Celestial Bodies

As the space race in the private sector heats up new exoplanet discoveries offer a glimpse of where mankind is moving in the near future. There's an estimated four hundred billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Every star has at least one planet. If u do simple math and say one out of every one thousand planets has life. That would leave u with roughly 40 million planets with intelligent life. (Just in our galaxy.) It is reasonable to believe that some of these planets could be hundreds or even thousands of years more technologically advanced than earth. Any civilization that advanced will have mastered interstellar travel and wormhole technology. 

Our current technology can put a person on the Moon, Mars and soon asteroids. Our asteroid belt is between Mars and Jupiter. Asteroids are full of precious metals, crystals, and other resources that could alleviate their scarcity here on Earth. All the metals on earth originated from space. They were deposited here millions of years ago when meteors crashed into the planet. That's why there's a finite amount and the more we mine the less there is. Mining one asteroid could provide the planet enough resources for hundreds if not thousands of years. They're a veritable gold mine and government's around the world are aware of it. It will be like the movie Armageddon minus the cheesy romance and nuclear detonation. Anyone who says "we're never going to mine asteroids" is still living in the stone age.

To put things in perspective, if we are almost able to colonize other planets a civilization hundreds of years more technologically advanced could easily travel to earth. To go deeper down the rabbit hole. There is undisputable evidence that there was a pre flood civilization with advanced technology. What if some of them survived the flood by colonizing other planets? There have been pyramid structures like those in Egypt found on Mars. It would be mind blowing for humanity to finally start colonizing planets and find humans already out there. Imagine the first astronauts to land on Mars call back to mission control. "Houston we have a problem. There are people here and they're angry because our arrival took so long, and we didn't bring any chicken." Deep thoughts from a shallow mind.

Thoughts of possibly being able to travel to space in my lifetime inspired me to paint. There are infinite worlds to discover. My newest piece is titled Celestial Bodies. It's acrylic paint on (40 x 120cm ) canvas. 

  

Octo Problems

If humans were to go extinct which animal do u think would inherit the earth? Most western minds say the Bonobos or some great ape. A few of my Australian colleagues think it will be Kangaroo's or some other marsupial. Imagine a wallaby in a gang bandana hopping up to someone, pulling an AK-47 out its pouch saying "Break yo self fool!" in a Crocodile Dundee accent. As farfetched as that sounds it's not as weird as the truth. 

The animal most likely to inhabit the earth after the demise of humanity would be...the octopus. The octopus is unlike any other creature found on the planet. There are extensive studies being conducted to figure out just how alien the octopus really is. Were cephalopods dropped in our oceans from a different star system? To understand why this is a relevant question to modern science u have to look at the abilities of the octopus. 

Octopuses can change color like a chameleon. They can change their shape to imitate plants and other animals. They have a miniature brain in each of their eight legs and have three hearts. So for clarity octopuses have nine brains and three hearts. If that's not enough to make them unusual, they have one ability found nowhere else in nature. Octopuses can re-write their own DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Think of the DNA double helix as a zipper on jeans. They can unzip their DNA and insert new code (RNA) then zip it back up. 

This ability allows them to adapt to any environment. Changes in temperature, food sources, light and water composition (fresh or salt water) are no problem for the octopus. To any other species including humans these changes could mean extinction. The fact that cephalopods can re-write their DNA is what makes scientists ponder if they are an alien species deposited into our oceans. 

Riddle me this...If octopuses are so smart, why hasn't anyone done a study on how they respond to music? Think about it for a minute. Scientist believe that mathematics is the universal language. If we were to have alien contact our communication would be done through mathematic equations. I believe music is the universal language. Rhythm and harmony can be understood by land, sky and aquatic animals. There have been various studies done on how plants respond to music. You will find the results interesting.

If u played "Clair de Lune" by Debussy, would the octopus wave its arms like a conductor leading an orchestra? Or if u played "One Love" by Bob Marley would it tap its arms against the glass like a drum?  I digress...deep thoughts from a shallow mind. After learning about the remarkable properties of cephalopods, I was inspired to paint. Below is my newest culinary canvas creation. "Octo Problems" acrylic paint (90 x 200cm canvas) Enjoy. 

 

 

Crypto Teddy

Do u know where the Teddy Bear comes from? I'm a big fan of origin stories. I like to know why we celebrate certain holidays and traditions while others are discarded. Recently I read the origin story of the Teddy Bear. The story was so fascinating it inspired me to paint. 

Back in 1902 president Franklin Roosevelt went on a bear hunt. He was a big game hunter. Out of the hunting party the president was the only one unsuccessful in taking down a bear. One of the men in the group captured a bear and held it tied up for the president to shoot. President Roosevelt chose not to display cruelty by killing the innocent animal. 

Another completely unrelated fact about this man is that he was a treasure hunter on Oak Island. I'm addicted to the show The Curse of Oak Island. I believe in a former life I was a pirate. A sea pirate with an eyepatch and parrot on the shoulder. Why? I love being in the water. My passion for travel is like an endless thirst. I appreciate fine liquor, have a problem with authority, and love shiny, expensive things. I was definitely a pirate! Pardon, me. I got distracted. It happens sometimes. 

