To say the least…

There is music everywhere. Yesterday it was music and football, but that shit is over for a week and the Lakers win all the time anyway so… This week we goin’ extra hard. We goin’ Legendary hard.

Imma start using my blog more often… These are the times when I’m in a Legendary state of mind. I got my Guitar Player and my Drummer with me. I got Cafe Brule, Charles Krug and Chimay on deck. My Kush selection is fucking exquisite. Ain’t none of us going no place soon except out back to the grill or to the workout room. When I leave here I’m leaving with some Legendary shit…

Legendary. I like that.

WESTSIDE4LIFE.

2010 was eventful to say the least… It was one of those rollercoaster years you know? One minute you’re up and on your way down. The next minute it’s vice versa. One thing was for sure… Man I stayed busy. My album “Kind of Blue” did a good job for me! I should’ve put it out by myself tho. The company that distributed it was shit and I see that I really didn’t need them for anything… Cuz they really didn’t do anything! Lol! Anyway, it I wanna take this time to thank everyone that supported the album. I really appreciate the love. I also did a slew of collabz with all kinds of artists from all kinds of places! The studio is my temple and last year I got mines in… all planting the seeds for this new year. Now let’s see what grows…

Enough about business. This ain’t that type of blog today. Today we on some real life, all important shit. I’m thankful because I’m blessed. I travel around the world to some of the damnest places and see some of the worst sites imaginable. Health and strength breeds happiness if your heart is right… Is your heart right? I sit back and look at the roof over my head and I’m thankful. I take a deep breath and rejoice in the ability to do so. How many people can’t? How many people are in some cold hospital bead right now not knowing how long they have left? In August I was laying in a hospital bed having surgery in my stomach to remove what I thought was cancer… Talk about scary! Turned out to be some kind of benign cysts that had been there for years. They had to come out tho. It took me out of play for about a month and I’ll never forget that period not knowing what was wrong with me… Or would I ever be the same again. It ain’t easy for a man to go from picking up 300lbs to being on bed rest. I made it thru it tho… I got a clean bill of health and I’m back to normal thank God. I promise to never take the air I breathe for granted.

In 2010 I was determined to fix my family. Over time, the hustle can have u debilitated to the point that u lose the things that you hold dearest. I was determined not to allow that to happen. With a couple of my family relationships I had to bite the bullet. One particular person is probably the Queen of WRONG. In 2010 I repeatedly allowed her to be right. Instead of fighting I just agreed with everything. She built a hole so big that I was the only person with a rope long enough to get her out. I didn’t dangle it over the edge or make her grovel. I just thru the rope in and pulled her out. For that I’m blessed… I’m sitting at the airport with both my kids. In 2010 they spent Christmas together for the first time. I thank u God from the bottom of my heart… From the bottom of my heart.

In no way am I trying to say that things ain’t at an all time level of “fucked-upness”, but they could definitely be a LOT worse. I haven’t had some great revelation. Shit is as it was. I still hate the Celtics, Arsenal, and Alabama Football. Oprah and Rachel Ray can still get it. Skinny Jeans are still fruity and Love is still a crock of shit. One thing is for certain tho…

We are truly blessed and highly favored. Thank God for your life today.

I know I am…

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND WESTSIDE4LIFE!!!!!!

Talkin’ bout hustlin’? What u know about hustlin’? I hear many talk about it, but when it’s gets down to it who can effectively make it happen? Niggas rap about being the new Freeway. The real Nino Brown. Scarface reincarnated. Poster children for Generation X. Fast money, fast women, fast cars and a fast trial. This is what we value. Speed.

The Fastlane.

You ever been on the freeway in traffic thinking if U can just get in the far left lane u’d be cool? Only to find out it’s the hardest lane to get out of? It looked like it was moving so fast before u got in it right? We fall for that trick every time. And so the game is played. Cuz that applies to more than just the freeway.

