more thirty second stickers...

i need to buy a finer tipped marker for drawing on these little stickers...

somebody to love...

my parachute dream...

i just remember this one, from a month or two ago. i don't think i wrote about it on here yet. i have fallen out of an airplane. i either don't have a parachute on, or it's not opening. either way, i'm toast. it feels so real. the air is rushing past my face. i see the ground, huge, giant, inescapable, thundering silently up towards me. closer. closer. i am full of fear. closer. a desperate hope thinks that maybe if i can roll out of it i might not die. but no, how can that be possible? i am fear. closer. closer. there is nothing to me but fear. closer. absolute terror. just a few feet away. this is the end...

nothing happens. i fall over on my side as if i had fallen from maybe a foot off the ground. like i stepped off a stool and tripped. i lay there. disbelief. a man approaches. he helps me up. i brush the dust off my pants. i feel, perhaps a slight bruise on my one leg, but that's about it. "are you alright?," he asks me. "yes, i think i'm fine," i reply. i'm shocked. as is he. he saw me fall. i felt me fall. neither one of us can believe i'm alive. "how are you not dead?" "i have no idea." "nothing is broken?" "no, i feel quite alright actually, just a minor bruise is all..." "i can't believe it." "perhaps i should go to the hospital, to get looked at, you know, just to be sure."

completely unharmed. i survived. the worst horror i could ever imagine, and all i got was dirty. live on i say. or, rather, live on it seems to say to me. the morning of this dream, i felt no fear. death to me was falling off a chair...

londonhiphop.net interview...

new interview up at londonhiphop.net. word.

tell me something i don't know...

listen to this song three times in a row and tell me it's not the best song ever...

Tell me something I don't know
Cos' these streets ain't paved with gold
but vanity won't release me

If I learn to crash this plane
Oh baby believe me, I'll go down in flames
Just don't leave home on these words

Because every town I pass through keeps reminding me o' plans we used to share
So long fools

No one ever chews off leg
To escape with no hint of regret
But I know what you're thinking

Problems follow like a parade
They walk through walls... never learn to wait
I said, just don't leave home on these words

Because every town I pass through keeps reminding me o' plans we used to share

Because every word will pass for miles
And follow you like teenage virginity
So long fools

Ooh
On and on and on and on...

Because every town I pass through keeps reminding me o' plans we used to share
So long fools

my vancouver heroin dream...

i'm in vancouver. walking around for what feels like forever. lost. supposed to meet some people. on my way to a studio session. find the homies. in a car. backseat. have no idea where we're going. seeing junkies everywhere. people are high. we're in the heroin part of town now. dudes in the car are talking about it. hipping me to it. now we're at the studio. it's on the third floor of a house. narrow staircase going up. people in the house are stoned. everyone is high. i'm like "shit, what's going on?" why am i here? in the studio up top. maybe a half a dozen people. red 1 is there. you know, dude from the rascalz. i guess we're doing a track together. he's telling me how hard it is out here with all the people hooked on smack. then he pulls out a syringe and attaches this little piece to the needle end of it. it looks like one of those tiny pencil leads for a mechanical pencil. he pokes it into his forearm loads it in, saying "i'm not hooked, i'm just a little bit thirsty is all..." i decide to get the fuck out of here, everybody is shooting up in this house. i tell the cats that i am just going to the store and leave the house. as i'm going down the stairs, i see a woman on the second floor of the house. sitting on a couch. shooting up. i get outside, and have no idea where i am. everyone i see is fucked up. then suddenly i recognize where i am. i am in london. on richmond st. next thing i know i am sitting at a table in a little park. ***** is across from me. we're talking. having coffee. there are two men at the table beside us. older men. playing chess. i hear music. rock & roll. loud. 80's hard rock styles. i look up and see moka walking along the sidewalk, holding a little portable radio. he looks over. waves. smiles. says "i'll see you in a couple of weeks" without saying anything, and keeps cruising. ***** and i sit there. drinking our coffees. enjoying a beautiful day...

vroom shalack vroom...

it's amazing in life how we are shown, over and over again, that the simple things are the most pleasing to the soul. showing up at your brother's place with a tray of tim horton's coffees and timbits and oj for the nephew (he got upset the last time i brought over tim horton's and didn't bring him anything) and pushing your nephew around the house in a cardboard box "go-kart" while he wears his dad's motorcycle helmet and makes engine noises... well, yeah, it doesn't get any better than that.

