West Coast Shit

On some West-coast type shit
on some west-coast type shit…

rockin’ on some west coast type shit
tho I never been there, the vibe I like it
never been to Oakland, never seen Compton
no I’m not a thug, not about gun-poppin’
reppin’ for the T-dot, city full of options
I love it to death despite all of its problems
the level of creativity in my city is incredible
so many different restaurants, my city’s so edible
graffiti on the walls seldom legible
every single rapper in my city think they standing on a pedestal
egocentricity and inauthenticity
the real show love and the fake fall pitifully
I consider hip hop as a gift to me
You use it to abuse it? then you lookin’ like a bitch to me
haters can’t get to me, because I be, standing at a distance
but I know that I’m hittin ‘em cuz they show resistance

rockin’ on some west coast type shit
rockin’ on some west coast type shit

regardless where you from or what city you be reppin’
hip hop is universal, touching every corner and section
and location on the map, it’s boom-bap
attack with the raps, get you high like a dime-sack
still I gotta rep my city, that’s where I’m at
the H3 Cypher where you find the dope rhymes at
vivid verbal pictures like an IMAX
bustin like climax
lyrical hijacks
of your synapses
mind-state captures
via steppin into my lyrical raptures
rappers is actors
their whole frame fractures
when I expose them as straight manufactured
flows jacked, bastards
ya’ll could stand with these MCs
rhymes so deep make your soul feel empty
tempt me? hold yo ass in contempt, B
you the flavour of the month, my poetry lasts centuries

rockin’ on some west coast type shit
rockin’ on some west coast type shit

No Swagger

NO SWAGGER, I ain’t got NO SWAGGER
I don’t need swagger to be an MC
ya’ll can talk about all the swagger you want, but
that don’t make you a dope rapper to me

ya’ll MCs like to talk about your swagger
but to me you look a little strung out, like Mick Jagger
so here’s my rebuttal to ya’ll, I’m no bragger
but these lyrics will penetrate your heart, like a dagger
see I don’t got time to waste with these braggarts
rappers burn like bundles of sticks, I call ‘em faggots
on the mic., claiming you spit bullets like pistol
best rapper alive? oh shit – I must have missed you
you’re whole facade is transparent like a ghost
I’m a psych major, ya’ll too easy to diagnose
like the way you walk around on stage could hide your lack of skill
riding the promoter’s dick, the reason why you’re on the bill
I ain’t got no swagger, man, I don’t need that
want me to conform to the norm? fuck the feedback
my lyrics much deeper than that, but ya’ll don’t see that
I’ll be writing rhymes while you’re smoking a tree-sack

NO SWAGGER, I ain’t got NO SWAGGER
I don’t need swagger to be an MC
ya’ll can talk about all the swagger you want, but
that don’t make you a dope rapper to me
(x2)

What is an MC?
a microphone controller/
if you can’t move the crowd, you can’t rock the mic/
and if that crowd that you move consists of your crew,
then you really don’t know if your skills are tight/
see a lot of these rappers talk about their swag
acting like they spit chronic when it’s really some shwag
just because you’re dressing fly don’t mean that you’re ruling G
professing that you’re cool to me, but looking like a fool to me
you ain’t no MC, just another rapper wannabe
swagger-like you try to be, cuz you saw it on BET
spittin bullshit frequently,
you look like a freak to me
you think that you’re addressing the crowd, but you don’t speak to me
see I don’t have swagger man, I got style
oh you’re a dope MC? let me hear you freestyle
looking fresh to death, but you ain’t saying nothing
no swagger over here, but at least I’m saying something

NO SWAGGER, I ain’t got NO SWAGGER
I don’t need swagger to be an MC
ya’ll can talk about all the swagger you want, but
that don’t make you a dope rapper to me
(x2)

Shifting Sands

I chose this life
but I didn't choose my genes;
a rippling of unfettered waves
upon a rocky shore.

I’ll keep walking
even though my feet are sore,
even though my eyes are watery and crusted over,
even though my head is weary.

I can learn to overstand my circumstances
and to see my mind from a dispassionate vantage point.

I don’t know if I asked to be born,
but I was;
I don’t ask to keep waking up,
but I do.

To know what I know,
to believe what I believe and feel what I feel,
these are like the staining of glass
over the retinas of my eyes,
the erosion of stones over billions of years,
the shifting of sands beneath the rocks upon the shore.

THE CYPHER

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Monthly Event, The Cypher, is Filling the Void in Toronto’s Hip Hop Community

Toronto-born organization, Hip Hop Headz (H3), is determined to build a permanent monument on the GTA’s hip hop landscape.

“Hip Hop culture manifests through the creative self-expression of individuals who embody its spirit in their respective art forms. This power of spontaneous creativity, the unification of a community for the great purpose that is Hip Hop, happens at The Cypher.” – H3



Toronto, ON – Feb. 2, 2011 – The main goal of The Cypher is to preserve and contribute to the expression of hip hop’s fundamental elements by allowing local artists to showcase their unique talents and skills. Any artist who shows up has the opportunity to perform in cyphers, which are literally a circle of MCs/rappers each taking a few minutes on the mic, either freestyling or reciting written verses, and then passing it on to the next performer. All MCs get the opportunity to perform along-side each other regardless of skill level or amount of experience, a feature of The Cypher which levels the playing field for artists while still allowing the most talented performers an opportunity to stand out and be recognized. To date, over a hundred artists have participated in The Cypher from the GTA and beyond. While primarily started as an MC-focused event, The Cypher has evolved to more equally emphasize other hip hop elements such as DJing, beat-boxing, live instrumental production, and is expanding to get the involvement of the break-dancing community.

