Monstar3RA

Not too long ago, I came across a song that hit home pretty hard for me.  I was having a bad day, but all of a sudden a song started playing out of nowhere… It was just one of those things that you can’t believe what’s happening because it was a perfect pick me up. The song that was playing was “Goodbye Yesterday” By Kepstar; you’ve never heard of him? Well let me tell you a little about him, and then I’ll tell you about the song!

The mastermind behind one of my go-to songs when I’m having a rough time is the young Chris KEPSTAR Gonzalez. He resides in New York and is down to Earth and easy going; basically an all around nice guy!

You should all know by now, I had to ask him a couple questions to back up the strength of his lyrics.

I asked KEPSTAR what made him make that song and what the meaning of it was to him, his response was:

“I pull inspiration from some of my darkest times, sometimes I talk about the fun stuff that life has to offer but on an average it's usually stress and past decisions I've made or didn't make...the memories have their ways of getting thru, even when I'm happy”

Now that you have a slight background on the creator of the song, I think it’s time to give you the background on the song.

KEPSTAR said to me, “I wrote the song in January of 2011 after having a tough 2010. I started out the song having a melody to the hook but not knowing what the words were. I remember feeling depressed and just needed to tell people that I’m going to come back strong, I needed that inspirational record. I needed to tell myself that I was going to keep pushing no matter what and just forget about everything that had happened. I started writing the verses while simultaneously piecing together the chorus I waited a few months and finally recorded it...definitely one of my favorite songs.”

I didn’t need the confirmation of passion behind the song, but this most definitely will prove it to anyone who doubts the meaning behind the lyrics.

The whole song made me think about my life, it made me realize things I might not have before.

 “I promise ima make it if I die trying don't you worry aint nobody make it out alive and no matter how long it takes however many songs that I make it'll all be okay cause I made a jump from being underneath raise the bar again competition always comforts me say good bye yesterday hello to the future this is something to get use to”

“I’m past all the 2010 shit made a lot of mistakes n lost friendships enough stress that'll make somebody’s head spin but what I started wit, I don't wanna end wit cause in came in with nothing the lights all the money and fame means nothing as long as the next day’s better than the previous then next year’s looking real serious”

“I’m saying goodbye, to the life that I was once lived and if I could fly I’d take the high road over the bridge I’m saying goodbye so long to yesterday and if I could fly I’d spread my wings and fly away”

KEPSTAR uses his everyday vices to influence what he puts in his music, that touches the listener so much more than any song about girls, sex, alcohol, or drugs ever could. Everyone can relate to the emotions expressed in Goodbye Yesterday because it’s a common feeling in this generation. The feeling of needing to prove yourself to other people, to show you’re worth their time and energy. The fact that he is spilling his emotions into this song makes it that much better. Sure, you might not be in the same exact situation explained in the song, but you can’t deny that it made you think about your life and just go ‘wow…’

The ability music has to tell stories to the people listening to it is incredible- every song has the same yet unique meaning to every single person that has come across it. The songs all have underlying meanings, but the emotions and memories a single song can trigger is mind-blowing to me.

As I promised, here is Sweetness's FULL responses to the questions!

