Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Universal Mind Fuck clothing line




Here is an Interview with Isaac A, The creator of the "Universal Mind Fuck" clothing line. Which is picking up buzz at the Buffalo State College.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Meet My friend Cornelius Newman

My friend Neil is a talented writer that goes to Buffallo State College. His poetry and Spoken Word is great and this post is dedicated to one of his poems. I hope you like it enjoy! PS: Check out elmleaves.net formore of his work aswell as local writers from buffalo.

Regenerate

By Cornelius Newman

Lost in temptation confused remised blinded by passion driven
Egotistic about self pursue pleasure and bliss
Measured in death who was I, scarred and marred
Mangled by man my soul was maimed defected defamed
Brought before the counsel detained tortured my spirit
Ridiculed made a spectacle labeled a fool haunted by failure
Mission aborted moral compass distorted my prayers seem rhetoric
Too far you seem in cement shoes chasing dreams
Poverty‘s prodigy a product of humility
Seeking reparations for depravation I‘m breathing for you
Resuscitated inhaling greatness I offer this life
What else could I sacrifice so let your essence reside
Crying inside dying inside angels shed tears and dance
Heaven‘s amused gazing with pity singing the blues optimistically view
My shameless attempt to elude this revolution
They said it will not be televised
But they apparently prophesied through blind eyes
Deceived since my innocence they disseminated lies
Through anesthetized minds yet by the truth they‘re paralyzed
Afflicted many of times since my youth, but yet I still survive.

Young black and gifted my soul deprived I ran but couldn‘t‘ hide
Renounced denied lied and chastised unfaithful and unyielding
Broken but unwilling to be mended
I‘m unfinished business lacking discipline
Poor in spirit yet consumed in pride rich in mercy
Still your grace abides I could have died
But you remain faithful and true you can‘t deny you
With arms stretched wide east to west
Apart from you drawn by love I am a part of you
Forgiven redeemed bound to me for eternity you‘ll never part
Covered in my mother‘s womb skillfully wrought
How precious your thoughts washed in blood
Given clean hands and a pure heart
My life is your canvas this temple your work of art

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Straight Outta The Closet


Here's a character I created called "Peaches". He's a Homo Thug and he is rapping his hit single "Straight outta the closet" using the beat from Straight outta compton by N.W.A. - Enjoy!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

My first applause break!

Here is a video of me doing stand up and receiving my first applause break. This was a special comedy moment for me. I didn't expect it and I didn't know what to do but to say thank you. 


PS: I WANT TO THANK ALL THE PEOPLE THAT SUPPORT ME, I REALLY APPRECIATE IT THANK YOU! : )

Universal Sound

Here is a link to preview my music project ive been working on called "Universal Sound" I named it that because on this album it has something for everybody from pop, rock, dance, and spanish. So enjoy the rough draft of what I got Im still working on each song. Arrange the songs by track number for some reason they alphabatize the songs when you download it.

Leaving Tonight

So it was 12am and I decided to work on my solo music project called "Universal Sound". I started playing the piano, drum beats and I was inspired to make this song called "Leaving Tonight". Here are the lyrics, if you would like to hear a preview of the song post your email and I will send it to you : )

Leaving Tonight

I should of hid my heart from you, like they told me to.
Now my heart is broke in pieces, Only time can heal it.
I wonder can I feel anymore?
Can I love anymore? with the pain you done.
I have no where to run.
Im laying all alone in a room so cold with a million feelings.
I try to ignore the pain but a heart ache is hard to deal with.
looking in my eyes lieing to me.
Fucking with my head confusing me.
Got me feeling crazy, this aint healthy.

Chorus: This time I made up my mind and im, leaving tonight. x4

Friday, March 11, 2011

The Music Of Today


The music you hear on the radio nowadays is duplicated acts that were hot in the 90's. These old acts are being reused for the new generation of kids who don't remember these great Music artists due to being young. No one is teaching the new generation about the great music from years ago, Rap, Soul, R&B, Rock etc. Rick Ross is supposed to be the new biggie, Nicki Manaj is the lil Kim, Lady Gaga is the Madonna, J cole is Nas, Trey Songz is the R Kelly, Asher Roth tried to be Eminem the list goes on. Not to say I don't listen to the music of today, but at least I have a sense of music knowledge. I love music and its part of my everyday life. It really bothers me to hear Rick Ross do his signature grunt in songs, when its clear he stole it from the great Notorious B.I.G. It's ashame that P. Diddy is allowing him to do so, I guess anything goes when money is involved. You have the right to listen to  any music you want, but do some research and build your music knowledge. You will see who influenced whom and appreciate music more. I love listening to music from the past as well as present. I also like learning about the artist musical history, and life experiences. Music has no language its universal.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

