St. Patrick’s day actually helped me realize the following things:

1.) I have two legs, so why not use them…
I need to get more active so why not start on St. Patties day and start walking! I went into google maps and saw that walking from my house to downtown SJ is only 4.7 miles which will take 1.5 hours.

2.) I can’t get a DUI if I can’t drive…
Another cool benefit of walking is that I can’t get a DUI. I will be able to freely bar hop and drink until last call without the fear or thought of getting pulled over.

3.) All that walking just burned most of the calories in my alcohol…
3 Pints of Sierra Nevada is about 525 calories. Walking 1.5 hours burns 454 calories. So all together I net around 71 calories.

4.) No parking tickets!
I was able to spare the tickets or battles with meter maids this year. On top of that I didn’t have to worry about finding places to park around downtown.

5.) Opportunity for cool pictures…
I never realized all the cool places I passed by when I drove. I had a lot more time to look around and snap some really cool photos with my iPhone. Check the gallery below.

All in all, I had a blast being responsible and celebrating the irish holiday downtown. I never realized how cool walking could be!

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His natural voice + the voice box in his throat enable him to sing waaaaay better than T-Pain. At first I thought this was going to be a random dude singing about some random girl or something. But dude’s actually got talent. He has a good song structure (verse, hook, verse, bridge, hook) and I am loving the G-Funk style he uses.

Warren G, Snoop, or Dre…ya’ll need to find this kat and sign him! The streets are begging for good quality stuff like this. He is the real deal…straight from the hood and full of talent.

http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshhAUZpaCJup96J72l7

I am going through a new phase within music. Be on the look out for the NEW Dj RaYz!

I am gonna do it chill today! I am one year more mature. It is my 2nd Anniversary of my 21st birthday! Last year was crazy when I fulfilled my fantasy of 4 girls + me goin’ buck wild! Peep the old 22nd Birthday post. I never got to post the details of what happened that day…I might get motivated to post up the details later on using pseudo names to keep the ladies identity safe.

Thizz In Peace Mac Dre!

Bay Area legend is resting in peace right now. If he was still alive, we would both be kickin’ it partying it up non stop on our Birthdays! Mac Dre aka Mr. Furly aka Thizzelle Washington aka Pill Clinton aka M to the D aka Ronald Dregan…. was born on my Birthday July 5th and died on my Dad’s birthday November 1st. That is crazy!

I have made it my mission this year to go out and look for the free stuff because it’s my birthday and I am a starving college student. The free stuff are usually only given on peoples birthdays. I have been googling around and I have came across two lists from two websites: SupremeBoba and Unknown City (0% Bullshit, 100% Cheapshit)

I used to work at Hollywood Video aka. The Wood, back in 2005 and I learned that their systems are not networked to each other. You can have a bunch of late fees at one store and you can go to a new store in your area and you’re fee’s don’t show up. I am probably planning on exploiting the same thing, but with Free Movie Rentals. There are about 5 Hollywood videos within a good 10 mile radius.

Peep the list:

ALFY’S PIZZA – free mini pizza 
ALL-AMERICAN CAFE – free dessert 
APPLEBEES – free dessert 
AUSTIN GRILL – Register First – free meal 
AUTO ZONE – Free Oil Change 
BAKERS SQUARE – free pie 
BANDIDO’S – free entry 
BANJARA INDIAN CUISINE – free meal 
BASKIN ROBBINS – free ice cream treat 
BEACHES RESTAURANT – free meal 
BENIHANA’S JAPANESE RESTAURANT – free dinner WITH 3 other paying 
guests 
BENNIGANS – free dessert + song 
BERN’S – free meal 
BILL KNAPP’S – gives adults a % discount equal to age; plus a free 
bday cake (w/purchase of a meal) during the week of your B-day 
BLACK BRISKEE – free meal 
BOB’S BIG BOY – free hot fudge ice cream 
BUFFALO WILD WINGS (BW3) – free dozen hot wings 
BURGER KING – free kids meal to all kids club members 
CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN – Register First – free kids meal during 
the month of their birthday 
CAPTAIN DIZZY’S CAR WASH – free car wash 
CARROWS – free cake 
CATTLEMEN’S – free dessert and cowboy hat 
CHARLIE BROWNS RESTAURANTS – free meal for “Handshake Club” members 
CHARLIE’S SEAFOOD – free meal 
CHEVY’S – free dessert and sombrero 
CHILI’S – free song 
CHIPS N GIGGLES – free meal 
CLAIM JUMPER – Free Dessert 
CROWN THEATRES – Buy One Movie Ticket, Get One Free 
CRAZY BUFFET – free meal 
DAVE AND BUSTERS – $5 game card credit 
DENNY’S – free meal (said to be only kids under 10 now) 
DESPARADOS MEXICAN RESTAURANT – free meal 
DOCKSIDE RESTAURANT – free meal 
DUKE’S CHOWDER HOUSE – b1g1 coupons (register first). FREE dinner 
for your birthday! 
EINSTEIN’S BAGELS – Free Meal Contact Manager we just informed her 
of this today. 
EL CHICOS – free dessert 
ERNIE’S STEAKHOUSE – free meal 
FAMOUS DAVE’S BARBEQUE – free meal (w/advance signup) 
FUDDRUCKERS – free burger 
FUNNY BONE COMEDY CLUB – free cake (party of 5 min.; 2 drink min.) 
GOLDEN CORRAL – free meal to birthday Club members (not just kids!) 
during month of birthday 
GRILLFISH – free meal 
HANA JAPAN – free meal 
HARD ROCK CAFE – free dessert 
HOMETOWN BUFFET – free birthday cake 
HOULIHAN’S RESTAURANT – free entree 
HOLLYWOOD VIDEO – one free video rental 
HOOTERS – free song + tshirt 
HOSS’S STEAK HOUSE AND RESTAURANT – free cake + song 
IHOP- free meal 
JOE’S CRAB SHACK – free cake 
JT WHEATFIELDS – free coupon in phone book 
KING BUFFET – free meal 
KRISPY KREME – Free Dozen Donuts of your choice – Contact the 
Manager and tell them it’s your birthday. 
LADONNA – free meal 
LOMBARDI’S IN BALLARD – Register First – free meal w/another during 
month of birthday 
LOTUS – free meal 
LUTHERS BBQ – free stuff (varies) for “Great Rewards” members 
MACARONI GRILL – free dessert + OPERA-style “Happy birthday” song 
MAGGIANOS – $10 Off purchase of $20 (sign up in advance) 
MARIE CALENDERS – free dessert 
MAX AND ERMA – free $5 dessert 
MEXICAN VILLAGE – free meal 
MOONIES DINER – free meal 
MUCKLESHOOT CASINO – free sushi dinner + player’s club points 
NEWICK’S SEAFOOD RESTAURANTS – free entry 
NITTY GRITTY – free drink + souvenir glass 
OKAYAMA RESTAURANT – free meal 
OLD SPAGHETTI WAREHOUSE – free meal 
OLIVE GARDEN – cake (some say free, most say $$) 
ONAMI – free dinner WITH 3 other people paying 
OUTBACK – free dessert + song 
PANCAKE HOUSE – free entry 
PAPPA’S RESTAURANTS – free dessert 
PARADISO’S – free meal 
PERKIN’S – free stack of pancakes 
PF CHANGS – free cake or cheesecake 
PIZZA EXPRESS – free meal 
PONCHO’S – free meal, dessert & picture 
PROVINO’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT – free $10.99 meal and ice cream 
dessert 
Radisson – free entree in their 12th floor restaurant 
REAL SEAFOOD COMPANY – free meal and dessert 
RED LOBSTER – free slice of cake + song 
RED ROBINS – Register First – free burger coupon / discount coupon 
RICE & COMPANY – free meal for Robinson Rewards Club members 
ROCK BOTTOM – free appetizer for Mug Club members 
ROUND TABLE – free personal pizza 
SCALINI’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT – up to 10.95 off pasta specialties 
SHEPARD’S BUFFET – free dinner buffet w/3 other paid customers 
STEAK AND ALE – free mini choco cake 
STEAK-N-SHAKE – free dinner for “birthday club” kids 
TACO BELL – free combo meal of your choice 
TGI FRIDAYS – Free birthday Dessert 
THE 99 – free meal 
THE BARNSIDER’S/DEPOT RESTAURANTS – 1/2 off meal + cake & song 
THE LOFT – free meal 
THE PALM – 3lb lobster (must be a member/register first) 
THE PARADISO – free entry + sombrero & song 
THE VINE TAVERN – free meal 
TODAI SEAFOOD BUFFET – Free Meal or voucher for Meal Next Visit 
TONY ROMA’S – free dessert, free meal 
UP THE CREEK – free meal and dessert 
VACCARO’S ITALIAN PASTRY SHOP – free dessert and drink 
WENDY’S – free kids meal to all kids club members 
Z’ TEJAS – Register First – $15 coupon for the month of your 
birthday 
ZIO’S – free dessert