Our borders have been flooded with hustler’s bounty since the end of Vietnam. Heroine and Cocaine ran up and down the 5 like mile markers. Niggas got rich. Cops got rich. Congressmen, lawmakers, and foreign heads of state got richer. Then somebody found a way to cut so sharp and cook so well that they could feed the masses with a cheap product with a 500% return. Game over. Niggas died along with whole neighborhoods. It’s the 80′s and welcome to Crack. I was young but I remember all the older cats. I remember their conversations. Everybody had a plan… “Imma hustle up to a key and when I flip that bitch I’m in!” It was like a script that everybody read. When I saw them same cats blowin’ it up around me that script became scripture. The key to success fast is selling drugs straight up! Thaz the truth about this thing.

Yes we are the X factor. The first generation of American minority “We don’t give a fucks”. The 70′s babies were the first on record to feel some sense of entitlement to happiness regardless. We were the first ones born under liberation instead of oppression generation-wide. The Civil/Women’s rights movements were over. It was possible for a well off minority family in the US to live up in the hills. Or a woman up there by herself without the help of any man with no questions asked. The classe system in the US became economic instead of racial… In other words we caught up to the rest of the world. Me being called “Boy” was now grounds to get ya ass beat. Blacks, Latinos, and Asians and regular old white folks became prominent and a part of American culture. White kids wanted to be like Mike as much as Bird and didn’t have a problem with it. The thought of going from nothing to something has always been stronger in our minds than in that of our parents and Grandparents. I used the people who told me that I “couldn’t” as stepping stones. The generations b4 us took them as the truth.

Hell naw. Not us.

Fastlane to the late 80′s. We as a family ain’t doing so well. I’m getting older and there’s some shit I want. I got sense. My fam ain’t got it to give so I gotta go get it… One way or another. I had some homies that were making a fair amount of dough hitting trains late at nite. They were getting shoes, clothes, brick phones, and all kinds of shit to sell. I never fucked with them cuz they were the silly bunch. They liked to gangbang more than hustlin. I never really cared what color a nigga wore. That just didn’t mean that much to me. I always played by the rules, but it just didnt move me like that. I didn’t really understand the big deal. Now havin’ thangs? I understood that perfectly. So when I got word that those trains now had some new and interesting cargo coming down Alameda on a regular I was all in.

The Soviet Union had recently crumbled. The wall was down in Berlin and the Cold War was over. FOR WHATEVER REASON (hint, hint) a lot of these trains were now filled with overseas made weaponry. All kinds of guns, military supplies, scrap metal and machine parts that were headed somewhere shady I’m sure. History was my favorite subject. My little mind got to wandering and the conspiracies started in my head. Hmmmmm… Let me hush now. Fastlane to the 90′s.

Everything has changed at this point. I am speeding. I got a situation brewing. I got cats coming to my school fuckin’ with me at the fence. I got lil dramas in my neighborhood cuz my homies say I don’t wanna run if it ain’t bout no money… Um… ok. They’re also gettin a lil antsy about the fact that some of my closest family are from the other side of the freeway and relations ain’t the best at the moment. Meanwhile I’ve been introduced to Mr. Mikhail Kalashnikov who is now the king of the streets. I know exactly where he lives and the rent is cheap. The last thing I’m trying to hear is bullshit from the niggas I grew up with. Most of my time at this point was spent with the older cats anyway. It had to be. I was young. I just wanted Jordans. They knew that so I stayed up to something. I don’t know if that was good or bad. Most of them are in jail right now… Most of the ones my age are dead.

All of us were moving too fast.

Old Skippy and Thelda Jean were moving faster. I was on a plane to Atlanta with Lil’ Cluck and none of the shit in the previous paragraphs meant anything. The Fastlane came to a screaching halt. I fell asleep at the wheel and ran outta gas seconds b4 a multi-car pileup. Now on the weekend I’m pushing a lawnmower in a Red 49er jersey and a Blue Dodger hat. It’s hot as fuck. For some reason I’m as happy as I’ve ever been… At peace.

Like a 2 lane highway on a back road in a 83 Cadillac with the windows down bumpin’ “Under the Bridge” going 40 miles an hour… Slow.

Thank God 4 Slow…

This was the inspiration for “The Fastlane” from my New Album “Kind of Blue” in Stores and Online March 23rd, 2010. It features Watts native Glasses Malone who rocked the shit out of it. Support good Music!

