Monthly Archives: July 2014

Details on My Community Work Over The Past Years…

IN JANUARY of 2011, I BEGAN A LOCAL FUNDRAISER to help with local, community-related initiatives. To date, I've helped raise money for a local free health clinic called Helping Hands, a battered women's shelter known as Phoenix Pass, a teen mom organization known as Comizia Care, the Rockdale Emergency Relief Fund, and as of late, we installed a 2 month-long initiative to help the Glass Family, who suffered in a tragic fire where 4 of 5 children perished/this area's greatest tragedy. We don't merely raise money for charity, but also raise awareness for initiatives, such as our organ-donor drive that brought attention to Baby Mason, also a local Conyers, Georgia resident who needed a liver since birth. Here's a clip to tell you more about Mason.



Mason has since received his new liver and must deal with the life-long challenge to survive with the same. 
No. I don't work FOR Starbucks, and the green giant could probably care less about me and my tiny energy. But the community here is a giant one (in terms of good wills, good hearts and incredibly giving). I've grown to love the Conyers, Rockdale County, Georgia community and where others might cry or complain, you all might know me more as a man of action; a "doer." 
I do what I can to help out.
During the past year or so I have since recognized my calling, one that merges all of my past experiences with producing/promoting stage shows, as well as my television production/since all the shows here at Starbucks are recorded live. Ultimately, I'd like to have a team of young folk who can manage what I've developed so that I may spend more time writing books or servicing a list of clients. But thus far, I am the chief, cook & bottle-washer of this endeavor. Starbucks comes out of pocket for virtually nothing; (probably why its worked so well for more than a year.)

Here's a deeper look at what I've accomplished thus far:
https://bit.ly/15vUUf6

And here's the latest e-zine, detailing our August 3rd event: https://bit.ly/1akfOFI

We've also set up a community Facebook Page to help expose the issues and needs of the Rockdale County community (and beyond) so that giving and being aware of the needs of others is easier to find. One may reach out DIRECTLY to this initiatives and help since we do not collect any money for these organizations. CHARITY ATLANTA

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YOU MADE IT!

pr-ps6832Do you know that you are already the winner? Yes, its true that out of close to 180 million other sperm, you won! These were others who fought to survive… others who fought to exist. You won that challenge, that fight of simply becoming!

THERE’S MORE:
Do you know that there were 6 trillion decisions involved (amongst your cells & genes) in order for you to be “whole?” That is, the working, breathing, living, healthy human being you are? Decisions like you having 2 eyes instead of one. Decisions as to how many fingers and toes you’d have… whether or not you’d have straight or coarse hair, or even a working liver. Those odds are pretty extreme if you ask me. (Well, maybe not the hair) 
Then maybe you want to add to that equation your successes and those other odds in your life that you have overcome in order to be where you’re at and to have achieved what you have achieved. Bottom line, folks we are truly anointed and blessed and how many of us take that for granted all the time? So my reminder to you today is to count your blessings and start with the biggest ones. The biggest blessings start with the fact that you have arrived on this planet a healthy human being, with potential that is greater than you ever imagined. #Relentless
#publishedauthor #thegourmetauthor #urbanlitking #UrbanLit #blacktwitter#inspiring #entrepreneur #writer #inspiring #lifecoach #mountvernonnewyork 

Relentless on ABC WORLD NEWS in The New York Times: in The Journal News, in The Daily News In TIME Magazine on NPR Radio

Monday Morning Workout?

10566645_10152526213000733_711427907_nTHIS MORNING I DIDN’T WAKE UP MYSELF, she did. 6 months and going strong, and I’m laying there with pleasure-filled eyes rolling back in my head, wondering if she will be this way in 3 years, 6 years,10 years? I lifted myself to my elbows and she pushed me back down and stopped what she was doing to say

“relax.”

She eventually brandished that satisfied smile and left our nest for work while I rested for another hour.