Lack of cohesion, lack of support, lack of unity – these terms are just a few of the descriptors that fit the view of many artists in Toronto’s hip hop community. Specifically for young MCs/rappers – an abundance of which has created an over-saturated market – Toronto can be a difficult environment for artists looking to perform, shine, and have their voices heard. It is partially in response to these unmet needs thatHip Hop Headz (H3) (an organization founded by local artist MC FÜBB) created The Cypher – a monthly event that gives any artist who shows up and opportunity to perform, network, practice and master their craft.

There are also a few spots reserved at The Cypher for featured artists to perform their own sets; featured artists have included Toronto nativeMindbender (Urbnet Records), Durham Region’s Sha Prince and Flex (aka The Antiheroes, 9-0 Nickel Entertainement), and numerous other local acts. All cyphers occur over music supplied by a live DJ spinning hip hop instrumentals; featured DJs have included Toronto legend DJ Grouch (Turnstylez DJ Crew, Scratchlab Institute). Local producers also have an opportunity to have their music played at The Cypher; up and coming Toronto artist Rich Kidd (production credits for Billy Danze feat. Busta Rhymes, Frank n Dank, Saukrates, K-OS, and dozens more) was recently featured and showcased his beats for MCs to rap over.

The Cypher takes place on the second Wednesday of every month at Augusta House (152a Augusta Avenue). The next instalment of The Cypher takes place on Weds. Feb. 9 and is featuring DJ P-Plus (Flow 93.5 – The Real Frequency, appearances on BET, MuchMusic, P3 Entertainment).

Official promo video for The Cypher: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnDLuuf1dX0

Facebook page for The Cypher: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=144109485785

Hip Hop Headz (H3) website: http://www.theh3.com/



For all inquiries, please contact:


Daniel Farb aka MC FÜBB
Hip Hop Headz (H3) Founder
647-201-9161
hiphopheadzh3@gmail.com
http://www.theh3.com/

###

Hard to Bear

Static swamp
of festering muck.
The only sounds are the croaks of frogs
and the erratic bubbling of gases.

I’ve lived with depression for most of my life.

From days when I was too young to name it,
to the inside of a psychiatric ward
where the nurse wrote down the word
“dysthymia”
on a piece of paper;
should I have cringed,
should I have recoiled at the site
of my not-so-personal demon?

Maybe it’s not that I feel too little,
but that I feel so strongly
and then either chastise myself
or numb out completely
that is the source of my suffering.

A gift that I find it difficult to bear
is still a gift,
a load that I call a burden
may not be what I name it.

It’s made me hard and ferocious at times,
weak and malleable at others,
but those experiences cannot fully make me –
I refuse to let them.

I am the ink that flows
and the paper that receives it.
I am the space between us
and I whisper in the voids within us.

I am a poet,
and this much I can bear
with believing.

First Steps

People want to see what you’ve done
and to hear about what you’re doing;
nobody cares about who or what you’re becoming
or what you’re capable of.

It’s like we’re willing to give a chance
to those who have proven themselves,
but not willing to give the space needed
for people to show and prove.

It’s that first mountain –
or maybe that first fifty mountains –
we need to climb
mostly by our own efforts.

Some may encourage us,
show us the way to walk,
even open doors for us,
but we must take the steps
on our own.

Generosity

Never doubt the power of human generosity.

In every single moment of life, human beings have the capacity to choose. Perhaps one of the simplest and most powerful choices a person can make is to choose to be generous.

We live in a world where the choice to be generous in any given circumstance can seem counterintuitive. Within a pervasive context of thinking where self-gain reigns supreme, to give of oneself needlessly or without the intention of receiving personal benefit in return makes no sense. From the perspective of one who is a single part of the greater whole which makes up reality, a generous disposition makes perfect sense.

The cliché statement that "it is better to give than receive" actually bears immense wisdom. When a person gives generously to another, they immediately gain benefits that are not obvious, insofar as there is no immediate tangible reward for one's generosity. However, in being generous, a person becomes open to the very idea of generosity itself, and becomes more able to receive generously. This doesn't mean that if I give you a dollar, I'm going to get a dollar back; this notion of reciprocity is simplistic and is a far cry from what is meant by the term "karma." It is a law of human beings (and perhaps all spiritual beings) that how one consciously chooses to behave repeatedly over time will eventually become part of one's character, one's self - one's very being. And our experience of reality, and ultimately the quality and flavour of our lives themselves, flows from how we are being in the world.

Skeptical? Go and try it out. The next time someone is speaking to you, be generous with your listening; you'll be surprised what people are willing to talk about with you if you are actually patient and open enough to listen. The next time someone asks you for a favour in which there seems to be no immediate benefit in your helping them, help them anyway - and do it gladly. You may begin to notice that others are much more likely and willing to go out of their way to help you.

Be persistently generous with others and that very generosity will become part of who you are. You will begin to naturally attract and elicit that same generosity from others and from the universe itself.