Name:I.Y.E. Rize Country:United States State:California Gender:Male
Interests:God, Family, Friends, Music, Art, Poetry of any kind, the different phases of life, Good food, Good conversation, cruising the streets "just because", vibin', jammin' the uke, tickling the ivories, pounding the drums, singing, flowing, watching ESPN 8 "The Ocho" and of course sleep. Expertise:Writing Rhymes, Making Beats, Talking to myself, Jogging in the elevator, swimming laps in the jacuzi, purposely mispelling words to annoy people who spreak ferpect engrish, saying that I purposely mispell words to annoy people who spreak ferpectly engrish to hide my ignorance and inability to spell correctly, making faces, teasing you, hating me, loving them, ignoring us, and so on... Occupation:Student, Independent Emcee/Son Industry:Art
Palemene Laupati, Jr. Duke Sagapolutele Saina Lepulu Hartman Laupati Vanessa Eugenio Terri Jenel Gali Paul Talalele Josiah Talalele Alex Pankey Jeremiah Lepulu Phillip Sagapolutele
I hate complaining about things and there really is no reason to do so...
It's stupid, and yet I still do it.
Man, I just want to get work so I can be kept busy. I want to get back into school so I won't feel like I'm getting stupid.
Girls? Pssh...whatever. Not for me right now or maybe ever. I can't deal with all that mess and I'm tired of dealing with all that mess. My mom and my brother always tell me to keep away from them girls, but I never listen and look at me now - a wreck. It's not worth it, I know, and yet I still allow myself to get caught up. It WAS a good thing for me to stay home. I miss ALL the homies down South, but that community I was living in just talks waaaaaaay too much and will NEVER leave you alone. I don't think I would've been able to handle all these people in my business.
Instead of complaining I will take this time to praise God and send out thank yous to certain people:
PRAISE GOD that my little brother PJ has a position to be hired at a possible job. He's going to be going in for an interview hopefully on Friday so we're crossing fingers and praying that they will call him back. My brother is an ambitious person (waaaaaaaaay opposite of me) and has been diligently looking for work which includes job training and what have you. Today, he had a little bit of an UMPH in his step and told me that he had finally got work! Praise God because only God could've made a way for PJ to get work in this messed up economy. I too was hired at Google, but I'm on a 3 month waiting list for the shift I've requested. Any other shift would require me to work on Sabbath, so I gotta hustle whatever I can to get by. But I have a job now, its just a matter of waiting.
I want to send out a few thank you's to a few folks:
Grandma: E i ai taimi e faigata ia a'u e tautala ma oe aua e le lelei la'u fa'asamoa. A e viia i le Atua ua foa'i mai ia oe le malosi. Fa'amolemole, fa'amagalo mai ia i taimi e leo tele ai la'u leo. A e tele le taimi e faigata e tautala ia te oe ma le loto maulalo. A e fa'afetai i le Atua mo lou tatalo mo matou tamaiti ma lou alofa ia matou. E leai se taimi e le fa'afetai ia te oe mo le tele le mea e fai o oe mo tatou aiga. Fa'afetai lava, Grandma. Alofa'aga tele ia te oe.
Aunty Saua, Aunty Irene and Mua: They always hook me up with some ends when I'm a little down on my bricks. I'm not a money hog, but when I need money and I don't have a job and my folks kinda struggling, they always manage to have a little spare something for me. They also always open their home to me to go over to have fun. They laugh at EVERYTHING I DO and it feels good to laugh with my loved ones. Thank you guys, I love you.
Hartman and Vanessa: Since I've been home, they've always made time to hang out and they always invite me and my broke ass brother to go out with them if they have extra bricks. It's nice to see Hartman and "V" (as we call her) interact, because it's funny. Personally, it does give me hope that there maybe someone out there for me. Pssh, but I'm not even trippin' on that mess anymore. Thank you guys for always picking up the tab and hanging out. You two are the only real homies I really can hang out with around here that are my age. Thanks for letting me tag along. Thanks guys, I love you.
Rachelle "RayRay": One of my best friends from down South, this girl is die hard, real talk. We haven't known each other for more than several months or so but she and I have connected on a solid level. She's kool people and I am grateful to have her as a friend who puts up with all the stupidity I throw at her. She takes it with a beautiful smile and that distinctive giggle followed by that wonderful, "VEEEEEEEEEEE!" RayRay, thank you for staying solid and keeping in touch. I really do appreciate it. I love you for that and so much more.
Jon "JonJon": When my phone was still working, Jon always called to check up on. He's good people. When he says, "I won't forget you" he means it. If it's NOT a phone call its a MySpace comment and both mean a lot. It feels good to know that folks are thinking about you. Jon and I have shared the stage countless times and I am honored to call him a brother in Christ as well as a good friends. I love you bruh, thank you.