By default my body pulls me out of bed, into my workout clothes; off to Planet Fitness, Strutting in through their doors as if my workout began much earlier than 4 AM, I’m already doin too much on the treadmill, my comfy-wireless headphones filling my ears with 50 Cent worth of gangsta rap while various TV screens glistened with images, news and music videos. I’m suddenly looking at Michael Jackson in his “You Rock My World” video, next to that are figures being profiled, and below the TV monitors is also one other member in the gym. She’s shapely and “gettin her walk on.” I hopped off of the treadmill after 10 minutes and I am already squatting with 300 pounds on my shoulders. another 300 push-ups and just as many crunches before I hit the showers. Before I know it I’m bouncing out of PF and Billy Joel is crooning is “Honesty” song over my $3000 hi-fi sound system/way overboard for my Mercedes coupe, but such is my life. And now I am in my office, my coffee is handed to me and I’m recounting the last few hours.

SO NOW THAT MY COFFEE IS TAKING EFFECT…

Heres how my morning REALLY went. My iPhone woke me up with this purposefully annoying siren. And it’s so annoying that I ignore it for at least five minutes. I gathered myself and rose up out of bed only to experience slight dizziness, that feeling you get when you wanna lay back down and call in sick. So I did lay back down and a few minutes later I’m giving it another try. This time it’s not the alarm that wakes me up but my own concerns about bills, identifying new sponsors for my weekly jazz show, and other activities this week. So then maybe it’s not my own energy that woke me but desperation and responsibility? Yes I did make my way into Planet Fitness but it was only after falling asleep just three hours earlier on couple of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches.

Yes that was me in the parking lot with the intentions of a midnight workout but eventually with the reality of 4 AM sluggish start.

That treadmill was real, I strolled until I trotted. And I trotted until I strolled again. On the TV screen it was Chris Brown on the monitor/not Michael Jackson. My lying eyes were still blurry by this time, as though I’d been drinking, and nothing on the screen was real. Those figures that were profiled were mugshots from crimes during the past 24 hours. That “shapely woman” was actually quite overweight and holding herself up as she gave it her best try on the treadmill. Meanwhile, my workout was nothing but a quickie this morning; no 300 pound deadlift, no 300 crunches… not even one push-up. That would have to wait for tonight because this morning I’m barely making it. If not for this protein drink I might not even be on the treadmill. I might’ve kept my ass in the bed and rationalized my need for sleep. But the truth is that quick walk and that quick shower brought me back to life. In my trusty RV (not the dreamy Mercedes coupe I imagined) The truth is there is no such exciting “wake up” in my life these days. The truth is my office is STARBUCKS! I did make it to Starbucks and I am enjoying this coffee, BLESSED TO BE ALIVE, and living up to Billy Joel’s “Honesty” I AM ALL THE WAY REAL ON MONDAY. Relentless

PURSUING MY GREATNESS

“I GOTTA TAKE A LITTLE TIME… A LITTLE TIME TO LOOK AROUND ME…

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE! Happy Sunday to you. I expect that everyone is healthy, happy and maturing towards their life’s purpose. My teacher Les Brown dropped a real meaningful message yesterday “This is the day to confront yourself.” And he was talking about “radical change” and strengthening your determination in pursuing your greatness. One thing that has always fueled me and kept me on my chartered course is the pursuit of my greatness. Les put that seed in my mind many years ago, and it never left. It just needs fertilization every now and then. Because I am a person without the usual “structures” in my life, and that I’m creeping in the direction of affirming such structures, the inference of PURSUING MY GREATNESS has great meaning for me. It means WAKING UP ON PURPOSE. It means EXERCISING WITH PURPOSE. It means EATING WITH PURPOSE. It means the people I talk with and the real time I spend must be spent ON PURPOSE. And lest I forget LOVING ON PURPOSE? Thats on the radar in my personal life, but in the meantime I can share that love in other ways. For, if you’re not loving others, whats the meaning here? One thing I need to refine is SPEAKING ON PURPOSE. I tend to be glib and sarcastic at times because it many times hides the hurtful truth in a situation. So thats my way of coping; HUMOR. So there you have it, not so perfect/this entrepreneur you know. But do you love me tho. Thats just a question I’ll put out there to see if you’re reading. To see if you care. For I am GREATNESS. And I am… Relentless

To Live & Die In Bedlam – Our Moral Center Has Been Uploaded/Sent/Shared.

