“I think too much,
get nervous too much,
leave too quickly and
don’t come around often enough.

I call it ‘being busy’,
it’s actually just anxiety.

If that’s fabulous, I’m absolutely that.”

- me.

(Some things are sacred.
Thanks Rachel.)

(This might be the best piece I never finished… I stopped writing in when I got off the streetcar.)

This Life Goes Gone
by Bryan Espiritu

When this life goes,
The story will hold me like glorious robes
(Of) purple and golds..
Or hurtfully told whispers
That show mercy for my sister
(For) I control not what she knows.
But (I) sought our closure.

I bought my raggedy rage through a rumble.
- A Bumble (be.) with stingers like swigging rum bottles -
And fought my composure
With hands that were beat.
(Slander in droves).

A man of his feet
Mustn’t point with his toes
Or lose a soul in defeat.

I still breathe through my nose
When I know stress comes
Closer and near.

(To) a love once tangled,
In batters of flowers and beer,
I offer a new turned leaf for her patience,
A broach for her fears,
And toast my new lady
For keeping me here.

But when this goes
I will be buried in Black.Buried
In typed talk with a messenger text,
Dreaming mostly of being close with those
Whom remember me best.
But still wishing the brightest for those
Who shone a flicker too dull.

The fruits of our (friend)ships
are without a chipped hull.
Missed trips.
Slipped tongues.
Slim risks.
And some sons of bitch
Bitch types who talked shit about me like
They knew my kind.

I wish they knew my unkind days,
My confined space,
my rum diet wasted
On unquiet phases
Through strikes and calling out
Like umpires’ rage.

I dumb down for no one.
I’d rather know all.

(Id) Rather rise to suns shining
Til Summers
From Fall,
And the days where I was more comfortable
Being in dirt -
Than sleeping with sleazes
Who’d feed me dessert.

I don’t wear my wealth for you
To read my worth.
You may just learn it
When This Life Goes Gone.

In short
I will report a,
“So long”.

Good-bye waves
To the hoods
I’ve saved.
Or should
I say,
All the good
I’ve gave?
Or should
I think,
That just negates
My giving
If I say it’s all good
While I’m living?

I wear my heart on my sleeve
And my arm in a sling,
(I) stare at a coward to
Ponder a king,
And only Respect as much as I see.

What more would you expect
From me.
(?)

Welcome To TheLegendsLeague
Anything Less Would Be Everything Else.

(Watch the video first. Read the post later.)

Years back, my boy NaNa took me to York University to recite some spoken word poetry at an open mic. It was one of my first ‘performances’ ever.. and it was difficult as hell. There, while my nerves were shaking me crazy, I shared space in a room with Ian Kamau - someone who I then, only knew as Kamau. His performance was incredible and captivating. His voice held the attention of the entire room in an eerie way that had us all watching and waiting on his every word. He was (and is) the most amazing poet I had ever seen live. And he changed and inspired my way of writing until this day.

I since have come to know Kamau on a little bit more of a friendship basis. We worked together in TheRemixProject office and shared conversations and thoughts on many things. He taught and showed me how he built a table. I showed him that I would do my best to also build one. His was better but he never laughed too hard at mine. (:

There were so many times when I’d leave Remix, or he would leave Remix and my thoughts would circle somewhere in the sphere of “the world may not ever know the genius of that man”… honestly.

His writing is brilliant. His personality is calm. His performances are refreshing. And his new album is coming out in 2009.

For all you smart dumb motherfuckers, you may remember Kamau from k-os’ albums. For all you followers and readers of TheLegendsLeague, you may remember him from the bonus track on TheLegendsLeague Vol 2.5.

Tonight, I went on my facebook and saw that he had posted this video posted on my wall. I clicked it. I watched it. And now I’m doing what needs to be done in showing it to as many people as I can.

Kamau - you’re a huge inspiration to me, and to many of your peers. Believe me. Thank you for everything that you do to represent yourself and help us see into how beautiful your mind, and your ability to interpret some of the ugliest realities, is. We are really, really blessed to have you around brother. From the most honest place in my heart, to You, homey.

Check him out HERE and listen to Renaissance, please. (thanks Gav).

“We’ll never have a Renaissance
‘Cus we stand and point our finger
But we’re all confused.

- Ian Kamau

Welcome To TheLegendsLeague

Whassup LegendsLeaguers…

I’ma be in New York this weekend and won’t be blizzogging (or tobogganing for that matter). But I will be Central Park Horse and Carriage’ing, FAO Schwarz Toy Shoppin’ for the Daughter’ing, Canal Street Shoppin’ing, Site Seeing’ing, Yummy Food N’yamming’ing, and Good Ol’ Fashioned Good BF/Husband’ing’a'ding’ding.

Be back in a flash.. promise.

(What does this video have to do with anything? It reminds me of laying in bed with my lady… suckers.)

Eat your heart out.
;)

So Much.
by Bryan Espiritu

a: I can do so much.
be.: You can only do so much.

a: I can only hurt you so much.
be.: You hurt me. And that’s enough.

First.
by Bryan Espiritu.

The 1st person I called was you
On 3 completely seperate phones.
2 of which were from out of town.
All 3 were towards your home.

The 1st was from my cell number,
Then Georgia, then up north.
But you’re not used to staying up,
Of course.
Off course, of course.

I stood outside the balcony
On snow beside the dogs,
While I looked inside the sliding doors;
Celebrations through the fog.