Rhonda: Another person that called often when my phone was working. Rhonda reminds me to seek the Lord even though SHE calls ME for "spiritual guidance" she too offers assurance in God. True to her island roots, Rhonda has been one of my dearest and BEST of friends. Always a listening ear, a humorous smart ass remark and a pinch on the butt (only HER and VANESSA pinch my butt...freaks...), Rhonda is a homie that has been here and I know will ALWAYS be here. Thank you Rhonda, I love you.
Jason: When I need spiritual guidance, Jason's study of God's word is always an encouragement to me. The Lord has truly blessed this man with the love of God and the knowledge of His word. His email messages, MySpace comments with funny videos and random pop-up AIM conversations are always a blessing. Jason, I miss living in that house with you but I know that you have awesome tennants there with you. Thank you for always sharing your knowledge of the Lord with me and reminding me of his constant presence. Thank you, I love you.
Russy: I haven't heard from this guy in some time, but I know he's busy with recording his EP with GTP. Russy, thank you for being here for me when I was down South. I know you're busy with music and life and I know it will be harder when school starts, but thank you. Thank you for your prayers brother. Peace to you and yours and blessings upon all you do. Thank you, I love you.
Kenneth Salomon: Bro, thank you for always making the music real. I miss jamming at the Grove with you and Tod. It's always fun stuff and I appreciate everything you've done. You NEVER go unnoticed, my friend. Seriously you're one of the dopest musicians out there and I am honored to always share the stage alongside you. Thank you bruh, I love you.
Tiffany "Nini": SILENCE! ... I keel you ... *hugs* You always make me laugh. It's soooooooooooo fun talking to you and I'm always glad to help YOU put a smile on YOUR face ;) *hugs* Have fun at LSU and I thank you for always taking the time to iChat when we're BOTH bored. Thank you for the pick-up lines too ;) Thank you, I love you.
Daniel aka "Living Proof": the online cyphers and conversations have been a BLESSING. Thank you for keeping the will of fire instilled within this dried up emcee. Your heart is in the right place and I am thankful to know that you are in the game with me. Keep you heart where it is and know that God will only take you HIGHER. Thank you for your insight bruh, I love you.
All right, well, these are just some thank you's I wanted to get out there. Even though life is not fun for me at the moment, it's nothing that God can't get me through. I praise God for these struggles and I thank Him for all of you.
If gramps were still alive, today would've been his 78th birthday. Damn I miss that old man...since He passed, it feels like the whole world went fcked up. But I guess thats struggle. Still, I'm not going to whine and btch about sad times. Today, I celebrate his life as I do all the time.
SENSE OF HUMOR
One of the hella kool things about grandpa is that he had a sense of humor. As an old school SDA, Samoans were asked to not perform in our cultural dances because of its pagan connections...but this guy would make my grandma dance on top of the bed while he BLASTED Samoan music and danced around her. The old man loved watching his children and grandchildren play and have fun. And whenever something funny would happen, he'd laugh so hard that you would think he was going to tip over and die. He used to be in the living room with me, randomly, and tell me to mimick different animal cries. It was the best and he'd laugh when I actually got UP and did the sounds as well as walk or act like them. Those were good times.
MAN OF GOD
Every morning at 4am, I could hear him and grandma singing praise songs. And when you listen in close enough, you can hear them praying...I miss that old man. Anyway, when they pray they P-RAY! No family member is forgotten, no praise is too short. He prayed very intelligently and earnestly. It's like how ALL grandparents pray - they pray from their hearts and not from pieces of paper. At 12noon on the dot, we'd have noon worship and at sunset, we'd have worship. He stressed the importance of prayer and keeping a good conversation and relationship with God. He was an avid reader of the Bible and his Bible began to fall apart because he marked it and read it so much. The highlights of life came when he blessed me and my family. Those blessings from God are worth more than all the dirty money in the world. "Vasa, don't forget to pray." Life's struggles have made me forget about those words...
MUSICIAN
Grandpa sang, wrote songs and played the ukulele. When I picked up the ukulele not too long ago, he was very happy. He'd hear me practicing and he would encourage me to keep playing and to keep practicing. One time, he took my FIRST ukulele and played it and MAN I was sooooooo amazed (I was 18 at the time, folks). He played it upside down, behind his head and sometimes with his teeth (I know, right? Jimi Hendrix wannabe) And he had this thing about him that when he played, everyone sat around him and started singing with him. Grandpa also wrote songs that were...are beautiful. And don't get it twisted, he had HUGE range too, hahahahahaha. The old man could sing as high of a tenor as I did and as low of a bass as my cousin Jr. did. I guess I picked up a little bit of those traits, but nothing close to what he was. Grandpa's voice is missed.
Man, I can go on and on about the Old Man. He showed me love, taught me Jesus and gave me music. If he were here, I'd share with him the fact that I've been working on my own music. I'd show him that I've been practicing and playing my ukulele and that I write my own songs too. He was actually one of the FEW that enjoyed my Hip-Hop music. He never discouraged me in ANYTHING.
