Summer Reading List: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Welcome back, scholars!

"You must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his destiny. If he abandons that pursuit, it's because it wasn't true love..."

Equipped with a mug of my favorite green tea, I stretched out on my sofa and lost myself in the journey that is 'The Alchemist'. I finished this adventure in less than 24 hours...I promise you, it was that good! 

The main character, whose name we never learn, is a young shepherd from Spain who possesses a burning desire to see and do things no other shepherd had ever done.  Simply by having the faith and courage to travel to foreign lands the young shepherd is able to learn invaluable lessons about sacrifice and the freedom that accompanies true love. 

The author, Paulo Coelho, knows all about sacrifice. The son of an engineer, Coelho constantly battled the expectation that he would be a straight-laced carbon copy of his father in the professional world. While his parents expected him to be a doctor or a lawyer, Coelho knew his destiny was to become a writer. Coelho holds no ill-will towards his parents despite their having him committed to a mental home because of his rebellious ways. In 'The Alchemist' Coelho imparts wisdom about true love, fear, and the urgency of following one's dreams.  Below are a couple takeaways from 'The Alchemist' I plan to use in my personal adventure.

1) Love Without  Ownership

"He tried to deal with the concept of love as distinct from possession, and couldn't separate them"

One of the dopest parts of this book was the love displayed for the main character by his love interest, the beautiful Fatima. In layman's terms, Fatima is "Ride or Die" personified! In spite of her desire to be married to the main character Fatima explains to him that marriage cannot precede him following his dream.  This quote from Fatima sums it all up: "If I am really apart of your dream, you'll come back one day....I want my husband to wander as as the wind...". Fatima's selflessness is amazing to me. She wanted to be with the main character and knew that all she had to do was tell him to stay and he would have with no questions asked! However, she knew the importance of fulfilling a dream. She displayed a truly unselfish love.

2) Fear

My takeaway? Fear has no place in the hearts of those who truly wish to fulfill their dreams. The fear of losing Fatima would have caused the main character to stay in her city completely putting off his desire to see the pyramids..content upon being her husband. However, as the alchemist later points out, this could drive a wedge in their relationship, with an unfulfilled husband on one hand and Fatima secretly blaming herself for her husband deciding not to pursue his dreams on the other. Always follow your heart! Only a self-serving love would require you put your dream on hold for them.

Coelho believes our dreams die young because we realize them at an early age, life gets in the way, and the next thing you know you're settled and nowhere near where you wished to be. The lesson here is to start pursuing your dream today! It's never too late to begin. The Alchemist is the perfect book for the transition into the Fall and I HIGHLY recommend it! Happy reading...

Photo Credit: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/mar/17/paulo-coelho-manuscript-found-in-accra

You can follow myself and Paulo Coelho on Twitter at @Chief_Platt and @paulocoelho respectively

Yours Truly,

The Lonely Blogger 

Peace

New King Chip!! #LazyAndLucrative Summer Rap Tunes

You know how we feel about King Chip over here at brotherspl (Peep our 44108 Mixtape review). Today on twitter Chip blessed us with a new summer jam produced by Blended Babies...perfect tune for rolling up and vibing with the homies or your lady if you're lucky enough to have one. Follow the link, CLICK PLAY AND ENJOY!

King Chip - Lazy And Lucrative (Prod. By Blended Babies)

Summer Reading List: Song of Solomon

After Fall, Summer is my favorite season for a variety of reasons. The beer tastes fresher, the days are longer..and of course, beautiful brown bodies are decorated in sundresses.  The long days are great for kicking back with a book and a young woman recently recommended I dive into Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison.

The book mostly follows Macon Dead, known in his neighborhood as Milkman, for reasons that make me uncomfortable to think about. Milkman's pops is a well to-do negro who sees money and ownership of property as the great equalizer. Throughout the book Milkman struggles with this concept, even though he perpetuates his father's behavior which ultimately alienates him from his community and even his own sisters at one point.