WESTSIDE4LIFE!!!!

Fool we don’t give a fuck about that shit. We tryin’ to ball. Fuck being broke. Imma rap! And there it is… At that point I sit back and wait to see ‘em on BET… Or not. It’s no set way for this thing to go. Call it what u want. Luck, Faith, or Fate. It either happens or it doesn’t. I’m not waving the flag of everybody fails cuz that just ain’t the truth. Most do, but on the contrary I’ve seen some real rags to riches shit. Some real proof that it has nothing to do with talent, status, or “Who’s the hottest. I got a picture with Luda when he was the on air DJ at the radio station in Atlanta. He was interviewing me about TNSMC. Him and his boy Poon was pissed about something with the station and u can see how mad he was in the pic. It’s funny as shit cuz we look real young and he had on a TQ T-Shirt…lol! I remember dude distinctly saying “This ain’t gonna be 4 long…”. It wasn’t 4 long… I remember 50 in New York on the street next to then CM bus talkin’ bout “Yall don’t know me now but yall gonna know me!” lol! Look at that fool now. Lol! Some niggas go against the odds and just make the shit happen. While I was with Cash Money, Baby coulda signed TI, Jeezy, Kanye, Boosie and Webbie, BONE, and Yo Gotti that I can remember. He said he didn’t need them. I guess he didn’t. I guess they didn’t need him either.

To the other end of the spectrum, when I was signed to Atlantic, I actually had a labelmate kill himself…

Welcome to Hollywood.

The one thing I do know is that it takes more than somebody’s good advice to make it out here. If u make it and keep your sanity you’ll love it. Sometimes I just drop the top and drive up the coast. Shit I remember how bad shit used to be. That let’s u know how much worse it could be now. Sometimes I take a deep breath and say Thank God I’m from the 90′s. It’s a blessing that nothing is new with this job these days…

For the ones with the huge ambitions and big dreams u gotta wish them luck. No feeling like a dream coming true… But if by chance u pop ur CD in and it sounds like stir fried dog shit don’t waste people’s time who do this professionally. I remember one cat coming to me saying “Bruh check this out my shit garbage but maybe I can come up… Most of the shit I hear on the radio is garbage too!” LOL!

Dude had a serious point. This is a fact. Randy Moss would leave me at the line of scrimmage. Larry Fitz would jump completely over my head and score like I wasn’t there. If I played a one on one against Bron I would not score. I don’t care if we played to 100. I couldn’t block a Wayne Rooney header if I had a brick wall in front of goal. All this is fact. So what makes a man listen to the new Wayne mixtape and feel like he’s the new Wayne? Gotta be the pills… Or those purple drinks yall like…

How many times has the hottest girl in Ur lil hood gave away everything to pursue a life in Hollywood? How many times did she come home with her tail between her legs? How many times has she took up residence down the road on Skid Row? How many times has she taken home Mr. Oscar?

Anything can happen. Let the 1st question be, Am I serious? By all means pursue Ur dreams… By all means MAKE IT. Get a star on the Blvd and take a bow. What the world needs now is good art! But if by chance Ur main thing is a quick buck, be real about it and handle it as such. All respect to T-Pain who’s the first one to tell u that he ain’t no Luther Vandross… But who can sing his songs better than him? Nobody. There’s room here for creativity. CREATE! But understand that Frooty Loops on Ur laptop doesn’t make u a producer… Consistently make hot shit with that laptop and Ur on Ur way…

And a word to the worthy… By all means keep it up. U never know where it comes from. Sometimes it just falls out the sky. Sometimes u get rejected and sent home… Make the trip back. We need u. What we don’t need is another Akon. We don’t need another Jay Z or Alicia Keys. We have them already and they still make good, successful music. We need another Luther. We need another Mike. Gimmie a 2Pac please! They’re gone… Actually we need some good original gifts in the form of Musicians. Where r u?

The quick buck has killed Black Music and it’s lonely in Hollywood. We are a dying breed and we need some help.

Please Help.

This was the inspiration for the 6th song on my new album Kind of Blue entitled “Hollywood”. It’s a throwback to say the least… U’ll notice when u hear it…

Kind of Blue will be in stores and online March 23rd… Tell Somebody to tell somebody.

