Thursday, May 6, 2010
Words of Power!
May 2010 “Food For The Spirit”Peace and much Love!The divinity in me salutes the divinity in you, word!The spiritual gift for the month of MAY is POWER!Often when you think about POWER, it’s about having control over something or someone. However, when you accept your spiritual gift of POWER in your consciousness, you release the need to control anything and allow God to rearrange your world according to your new realization. You now realize that you have the POWER to make wise choices for your life, between good health or sickness; love or hate; awareness or ignorance; and wealth or poverty!Your spiritual gift of POWER gives you the ability to transform your divine energy from one level of consciousness to the next. Within you there are various stages of POWER in motion; silence, thoughts, words and action. Silence is your pure POWER; your thoughts are your formed POWER; your words are your expressed POWER; your actions are your manifested POWER. Knowing this should make you consciously aware of how you choose to use your spiritual gift of POWER!In science, it is a recognized fact that lowering your thought waves elevates your spiritual and creative awareness. The lower the vibration, the more POWER you have in your thoughts. This is why meditation and prayer are so important to your daily life; they both give you the POWER to lower your vibration so that you can reconnect to the God within you! The next time you feel angry, frustrated, overwhelmed or upset; before you react, stop for a moment and use your gift of POWER. Get still, take some deep breaths and think about the best outcome for that situation. Then begin to speak healing words within to yourself. Now, use your gift of POWER to transform those thoughts and words into an action that will help manifest the situation into what you desire it to be. After a few moments, you will be amazed how you begin to feel better about whatever is happening at that particular moment! You always have the POWER to decide how you’re going to respond to any situation, remember, it is written that God has given you “POWER and dominion over all things”!As with all your spiritual gifts, you must remember the importance of balance between your thoughts and the feelings when using your gift of POWER. Some people have been programmed with mis-information, wrong ideas and fearful emotions for so long, that they have forgotten they have the POWER within to change their thoughts, words and actions anytime they are ready according to their own consciousness. You were born to make manifest the glory of God, you are the POWER; be courageous as you continue to fulfill your divine mission, allow the process some time to work and enjoy the journey! It is True, you let It be and there It is, Word!Minister Server - The Hiphop Life CoachTemple Of Hiphop,HIPHOP Ministries, Inc.www.hiphopministries.orgOffice:404-425-962
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
YOU MUST WATCH THIS!!!
This video had me so angry when i first watched it. Its basically American Marines opening fire and killing over 12 INNOCENT reporters from Reuters. This video was released through Wikileaks by the Freedom of Information Act. The military denied any wrong doing. YOU JUDGE FOR YOURSELF!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Trinity Hip Hop festival 2010
This event was by far one of the sickest shows/events I've been to in a while.
From all the great upcoming artist to the Hip Hop legend KRS One,it was an amazing experience.
Shout outs to Nomadic Wax for the invite and much respect to all the artist who showed up.
Here's a clip of the free style session.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=111593022207045&ref=mf
From all the great upcoming artist to the Hip Hop legend KRS One,it was an amazing experience.
Shout outs to Nomadic Wax for the invite and much respect to all the artist who showed up.
Here's a clip of the free style session.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=111593022207045&ref=mf
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Nomadic Wax Interview with RahZemos
So here's an interview done by a real chill bretheren named Jason, . We spent about an hour on Skype talking bout the do's and dont's in Hip Hop. Where Hip Hop came from and where its heading and a load of otherr interesting views facts and opinions. This interview is based on our Latest mixtape, Full Spectrum Vol.2 -Power Music.................... Read away
Rah Zemos – Old to the New
Ra – Egyptian Sun God, progenitor of eleven Pharoahs bearing his name: Ramses, born of the Sun God.
Baron Zemo – B-list Marvel Comics supervillain who showed briefly in the ‘60s to taunt Captain America, then killed off a year after his introduction.
