Month: May 2016

Writer’s Block / Inspiration

~ nicholasmomti ~ 1 Comment

Writer’s Block / Inspiration

Sometimes the rhymes flow straight from the mind, and then out of my pen till it’s like “just say when!”

rhymebook

Other times I hear the illest beat but the words just don’t come.

I’m not saying I like R. Kelly. I will say Ignition (Remix) is catchy. It also motivates me. It’s a regular thing when I’m struggling with a severe case of writer’s block. I take a break, turn on Ignition and just think . . .

The way you do the things ya do reminds me of my Lexus coupe
That’s why I’m all up in ya grill tryin’ to get you to a hotel
You must be a football coach the way you got me playin’ the field

. . . if lyrics like that make for a #1 hit, I can definitely come up with something.

Then, of course, sometimes the best rhymes come about by borrowing from the masters.

I’m still in the closet about that time I binge watched Trapped in the Closet. I do admit to having been being sucked in for hours by whosampled.com (and genius.com) on multiple occasions. I’m awed by the way brilliant compositions give birth to other brilliant, yet completely different compositions, and by the often unexpected sources of inspiration and profound meanings behind the songs that have shaped me.

In that vein, for future posts I’ll link to some of the songs I borrowed from, was influenced by, or otherwise thought about when I wrote my own lyrics. It’ll be a throwback to some good stuff.

In the meantime. . .

p.s. Guys, I know you don’t mean to be rude, but if you’re trying to get your girl to the hotel, assuming she’s of age, you probably wanna stay out of her grill and not compare her to Jim Bob Cooter.

penviewangels

Get the full album:
St. Nicodemus tha Lonestar
THE PEN, THE VIEW, THE ANGELS

Amazon | CD Baby | iTunes

Proud Of Me (with Akilis & D-Rey)

~ nicholasmomti ~ Leave a comment

Proud Of Me (with Akilis & D-Rey)
Music by Carlos Becerra / Lyrics by Nicholas Nyemah

“I support your head and neck, you remind me to keep my head up.
I show you how to take a step, you show me how to step up.”

Having a kid changes your life. It forces you to make sacrifices and take on new responsibilities, and it fills you with immeasurable joy. In this song, I say I want my son to be proud of me. Really, my deeper desire is to be a good teacher and an example for him to follow so that he can grow to be proud of himself. One of my happiest moments came when 1-year-old Derek Nyemah (D-Rey) showed off his harmonica skills on the track. At the time, his younger brother was still on the way. Since then, little E-Saw has reminded me that I have to write a joint for him one day.

d-rey
D-Rey

The beat comes from Carlos Becerra (Akilis), who just might be among my 5 favorite USC Trojans (along with my wife, my sister, George Lucas, and Young MC). Carlos and I hooked up when he was looking for an emcee to fill in for his hip-hop cover band. I ended up learning the words to about 30 mainstream rap songs over like a week, which was pretty sickening. I must say Welcome to Jamrock was off the chain.

akilis
Akilis

Carlos is a talented and versatile musician, and a cool cat to work with. He’s a real go-getter too, and he now runs his own bike shop. Check him out at Live 4 Bikes and hit the road.

PROUD OF ME:

penviewangels

Get the full album:
St. Nicodemus tha Lonestar
THE PEN, THE VIEW, THE ANGELS
Amazon | CD Baby | iTunes

BONUS MATERIAL:

The first time I was at Carlos’s pad, we kicked it in the studio he had set up. A bunch of equipment, instruments lying around, vocal booth in the corner, posters of musicians and inspirational quotes all over the walls. He played me some of the beats he’d been messing with, and in about an hour we had cranked out The Funk.