10318803_10152350487080733_1429781019_nI don’t think we are ready to take responsibility for our destructive practices. Our practices and rituals have shifted from simply banging drums and dancing, to using the same as an excuse to express the plight of our community. In actuality, we are creating and perpetuating the plight, and we’re calling it “good music.” this so-called good music ( whether we’re talking Eminem or certain Beyonce songs) is but an endorsement of every violent, ratchet, ignorant sex practice that we stand against, cry about and abhor. At some point, we need to take responsibility for our practices and rituals. Maybe it’s just me, but I see further and further digression with every passing hour, to the point that we’ve lost all possibility for rehabilitation of our communities, of our bodies and of our minds. Every hood is having Screen Shot 2014-07-19 at 6.27.02 PMthis conversation right now. Some of them can’t explain it. Others are screaming at one another and essentially inflicting verbal violence at the same time. Preachers are preaching hate, community leaders are proposing ideas and yet politicians are clueless. We are standing around wondering what happened, meanwhile our kids are dying as all of us sucked into the same technologies that are spreading the virus. We’re using cellphones to share naked pictures of high school girls, virtually killing a young woman’s future. We’re using cellphones, ipads and home computers to broadcast young girls strip-tease dancing for the world to see. This isn’t far from web cam girls, except its being done by the far-too-young. #WillowSmith There’s no policing, and on top of that no enforcement. And still, many do not understand it. Our answer to this when we know its wrong is to shake our heads and turn our backs, still with no answers.

There is no way to undo the damage that’s been done to us over the past few decades. We are dancing and reciting and bopping our heads to this insanity; in essence endorsing it all. Only the conscious, disciplined folk are going to unlearn what has been learned and control what we allow access to. Meanwhile, the free speech advocates will fight for the so-called “1st amendment,” even rationalizing why this stuff is not infectious to us and our friends, associates, offsprings.

“No, these images are not the reason Jody went in and shot-up the school.”  

Yeah, sure.

Screen Shot 2014-07-19 at 6.20.45 PMOnly the conscious and the disciplined are going to flip the switch in their mind’s pleasure center in order to shut out the signals, images and inferences that have been littering our space over the years. The music influences our movies, the movies are influenced by the music. Its just an ugly cycle in our lives, how we are imitating the influences of the music, the movies, the TV shows; all of it painting a picture of dismay, disease and digression of the human spirit. And this is not a “Black and White issue.” What is a Black and White issue is that this technology which has suddenly become inexpensive and accessible. In the past, such access has always been expensive, available only to those of us with more resources. On the other hand, those of us who have not experienced great resources are now overwhelmed and finding the use of these technologies to be a sort of”release,” or a “freeom” to express themselves, to play games and to connect. Now that we have the most access to these technologies and that we don’t know discipline or patience, our youngest are going all in. And it isn’t simply our youth who are abusive of these technologies; you see our Third World brothers and sisters who possess the same lack of discipline or patience have also taken to this “cell phone-reporting.” People doing the most just for the exposure; whether its “the knock out game” or a school fight, or even dancing on electrical cables. So what was once known as innocence is simply ignorance and naivety, and as a result now the world has grown insensitive. Yes, there are the “pros” to having access, but the cons are deplorable: someone showing dismembered body parts strewn across the highway while the accident is still fresh & smoking… while the injured are laying there in agony. Once upon a time, those who have flipped-out their cellphones might be doing whatever necessary to help keep the victims alive. But not today. We’re seeing the most horrendous violence we can imagine; whether accident or planned/plotted schemed. Once upon a time there were levels to seeing violence, or you had to pay extreme amounts of money to witness it. Today, you can see all of this on your cell phone. Slowly but surely this all-access pass has eaten away at our moral compass. This is so much bigger then Beyoncé or the street fights or the executions.

 Yes, we have our freedom of speech, but we’ve lost our children, our teenagers and our common sense.

Screen Shot 2014-07-19 at 6.19.08 PMWHAT DO WE DO RELENTLESS?