Ramzi Mokdad – Ram-Zi, Rah Z, Rah Zemos – has an antipodal rap alias, marrying noble ambitions with a supervillain alter ego. He tells me he’s “Raw material, a king – somebody who’s a leader, not a follower.” But his name hints of aspirations to artistic complication: “I have my pure and righteous side, but we all have that alter ego… that darker side.”
As I listen to him talk on hip-hop, I wonder where that diabolical side rests: Rah’s purist agenda seems ingenuously straightforward. He founded an independent record label, Nocturnalight, in 2004 to “shin[e] the light where it’s darkest” and, when asked to clarify, he identifies hip-hop culture’s drifting from its foundation as the root cause of that darkness: “Selling out to the music industry, calling women bitches, all about drugs… B-boys, DJ’s, MC’s, graffiti. Rarely do you see these elements used in popular music…. they sold out. They didn’t stick to the roots of what hip-hop was all about.”
Our discussion reminds me of the early-2000’s, when the progressive zeitgeist of indie hip-hop was less Drake and Kid CuDi and more a bunch of dudes standing around in hoodies and non-designer jeans, talking about bringing the underground back. “Conscious rap”. Then, labels’ independence – Rawkus, Rhymesayers, Anticon, Def Jux – was touted by purists as a clear philosophical choice (Def Jux’s slogan: “Independent as Fuck”), and hip-hop heads seemed more vocal about bringing rap “back to its roots” than rationalizing the latest regional trend (remember crunk?).
But in 2010, nearly a decade removed from the turn-of-the-century scene, Jay Electronica (buddy-buddy to Rawkus mainstays Mos Def and Talib Kweli) stops by Youtube to big up Soulja Boy, and one-time major label soldier Freeway drops an album on Rhymesayers, with a guest appearance from Cash Money boss Baby. Jay-Z opens the Glastonbury festival backed by DJ Neil Armstrong, and Kanye West’s concert show looks more Cirque du Soleil than Rock Steady Crew.
Is this cultural drift – and is it negative? Rah would say so – “if I go to a show, and there’s a DJ and an emcee, some B-boys and a graffiti artist, that’s the most hip-hop show you’re ever going to go to…. if you don’t have all the elements of the culture, you’re not maximizing the potential of what your culture is.”
Rah has the experience to back up his aggressive cultural rhetoric: born to Lebanese parents on vacation in LA and raised in Saudi Arabia, he attended high school in Quebec, spending his adult life in New York and Toronto. He knows exactly what his Arab heritage brings him – “We’re the ones who are targeted, they’re watching what we’re up to – we’re the new minority… being an Arab and a lyricist is a big thing for me, the music’s big to me, because it’s my way to talk about these things.”
Rah embraces his distinct heritage, despite the persecution it can bring, and I wonder if this factors into his disdain for sell-outs – “they’re scared to really be themselves… That’s why Public Enemy said, don’t believe the hype…. When you put enough hype behind something, you could put out the worst product in the world and people will say, ‘wow, yeah, it’s pretty tight.’” When asked about who he does respect in the industry, he pauses for a long moment before throwing out KRS-One – “kept it real to the point where he hasn’t let the dark side corrupt him” – and, after prompting, Killah Priest, both not just for their cultural authenticity but also the positivity of their messages.
Positivity is a word that Rah often returns to – beyond artistic content, it’s his guiding principle: “My overall goal is to be as best a teacher and role model I can for our youth and adults alike.” His critique of artists who drift too far from hip-hop’s foundation is grounded in how he defines that foundation: “it’s all about positive and negative. Are you going to do something that has a positive impact, or negative?” Rah leaves no room in hip-hop for technical excellence without morality: either you are a fake or, worse, a sellout; or you are helping the audience towards unity and positivity.
Show and Prove is important in hip-hop – if you want respect, you have to earn it – and if Rah is outspoken in his criticism of other figures, at least he backs it up in his day-to-day grind. Ramzi Mokdad hustles 9-to-5 in the nonprofit world, with an outfit called Plan Canada, a sponsorship organization providing youths in underprivileged communities with food, medical care, and education. Nocturnalight Records is also active in bringing awareness of social issues to the forefront, organizing designers, artists, graffiti writers, and producers to hold workshops and get involved with the youth.