30 second stickers...

lin que - return of a rebel soul...

originally coming out as part of the blackwatch movement (x-clan, professor x, queen mother rage, etc.) of the early 90s, lin que dropped the album rebel soul under the name "isis." a couple of years later she resurfaced under her real name of lin que, forming a production company with mc lyte, and dropped two singles in anticipation of a never-released album for columbia records. another couple of years later lin again resurfaced as a member of the put-together wu-tang-affiliated female "supergroup" deadly venomz, but left the group shortly after they began (the other four members continuing on without her). she's now back again, and the new songs i've heard sound pretty freakin' awesome (check out her myspace page for music and info). i did an interview with her a while back, which has taken me forever to put up here. finally, here it is. if you haven't her this woman rip, you're in for a surprise, she's a killer...

as someone who's followed your music for a long time, i'd like to ask you about some of the different "stages" or "phases" of your musical career so far. if you can tell me about the different periods in your career. first, where you are from, and how you got into becoming an MC, and who influenced you in your early days?

I’m from Queens, New York. I fell in love with Hip Hop the first time I heard it. I was always memorizing other emcee’s rhymes. I started in this business pop-locking, which is a form of break dancing. From there, I was dancing in many Hip Hop videos and movies. This director, Dwayne Hayward, asked me if I wanted to make a record and that’s when everything jumped off. He is the one that introduced me to Professor X of X Clan. My influences back then were Run DMC, Eric B and Rakim, LLCoolJ, Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, EPMD, Public Enemy, MC Lyte, Dana Dane, Slick Rick, Dougie Fresh, etc.

as part of the blackwatch movement, you were down with x-clan, and were known as isis. how did you become a part of this movement / group, and what it was like being a part of that collective during that time period of rap?

I was introduced to him through a mutual friend, Dwayne Hayward. Lumumba told me what they were about and asked if I could write about that. I said, “yes” and that opened up the flood gates to my new found consciousness. It was great. I feel very lucky that I was catapulted into Hip Hop in that way because with it I felt a sense of purpose and responsibility. Hip Hop was still very potent and undiluted at that time. It was a privilege to be a part of that time in history.



after that, you went by the name "lin que," when you dropped a couple of 12"s. i remember "rip it up" and "let it fall", both on differnet labels. what was going on then? were these just single deals or album deals that never materialized?



I’ve been privileged to have three album deals in my life as of yet. I’m working on the next one now. I didn’t realize how lucky I was when I was on Island Records, my first record deal. They believed in me. The other two record deals, in my opinion, turned into single releases because they didn’t understand or believe in me.

if i remember correctly, you went on to form a production company with mc lyte and someone else. i'm wondering what was going on at this stage in your career.

Yes, we opened a company called “Duke Da Moon.” It was MC Lyte, Pam Wilder, and myself. We handled Management and Music Production. I was the first artist to be represented by “Duke Da Moon.” That’s when “Rip It Up” and “This Is It” were released. We had other artist such as Backspin, Born In Hell, and Bamboo. After that, MC Lyte and I opened up “Ace Entertainment” and that’s when “Let It Fall” was released.



and then, the deadly venoms. how did this come about? was it a "put-together" group?

One day before the DV’s were about to shoot their first video “Bomb Threat”, I was called and asked to join the group. I liked the concept and knew Champ MC from being on the same record label with her before. It was all good. I toured with them for a minute and unfortunately left because of business reasons.

this brings me to the present day. you're back, new tracks, i'd like to know what's been going on with you the last few years. have you been working on music on the low, or did you need to take a break and reassess things from a distance?