Good Music is on the horizon…

WESTSIDE4LIFE !

Then something strange happened. I grew the fuck up. I quit all the dumb shit and went balls to the wall for my job. Everything changed. As u get older, Ur exploits pretty much speak for themselves. U become a father and life takes on a whole new meaning. Ur looked at differently and any links that u have to Ur former self u try to suppress as much as possible.

But the more things change the more they stay the same. Never more evident than a couple months ago when I’m at the liquor store in my old hood. Now I got the D&G belt that I love cuz the buckle is fly. Its red. Thaz a no-no in my neighborhood. I’m thinking nothing of it cuz I’m extra grown and extra ME. Plus I’m on my block… Sure enuff as I walk in the store I see some Lil dudes staring me down.

When I come out one of them is blocking my path. “What set u from homie?” he asks… In all my days as many times as I’ve been asked that question I’ve never been asked that HERE. Furious, I immediately turned my hat around so he could see my face. I replied “Lil nugga I’ll beat yo ass right here in this parking lot”. At that point his homies recognized me and tried to call him off. When he heard them say “that’s TQ” I saw his eyes get big… But pride is foolish and it was bound to take over. This Lil tuff guy shows his strap and asks ne how much was my chain…lol!!!! Wuuuussaaaah T! Calm down… Knowing I got my Glock in my sweatshirt I walk over to my truck, put my items from the store in my truck and walk back over to them. I knew this lil dude. I remembered him from when he was a toddler. I played football with his older brother and me and him used to get ‘em up all the time. I suggested to the guy that we put the guns down and take a walk to the ally and I show him where I’m from. He wasn’t interested. I look in his eyes and he’s looped outta his mind. Things have changed. The heroine in this neighborhood used to have zero cut on it. If that was still the case this Lil cat woulda prolly blew my head off b4 asking a question. But right now he’s half in and half out. His homies grab him, and sit him in the car… I stand there and shoot the shit with them for about 15 mins. They ask me about music and Lil Wayne. I keep one eye on the high one in the car. I’ve seen him b4. Many times… At this same liquor store, in his khakis with a .380 in one pocket and stones in the other. It wasn’t heroin but Malt liquor which seemed to make us just as crazy…

We’d stand on this corner everyday strapped and ready to trip on site…

Dreaming.

I’m glad it was just a Dream.

Street Dreams is the 2nd song on my new Album Kind of Blue which drops on the 23rd of this month. It features my Dawg At Will of Kinfolkz, The Pride of North Richmond California. He’s fresh off a bid and we’re already working on his new album…

Thaz just how we do it…

Stay tuned for the next Kind of Blue Blog. Are u ready for “Hollywood”?

We’ll find out shortly…

WESTSIDE4LIFE!

WHAT? I couldn’t believe it. April 29th, 1992 and I was fresh off a cross country trip from Atlanta where I had been living for the prior 9 months. I had done some legendary fuckin up in my household, but I had somehow got myself back in the good graces of my moms and pops. To make a long story short I was back in LA… at least until I graduated.

Now the big deal at this point was that Rodney King’s drunk ass had gotten whooped up by LAPD which was a natural part of growing up in LA for any black man for YEARS b4 this particular incident. This difference this time was that somebody caught it on film. Because of this tape, this thing had gone to trial and everybody was pumped cuz they knew these punk ass police would get their asses handed to them. Needless to say, they didn’t. As a matter of fact, they got off scott free! Man I couldn’t fuckin’ believe it…

Well neither could the City of Los Angeles.

We were mad as hell. Race relations had not been going well in LA. Blacks and Latinos were beefing throughout the High Schools and a bunch of schoolwide fights had been breaking out across the city between the two. There was a rift between Black consumers and Asian business owners over fair treatment and stereotyping of  black customers in their business. Businesses which were thriving in black neighborhoods and barely employed any blacks. This all came to a head about a year earlier and just 2 weeks after the Rodney King beating tape surfaced. A 15 year old girl named LaTasha Harlins was shot dead by a Korean store clerk who claimed the young girl was trying to rob the store. When the cops arrived they found 2 dollars in her hand and the orange juice that she was allegedly trying to steal. The stores security tape showed that as the girl tried to leave the store, without the orange juice mind u, the store clerk shot her in the back of the head. The woman received 5yrs probation, community service, and a $500 fine.

