"Open y'all fucking minds." ~ One Grain of Sand

August 11, 2008

"Open y'all fucking minds."

On the sidewalk somewhere near 37th Street and 8th Ave.

Two things:

I know this wasn't actually posted on August 11th, but I'm going to make it so it says it just because I like to feel like I actually did something when I intended on doing it. Sorry if that bothers you.
I added an e-mail subscription option to the blog on the top right under the title, so feel free to sign up. This way, you won't have to check back until you get an email notification. I just found the plug-in for that online somewhere, so I don't know how well it works, but let me know if you do subscribe so I know that it works. Thanks a ton.
Okay I guess this is more than two, but new title was inspired by Common's father's words at the end of "Forever Begins," on the Finding Forever album (which I quoted here). If you didn't catch it before, the old title -- You could be anywhere in the world, but you're here with me, and I appreciate that -- was inspired by Jay-Z's intro to "H to the Izzo." Now you know.
New commenting system up -- using Disqus (disqus.com). It's a great way to manage your comments on other blogs and comments on your blog all at once. Also good to find and explore new blogs. Just another networking tool you might be interested in.

Now that that's done, I went to the Kanye concert on Tuesday. I don't have many words to describe it other than freaking absurd. It was absolutely stellar, and not that I've been to many concerts before (John Mayer, Blue Man Group, and a few random Indian shows) -- so I have little to compare it to, but even people who are frequent concert goers agree -- the performance on Tuesday night couldn't be matched by any other performer. I took a bunch of vids, but haven't uploaded them on Vimeo yet (works better w/ my comp than YouTube). Here's one that I did of the general population's favorite song:

Kanye West - Stronger (Live) from Ankit Shah on Vimeo.

More of that will come in future posts when I post some of the rest of the vids. Another bit of Kanye that I got from this concert was a little more of his personal insight on things, and there were a few things I thought were extremely worth noting because he did go on one of his rants at the end of the concert, but some of the points he made were very necessary, I think.

First, Kanye pointed out how he doesn't identify with any particular type of music. He doesn't hate on shit, but he doesn't think he represents hip hop. "Lemme tell you a little something about me: I don't do it for nobody else but me, and if you disagree, fine," he says. I think he pointed something out that most artists haven't acknowledged yet, and that is that he is himself FOR himself, not for his fans. As much as that may upset his fans (myself included), it's admirable.

Everyone asks me if I do it for hip-hop. I don't do it for hip-hop because it has too many rules that need to be broken. At what point did hip hop stop getting new. At one point did everybody start hating on everything that was new, and saying, "You know what? That's not true. That's not the real hip-hop." See, all that fake ass shit has GOT TO STOP.

Next, he spoke a bit on all the negative energy in the rap game and in society today.

You don't have to be Lil Wayne in order for people to say your shit is fresh. I like all kinds of shit -- T-Pain, Jeezy...Andre 3000 (huge applause).

I just said that to get some of y'all back. Open y'all fucking minds. Open your minds. Be accepting of different people and let people be who THEY are.

I don't like Ed Hardy. But if you like it, I LOVE it. It's cool with me! Hip hop -- you know how many people callin' me, calling me gay because I wear my jeans the fresh way -- not the played-out-ass-way? Or because I said, "Ay, dude, how are you gonna say 'fag' right in front of a gay dude's face and act like that's okay? That shit is disrespectful, fam. That's my word -- fam -- and it took me time to learn that comin' from Chicago where if you saw somebody that was gay, you were supposed to step 10 feet away. It took me time to break out of the mental prisons that I was in, the stereotypes, or the fear of the backlash that I would get for believin' in what I believe in, for accepting people for who they are if they're talented, if they do something special in the world.

I've flown across the world, and I've come back to tell you, "Open y'all fucking minds" and live a happier life. Don't hate on people so much.

I love it. And as much as people love to hate Kanye for his arrogance, take his word objectively because his bit makes sense. That's his grain of sand, and it hits hard when you actually listen to it and notice all the close-mindedness around you -- maybe even in you. How often do you catch people saying shit like, "That's stupid," "He/she's gay," or things of the like? I do it every so often too, but this is making me be more aware of it. There's no NEED to hate on shit so much, let alone even dislike it. You don't have to like Ed Hardy, but accept it when other people do. (You shoulda heard the way Kanye said that line. It brought the biggest smile to my face. I recorded it -- will post soon enough.)

