#ogratitude

About last night.. I played a few while my boy @i_am_djmateo hit the bathroom. I was ehh CDJs ain’t my strong suit but it was cool to play at the Academy opening I drive past the dome everyday. Better yet to het to hang with my brother Mateo, dudes inspiring. Wont get into it all suffice to say he does more on one good leg than most do on two. Massive amounts of love for my brother right here. We ended the night with some In and Out and a milkshake getting thrown at my car by a drunk. What are ya gonna do🤷‍♂️anyways it was a good night indeed #OGratitude https://www.instagram.com/p/CUcFU6yLdrJ/?utm_medium=tumblr

10 years ago today I made the wisest decision of my life. On the heels of losing my father to liver cancer I manned up, and with the help of my friends and my abstract notion of my higher power I dug in deep and got it together. Qp years later not one regret. My hands always out to anyone who needs help, no judgements. I am honored to do service for others whenever I can, its what helps us stay sober. Cant wait for the pandemic to be over so I can sit in a meeting with my friends again. There are no coincidence’s, I didn’t get here by accident. I cant do this alone none if us can, its a we thing and fir that message and all of the love and support I received over the years I have nothing but #OGratitude (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/COpXlnHLi6u/?igshid=f3edorkvqi93

This song was a culmination of things internally at Elektra records almost 2 years before the shit would hit the fan with the Black Bastards debacle. Doom was smart enough to see an opportunity to rock with his fellow GODS, to make a statement while having fun at the same time. The camaraderie you hear within the rhymes on this song, lets you know the mutual love and respect these brothers all had for each other. Loved this song. Loved seeing it come together, I remember the sessions like it was yesterday. Let me be honest, being involved with the Gods from the outside looking in may seem like it could have been intense, but for me having been raised by activists and taught about Islam as a youth, having grown up with Muslim friends my parents and myself considered family, as well as having friends who had converted to the 5% Nation of Gods and Earths in High School, I thought the energy both individual and collective was important, powerful and needed to be heard. I learnt a lot from the experience to be clear. We also had a lot of fun which I would be remiss not to mention. It wasn’t steeped in tension and focused intent, it just was. Simply put this was the best time of my long oft conflicted relationship with the music biz. We were young and had no idea we were in the middle of what would become one of the most important times in our musical culture. I really am a lucky man to have been involved #OGratitude ✊🏼Peace to the GODS✊🏼 (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJpcD8oAZUL/?igshid=1ux8fo8r862bm

This song was a culmination of things internally at Elektra records almost 2 years before the shit would hit the fan with the Black Bastards debacle. Doom was smart enough to see an opportunity to rock with his fellow GODSand make a statement while having fun at the same time. The camaraderie you hear within the rhymes on this song let you know the mutual love and respect these brothers all had for each other. Loved this song. Loved seeing it come together, I remember the session like it was yesterday. Let me be honest, being involved with the Gods from the outside looking in may seem like it could have been intense, but for me having been raised by activists and taught about Islam as a youth, having grown up with Muslim friends my parents and myself considered family, as well as having friends who had converted to the 5% Nation of Gods and Earths in High School, I thought the energy both individual and collective was important, powerful and deserved to be heard. I learnt a lot to be clear. We also had a lot of fun which I would be remiss not to mention. Simply put this was the best time of my long oft conflicted relationship with the music biz. We were young and had no idea we were in the middle of what would become one of the most important times in our culture. I really am a lucky man to have been involved #OGratitude ✊🏼Peace to the GODS✊🏼 (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJpcD8oAZUL/?igshid=bi9x924sldpy

I stayed off socials today, savoring our official changing of the guard. Anyone who’s followed me on socials or knows me know how I felt about Trump and his minions. I have become a target of sorts for right wing assholes lame threats on social media. All good, you bozo’s gave to wear that L. Its sad actually that so many half wit mostly white sheep went for Trumps bullshit. Good that we know you racist schmuck exist. I’m not going to dwell on the negatives too much right now. For the next 48 hours I’m just going to enjoy the fact the right candidate won and Trumps out the door in a matter of months. #OGratitude 🙏🏼 (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHUmReiALRZ/?igshid=1swodiqnzoyta

This was released 22 years ago and subsequently changed my life. We worked on it for almost a year. Eric had a heart attack the day we completed the last vocals on the record for the tune Tired. What a wild ride.John Gamble , Everlast and myself worked for a solid 10 months on this thing, hit some bumps along the way but got it done and then some. First week we moved 4300 records and looked dead in the water. End of the year we had a top 5 LP. 3 x Plat when it was all said and done. Lead me to getting one with @ogeverlast on a Santana record that was album of the year. Another reason I always dug LA, we made this one up on Mount Olympus up i. The Hollywood Hills, in the pad. ESwift lived up the block shit was just a life altering experience fir me.#Gotta thank my crew who helped including Jamey Staub, @sibagiba @divinestyler_1 my neighbor and hang out partner up the block @swiftzilla @paulinetakahashilosangeles @mrsjzzz and @cottonmouthlou for holding me down. I always look back on this time and think man how freakin lucky am I to have been involved in this one. #OGratitude #WhiteyFordSingsTheBlues #PathToAGrammy #SD50s #WhatItsLike (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CE53H0XAOh5/?igshid=z98hwud1pxn4

OG files: @julesgayton and myself squinting at what I do not know. Gonna guesstimate early 90s but could be late 80s obviously in NYC. We had a lot more hair then. Photo by our esteemed colleague @tim_easton Probably makes the book as I keep scouring my friends hard drives for photos. #SonOfTheCity #Thisyear #Datekeepsmovingback #OGratitude (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8zN-06gZlX/?igshid=bkbyoil6mmdb

What an amazing Thanks Giving this year. I enjoyed a feast with the wildest cast of characters imaginable everyone from Hip Hop luminaries to stand up comedians to UFC stars to retired street legends. We had a tremendous feast and a lot of snaps. Thanks for having us @russellpeters it was one for the books! #OGratitude 🙏 https://www.instagram.com/p/B5cV5dSgjC1/?igshid=199aq7g0mdja4