Tag Archives: love

music love

Last night, suddenly my phone was constantly buzzing with 50 emails at a time updating me on my youtube account.  Apparently the 2Pac facebook page had posted my cover of “California Love” and things, well, got real…

I have passed 100,00 views on this little song, which I posted two years ago in homage to two incredible rappers, namely Tupac Shakur, who’s poetry and art transcends race and speaks to people of all walks of life.

It has been a very interesting thing to read the comments made on this video.  Some have given me a thicker skin even.  But for the most part, they are positive and encouraging and I think that says a lot about music and the power it has to bring people from different backgrounds together with a common bond.

I remember buying his book of collected poetry, “The Rose that Grew from Concrete” in 1999, three years after his death.  It was beautiful and powerful and showed the world and me how much love can grow from hate.  The title poem, still simply says so much to me today:

Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature’s law is wrong it
learned to walk with out having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared.

People can be so angry and mean with their words.  These silly youtube comments are a perfect example of that.  But my heart breaks for those who fail to understand my intentions – and those of anyone who wants to create music to share and connect with others.  This has been quite the start of a year with weighty realizations.  Again, I find myself realizing that I can’t escape my need to play music.  How very uplifting.

dear tommy

This is really fucking hard.

I found out on Monday that you had died in a motorcycle accident the evening before.

It starts out quiet.  Then I think of the way you’d break an uncomfortable silence with some horribly lewd sound.  Or how you’d attack me out of the blue and say “stop crying” in a mock threatening voice.  Your voice is always in my head, coming and going as you please.

You were always there to make me mock my fears and face the world head on.  When I needed you, no matter where you were, you came.  You were there at my first open-mic, my first show, you came up to see me whenever I was feeling lost and alone in LA.  You came to my last show.  You came with me to parties we both were uncomfortable attending but knew we had to.

I need you now, why won’t you come?

Allow me to believe that everything happens for a reason, as hard as that idea is right now.  Allow me to believe that you were there with me when I sang for you the last stupid song I wrote.  Allow me to believe that you gave me that because you knew I needed it because you knew what I’ve been through and you knew I never wanted to go through it again and now that you have made me you at least eased the pain by giving me just two more minutes with you.

You left us enough love to get through this once you were gone.