#b.allen

*The following takes place on Friday, April 12th, 2019.* 8:40am - After hitting snooze on my alarm plenty of times, I think it's finally time to get moving. 10:14am - As I'm deciding on what to do for the day, I think about how just days ago, there wasn't any snow on the ground and now days later, here we are. I very rarely this close this, but I tend to have issues with being motivated during the winter time. Case in point being the winter of 2017 (My song, "Beauty In The Struggle" comes from that winter). When it's consistently cloudy and all you see is snow for a bulk of the year, it makes it difficult on some days to get up and get out and just get moving. 11:30am - Considering I don't currently have any form of caffeine nor any easy options for lunch, I think it’s time to go back to sleep for a little nap. If I’m gonna rock the stage tonight, I need to get my body decently rested.  2:45pm – Slept a little longer than I planned, but I feel a lot better than I was this morning. Time to get a little bit of lunch – or more of a mini-snack at this point. As I’m coming back from the gas station, I noticed the music manager/homie, Jeff called me a couple of times. Phone was on silent, so I didn’t even see he called. After about 5 minutes after I called him back, he calls back and we chat about the show among other things. Sounds like he’s equally ready for tonight as well. 4:17pm - Dee messages all of us who are doing the show tonight, just to run down a few extra details for the show. B Dot (B.Allen) and I previously met Dee at a show we all did together, coincidentally enough at Club Underground back in 2016.  4:41pm - My lovely girlfriend, Nikki texts me, wishing me luck on tonight's show. Her “Break a leg at your shoe” typo had me cracking up once I re-read it. 5:27pm - To go along with my shirt choice for tonight, I'm getting in that zone by watching some DX stuff! A now-Hall of Fame group in WWE has been a big inspiration for B Dot and I throughout the years (no matter how much B Dot hates on Triple H...) in various ways. Soon enough, it'll be time to ask myself those three words that Triple H asks before that infamous intro. 6:47pm – B Dot lets me know he’s running behind with various errands, so getting there closer to 7:30 would be best. Shortly after, I give Jeff a call to update him on getting to B Dot’s and he gets ready to leave to pick me up. 7:33pm - Jeff is outside, meaning it's time to head to B Dot's, but first a pit stop to get some energy drinks. Also, I know we're late if B Dot is asking where we at lol. 8pm – We’ve arrived at B Dot’s! As usual, his crazy (but great) dog, Nina is hyper at the arrival of people. B Dot, Jeff and I chatted about a good amount of things from tonight’s show, current music (local and non-local) to the eventual Madden rematch that B Dot and Jeff have to have. 8:45pm – It’s about that time! Posse out! En route to the venue. 8:50pm - I'm pretty sure B Dot and Melanie are gonna beat us to the show lol. The GPS gave us the longer way to the venue. 9:05pm - We all have arrived in our separate cars! We actually got there the same time that B Dot and Melanie got there. Right when we walk downstairs to the venue portion, we immediately see Dee and chat it up with him, thanking him again for the opportunity. Shortly after, we briefly chat with Josh (Booker at Club Underground) while he’s checking our IDs. As he does a double take at our IDs (due to the same government name/different spelling thing), I remind him that he previously met us in July of 2017 after the last Club Underground show we did with Breakneck. I take a brief separate moment to check in on him, as he was recently in the hospital for a few health related things. He seems to be in positive spirits, so that’s definitely a plus! 9:25pm - Never have I rushed so fast to get a beer...I'm hoping this future investment is worth it. I can’t disclose too much of it at the moment, but this idea that Jeff has is a bit out of my price bracket right now. 9:40pm - In an effort to fix up my mood, I decide to chat with B Dot and Melanie. I give B Dot a brief general idea about Jeff’s future investment idea, and while he’s all for it, he also brings up a very solid point: we have to get back to basics first and foremost by linking up more with each other (and other music oriented people) and create music first, worry about other things later. 10:06pm - Ben Jammin K is up now. He has a very similar style that reminds me of another music acquaintance.  10:23pm - Mistah is up now. I’ve known of Mistah for awhile now, but hadn’t met him officially until this show. Glad to put a face to the social media presence I’ve seen. I’m digging the music I’m hearing from him! 10:50pm - Verb is up now. I really dig his style – raw and rugged, but still pretty chill with the bars. A hybrid West Coast-East Coast vibe! 11:12pm - Synergy Centric is up now. The show is moving along pretty fast and smooth! Pretty soon, I gotta get myself in that zone... 11:29pm - Dee lets B Dot and I know that we're up immediately after Synergy Centric's last song. Time to throw these shades on and do the damn thang! 11:50pm - And another show down! Aside from a sound mishap, we left our all on the stage! We literally left our voices on the stage, which is a first for myself in awhile and a first for B Dot. In the words of Dave Chapelle, “Modern problems require modern solutions.” Time to get home, eat and rest my voice...

