BookT...The Future

 With so many inspirational people passing away year after year from Bernie Mac, Michael Jackson, Don Cornelius and now Whitney Houston, it is no wonder why music and entertainment is in need of a breath of fresh air. Before I get into the article I must send my condolences out to the family of Whitney Houston. Although I never met the woman she was one the pillars of my own dreams for success in music and entertainment. Because of her I believed all my life that I was the future; in the words of Chris Brown “Look at me now”.

I began writing rhymes in a summer school English course back in the 9^th grade. Considering I failed the course during the regular school year due to depression from deaths in my family and divorce, I chose to allow my written words to express my pain and sorrow rather than talking about it freely or conveying actions out of result. In the end, I created the artist BookT. The knowledge before self kid who grew up street savvy but also knew how to process information and ultimately remain socially aware.

Since 2003 I’ve been rapping and producing tracks as well as performing many of my songs on the road; traditionally performing at my fans request. In fact, most recently I had the opportunity to go to Los Angeles and perform for the first time. As a response to various messages from my fans through social media and mobile texts, I decided to come out and give them a show. I have a new mixtape out that I was promoting as well as new music videos on Youtube. Altogether, it was another way to instill brand awareness and recognition for my artists as well as my company Highly Educated Management and Production.

It is important to me that people follow their dreams and listen to the voice inside of them guiding each step of their decision-making. One year ago, I was dismissed from my position as a store manager. I did not know what I was going to do next or how I was going to provide for my family. In the end, I chose to follow my dreams and finally listen to the voice inside. As a result I feel as though I’m ‘destined for greatness’. 

Living a Little Boys Dream in LA

As a young kid from Raleigh, NC I was always a huge follower of the game of basketball. I collected, sold and traded player cards as well as dominated my friends all the time on the court in and after school; mimicking players from Jerry Stackhouse and Vince Carter to Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant. Whether it was my NCAA team, the UNC Tarheels or the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers, I had my teams and players who garnished my full support and ultimately made a fan out of me. Over the last five months I’ve lived in Hollywood, CA I decided to make it a daily objective to live out my dreams.

In fact, one of my life long dreams was to attend a Los Angeles Laker game. I speak in past tense because this week I got the opportunity to check it off the old bucket list. Ironically, I attended the game where the Lakers played North Carolina’s own Charlotte Bobcats. However, it was not an impressive performance by the away team, with Charlotte losing 106-73.  Kobe had 24 points and Andrew Bynum was a ferocious beast inside the paint all night, grabbing 11 rebounds while solidifying his place as the leading All-Star candidate at the Center position.

Although I watched the game I was marveled by the arena and its ambiance of greatness, the banners, the coaches, the players the history and especially my tickets. Thanks to Stubhub.com I sat approximately 10 rows from the court. I could not believe I was sitting right next to major media analysts and journalists like, CBS’s Jim Hill and ESPN’s J.A. Adande. As an aspiring writer and journalist it was as if I caught a glimpse of where I shall be some day.

The interesting thing is that I did not think about going to the game until I took a look at some of the player’s season stats on NBA.com in an effort to cast my vote for this month’s All-Star Game. While browsing the web I was prompted over 5 times by numerous companies to buy tickets for the next home game. At first, I did not pay any attention, but after a while the digital marketing took full affect over my impulse, and for about three days all I could think about was whether I was going or not.

The price for the tickets was the major concern for me. Luckily, I clicked on about three to four ticket sites to research the seating location before making my decision. After purchasing my tickets I was asked if I wanted to share my purchase on facebook. In my opinion, this was in an effort to make my friends jealous or build their impulses as well to generate likes or future business. Because I’m such a nice guy I decided not to rub it in. Instead I figured I’d blog about it. Until next time folks.

Video Source:

LA Lakers vs Charlotte Bobcats Full Highlight Jan, 31 2012 [video file] Retrieved    

     from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXj1cFWXMWo