It’s Bigger Than Hip Hop

 

 I have mentioned on several occasions that I was inspired and motivated by a few awesome individuals. I also said I would post about them and so here I will start off by giving crazy credit to Stic Man of Dead Prez. 

 I always liked Dead Prez’s music. A couple years ago I was asked to help a fellow silk screen artist prep some artwork for some tee shirts he was printing up for Stic Man’s RGB Fit Club. During this process I linked up to Stic’s facebook page and Instagram. At first I didn’t pay all that much attention to his posts. I had a good flow of positive posts on my timeline that kept my attention. All that changed as I added people and Stic’s posts started standing out more and more.

 Aside from making great music, Dead Prez stand up for a lot of things that I do as well as far as social justice and education and what not. I never really took the time to realize just how much they were also into health. Believe me their debut album Let’s Get Free has an entire different meaning to me today than it did back when it first dropped. Anyway Stic has really went above and beyond as far as health and pushing for a healthy lifestyle. His posts went from just catching my attention, to me looking forward to reading them.

 I would be lying if I said that Stic’s posts didn’t play a role in making my final decision to finally dedicate my life to adopting a new healthier lifestyle. It was very inspiring to see someone from the culture I grew up in so dedicated to a holistic lifestyle. We have lost a number of great artists within the Hip Hop culture to what can be said was due to poor lifestyle choices. You know what they say, if you don't learn from history you are doomed to repeat it. That goes for our Hip Hop history as well. 

 As I started on my journey there were a number of those days that I was struggling to move and along would come one of Stic’s posts slapping me in the face and motivating me. I am truly grateful for him and others that share their journeys unselfishly with the world, inspiring countless people myself included. His ability to reach me, inspire and motivate me all the way in Norway also played a big part in me deciding to share my journey.

 Sharing my journey may not reach as many people as Stic but it doesn’t matter to me. If I am able to reach even one person that Stic or someone else can’t then it’s worth it. Believe me as an artist and an activist I have grown used to dealing with the negativity that comes with putting yourself out there for the world to view. It’s a bit sad that people will go out of their way to send you their negative energy. I truly appreciate people like Stic that rather take the time out of their busy lives to inspire others. It gives hope that not all in this world is lost. 

 Having a few people whether in the real world or through social media that you can look towards for inspiration and motivation when needed is truly priceless, especially when you more or less motivate yourself on a daily basis. I am not surrounded by movers and shakers which makes things more difficult, but thanks to selfless people like Stic, I get it done.

For more on Stic’s holistic lifestyle check out his website RGB Fit Club and Be Healthy! Thank you for reading.