What role does music play in your life? Music never leaves my presence. In my car, music is always on, and always loud. When I’m out and about, whether it would be shopping or eating, music is always lingering as background music. At parties, music is the epicenter of the festivities. When I talk to people, sometimes we refer to music or even have conversations about it. Hell, a lot of clothes in my wardrobe have musical references on them. I believe that without music, the human experience itself will be incomplete. Music is much more than beats and melodies to move our bodies to: music is the representation of the people listening and dancing to it. Music is the representation of a generation: the lifestyles, the clichés, the bad decisions, the great decisions, the journeys, the results, the consequences, the sadness, the happiness. I firmly believe that music is filler for the universe: it seemingly binds objects, emotions and people together all at the same time. Nothing else on Earth could ever achieve something like that. How has it affected you? How hasn’t it affected me? I mean really. Sometimes you’ll see me out in public reppin’ my OVOXO Owl T-Shirt, or my “Do Right and Kill Everything” Drake shirt. I guess that can some up pretty much everything. I actually wish I had more music oriented shirts though, it really speaks volumes about who you are; kind of like what type of music you listen to defines who you are. I actually grew up a rock /alternative kid; being that all the men in my family preferred that. For the record, when I say rock, I don’t mean Metallica or AC/DC or anything like that. I think their music sounds horrible, but that’s just because of my conditioned perspective. Now groups like Rage Against the Machine, Johnny Cash, The White Stripes, Cake, The Raconteurs are ones that I love. (Yes, I am a huge Jack White fan.) You can probably say that it was because all those groups were “hip” at their time, but I love “hip”. My emergence into the realm of hip hop then came through really fast, and I can thank youtube for that. One day I was listening to “Knights of Cydonia” by Muse, and after about 5 listens, I went and looked at the related videos, and Chris Brown’s “Forever” caught my eye. I clicked on it, and it was a musical and spiritual epiphany. The rest became history. Chris Brown will always be my favorite artist, and “Forever” will always be my favorite song. Nothing ever can compare to that moment. Drake had an interview a while back, before Take Care dropped, and he said something like “For people who value that moment in time, nothing will ever be as good as that, because that’s your favorite moment in time…and our music/art is really just time-markers to people, you know? A lot of it. Like when people digest our music, it may not be about music: it may be about where you were at that point, what girlfriend you had, what job you had, what school/classes you were taking…Like you just remember that moment and you say man, “I love that time in my life.” and you associate [my music] with that [time] and you’ll say that nothing ever will be better than that.” That quote just gives me chills; I couldn’t describe it more perfectly. I’m sure some experts out there will say that all music is fleeting, and that 10 years from now everything will probably be different. They are probably right, but quite frankly I don’t care. Isn’t that what life is about right? Nothing lasts forever. Money comes and goes, people are born, people die, cars are bought, cars are crashed, houses are built, houses are sold, friends are made, friends are lost….It’s all just a cyclical process and it ends when you die. If you look at it from an outside perspective like that, it seems pretty grave…but I mean, that’s not really the essence of life. Life is about the day-to-day, second-to second, actions and words that take place that makes life really amazing. Nothing is more beautiful than life: if you aren’t living, you are just nothingness, and every second here on Earth, or any other part of the universe, is a gift. No religion needed, life is simply a gift. I’ve only told a couple people this before, but I actually was a mistake myself…I just wasn’t meant to be born. However, I was, and you can guarantee that every living second I spend alive, I honor and I appreciate its meaning. With all that being said, I understand life, I understand temporariness, and I understand music. All music is temporary, but its effects can be felt forever. There is no greater joy than cruising down the highway on a beautiful Pittsburgh summer day, with the windows down, and the music turned up. Stuff like that sticks with you forever. 

There you go; I told you they were phenomenal!! 

Hey guys! I just thought I would let you know that this is my first time doing this, so bear with me right now until I get the hang of things.

I can honestly say that I have been thinking of a topic for a couple days  to use for my very first blog and the response I kept getting was- “blog about what you are feeling at that moment,” so that is exactly what I am going to do!

There is no hiding the fact that I have a million and two things going on in my life at the moment, but all in all I feel satisfied. No matter what is going on I know I can count on those close to me including the Monstar3ra guys, my family, my best friend, and MUSIC. Yes, that’s right I said I can count on music to help me. No matter what is wrong, if anything is wrong at all, music can always solve life problems; that’s my opinion at least.  There is always an underlying meaning in each and every song, no matter -what genre, tempo, or language. Yes people, I said language; I am THAT GIRL with the multi-language, multi-genre iTunes that everyone hates because it will jump from playing Hip-Hop music to playing some crazy German Techno song. 

As hectic as my life may be, I always manage to continue to make music a part of my everyday life; whether it be listening to my iPod, watching videos on YouTube, being a performer in hiding while in the shower, or singing my favorite songs while I’m in the car, I can’t escape it and I’m most definitely not running away from it. I’ve been through crazy rough times in the short 18 years I have lived already; there have been times I counted on people I considered my friends to help me, only to realize they disappeared when I needed them the most- music can’t do that unless YOU isolate yourself from it.  Music is all around us and some people don’t realize it- don’t be oblivious to the music in life, it helps you get through the times you feel like you’re stuck at a dead end.

