My five (Part 1)

For the end of the year, I'mma reflect on some of the lessons I've learned in '08.

People always wanna talk about going home, or not being able to go home. What's wrong with letting home come to you?

I found out at the end of this year that home can always come to you. It's not as simple as I make it sound...

My best friend came to visit for a week.

My best friend, Danielle, has intimidated me in many ways over the years. She, unlike me, never knew exactly what she wanted after college, but ended up doubling (and, at times, tripling) what I was bring home working my lifelong dream. She has had the flashy cars, the townhouse in the 'burbs, the money to spare.

But when it all came down to it, she was vulnerable -- just like me.

We had a conversation while she was here that made me realize we weren't drifting apart like I'd suspected. It was just that her problems and my problems were on different plateaus. I was worried about how I could afford a new SUV. She was worried how she'd be able to afford the new cost of her adjustable-rate mortgage.

She wasn't some brand new chick that spent money til there wasn't any more. She was just Danielle trying to survive a different hustle at the same time as me.

It took us a week to figure out that the differences we'd seen over the years still showed the same people we were when we became best friends more than a decade ago.

She called me Monday when I was coming home from work and we talked about the puppies and how terrible they were. It's the story of our lives these days.

"I'm kinda sad you're not coming home, boo," she said. I didn't expect it, but I knew where it was coming from. In a week's time, we learned all over again what made us who we were and why we bonded all those years ago.

And for that, I'll always be grateful.


Next: To play the game, or to just be yourself...
Then: Keeping in touch is good to do...
Plus: Why love won't count me out...
And: When all else fails...

Music to my ears

These flaws I've got
They're apart of who I am
Take me or not
But I finally understand
And I'm so done trying to be everything you want
I had to stop
'Cuz baby you ain't worth it
If I've got to camouflage

--Camouflage by Brandy

Yeah, I'm on a music kick.

I've been waiting more than two months for Brandy's album to drop. Something about the leaked song "First and Love" that stuck with me. It spoke to what I was feeling at the time.

It was, as KLC once said, "like she was hiding in my closet" for the last few months.

The CD, serious words wrapped around beats that sometimes don't match the message, was a welcome surprise when I first cracked it open Tuesday during my lunch break.

I fell. I fell hard.

I fell for the words, not just the beats.

I'm a beat guy, and all my friends will attest to that when they speak of my strange variation of tastes. Brandy's always been about that. She's not one to alienate audiences by giving them a hard beat with emotionless words. Even the club banger 'What About Us," talked of a relationship that'd run its course.

I feel a rant coming on in 5...4...3...2.........

Oh where, oh where, has the talent gone?

I went through the list of Grammy nominees and realized that music in 2008 was surely dead. Why does BeYAWNsay have a Grammy nod for a performance of "Me, Myself and I?" I mean, it was hot when she did the song in 2003!

I don't understand how "Year of the Gentleman" by Ne-Yo has been nominated for Album of the Year. There are people (Mary J., Lil' Wayne immediately come to mind) who have produced far greater quality and haven't made noise in that list.

I had a conversation with my boy Kyle recently where we were discussing why I don't listen to certain artists. I can't stand artists who make me feel like their experiences are beneath where I am in life. If all you have to talk about is money, cars, clothes and hoes, you gotta go. My CD player ain't the place for you.

I can't wait for the new Brandy to hit stores next week. I need quality in my life. Especially after a season where Johnnie Legendary put out some fast paced crap. And M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" didn't even mention paper planes. Let's not even talk about that last Usher album.

Am I alone? Probably not, since record sales are still off by a longshot from where they were three years ago.

What say you? What's missing from music? I mean, I've been able to get my run on with hot beats, but none of this stuff has been sustaining...