It's in my Louie Bag..

So last saturday, at J|A|B|S Ultra Bar, where I worked for a night of bartending (I'm an independent contractor..lol), BloodRaw performed for the packed house of North Carolinians and Virginians. He's not bad, I thought his music was pretty decent for being the Southern equivalent of "Gangsta Rap".

It was a fun show, he kept the crowd involved, and actually performed, unlike some of the more well-known names in Hip-Hop.. I'm not saying any names, but *cough*jimjones*cough*..lol..

He got his break performing under Jeezy with his group, USDA, of 'Corporate Thuggin'' fame. His myspace notes his rough upbringing, and having to do what most people would consider immoral and despicable. According to his biography, he had to do what he had to do, not to live lavishly, but merely to survive.

Originally from Panama City, FL, he's taken on the pseudonym "Mr. Florida", along with his "BloodRaw" moniker.

www.myspace.com/bloodraw

Lil' Wayne..

..is on pretty much every remix known to the hip-hop community these days.

His popularity has risen to new heights, as it seems..

Is he the illest rapper alive?

Is he as great as he has explicitly deemed himself?

Speak now or forever hold your peace (or until the next blog?)..

Let me know what you guys think.

TI-ËS-TO! TI-ËS-TO! TI-ËS-TO!

..that was the ever-present chant at last night's event.

Tiësto held down one leg of the Armani Exchange In Search of Sunrise Summer Tour 2008 at The Forum in Charlotte, NC's Uptown. I will tell you that the show was amazing, because it was the legendary Dutch DJ himself spinning his always-melodic tracks, the atmosphere was all love, and the people were beautiful.

As I moved through the sardine-style crowd at the venue, I could feel every beat pulsing through me as if the notes and rhythms were within me (or was that me bumping into people? lol) and every time the bass hit, I fell in love again and again.

Some people will argue that the In Search of Sunrise 7: Asia CD is not on par with his previous ISOS records, but from my personal listening, I can tell you it is an amazing record, and he's done it again. His ISOS records always mentally put me in the place that's noted after the ISOS branding. In this one, he takes you to a beautiful, serene beach in Thailand, for example,
and takes you away from the ugly tensions, poverty, borderline totalitarian governments and stereotypical downfalls that usually give the Asian continent a bad name. (To listen, click here)

I love Charlotte, I love Tiësto (no homo), and I love Trance. Last night, all three were in place, and I was happy.

Oh, NO SHEEEE DIT'NT!!

Is Hillary freaking serious?

I just went on to read the news this morning, and read about how Hillary seems to be boo-hooing about her Presidential campaign debt. She apparently is asking her supporters to help pay back her outstanding loans that she took out when she was trying to get the democratic nomination.. read this.

She's still got millions and millions, i'm sure she'll be fine without any contributions. But no, she's gotta beg, i guess. Seriously though, what the ****? Maybe I should ask the politicians to help me pay my debts off! Would they do that for me? To paraphrase Ms. Clinton, I need the politician's help to write the next chapter of my history together. Lol. Psh, yeah right.

Hil-dog, as an episode of South Park lovingly (or not) calls her, should think about what she would say to me, a regular old U.S. law-abiding (not... just kidding!) citizen wanting help from her to pay MY debts off.. I doubt she'd be inclined to reach out and lend a hand as she asks of her supporters. Marinate on that one time for your mind.

Stay Tuned,

Steelo

Sunday!

"Sunday, Sunday, so good to me.."

Hello my faithful readers. Today was an interesting day, I was invited by my parents to go to church with them. Today was a special service, and it was cool. But, i must admit, it was "beanertastic" as i say. They had people from the English service congregation there, and they busted out all the stuff hispanic dreams are made of.. The worship songs were done in the regional mexican form, click HERE for what it kinda sounded like.. It was a strange, but delightful sight to see the style being performed, accordion and all.

Then we all went to the park after church for a good ol' southern cookout. I ended up running into someone from my past, and actually talked to her after not speaking for years. I'd been holding a grudge, and I guess it was time to forgive. Lately, i've been settling my beefs and grudges with people, and i gotta tell you, it's definitely a good feeling. I'm not saying you should go out and be everyone's friend, just that it feels good to get stuff off your back..

Gnite and Stay Tuned..

-steelo

where's the soul?

is it me, or did men have to bust more moves back in the day then they have to now?
i'm sitting here watching old episodes of soul train, and it looks to me like men definitely had more input than they do today. I swear, all guys have to do these days is stand there and let the woman grind like hell on em. Hey, now i don't see anything wrong with a little "bump and grind", but where's the effort to really woo a woman? I see these guys truly dance and hell, it looks like a lot of fun. i miss the glory days of "true" soul.