No jail time.

After that incident most people that I knew just had it out for any Asian person running a mini mart…As if they all had something to do with it. The level of disrespect thrown at even the owners of the gas station in my hood, people that I had known since I don’t know when, was over the top. They got scared. They armed up… U couldn’t blame them. I would have done the same thing.

I came straight home from from school ready to check this Rodney King verdict out. When those cops stood up I got a bad feeling in my stomach. “Not Guilty”… I sunk down in my seat like somebody had let the air outta my ass. Wow. This dude got beat for like 5 mins AFTER he was on the ground subdued. How could they NOT be guilty? I was pissed… I turned off the TV and went outside. I sat on my front porch with a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and a Apple Slice. (Yall remember that???? LOL) I swear my blood was starting to boil…

LA is a melting pot. Every race is represented here. This is some dumb down South 60′s shit. I always hated cops but always knew it was our word against theirs and we stood no chance. The 2 biggest, most dangerous street gangs in LA have never been the Crips and Bloods, but tha LAPD and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. I know cuz I had taken a few billy clubs upside the head and also got dropped off in Inglewood somewhere a couple times. Cops in LA are as shady as they come..

Gunshots in Compton, CA is like the equivalent of birds chirping. It’s a natural thing. So when I heard them start up on this particular day I thought nothing of it… But they didn’t stop. They started coming from different directions. It sounded like “drums”… I closed my eyes and listened to them. Without sight I realized that something serious was going on… I opened my eyes when I heard a loud “BOOM” that seemed to shake my whole house. Little did I know that it was that same gas station exploding from a Molotov Cocktail attack. I opened my eyes and saw 4 or 5 Ghetto Birds in the air heading northwest toward South Central. Some serious shit was happening in LA today… I went inside and my mom was sitting watching the news and shaking her head. The first thing I see is some guys at an intersection pull a truck driver out of his truck and slam a fire extinguisher on his head. The man was unconscious and from the helicopter shot u could see a pool of blood pouring from his head.

Just as Ice Cube had predicted on “Death Certificate” a year earlier. Los Angeles was in a full scale riot. People were tired of getting shitted on. Angelinos took to the street wanting revenge for all the previous years’ bullshit. They were malotov-ing everything in site. The main targets were Asian owned businesses in Watts, Compton, and South Central. That day if u weren’t black or Latino, U weren’t safe… I went back outside and hopped up on my roof. I will never 4get that sight…

The sky was red and black smoke plumes rose up far into the sky from all across the city. It looked like Iraq or something. Wild like the jungle… And I was as mad as a savage animal. I was mad for Latasha. I was mad for Rodney. I was mad because these punk ass police were getting let off the hook again! Throughout the evening the drums kept sounding off and getting closer… Separated by huge explosions every 5 minutes or so. The natives were restless. I got a lil choked up. Half because I was on the roof and the smoke was so thick and half because I was watching this city which I loved so much being destroyed and there was nothing I could do about it.

All I could do was “Listen to The Drums”…

This was the inspiration for “Pop Pop” which is the 1st song on my new Album “Kind of Blue” In stores and Online March 23rd, 2010

Stay Tuned… More to come.

"It's Gangsta because I'm on it!"

Music. It’s always been a part of me. Ever since I can remember I’ve loved it. Yeah I had my favorite artists growing up, but the best part was making my own. Thaz what made me love it. I’d carry notebooks with me wherever I went. Notebooks full of lyrics… I’d get in trouble cuz I’d be writing in school when I was supposed to be studying and in church when I was supposed to be listening… I remember arguing with my mom and sister who at the time gave that shit absolutely ZERO credit, “These notebooks are gonna make me famous and y’all rich one day!” They’d laugh at me and I’d storm off to my room and close the door. I’m about to write some more. They’ll see soon enough.

