Want to stream the Self Suffice Album FREE?

As mentioned in the last post, some of Self Suffice's music has been found on Spotify. To listen while it's available for FREE, Here's a playlist for you - You're Welcome ! ha ha :) This Self Suffice Playlist also includes appearances on albums with the Sky Beneath and Klokwize!

How Self Suffice is Getting a Boost from Spotify!

Self Suffice Blowing Up with Spotify

You've probably already heard, as Spotify is gaining the popularity of iTunes and the accessibility of ReverbNation. It's a fun way to discover new music, and also for all my RapOets out there to introduce people to your records before they put their money on it. I just saw my album "Manhattan Night" on Spotify, so check it, and let me know what you think of Spotify.

"NO" ing Good and Evil - Hip-Hop view on the Bible

Art by Corey Pane

I tend to interpret the world as a song, which might not be a surprise to anyone who knows me, because I'm an MC. Most of my time is spent creating, performing, enjoying, and collaborating with others on... songs.

My songs include puns (specifying the meaning of statements that start off unclear in a funny way), rhythm, insight (a challenge to rethink what you know in a new way), and humor (it's all about enjoying life and sharing that enjoyment).

It just occurred to me that my sense of using puns, rhythm, insight, and humor in songs can lead to very different interpretations of books that some people might never consider.

For example, take something very controversial to many people, like the Bible...

1. Since the Bible wasn't written in English, we'll just look at an English translation (if you've gotten this far in the blog, I'm assuming you understand English :) )

2. One of my favorite things about MCing is double entendres. But I like triple entendres even better! In other words I love creating lyrics that mean more than one thing, and I imagine the Bible was written by someone way more skilled than me, so...

This post will just be one of many ways to interpret the Bible, NOT THE BEST OR THE ONLY WAY - just one way to open my mind and entertain you, like I do with my songs.

Here's Webster's Bible Translation of Genesis 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man hath become as one of us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he should put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

Note: This takes place after a serpent has convinced Eve that she and Adam can't be like God unless she eats from this forbidden tree.

One way to interpret this quote using puns, insight, and humor is:

1. "man hath become as one of us" The person has become a separated part, disconnected from the whole... ironically doing this in attempt to be more like us ("one of us" is a different thing than "all of us").

2. "to know good and evil" The reason why the person did this, was to place their faith in the value of judging things (including people) as either "good" or "evil" (here know would mean to "believe in" or to "place value in")

3. "And now, lest he should put forth his hand" Now that the person has chosen to believe in good and evil, "God forbid" (pardon the double entendre and pun!) the person should actually take some action. Here God could be interpreted as using sarcasm and/or reverse psychology... (Putting "forth his hand" could mean taking some action or behavior. Eating the fruit of the tree of good and evil is a completely mental exercise, involving judging, worrying, forming an opinion... BUT NOT ACTUALLY DOING ANYTHING PHYSICALLY)

4. "and take also of the tree of life" Hopefully the person will do what God originally asked them to do and follow their joy, instead of being paralyzed by thoughts about what is good or evil (here life would mean ACTIVITY - someone could be physically alive, but be considered dead due to spending most of their time worrying about things... BUT NOT ACTUALLY TAKING ACTION).

5. "and eat, and live for ever:" To eat is to get the results of something. The result of taking ACTION is to learn what you're able to do, and even figure out how to do the same thing in DIFFERENT WAYS. The result of judging things/people as good or bad is reluctance to understand their needs and/or do new things with them. To live for ever is to become a part of history (History lives forever, much longer than human opinions or even human bodies. A lot of violence is caused by people who believe they are "good". Billions of people come and go without ever TAKING ACTION on their passions or fulfilling their needs... BECAUSE they are too BUSY judging themselves/their dreams as bad or good).

Before I summarize this one of many humorous, insightful Bible interpretations, I'll add another funny thought...

Adam is the part of the mind that attempts to do what it thinks will get the results a person wants. This part of the mind also provides a rational explanation for everything a person does.

Eve is the part of the mind that inquires about what it hasn't experienced. Finding out that things are "good" or "bad" can seem to provide a lot more answers (food) a lot more simply than finding out all the different ways that things can be used (seducing Eve, so to speak).

Serpent is the part of the mind that reacts based on fear of all sorts, especially fear of pain and loss.

God is the all-encompassing TRUTH, embodying the way that everything works, including the SCIENCE of predictable results, as well as the ART of unpredictable variations of possibility.

To Summarize this Hip-Hop artist-based interpretation, psychologically...

Although a person naturally feels the need to take action and enjoy life, due to their fears of being less than perfect, they stop wondering how to meet their needs, and start to question whether their needs and actions are "good" or "bad" and whether they are worthy of having those needs met. Hopefully the person realizes the stagnation this choice causes, ceases any thoughts of punishment and reward, and returns to questioning how best to take ACTION and meet their needs in the present moment. This results in more examples of how to get results that can be passed on throughout history.

To Summarize this Hip-Hop artist-based interpretation, allegorically...

A person is one with God. A serpent tells them that God doesn't think they are worthy of knowing a secret that would make them closer to God. The moment the person becomes convinced by the serpent that God doesn't think they are Good enough, they have eaten the fruit of the "Knowledge of the Tree of Good & Evil" and instantly feel ashamed that they are not as Good as God, while simultaneously feeling guilty for ignoring God by obeying the serpent. Since a belief can't be proven right or wrong, even God can't convince the person that they were already Godly, and already have everything they need to enjoy life. Instead of forcing the person to abandon the belief that they are less than Godly, God simply jokes that now that the person has "become as one of us", maybe now they will enjoy life (which is funny, because 1. they already had everything they needed to enjoy life to begin with and 2. they already were one with God, and now they've limited themselves to thinking like the serpent, which is just one limited, unproductive, and demeaning aspect of God... that will certainly NOT help the person meet their needs).