Coke Zero

So Coke Zero has been out for what, months now? I just recently decided to give it a shot after all the subliminal signals in the ads finally got absorbed by my brain, which in turn created the "BUY BUY BUY" stimulus to my mind.

Much to my surprise, it was actually a good experience! My dietsodaphobia made me expect the worse, but once i took that first sip, i said, HOLY CRAP, this is actually good! (I'm drinking one as we speak) From then, it's been my "New Coke", and it's the only Coke i drink now, and now i don't have to feel so bad about drinking coke, since it's got Zero Calories!

Now if I could just eat better...


Stay Tuned..

-Steelo

Funny-Ass Quote of the Day!

Nicky: You have really kind eyes, you know that?
Andy Stitzer: Thanks. Umm... your hat has sequins.

-40 Year Old Virgin

People I Connect with

There's a certain amount of people in this world you can connect with. Always on different levels than others.

There's a fellow blogger (who shall only be known as "B"..lol) who in a very short amount of time become someone really cool to me. And it's not on a deeply romantic, gone with the wind, sappy type of thing. We laugh at a lot of the same corny shit, have been through pretty funny times, and we've even worked in the same place. We connect because although we're from different places and different experiences, we take it in stride, appreciate the un-commonalities (i'm using poetic license.. uncommonality is not a real word) in each other, and make the absolute best of it. I've connected like that, and even deeper with other important people in my life.

There's always a ton we can learn and find fascinating about someone who isn't from the same block, town or village you're from.

I have friends from all walks of life. Rich, Poor. White, Black. Heavy Metal, Crunk. LA, NY. That is the beauty of it all.. don't clique up, shelter yourself in the pea pod that you've been in all your life. Try something fresh and brand new. Step out of your comfort zone. Branch out, experience your life in the way you have been divinely designed. We are not supposed to fit a societal mold. We are the world, we are the children! (Just kidding, cross out the MJ reference.)


Shake the hand of the guy who doesn't make as much money as you do, or shake the hand of the woman who is on a power lunch, away from her $100K+ downtown office.. Enjoy the human experience, it's a beautiful thing.


Stay tuned kids,

Your friendly neighborhood Steelo.

are you a club rat?

This just popped into my head.. Random? Yes. Without substance? No. (lol)

(These were all inspired by actual events, and actual people who live this actual way)

You may be a club rat if..

• Most, if not all of your stories start with "One time at the club.."
• Your sleep schedule revolves around your favorite nightspot's hours.
• If you compare a regular, everyday event with something that happened at a club..
• If you don't have much conversation with someone besides a club happening..
• If you ever go shopping and your final decision on whether or not to buy an article of clothing depends on how it would look "in the club".
• If the doorman, security, manager, owner, bartenders, waitresses, dj's, and even most of the patrons of the club know you by name.. (doesn't apply if you work at the club, you're usually well known there anyway..lol)
• If your ideal date with someone is to go dancing AT THE CLUB.
• If your way of nightlife begins to ooze into your daylife, beginning with the way you dress.

Please comment if you have any others!

Stay Tuned kids..

-steelo

unclassifiable?

Yes, that's the title of my blog. Why? Because I find myself to be, well, classified under "unclassifiable".. I don't really fit into any set group of people, I don't really find myself stuck in any stereotypes, regardless of how innocuous or ignorant. I always have and always will pride myself on my Latino heritage, and my Mayan bloodline. But ask me why i'm not as into reggaeton as "spanish guy A" or "spanish girl B", and i'll tell you I'd rather find my fix in R&B and Deep House . I will say that as a musician, I enjoy and appreciate ALL music, but some music stimulates me more than others.

Culturally, I can't really say I've followed any specific set of societal rules. I've never been the stereotypical macho control freak that Latino men are ignorantly categorized as. And I know I sure as hell don't condone that behavior. I'll get more into romance and chivalry in another blog later. Family is HUGE in hispanic culture, I saw it especially prevalent when I decided to move out on my own to another city to be closer to school and quit the family business. When i first moved out, my parents would call everyday, and always ask when I was coming to visit, or I'd get invited to one thing or another. I love my family, and I know that when everyone else is gone, they're all that's left. I know. But I also know that we all have goals and dreams, and for me specifically, it's been brought to my attention that my journey requires extra focus, extra hard work, and extra headaches. I have to do what I have to do, and sometimes it doesn't make everyone happy, and sometimes there's little time left. It took my parents a while to deal, and it's still not 100%, but we're getting there.

Society has a very strong influence on the way we are, who we are, and what we do. I fight that influence every day, and I just can't settle for what we're expected to do. We're much more capable and powerful than that.

Well, it's late, and I have to go to work in less than 5 hours..

Stay tuned kids, this doesn't end here.

-Steelo