the soul of l.a.

 leimert park

i'm going to be posting [my] photos of my neighborhood periodically so you too can see the beautiful soul of los angeles. Read more!

suite for ma dukes

Suite For Ma Dukes EP, this project was put together by Carlos Nino and Miguel Atwood Ferguson, and it's a 4 song EP featuring orchestral interpretations of some of J Dilla's finest work.

i bought my copy on itunes last month after seeing the post on okayplayer. proceeds from the EP will go to Jay Dee's mom, Ma Dukes. 

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"Everything is gestation and then birthing."

in an attempt to gain inspiration and thus inspire i'm reading Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke. check this

"In this there is no measuring with time, a year does not matter, and ten years are nothing. Being an artist means: not numbering and counting, but ripening like a tree, which doesn't force its sap, and stands confidently in the storms of spring, not afraid that afterward summer may not come. It does come. But it comes only to those who are patient, who are there as if eternity lay before them, so unconcernedly silent and vast."


so far worth the read...

live & love Read more!

{i am}

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Alzo Slade | Photography

i'm really diggin on this brotha's work, his katrina pics...proper!
check him out at alzoslade.com

*editors note: please forgive me for the photocopy...i couldn't figure out how to get this pic (i'm not that techE)

audi 5000 Read more!

sensible words

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i've got work to do

you might be looking at these undeveloped rolls of film thinking to yourself "wow! she's been busy." Don't let me fool you, most of these rolls have been sitting my refrigerator for a few months (this is actually only about half of them) and i figured i might need to get them developed to see what's on them cause frankly i couldn't tell you. i'm interested to find out myself.

stay tuned... Read more!

yeah!

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"happy birthday"

image: lackcolor.com Read more!

as promised...well sort of

so i've been shooting my still life photography assignment and have been trying to work through a couple of ideas. last week i posted some photos of a concept (which i promised to post final images of ) that i unfortunately was unable to execute. after another failed idea, here is what i came up with. they still need to be cleaned up and maybe some color correction but i'm kinda diggin' the way they came out...thoughts?

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thursday

she hears me coming
i should have taken my keys out of my pocket
metal slapping metal, jingling as i walk
i hear her shuffling
under the sounds of the jingling, the clanking
under my footsteps
she's typing now
louder as i get closer
her face flutters as i turn the corner
she looks at her phone, willing it to ring
"i'm so busy." she says
"just saying hi." i say
i shuffle along
her hello fading in my wake Read more!

fresh...

go h(y)r

h(y)r collective magazine

i like to think of myself as a giver, a sharer of all things [i find] cool and interesting. if you're like me, into fashion, photography and literature then this is something you need to check out. it just might change your life.

the fellas of h(y)r collective magazine combine interesting articles with even more interesting photography and great design, the likes of which i haven't seen on any blog (perhaps i need to step up my blogging)... dope is all i can say. check out issue 11 here.

if you need more convincing check out these pics from past issues:

Read more!

sensible words : a conversation with a friend

she say: Couldn't ask for more...perfect husband and perfect kids, haha.

i say: Lmao yeah right. Ha!

she say: I'm serious!! They are perfect in every way....well actually the key to having a happy marriage is to be able to see the imperfect person perfectly.

i say: I love that…that is so cute. I’m gonna borrow that. lol

she say: I borrowed that from a quote too...haha

i say: Who said it?

she say: don't konw.....dude you have time research it. All I know is that I keep telling myself that and every thing will be perfect...haha.

so i did...

"You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly."

-Sam Keen Read more!

novella

he was sweet
the boy of onyx and pearl
stared and smiled at me
those gems
i covet in my dreams
his drawl, comforting
southern
as sweet tea is
draws me in like honey to bees

he rested his hand on mine
felt the weight of him on top of me
my hand
he was gentle
i gave in
allowing our hands to do as hands do
fingers gliding across palms
intertwining
measured the heights we could reach
grasping
holding on to the moment
clenching
our skins blended
creating wondrous colours of butterscotch and toffee
sweet as caramel

the boy of onyx and pearl
stared and smiled at me
those gems
i covet in my dreams
i often call on him
to visit my hand
and trade stories of love
and make believe Read more!

harold(s)

he said he didn't eat dark meat

but he sat down at my table

with no utensils, no manners

licking his fingers as he finished

smacking his lips ready for seconds

swallowing hard

searching my table

thirsting for a drink

gently sipping my milk

down to the last drop

sitting back

satisfied and belly full

he licked his lips

asking if i was hungry

mistaking me 

for the other white meat

Read more!

killing me softly

how is it golden boy

that i allow you

with brutal tenderness

to touch

the very essence of me

wrapped around your fist

allowing bitterness

to drip from my lips

and you

exhaling sweet poison in my ears

telling me to breathe easy

while taking my breath away

how is it golden boy

that i bellow your praises

between gasps 

and

you laugh

with false satisfaction 

calmly casting your burdens down

across blurred eyes

as if i can't see 

love

killing me softly

Read more!

i laugh every time i read this

security!

security!

where is my security

blanket

balled up at the edge of my bed

cold

shivering 

teeth

clenching

my pillow

uncomfortable

lying on sheets of ice

numb

feeling around

feeling nothing

when feeling for you.