If we try and insulate ourselves from the wickedness, we are haters, outcasts, or simply uninformed. Meanwhile the highfalutin set is judging it all as if they are the better of us, and so what about everyone else. They are suddenly more spiritual or more educated or smarter. In their own minds they are superior to everyone else. They walk that way, they talk that way and they act that way. Essentially they are no better and no worse than massa-Donald Strickland or Miss Jack & Jill with her Mercedes. Meanwhile their spirits are ugly and hateful, not even lifting a finger to help their brother with the surplus resources that they’ve hoarded. When a brother or a sister does not have access to resources they are forced to do one of two things; they will be disciplined and fight the good fight in order to survive that next day #Pyrrhic victory. Or they will become desperate and execute desperate measures. Maybe they will simply go into hiding/live with that aunt or uncle or family member who doesn’t mind taking them in and giving them a break in life.

Please don’t take this painful testimony as criticism or ridicule, as I am stuck in the same barrel with everyone else. I am affected by your decisions on the West Coast, the East Coast as well as in other countries. But now that I have your attention allow me to drop you some jewels…

1) find a few mentors in your life. These mentors should people that know better and do better according to you. And you should not lean on simply one mentor. You should have a crew of mentors. And you should not condemn these mentors to give you their quality time; you should earn it.

2) we should adjust or shift from our usual practices. I know I know you just love that R&B, soul and hip-hop. You can’t help listening to that same song or that same artist over and over again. But what you are doing is brainwashing yourself. You are modeling yourself. You are not opening your mind to the thoughts and feelings of other people. Essentially what you’re doing is you are impregnating your mind with the same old BS. Whether it’s relationshit, or stories of deceit or angst or a release of hostility, there are other forms of Intel in the universe that do or don’t have a hot beat. By brainwashing ourselves with the same old BS, we block out any other form of peaceful, relaxing influences. What happens is we memorize the nonsense, we adopt it and we end up saying and reciting and repeating the same. It all amounts to life imitating art. And that leaves one to question if you intend to be an imitation, a lamb or a trailblazer in your life?

3) adopt some sort of spiritual reference in your life. It could be meditation, or biblical preachings, or traditional church rituals. Whatever feels comfortable for you; just know that these influences have been around for ages. They are proven to maintain our diets, our state of mind, and our interactions with others. They work. Use them and abuse them if you will.

Enjoy your transformation and get back to me with the results! #Relentless #publishedauthor

Relentless Aaron – Ever-Clear, Crisp & Concise – Questions & Answers

Screenshot 2014-05-22 08.54.52The Author, The Entrepreneur, The Live Show Producer… One Man, Many Talents

QUESTION: What/who inspired you to become an author?

ANSWER: I was locked up and serving seven years of potentially idle time. I hate anything nonproductive, so I began to write songs/4 and five songs per day for a few months. I developed that routine until I had 300 or more songs and poems. It was a point that I realized the return on investment of time wouldn’t be as quick and as easy as I imagined. So I began writing books. Writing books to me would give me therapy (on one hand) and the potential to turn my “nothing” into “something.” I knew there would be large figures behind the effort, and that turned out to be true. Furthermore, my work would fuel soundtracks, films and content that could be seen on the small and large screen forever. (However long that is)

My first book took a year to write and my second book took three months. Those books were mostly therapeutic, enabling me to get a lot off of my chest and out of my system. However, I decided to study the Craft more and read the best authors in the business. These weren’t merely authors who were “said” to be the best, they were authors who wrote books that routinely turned to film. So we are talking John Grisham, James Patterson, Elmore Leonard, Stephen King, Lawrence Block. As it is, these cats are the best who’ve ever done it. And so I read them and learned their techniques and basically created my own content using those techniques.

QUESTION: Where did the title urban lit come from? Do you consider yourself the king of Urban Lit? If So why?

ANSWER:I never heard anyone use the phrase Urban lit before I did. I spoke of Urban lit in 1986, although I know there have been black authors before me and before I coined the phrase/I’m not stupid. But I use to promote them in the late 80’s and into the 90’s, custom fed by Julia Shaw. Julia was (pretty much) the only woman publicizing and promoting Black authors in those days. She would pitch them to me for promotion in my magazine and on my TV show. Those were the days when desktop publishing was birthed, with little-to-no substantial representation of street lit and Urban Lit. There was mostly nonfiction intelligence, autobiographies, and of course some fiction. Sure we heard of Terri Mcmillan and Octavia Butler, Claude Brown and Donald Goins. But only in the mid to late 90s (with Flyy Girl & Coldest Winter & Dutch catching on) did Urban Lit begin to take flight. At the same time I was also pushing the concept of the “Willie Lynch Syndrome.” Yes we’ve heard of Willie Lynch and yes we’ve heard of the Willie Lynch letters, but I don’t believe I’ve heard Willie Lynch Syndrome before I pushed it in 1996.