I’ll post up my findings later on in the week. Time to go out and get some…

Lately in my life I have been reflecting about a bunch of the choices I have been making and trying to see where they will get me in the long run. I love music and I am highly intrigued by the people who make it. In the process of reflecting back on my life, I have also been getting inspired by watching tons of youtube videos of producers who’ve broke into where they want to be. Producers like, 88-keys, J-Dilla, Kanye West, Dj Premier, RZA, Dj Khalil, Pete Rock, 9th Wonder, Pharrell, Timbaland, Dj Shadow, and many others. I would really like to be a great producer. I feel that in order to be a great producer I would have to find information on people who are already established at being masters of their craft. In the process of doing that I have taken their collective advice, knowledge, and work ethic and combined it into 5 elements I kept seeing in their videos.

Set realistic goals/vision for yourself

This is a step I have noticed that a lot of up and coming producers overlook. I am truly serious about becoming an established producer in the future. I have realized that I can’t make the hottest record over night and that it takes time to develop my ear for good music. Even if I do make a nice pop record and get my 15 mins of fame, what else will I be worth for?

Realistically looking at my life, two years ago I wasn’t on the path to developing my musical skills. I was stuck working a full time job with tons of over time and I never had time or energy to get on my keyboard to make a beat. In my battle for the top of the corporate ladder, my inner conscious kicked in and reminded me of what was realistically going on. The conflict: my investment into my job vs my goal of becoming a producer. The time spent working at my job took away from what I really wanted. I needed to change the direction of where my life was going because my soul was being split apart. I ended up putting in my two weeks and re-enrolling into school full time.

I feel that the more knowledge you know, the more someone else can’t take advantage of you or push you around. The goal of re-enrolling into school was to get my mind out of survival mode (working to get money and hoping for the best) and into a more inquisitive mode (questioning everything). Out of doing that I expect to build a good foundation for the things I do in the future and have a lasting impact in the field I passionately care about.

My goal is to become an established producer. What I mean by “established” is that as time progresses I hope to learn new things in music and keep updating my formulas for making good music. A good example is the transformation of Timbaland. He has stood the test of time and kept updating his formulas to stay current.

Develop the skills you’ll need to reach your dream/goal

Pete Rock and Dj Shadow have dedicated their whole lives to find good music in rugged basements, record shops, garage sales, etc. all for the love of what they do. They didn’t realize that their habit of finding good music would eventually lead them into reviving classic sounds for people to nod their heads to.

Other producers work on learning the basics of sound, rhythm, melody, and notes so that they can put what they hear in their head into a song.

I am working on developing my skills with learning how to play the piano and learning how to recognize different pitches. I would also like to have a better understanding of how chords and keys work so that I will be able to recognize why I like certain samples or songs and why I don’t like others. Another skill I need to develop is how to better chop up samples from a record and re-create something better. I feel that if I build up these basic skills, they will help set a good foundation for the future things I will learn in music.

Emulate a style of music you like.

Very few producers mentioned this in their interviews, because they might have established the habit of naturally doing it all the time. I think this is an important step into learning about new things on production and art.

I feel a deep need to break down my favorite songs and figure out how the producer put the track together. Every time I reflect back on my favorite songs, there has always been some type of element that drew me to liking the song. Once I break apart the song I have a greater appreciation and understanding of the song and the producers style. 