The general insanity and jaw dropping scenarios (necrophiliac incest, hidden bodies..) make this a pretty fun book to read however, there were also some pretty interesting themes that can definitely be relevant to a lot of black lives out there...Below I touch on what I gained most from this book, which was the importance of oral tradition.

Regardless of what mainstream white america will have you believe the effects of The Trans-Atlantic slave trade still, yes in 2014, have blasted jarring holes in our culture, in our history. This book really highlights the importance of oral tradition.  Because the history books are always written from the perspective of the conquerors, conversation with our elders is the only way we can know where we truly come from. Just like Milkman, a conversation with my mom, dad or granddad really gives me a sense of pride. My history begins, as told by my mother in Georgia and South Carolina with slave great-grandparents and sharecropper grandparents. These are people who had no rights and ultimately chose to flee the hold of the south for a better chance at life in Philadelphia and New Jersey. It's up to me to give these stories to my future seeds. Milkman only got to hear mythical stories about his great grandfather who may have been a runaway slave, but the little he heard definitely inspired him. It made me wonder about what my sense of self would be had my great grandparents been able to pass stories down to my grandparents...which could have ultimately trickled down to me. The moral of the story...get those oral histories while you still can! And hold on to them like gold!

Deuces...

RetroHash Album Review

Early Beginnings

Asher Roth's sophomore LP came out in late April, so I've had about a month to listen to it thoroughly. This much anticipated release shows lots of growth from Roth since his 2008 party anthem I Love College and Asleep in the Bread Aisle, his debut album.  Since then, Asher has released a bevy of mixtapes and an EP with Virginia rapper/producer Nottz, which has only boosted his lyrical and song making abilities.  This earlier Asher Roth and Kid Cudi freestyle shows both artists exceptional skills when it comes to controlling the mic.

Mixtapes

Seared Foie Gras with Quince & Cranberry shows Roth freestyling over a number of classic productions including The Diplomats' I'm Ready and Cam'Ron's Down.  Pabst & Jazz has Asher taking a unique approach by flowing over heavily jazz inspired production via Chuck Inglish, Blended Babies, and others.  These two tapes are my personal favorites and RetroHash contains the best elements from both works.

RetroHash Favorites

Parties at the Disco starts this album with a smooth sound and Ash singing about feeling wishful and partying at the disco.  Dude brings the Blended Babies (they produced the majority of the album) back for another sick track with flawless worldplay also featuring Curren$y.  Spitta and Roth talk about being that dude in an industry where most people compromise themselves.  The album continues with hippy-like dance tracks Tangerine Girl and Pull It until my favorite song, Fast Life featuring Vic Mensa.  On this song, we hear Asher talk about getting caught up in the fast life and the troubles of trying to grow up too quickly.  Last of the Flohicans has Asher putting his lyricism on display with three great verses (just listen to them).  Be Right has Major Myjah on the hook where Asher spits about keys to finding happiness in life.  

Summary

RetroHash finishes up as quickly as it starts - it's only 10 songs and 41 minutes long. I may not have done the album justice with my analysis.  However, each song contains musical elements and lyrics that show Roth's growth as an artist.  Get your copy asap!

Why I Hate Kerry Washington and Scandal

Now before you jump to any outlandish conclusions, I was once a huge fan of Kerry Washington.  However, her antics as of late have really just pushed a nerve with me.  I was first introduced to her when I watched the Spike Lee film, She Hate Me, in which she plays a lesbian and love interest to Anthony Mackie.  No problems with me here, mostly because of the great romance scenes she has with Anthony Mackie and Dania Ramirez (MY GOD!!).

Rise to Stardom

Since 2004, Washington has had unparalleled success by starring in numerous blockbuster films (including Ray, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Fantastic Four, The Last King of Scotland, I Think I Love My Wife, and several others).  I had to do some research and looked back at her older movies.  The Details (with Tobey Maguire), Lakeview Terrace (with Patrick Wilson), Fantastic Four (with whoever played The Thing), and The Last King of Scotland (with James McAvoy) were movies that contributed greatly to her success, where she just happens to be the love interest to some random white guy.