Thanks for reading this entertaining interpretation. Please don't read into it too much, it's not that deep - this post is just ONE EXAMPLE of how you can interpret things in more than one way. The BIBLE can be used to explain psychology, anatomy, astronomy, spirituality, and so much more, which is why it's alive with possibilities of meaning, which can all co-exist at once. I look at the whole world like that, especially art. To me, everything is a song.

Self Suffice on Internationally Known Vol. 2

featuring the illest MCs from around the globe
including the RapOet, put together by DJ Boo

FeedingArtists 0 of 36

I'm really excited to bring the FeedingArtists program live to the internet! For the past few weeks I've been completely booked with my 1-on-1 mentoring artists, but they've successfully completed their projects, and now I can finally share my guidance with the rest of the world.

1. What is FeedingArtists?

The name came from reversing the played out, old concept of the "Starving Artist". Yes we've all romanticized struggling to eek out a living - as a full-time artist must... right? Wrong! There's nothing romantic, cool, or even acceptable about the idea of artists being unable to maintain their health, build wealth, and focus on bringing more of their gift to the world.

As I started mentoring artists in performance skills, I noticed many were limiting their performance due to the link between performing and selling art. Then I added a selling/finance component to my mentoring, but noticed that many artists struggled with being booked beyond a certain point, due to stress and exhaustion. Finally I studied and added a health component to my mentiring.

The current FeedingArtists program is a streamlined version of the 36 week 1-on-1 guidance that I provide to artists, including 12 weeks of Health, 12 weeks of Wealth, and 12 Weeks of Creative Expression. If you're thinking you just need one of these areas enhanced - Think Again! The 12 weeks of Health will strengthen the Same Exact habits that will be Essential to 12 Weeks of Wealth, which in turn will strengthen you're focus for 12 weeks of Creative Expression.

Stay tuned for details on how you can get involved (free And discount options available) with the 36 Week FeedingArtists online Workshop starting this week!

Make Money Online (for friends and family Only!)

Let the words in this article be like dollar$ on the way to your wallet

Make Money Online
(for friends and family Only!)

As an unsigned recording artist, most of my fans are actually friends and family members. One of the benefits of that is knowing everyone reading my blog and listening to my music genuinely loves me, wants me to succeed, knows I appreciate everything they do, and probably expects me to win some grammies even more than I expect myself too. You also keep me accountable - LOL! For that very reason - even though the theme of this blog is earning a living an an unsigned lyricist - I'm very careful not to recommend tactics that I haven't personally benefited from in the long term.

When I switched from my technology day job to full time MCing, 3 years ago, I tried, failed, and succeeded with many different ways to make money. For example Amazon.com was - and still is - one of the most popular ways to make money online. I've had great experiences shopping there for the most part. However, legislation passed last year prohibited CT residents from earning money through the Amazon affiliate program. Although I tried it for a couple years (it didn't pay very well to be honest), I can't recommend something that most people won't make a dollar off of, even if I DO LIKE the company.

On the other hand, a company I'd never heard of 3 years ago, has turned out to be one of the best paying and reliable sources of income I've used to make money online. In fact, I got $5 in ten minutes from them earlier today - which is the same rate as making $30/hr - without having to go to an office or do any type of customer service work. (Screenshot below)


So if you're wondering...
How Do I Make Money
(like that),

I'm about to show you one of the simplest ways to
Get It

Firstly, make sure that it aligns with your money making goals. Just yesterday someone who I've worked for in the past offered me a lot of money to do a short animation. Although he was dissapointed, I had to tell him I couldn't do it, because it would take a few hours away from my personal goals, but when he needs recording or performance talent, he knows who to call. My goal in life is creating more understanding between people through recorded and live performances featuring my original lyrics.

So any tactic in my overall strategy has to:
1. provide more time for recording and performing
2. enhance my skills at recording and performing
3. benefit others who are passionate about recording and performing
4. benefit others through the use of recording and performing techniques
or 5. benefit others without taking more than a few hours away from recording and performing

Today's tactic fits, because it doesn't even take an hour (it's usually 5-15 minutes).

This survey company has been a reliable source for me since I joined 3 years ago

Here's why online surveys have been effective for me:
1. I researched and found that some people do make a living exclusively from surveys
(although I don't wish to make all my money from surveys, the demand is certainly there)

2. The reason I'd never heard of surveys (like I'd heard of Amazon.com) is the demographic
(the people who pay - A LOT - for these surveys are mostly large corporations, not consumers)

3. I researched to find the survey company with the highest success rate for average people
(as soon as I joined I started receiving surveys)

4. The pay rate is comparable to a $30/hr job
(in my experience, surveys tend to pay between $1-$10 for 5-15 minutes)

5. If you're not eligible for a survey, you find out QUICKLY, so you don't waste time
(each survey starts with 1 or 2 questions to determine if you're eligible or not)

6. Adjusts to your schedule - there's no minimum requirement, or penalty for ignoring surveys
(I receive a few surveys every couple days via email, but if I don't have time, I just ignore them. I've been a member of this program for 3 years, and sometimes igonored surveys for several months, without penalty)

7. It's FREE!
(LOL - it doesn't cost anything to join, and you can sign up in a few minutes from any computer)

8. I get to help friends and family get paid too!
(I also get paid both when people join through my link, and when they get paid for surveys)


What more can I say? Try it and see for yourself