As for “The King” of Urban Lit, Street Lit and the like… naw, I’m not the King. Just an unimportant memory; a mustard seed really. I keep my head in the sand, and besides my covers aren’t shiny and bloody and murderous or as sexy as all the others. I’m just plain boring. I think I’ll keep it that way.

QUESTION: You live in Atlanta Ga, but your are originally from Westchester County. What prompted the move, being that you moved from a place where Urban books were a hot commodity to a place where it seemed  that the venues to sell the books were limited?

ANSWER: I moved to Atlanta because I wanted to prosper. In my opinion, there were very many copycats who followed my lead in urban lit; whether I train them or that they looked on from a distance. Just as I followed Omar Tyree and Perry Satin Brown, selling books from my trunk and my backpack… just as I began to align my brand with Tyler Perry’s brand, selling books in front of the Beacon theater and the Newark Symphony Hall, dozens of authors followed what I did. I posted up and sold books on Fordham Road and Authors followed me. I posted up and sold books on 125th St. and 34th St… and even more authors followed me. But this is nothing new, since everything I’ve done in my life has created followers and imitators. From the TV shows in the late 80s, to the talent shows and concerts in the early 90s, to the magazines in the late 90s. I built a strip club on Boston Road in the Bronx and within a year a strip club was built across the street, where there had not been a strip club in that area ever. I’m flattered, really that I should be the pioneer where folks see something successful and follow suit. Fast forward to today, and you will see the same thing. Followers. Except I’m a lot more isolated now; hard for the other crabs in the barrel to get a grip on what I’m up to. I am in Atlanta where Black entertainment, Black culture, music & art have formed a Mecca. I live in a town where the biggest Black Filmmaker lives. When people need me, they know how to reach me and either fly or drive out to see me, consult with me, etc. I also travel to others for the same reasons. My destiny in content creation is inevitable. The book business is dying, shifting from the hands of big publishers to that of boutique brand-owners. Thousands and thousands of bookstores have folded and their employees sent skirmishing for unemployment checks. Day by day newspapers and magazines and anything printed on paper has lost value and or has folded. Megatrends have dictated major shifts in our society, from the agricultural age to the industrial age, and from the industrial age to the information age. If you’re not clear about the shifts then you need not be in business at all. And for the record, the most important author is not the author who sells the most or makes the most noise. Nor is the most important Author the one who has a connection that gets them certain resources and a certain marketshare. The authors of today are the armchair theoreticians that we see on TV and on the Internet. These folks are the authors who are producing the most content to date. With their mouths, they are out-writing and rewriting an entire history of content. As for the streets, there’s a saying that “if you keep doing the same thing you’ll keep getting the same results.” I don’t want to be on a street selling books for the rest of my life with 1000 other authors competing for eyeballs/creating juicy book covers if only to draw in the next sucker-consumer with money in hand. I didn’t come to the world to pay attention or to cower to competition. I came to the world to be a pioneer, a leader and an inspiration to others. To date, no Author living has the catalog that I have; the diversity and dimensions of content, the impact of my characters, story lines and plots. On top of that no Black Author dead or alive has pulled down a bigger debut book deal than I have. The idea that our books are a hot commodity in New York versus Atlanta is an illusion. The fact is that there are more potential buyers/more crabs in that barrel in New York; more people with common interests, all confined to a certain area. Atlanta, on the other hand, (and really, most of the South) not only has a different way of life, but because of the historic dependence on the agricultural Industry, there was no room for reading. Not only that, but reading in the South is historically far behind the reading and literacy of folks living in New York or Boston (for instance). But I should say the learning curve and the tech curve is improving every day. We must keep in mind the long, dirty history behind us, in that the 1900s ushered in 76 percent of Southern Blacks (age 10 and over) as illiterate. Those ugly truths still affect us today. All of us. If someone from the South moves up top, they easily spread the unfortunate cancer that lives here.

At one time New York City was the Mecca for Urban Lit with Vendors, book stores etc. How is the book business in Georgia in comparison with New York?