My room was all about music. My wall was filled with pix and posters of artists. It looked like the Hard Rock Cafe or something. A bunch of memorabilia from concerts and autograph signings that I had gone to over the years covered the walls. The center of everything was my dad’s 1976 Sansui Stereo system. It was old and outdated with the big ass silver knobs, but man that joint sounded GREAT! It had 4 floor speakers and if I turned it up, they could hear that shit all the way in Carver Park! At the bottom it had a slot for records… I mean real records. Vinyl. My dad and mom had some real good music and I had been trying to get this thing in my room for years. I had 45′s of all the old Motown stuff. Temps, Marvin, Supremes, you name it. Moms was big on Motown and had all the singles. Pops was serious about raggae and jazz. I had every Bob Marley and the Wailers album and a bunch of jazz greats like Coltrane, Bird Parker and Miles Davis… Miles Davis. Now this guy had an effect on me… It was this one particular album that I played particularly more than the others. Something about it I loved but I couldn’t really put my finger on it u know?  I’m a lyricists and there were no lyrics. I listened to his horn and understood it tho… So much so that I could hum the parts note for note. This album was a classic called “Kind of Blue”

Since those days as we all know I’ve been blessed to do this music thing for a living and everything has come full circle. When I went solo I set on a mission to make a different brand of R&B. I knew it’d prolly keep me outta mainstream radio and TV, but if I can’t watch/hear myself and feel good about what I’m doing then whats the use anyway? I went into my first album with just that mindset. I got a lotta fans today because of that decision. Against advice and all odds I did me and continued to do me until this day.

But now it’s just Electronic…

Out with the old and in with the new right? Fuck talent man! It’s 2009! Go buy a laptop and Frooty Loops and u are a certified producer! Buy the right sound program and u are now a singer! Even if u cant carry a note in a backpack YOU CAN STILL BE A STAR!!! LOL! I remember producing a joint on a certain artist that asked me “Are u sure that’s me?” after hearing all the pitch correction and editing that I had done. This thing has changed… What is my “Old School” ass gonna do about it? I learned this game from OG’s. Cameo, The Commodores, Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Kashif… Google these cats and you’ll see what I mean. These were the first people I worked with in this game. I remember Kashif showing me the first Pro Tools prototype when I was a kid. He said “TQ, this is gonna change music. Get it all while u can kid…” Boy was he right…

Cuz now it’s just Electronic…

Yes it is. Dance music, Techno, and Trance have invaded black music. There is a serious mesh going on around the world that I don’t think anyone saw coming. The club in LA sounds more and more like the club in London or Paris these days. It’s fresh and new and people are back to actually having fun in the club. Either everybody is coked completely out of their minds or DJ’s got their fingers on it… Either way I’m having a fuckin ball at the club right now. Check my Facebook page if u don’t believe me… LOL!

I’ve never been the man for club music… prolly cuz I never really tripped off being in there. Been hittin’ the club since I was 16 in LA so I’d pretty much seen and done it all. I’d rather focus on life in Music. U gotta have listeners for Life Music tho… Not just fans, but listeners. People ain’t really into listening these days for the most part. Maybe they don’t have the time. Maybe they have so much other shit going on that music is now used for straight up entertainment. No more therapy. People don’t wanna think. They just wanna move! Ok… I get it…

But…

Even if it’s Electronic… It’s gangsta because I’m on it.

Thaz right. I don’t change. I shoot from the hip. I only deal with the real… I will forever be a street poet. I will always tell u the truth about life as I see it. I’m not doing G funk but I’m not wearing skinny jeans and pink shirts either. I make music for the World and not for everybody. Put me in the rap section all u want… I’m a singer. Period. I represent Compton, California cuz thaz where I was raised. Sound familiar? I does cuz it is… It’s still me. Forever the oxymoron.

LOL!

There will be some things on my new album that u have never heard from me. From the production to the lyrical content, I’m definitely stretching further than I ever have on this one. From real life events to hustler anthems. Love songs and Hate songs too… Club joints and straight up nasty sex music. This album “Kind of Blue” has it all… And I’m putting as many as I can fit on a CD. You will get more songs on this album than u ever have and that’s a promise.

But for now it’s just Electronic… Literally. LOL!

