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Just wanted to do a quick write up on one of the dopest days of my life, going to Rock the Bells. For those of you who may not have heard about it before, it’s a massive hip-hop concert with some of the best conscious and relevant acts out. This is no T-Pain, Drake, Lil Wayne-esque affair…it’s about music that talks about stuff other than rims, chains, and money…or having sex w/ “every girl in the world.”

Joint was amazing. I had all but given up on the genre. I think the radio and BET awards (where our “best and brightest” are supposed to be showcased) had me down…but yesterday definitely brought my love for contemporary hip-hop back.

The best part of the day was talking with some of my musical heroes. Questlove, Black Thought, Captain Kirk, Common, Raheem Devaughn, and K’naan in particular made huge impressions on me. The humility of all the artists was so dope…no bloated egos, no pomp and circumstance: just pure music. Black Thought was telling me that they (The Roots) performed with Ornette Coleman at some point…def gotta find that. If anybody’s heard it, please forward w/ the quickness.

Yesterday’s performances were phenomenal. I was only able to watch Common and The Roots. I caught a little bit of K’Naan’s set as well. The Roots amaze me every time I see them.

To anyone who may read this blog and think…”why this fellow is a hypocrite. He’s a church musician! He plays gospel music! How dare he attend such a concert! With cursing and loud music and such!”

…I say howdy to you. I appreciate the sentiment, and understand where it comes from. But I would encourage you to check out the lyrics behind these acts. In their last album alone, The Roots discussed myriad issues, ranging from the “war on terror” to America’s pharmaceutical addiction. Common’s in the same vein. I have most of his albums, and have yet to find one that doesn’t get me thinking about spiritual issues. Too often we get caught up in this church/secular divide. How can we act holier than everyone else when we deal with the same issues as they? Furthermore, as a musician I feel like I can learn from any one who’s a master of their craft. And lastly as someone familiar with music pre-1990′s, I have to ask, does “Sexual Healing” ring a bell? Raunchiness isn’t a product of this generation alone.

End of rant. No offense meant to anyone, but I can’t vibe w/ ignoring perfectly good music or people because they’re not branded as “Christian.” (within reason…I’m not down for hanging out w/ Osama or anything like that…but I feel you can learn things from all walks of life).

Special thanks to everyone who made yesterday possible.

Oh, and lastly, Raheem Devaughn has a free mixtape (it’s more like an album, though) available at http://www.368musicgroup.com. It’s called the Art of Noise…good stuff.