Now, aside from the concert, I had a bit of a party on Saturday. By a bit, I mean all sorts of people arrived. I would say my friend circle is pretty sizable because it spans a wide spectrum of individuals -- from the "Asians" that take anywhere from 4 to 31231 AP courses a year to the "white crowd" that "does nothing but party" (note the quotes, as these are all stereotypes) to the out of school kids who hang out for a good time, putting all the high school stereotypes aside. What happened on Saturday is that all these groups partied together, putting aside (to an extent) the barriers that prevented them from having a good time together otherwise.

The best.

Club Shah, as Poorvi would say

I think that's really what needs to happen more often, specifically during the next year -- our last in high school. Even if we all like different things, even if some of us like to party while drinking while some of us don't, we can still all connect on some level or another, and I think finding that level is something special. As much as this sounds like a "Why can't we all just get along?" rant, I mean it in the most sincere way possible. The reason I thought Saturday night was so extraordinary wasn't just because it was a lot of fun, but because everyone had a blast together, which you don't find too often.

Friday night's dinner @ Pure Food & Wine. I met all but two of these great people that night, and we all had a great time connecting. This is exactly what I mean about getting to meet new and different people.

This really ties in with the Olympics, which conveniently enough is aligned with my thoughts. I watched the Opening Ceremonies last night (DVRed it), and it was freaking stellar the way people all over the world could get together in one stadium to appreciate the next two weeks of world unity. Be it by sports rather than politics, all that really matters is the fact that they're all together. I've never really taken note of the Olympics before, but all the hype about them this year really got me interested. When you see all the countries walk out into the stadium with their respective flags...it's just something you don't see often enough.

So basically, what I'm asking you to do is meet someone that's part of a different "crew." Step out of these invisible boundaries most people form around themselves and don't just look at someone as part of a crew and identify themselves with that group, but rather, meet them, connect, and you'll find that the great divide between cliques is totally unnecessary.

Just as an aside: I just wanted to thank everyone who could come out on Saturday and anyone that wished me a happy birthday. Though birthdays don't mean much to be other than a reason to throw a party, you guys really did make it one of the best ever. It really could not have been better, and I don't think I could've asked for more. You all rock at what you do, so keep on doing it.

Poorvi's amazing, completely unexpected (until Mom spilled the beans and told me) and gourmet-style raw chocolate cake. Even my brother liked it, which says something. Love you, tutti.

Also, I love Rohan and Vivek (and Amar, but he left earlier in the day so there are no pics of him with us here), who are both all star golfers after one day of training while I still fail. I really can't imagine myself without these guys:

On the sidewalk somewhere near 37th Street and 8th Ave.

Two things:

I know this wasn't actually posted on August 11th, but I'm going to make it so it says it just because I like to feel like I actually did something when I intended on doing it. Sorry if that bothers you.
I added an e-mail subscription option to the blog on the top right under the title, so feel free to sign up. This way, you won't have to check back until you get an email notification. I just found the plug-in for that online somewhere, so I don't know how well it works, but let me know if you do subscribe so I know that it works. Thanks a ton.
Okay I guess this is more than two, but new title was inspired by Common's father's words at the end of "Forever Begins," on the Finding Forever album (which I quoted here). If you didn't catch it before, the old title -- You could be anywhere in the world, but you're here with me, and I appreciate that -- was inspired by Jay-Z's intro to "H to the Izzo." Now you know.
New commenting system up -- using Disqus (disqus.com). It's a great way to manage your comments on other blogs and comments on your blog all at once. Also good to find and explore new blogs. Just another networking tool you might be interested in.

Now that that's done, I went to the Kanye concert on Tuesday. I don't have many words to describe it other than freaking absurd. It was absolutely stellar, and not that I've been to many concerts before (John Mayer, Blue Man Group, and a few random Indian shows) -- so I have little to compare it to, but even people who are frequent concert goers agree -- the performance on Tuesday night couldn't be matched by any other performer. I took a bunch of vids, but haven't uploaded them on Vimeo yet (works better w/ my comp than YouTube). Here's one that I did of the general population's favorite song:

Kanye West - Stronger (Live) from Ankit Shah on Vimeo.

More of that will come in future posts when I post some of the rest of the vids. Another bit of Kanye that I got from this concert was a little more of his personal insight on things, and there were a few things I thought were extremely worth noting because he did go on one of his rants at the end of the concert, but some of the points he made were very necessary, I think.

First, Kanye pointed out how he doesn't identify with any particular type of music. He doesn't hate on shit, but he doesn't think he represents hip hop. "Lemme tell you a little something about me: I don't do it for nobody else but me, and if you disagree, fine," he says. I think he pointed something out that most artists haven't acknowledged yet, and that is that he is himself FOR himself, not for his fans. As much as that may upset his fans (myself included), it's admirable.