ANSWER: There is no “book business” in Georgia. There never was. The business of books is great for those who have their own devoted markets, their fellowships and cults to whom they can direct towards this or that concern, product or service. But books are not the high priority here. They are the lowest. Georgia is about dance clubs, churches, music, movies and all of those businesses and initiatives that are supported by the same. Its about the realities of infrastructure, healthcare and hospitals mending victims of too many assaults, attacks and accidents. People-shit and the defaults of the same. Georgia has a number of industry-leaders in the soda market and defense and disease control. Of course there are the sports teams and the majority-allegiance that follows them. In a sad way, Paula Dean represents the ignorance that remains here from long-ago-slavery and the remaining gibberish that we see as a “language difference.”

QUESTION: How many novels have you written?

ANSWER: 37 of my own and numerous books for others as ghost writer.

QUESTION: You do not seem to have a big presence on kindle/knook.  What is your preferred medium, in terms of books? Digital format or paperback?

ANSWER: When the publishers asked, I declined. I knew that once they digitized my work it would go viral and be shared for free. I don’t mind that/that’s life, everyone scrambling for assets and resources. My content is more unique than just about every other author in my genre. I’m sure you’ve heard or experienced that “we’re all writing the same stuff.” We, the cream always rises to the top. The top is not necessarily digital as it is “being in demand.” I rather like my backwoods underground way of life right now. I peek up from under every now and then for the big meetings, but as it relates to the mass market realizing my presence: I will get there soon. Unfortunately, the publishing deals I had, while they paid handsomely and historically up front, they cared less about editing, typos, etc. These publishers paid me for the hype and the possible money it might make them. They lost in that dice-roll. But in the meantime I won by the branding, credibility and so many other rewards and resources it brought me. Even with their poor editing, careless representation and not understanding marketing to my audience, I was able to win in the long run. Again, Ebooks will be released soon.

Meanwhile, I have about 100,000 other ebooks that were acquired for free/all of the NYT best sellers, all of the Wiley, McGraw Hill, Harvard, Oxford University printings for the past few decades. Many of my friends also have access to these resources. If so many books are “shared” where is the money in publishing? Ahh, but thats another story.

QUESTION: You are known for excellent marketing strategies, how do you come up with the various marketing plans that you have?

 ANSWER: I have studied marketing, sales and (later) branding for most of the past 4 decades. I’m 49 and was working at a cash register at Dads Mount Vernon deli by age 10. I am all of the “One Man Marketing Machine” that ABC News says I am. From the filming & audio, to the printed, graphic representation of ideas, concepts and agendas. That is me.

QUESTION: Are you currently signed to a major publishing company?

ANSWER: No

QUESTION: What’s the difference between being signed with a major and self publishing?

ANSWER: Being signed with the major means that you found an investor nothing more nothing less. Being signed by a major also means marketing muscle, that is if they know what they’re doing. In my experience having money and knowing what you doing is entirely too different things; something like mixing peanut butter and squash. On the other hand, self-publishing means that you have published books on your own, which means liberty and risk and the consequences of knowing or not knowing what you’re doing. I make a living from showing people how to save money when they publish themselves because I have done it over and over again.

QUESTION: What other titles do you have besides author?

ANSWER: LOL I am a live events producer, graphic and website designer, book publisher, Internet radio producer, video and film producer, sound editor, clothing design and cologne are just around the corner.

QUESTION: Do you have a 9-5 or Is the book your main source of income?

ANSWER: I am 49 and have not worked and 9 to 5 since leaving the Marine Corp. I tried (and failed) a few times at age 18, and that is all because of loss of respect for authority. Meanwhile, my DNA is “Entrepreneur.” From my grandmother to my father to me, the baton has been passed.

QUESTION: This industry seems to be oversaturated with “authors” what sets you apart from many of the authors in the industry today?

ANSWER: First of all I have studied and mastered my craft. So many other authors simply know how to tell a story or have a story to tell but do not have all of the components. More then knowing how to tell a story and telling the story there is the marketing the networking and the tech-savvy it takes to move the story and brand forward. Every book is a brand. Every character in that book is a potential brand. A few more resources that keeps me winning are connectivity, who I know and where I am, since geography has so much to do with success. I am thankful to have so many of these resources, and a healthy imagination & sex-drive are the cherries on top.

