Things I Didn't Do This Year

I want to write a memoir commemorating all the new friendships and amazing experiences that have grown out of this year. Moving to Sydney has changed my life and put me into a new mindset where I can actually remember who I am and I can start to work out what I want from life and accomplish things I had only dreamed of in the past. Seeing so many people working together to accomplish their individual dreams and and working with groups that are like family and are equal to more than the sum of their parts has been so inspirational for me. Being an outsider that has so easily become accepted into this small scene, not just as a fan but as a friend, has changed my whole perspective of the music scene in Australia. Yes there are problems and there is drama like in every social group but overall from what I have seen the hip hop artists in Sydney have so much respect for each other and are very accepting and supportive of each other.
I want to go through some of the highlights of the year just briefly. This is a different sort of entry because I am typing all of this on my phone. It's not going to look as pretty as usual. Although I want to focus on the good parts of this year, I do want to bring up some of the things that I failed at this year so that I have the inspiration to better myself in the next year. Next year I need to use what I have learned to manifest physically my goals.

Best of 2012

Deciding to move to Sydney early in January after spending the night on the beach with Cathy- from our apartment in parramatta to walking the headland at sunrise, it certainly was a weekend to remember.

The Herd and the Thundamentals at Manning Bar Sydney Uni- this was my first concert since moving to Sydney. The best intro to Sydney life and how to act casual when meeting semi- famous people. Of course I also found out that night that semi-famous as well. Well, "twitter famous" anyway, for what it's worth..

Funkoars supported by Def Wish Cast and Ellesquire - me and Kathy really bust onto the scene that night. We met so many good people that night, Kathy with coconut bag in tow.

Spit syndicate at Star Casino - the guy in the plaid shirt, one dayers in action

Atmosphere supported by Evidence and Horrorshow - my first time seeing the most influential hip hop group on me that really started all of it. Slug is my favourite emcee and he really delivered that night. It was so great to see Horrorshow perform with them since Solo is such a huge Rhymesayers fan.

Come together festival - a chance for oz hip hop to really shine and showcase its talent. I didn't quite agree with the headliner this year but there were many stars shining bright.

Last Kinection and Daily Meds at the Annandale- a really important night and our first night getting to know the Big Village crew

Getting my tattoo on my birthday Friday July 13th- seeing Sky'High maybe wasn't the best night ever but it was an experience.

Rainman supported by Daily Meds and Mothership- arguably the best night of the year. Rainman is one of the most underrated emcees in Australia. I love the message he pushes in each song. But it was late that night making tea that something really life changing happened to me.

Spaceport hip hop nights - the best venue, and the most interesting, open, and incredible people in Sydney all shared something through those doors. From the first night there I felt like family.

State Advanced "28" album launch - the Canadian part of Broken Thought Theory, all of Mothership crew was out. My absolute favourite people in Sydney. I felt like I knew everyone for years as soon as we met and that's when you know it's something special.

Big Village at Oxford Arts Factory, Newcastle, and most important Katoomba - Read my blog entry about these nights, such incredible energy in this crew.

P Smurf with Broken Thought Theory supporting - the two best crews in Sydney and all the people that mean the most to me in one place.

Tuka at the Annandale- one of the funnest nights, it made missing out on Brother Ali not so bad as we danced the night away. Tuka is a very talented and twisted individual that never compromises who he is for who people think he should be. He shines.

Kendrick Lamar one of the hottest hip hop acts in the world right now. It was an honor to see him and feel his energy even from the nosebleed section.

So that is a lot of highlights! And that isn't even everything!! Just goes to show what an amazing and busy year that I have had this year and all because I moved to Sydney to find myself again. Of course the biggest highlight of the year was all the new friends that I have made. I don't have space to list everyone here but you all know who you are and you are so special to me.

Now here are a few of the things that I slacked on and should have grabbed and taken more advantage of...

Firstly I always meant the blog to be a weekly thing and that was a complete failure. Most months I turned out two entries because I put so much time into them. I'd like the improve on that, even if some entries end up a lot shorter.

I was asked to do a hip hop podcast with a friend in wollongong and I always regretted not going down to do it.

After going to so many shows this year the one that I really regret missing was Brother Ali, one of the most unique emcees in the world.

As some of you may know, I have been saying for months and months now that I was going to start rapping, after jumping in on my first cypher at a party. Well I've been slowly working on it but I need to get into it a lot more.

And super importantly I have greatly missed my connection with nature after moving to Sydney. I came here for the people and I found them, but I miss the ocean and I wish I had found my way there a bit more frequently this year. And connected to that I haven't meditated or worked on my spiritual beliefs enough this year. Especially with December the 21st being so important this year I was expecting a lot more from myself.

And of course as I sit here alone at 10:30 pm on December the 31st 2012, I missing my best friend Kathy who went through all of this transformation with me and was always there for me when I needed her this year. And I'm not there with her on her birthday and it's killing me that I didn't make it to Peat's Ridge with her.