But how’s the music? On paper, Rah could come off as preachy and heavy-handed – and as much as he brings to mind the early-2000s Rawkus camp, there are good reasons that Rawkus’ presence on the scene faded around 2004, bought out by larger labels. And the best of intentions – saving the youth, bringing positivity to the hood – can be overshadowed by wack beats, stiff [||] rhymes, and an awkward flow.
Rah’s latest project is Volume 2 of his Full Spectrum mixtape series, released through Nocturnalight Records. While he generally shies away from associating himself with too many other artists, Rah does embrace a small circle of emcees on this project, and it’s obvious from the start that he respects them highly – the album intro finds Rah spitting, weaving the names and track titles of the other rappers together into a 2-minute track. A lot of mixtapes these days can feel thrown-together, with artists phoning in verses separately from one another and a DJ sequencing a passionless project together – but Rah notes, “More than separate artists, I wanted this to reflect a collective movement… these artists, I did the research on them, they’re handpicked, I felt they’d collaborate well together.” More than a promotional project, the Full Spectrum tape is supposed to be a “personal, mental, spiritual collaboration” – not just about demonstrating skill, but about showing off likeminded personalities.
The vibe of the whole tape is what I expected, given Rah’s background and passion for the fundamentals of hip-hop. The emcees he’s gathered together complement one another well – and, given the milieu of his adopted country and his diverse background, it’s not a surprise when emcees spit in a dizzying array of English, French, and Arabic. This fits in with his explicit aim for the project – when asked about the title of the tape, he responds, “It’s a tropical mix, a multicultural mix of emcees from all over the place – different backgrounds, different types of music, but all with a unified purpose. All their music is good – it’s proactive, it’s productive. So the full spectrum is kind of like the full spectrum of light, but also of cultures, religions, and races. So the Full Spectrum mixtapes are gonna feature different artists from all over the world. On this volume, we have 13 different cities and 4 different continents, 20 different artists.”
The overall effort has a distinct air of throwback rap, but the diversity of languages and cultures represented, along with solid production, make it the kind of album I wouldn’t mind walking down the street with in a chill autumnal twilight, or on an otherwise drowsy plane ride. It’s not a revolutionary album – but I don’t think it’s supposed to be. After all, his rhetoric is that of a hip-hop fundamentalist. So, maybe the best compliment that I can pay Rah’s music is that it is evolutionary: taking the substance of hip-hop’s golden era and bringing it one step forward. It’s not a game-changing record, but a solid, diverse, mature project. This might not be the brand of hip-hop that sets sales charts on fire, but the fact that emcees like Rah and the other Full Spectrum artists are still making music like this, over 30 years after the birth of hip-hop, may be the best compliment to the culture’s foundations.
You can download music and read more about Rah Zemos and Nocturnalight Records at Nocturnalight.com or at his blog.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv6hlSo7ylL4cPCjdjqeszduE-XdGFlIyGlqF7aQcWA1xaIFTxDlScTXOOjQcq3lXDZIl397IWMJyGsPPPrfYQ7xHYwkqPf4qXKl42vHKAyO9DFsD0z_OQoMsg2OCafCjrHxlZHSc7hL2f/s660/originalfullspecvol2editedfront.jpg
Rah Zemos – Old to the New
Ra – Egyptian Sun God, progenitor of eleven Pharoahs bearing his name: Ramses, born of the Sun God.
Baron Zemo – B-list Marvel Comics supervillain who showed briefly in the ‘60s to taunt Captain America, then killed off a year after his introduction.
Ramzi Mokdad – Ram-Zi, Rah Z, Rah Zemos – has an antipodal rap alias, marrying noble ambitions with a supervillain alter ego. He tells me he’s “Raw material, a king – somebody who’s a leader, not a follower.” But his name hints of aspirations to artistic complication: “I have my pure and righteous side, but we all have that alter ego… that darker side.”
