The Mind of KLH

Hello out there bloggies!!  I am back after a long hibernation.  I had gotten a comment on one of my posts, and I went back and read the post.  I must say I was impressed (pardon me while I kiss myself).  Anyways…I wanted to write today as a way of getting back on the horse.  It is so easy to justify not trying because we have been away for a while.  This is foolishness.  It is never too late to pick up where you left off, when it comes to your dreams, and most other things in life.  

So you stopped going to the gym, you stopped dieting, you stopped putting money in the bank, you stopped telling your wife you love her…today is the day that you can start anew.  The rest of your life is still in play.  You still are at the wheel.  You can decide to let your life, your dreams, your family relationships remain stagnant.  Or, you can decide to take one small action today that will improve things.  It will lift your spirit, and inspire even more effort.

Creation is an ongoing living breathing process.  It ebbs and flows, it comes and it goes, it stops and starts…do you get it?  Inactivity is only a small part of the picture…that is if you want it to be.  I say all this because I often times struggle with consistency…but I am who I am.  Sometimes I walk away, but I am back…won’t you join me?  What have you put down?  Right now or certainly before the end of the day take a small action that moves your life closer to where you want it to be.  As you do that also be sure to be grateful for the process.

Stay Fly and Fly High
KLH

PS. – I’ve been getting improved traffic to my music website and I thank you folks out there for that.  Look for some new and exciting features coming soon at:  www.klhbeats.com

Why am I talking about this???  Because I’m wondering why everyone else is talking about it.  We Americans are so wrapped up in the lives of other people, to the detriment or our own lives.  Lil Kim a very talented Hip Hop rapper who is now a contestant on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars, and she did do some jail time.  She just might be the first convict to be on Dancing with the Stars.  A couple of years ago she got caught up in some bull#$it and guns were fired, I don’t remember if anyone was shot.  Lil Kim held to the stupid and VERY tired street law “Don’t Snitch”.  Most Hip Hop rappers follow this stupidity.  However not only did she not snitch, she lied about some facts regarding the shooting.  Consequently Lil Kim was arrested for perjury and subsequently convicted.

Now that she has done her time I sure wish people would let her be.  In fact on a broader scale I think all people who have done jail time should be allowed to build a new life.  I think it is so counter-productive to make it so difficult for ex-cons to get jobs.  If we don’t give them a chance then they will by necessity revert back to a life of crime.  Now…a child molester clearly shouldn’t be allowed to be a camp counselor for kids, but if they can’t get a job anywhere…what do you think they are  going to do for a livelihood????  I don’t know but it won’t be good.

Anyhow…I didn’t get to see Lil Kim on Dancing With The Stars, I did DVR it so I’ll catch it later.  I hope she does well.  I hope people will stop their ridiculous fascination with other people’s lives and live their own.  Personally I think watching her shake her silicone boobies is a lot more interesting.

Stay Fly and Fly High!
KLH 

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I just got through watching and listening to some YouTube videos.  I just got it in my head I wanted to hear some great bass players.  After about 30 minutes I just, closed my mouth and resumed breathing.  I used to play a little bass so I have some strong attraction to that instrument.  I heard Victor Wooten, some unfamiliar players, and the god the late Jaco Pastorius.  In these players I saw and heard greatness.  In math “greater than” means more than.  Clearly that’s what these men are …they are more than the average bass player.  They probably had a propensity for the instrument early on, but they certainly invested countless hours in perfecting their craft…and became more than the average player.

When I went to see Jaco in concert I knew I was in the presence of greatness.  Not in a groupie kind of way, but in an almost reverential kind of way.  Jaco was what I aspired to be.  His talent made me go home and practice my bass more.  When I saw Stanley Clarke, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind and Fire, The Jackson Five I knew that they were “more than” me, not as people but as craftsmen.  They put in the work to develop their talent and that talent blazed from the stage.  Part of the allure of concerts back in the day was to see and hear things that I knew I couldn’t do…at least not yet.  

These days concerts are more like dance recitals, because that’s usually the only thing actually happening live.  Today’s music is filled with mediocrity.  You can go in any karaoke spot and hear singers as good as most of the singers you hear on the radio, and that’s ashamed.  Often they’re not even called singers, now they’re “artists”…and even that title overstates the case most of the time.  What about musicians?  Most young people think Chris Angel is a musician…(think about it).  Music tracks are “beats” now, and  producers are usually glorified Deejays. 

I long for the day that music comes back into the “Music Business”.  It would be great to see young boys and girls taking piano, guitar, and saxophone lessons.  I long for the day when a singer says to the producer “Why would I need Auto-Tune?”  I long for the day that singers sing because they would die if they didn’t.  When a guitar player plays because he can’t not play.  Music is the voice of God fixed to a melody and set to rhythm.  I don’t know what that is they’re playing on the radio.

For the sake of profit, music has been critically injured and is on life support.  Let’s make sure music doesn’t die.  It is imperative that music be a part of every school curriculum.  Us older folks should dust of those old 45′s and play them for our kids, and tell them our stories about the great concerts we saw and how we were affected and moved.  If we really try we can save music and oh… how really worth it that would be.

So …What is great, really?  It’s breathlessness, it’s wonder, it’s vision, it’s profound.  If any old Tom, Dick, or Mary can do it, it ain’t great.

Stay Fly and Fly High!
KLH 

Check out the hottest Hip Hop and Rap Beats on the internet at: KLH Beats.com

What is going on people!!!  This is the first of what I hope will be many posts from me on my new blog.  The Mind of KLH will allow you to see…what no man has ever seen before….we can chat about current affairs too!  I’ll discuss music for it’s own sake, as it relates to other issues, and as a metaphor for life itself.  So I hope to hear from you all.  I want to know what you think, and more importantly what you see as solutions to problems that come up on this blog.

Hip Hop and Rap music is now and has always been important to me.  I am a musician and I find it a very inspiring and at times cathartic form of expression.  But as much as I love Hip Hop, I hate it.  I hate it because it has degenerated into a violent, misogynistic, money hungry bully.  I once heard a female journalist compare Hip Hop to a family friend or brother who everyone loves but is always getting into trouble.  I think Hip Hop has to grow up, after all he’s over 25 years old.  Hip Hop has to be responsible because young kids emulate him.  Young kids aspire to be like him.  Like it or not Hip Hop is a role model, and role models have to be responsible.

I understand that this music reflects the harsh realities of where most of these kids come from.  But, how about being glad for the success?  How about teaching young kids to avoid the mistakes made, rather than glorifying them?  To me it just isn’t cool to live by the gun, to sell drugs, or to be a P-I-M-P.  I love the energy of Hip Hop.  I love the possibility of Hip Hop…and I can’t lie when Biggie comes on, my head will be boppin’.  However…

As we’ve learned in this historic election WORDS MATTER.  Words inspired us to vote overwhelmingly for the first Black President.  Similarly words can have a destructive affect.  Words may not make someone kill or sell drugs but they can ease a person’s conscience and make them think that maybe it’s not so bad.  Hip Hop has got to grow up.

Stay Fly and Fly High!
KLH

Check me out on:  http://www.klhbeats.com