But here I am now, not sad that I'm having a quiet one tonight because I'm getting a head start on completing all my goals for next year as all of you spend the first day of the year nursing epic hangovers.

Now for a couple sips of wine and some deep meditation. Happy New Year to all of you lovely people.

December Countdown

The calendar this month for once isn't as full as usual. However, all shows this month are closer to my heart and more important than usual. I guess it's that time of year..

Thursday 13^th Skase a.k.

In celebration of the release of his latest album “The Poet,” Skase is getting the whole crew together to perform an intimate show just for you. And what a crew it is! Don't expect just the norm on this one. Skase has got a showcase of Sydney's best artists to show you including the legendary young duo called Hometeam in the support slot. These shows are always such a joyous family affair. Everyone gets involved and rarely will there will be only one person on stage. The love in the room will be something everyone can feel. Skase puts his whole heart into this, and he doesn't do anything by half. You can feel the sincerity and honesty in every word, the lyrics are openly political and the message is one that needs to be told. Listen closely, it's real.

El Rocco, Kings Cross

$10

Friday 14^th Homebrew

Because I missed the show at the Factory Theatre earlier this year, and the fact that I've only ever heard good things about them ever since, I was keen to go to this show. However, as I just found out today, this New Zealand group's “The Bender” tour has been postponed indefinitely, to sometime in the new year. And then there is mention on twitter that Homebrew is no more. Anyone have the official story on this one, for once I'm lost.

The Standard

Tuesday 18^th Sketch the Rhyme

Mr. Rapport & Ellesquire AKA Loose Change

So what is Sketch the rhyme? Simply put it's : rapping games to keep your mind awake. Originally it was just a far fetched idea that blossomed 4 years ago out of the strange and twisted mind of Joel Rapaport, co founder and creative director of Big Village records. From there it took flight, and what it is now, is very hard to define. It's a crew of about 13 very talented people, including rappers, artists, and band members. What it is each time it's preformed is totally different as it's an improvised game show which is constantly evolving. Basically it involves rappers freestyling while artists free draw pictures to create stories, but there are many different games involved. The whole experience is like a freestyle itself in that you don't know where it's going to end up, and what direction it will take is totally up to the artists and the crowd response. It could go well or not so well depending on the night. It's something different every time you see it. And so if you don't get down to the Newtown hotel to see it this time, you will have wasted the opportunity because it will never be exactly like this ever again.

Newtown Hotel, 7pm

FREE EVENT

Thursday 20^th Kendrick Lamar 

Saying something like, “he's coming straight out of Compton” would be quite cliché. But that's my favourite song on the new album at the moment and of course it's featuring Dr. Dre. In a gross underestimate of the demand for tickets here in little old Australia, the venues for Kendrick's first Australian tour had to be changed to larger ones in every city. The dates were also changed which leaves Kendrick in Melbourne for December 21^st. Read whatever you want into that I guess. I'm new to listening to Kendrick but since his new album good kid, m.A.A.d city came out and even before that it was the name I heard most coming out of the mouths of people that I very much respect and know what they are talking about musically. So if you're in it for the love then you probably already know what I'm talking about and the Enmore will be sold out with just fans of real hip hop.

Enmore Theatre

$65 SOLD OUT!

Saturday 22^nd- Big Village Xmas Party

Daily Meds coming at ya

With my family overseas and my work Christmas party an expensive, awkward joke, this is going to pretty much be the most fun I have over the holidays this year. Of course the fact that this takes place during the period of the so called alignment when everyone will be the most open to change and has the potential to experience the greatest sensation of oneness yet possible, just makes it all the more awesome than it is already. This very talented group of people already has the ability to make the crowd bounce, and feel, and Love. Now come along and watch what happens when we all hit that higher vibration. I feel like this is the Christmas party to attend this year.

Goodgod Smallclub

$15 presale includes free download of Big Village sampler “Wrapped Up”

$20 on the door

29^th December- 1^st January- Peat's Ridge Festival

It's my birthday, bitches! Don't you know??

AKA Kathy's birthday celebration!! Kathy turns 22 this year on the 31^st and she's never has a quiet one. This year she's having her own 3 day camping festival to celebrate! So head up and count in the new year with her. (PS if I'm not there it's only because the work people are assholes, you know I want to be hunnie.)

Peat's Ridge is more than just a music festival. It's an explosion of art, music, film and costumes. It's a celebration of life. There's singing, dancing, yoga, massages and there's even workshops on sustainability and healthy mind and body. So you can have a very full and busy day or you can just relax by the river. There's too many music acts to name so just head on over to their webpage to check it.

Hip hop for your listening pleasure: The Herd, The Daily Meds, Tuka, Jones Jr., The Tongue, Skryptcha, Hiatus Kaiyote, Mogz n Kye and DJ sets by DJ Morgs, Roleo, and more, More, MORE!

There's so much to discover and explore here, it's like a world all on it's own.