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[ starter for @ofkidflash !!! ]

*The following events take place on the eve of New Year’s Eve 2017.* Saturday 1:52am - After a long day of work, running around town for New Year's Eve things and the travels, it's time for bed. With B.Allen and I not having our set configured at the moment, this is gonna make for an interesting day. 11:16am - Up and at 'em. Current temperature: -10°. Goodness! 12:07pm - Looks like B.Allen and I will be rocking the same set from our November performance at Acadia. When it's a bit down to the wire, you gotta roll with it. 12:44pm - Finally getting a chance to promote the show. Also checking out Ole Soles' music in the process. 1:03pm - To pass some time, it's time to get some video game time in! 2:16pm - Anyone who knows me, knows that breakfast at my house can occur as late as 3pm. Today is no exception. Breakfast with a little bit of "Burn Notice". 2:52pm - My girlfriend, Nikki wishes me luck early on tonight's show, considering she won't be able to be there with me, due to work. 4:04pm - Might as well get a nap in before tonight's show. What's the worst that can happen, right? 5:45pm - I definitely could've napped a little bit longer haha. Final promoting is in effect for tonight's show. 7:38pm - Day Block bound! Shoutout to my mom for taking me up to the bus stop to knock out a good chunk of the wait time. 8:25pm - Despite the bitter cold, I made it in one piece! B.Allen and Weather Check are chilling at the bar inside. Apparently, the pretzel wasn’t the best, according to B Dot. 9:09pm - MNtality is in the building! Looks like between him, Ross and Mono - we'll have photos and videos! Also, our little brother and my former stepmom (B.Allen, Jabri & Jaylon’s mom), DeAnna will be coming. While MNtality, Mono and I were chatting - I discovered that we will be opening up the show! 9:15pm - B.Allen and I talked briefly about the concept of a clean slate for 2018. From a music aspect to a life aspect. It's weird to think that in June 2018, I'll have known him for 17 years. That being said, the clean slate concept might be a good one to adapt fast. I'll have to remember to pass that along to the peeps. I haven’t had a chance to see him a lot lately, which is always strange when we don’t see each other semi-often as we do. In case we didn’t see each other on New Year’s, we decide to take a shot of Hennessy (B Dot’s drink of choice, typically). 9:30pm - DeAnna just got here. I totally blanked out and realized that Jaylon would not be old enough for this show. He's at the hotel, chilling. I still got beef with him about his smart remark in the Christmas group text with all the siblings... 9:57pm - We started off the show and killed it! B.Allen and I did our thang and left it all on stage! This for sure will be our last show for awhile. Gotta get new material! For us knowing that it’d be our last show for awhile, we did a damn good job at presenting the energy we’re known for. However, with us both wearing sweatshirts and various layers, we definitely got caught by the heat haha. 10:04pm - Weather Check is up now. Mono, Ross and Trevor never fail to put on a good performance! 10:45pm - Weather Check did a fantastic job!! The energy was absolutely electric! Mono is a true one-of-a-kind, true do it all artist. Ross and Trevor are beasts at bass and drums, respectively. I tip my hat to them. Ole Soles is closing it out, up next. 11:08pm - Ole Soles is up! They're the producer/rapper combo of Niels and Jake Tang. They even got a painter with them (shoutout to Colby Swanson)! The sample, old school sound is right up my alley! 11:48pm - The show is now over and complete! It was a chill night of music. B.Allen and I even got $13 each from it. Now, time to go home and prepare for the very long day ahead tomorrow. 