The next step is going into the studio and trying to re-create the elements that captured me. After doing that, it gives me a greater perspective in the music I like to make.

Explore new genres of music.

I feel this is what will separate the average producer from great producers. I used to be one of those people who would mention “I like all types of music…except for country.” I think I said it because of peer pressure and the fact that I was too scared to explore other genres of music.

Music is one of the most universal unspoken languages around the world. A song made by someone in the United States can have a great impact in someone else’s life in another part of the world. Good music is in every corner and ghetto in the world. My goal of exploring and listening to new genres of music will open my mind to new sound experiences and it will help me with songs I produce in the future. 

Honesty

This last and crucial human behavior is what will make someone stand out amongst all the madness. The industry is full of people who are out to make a quick buck off of someone else’s hard work. Some people will say anything in order to fulfill their paper chase.

My feelings are that being honest to myself and to everyone around me will create a good environment for the people I do business with. I feel that honesty will attract other hard working people who have similar goals and integrity about their work. Thus creating a strong bond with talented individuals for future projects. Honesty can go a long way in any area and will make someone stand out above and beyond many individuals in the same field.

I am an up and coming producer and I feel that by sharing my insights and goals it will be able to inspire other people to follow their passion and dreams. If we dream big and keep in check with where our life is going, we can create our future successes.

Dj RaYz

Performers:
A Tribe Called Quest
Nas
Mos Def
De La Soul
Rakim
Method Man & Redman
Raekwon & Ghostface (Cuban Linx)
Immortal Technique
Dead Prez
Murs
Kidz In The Hall
..and more…

August 16, 2008 at the Mountain View Amphitheater. The website says San Francisco but when you buy the tickets the venue is at Mountain View. If you are interested in the dopest show of the year, don’t sleep! Snatch those tix up ASAP. If you trying to get some pre-sale tix message me and I can hook it up before they go on sale to the rest of the public.

Today, my homie Frank (Zel if you play world of warcraft) hit me up that he got a job. Frank has been working hard in school and trying to pay bills. His parents were encouraging him to get a job so he does what he does best, go out and look for jobs.

He ends up posting his resume on Career Builders, to find a potential employer to fund his college expenses. Later on Frank gets a message from 5th Dimension Productionz about a job interview for their company in San Jose. He responds and sets up the first interview. Frank shows up Thursday, July 5th 2007 at 4pm. After speaking with Lindsey the owner for less than 10-15 minutes, she mentioned he should come back for a second interview.

The second interview consisted of going to Big Lots off of Story Road with a trainer named Rosemary. Rosemary seemed very motivated, intelligent, and professional. Before going to Big Lots, he had to sign a paper stating he was an observer. While there he was instructed to watch and understand how the entry level position works.

Frank noticed that they had setup a simple fingerprinting ink pad (like the ones used at police stations), with some piece of paper, to help get kids fingerprinted. The theme seemed to be about helping missng children. They also had various products like T-Shirts, Wrist Bands, Child Protection ID kits, that were sold at the table. He was also given a 5 steps on how to sell their products (Introduction, short story, assume purchase, etc, etc). Being at the table, he would hear Rosemary saying the pitch many times. After doing that, he was instructed to greet people coming out of Big Lots. If the person was interested, he would direct them to the table, where Rosemary would close the sale. The products being sold seemed to be at outragous prices. Wristband for $5, T-Shirt for $10, Calligraphy Kit for $10, Electronic ID for $30 which was the big sale. Frank had noticed that a lot of the older people tend to have time to listen to them, and after hearing the story, they were compelled to help. In order to “save the children” they had to purchase the products which donated a certain percentage to the CPEA. What was the percentage? Upon Frank trying to recall what they said, it was around 20% that actually went to the organization. The other 80%, who knows?

Finishing the day up, Frank had to fill out a survey, then go back for his last interview with the other Lindsey. He was then hired on the spot and asked to show up on Tuesday, July 10th.