As I listen to him talk on hip-hop, I wonder where that diabolical side rests: Rah’s purist agenda seems ingenuously straightforward. He founded an independent record label, Nocturnalight, in 2004 to “shin[e] the light where it’s darkest” and, when asked to clarify, he identifies hip-hop culture’s drifting from its foundation as the root cause of that darkness: “Selling out to the music industry, calling women bitches, all about drugs… B-boys, DJ’s, MC’s, graffiti. Rarely do you see these elements used in popular music…. they sold out. They didn’t stick to the roots of what hip-hop was all about.”
Our discussion reminds me of the early-2000’s, when the progressive zeitgeist of indie hip-hop was less Drake and Kid CuDi and more a bunch of dudes standing around in hoodies and non-designer jeans, talking about bringing the underground back. “Conscious rap”. Then, labels’ independence – Rawkus, Rhymesayers, Anticon, Def Jux – was touted by purists as a clear philosophical choice (Def Jux’s slogan: “Independent as Fuck”), and hip-hop heads seemed more vocal about bringing rap “back to its roots” than rationalizing the latest regional trend (remember crunk?).
But in 2010, nearly a decade removed from the turn-of-the-century scene, Jay Electronica (buddy-buddy to Rawkus mainstays Mos Def and Talib Kweli) stops by Youtube to big up Soulja Boy, and one-time major label soldier Freeway drops an album on Rhymesayers, with a guest appearance from Cash Money boss Baby. Jay-Z opens the Glastonbury festival backed by DJ Neil Armstrong, and Kanye West’s concert show looks more Cirque du Soleil than Rock Steady Crew.
Is this cultural drift – and is it negative? Rah would say so – “if I go to a show, and there’s a DJ and an emcee, some B-boys and a graffiti artist, that’s the most hip-hop show you’re ever going to go to…. if you don’t have all the elements of the culture, you’re not maximizing the potential of what your culture is.”
Rah has the experience to back up his aggressive cultural rhetoric: born to Lebanese parents on vacation in LA and raised in Saudi Arabia, he attended high school in Quebec, spending his adult life in New York and Toronto. He knows exactly what his Arab heritage brings him – “We’re the ones who are targeted, they’re watching what we’re up to – we’re the new minority… being an Arab and a lyricist is a big thing for me, the music’s big to me, because it’s my way to talk about these things.”
Rah embraces his distinct heritage, despite the persecution it can bring, and I wonder if this factors into his disdain for sell-outs – “they’re scared to really be themselves… That’s why Public Enemy said, don’t believe the hype…. When you put enough hype behind something, you could put out the worst product in the world and people will say, ‘wow, yeah, it’s pretty tight.’” When asked about who he does respect in the industry, he pauses for a long moment before throwing out KRS-One – “kept it real to the point where he hasn’t let the dark side corrupt him” – and, after prompting, Killah Priest, both not just for their cultural authenticity but also the positivity of their messages.
Positivity is a word that Rah often returns to – beyond artistic content, it’s his guiding principle: “My overall goal is to be as best a teacher and role model I can for our youth and adults alike.” His critique of artists who drift too far from hip-hop’s foundation is grounded in how he defines that foundation: “it’s all about positive and negative. Are you going to do something that has a positive impact, or negative?” Rah leaves no room in hip-hop for technical excellence without morality: either you are a fake or, worse, a sellout; or you are helping the audience towards unity and positivity.
Show and Prove is important in hip-hop – if you want respect, you have to earn it – and if Rah is outspoken in his criticism of other figures, at least he backs it up in his day-to-day grind. Ramzi Mokdad hustles 9-to-5 in the nonprofit world, with an outfit called Plan Canada, a sponsorship organization providing youths in underprivileged communities with food, medical care, and education. Nocturnalight Records is also active in bringing awareness of social issues to the forefront, organizing designers, artists, graffiti writers, and producers to hold workshops and get involved with the youth.