I opened up a business with my homie, Barb Sherin, called Queb, Inc. We handle everything from graphic design, website design, and multimedia. You can check out what we’re about at www.quebinc.com. I needed a break and was very discouraged by the Industry. It really affected me. I would get mixed signals. The record company would be telling me, “I don’t hear a single” and the streets would be telling me “Who do I have to hurt… when are you coming out with some new shit.” It was hard. I stopped listening to the radio and watching videos. It hurt too much. After Queb has been in effect for a while, I realized that having my own business could allow me to get back into the Music without stressing about money.

after all of your experiences with differnet crews, etc., what have you learned about yourself that you are now applying to your new solo material. what strengths have you gained? what weaknesses have you overcome?

Just being in the industry alone has given me a huge advantage. I realize what the industry is about and it is a business. I am an artist and I’m into the art form of Hip Hop. I do want to sell records and have bills to pay, but I do this for the Love of Hip Hop and the Love of Music. I could have been a millionaire long ago if I just wanted to sell records… especially being a female. I could have put on poom poom shorts and hooker heels. I learned the importance of marketing and promoting myself. Which, to me, is the meat of this business. Of course, quality music is a given, but you can be the dopest emcee out here and if you don’t market and promote yourself, who will know!!!

what messages and/or sounds are you trying to push forward with your new music?

I’m just about Lyricism. That’s what I love about Hip Hop. I’d like to think that I am an innovator taking Hip Hop to the next level.

brother j has a new "x-clan" project out, do you still keep in touch?

I just saw him recently. He was on tour with Jurassic 5 and they came to New York to do a show at Irving Plaza. It was great. I got on stage and spit for a minute with him like old times.

as somebody who's been doing this for a long time, and is perhaps a little bit older than some of the younger cats coming up today... do you feel that being a "veteran" presents a challenge to you to stay relevant, or do you feel you now have more to offer due to the wisdom of experience (both in music and life).

Being a veteran is a privilege. I don’t expect anyone to tell me when and how to express myself so I wouldn’t want to do that to anyone else. I just remain ‘true’ to myself and allow others to do the same.

who are you working with now? how did those collaborations come about?

I’m working with Ayatollah, Crazy Al Cayne, Monifah, just to name a few. I was recently introduced to Ayatollah through a mutual friend, Cynical. She co-directed my last video, “Breathe, Spit, Don’t Stop”, with me. Ayatollah and I just hit it off. I respect his sound and he respects mine. Crazy Al and I have known each other for quite some time. We have worked before on other projects. Monifah and I have been friends for a while as well. She kills it on two of my new tracks on my album.



are there plans to drop an album soon? are you doing it independent? where can people find out about you online?

I’m working on my album now. I have over twenty songs already, but keep creating. I’m shooting for a Jan 2007 release. Fingers crossed. You can check out some of my tracks on myspace at www.myspace.com/linquemusic. Not sure as of yet whether it’s going to be independent or not. Let’s just say I’m not waiting or relying on a major.

[note: as i said, we did this interview a while back. the album is out now, go to lin-que.com for info.]

any final comments you'd like to say? or shout-outs you'd like to give to people?

I want to thank all the people who have shown me Love and respect what I do. They keep me moving in the right direction. I couldn’t do this without them. Much Love goes out to my son, Myles, and my family and friends for the support and inspiration all these years. Shot out to The Ayoung Family, Cynical, Barb Sherin, Yve Cotto, Ralph McDaniels, Ken Murphy, Lord Bless, Prince Paul & Newkirk., the rest of “The Ill Out Show” family, There are so many others… Thank you Ryan. Appreciate the chance to “Spread My Word.” Nuff Respect!!!



some links...

lin-que.com
myspace.com/linquemusic


downloads...



isis - rebel soul.
isis - the power of myself is moving.




lin que - this is it.
lin que - rip it up.



lin que - let it fall.
lin que - par ley.

every day normal guy...

now those of you know me know that i'm not usually a fan of "joke rap" or any attempts at fusing hip-hop and comedy (yeah, i know, i need to lighten up a bit sometimes...), but my cousin just sent me this link, and i gotta say, i got a kick out of it. his parents are nice people and he makes a mean spaghetti sauce. (motherfucker.)

(also, for all of you pervs out there [you know who you are], check out his ode to the two girls and one cup video which i'm sure you've all seen a hundred times. [you should be ashamed of yourselves.])

time lives...

ok cobra performing "time flies" in london, july 2006.