Live In Peace (Read this)

I'm so not into this. What is this? I'm not sure.
Time and time again these series of questions go through my head in regards to life, love and music. Before you jump the gun I'm not contemplating suicide, but recent events have me contemplating "life-icide".

I'm sick of seeing the same thing, just like rap fans are sick of hearing the same thing. Especially in Detroit. This shit is getting old. Dilla Died, people made shirts. People told you how much they loved you and how much they wish they would say it more. We all started believing in showing love to those here before they are gone. Proof got killed, people made shirts. People told you how much they loved you and how much they wish they would say it more. We all started believing in showing love to those here before they are gone. Now Baatin has passed and we're doing the same thing. I don't know Baatin personally. I've only recorded him and met him in passing so I'm not the best person to tell you a bunch of Baatin stories, but I know that his music influenced people. I know that I saw him in New York 2 weeks before he died. I know that he has family that cares about him more than anyone of us that are reading this. And the most important thing is that I know that people are supposed to live. But... They don't.
People fucking die. That's what people do. I'll die one day and so will you.




Now with that said, what's next? Living is next until it's dying. And once it's onto dying it's a wrap. I sit at home and think about my children and I wonder if I'll ever make it to my dream. Then I started thinking about my dream. Is my dream a thing or a place? Way to often did I think my dream was a thing. My dream is a place. The "thing" I'm doing will ultimately take me or not take me to my dream. I had someone tell me that Proof died, but he lived his dream. How fucking selfish is that to say? That's something we say to ourselves to help us feel better. When it boils down to it Proof got killed while on the road to his dreams. Dreams change day by day and no matter how many time we reach them they change. I'm getting to the point that I despise parts of our hip hop community in Detroit.

Stop telling me you love me when someone dies! Tell me when someone lives. EVERYDAY. When I talked to Baatin for all of 30 seconds in New York two weeks ago guess what I said? I said "Man I wanna thank you. I'm a fan and you laid the ground work for what I do." To some of you that sounds like a great thing to say. Right? Well due to the circumstances I look back and wish I would have asked him "how he was doing?" "How was he feeling?" ANYTHING other than what I "wanted" to say. We never ask people what we think they need to be asked, we always ask what we want to ask. Be hell we're not mind-readers so what are we to do?

If I die I want this to be read. I don't want a benefit for my family. If I need a benefit for my family when I die then I needed one for them when I was alive. If you want to benefit my family, go see my mother and children. Tell them things about me that she may not have known. Listen to the Isely Brothers' song "Highways of My Life" and know that I felt like that EVERYDAY. But most importantly don't start a "movement" just to let it disappear.

Earlier I typed that I'm starting to despise Michigan's Hip Hop scene so I want to elaborate. Better yet I want to explain the statement. I love our scene, but it's like my alcoholic uncle. He shapes up and straightens out for Christmas, but he's right back at is bullshit ways on New Year's. It takes NEGATIVITY to fuel our scene. Dilla dies, ban together. Proof Dies, ban together. The same thing has happened with Baatin. I'm done with this game.

Life is about living and I dream to live it to the fullest.
I would love to go around saying R.I.P. B.D.P. (Baatin, Dilla, Proof) but instead I'll say Live In Peace to anyone reading this.

-Quest MCODY