But how’s the music? On paper, Rah could come off as preachy and heavy-handed – and as much as he brings to mind the early-2000s Rawkus camp, there are good reasons that Rawkus’ presence on the scene faded around 2004, bought out by larger labels. And the best of intentions – saving the youth, bringing positivity to the hood – can be overshadowed by wack beats, stiff [||] rhymes, and an awkward flow.
Rah’s latest project is Volume 2 of his Full Spectrum mixtape series, released through Nocturnalight Records. While he generally shies away from associating himself with too many other artists, Rah does embrace a small circle of emcees on this project, and it’s obvious from the start that he respects them highly – the album intro finds Rah spitting, weaving the names and track titles of the other rappers together into a 2-minute track. A lot of mixtapes these days can feel thrown-together, with artists phoning in verses separately from one another and a DJ sequencing a passionless project together – but Rah notes, “More than separate artists, I wanted this to reflect a collective movement… these artists, I did the research on them, they’re handpicked, I felt they’d collaborate well together.” More than a promotional project, the Full Spectrum tape is supposed to be a “personal, mental, spiritual collaboration” – not just about demonstrating skill, but about showing off likeminded personalities.
The vibe of the whole tape is what I expected, given Rah’s background and passion for the fundamentals of hip-hop. The emcees he’s gathered together complement one another well – and, given the milieu of his adopted country and his diverse background, it’s not a surprise when emcees spit in a dizzying array of English, French, and Arabic. This fits in with his explicit aim for the project – when asked about the title of the tape, he responds, “It’s a tropical mix, a multicultural mix of emcees from all over the place – different backgrounds, different types of music, but all with a unified purpose. All their music is good – it’s proactive, it’s productive. So the full spectrum is kind of like the full spectrum of light, but also of cultures, religions, and races. So the Full Spectrum mixtapes are gonna feature different artists from all over the world. On this volume, we have 13 different cities and 4 different continents, 20 different artists.”
The overall effort has a distinct air of throwback rap, but the diversity of languages and cultures represented, along with solid production, make it the kind of album I wouldn’t mind walking down the street with in a chill autumnal twilight, or on an otherwise drowsy plane ride. It’s not a revolutionary album – but I don’t think it’s supposed to be. After all, his rhetoric is that of a hip-hop fundamentalist. So, maybe the best compliment that I can pay Rah’s music is that it is evolutionary: taking the substance of hip-hop’s golden era and bringing it one step forward. It’s not a game-changing record, but a solid, diverse, mature project. This might not be the brand of hip-hop that sets sales charts on fire, but the fact that emcees like Rah and the other Full Spectrum artists are still making music like this, over 30 years after the birth of hip-hop, may be the best compliment to the culture’s foundations.
You can download music and read more about Rah Zemos and Nocturnalight Records at Nocturnalight.com or at his blog.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv6hlSo7ylL4cPCjdjqeszduE-XdGFlIyGlqF7aQcWA1xaIFTxDlScTXOOjQcq3lXDZIl397IWMJyGsPPPrfYQ7xHYwkqPf4qXKl42vHKAyO9DFsD0z_OQoMsg2OCafCjrHxlZHSc7hL2f/s660/originalfullspecvol2editedfront.jpg
Monday, December 7, 2009
Dec 5.09-Le National
The Battle of the Bands show in Montreal was amazing. !st off congratulations to Temple of Life for making the finals @ Club Soda in March. Check out the vid, it was an sick night.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Friday Nov.27@ The Hard Rock
Heres a clip of the performance @ The Hard Rock Cafe in Toronto. Temple of Life was truly a class act and killed the show. Much respect for putting me up. Check out the vid. We made it to the finals!!!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Mulitcultural Night @ MSVU
What a night! Flooded by chill people, performing amongst hundreds of students and staff from different places of the world and wrecking an after party with party goers that wont leave the dance floor. It was a night to remember for sure. Big up to The International Student Society, my manager and hommie ziggy, who turned 28 this weekend, and all the people who were there and who performed. Shout outs to Kebran,and his crew,Dj Kamakazi,Abood(my camera dude)and Mansupra.
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