Get Healthy or Die Trying

I made a very conscious decision in late March to finally do something about my weight.  It was no secret that I def had a weight problem, it just took me a long time to step up and do something to make a change and to better myself.  Its been a long an tedious road but one that I am so happy I decided to travel.  I feel great, plain and simple.  My outlook has changed, my energy level has changed, hell I’ve changed.  I am not the person I was a year ago and for that I am thankful.  One thing that I am totally blessed with is an incredible family and some amazing friends who have been their showing me their support since day 1.  Their motivation has definitely helped me out and its something I am eternally grateful for.  There are few things that are greater than seeing someone you haven’t seen for awhile and the first thing they notice is my progress.  Trust me, I see it too, but when someone else notices it a beautiful thing.

July 12th 2010

On this day my beautiful god daughter made her entrance and from the second I held her it was a wrap for me.  I cannot describe in words how much I love her and I cannot describe how grateful I am to have been asked to be her Nino by my brother Kenny and my sister Melly Mel.  I will never forget the day they asked me and my sister to be her god parents.  Such a blessing.  I look forward to watching the little princess grow and I look forward to spoiling her.  Kenly always know your Nino love’s you and will always be there for you.  You have played a major role in my life so far and you were one of my biggest motivations for making a change.  I love you.

Turning 30

2010 marked the 30th year of my life and to celebrate my mother threw me a huge 30th Birthday party.  It was quite the extravaganza from what I remember, lol.  It was great having so many of my close friends and family there to help me celebrate, and celebrate I did.  Shout out to all the shots that were drank, shout out to all the beer that was drank as well.  You know its a good party when you pass out in your drive way!

Rhyme and Reason

In March of this year myself, Mattlocks, Element and Madd Rich all celebrated the 2 year Anniversary of the show.  The celebration took place at The Blunt Club and we were able to fly out Illa J to headline.  It was incredibly surreal watching Illa perform on stage, especially when he was performing his brothers music.  I remember being to the right of the stage and looking at Yaya and we didn’t say anything, but we both were thinking about the same thing.  Shout out to The Blunt Club for having us.  2010 also saw the creation of a long talked about segment titled “Rok’s World”.  What more can I say, its basically me interviewing adult film stars.  I don’t think much else needs to be said about that, but shout outs to Andy San Dimas for the best interview of the segment thus far.  What else, shit we were able to interview so many artists this year, whether over the phone or in person.  Some highlights would be Ras Kass, Strong Arm Steady, Reflection Eternal, Crooked I, Joe Budden, Rapper Big Pooh, Emilio Rojas, Dessa, Ill Bill, Rakaa, Neil Armstrong, the list goes on.  Lastly, in late November we added a 5th member to the crew, Fact135.  2011 will be a great year for Rhyme and Reason.

June 5th 2010

On this day myself and Mattlocks were able to host the NAS show in Flagstaff!  If you are reading this you most likely know that there is not a bigger NAS fan on the planet than myself!  The day of the show myself, Matt, my sis, and my brothers Kenny and Cisco all made the drive up from the Phoenix heat to the cool air of Flagstaff.  The venue, The Orpehum instantly became one of my favorite venues in the state!  When we arrived myself and Matt headed backstage and chopped it up with Green Lantern for a few before the show began.  Prior to NAS taking the stage I was able to say what up to him  and for me that was a big deal!  The show began and for the next couple of hours I vibed the fuck out and enjoyed watching who I consider the greatest to ever do it do his thing!  After the show we we’re able to interview NAS on his tour bus and I was able to get a few things signed!  This def was the highlight of my year hip-hop wise!

The Shows

2010 saw my return to checking out shows that came through AZ.  It was def a good year!  I was fortunate enough to see Evidence, Joell Ortiz, Ras Kass, Crooked I, Dessa, NAS, and my favorite show of the year NAS & Damien Marley!  If you ever get to check out those two live do not miss out!!!

Cali

2010 also saw the continuation of the legendary “Cousins Weekends”.  Everytime we make our way out to Cali it is good times!  So many memoires, so many laughs.  I truly love my cousins and look forward to each and every visit.  Hopefully in 2011 the Cousins will come out to Phoenix.  Yes cousins I have officially put you on notice!

Meeks The Jerk

What can I say my little brother is growing up much faster than I’m ready for!  It’s still hard to believe he is 16 and driving.  Shit its hard to believe he is 16 with his own car.  I’m very proud of the little goon though!   I was able to watch him do his thing on the ice and also spent a lot of time with him just hanging out, going to the movies and playing video games.  Before I know it he will be graduating high school and going to college.  I love you goon!

Eighty Grand

This past year I was fortunate enough to be introduced to the Eighty Grand crew.  From the jump it was all love and we all instantly clicked with one another.  Shout out to Pablo, Mayra, Les, Dan, Spit and the rest of the squad for welcoming me to the crew with open arms.  We ended 2010 with a fantastic Charity event and I cannot wait to see what we do in 2011!!!  Did I mention the Eighty Grand clothing line is ill too?  Check em out online at http://www.eightygrand.com .

