C O N T R O L

As you may or may not know I am addicted to music. There I said it! I LOVE ALL types of music. I could listen to anything from Frank Sinatra to Beyonce'. I am always looking for old music -mainly to watch and hear it's evolution from the 20's till now. I find it very fascinating. You can actually learn a lot from music and it's diversity.

So anyway last night, I decided to go through all of my father's old tapes and see would I might find. Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 was one of them.
I was really excited to find this tape because when it came out I was barely 1 years old and only heard a few tracks from it such as "Rhythm Nation" and "Love will never do without you".

One of my favorite things to do now that I am older and have an acquired ear for music, is to listen to older music that I didn't pay much attention to when I was younger. So I found my tape player and put the tape in.

From that moment I was taken into a world of social issues and a plead for the people of the world to make a change. After I listened to both side A and B lol I began to listen to her previous album Control.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better than Rhythm Nation 1814, I was wrong. Control really stuck out to me because of its clear message.

It's time for us to take control over ourselves and our lives. Once we hit that age when we claim that we're legal or "adults", we should be thinking for ourselves and most importantly living for ourselves. I think that it is so interesting how this message was written in the late 80's and it is 2009 and people still need to know this.

Every day I witness people falling into this materialistic hole that leads them to nowhere. We've had this conversation several times before. You know the one where I say, do what you want not what everyone else wants. The greatness of life depends only on how you live it.

This means don't live for your friends, your teachers and even your parents. Make WISE choices. Being in control does not mean being stupid or unreasonable. It also does not mean to shut everyone else's opinion out. The key is to listen to what people have to say and then you think to yourself what is best for you.

We all have our own personal key to life's door. No one else can turn the key for us.

LetitBeMe,

Hello all!
so my nephew is doing very well! I saw him in person today, he's so precious! I can't wait for my time! I'm so in love with him =] well I love all of my nephews. shouts out to my first baby- well teenager now- Jordan, my little man Sir and my newest love joy Prince!!

--
So I wrote this on the way to New York. enjoy.

LetitBeMe.

She cries
Her long lost love has committed to stay away.
She has devoted to live behind the sun.
She believed in life, when love was young
but now it has been shot dead on this cold war's front.
An impossible feeling that one should be content with-lonely & miserable
she rests her head on a rain cloud and covers her body with
sheer wind.
Is this the meaning of feeling free?

God Bless the Child.

Princeton Jaymes Carter

my newborn nephew was born around 3am this morning.
I keep writing it so I can get used to his name =]
I'm already in love with him! lol He hasthe best parents next to mine!
anywho, he was born prematurely (3mths) early and at 1 pound 10oz
I put my faith in God so I know that he will grow strong and will be just fine.
Currently he is in NICU and I hope that anyone who is reading this will remember to keep him in your prayers as much as you can.

[God Bless the Child]

Thinking/ Thoughts.

So I was having a conversation with my mother..more like a conversation with myself because she was falling asleep on our bonding time lol but anyway I was just thinking about things and life. I reminisced for a while about my childhood and how I had such a creative soul. If you knew me back then, you would think I would be Beyonce by now because of the way that I would constantly perform MJ songs for my family. I remember when I would create an art show in my room for my parents, perform plays that I wrote for them and sing Celine Dion songs all day in my basement. Then it hit me. This is the type of things that MJ talked about when he asked "Have you seen my childhood?" He couldn't sit back and think of his greatest and most fun times as just being a child. I'm sure he could say things similar to what I have yet in a more serious tone. Therefore, there wasn't that childlike fun that came along with it. It really saddens me to know that one could miss out on a very important stage in life that really creates who you are as an adult. You learn from your childhood experiences. You learn of friendships, joy, innocence, and pure fun. As a child you are not faced with the problems of the world that you will soon be introduced to.

I also asked the reason why Princess Diana died. She died when I was seven years old and the first time I heard of her is when they reminded me for weeks straight that she had passed away. My mother replied "In a car accident was it?"and I concluded,"She was running away from the paparazzi wasn't she?" and my mother replied,"yeah." Wow. I said out loud that I would never want to be apart of the paparazzi or media that rips peoples lives apart. I refuse to be like those blood sucking leeches that feed off of ordinary people's every move. "Stars" are regular people who are more successful. So perhaps we shouldn't call them stars. Do they really shine? I think that once people are taken away from their "normal" lives, automatically the light in them fades when they come face to face with the limelight. I feel that we should applaud each other. How "human" is it to publicize and ridicule people of their wrong doings or of the things that they never did! Why do we feed into such garbage? Normal people live their life much worst starting with the lifestyle of the paparazzi. I have realized that I shouldn't cry or go insane when I meet famous people because at the end of the day, they lye in bed just as I do. Sure that bed might be worth more than my entire home lol but you get the point.
We ALL deserve our privacy at one point.

