The Prodigy Of The Blog Era - Inspired By ItsTheReal

SXSW came with a lot of highlights last week. While the ending of it has me more motivated than usual, I have to single out a panel that I spoke about frequently on my social media but decided to get a little more detailed here and express my gratitude for the ItsTheReal’s Blog Era presentation. ItsTheReal consists of Eric & Jeff Rosenthal, a brother duo who started with a series of comical sketch videos before moving into the world of podcasts, where they took over on a global scale that includes them developing tv shows and being a phenomenal team on stage. They introduced their SXSW panel, The Blog Era: Hip-Hop’s Wild Wild West, where they were accompanied by Ashmi “Eskay” Rawlins, founder of NahRight, SVP of Digital Marketing with Capitol Music Group, Dimplez, & Spitta Andretti, better known as New Orleans hip-hop legend, Curren$y. The lineup was a dream, especially for someone like me who was born in the era of blogging and is a divine product of it, especially after being influenced years later to start my own.

They all talked about the many wonders of the blogging culture and how significant it was at the starting stages of their careers, and how it has grown to have a lasting effect on today’s generation. In the middle of it, my mind started flooding back to the nights of downloading zshares, zippyshares, mediafire & hulkshare links where 70% of the time it was the actual file & the other percentage would give you a mashup record or some virus that would later be the culprit of your computer crashing, but that was the sacrifice when trying to have the exclusives before everyone else. I became best friends with my neighborhood geek squad at Best Buy because of this, but I enjoyed the thrill of going to school with a slew of unreleased records and unheard-of artists that would soon break the barriers years later. My daily routine became waking up to 2dopeboyz, NahRight, Fake Shore Drive, SOHH, atrilli.net & many more for the new drops of music that I could consume in my day. From 1st period it was dreams of being finally famous with Big Sean bumping in my ears to science class with Boldy James showing me my first chemistry set with ending my days walking home to The Cool Kids while going fishing & forming prominent lifestyles for my imagination to run wild. TheReal had asked the panelist what record would be best remembered in the blog era for its impact. Dimplez & Eskay would mention The Cool Kids and Surf Club while Curren$y reminisced his time cooking up the record, “Glass House” with Wiz & K.R.I.T. during South By. I had my own thought of songs that would be vital during the era I cherish the most; some would be Asher Roth’s “I Love College,” Chiddy Bang’s “Opposite Of Adult,” & Wale’s “Nike Boots.” While they may not be favorites, they would be pinnacle tracks in seeing blogs being on point in calling the next best artists and would cause trouble for record labels seeing the blog push more of the agenda than A&Rs. The conversation was one of my favorites to endure, only because I felt like they were answering questions I had with my inner self. Was all this work worth it? Would I see it pay off eventually? I’m I getting to the point where it no longer matters? My questions were answered from the standpoint of people who were once in the same place as me and fought through perseverance to make it happen. I knew it was possible; I knew the sacrifice was worth it. It wouldn’t come easy; every day, inching closer to calling it quits, will happen, but I will never give in. I want to succeed where I’m in the same position speaking on my success story.

The blog era not only defined my life as a music connoisseur but shaped me into a knowledgeable mind of imagination and creativity. The music helped me become a better person; from the suaveness of Dom Kennedy’s pen to the whimsical presence of Pac Div’s power, it was all there. I rev up to the level of tenacity that Rockie Fresh’s Driving 88 had on me to the many gardens grown by Casey Veggies. From the 40 days & 40 nights of XV’s futuristic flow to Chip Tha Ripper’s lyrical appetite, it was on there to raise me to be the rising hip-hop icon I am and the next powerhouse in blogging that others shall fear.

Thank you to the panelists & everyone else who attended and was inspired like me.