No matter what your mood is, there is a song to explain it and one to help you overcome it.  The more meaning that a song has the more influential it is on the people who listen to it. The only way a song can have meaning is when the artist whose song it is has a motive behind everything they do.  Since music plays such a large role in my life, I am a supporter of a variety of people who I reached out to in order for me to prove my point.

I messaged a couple musicians and asked them this general question: “What is your opinion on music and it’s affects on life and the roles it plays in your life?” Looking back on the responses I got, they were similar on account of the fact they all have an undeniable love and respect for music. Here are some of the responses I got from the artists..

“As a musician, music is my everything. It's inspired so many things in my life. I could even say it's just as much of a necessity as food, water, or shelter. A life w/o music is a life w/o color.” – Roscoe Wiki

I couldn’t have explained that better myself! The way he responded to my question most definitely did not take me by surprise considering his music shows his dedication and love as he explained in his answer.  Everything he does you can tell he puts his dedication and hard work towards it; even when I was just messaging, him he showed extreme sincerity towards the question and towards me. Even if you haven’t listened to his music yet (http://soundcloud.com/roscoewiki), but you follow him on twitter (@RoscoeWIKI) you can tell by just scrolling through his timeline that he puts all his heart into everything he does.

 “Music affects a lot of things, but it’s more of a passion. It’s like an escape that lets you get away from the real world, and really express how you feel, and the things you see by writing and saying it through a song. It helps me focus & relax, and is kind of like an extra drive that motivates me to try harder with everything I do”-JI

It’s crazy to think that I grew up hanging out and going on vacation with a guy who now has 24,154 followers on Twitter and is dropping crazy good tracks. Yes, I grew up with JI; so it’s pretty amazing to see someone from the 740 area code actually follow their dreams and desires and spread their motives and music to people outside of the small town we grew up in! I would never have guessed that music meant this much to JI, but he undoubtedly has a point to prove that music IS motivation.. it drives people to do extraordinary things no matter what others are saying about the moves you’re making. Keep on keeping on, JI, you’re doing great! Go ahead and check out his music (@JayEyeTheKing); help a fellow artist reach his dreams! http://www.datpiff.com/JI-Point-To-Prove-mixtape.301358.html?utm_campaign=piff.me&utm_source=&utm_medium=piff.me

“Music is much more than beats and melodies to move our bodies to: music is the representation of the people listening and dancing to it. Music is the representation of a generation: the lifestyles, the clichés, the bad decisions, the great decisions, the journeys, the results, the consequences, the sadness, the happiness. I firmly believe that music is filler for the universe: it seemingly binds objects, emotions and people together all at the same time. Nothing else on Earth could ever achieve something like that.”-Sweetness

“Nothing lasts forever. Money comes and goes, people are born, people die, cars are bought, cars are crashed, houses are built, houses are sold, friends are made, friends are lost….It’s all just a cyclical process and it ends when you die. If you look at it from an outside perspective like that, it seems pretty grave…but I mean, that’s not really the essence of life. Life is about the day-to-day, second-to second, actions and words that take place that makes life really amazing. Nothing is more beautiful than life: if you aren’t living, you are just nothingness, and every second here on Earth, or any other part of the universe, is a gift. No religion needed, life is simply a gift. I’ve only told a couple people this before, but I actually was a mistake myself…I just wasn’t meant to be born. However, I was, and you can guarantee that every living second I spend alive, I honor and I appreciate its meaning. With all that being said, I understand life, I understand temporariness, and I understand music. All music is temporary, but its effects can be felt forever. There is no greater joy than cruising down the highway on a beautiful Pittsburgh summer day, with the windows down, and the music turned up. Stuff like that sticks with you forever.”-Sweetness