I thought I may not get through to you
So I called for another 10.
I called for another 15 minutes.
Then I called, and called again.

I didn’t want to bother you
So when I got through to your machine
I told you how I loved you
And how hard calling you had been.

I waited by my phone all night
Expecting to see your name.

And I waited by my phone all day
And expected to see your name.

Now the 1st has slowly closed
Towards a celebration’s past.
And the memory of our memories
Are the ones I’d like to last.

But I feel you won’t remember me
As you get older and time slows down.
And you see me less than you saw me then
When we see each other now.

And this evening was the 1st time
I got to talk with you again.
And ask you if you’d received
The New Year’s message I had sent.

And you said you hadn’t heard it
And I teared up and grit my teeth.
And knew you could never overstand
How that hurt from underneath.

Because I don’t know if you know
That I would have loved to start the year,
Just making sure your voice was
Both the last and First I’d hear.

Welcome To TheLegendsLeague

So, it’s that time of year again - New Years Eve! A time when everyone decides they need to reassess their lives and make some improvements and fine tunings in order to be a better person in the coming year and hopefully enjoy their lives a little bit more. We’ve all taken time at one point in our lives to create resolutions. A lot of times they’re ridiculous, too pricey, and not realistic, and most of the time they end up nearly entirely forgotten by the time Valentine’s Day comes around. My thought on this is that it’s not that we give up so much as it’s the fact that we’re not totally equipped with the advice and tools we need to really tackle some of these goals we set for ourselves every January 1st.

So I took it upon myself to take a second and Google Search some of the most popular New Years Resolutions, and I came across this list:

10. Get Organized
9. Help Others
8. Learn Something New
7. Get Out Of Debt
6. Quit Drinking
5. Enjoy Life More
4. Quit Smoking
3. Tame The Bulge
2. Fit In Fitness
1. Spend Time With Family & Friends

I thought these were great resolutions and thought I would give some of my insight and opinions on each of them to hopefully help you guys out with some of the ones, which I’m sure are on this list, that you’ve decided to implement into your lives for 2009!

Your support this year has been AMAZING, and 2008 wouldn’t have been the same without you. Thank you for all the love shown and for continuing to believe in my work, my goals, and what I strive to put forward with TheLegendsLeague.

Enjoy the videos and be safe tonight.

Love&Respect as usual.
be.

Welcome To TheLegendsLeague

TheLegendsLeague: NYE Resolutions
#10 Get Organized
be. (TheLegendsLeague) on “Getting Organized”

TheLegendsLeague: NYE Resolutions
#9 Help Others
be. (TheLegendsLeague) on “Helping Others”

TheLegendsLeague: NYE Resolutions
#8 Learn Something New
be. (TheLegendsLeague) on “Learning Something New”

TheLegendsLeague: NYE Resolutions
#7 Get Out Of Debt
be. (TheLegendsLeague) on “Getting Out Of Debt”

TheLegendsLeague: NYE Resolutions
#6 Quit Drinking
be. (TheLegendsLeague) on “Quitting Drinking”

TheLegendsLeague: NYE Resolutions
#5 Enjoy Life More
be. (TheLegendsLeague) on “Enjoying Life More”

TheLegendsLeague: NYE Resolutions
#4 Quit Smoking
be. (TheLegendsLeague) on “Quitting Smoking”

TheLegendsLeague: NYE Resolutions
#3 Tame The Bulge
be. (TheLegendsLeague) on “Taming The Bulge”

TheLegendsLeague: NYE Resolutions
#2 Fit In Fitness
be. (TheLegendsLeague) on “Fitting In Fitness”

TheLegendsLeague: NYE Resolutions
#1 Spend Time With Family & Friends
be. (TheLegendsLeague) on “Spending Time With Family & Friends”

Good luck with these guys..
Lemme know what your resolutions are and whether they’re on the Top Ten.

Til next year..

The Umph Degree
by Bryan Espiritu

I need her for 3 minutes.
Her half will need me too.
And we two, can have six.
like 3 hundred and 60 secs.
Revolving around time
like hands
circling in hugs;
murmuring the certain things of Love.

For ours
and ours.

Welcome To TheLegendsLeague

(photo by Stanley J. Forman)

Room With A View
by Bryan Espiritu

We climbed these steps
thought to surpass fast doors.
Up steeps, crept
through the last half floors.

We heaved deep breaths
pulled just passed one another.
He - was my best friend,
She - was my mate.

At last we had found
through the top floor land,
A sight that would gnaw
through the core of a man.

She pushed as we raced
to the edge of the roof.
She - was my mate.
He - fell to fate.

We stared as he,
scared,
tumbled down to the street.
Paired with his life
underneath our feet.

We chased through the stairwells.
3 turned to 2.
What we’d do
for a room
with a view.

Welcome To TheLegendsLeague

A Photo A Day by Tim Okura: February

—————————————

Aside from being one of the O.G. contributors to TheLegendsLeague from the start and one of my favourite designers, Tim Okura has a pretty crazy eye for photos that are dope just for the old school sake of being dope. Not making them victims of an abusive Photoshopaholic father, he’s decided to take 1 photo a day for the entire year on his point and shoot Pentax Optio camera and lay them into a vintage style photo frame for the sharing.

I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to have them at my finger tips to share with you.

Enjoy. Daily.

And feel free to let us know what you think, feel, taste, and smell when you see them.

Love&Respect as usual.
be. (on behalf of Tim)