GRANDPA - I know you can't hear me and that's a good thing. I'm glad you're resting. When we all get to heaven (I pray there's a place for me there), I'll make you a cake and we'll play ukulele and sing all day everyday with Jesus and our family. I miss you old man, you have NO IDEA. I've done things that I'm not proud of and I'm sure you wouldn't be proud of it either...but I'm doing my best. I praise God for having had you in my life and I praise God that you're still on my mind and in my heart.
Joe Cocker's remake of the Beattles song says it best "I get by with a little help from my friends." In this context, my friends are my family. Sabbath was a HUGE blessing a very relaxing time to just...be.
ELIJAH DEDICATED
My family and I attended the Milpitas Church to attend Babe and Jenel's son Elijah for his baby dedication. There was a lot of...well, it could've been REAL bad, but because of the Sabbath and for the sake of Elijah, it was a beautiful thing. I remember for Elijah's birthday, I was honored to be asked to give a short worship thought for the evening worship. As I was addressing Babe and Jenel, Elijah was sitting next to me playing with Renie. I began to address Elijah, "Elijah, I know you're too young to understand this..." and at that moment, he stood up and looked at me with his undivided attention. It was amazing. It was as if he understood everything I was saying to him. I then told him, "Remember to honor your father and your mother and keep God first." And he listened to every word. In church, the pastor asked for his blood relatives to stand up and our whole family got up along with Jenel's family. The church did the whole "whoa" with the oohs and ahhs. It was beautiful to see him dedicated to the Lord.
HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY LORI
After the church service, my brothers and I headed out to Oakland where we joined my dad's family for Loriel's 1st birthday. This girl looks like she's 3 and they said she's only 1, hahahahaha. It was an honor to pray and bless the occasion with God's presence. We met new family, saw our old family and we just got a chance to fellowship with our family. This side of our family are not Adventists, but we fellowship with them the same. One surprise I received today was a greeting from an old dancer from P.U.C. The guy say down with his baby and greeted us in Samoan. Not too long after that greeting, his girlfriend sat down next to him. He then tapped my shoulder and said, "Uso, you were the one that sang at P.U.C. huh?" I looked at him again, shook his hand and saw his lady sitting next to him and I was all, "OH HEY!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. The girl used to attend P.U.C. in the '06 year when the "Hawaiian Club" was turned into the "Polynesian Club". I knew her from when she went to El Dorado Academy and her fiance' comes from the same village as I do back in Samoa, so yes, he and I are related. Small world, beautiful people.
HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY IPO
After sunset, my family and I went out to the Malibu Grand Prix where we played video games, shot basketballs and hit in the batting cage. It's fun to be back home for these things that I missed when I was down South. Actually, it was around this time last year that we had Musicfest. We took pictures, cracked jokes, made fun of each other, tried to steal each other's clothing, you know? Good times. There were a LOT of Asian people there....and nothing against Asians, but its not usually a place where you'd see a lot of them. They looked at us like we were going to tear the place up hahahahahahaha. One of my cousins was like, "don't worry, we don't bite. We're Samoans. We just f*ck you up." We were smiling and everything so it wasn't like we were trying to look all hard or whatever, but oh well *shrugs*
After Malibu closed, our clan rolled out to IHOP (because IJUMP was closed) for what we thought was going to be a quick dinner...man, some of thee WORST service we've had EVER. It was SO bad, that I started getting hella hyper. That and well, I was eating a LOT of sweets all day hahahahahahahahahaha! I was like, "The only way to get us to shut up is to FEED us!" We were hella loud, but because we were laughing and not because we're ghetto...we left our ghetto cousins at home, hahahahaha! We got there to the place around 11pmish and we didn't get our food until close to 1230am. Me and PJ were the LAST ONES to be served because the guy was like, "I don't remember what you guys ordered." Afterward we saw that little punk hanging outside with his friends in the back...punk. Anyway, it was GREAT being with family all day.
NOW
I'm sitting here writing in this joint to clear my mind. My pitbull is outside trippin' on them stupid alley cats creepin' around the wrong 'hood hahahahahaha. Later today (Sunday) we have a garage sale at the church and we have a few things we're going to go and push for sales. I'm selling some stuff because I need money to help out at home and what have you...it sucks because I don't want to sell these things, but what can you do you know? Mom said, "right now just think - 'SURVIVAL'". I don't think life was meant to be "easy" with me and my family, but this is the life we live. Sometimes in order to have nice things you gotta shoot out nice things too. For me, to live in a house and drive my own car is nice things...I guess I can do without these speakers and keyboard. I also have to pay off my phone bills, car payment and insurance. It's a hassle...but I'm still waiting on work. I know that God will take care of everything, but we're getting killed out here man. I'm 2 minutes away from yesterday to slangin' yey, real talk. But, I have to keep the faith.
Well, I have a LOT of phone calls to make on Monday...got a LOT of deals to try and cut with these people...its tough, but we'll get through :)
I pray that all who read this will keep their faith in God and trust that what HE says IS truth. Times are tough but God is bigger than ALL of that. Peace and God bless.
