Where it all started…

In the above clip you will see my first video interview, EVER. Notice my name was “Sneek” (SMH), the horrible camera quality, and the ever so “media friendly” brothers, The Clipse. As you can see a lot has changed from then until now, but I want to start this blog with this video as a sign of progression. Over these past two and a half years since this footage was shot I have interviewed over 80 artists, traveled to France to cover the Cannes film festival, graduated from Howard University, and begun production on my upcoming compilation album, Famous on The Internet.

I do not say all of this to brag or boast, but to encourage progression when you are chasing a dream that you feel is your destiny. In 2007 I would have never thought that Pusha-T would become a good friend and rap on a record for me. I would have never thought that I would have had the opportunity to sit down and have candid conversations with some of the very artists that I listen to and once emulated. I most surely would have never thought that I would become some sort of a known figure in the music industry. The only thing that I was for certain of when my journey in this game began was that I always wanted to be progressing.

I cannot count the times that I have been rejected for an interview, not allowed in a party, or just plain old ignored by people that I thought would give me a shot. These things happen to all of us, but the thing that keeps us going is the idea of progress and knowing inside that their is a bigger goal to reach. Many times we allow others to falsely determine our progress. Imagine if Jay-Z had stopped rapping when Nas “Ethered” him, or if Will Smith stopped acting after his lackluster performances in the early episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. It is the people that push through the closed doors, try again at the failed opportunities, and fix the mistakes made, that ultimately succeed. The only person that can determine your true progress is you yourself.

Though progression is up to you it is never only you. What I mean by that is there are often people and circumstances that are bound to help you along the way. Ask any successful person how they got where they are and they can name at least 10 people who were influential in assisting them on their journey.

It will be impossible for me to name everyone that has contributed to my career but I would like thank everybody who has believed in me and pushed me to keep going. Below is a list of some people that were very instrumental in my career and life.

Black Hand Ent.: It is because of Grafh, Young Wayne, and Chaz Williams giving me my start working with Black Hand Entertainment that I am “in the rap game”. These guys are all like older brothers and mentors to me and I am very appreciative of all of the things you have taught me about the music industry and beyond.

Smoking Section: Gotty, thank you for giving me a shot at Hip-Hop journalism. You gave me my first platform to allow my work to be seen by many and I am glad to have learned the basics of the craft with you.

HipHopGame.com: Tom & Brian, thank you for allowing me to do me at HipHopGame.com. You both gave me the freedom to provide people with the content that I wanted to provide. This was my first official Hip-Hop job and the experiences I have had being able to interview artists accross the nation have been priceless.

Articulate: Thank you for everything man, you are one of my true best friends and are great at whatever you do. I never met a rapper that could engineer, design websites and write HTML code, and was an SEO guru!  We have been stuck in cities with zero money before but we always get the job done! I know the future is going to be great because “it’s always something, never nothing”!

Victoria: Vicks you know you are the best! Thank you for being that voice of reason and helping me with just about everything under the sun.

Kandace: I cannot thank you enough for everything that you have contributed. Thank mostly for understanding and wanting me to progress just as much as I do. I look up to you so much and you inspire me everyday to be great!

Bloggers: Nigel, Eskay, Nation, Dre, Legend, Young Legend, Heather, Mr. Exclusive, Gotty, Shake & Meka, Boris, MikeWaxx, Modi, Sumit, Jynx, HipHopUpdate, WorldStarHipHop, UrbanMusicBlog, DodgerHightop, Hear-it-First, and anyone else I forgot!

Big ups to everyone below:

Opiyo, Alan, Kwam, Julz, E, Marcus, Nick, Matt, Devin, Mario, Tim, Rona, Adam, Miyad, Ata, Mike, Ilana, Rob, Brian, Skeptik, K-oss, Kove, Commonwealth, Nooka, LRG, Subconsious, Freshjive, Durkl, Rich Yung, Inkslingers, Infinit, Apple Inc., The Washington Mystics, Adrian, 25 Mag, Deandra, Becky, Phella, Sakwe, Andre, My barber Blackman, Young Chris, Wale, Nicki Minaj, Safaree, Pusha-T, Neako, Jahi Chambers, Cookin Soul, The Klassix, Raheem Devaughn, Dre The Mayor, Jae Promo, Young Guru, Big Marc, Bun B, Chris Robinson, Karen Civil, Dj Skee, Quddus, Angel Martinez, Choo Vegas, Cheo, Ebony Magazine, Scooter Braun, Asher Roth, Dwight, Cee-Cee, Mickey Factz, Mental Supreme, Hustle Simmons, Victor Long, Jerome Baker III, Izzy Battle, Joli O Wave, Max B, Tabi Bonney, Alchemist, Evidence, Joe Budden, Termanology, Statik Selektah, Kwasi, Loaded Lux, Wayno, Rev. Yearwood, Panama, A Pinks, DJ Anonymous, Jessica Johnson, Prinz, John Byrd, EPP, Radience, Kalu, Roberto, Steph Floss, Tristan, Wiz Khalifa, UNI, Joell Ortiz, Nipsey Hussle, Corey Gunz, Bobby Roache, Brandon Fletcher, Tyler Pride, Brent Williams, Nez&Rio, Christina Jacke, JZ Ziyad, Carole, Priscillia, 9th Wonder, Pain In Da Ass, Richard LaPointe, Charles Hamilton, Shyamm, Britney Flint, Zac Kind, Janice Williams, Imani, Marcus Bird, Carmen, Candice Iloh, Josh Myers, Phlary, Eric Vilson, Eric Wingo, Austin, Brittany Davis, Jonnese, Shiesha, DK & Swoll and of course my family!