As I was saying. The president decided not to kill the bear. The story of the presidents failed hunt was written in news articles and made into satirical cartoons. A candy shop owner who used to make stuffed animals with his wife read the story. The owner made a stuffed bear in recognition of the presidents humanitarian act...or sympathy for his failure. He named the bear "Teddys' Bear". The bear was a hit. The rest is history. Teddy Bears are one of the most popular stuffed animals ever created. 

When I get writers block or stressed, I paint. My work will never be fine art. I never aspired for it to make me rich. I just want to be part of the artist conversation. After a five year slumber my taste for colors has returned. Colors to me are ingredients. I combine them like a chef to create cuisine on canvas. Each color has a flavor. I mix and taste the flavors until a delicious dish for the eyes is created. 

Here is my newest painting...Crypto Teddy. It's a homage to the teddy bear story and my love of crypto. The canvas is 60 x 50cm with acrylic paint. Check it out.

Banksy in Amsterdam

One of my favorite modern visual artists has come to Amsterdam...Banksy! If you're unfamiliar with Banksy here's what I know. He is originally from the UK. He makes grafitti, stencil art, sculptures, and directs movies. His identity is currently a mystery and he has an exhibition here in Amsterdam from July 18th - September 30th.  

To my knowledge Banksy doesn't reproduce or sell any of his creations. Most feature satirical images of war and instruments of violence. He uses humor and amazing visuals to get people talking about subjects that are often considered taboo. His unique style has achieved international success. Below are some Banksy images I shot by Centraal Station mixed with a few favorites I found on google. If you would like to know more about the artist or see more if his art go to his webpage Banksy.co.uk.

R.I.P. Sean P.

Sean Price a.k.a. Sean P. a.k.a. Ruck (March 17, 1972 – August 8, 2015) was more than just a talented MC. He was a proud father, born entertainer, and really funny guy.

When he died, a lot of people who listen to his music but wouldn't work with him (cuz he would outshine them on their own record) started posting "we'll miss you" and "R.I.P blah, blah, blah" on social media. To me that's fake and the man I knew deserved more genuine respect than that. Real love is appreciating a person while they're living and can feel the love... not after they're gone.

I met Sean P. for the first time in 2005 at the "DROP" festival in the Melkweg. He and Buckshot had already rocked the crowd and were chilling backstage. Smif-N-Wesson were up next and I wanted to meet Buck and Ruck before their show started. At the time he was promoting Monkey Barz and I was promoting my first album International Hustler. I had been listening to the whole Boot Camp Clik (Black Moon, Smif-N-Wesson, Heltah Skeltah, and O.G.C.) since the 90's.

As a fan I wanted to know what they thought of my music. There was no CD player backstage to play the album, so I spit some of the songs acapella. They liked the tunes. Sean P. and I exchanged numbers and he said let's work together in the future. After that we stayed in contact. A few years later in 2009, I met up with him and Rock in Rotterdam for a quick interview. Heltah Skeltah were back together and the show was coconutz! Check out the video below.


By that time we had already did the "AhhYoo" remix "Who Dat Be" off the 2010 Grindin Muzik album.  The song was recorded in 2008 when I was going through personal problems and it was reflected in the music. After I sent him the song, before he recorded his verse he called me just to check in. We cracked jokes and talked about the differences between Amsterdam and Rotterdam. He seemed to genuinely care, even though we had only met a few times.


Every time we linked-up, Ruck was a cool cat who loved his family and loved spittin, heavy, barz. He was one of those rare talents who could spit a freestyle or written and you couldn't tell the difference. Below are a few of my favorite Sean P. and Heltah Skeltah videos. If you don't know Sean Price get to know him, cuz his music is what a lot of rappers wish they sounded like. Rest In Power!

Release Date

The album is DONE! The release date for "Tha Audio Bully" is March 17th 2015, and It will be available digitally and on CD. 

Along with the album release my label Vinumous Records will be doing a contest for the fans to win free merchandise. To find out more details on the contest and to see our original selection of T-shirts and caps, check out our store page. While I was recording the album I also recorded songs for “The Bonus Traxx” EP. The EP will include songs that didn’t make the album, as well as a few extra tracks.

2014 ended strong for me with the single “New York Spit” reaching #1 on the Starfleet Music Charts. The single stayed on the charts for twelve weeks and the video has over 20,000 Youtube plays and is still climbing. It’s all thanks to you fans!  The next video project will be for the single “Love Hip-Hop” off the new album. Be on the lookout for that video in the next few months. 

Everything was done just in time for my trip to the Czech Republic tomorrow. I'm taking a week off to shred some powder and relax. I'll post some pics from the trim when I return. Until then...check the tracklisting for the album in the pic below. 

Much luv to everyone who contributed to the project!