m grateful for you. Grateful that even though it wasn’t what I hoped for and even though it was never enough. It was. Some things never are.. and we were. I won’t forget you. I won’t forget the summer. I’ll remember who I was when I met you. I’ll remember who you were and how we’ve both changed and stayed the same. I’ve never had more respect for life and living than I have right now. Maybe it takes a near death experience to feel alive. Thanks. To my mother. You raised me strong. I know I’m only brave because you were first… So thank you. All of you. For everything good. I feel like a free man. If I listen closely.. I can hear the sky falling too.” (transcribed by Miss Dimplez)

?uestlove

Hip-Hop icon and drummer for a certain band pays tribute to MCA Read on

Eminem

Eminem Pays Tribute To Adam Yauch‘s ‘Influence’ Read On

Tributes pour in from Beastie Boys fans around the web: Guardian

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Yauch taught himself to play bass in high school, forming a band for his 17th birthday party that would later become known the world over as Beastie Boys. Read more at Beastieboys.com

Noel Gallagher interviewed at Coachella 2012.

James had been out of the spotlight since January 2010 when she was hospitalized with MRSA, a bacterial infection resistant to many antibiotics. She had been seeking treatment to end a dependency to painkillers and other over-the-counter medications. Donto James, her son, said at the time that his mother had been battling Alzheimer’s disease since 2009. Most recently, she was being treated for chronic leukemia.

Click here for the full story @USA Today

Mark Ronson’s contribution to the RE:GENERATION documentary “A La Modeliste”
featuring Erykah Badu, Yasiin Bey (fka Mos Def), Trombone Shorty, Zigaboo
Modeliste, and members of The Dap Kings. The song also features on the soulROCKS
mixtape Chicken Grease 5: Gumbo

The AMPLIFIED PRE NY-EVE session, with the full DJ line up of Zak, Bemi, Akasha, Que Rhythmic and JC, returns to central London for a night of progressive music past, present and future, alongside a classic AMPLIFIED selection.

Doors: 8.30pm-2.30am / Admission £7 before 10pm, £10 thereafter

The Bowery
36 – 38 New Oxford Street, WC1A 1EP
Click Here for more details

Words from Apple

The seven ages of Steve Jobsemories Of Steve Jobs: Interviews & Inspiration

soulROCKS Presents – The Big ThrowBack Friday 16th September
Friday, September 16th 2011
Living Bar Brixton
Click here for more details