QUESTION: Besides books, what other business ventures do you have going on? ANSWER:I produce and film live shows at one of the biggest Starbucks stores in Georgia. I still do publishing and writing consultation as well as digital print online marketing.

QUESTION: Many of the veteran authors seemed to have faded into the background because of Limited Facebook/social media presence but you still have a presence. Is this intentional?  If so, why is it important for you to have a presence on social media?

ANSWER: Once upon a time we communicated by homing pigeons and African drums… then there were couriers, there was Morse code, the telephone and the pager… now it’s social media that brings us together and through which we communicate sound, image and the written word. It doesn’t get any better than this and telling your story or sharing a message. Those who are savvy, in touch and resourceful already understand this. Those who are not still rely on the telephone and fax machines/some still swear by/have their 8track tapes and vinyl.

QUESTION: What is your take on the beefing between authors, that tends to go on in this industry?  

ANSWER: The thing is normal amongst competitors and more prevalent amongst the haves and have-nots. It goes on in every industry. The difference amongst writers is their assumed weakness. Same goes for rappers and singers; all of us with egos. All of us fighting to keep our face & our dignity. We are already good liars and storytellers and armchair theoreticians and conspiracy theorists, so most likely we will be the best name callers. Even if they are empty threats, we will make them. It relieves us to have someone to get angry at/a sounding board to vent and to make us look better, stronger faster… more successful. So many of these writers are but rappers getting entertainment twisted with real life. And most times they author their lives by the fantasy in their minds; in other words, life-imitating-art.

The image in Street culture, hip-hop, gangster films & music videos show tattoos and motorcycles, pit bulls and shotguns, muscles, muscle trucks & cars. So much of this amounts to a false sense of security, pride and confidence. There is always a bigger bully to fight, or a stronger army to face, or a more powerful force to encounter. There is always a fight if you so choose to fight all your life. Nowadays, comedians even have beef. When it’s all over, there’s no money to be made and no achievement to be earned from all the nonsense. It simply shows immaturity. We all die humble, softened, frail and weak anyhow, so who’s kidding who?

QUESTION: Have you had any beefs/incidents with any authors within the industry?

ANSWER: Everybodys my best friend. They all love me so much and wish the absolute best for me. I am so blessed to have so much love Industry-wide.

QUESTION: You seem to spend a lot of time in Starbucks. Do you have a makeshift office set up there?

ANSWER: Pretty much.

QUESTION: Can you tell us about some of your up coming projects?

ANSWER: Working on films. Just completed a contract to write the Kalief Browder Story. Plus, I’m interviewing for a soulmate. Tough work there.

QUESTION: Any last minute comments?

ANSWER: peace

JULY 23RD @STARBUCKS OF CONYERS – THE GORDON VERNICK TRIO

NO COVER, NO MINIMUM, NO PROBLEM.

SHOWTIME 7P

JAZZ AT STARBUCKS CONYERS

Bumrush by Relentless Aaron

bumrushcover

 

 In Bumrush, Four Marine Corp rejects find robbing diamonds to be a very lucrative “plan B”: except they never counted on the violence getting out of hand.
They made decisions carefully, ruthlessly, unconscious and eventually, desperately. This is a story about Miles and his buddies Gus Chambers, Elvis Evans and Sonny Stewart. It’s about their risks… their consequences

DID YOU MISS THIS??? MONDAY MORNING PRAYER/MONDAY AFTERNOON RADIO INTERVIEW

Relentless On The Air! 1st Live Radio Interview in 5yrs/Live Radio With Dr-Sinclair N. Grey III

Hey Family – Don’t forget to listen in – (The Sinclair Grey Show) on Monday, July 7th at 2pm(est) on WAEC Love 860am Atlanta’s #1 Rhythm and Inspirational Talk Station. It will be an AWESOME show full of information and empowerment. Relentless will share “5 Ways To Keep Your Business Relevant,” information featured in his forthcoming book “Relentless and Relevant”Relentless aaron on the Dr-Sinclair N Grey III radio show

My Sudden Music Break – Keyshia Cole: Heaven Sent / Stevie Wonder: Lookin For Another Pure Love


 

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