The Stand-Up story

The ability to make someone laugh is fascinating to me. When I discovered I was able to do that to people, it was something I wanted to keep pursuing. Comedy is like my big brother, it got me out of a lot of situations. The bullies stop bullying me because I was funny. The girls started noticing me because I made them laugh, which led to me getting ass. I get a great sense of joy entertaining people, whether performing or writing my sketches. As long as I can remember I was a funny person. I guess watching a lot of comedy shows when I was young like "Mad TV", Eddie Murphy, "Full House", and "The Wayans Brothers"it really molded my comedic humor. In my high school I was the class clown cracking jokes all day with my friends and teachers not doing homework. A lot of friends and people I met always suggested  I should pursue stand up comedy. The problem was I was scared, didn't know where to go and what the hell was I going to say. Being funny around your friends is different from being funny on stage and in front of strangers. It was the summer of 2009 I was recovering from a ACL reconstruction surgery on my knee. I was basically miserable laying in bed all day, had no job, broke, and annoyed with my mom. The moment I learned how to walk correctly my main concern was to find something productive to do, to escape my mom and where I lived. I went on google and typed in "Performing stand up comedy" I found websites and clicked on the new talent showcase link. The new talent event was basically "Bringer Shows "which meant, you bring six people who are willing to pay you got five minutes of stage time. I wasn't ready to perform for people I knew because that would make me more nervous.  If I bombed I would rather bomb in front of people I didn't know because I wont see them again. But I decided to still send emails to comedy clubs pertaining about the new talent showcase and how it was my first time. I received emails back and felt more wanted and had a good vibe from the Laugh Lounge comedy. In the Laugh Lounge email I spoke to a guy named Sergio Chicon who is a Comedian and the producer of the new talent showcase. We exchanged a couple of emails and just like that I booked my first amateur comedy show for July 25th. I was shocked that it was that quick (Thats what she said). Feeling nervous and realizing the show was two weeks away I decided to call Sergio to talk to him more on a personal level. We talked for 3 hours about comedy, his experience, my life, his life, etc.. The conversation basically gave me the confidence I needed to finally perform. He suggested I do an open mic to get my feet wet before I do a show. Sergio referred me to his friend Pudge Fernandez who ran an open mic at the Laugh Lounge every monday. At the "Open Mic" you would pay five dollars for five minutes. Sergio also told me he would introduce me to Donnell Rawlings a comedian which I was a big fan of who was on the Dave Chappelle show. Donnell played a memorable character called "Ashy Larry". After hearing this I was so excited and agreed to do it. Sergio also said I can stay to see Donnell perform for free that night but only on one condition, don't act like a "Groupie". After the conversation was over I had the confidence like I was Eddie Murphy. I sent out text messages to all my friends giving out details to my first show. Noticing I had a couple of days until monday and I had to decide what to say on stage. I started to think about everything I said that made people laugh, I even went on youtube and watched some Stand Up for ideas. I was going crazy wondering if the crowd will think I'm funny, how will I perform my jokes. Finally I decided to talk about one of stories About my mom because all my friends loved them. My friends thought my mom was hilarious so I guess I get my funny side from her as well. I wrote down a paper full of jokes thinking I got an hour special, its monday and I'm feeling confident. I put on my fitted "One Night In Brooklyn" shirt, blue jeans and my cool looking Supra shoes. I took the L train to the J and got off at Essex St. I was listening to some Mos Def I was in the zone feeling good, going over the jokes in my head, I was ready. I got to Laugh Lounge met with Pudge, signed up, had a soda then headed down to the open mic. When I got downstairs I freaked, there was a crowd of thirty people. Some were talking, and sitting around waiting for the show. I instantly text my high school friend York telling him the situation and for him to come down. He said he will try to come, which means in Yorks language there 's a big chance he's not coming. I felt if  I bombed at least I will have one laugh by default but now I don't even have that. Pudge came down and went to the stage and spoke on the mic "Welcome everybody to another week at the Laugh Lounge open mic, we have a great show lined up we have about 30 comedians performing!" When I heard this my mouth dropped, I looked like the last lonely kid waiting at the school yard for his parents to pick him up. I thought all those people were regular people from the outside not comedians. I thought to myself it's hard enough to make regular people laugh now I have to do it to comedians. Pudge went on to say "We got some special treats, we got a new comer performing today and we have a documentary crew shooting some sets. So bring your A game because you never know". At this point I got so nervous I had to take a mean dookie out of no where. The show started and I saw some good comedians and a lot of horrible ones which gave me some confidence. Pudge came to me and said "You got two more people ahead of you, relax, just have fun, you'll do fine" Now Im sweating in an Air conditioned area, my heart is pumping and I have to take a even bigger shit (straight water and chunks). If I died at this moment it would be a shitty heart attack literally. But wait it gets better. I looked to my right and I saw my friend York walking towards me with a smile on his face and a corona. At this point I wanted to say to him "Aint shit funny bitch! Why the fuck did you ever tell me to pursue stand up, this aint fun. Im bout to shit myself and why the fuck you here! You were late for everything in your life". Instead I said "Wassup" with a sad puppy face and told him I perform next after these two performers. The last set came to a close and pudge pats me on my back as he walk to the stage. "Alright everyone we have a special treat for you. Our next comic, your gonna love this. Never performed he is being born righhht noooooow. You are popping his cherry (someone in the crowd yells woo!) Give him a lot of love and lot of support cuz we all been there. Everybody put your hands together for Ricky Herrrrrrrrreraaaaaa." I looked over to the documentary crew and noticed there's a red light flashing on the camera which meant they are recording me. The crowd cheers as I walk to the stage with a piece of paper in my hand. I grabbed the mic hoping nothing goes wrong, like the mic blowing up in my hand (knowing my luck). I said "Wow talk about no pressure" Then I told my first joke which was about how my mom got me into jerking off. I had bad acne in my teen years and there was nothing that worked to make it go away so my mom was convinced that jerking off was the solution. I heard the whole room lit up with laughter as I told the joke. The laughs became less and less, Before you know it my time was done and I got off the stage receiving a loud cheer. At this moment I was on what they called "The comedy high" I was feeling good, really happy, people came up to me said "Good Job". It was one of the greatest moments of my life. I went to York and asked him how did I do he said "Yo your first 3 minutes was hilarious you had me and everyone dieing. Then you died down at the end. Next time you should look at the crowd more, you was looking down a lot" I personally don't remember what happen on stage, it was like I blacked out after I heard a laugh. I felt someone tap me on my shoulder as I was talking to York I turned around and it was the guy that was recording me. He asked if he can interview me for his open mic documentary I agreed to it. The rest is history.