Later that night, I meet up with Frank, and he says he got a new job. After explaining what they do and the company he works for, it seemed kinda sketch. I start to google around and we turn up with another blog who had a similar experience. Ho John Lee ended up meeting someone from 5th Dimension Productionz while walking out of a store, and after asking some basic questions, he walked away and didn’t donate. You could read his story via this link. While reading thru his site, the comments section included a person by the blog name of Molly B posted a comment on his site about her experience with the interview process and experiences. Here is an excerpt of what Molly mentioned:

They are doing something to promote the charity, but still selling something to earn a commission for themselves. The most aggravating thing to me isn’t that they are using legitimate charities to make money for themselves, it is that so many of the other candidates they sucker in spending a full day “interviewing” end up being free labor.

While looking further down in the comments, there were other people who had interviewed with them and had that gut feeling that something was up. Peter posted the percentage of what is actually given back:

20% goes back to the charity, 35% goes to the seller, and 45% goes to Lindsey (Lindsey needs to pay for fees pertaining to her business, maybe, I don’t know if her silent partner might pay for fees etc.) When I learned that only 20% was given back to charity, I knew that this job at this company was not for me. I mean come on! These are non profits that need 100 percent of proceeds! Its very disgusting how this company works. Also, this ‘business’ has not motivation or team meetings or any kind of meetings to boost up their performance. How do I know? The person I shadowed told me so.

After looking at the people who responded, it definetly seemed that they were not making money in the right way. It seemed as if their business was standing behind the front of helping people, and using people’s willingness to help to turn into a profit for themselves. What does that do for our communities? What does it do to the people working for that company? The underlying thing here is, if they are using peoples good will of donating and helping out to force the purchase of products, then don’t initially reveal that only 20% of the purchase is going towards the charity like CPEA, how efficient and helpful is that to the community?

I get really passionate about issues and scams like these, that profit off of peoples willingness to help each other out. Definatly don’t support company’s like this. There are resources out there to clairify whether a Charity is out there for the greater good, or if they are there to make a buck off of you. Here is a popular link:

http://www.charitynavigator.org/

If you also ever have an interview for a Multi Level Marketing company, research them on google and find out what they area really about. In finishing up with what Peter said in his post:

All in all, it seemed like working for this company would only give bad karma by lying to consumers and suck them out of their money and give less to the charity that needs more. As I learned, many of the workers there are not college graduates…if they were college graduates they would have known all operations of BUSINESS ETHICS!

Now, Frank has to go back on Tuesday, July 10th. What should he do? Frank is really mad that he got talked into free labor and scamming people for their money. Should he show up to work and inform his co workers of whats really going on? Should he call them up and say Fuck You I quit? What do you think? Have you had a similar experience? I am going to contact CBS 5 and their 30 minutes Bay Area section and have them do a full blown investigation on these type of marketing companies and especially the ones that fall in the guise of helping people. This is not right at all!

July 5th is my official birthday. Right after the 4th of July craziness. I don’t have any plans as of yet to go out. Its been my fantasy for the longest time to have 4 girls up in a room, all to myself and just go buck wild on my birthday! I mean 4 girls that I don’t pay, 4 down ass grown up Women that want to engage in some pleasure together. I am going to see about making that happen tonight. I’ll keep you posted…

My agenda today:
*Watch Transformers
*Hang out with the family
*go buck wild!!!

Its been a while since i’ve updated my blog. For the most part, I let my mom borrow my camera, so I haven’t made an effort to post anything. But enough of my whining. Beat updates are coming soon. I just finished recording a few tracks with my homie Martin, as seen a few posts below. We layed down some vocals for the 64 Bitz beat.

I am supposed to be working today….But, as I am at the clients home, I begin to get real light headed, whoozy, and feel like throwing up. I am there to setup his network, and fix his computer that had a virus. I leave the house for a 30 min lunch break and dash to L&L’s to get some grub, hoping it would make me better. After the Chicken *Katsu (*correction, after Kalae informed me its not Catsu) and Rice, I still feel like crap. So I end up calling out sick, and getting my co-worker to finish up the call.

Now I am home here on Youtube searching for cool videos. Check out this video that my homie Starwindz made. Its a blend of Gi Joe intro with Bone Thugs in Harmony. I saw this is how Gi Joe should have started their shows: