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10 Questions 4.... Melisa Kim

Details: Parent Category: Onstage

picture of M. Kim 1. Your Twitter handle, Meluminati, is great. What’s the inspiration behind that and how is it a reflection of your personality?

“Meluminati” is a play on words of my name and Illuminati, but it just means I’m responsible for my own success, whether you believe it or not. I call myself a “conspiracy analyst” as opposed to a “conspiracy theorist,” so it’s not that I don’t buy into the idea, but I question everything to include the idea of questioning everything, lol. I think pop culture feeds off of people’s belief in the Illuminati, which adds to the mystique and controversy (i.e. free publicity), but it’s hurtful because instead of inspiring people to work hard, be consistent, and build lasting relationships (factors for success), it encourages people to believe that certain heights of success aren’t reachable unless you sell your soul. That’s crippling to the psyche. I don’t believe that, so I’m working to prove it’s not true. Guess we’ll find out.

2. Culture doesn’t really have any boundaries; social status, age, ethnicity. But there’s always going to be folks who don’t get that. Do you get questions about your ethnicity as it relates to hip hop?

I’m Asian, thirty-something, a woman, and a mom who works with hip hop artists...there’s a few questions about my entire existence lol. I experience racism and stereotyping more from the general population than I do within hip hop, which is probably why I originally gravitated to it. I think that as hip hop grew into a cultural force and global medium (and Wu Tang made all things Asian cool lol), those who grew up within it are more open-minded. I still get questions asking if I eat dogs and cats, which martial arts I know, do I do nails, how do I speak English so well, etc. and I probably always will as long as America exists. The real questions and issues within hip hop are about me being a woman. That’s a book.

3. No doubt you are a recognizable force in the DMV hip hop scene. How did you get started, what’s your background?

I got started by loving hip hop. I’ve always kept bumping into or becoming friends with people in some aspect of the music and entertainment industry, unintentionally, accidentally, and coincidentally. I guess that happens when you surround yourself by what you love. I never set out to be involved, I literally just wanted to help out some friends by providing my professional skills as a business consultant which seemed to be needed. The more I became involved, the more I saw the fundamental issues in the DMV that were deeper than an absence of business acumen, professional standards, or an industry infrastructure. I wanted to support those who were interested in changing the culture and setting the standards, not just talking or complaining about it. That’s the big picture story. The actual story goes like this: I met Jay Mills on Twitter who invited me to the Anti Club (which was everything the name implies), where I met Pro’Verb. I began working with Pro’Verb and helped to start Will Rap 4 Food. Through Will Rap 4 Food, I met Visto who launched Hippie Life Krew and Dirt2Gold. All of these brands are grassroots and promote inclusivity, positivity, teamwork, and other great concepts that shouldn’t be so rare...all things I believe in.

#ThoughtfulThursday - 3 Tips on "Making It" in the Music Game

Details: Parent Category: Onstage

by Khari Gzifa
hip hop image picture I thought today I would give a few tips. Consider this an advice column of sorts for unsolicited (nonetheless, very needed) career guidance. This particularly goes out to the artists that don’t have the marquee names and the big budgets, indeed the ones who YouTube intends to evict from their space. As I see it, most of the "underground" artists of today are essentially carbon copies of the "mainstream" rappers. I mean they rap about the same things. So much so, that based on hearing many of their songs I wonder why any of them would ever want a major label deal at all, seeing as how they already have the identical lifestyle AND no 360 deal draining away profits that they could keep for themselves. Unless of course, the lyrics are not "keeping it real," but instead are "keeping it fraudulent". A lesson that many artists seem to have missed is that NOBODY likes to be lied to. Whether it’s in business, personal life, or even in the art they purchase, respect, trade, etc. The underlying statement in any lie after all is, "...and you're too dumb to know any better". Not exactly a great message to send to someone you are courting as a potential fan or investor. I’m going to just take a few minutes to offer my 3 tips on how an artist can avoid being one amongst a million, and instead be one of a kind, which is what they were always meant to be.

First tip, you (Mr. and Ms. underground artist, from here on referred to as simply you) can’t say what they say. They, being the anointed few who seem to have unfettered access to the airwaves, TV coverage, award show nominations, etc. You know the usual suspects, your Kanye’s, Jays, Ross', Wayne’s, Drakes, etc. Their lives are not yours. It comes off as dishonest and insulting to the audience when you keep presenting a fantasy as if its reality. I mean beyond that, some of it is just ridiculous anyway. Come on son, bragging about all this dealing and shooting people, and on and on. If you were ever even slightly involved in any of that, you would be an absolute idiot to be recording and releasing those potentially incriminating statements on CD. Everyone knows this, and it prevents you from being taken seriously. I know many, emcees especially, will say that "they are not speaking about themselves personally and these are stories from the artist’s experience". I don’t deny that, but that is not the way they market and promote themselves. They are truly selling an image that is in direct opposition to the lives they actually live and the very real lessons they have learned in that life. I believe that is a big reason many artists are not able to amass a following. You need to have trust from both sides of the equation, both the artist and the audience, and when you blatantly lie and exaggerate in your "conversations" with your listeners, then that trust just isn’t there.

#ThoughtfulThursday - Letting Go Of Obsessive Thinking

Details: Parent Category: Onstage

by J. Francis Black

picture of a pensive woman In the past, I had the tendency to fixate on aspects of my life until they’d snowball into full-blown obsessions. I found myself preoccupied with mini dramas that related to my relationships, or lack thereof, with a significant other; familial relationships; and my jobs as they related to me doing, or not doing, meaningful and compelling work. These things – love, family, and work - are known to me as ‘My Personal Trifecta’. Many phone conversations, lunch dates, and happy hours were filled with endless conversations about one or all of the not so positive aspects of this trifecta – discussing who did what, where, and with who. This was in addition to the persistent thoughts, internal monologues, and arguments I constantly had with myself about these parts of my life. I'd ask myself endless questions like, did I do the right things, should I have said what I said, what's wrong with them, what's wrong with me.

After a while, I felt so… tired. At first I attributed my fatigue to the idea that these elements of my life that I obsessed over were draining my battery. I was repeatedly having the same circular conversations with people dealing with their own trifectas, snowballs, and full-blown obsessions. Then I’d come home to quietly deal with my own negative thoughts, attitudes, and fixations about my life and the lives of others. I felt these things were stealing my time and internal resources away.

#ThoughtfulThursday - A Poem by The Crochet Kingpin

Details: Parent Category: Onstage

Love and I will Love

“I love you because you get it.

I’ve been so underappreciated for so long in my life for having such a true love.

You receive it and multiply.

“Thank you.”

I will love you like high school seniors love july

like teachers love being right

like little boys love pizza.

I will love you like tourists love directions.

like bead bracelets.

I’ll place galaxies on your wrist hoping they match your eyes.

like performers love acknowledgement

like grace before every meal.

Love me like a hug heals wounds.

like prayer mends souls.

like midnight loves the past and future.

like sentence loves subject.

Love me like there is no comparison.

Just love me

like sundresses love spring mimosas

Love me like you’ve read my flaws and want to read the sequel.

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#TheDownload v4

Details: Parent Category: Onstage

image depicting music download We got something old, most things new, everything fresh as morning in this week’s version of #TheDownload. This is our project to compile a listing of music releases we think you’ll love checking out and listening to as much as we do. So if you haven’t had a chance yet to listen to “The Reintroduction of Mumu Fresh” or “I Am Ethan Spalding” you don’t have to spend time searching. We’ve got the links. If someone already hipped you to Cheffa and Randall Rid and you want to hear them again, just click below. Also don’t miss “Young Ali” by Day-Nale or “The Celebration 2” from Young Dinero. And finally, we really recommend you hit the links to really talented Queen Kyi and “Obese Citizen” a project from Cap Stylez we think you’ll be impressed with. #TheDownload. A week of good music. Enjoy that.