                                                      

Scandal

By 2012, Scandal comes out and she's the envy of women everywhere.  Starring in this television show, she's a "political fixer" who just happens to be having an affair with the President.  I watched the first season and enjoyed it . . . But the way she is portrayed in the show wouldn't allow me to continue watching the second season.  (I tried to watch the first episode and had to turn it off)  The show builds her up as this amazing, independent, smart black woman but for some reason she can't escape the grasp of the President. (Oh yeah, he's a white guy)

Recap
In conclusion, Washington is a huge star today, with young black women emulating her at every chance.  But as a black male, I just can't endorse the subliminal messages the show sends.  We criticize celebrities like Taye Diggs, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Kobe Bryant for their on and off camera interactions with white women, so how is it different for her?  . . . . 

P.S. I don't hate black women, I promise lol

Allen Iverson Video Tribute: BBZ10 StoryMaker

Growing up so close to Philadelphia we here at BrothersPL appreciate what Iverson did for the game. Checkout a sneak peak of a video tribute we have. COMING SOON with some of AI's greatest Highlights!!!

As Always,

The Lonely Blogger

44108 Murder Zone: March Madness Mixtape Special

In the first round of March Madness Dayton represented with an impressive win over Ohio State. King Chip's latest masterpiece "44108" represents another win for the state of Ohio. The Cleveland emcee's work ethic is impeccable as he blesses us with 19 tracks on topics ranging from getting top aka "Crown" from the finest of freaks all the way to getting revenge on a corrupt police officer on "Police in the Trunk".

"I OWN MY OWN NAME"

In a bold move a couple summers ago Chip changed his moniker from Chip the Ripper to King Chip, a fitting title for the new father to son, Cash (named after Johnny Cash) and one of the best to do it from Cleveland. With this classic body of work Chip solidifies his place on the throne.  Peep my 5 picks for the most influential and dopest tracks off #44108! 

Photo Credit: http://rapgenius.com/artists/King-chip

Download 44108 from LiveMixtapes at this link: http://www.livemixtapes.com/download/23455/king-chip-44108.html

1- Best Track to Ride To: 7AM on St. Clair ft. Ray Cash

Easily one of the smoothest tracks on this project. Play this during a trip to your shorty's house, or on the way to your local hoop spot for some pickup basketball. Guaranteed to have your swagger on a hundun. Chip enlists Cleveland vet Ray Cash for the smoothest guest feature on the entire mixtape.

2- Most Creative Track: Vortex ft. Kid Cudi and Pusha T

First of all the beat is CRAZY! King Chip and Cudi may be one of the best tag team duos when it comes to mixtape bangers (just look at Chip's features on Cudi's early mixtapes). Chip and Pusha T deliver some epic verses while Cudi sings to the ladies on the hook "I want to live in your Vortex, you knowin what's comin next!"

3- Best Track to Vibe to: Action Plan ft. Lorine Chia

"My legacy is way beyond my vital signs, I am a god!" Try not to bob your head to this joint. It's impossible. Lorine Chia's vocals set Chip up perfectly for some insightful verses. You can blaze a blunt to this joint and completely zone out.

4- Best Story: Police in the Trunk

This takes NWA's fuck the police to the next level! On this track Chip exacts revenge on an officer that killed one of his homies. If you're squeamish you probably won't want to listen to this track! The imagery is astounding as Chip raps about taking the officer's body to the butcher shop on some real Sopranos type shit. Also, the rock band type break at the end is extra dope.

5- Dopest Track: BLK on BLK 

I had to save the best for last. The production on this joint is flawless. Before each hook Chip raps "Black on black like Morpheus, pills on deck like Morpheus" as he takes listeners on a ride through the realest hoods in Cleveland. "Nigga my hood so crazy man this shit just like the Gaza Strip" pretty much sums it up. JUST WATCH THE VIDEO.

You can follow King Chip on Twitter @Chip216 for word on his much anticipated #CleveLAfornia. The fans are patiently waiting!