“What you’ve been waitin’ for finally arrived
straight hip-hop nonstop till we die
and even after that the music goin’ survive…”

When Veckter and I were working on the Artisans EP, we had each finished recording our verses and the hooks for the last track, but we thought it’d be dope to get a guest emcee on there. Ray Swift said he knew a guy named Optamis.

You get nervous about having a guest emcee you’ve never heard of before. You don’t want someone to come thru and ruin your whole joint. Hoping for the best, I tell Ray to bring dude over to my house. This 19-year-old kid shows up, real cool guy, laid-back, cheerful. We play the track for him and he’s just nodding his head, smiling a bunch. He says he digs it, takes a copy, and says he’ll be back with something. Ok.

A few days later, dude rolls thru again. Not only has he memorized all my lines and can spit ’em 10 times better than I can, he’s got bars of his own, perfect bars. So consistent with the groove, so in tune with the vibe, he spills his heart into the beat and takes everyone with him to the next level and beyond. And he’s humble about it too, like “thanks for letting me rhyme with y’all, it was fun.”

I became such a fan of this brother’s lyrical ability, his vocal agility, his immense wisdom & knowledge. The fact that someone so skilled would be willing to mess with me is mind-blowing. But that’s how he did. In music and in life, he would listen to you, feel you, then lift you up.

How lucky am I to have teamed up with him not once, but multiple times? What an incredible blessing to have known and worked with truly one of the greatest artists of all time, and a real class act at that.

Justin John Botley a.k.a. Optamis:

Last time we spoke, it was like we’d never spent time apart. You talked about being a husband, about being a father, about family, about love. Your passion for life was unmistakable. Despite the circumstances, you were filled with nothing but positivity. You talked about how we’d see each other the next time I was back out west.

I never made it to see you. But I will see you again.

Rest in power my brother.

Ms. Jackson

Eleanor Jackson was my 10th grade language arts teacher. Things I remember most about her are her ardent love for poetry, her acute focus on writing technique, and the abiding emphasis she placed on building vocabulary. For one assignment, we were to work in groups. Each group would choose a poem and present it to the class; discuss its meaning, literary devices used, background of the author, etc. We would be given extra credit based on how creative we got with the presentations. Our group chose “One Perfect Rose.” When I busted my verse “Dorothy Parker” about the author (to the beat of Nuthin’ But A G Thang), it was the first time I performed my own stuff in public. The kids went crazy, and it was not the last time I performed in Ms. Jackson’s class. I thank her for giving me my start.

Ms. Jackson missed a lot of school that year. She was undergoing cancer treatments, and the class often went weeks without seeing her.

I had Ms. Jackson again for 12th grade language arts, and this time she had near perfect attendance. It was delightful to have her back around, inspiring to have witnessed her successful recovery, and comforting because during 12th grade, my mom was going through cancer treatments similar to those Ms. Jackson had endured two years earlier.

Ms. Jackson passed away not long after graduation.

Recently, I was walking through campus and realized that the school library had been named Eleanor Jackson Memorial Library in honor of my teacher. When I saw that, I knew what the artwork for my CD had to be. Libraries, in general, are special places. The libraries at La Pluma (the Pen) Elementary School, La Mirada (the View) High School, and the University of California at Los Angeles (the Angels) are particularly dear to me, as they are integral to some of my fondest memories.

On occasion, I got some studying done at UCLA’s Powell Library. But the STEPS. It was all about the steps. That was the meeting spot. It didn’t matter where you were, what you were doing, or what time of day or night it was. If your pager said 57395, you showed up at the steps. Cosas divertidas were guaranteed to follow.

Library day came once a week in elementary school, and I loved it. It was a nice break from regular class, and exploring new books was really fun. Equally if not more fun was recess. Basketball, tetherball, handball, kickball… Maybe that’s why the library is in the background of the picture with the tetherball pole up front. Or maybe I just thought it was artsy.

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

Amazon | CD Baby | iTunes

St. Nicodemus

John 3:16 is real famous. It’s that verse where Jesus reveals the path to eternal life.  Nicodemus rarely gets his due though. People don’t realize that earlier in the chapter, Jesus was on some “You gotta be born again,” and Nicodemus was like “WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! That’s crazy weird and mad creepy. Is that some kinda Biggie prophecy or what?” Jesus eventually got to the point.

A lot of people aspire to be like Jesus. That’s admirable. I dig Nicodemus.  Listen, question, get some answers.

Nicodemus is less well known for challenging authorities with the question: “Our law doesn’t judge a man before it hears from him and knows what he’s doing, does it? ” John 7:51. An astute visionary he.

My aspiration in my occupation is to ensure that the voiceless are heard; that the people are protected from the law, which – when properly applied – should serve to protect the people.

The “St.” before Nic? It’s because I’m Santa Claus. These tracks I’m posting here are gifts yo! You’re welcome.

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

Amazon | CD Baby | iTunes

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!”

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.

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

Amazon | CD Baby | iTunes

The Pen, the View, the Angels

Over the years, I’ve been blessed with opportunities to know some extremely talented people, and I’m humbled and honored that they’ve found it within themselves to work with me. Amazingly, I’ve been involved in the making of hundreds of songs. Some are unfinished recordings, others exist only on paper, some are mere memories, while still others are long forgotten.

Some, however, have been preserved in an audible and somewhat complete form, and I’ve compiled a few favorites in a collection I call The Pen, the View, the Angels. The Pen signifies creativity, composition, communication; the View observation, reflection, perspective; and the Angels faith, hope, spirituality. All are virtues that I instituted while at various developmental institutions, and that I continually strive to continue to develop within myself.

Throughout the coming weeks and months, I plan to share the songs from the collection here, and you are encouraged to collect them all. I will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the songs, and introduce you to the dear friends with whom I’ve collaborated. After all, this album is a tribute to them, praising them for their abilities and thanking them for their generosity (and vice versa).

While the entire album will soon be available in both physical and downloadable form, you’ll still want to check back here regularly. There will be A LOT of bonus material at this site that you won’t want to miss, and that you won’t find anywhere else.

Until next time… peace,

L1*