Glenworth Valley, NSW one hour north of Sydney

3 day camping tickets: $340

1 day ticket: $145  

Link me up

Download Skase ak's full length album for FREE

Sketch the Rhyme mini documentary

Big Village

Peats Ridge Festival

December 21st 2012: A Guide For Survival

Whatever you've heard about how the world is about to end, it's not true. This isn't a movie. This isn't the end of society. The sun won't explode. The magnetic fields won't reverse. The earth won't get sucked into a wormhole. However what will happen is an event so massive that it will be imprinted in the human consciousness forever. With the alignment of the Sun, the Earth, and the black hole at the centre of the galaxy, we will be in the perfect position to receive a vibration that could change the world. What we have is an opportunity.

So you may have noticed that this blog has been pretty quiet lately. I assure you that's only due to slight case of writer's block. I have been busy processing everything internally. This life. This city. The music. The fate of humanity. Consciousness. The last month has been hectic like always and I've been learning more and more about this art form lifestyle evolution of mind and spirit known as Hip Hop. And yet there's so many avenues that I've yet to even peek around the corner of, let alone venture down those twisted roads and hidden passageways. We know it's a puzzle and there's so many pieces to examine, each important in its own way, contributing to the bigger picture, and once we're done we will stand back and admire it without having to explain. It's an interconnecting web, like universal consciousness itself. I know that I'm just a beginner in this whole scene. I was dropped into this microcosm of the movement known as Sydney, Australia from places unknown. And maybe what we find here isn't a good representation of the whole but it's done it's job in increasing my understanding and widening my spectrum. There might be a long way to go, but this scene is finally broadening and spreading it's wings. Finally touching on topics that are important for everyone and sparking a discussion. It's only whispered now, and stuck beneath the underground, but soon it will be loud.

And mostly because it has to be. Here we are on the brink of the most important time in our human history, literally here we are teetering over the edge. If you agree that Time is an illusion then this event will be the realisation of the One Moment. We just need to make it last as long as we can.

I've heard that people are having different reactions to what we feel is coming. Some feel an amazing burst of Love as if something incredible is happening. I wish I could feel this. I know we should only be projecting Hope and Positive Energy into this thing, but for some reason I can't help but feel Dread. It's got to be all that dead weight draining. It's like we are being sucked into a drain, free falling and also spiraling. Events occur closer and closer together. Our perception of Time is actually shortening as we near the edge of the precipice.

The 21^st won't be the end of the world, or the end of society, yet rather a shift in consciousness and a shift in perception. The end of this Mayan calendar coincides with the end of an age. And with the end comes the beginning of something we can barely imagine now. We will transform from feeling like separate beings to the realisation that we are One. Each a piece of a whole that adds up to more than just the sum of its parts. As we all feel the same vibration, we will then wake up with the same idea, a sudden epiphany.  What we make of it and if it lasts is up to us. 

Everyone will possess the answers of how to live and how to be. This is true enlightenment. No matter what path you have chosen to get there it was the right one. All the knowledge in the world together makes God. And so we need everyone fulfilling every story, and waking up on the same level to recognise that we are all one being, and God is in all of us. Whatever you want to call it, if not God than that everything. The connection that runs through all of us and vibrates on a molecular level.

We have all had glimpses of it, deep within the beats, deep in the clutch of the music. Together on cue, moving as one being. Sweaty in the mosh pit with the energy all around you, or quietly singing to the radio alone in our room at night with headphones. We can feel it and envision it, and now we will manifest. We can't let this slip. We can't let this pass like a cloud. We need everyone to remember and use what they have learned. We cannot sleep through this, we cannot afford to forget. It depends on which conscious level you attain to what reality we create. I think we can practice in our dreams too, it's up to you to follow through.

Afraid of the apocalypse?

What can you do?

Research- the Mayans are still around, let them tell you the science behind this period of elevated consciousness  and explain what the pyramids they built are used for.

Visualise- create the world that you want in your mind. Keep in mind Peace and Unity and Love at all times. Meditate and dream as much as possible, so when it comes we already know what to create.

Believe- you have to really believe in your vision, maybe it's not exactly the same as someone else's but in the moment you will see how they all converge on the same idea and become one story of a world at peace. You have to be 100 percent committed to this idea and dream it to reality.

Communicate- as we lead up to the event verbally and non verbally connect with others so that we can share our ideas and come to the solutions that work for everyone. We literally need every person on Earth involved to manifest this thing.

Remember- the effects of the alignment will be felt most strongly in central and South America but will resonate all over the world. The more we tune into it, the deeper our experience. Once we feel the vibration and achieve complete synchronisation of our thoughts, we will feel like all the answers are in front of us and we will believe that we could never forget this information or this feeling of complete happiness and unity. And yet after the three days of the alignment pass, the feeling may begin to fade away and we may separate again. As much information as we can retain from this experience will decide our fate. The longer we can remain on this wavelength the better chance we have of retaining vital information. It will be like a dream within a dream but when we awake we're really wakening. Even if we can remember nothing, at least hold onto that feeling.

Wake up and be aware. It's all happening now, and this is the most exciting time we could ever hope to experience. Tune in.

This is all me and I love you.