PS: THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR ALL THE SUPPORT I REALLY APPRECIATE IT! THANK YOU MOM FOR PRESSURING ME TO JERK OFF BECAUSE THAT STORY MADE PEOPLE LAUGH.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Memories

I was 8 years old when I went upstate with my uncle to see some family on his wife side. The place was very suburban, If you lived there you had money and if you saw a spanish family you knew they were visiting. This place was like Walt Disney world to me. The families that lived there had a big house, a pool in the backyard, a father, things that a kid from Brooklyn wasn't use to seeing. A pool for me growing up was a bathtub full of water with toys in it, or water splashing out from a fire hydrant on a hot summer day. I went to play with the local kids on the block When two white guys approached me. They were the parents of the kids I was playing with. A spanish boy playing with white kids in that area at that time was unheard of like a black president. One of the guys asked me what was my name and I was hesitant to reply; because momma always said "Ricky when a stranger ask you sonting don't say chit! Walk away". I replied and said Ricky. He then asked me where I was from, Embarrassed to tell him I stood quiet. The other white guy laughed and said "leave him alone he's scared, He's probably a poor kid from Brooklyn". They continued to laugh, So I laughed as well not knowing the joke was on me. At that moment I was concerned on one thing. For these guys to leave so I can play with these damn white kids. This was a once and lifetime opportunity, and they were like ancient artifacts to me. After this Im back to playing basketball with Johnny and Tyrone. My uncle came to ask me what was that about. I told him the story and he told me to never be ashamed of where I came from, To forget what happen and to keep playing with the kids.  For some reason this memory stood with me. I'm proud to say that yes I am a poor kid from Brooklyn with dreams and goals. It made who I am today and I am bless and thankful for all the opportunities I receive in life as well the joy I bring to people. Im not doing anything you can't do, chase your dreams they wont chase you.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Working on a short film!

Just got home from working on my friend (David Van Keuren ) short film called "Legerdemain".
I had a great time helping out with the production and afterwards we had a drink, talked about film and personal goals in life.  Overall i got to do what i love and had some drinks after definitely "Good Times". If your wondering the film is about Two pick pockets who meet each other and find out they have more in common than they thought. It's going to be a great short film and I cant wait for you guys to see it. Until then check out his website and browse through his cool stuff Davidvankeuren.com

Shooting a documentary in NYC!

   
Its official! Me and my friends/Production team are heading to New York City to shoot a documentary. Im thinking about calling it "One Mic"and it is about my comedian friend who is 17 years old working the comedy clubs.  He is one of the youngest comedians working the clubs and this kid is funny. I remember meeting him at the laugh lounge in NY when I started doing comedy in 2009. This is a great story to watch and everyone is excited to work on it. I will be posting more about this documentary as I plan it. Here are the members of the production team!

Kraig Adams - Cinematography - http://kadamsmedia.blogspot.com/
David Van Keuren - Director - Davidvankeuren.com
Gabe Simon - Camera Operator - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1134432079/captivity-a-true-story-about-a-wwii-dutch-pilot-po?ref=live
Rick Herrera - Producer