Everyone asks me if I do it for hip-hop. I don't do it for hip-hop because it has too many rules that need to be broken. At what point did hip hop stop getting new. At one point did everybody start hating on everything that was new, and saying, "You know what? That's not true. That's not the real hip-hop." See, all that fake ass shit has GOT TO STOP.

Next, he spoke a bit on all the negative energy in the rap game and in society today.

You don't have to be Lil Wayne in order for people to say your shit is fresh. I like all kinds of shit -- T-Pain, Jeezy...Andre 3000 (huge applause).

I just said that to get some of y'all back. Open y'all fucking minds. Open your minds. Be accepting of different people and let people be who THEY are.

I don't like Ed Hardy. But if you like it, I LOVE it. It's cool with me! Hip hop -- you know how many people callin' me, calling me gay because I wear my jeans the fresh way -- not the played-out-ass-way? Or because I said, "Ay, dude, how are you gonna say 'fag' right in front of a gay dude's face and act like that's okay? That shit is disrespectful, fam. That's my word -- fam -- and it took me time to learn that comin' from Chicago where if you saw somebody that was gay, you were supposed to step 10 feet away. It took me time to break out of the mental prisons that I was in, the stereotypes, or the fear of the backlash that I would get for believin' in what I believe in, for accepting people for who they are if they're talented, if they do something special in the world.

I've flown across the world, and I've come back to tell you, "Open y'all fucking minds" and live a happier life. Don't hate on people so much.

I love it. And as much as people love to hate Kanye for his arrogance, take his word objectively because his bit makes sense. That's his grain of sand, and it hits hard when you actually listen to it and notice all the close-mindedness around you -- maybe even in you. How often do you catch people saying shit like, "That's stupid," "He/she's gay," or things of the like? I do it every so often too, but this is making me be more aware of it. There's no NEED to hate on shit so much, let alone even dislike it. You don't have to like Ed Hardy, but accept it when other people do. (You shoulda heard the way Kanye said that line. It brought the biggest smile to my face. I recorded it -- will post soon enough.)

Now, aside from the concert, I had a bit of a party on Saturday. By a bit, I mean all sorts of people arrived. I would say my friend circle is pretty sizable because it spans a wide spectrum of individuals -- from the "Asians" that take anywhere from 4 to 31231 AP courses a year to the "white crowd" that "does nothing but party" (note the quotes, as these are all stereotypes) to the out of school kids who hang out for a good time, putting all the high school stereotypes aside. What happened on Saturday is that all these groups partied together, putting aside (to an extent) the barriers that prevented them from having a good time together otherwise.

The best.

Club Shah, as Poorvi would say

I think that's really what needs to happen more often, specifically during the next year -- our last in high school. Even if we all like different things, even if some of us like to party while drinking while some of us don't, we can still all connect on some level or another, and I think finding that level is something special. As much as this sounds like a "Why can't we all just get along?" rant, I mean it in the most sincere way possible. The reason I thought Saturday night was so extraordinary wasn't just because it was a lot of fun, but because everyone had a blast together, which you don't find too often.

Friday night's dinner @ Pure Food & Wine. I met all but two of these great people that night, and we all had a great time connecting. This is exactly what I mean about getting to meet new and different people.

This really ties in with the Olympics, which conveniently enough is aligned with my thoughts. I watched the Opening Ceremonies last night (DVRed it), and it was freaking stellar the way people all over the world could get together in one stadium to appreciate the next two weeks of world unity. Be it by sports rather than politics, all that really matters is the fact that they're all together. I've never really taken note of the Olympics before, but all the hype about them this year really got me interested. When you see all the countries walk out into the stadium with their respective flags...it's just something you don't see often enough.

So basically, what I'm asking you to do is meet someone that's part of a different "crew." Step out of these invisible boundaries most people form around themselves and don't just look at someone as part of a crew and identify themselves with that group, but rather, meet them, connect, and you'll find that the great divide between cliques is totally unnecessary.

Just as an aside: I just wanted to thank everyone who could come out on Saturday and anyone that wished me a happy birthday. Though birthdays don't mean much to be other than a reason to throw a party, you guys really did make it one of the best ever. It really could not have been better, and I don't think I could've asked for more. You all rock at what you do, so keep on doing it.

Poorvi's amazing, completely unexpected (until Mom spilled the beans and told me) and gourmet-style raw chocolate cake. Even my brother liked it, which says something. Love you, tutti.

Also, I love Rohan and Vivek (and Amar, but he left earlier in the day so there are no pics of him with us here), who are both all star golfers after one day of training while I still fail. I really can't imagine myself without these guys:

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