AZ’s Dynamic Duo

It was another great year for me and my sis.  I’m blessed to have such an amazing sister in my life.  We roll together all of the time, and its to the point where if I or she goes out alone we are asked where the other one is.  Its also incredibly dope when people tell us they hope their kids have the same type of relationship that me and my sister do.  She is my best friend and next to my mother the most important person in my life.

To everyone thank you for making 201o such a memorable year for me.  2011 is already shaping up to be incredible!  I’ll be hitting Vegas next weekend for the AEE/AVN’s.  February will see me visiting Portland. OR and Seattle, Wa and I cannot wait to get there!  NY also prepare yourself for the Velasco invasion in April.

There is more to this now and in all reality it’s time for me to take things to another level with all of this.  To keep a long story short I recently visited a doctor for the first time in over two years and I had some blood work done.  I was fearful that since they were looking for something that they would in fact find something.  I know that’s a terrible way to look at things but those that know me and know me well know that I tend to focus on the negative side of things extremely fast.  Where was I?  Oh that’s right my blood work.  Well I received a phone call from my doctor Wednesday and was given my results.  Let’s just say they were not great, however they were not bad.   There are some warning signs right now that I need to correct in order to really get my health in order.  Those closest to me (with the exception of a few people whom I will be telling today) know what is going on and once I see my doctor again on Wednesday of next week I will possibly update everyone on the situation and see what’s next for me.  I know that is rather vague and could lead one to believe that something is terribly wrong with me and though that is not the case at all I will say again there are some areas of concern.  Luckily we know about these issues now and with the research I have done as well as conversations with my friends and family I know that no matter what I will have a strong support team as I tackle these issues head on.

Get Healthy or Die Trying…

RHYME AND REASON:

We had a interesting year to say the least.  We celebrated our 1 year anniversary in March.  Very dope show, we we lucky to have some of AZ’s finest come through and bless the mic.  It was good for myself, Mattlocks, Element and Rich to see a milestone reached.  I’d like to thank everyone who came through that night and blessed us.  My personal favorite verses were spit by Random, Hannibal Leq and Trap.  Then came the bad news.  We lost our time slot do to some serious bullshit that I wont mention other than it being bullshit so we went on hiatus.  It was odd not doing the show for the time we were off but luckily my man Ramses came through with an opportunity for us to continue doing what we love to do!   Yes it was different than the old Jamz studio but The Beat feels like home.  Its not what you would really expect from a studio but it has that college radio feel and we still vibe the fuck out.  The move to The Beat also meant a different time slot, one that I think suits us very well.  I got to say thank you once again to my brother Ramses for putting this together for us and allowing us to bring you Rhyme and Reason each and every week!

THE RESURRECTION:

What more can I say about this event that I havent mentioned already.  This event really was the culmination of lots of hard work and was more of a celebration than a show.  The scene was The Blunt Club, the date was September 24th 2009.  The line up consisted of Myself, Hejus Trife and J-Luv as well as the producer showcase that featured The Council Productions, Slop Funk Dust and Taurus Scott.  The night was a benefit that went to supporting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and we had their full support.  Did I mention it was a great night?  The crowd was so much more than I had expected and there were so many familiar faces in the building that night, most importantly for me was my mother who was there for part of the show.  We were also lucky to have some incredible support behind us from the extended famlay that is The Fresh Fiends and DearlyDeparted Clothing.  I cannot thank Summer, La and Shew enough for being apart of this event and I hope we can collab in the future.  The same goes to Slim and Rook from Dearly Departed!  The show opened with J-luv’s set, which set the tone for Hejus Trife.  My brothers did their thing and I can remember sitting in the back trying to calm myself down as I knew it was soon to be my turn to bless the stage, something I had never truly done solo.  My set was short and to the point and i was lucky to have been able to showcase the artists I hand picked to be on the record.  Mpress came through and made “Majestic Material” a crowd pleaser, my brother Judgement blessed the crowd with his interlude and Deonte from CTL came up and spit his verse on “Roknowledge”.  All in all the energy was good and the performance went off very well.  This night would not have been possible without the support from everyone involved and extra special thanks go to Dumper and Doug from The Blunt Club for working with us on this show!

CALI TRIPS:

No year in review would be complete without mentioning the road trips to my home away from home which is Temecula, California.  I was lucky enough to get out there a couple of times this past year and as always the trips did not disappoint at all, they never do though.  Good times with the family, laughs, drinks, memories, music, rock band, more laughs, more drinks and yes more laughs.  I truly love each and every moment I am able to be out there with my fam and look forward to returning a few times in 2010!