.The City Winks a Sleepless Eye..

Wow how did I let a week past?!
Well let's see- I went to New York on Saturday for a day trip and what a lovely trip it was. I love seeing the other side of new york. The side that appeals to me. I know that if I were to live there, I wouldn't shopping all day because most likely I wouldn't be able to afford it lol . Therefore, I love to see everyday things like row houses and playgrounds in Chinatown and colleges that are filled with college kids- which half of them are living the poor college kid life like me. I was amazed at the country side scenery of central and yet the sounds of African drums pervading underground through the subway station. This is the life. The true New York life. Maybe one day I'll be able to experience that or maybe it'll just be a town that I constantly visit. who knows!

Music is Love.

Kid Cudi asked, "Is there any love in this world?" Well Cudi I think the answer is plain and simple. No there isn't . Well I'm sorry let me be clear. Yes there is love however we are all scavenging around to find it- it is hidden.

I am a strong believer in music. I've always felt that music is what connects the broken hearts. Music is therapy. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry and most of all it makes you love.

When I turn on the radio today I don't hear the same type of music that my mother heard or that my grandfather plays on his new ipod shuffle. I hear hatred, disrespect and violence. Sure you can say 'Chill Imani- this is old news.' But if this was old news, there would be a change.

Yes I'm more than guilty of snapping my fingers, singing 'everygirl' and bumpin to Gucci Mane. But I honestly don't consider these 'songs' music. Music appeals to my heart. Unfortantely these songs dont have my heart. Sure they have my ear for a bout 3 minutes but immediately it's erased from my mind.

What scares me is the fact that some people truly consider this music. I watch little boys genuinely wish that they could 'be with' everygirl in the world. It frightens me that people are believing what these artists are saying. Whatever happened to "My Cherie Amour" okay Drake tried with "Best I ever Had" maybe..but you have to admit saying that I'm the F*****G Best doesn't seem too have that same effect as "I Love You" and no "Birthday Sex" might not have the same effect as" Turn your lights down low." Maybe music should go back to being more modest.

Unfortunately, the world is not modest and as the world turns so does the people. But maybe if we all just stand still- we could understand that what we're listening to is unconsciously making us lose the little love that we've had. Do you find yourself cussing more after you've listened to that Nikki Minaj mixtape? Do you down girls more after you've heard lil wayne out?
Where is that clean music that made your heart melt. The music that was relevent and that had meaning?
He said, "You're such a P.Y.T" not "You're Booty got Swagg". What does that say about us.

I hate to go back to Michael Jackson but I have to say, it has been so hard for me to listen to the radio because the music just seems like garbage more than it did last week. I guess because in the back of my mind I knew that there were people like Michael still around that were capable of making music that would drown this nonsense out but now that there isn't I just feel trapped in this whirlpool of hard beats and strange lyrics.

Is true music dying? I thank the artist out who are very different from the others and are faithful to making MUSIC and not just something that you could 'get low' to at a party.

A Moment in My Heart.

"If I could take the colors of the wind and paint you, I'd be creating life all over"
- Imani.


Does.

Does a heart deserve to be lonely?
Do these eyes deserve to cry constantly?

Should a great spirit feel unwanted and overlooked?
Walked over like a fresh patch of grass.
No one appreciates these hands, this smile, these eyes, these lips, these legs, these hips, these ears nor this nose
will they ever?

Or will I fade into the background while some somber music plays to my demise.
Will you care??

Word 4 the Day:

And you have the nerve to ask me why I love Beyonce!

Happy Fourth of July from Baltimore!!

Muse:

I have two new articles up on bmorenews.com that you can read if you're interested. If you go soon you'll see it as soon as u enter the site. However, if u wait you could find it in the editorial section...

Muse= Inspiration.
you know what I do when I cant think, eat, sleep...listen to music. I know, I know to each his own but music is definately an inspiration and probably my greatest love. I some times ask myself why am I so scared to do something that I love the most? Idk. People tried to tell me- you don't like music as much as writing. They're more than wrong. A lot of times, I can only write if I listen to music. Therefore, I decided to put some of my favorite Michael Jackson/Jackson 5 songs on here to pay tribute to him and also to inspire me at the same time. I chose to play Human Nature first because I think it is the most calming and simple song that I have ever heard. He doesn't say much but in the essence of the song-he says a lot!

enjoy.

As I sign off my lingering question is ,what inspires you?

=0)

It frightens me that I haven't written an actual poem for quite a while so here goes something off the top.

Off The Wall.

we might stand tall-

we might even fall

but most of all

we lived off the wall

Fighting with actions

rebelling with pride

erasing all the tears that hid behind our eyes.

We saw the sun when no one else could

We created the rainbow

we lived life Off the Wall.

And when it seemed we were all alone

we kept on living

proving everyone wrong

all along-

we lived off the wall.