Are You One Of Those People?
Posted: June 20, 2016 Filed under: MONDAY RAMBLE | Tags: blackberry, Facebook, galaxy, Instagram, iphone, myspace, panda, snapchat 1 Comment
I never imagined that I would be behind the curve when it comes to social media. Let me rephrase that…ever since I became familiar with how to navigate, and utilize social sites and apps to my benefit as an artist, I always assumed that I would be able to keep up with any Internet climate shift. Of course my mindset back then was that I would always willingly want to promote my music on every site possible. And now here I am, older than I was years ago, because that’s how time works I guess…and I’m no longer throwing music around in an attempt to gain fans at every chance possible. On top of all that, I just learned that Facebook is for “old people.”
Wait a minute, how did that happen? I need a Snapchat with rainbow vomit or doggy face filters to be young and hip? 
No, that can’t be right. Well it is factual if I long to be relevant, but I just turned into one of those people that says things like, “What do I need that for?”
None of these apps and sites happen to be true necessities, so what am I really saying ladies and gentlemen? I’m saying that I’m the type of dude that once uttered the words, “I don’t need a computer at home,” I didn’t care that my TV had a humpback, and I kept my Walkman until after the turn of the century because I was convinced that all CDs skip. I had a Discman when iPods existed, and I used my iPod when everyone was stacking their phones with music. This has always been me.
I fought a losing battle against Twitter when I was trying to fight conformity. My reason was that I didn’t want people to know what I was doing all the time. I shunned Facebook because I couldn’t post my music, and Mark Zuckerberg’s site had a friend limit. I knew for a fact, according to my first cyber-friend Tom, that my circle of “real friends” was way over 5,000.
And plus I had just paid someone to do my page over so I had to ride Myspace until the wheels detached on their own.
I’m the same individual that held onto his Blackberry way beyond its lifespan simply because I liked buttons. Yes I said that out loud. And then I got a Galaxy and told folks that I didn’t want Apple to completely control my life…and I disliked the way iPhone people spoke about Steve Jobs’ products like they were part of a cult. Now I look at myself and I am one of these iPhone-toting, Facebook-posting, Instagram-scrolling, black pot kettle-calling dudes that was laughed at by one of my students when they saw the IG app on my phone’s home screen. “Coach you got IG?” she said with honest laughter. “You’re probably one of those people that just posts pics of their baby all the time.” More laughter ensued.
I am? I am. I am!
The Reason I Retired
Posted: May 29, 2014 Filed under: RAMBLE, Real Rap Talk | Tags: 2 chainz, Andy Cohen, Demetria Lucas, French Montana, hip-hop, Instagram, Macklemore, retired, Rick Ross, Saigon, sha stimuli 8 CommentsI get asked every once in awhile why I discontinued releasing music at the moment. My generic answer is that I need to take a step back or I’m not in love with the hip-hop genre anymore. Those answers are honest but they might be incomplete. The dream I once had as a youngster has changed. Music has changed, its popularity has reached new heights but the characteristics of a star artist with fans and respect are not the same as they were before. I don’t view any of these differences as negative.
Well maybe the lack of wordplay and substance can be described as a drop down from what was going on years ago. And possibly hip-hop’s obsession with mollies, combined with the lean-sipping sensation fused with an all-time high of auto-tuned sound alikes could be deemed as a far cry from the golden era.
But for the most part there are new artists creating waves of music that cross genres, leap over stereotypical boundaries and they redefine what rappers sound and look like.
So why did I pause my progression? The real question I have been asking myself is what was it all for? Read the rest of this entry »
Ramble #72 “Uncommon Courtesy”
Posted: November 4, 2013 Filed under: MONDAY RAMBLE | Tags: courtesy, doorman, hashtags, Instagram, monday rambles, ramble, selfies, sha stimuli Leave a comment
You know what idea I don’t like? It’s not even an idea; it’s more of a concept. I don’t even think it’s a concept, I feel like it’s a tradition. It happens all the time, every day, in every city, state, and town. It goes down at your job, at department stores, public bathrooms, restaurants, everywhere that there is a door with someone going through it, there’s someone attempting to hold it. You’ve had it happen to you.
You’re walking in some place minding your own business when someone else is either there before you or they’re exiting. And what do you do? You expect them to hold the door open so that you won’t have to do it. The heavy door that will take so much time out of your day must be held so that “your highness” can get through. “Oh no, not me,” you’re saying, “I don’t need anyone to hold the door for me.” But if they don’t, you will definitely give them a look, and an evil thought because door holding is protocol. Not holding the door is almost as bad as holding the door for someone that doesn’t say “Thank you.”
Wars have been waged between strangers, strange people, and co-workers because someone refused to hold a door. And how long should you hold a door for someone? What’s the proper amount of time, or is there a correct distance from person to person to calculate how long one should hold the door for another? Does it matter if they are elderly or adolescent? Does gender play a role? Should I hold the door as I leave a department store for the pretty lady coming in…who happens to be accompanied by a dude? Is he her brother, or her man, or a friend? Do I hold the door for him as well or do I pass it on to him so he can grab it and take over so I don’t overstep my boundaries? Read the rest of this entry »
SHA STIMULI'S MONDAY RAMBLES 