Read more!

black beauty

this photograph was taken by my father Walter "Abdu" Lacy. it is the catalyst that sparked this passion in me. this is the beauty i strive to create in my work: beautiful concept, beautiful light, beautiful tones...lovely

Read more!

here's a poem from one of my notebooks

late

with those big ol' thangs 

he mistook my head for soup

cooling me off when he felt heat

branding my ears with soft undertones

breathing easy 

onto my heavy flesh

suffocating

searching for freshness atop mountains

perched 

i gather up each second he came up for air

i'm gonna sew me up a blanket

drape myself in his time

Read more!

i'm such a nerd

so i was rummaging through my sister's storage looking for my box of books when i stumbled upon a bin full of my old poetry notebooks....

  **note: i didn't draw those pictures... i'm not that lame

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conceptualizing

so... i'm working on my next assignment: still life using primary colors
i have a couple of ideas i'm working through, here's a taste so you can see where i'm going with it...or maybe you can't.

mad props

original prints coming soon...

Read more!

portrait assignment

getting this assignment done was not the most fun which sucks because i love portraits. but with great pain, waiting, and disappointment i got it done. here is one of the two images. my teacher Neil likes it so hopefully that means i'll get an A. thoughts?

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conversation w/ self

How do you walk away?


walk away...? walk away?
that's like giving a child their favorite dessert then asking them to give it to their younger sibling.
walk away? humph
like cold turkey?
like i've been smoking a pack a day for 5 years and i just stop, just like that?
come on man
cut me some slack
this ain't some chicano selling oranges and cherries by the bag on the corner
or the same homeless man that nods and bows for change at the MLK exit off the 110
no
this is that some kinda
that first summer rain
like the stars are aligned type thang.
walk away...please
this is that bicycle on christmas
this is meeting your favorite poet and him reciting your favorite poem just for you
yeah
this is peace
wait...i got it, i got it
this is like...the bomb grilled cheese.

but you're lactose intolerant Read more!

sensible words

A complex man is nothing more than a simple complexity that can be figured out easily by a complex woman with simple ideas.  

 - stuckey the writer

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Chapter 28

In a past life I was a wood-carver's knife. The
sharpened blade of a woodcutter. The eldest
son of the chief's brother. A maker of drums.

We scraped the insides of goat hides to find
the hollows where sound resides. Offering
the parts we did not use. To invoke the muse.

Music of the ghettos, the cosmos, the negroes,
the necros: overcomers of death; disciples of
breath. Dissection of drumbeats like Osiris
by Seth.

Breakbeats into fourteen pieces. Dissembled
chaos. Organized noise. A patchwork of
heartbeats to resurrect true b-boys. Be men.

Let's mend the broken heart of Isis. Age of
Aquarius. Mother Nature is furious. While
you rhyme about being hardcore, be heart-
core. What is it that we do art for?

Metaphor. Meta-sin. It's an age of healing.
Why not rhyme about what you're feeling?
Or not be felt. Deal with the cards you're
dealt.

Calling all tarot readers and sparrow feeders
to cancel the apocalypse. Metaphorically
speaking.


a piece by Saul Williams
from The Dead Emcee Scrolls: The Lost Teachings of Hip-Hop Read more!

i heart john mayer

i know he has some colour in him...


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poem

for harry or someone like him

can't be sometimin' round with you
giving you all
whiles you give some
whiles i'm thinkin' i'm gettin' it all

can't be sometimin' round with you
holdin' yo arm
whiles yo eyes roamin'
whiles yo neck breakin'
after the next thang that's hips sang
trippin all over yo self
like yo feets lost they mind

no, can't be sometimin' round with you
like you the last Dick or Tom
no sir
yo fire don't burn so hot
yo drum don't beat so heavy
yo tempo a bit too slow
since i've spread Read more!

do you know any?

Revolutionary Man

I am grown now
A woman
Got my house
Got my car
Gotta cat too
Yeah!
But I needs me a man
Like air
Like wa ta
Yeah!
(I aint trying to impress you)
I needs me a breakfast makin',
Long Walkin', Black movie watchin',
Conversationalist
Yeah!
I needs me a standing up
Accept no bullshit (cept mine) man
An honest, hair brushing
Public kissin, praying on his knees man
Respect full
Protect full
Full-grown man
Yeah!
Laughin' anda working,
Ain't afraid to feel man
Ain't afraid to be afraid man
Ain't afraid to be strong
Revels in it
Needs me a soldier
Yeah!
Needs me some passion
Needs me a revolution in my bed


a poem by jill scott
from The Moments, the Minutes, the Hours




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waiting, a photo story

so here are a few of the prints i've been working on for my third assignment, light & subject.






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sensible words

"when i was a kid i used to pray every night for a new bicycle. then i realized God doesn't work that way, so i stole one and prayed for forgiveness."


-Emo Philips Read more!

art speaks

Banksy

Read more!