Who's Your +1?

So as I was cruising the blogs at 6a, getting geared up for my study day, I came across this video by Q from 112. Now you know, my last article had me pissed about my inability to make a “Slow Grind 2011” mix. Welp, although I don’t have a full 17 tracks, I believe that this song DEFINITELY makes the cut.

The Dream wrote this song, and it is on Beyonce’s “4” album. However, without being blasphemous to all things Beyonce (I am a SUPER fan), I have to admit that Q done sang THE HELL outta this song. I don't know if Beyonce's version would make the slow grind mix. Mind you he’s doing this LIVE for the video because he’s in the studio. What happened to men that can sing like this? What are your thoughts?

Q's Version




Beyonce's Version




The first verse is:

If I ain’t got nothing, I got you

If I ain’t got something I don't give a damn, cause I got it with you

I don't know much about algebra, but I know one plus one equals two

And it's me and you, that’s all we'll have when the world is thru


Who makes your 1+1 = 2?

Slow Grind

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So I think I’m starting to feel like my parents. A true sign that I’m getting not just regular old, but real OLD. Since my wedding anniversary is coming up, I decided that I wanted to take it back to our earlier years and make Julius one of those “slow grind” mixes!

DISCLAIMER** If you are under the age of 21 (90s baby), you won’t know what I’m talking about so don’t read ANY FURTHER (this is grown folk talk).

When we were young, we would listen to the radio and record the songs onto a cassette, and then later try to blank out the commercials (remember that?!). As we got older, we started burning the songs onto CDs. Now…what the hell am I supposed to do? Send him the song list in an email? Where’s the fun in that? The whole point of the CD was to put on the craziest, sexiest, love inspiring songs that you knew, and get excited about not knowing what the next track was going to be when you were in the groove (iPods spoil all the fun). Now, although I’m pissed about this cramp in my old school style, that really isn’t the point of this post.

As I started going through my iTunes repertoire I got downright disappointed. I wanted to put some “new” school songs on my slow grind CD, but soon realized that there wasn’t anything really (post 2008) to put on there. I mean, yea sure, you’ve got “Invented Sex” by Trey Songz and “Motivation” by Kelly Rowland, and those are suitable for the slow grind mix, but really, what else is there?

See, the slow grind mix is not a sex CD, it’s a lovemaking CD. While it will have, “Greatest Sex I Ever Had” by R. Kellly (the king of the slow grind) and “Red Light Special” by TLC…it will also have “My First Love” by Avant and “Let’s Get Married” by Jagged Edge. It is a subtle mixture of all things sexy in a relationship.

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What our parents were pissed about was that all of our songs were about sex. Quite frankly, as I got older, I realized that theirs were too! Difference being, our generation was more explicit whereas the artists in their generation were more subtle (i.e., “Let’s Get it On” versus “Invented Sex”). So don’t think Ron Isley, Gerald Levert, and Teddy P. didn’t make it to the mix too! I won’t say whose was better. But I will say that these youngins out here have no idea. They have NO clue who Boyz II Men is! They will never know what it means to have a verse where you just TALK to emphasize your point. Remember when deep sexy voice dude from Boyz II Men talked for a WHOLE verse on “End of the Road”. We knew he couldn’t sing; he was just in the group to TALK!! Who’s talking now?

This new generation will never write a “4 Page Letter,” understand what a “Faded Picture” is, know what kind of song will have them “Speechless.” I mean really, who is going give them their slow grind mixes…Willow Smith? It’s kinda disheartening.

Yes, I’m disappointed, but I guess for my 2011 “slow grind” mix, I’ll just take it back to the good ole days. Julius is probably yearning for something to tickle his memories anyway. Therefore, Julius, I will “Cater 2 U” “Slowly”, “Make it Last Forever” because quite frankly, “I’m going down, cause you ain’t around.”

I'm Riding Shotgun

We’ve been gone for a minute, but we’re back! We’ve gone through a lot in the past few months, but we plan to bring you up to speed shortly. Thanks for continuing to read Young, Black, and Married!

I’m Riding Shotgun….

God’s in the driver’s seat.

Let me start off by saying that I don’t have a reason in the world to complain, and it’s not because I’m coming out on top. Rachel and I are 2,253 miles apart, and will be for the next 10 weeks. At the present moment I’m homeless, jobless, and the most important person in the world to me is thousands of miles away. Some may scream out, “Why me, oh Lord, why me??!!”, and I’m not going to front like it didn’t cross my mind, but this is God’s plan. If it were up to me, I’d already be working at a major studio in Los Angeles with a nice salary, nice crib, and a wife living in the same city as me. And that’s not to say this won’t happen. It’s just not going to happen right now, and I’m moving into a space where I’m okay with that. Why? Because God has been blessing me my whole life and there’s no reason that this period of my life will be any different. I’d love to boast and brag on Facebook about how I’m killing the game in LA (and still might when the time’s right), but the more important lesson I’m learning right now is to be patient and wait on the Lord.

So before you paint a grim picture of my life, allow me to explain. Everything Rachel and I do is calculated. She’s currently in Athens, GA living with my family while she studies for the Georgia Bar. Since I’m considered her #1 distraction, we thought it best to have her study there while I do the Cali thing. And what does this cost us??? Not a damn thing! Free living while she guarantees me she’ll pass the bar….Winning!

As for me, I didn’t just jump out to Los Angeles blindly. My oldest brother lives in LA and has been doing his thing in Hollywood for over 15 years now. I made arrangements to live with him months ago while I land a job and crib for Rachel after she completes the bar. This is on top of the fact that I had an interview lined up with Warner Bros. prior to coming out to LA. I live in his garage (which is more like a fully furnished studio apartment with a 50” plasma on the wall) and come and go as I please. Since Rachel has the Jeep in GA with her, I had to rent a car. No sweat. So all I’m spending is $140 a week plus food here and there, because his wife cooks basically every night! So it’s all good, then I get thrown a curve ball….

I’m able to get the interview with Warner Bros. off the strength of who my brother is. I crush the interview off the strength of who I am, and I’m asked to come back for second rounds. I crush both of those interviews and now I’m just waiting on the offer letter. Now truth be told, the position I’m applying for is cool, but not exactly what I was looking for. The pay is decent (not Beemer, Benz, or Bentley), and the work is just okay at best. What I realized is that I was going so hard just because I felt like I “needed” a job ASAP and it was in the industry that I’ve been wanting to get into. The issue was that I fell back into my old routine of settling instead of waiting to receive the blessings that God has in store for me. Well, good thing God prefers his plan over mine.

The irony of the situation is that the same person (my brother) that got me the interview is the same reason I can’t be considered for the job. Long and short, that particular position would have allowed me access to my brother’s company’s financial statements, which then would have created a conflict of interest between Warner Bros., myself, and my Brother’s company. Who in the hell saw that coming??? Not me. Not my brother. Not Warner Bros. (until yesterday), and I interviewed with them over a week and a half ago! I all but had the job in my hands, but I guess I never really did in the end. While they would have loved to have me and I would have killed in the position, I can’t say I would have been all that happy. Good thing for me, I have God’s favor, and he clearly wants more for me than I want for myself.

So I’m not technically homeless, but I am jobless and my wife IS thousands of miles away and will be for weeks to come. Even still, it’s easy for me to wake up in the morning smiling because I’m blessed to be a child of God. I serve an amazing God who never has and never will leave me. I gotta run – back to the grind.

Be Blessed!!

Julius