How can I not have the perspectives of many different kinds of people without the view of Sweetness? Up until not too long ago, I always just thought he was an avid supporter or RomyBizz; that proves how little you know about someone when the only thing you know is that the person seems pretty cool. When I found out he plays a part in the Monstar3RA movement, I decided it was time to get to know him a little better than the casual seeing and passing by at a show.  I knew that he had an undeniable drive for music and it seemed like he was one of those inspiring people in hiding. His answer to the questions truly took me aback and made me realize that I am not the only one who might not be a musician, but that music plays a large role in the lives of many.  A couple weeks ago he shot me a text saying to tune into his show- I was like what are you talking about? Well guys- Sweetness is a part of WNJR’s radio shows. Yep, that’s right he holds a spot on Http://www.wnjr.org (91.7 fm) hosting his own radio show “The Sound of 412” on Wednesdays from 7pm-8pm. Considering how dedicated his responses to my 2 simple questions, constitutes a whole entire new blog on the legitimate answers he gave me because they were just so phenomenal that I feel that it is my duty to share the whole answers.  All in all, I hope that you are as moved by his response as I was when I read it. Show him some support and follow him on Twitter (@412_Sweetness) so you too can be up to date with “The Sound of 412”

Last, but certainly not least; I had to ask the Monetar3RA guys the question and as always they proved their dedication to the music they make.

“I know whenever I'm stressed or troubled it can be soothing”-Marly

Short, but sweet; what else was I to expect from Marly? No matter what he always has some line whether it is a couple words or a couple sentences, he always knows what to say and you can guarantee he means what he says.  Creeping through his twitter timeline (@itsmarly412) and you will see what I mean!

“Music to me is life. Its part of almost everything I do every day- whether I’m listening to it or writing it. Good music tells a story better than a book can in my opinion. You feel more.  I for one come alive with it. Life without music is dead to me.”-RomyBizz

It’s crazy how much a random message on Facebook can get you as far as it has gotten me. I randomly messaged RomyBizz on Facebook because I was bored and I wanted to let him know that I supported what he was doing almost over a year ago, and here I am now playing a role in the Monstar3RA movement. I started off with small tasks like making videos for his songs, but recently I’ve been playing a larger role and I absolutely love it. RomyBizz is one of my really good friends, and I am so proud to say that. If you haven’t listened to his music you must be insane considering his music is on this site- so you better get on that. In May he will be dropping his “Pain, Love, and Poetry” project and you will be amazed by the heart and soul he has poured into the album.  I’m not going to lie, I teared up a little at the studio when he was doing one song in particular and I will guarantee you will be able to tell which one that is when you hear it. It’s not just that he puts his heart into, check out his Twitter (@DaKidBizz) and you will see what I’m talking about. He is smooth with his words, on and off the tracks!

“When I think and really contemplate on how music has changed my life I look at that as a trick question, because to me I consider music my life. You usually hear people say "oh my girlfriend, my family I don't know what I would do without them, they are my life"- So being in a position of not really having anybody but myself I consider music my life. When I’m down and out.. I write/listen to music to help express how I feel and it really keeps me going everyday to strive for what you believe in, how a loved one would do. I feel that anything is possible with hard work, dedication, and patience. And I feel anybody who has made it would agree with me. Anytime I have down time, I am always writing, free-styling, thinking of lyrics to keep getting better. Experience and repetition are the best way to get better at just about anything, so that is pretty much how I look at it as playing a big role for me. I do not just say that about music because it’s like that with anything in life if you want something bad enough the only thing stopping you from getting it is yourself.”-yPurp

Although I haven’t known yPurp for that long, before he even said a word to me I knew he was super dedicated to his music. His response proved that I was right in my assumption I made about him! He just proved to me that he is even MORE dedicated than I thought he was. The times I’ve spent with him have always been with the Monstar3RA crew at the studio and he always went hard in the booth, it was amazing. The priority that music has in his life definitely is represented in the music he does, and you can tell it’s all from the heart. Be on the lookout for this up and coming artist, for now you can get a taste of his feel by checking out the first Monstar3RA song that all three artists did together, and that I was blessed to be there when it was being recorded, BOOM! (http://soundcloud.com/romybizz/boom-ft-ypurp-and-marly). Follow him on twitter and so you can get to know the guys of Monstar3RA some more @ pEEYOuArEpEE.

I truly believe and agree with everything these people have said about music; it just proves to you that music is more than people make it out to be. The more dedicated the musician is, the better the song- which explains why these people make amazing music. You can’t go wrong by listening and interacting with the people I talked about in this post and I will PROMISE you that they will make a difference in your life.  Even a short conversation with any of them can be uplifting because they have such a passion for the life they live; they are dream chasers, innovators, and they are making a change in the lives of people who listen and support their music.