SOUL REFLECTIONS:

September 1st 2009 saw the release of my long awaited album “Soul Reflections”.  It was a long journey, one that I have chronicled quite heavily in this blog (just scroll down a few posts, its all there).  I will once again mention that this album would not have been possible without the input from my good friend Marlos (formerly known as Blaze Rock) and the incredible music back drop I was give from The Council Productions.  This album began as a small idea in 2006 and shaped in morphed into so much more.  I want to once again thank everyone who was involved in this from the artists featured, to VCM for the incredible graphic work and also to everyone who took the time to listen to a little piece of me.  I must however apologize to my brother Cisco and say that I wish I could have made the release more than what it was.  There was so much that I wanted to do and wasn’t able to due to financial constraints.  Next time fam…Next time…We are not done!

NEW FRIENDS:

I met some great people this past year and I am glad our paths crossed.  Shout outs to my man Random, DN3, Trap, all of the extended CTL fam, Mpress (you know you made me irrelevant on “Majestic Material”.  Two very important mentions go to Melly Mel and Mikaela!  I met these two thanks to two of my best friends, Kenny and Cisco and I can only say you two are fam.  Its great seeing my brothers happy and I look forward to many more classic nights and countless memories, and shit even a few more “Rok Tantrums” LMAO!!!

FAMILY:

The most important thing to me no doubt!  It was a good year for the fam.  I’m blessed to have my sister Monica.  She is my best friend and I love her more than I could ever say or express.  My mother, my rock, she is everything .  I could not do any of this without her smile, her laugh and her presence.  I am blessed.  Then there is my brother Marcus who is seemingly growing by the day.  Its hard to believe you are learing to drive.  My father, a great man, and someone who values time with his kids like no one I have ever seen.  I love every moment we spend together as a family!  To my sister Angelene it is also hard to believe you are a college graduate and becoming a beautiful young women .  I still remember the first time we met and you were just a litte kid.  Time flies!  Love you all!

Civil Disobedience Part WU:

A great night in October this was! I had the pleasure of performing at ASU’s Gammage Auditorium for this event and it was amazing.  The crowd was crazy to say the least and I was able to do my thing and walk off stage to applause, always a good thing!

The “Soul Reflections” Listening Party:

This was an incredible night for me that took place at Groove Candy in August.  So many thanks go to another one of my best friends Karlie for allowing me to take the first part of her night and play my album for a small crowd who came to hear that  I had been working on for the past few years.  It was a dope night and we played the album front to back and the feed back was amazing.  Thank you to everyone who came and supported and showed me love this night.  I do this for all of you!

“Illmatic” just ended…on to “It Was Written”

“Blessed To Breathe”:

This was a great day for myself and one of the best songs I have ever had the pleasure of being on.  This song was created during a recording session at Hejus Trife’s “Muzik House” Studios that was for Blaze Rocks “All Things Come to an End” album.  I never had any intentions of being on this record, and if I remember correctly none of us did.  It just kind of happened.  Random was in the building to record for something else, Ocean came through and once he heard the beat started writing a hook.  At this point the creative energy was at an all time high and I asked Blaze if I could get on this.  The rest is history.  The record was recorded in the span of a few hours and the end result is pretty damn amazing.  The order of the song goes Random, Blaze, Ocean and Myself.  A great moment in AZ hip-hop history took place that day!

this is all for now…there might be more…

Big up’s to those who rocked the mic:

J-Luv

Hejus Trife

M.P.R.E.S.S.

Done ONE

Judgement

and myself

Make sure you come out to The Hidden House this Friday night for The Resurrection Pt.2 .  We will also be celebrating my sisters b-day!  Don’t miss out on a dope event!

Doors open at 9:30
$ 5 before 10:30
$ 7 after
Ladies Free before 11pm
$ 5 cover for the ladies after 11pm

Support a great cause by copping a Lady La 2010 Calendar!  Proceeds will benefit Autism Research.  Below is some words from La:

“Autism is a growing epidemic. That is what fueled me to create the Lady La 2010 Calendar. I had no budget to work with, a strict daily workout and diet, and very talented friends to help me complete an often talked about but never executed idea. I have included behind the scenes pictures along with the finished product so you can see personally how the calendar came about. If it wasn’t for my little brother Derrick, I’m not sure I would have ever REALLY got this done.

My youngest brother is autistic which is why I have chosen to donate HALF of every calendar sold to an Autism Foundation here in the Valley. Autism is a developmental disorder that appears in the first 3 years of life, and affects the brain’s normal development of social and communication skills. Most parents of autistic children suspect that something is wrong by the time the child is 18 months old. Some children appear normal from ages 1 to 2 then suddenly “regress” and lose language and social skills they had previously gained, like MY brother. To say this condition has changed my life and my family’s life is an understatement. The numbers are increasing EVERY year with children who are diagnosed. All of these children require hundreds of therapy hours, thousands of dollars in vitamins, and thousands of dollars in dietary needs in order to be somewhat recovered, there is no cure. However, there are some families who believe they were able to recover their children through bio-medical treatment. THERE IS HOPE. Please take the time to buy the calendar and support this cause, it affects children all over.

From my family to yours, thank YOU for every ounce of love and support!

Lady La”

Support a great cause ya’ll!

http://ladyla.bigcartel.com/product/lady-la-calendar