Just got back from walking Coco.. he never looks at the camera when you ask him to.

The new work area.

A bottle of Henny my brother Tone brought from Cambodia. Even has this ill Khmer stamp on top of it. RIP Biggie & JMJ

Off to work in my whip.

Have a good day everyone!

Feels great to be functional again.  I can’t lie, I LOVE the new spot, and now that its tricked out, creating work this past week has been very enjoyable.  Above is a quick flyer for the Lyricist Lounge heads, at their SXSW event in Austin.  Below are some B&W shots of different angles I rendered, for their proposal project.

In other news, work has begun on the Wish One project, and wish I could show yall, but even I have to wait.

March… Week 2

_Ra

The homie DanDiggity @ Cukui got front page at Jackthreads.com Definitely check em out and their new Spring line! San Jose natives, Orly & Sam, gettin e’m with that authentic, hand drawn, tattoo/tribal flavor.  And if you haven’t kept up with Diggity @ Blind I, you;ve gotta get his latest EclecticCuts #18 Respect!

Alright Okay.. Finally Back in the Seat. We did a quickie video shoot with the brotha’ WishOne, back in October.  (Damn that was a while ago)  So a couple of months have passed, the footage has been sitting here, and its about time, we made our way back to it.  What we got here is just another comp, of the original design, but without the black background.  I had to go this route because, we definitely didn’t shoot this on green screen, and so the aesthetic has lent itself more towards an “unplugged” feel.  You see the lights, track markers, cables, and though this typically wouldn’t be a professional shoot, we’ve just gotta work with what we got…. and…. it works!

What’s great is that Wish, being the multi-talented dood that he is, makes beats! So what better way to fuse all this together, by getting an original from him.  This is the latest.  Tell me what you think.

_Ra

Good Morning! It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve posted, and it’s not that I didn’t want to.. But settling in the new place, actually took about a whole month.  I can rant about all the things that have been pushed back,and how much i think it sucks…. but from another perspective, things have been going as planned, and now that the studio is finally in tact and ready to go,  I can start this new year with a solid foundation.

Environment is key in allowing creativity to manifest, and I feel this new place is a healthy step up from the last.  All the same elements are there, the fung shui is there, the naga champa is there, turntables in effect, mood in effect, and the grind is about to be re-ignited.

I’ve been watchin from the bleachers this last month, and I’m very happy for all the folks in my circle doin great things.  Don & SMG are putting out “The Revenge of Dominique Wilkins: Memoirs of the Human Highlight.”  The Bangerz are droppin an album with the Jabbawockeez, as well as their own.  Nick Ngo just got off tour with the JBWKZ in the P.I..  Marco B, is killin videos left and right.  Mark Sebastian is still gathering the troops for creative domination. Replay done picked up a Grammy.  Dandiggity & PLSTK/Cukui are about to drop.  My man Z is on to bigger and better.  Memo got his line Social Villains on point….. The list goes on..

Oh, and my Seniorita still “Bakes Better than them Bitches.” ( as Don would say)

Jay Electronica :: Exhibit C

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It’s Third Week of February… and yes, time is flying. My habits have had me stuck to google reader, google buzz, researching…etc… and filtering through all the inspirational mess that lives on the internet. I think I’ve reached another threshold of being overwhelmed by my own ambitions. It’s not so much a complaint, but more so a reminder that, you’ve gotta stay paced.

Ever since I moved, I’ve accepted that it takes time to transition, and that it’s not as quick as I originally anticipated. When you have personal deadlines and don’t meet them… a sense of disappointment sorta settles in, and you gotta face the fact that in a way you sorta failed. But at the same time, you gotta recognize the small success that happen a long the way, and not be so hard on yourself.

This month, I was supposed to be banging out the 2010 demo reel… But with this transition and all, things definitely took a turn, and I’ve gotta be a little more patient. Remind myself that I shouldn’t look left nor right.. That’s the thing about the internet though… You’re engulfed in so mo much inspiration, it’s easy to lose sight of your own voice, and easy to try to imitate, or elaborate on what you think is dope. Another thing is that I’m surrounded by hustlers... My circle involves some fantastic people, and it seems everyone is always stepping up their game…. So no matter what, I can’t fall, or fail. I gotta keep up and stay with the pack.  It’s difficult to not compare your progress.  How else are you going to measure your success, if you don’t take into consideration what’s dope out there? I applaud those that don’t give a fuck and do it on their own terms (Dave Choe, Levi Maestro, Saber, Nick Ngo, etc…).

Right now though, this is just what’s on my mind.  I’m inspired by a lot of things, and the other night, I came across a video about a business development consultant.  He was saying that, you’ve gotta “narrow you’re focus..” and “deepen your expertise.” But for a guy like me, I feel like I’m able to tap into so many things, it feels wrong, NOT to exercise all my abilities.

I realized, I just gotta simplify a little more.  All those goals I have… I gotta refine them a little more and stay focused on what I’m good at.  (But my ego says I’m good at everything!)

On the top right hand corner of this site it says “Stab Labs, is a behind the scenes look into our culture, inspiration, thoughts & process.” So there it is.. a behind the scenes look into my thoughts… not everything is perfect here. But the work ethic and dedication will always be.  All I want to do is inspire, and I’m just trying to figure out the best way to do that.

(The images above are mock ups of how I’m planning to utilize the studio space that I have.)

So during my search for the original j-Dilla artwork, I found some oldies but goodies.  ’05 was a big year for me, and I think I just kept beastin’ it every which way I could.  Above is a design I did of DJ Replay of The Bangerz/Free School, back when I was living down in LA for a little bit.  At the time he transitioned from interning, to working at some recording studio.. except, it wasn’t just any recording studio… I remember seeing platinum record plaques of Dr. Dre’s Chronic 2001 on the wall… I remember some dood playin some beats for Ryan, and the music went straight through your chest… damn.. the chronic 2001 was recorded there?!

Another quickie painting I did back at Meezy’s, which I later gave to E-Tone, who was the illy flash programmer there.  He made my first Stablished site live.…Shouts to E-Tone. It was so dope having turntables next to my work desk.  I’ll always have a set of decks in the studio. The Vestax PMC-07 Pro was a good look too…especially with that Mindtricks sticker on it.

Me and the brotha’ Dandiggity of PLSTK/BlindI/SanJose holdin down some Sapporo’s at some fashion show in SF with the Conn533 crew…. Sup Diggity! He’s PR’ing for the upcoming brand PLSTK… and they recently got a new design studio/office also in SJ.. check their blog! PLSTK

And damn!!!!! This is extra old… I think Tommy of Universal Grammar, who’s now throwin PST with Sake1, had a night where he offered me the opportunity to do a live painting at Sofa Lounge in SJ, where the original Music Machine took place.. Damn i miss that place… illy circles went down there.. and of course dope beats by the best… Goldenchyld, Nick Ngo & the rest of the Bangerz…

And this right here is an actual PHOTO, that Dandiggity took of me, back in maybe ‘04….  the first, Always Classic photo shoot.