My new single “Electronic” is about to smash the net TODAY.  All my DJ friends will have this record real soon so REQUEST IT AT THE CLUB! We got a hot remix by P-Rida featuring my man Tha Vill who rocked it, and another from Glasgow’s own Tigerstyle. A Funky House mix from DJ Mappa and a Sonny Ji version as only he can do it. Are u ready? Yeah? Well let’s make it official…

Check out the World Premiere of the video for the 1st Single from my forthcoming Album “Kind of Blue”…

This is Electronic. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keecMz3V6Jg

WESTSIDE4LIFE!

I land in Delhi, India. I’m officially farther from home than I’ve ever been. It’s hot as hell and from LA to New York, London to Mexico City, I have NEVER seen this many people! Man It’s a trip! I call my mom and tell her I made it safely… First surprise of this day is when I find out that I got a 12hr van ride across the Thar desert to Bikaner, Rajasthan on a 2 lane highway… This part of the trip will not be fun.

Nevertheless we get on the road. I’m here because I’ve booked my first starring role in a Film. I’m fuckin’ excited no lie. I’ve always liked to act even from the plays in elementary school. I had done the Nutcracker, The Littlest Angel, The Nativity, and most of the other standbys and I always had a ball doing it. I had just come off my first 2 parts in Indie films a couple months before. Richard III and The Devil’s Grind were in the can and I had watched both of them on the plane. This acting thing was getting a little serious and I actually didn’t remember the last time I had been in the studio… Not that this was a good thing, but it showed that I had really dedicated a significant amount of time to acting lately… And here I was. On the other side of the world for just that purpose.

Now I didn’t know too much about Bollywood, but I’m heavy into movies. Outside of the obvious Godfather Trilogy, Scarface, and The Usual Suspects, I love epic battle films. Give me Troy, Braveheart, and Gladiator and I’m good for the whole day. So when Param Gill, the director of “Rockin’ Meera” told me I’d be fighting a 720 lb tiger and an Indian actor, Sonu Sood who was twice my size, I was all for it. I was also promptly told to hit the gym and pack on some muscle… Too Scrawny. LOL! Anyway, I set about my job and got to work.

I played a guy named Rock who was a college student from the Bay. He’d fell in love with “this cute lil Indian girl” named Meera who was an exchange student. They had decided to get married after graduation. Little does Rock  that Meera’s fambam has other plans. She’s already  arranged to marry an Indian Prince. Well Rock ain’t having that shit, but Meera’s dad ain’t having Rock’s shit either. He sends Meera’s brother to the US to kidnap her and bring her back to India. The drama starts when my stupid ass decides to go to India and bring her back… Yeah right. The turn of events will have u wow-ing, laughing crying and wanting to hug ur mother. It’s a whole lot of entertainment packed into one film…

A full 36 hrs after I leave LAX I arrive at my home for the next 2 months. Gajner Palace. Rajasthan India. All I could say was HELL NAW DAWG!!! This is livin! Parrots outside, lush gardens, servants, and all kinds of other shit that the kid just ain’t accustomed to… I was greeted by the assistant that was assigned to me, “Hello Rock Sir, Welcome to India”. This should be fun… I sleep for 2 of the next 4 days b4 shooting began. I finally come out on the 2nd day and take in the sights. What an unbelievably beautiful place. I’m watching the workers on the palace grounds on their break. People are sitting in small groups across the lawn, eating and just cooling out. People here enjoy the simple things in life. The sun. Birds. Flowers… It was deep. This place just appeared out of the desert. It was like some kinda fantasy place. I sat on a bench at the lake. This bench over the next couple of weeks would prove to be very significant. I said to myself “I’ll prolly never 4get this trip”… And I was right.

I popped my “Kingfisher Strong Beer” which I later found out was the equivalent of a fuckin Old English 800 and accidentally got drunk right there on the bench… I laid down and took an afternoon nap…

Dreaming about what would happen tomorrow…

Next up is #2 A Very Serious Meeting…

This should be interesting.

Rockin Meera Premieres next Thursday November 26th, Thanksgiving Night in select Theaters in the US and Canada

Go to www.rockinmeera.com for more details.