Braille.... Paid Dues and still crusing

Hello hello.  The last two weeks were so crazy I never had enough time to write a blog.  The first thing I want to talk about is the Paid Dues show I performed at in Denver, CO.  There was also a second Paid Dues event planned for Berkely, CA but it got canceled at the last minute.  The Denver show was amazing!!!!  DeLa Soul was headlining this concert and they were definitely one of my favorite groups when I was growing up.  This was the third time I opened for them and their live show still blows me away.  There are very few groups I can watch that make me feel like I want to step up my game.  They are still one of my favorites.  I run into Trugoy from the group and gave him a copy of "The IV Edition".  Hopefully he'll get a chance to check it out.

The first artist I ran into during the event was Sage Francis.  I wasn't sure if he would remember me but we met about 9 years ago when I was 17.  He did remember and he was a little surprised to see my name starting to pop up again.  I've been making music non stop since last time I saw him, but I guess my name didn't really start buzzing again until after this new record dropped.  It's been an exciting process!!!  Other artists I was able to meet and give CDs to include Murs, Yak Ballz, Gift of Gab, Double-O of Kidz in the Hall and 9th Wonder.  My encounter with 9th Wonder was dope because we did a song together 5 years ago but this was the first time we met in person.  Apparently I was one of the first artists to pay 9th Wonder for a beat...(we did our song together before he worked with Jay-Z).  9th asked me if I had a laptop with me and after he performed we met backstage and he put 10 beats onto my computer.  Murs, Supernatural, Scratch (of the Roots), and many others were in the room while this was happening.  It was a dope Hiphop moment and a couple of those beats will probably end up on my next album.

There is one last story I want to share from Paid Dues.  When it was my turn to perform I wasn't sure how the response would be.  Many people in the crowd had never heard of me.  The show ended up going really well, a lot of people bought "The IV Edition" that night and I also handed out free copies of other Hiphop IS Music titles to spread the vibe around.  At one point, I was going to the parking lot to get more flyers and I met a guy working the door.  His name was JD I believe and we would have small conversions whenever I would run to my car.  I don't usually share these kind of stories because it's personal between me and the individual - but JD talked with me about how he had fallen away from God and how he was inspired that night to start serving God again.  I was so amazed that even in the midst of one of the biggest Hiphop shows I've ever done - God could still use me and remind me why he has brought me to the places he has.  The bible says if a shepherd has 100 sheep and one of them gets lost then the shepherd will leave the other 99 together to go find the one who was lost.  This summer has been all about shining light, being an encouragement to the communities I visit and trying to find a few lost sheep along the way.  My next blog will talk all about the Warped Tour!!!!  Gabriella is still smiling every day on the road.