Guess who's back? Still puffing my leafs Still fuck with the beats Still not loving police After all these years, I still think that this picture is the perfect representation of who I am. Kind of a dude. Animal lover. Scared as hell. Not sure how old I am in this picture, but I'm 39 years old now. For another 7 hours, at least. Not exactly sure how I feel about turning 40, but the first word that comes to mind is lucky. The first 40 years were...interesting. And now I'm curious to see how the next 40 (if I'm extremely lucky) play out. The past few years have felt like a bit of a nightmare. I actually began to wonder if I'd been cursed, but I refuse to give that idea too much power because it really doesn't matter whether it's true or not. I can still do my thang. Plus, I'm actually starting to appreciate the shitty stuff, because it's giving me opportunities to grow. Jesus, who am I? Still the same ol G, but I'm learning. I'm learning to be okay with where I am and what I've got, because it's not going to be there forever. Everything is fleeting. God, what I wouldn't give to be able to go back 10, 15, 20 years and whisper in my ear you're beautiful. Because holy shit was I ever. But I didn't know. At a time when I should have been feeling my oats, I was too busy feeling everyone else's. Ewwww. But you can't go back, right. So what now? Start where you are, I guess. Currently I'm sitting here listening to Dr. Dre, and it's got me thinking about second chapters and his second album, which I consider to be the greatest comeback album of all time. 2001 or The Chronic 2001 (still the worst title) is pretty close to a perfect album. Seven years prior, Dre released The Chronic--perfection on every level. I'm hard pressed to think of anything better. Absolutely genius. So how do you come back after that? You hit em hard. You hit em with those legendary Dre beats. You tell your stories. You do your thang. You bring your friends, and you bring Tommy Chong. Every single song on 2001 is fucking solid, and the whole album is such a big fuck you to the haters, the industry and the world, which in my opinion is part of what makes a great comeback album. And honestly, I think some of the best Dre beats are on that second album. Don't lie and say that you don't get amped when "The Next Episode" comes on or that you don't shake dat ass to "Still D.R.E." I'm no fool. Ass shaking aside, I will say that another thing I love about 2001 is Dre's vulnerability. It's a hard album, make no mistake, but it ends on a soft sincere note. "The Message" is about Dre losing his brother Tyree, and man if those lyrics don't gut me. Dre says that if G's don't cry then he "ain't no gangsta." That's vulnerability for you, coming from such an OG. This album has heart, and I love the hell out of it. Every beat, every Snoop verse, every BEOTCH! As the hours tick by and I near the big 4-0 I can't help but wonder if this next chapter will be my Chronic 2001. Sure, I never really had a Chronic to begin with, but that's beside the point. What if I just give the world a big fuck you and focus more on just having fun and doing my thang. Keep telling my stories, bring some friends, and maybe even bring Tommy Chong. I just remembered that I met him by accident once at a book signing. That was weird. He said "Hey, man." and I said "Hey Tommy." And that's all she wrote. Now I will leave you with a song and a smile, as I often do. Unfortunately it's the censored version, but I had to share the video anyway as it captures the whole vibe of Dre, Chronic 2001 and that whole era. Take care of you, dear friends. Hope to see around for the next 40!
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It Hatched...I'm finally doing it--pulling my insides out and splattering them around for all to see. Here we go! Archives
October 2024
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