*The following events take place between December 6th, 2017 and December 8th, 2017* Wednesday 10:12pm - After promoting the show to the best of my abilities and eating a filling Ramen combo, it's time to figure out the tail end of the night. 11:22pm - I normally save the wrestling promo viewing for the day of the show, but this show is one of few exceptions. The energy going into this show has not been the same as others, so I'm needing to dig in deep for that energy that S.O.S. is known for. I'm really, really hoping that B.Allen and I can get the cohesive energy together for this show. Thursday 12:25am - My girlfriend texts me back, letting me know that she's gonna find ways to make sure I'm hype and energetic for the show. Knowing her, this is gonna be interesting in every sense of the word. 12:45am - After a little bit of Wayans Bros., I decide it's finally time for bed. 6:45am - Time to get this long day started! 8:35am - Now that the morning of unfortunate events is over, it's time to finally head to work. Despite the rough start to the day, all is not lost. 8:55am - What better way to turn a mood around? Music. 10:51am - The plus side of being late to work? The day goes by just a little bit faster. Got to work a half hour late (9:30 instead of 9), but made it in one piece, so that's all that matters. Earlier this morning, we found out from Cos (Jonathan) that we go on at 9:30 - meaning we go on first. Does that put the pressure on? Sure, but B.Allen and I have felt pressure before and come out the other side shining. 1:55pm - I was sitting at my desk earlier, hoping my coworker Paul had some snacks with him. Less than 30 seconds later, he offers me some pretzels! They definitely came in handy for this quick break I'm taking. 3:07pm - Left work a little later than expected, but looks like I'll be getting to my girlfriend's place before 4, so it's all good! Time to do a minor solo practice. 3:45pm - I've arrived at my lady's place, so it's time to relax a bit and appreciate each other's company. 5:19pm - While Nikki (my girlfriend) has a smoke, I'm trying to think of how to get dinner for $14... The thing I appreciate about her is that she's understanding about times like these where we're both struggling and simply have each others' company. It may not always be ideal, but it keeps us humble and makes us grow closer together. Meanwhile, my mom texts me back and reminds me to wrap it up in a comical manner. Thanks, Mom haha. 6:30pm - About 10 minutes before we catch the bus and Nikki is working on putting on the "bare ass minimum" of makeup. Can we make the bus on time? We're gonna see! 6:44pm - We made it on the bus on time! B.Allen just texted me, double checking about soundcheck. Looks like he's in the zone, which means we back in our normal aura! 7:27pm - Inching closer and closer into Dinkytown. Not sure whether I'm getting more nervous or what. 7:40pm - The lady and I have arrived! Kitty Cat Klub is pretty damn dope with minimal people in here. I’ve never had a chance to enjoy the visuals of the place until now. Starting off with a Two Hearted Ale. 8pm - As I predicted, B.Allen got here right as Nikki was outside smoking a cigarette. Between me and y'all, I hope they both stop smoking cigarettes in 2018. Pure wishful thinking, though. 8:15pm - Cos and his girl, Thando have arrived. It's gonna be an interesting night. . 9:04pm - Doors are officially open! 9:15pm - Only 15 minutes until we hit the stage! 9:48pm - Show 101: Shows rarely start on time. Cos lets me know a few last minor details about the show. Hoping for a good set! Also, Ross from Weather Check is here tonight. We actually might have a show with them at the end of the month! *Post-Edit: That show is now confirmed! December 30th at Day Block Brewing!* 10:25pm - And just like that, our set is complete! After the stressors en route to this show, we did our damn thing as usual! Jabri ended up coming with a homie of his, so it was dope to have our brother there. Of course, the lady absolutely loved the set - which made my night just as much as Jabri being there. My voice went out somewhere in our set and it was clear once I was trying to talk to Nikki. I also never realize how drastic that adrenaline jump is from performing to not. Now that our set is complete, it's time to go get some food! 11:08pm - Qdoba was closed unfortunately, so the alternatives were very slim. With little time to decide before the last bus to Edina, we had to settle with McDonald's. 11:26pm - Back to Edina we go. Damn, this is gonna be a VERY long bus ride. Friday 12:24am - It ain't Qdoba, but this McDonald's beats the pretzels I had earlier! After this, it's right to bed for the lady and I.

12:15am - OWLS Crew is up now. They've definitely got a dope sound. 1:14am - Despite a massive speed bump and figuring some things out in terms of routes back home, we held it down as usual. "Adapt to survive" as B Dot said. Even with only S.O.S songs, the crowd loved us. B Dot and Mono are headed to their respective places while I take the long way home tonight - and boy, is it long. 2:17am - On the second bus headed back home. This might be the latest in a long time that I've been out. Soundtrack for the travel home? "4:44" (Album) by Jay-Z 2:53am - Finally back at the humble abode. It was a bit of a whirlwind of a day, but the day is done. Time to eat and get sleep...

Noh: [immediately, without waiting for a greeting:] Are you okay?