freestyle rap

Freestyle rap-

Freestyle rap-

As a kid growing up in the 90’s, I’ve experience a lot of different styles of music. One I grew fond of was hip hop/ rap. This genre was the one that allowed me to create images of the musical contents while I was listening to it. An artist that created vivid images of the music in my head was Tupac Shakur. Tupac was an artist that will stay in my heart and millions of others, because of the legacy he left behind before he passed away. Tupac wasn’t just a rapper; he was a poet, an author, and an actor. He explored many different styles of writing as well as other forms of creative art.

His endless ambition to be the best artist, poet, actor, and pretty much an all round person sparks this drive for me to become like him, but even better. Personally, while I created images of his musical content in my head, a second part of my mind always tell me to be a rapper. In order to become a freestyle rap artist I need to follow 10 principles that will help direct me to that path.

Step 1- gets vocabulary-This is something I need to work on if I want to be a rap artist, because vocabulary is an essential element to hip hop/ rap.

Step 2- get focused- This is essential to hip hop as well, because all musical tracks need to have message behind. If the rap contains only rhymes, but there’s no significant meaning behind it, then it won’t attract an audience.

Step 3- gets a notebook- you can keep a notebook with you or use your phone to jot down anything that sparks an interesting topic for a track.

Step 4- Write acapella- you can begin by writing lyrics without a beat, but when you finish writing the lyrics you can incorporate step 5 and 6 into the mix.

Step 5- Download audio edit software- there are many audio edit software out there on the web. Some of the software is free, but there are some out there that you can pay for if you want a better quality or more of a professional sound to it.

Step 6- Revise to a beat- Best thing to do is to write the core of your lyrics and just fit it into the beat. This will avoid any writer’s block, because you already have your lyrics written down.

Step 7- Memorize- A key thing to do is to memorize your lyrics. That is a rookie mistake if you forget your lyrics at a function or when you record, because it will mess up the flow of the track.

Step 8- Record- After you memorized the lyrics you can begin recording and put emphasis on certain words or chorus to make the track come alive.

Step 9- Re-record- In order to become perfect you need to practice over and over again. That motto holds true for recording a track as well. People will notice if you record only once or you did multiple recordings to get the best version.

Step 10- After recording several times, you can pick out the one that feels like the best version out of all of them.

So, if you follow these steps, then you might have the ability to become a freestyle rap artist. The steps can also be found at http://www.wikihow.com/Freestyle-Rap

Keeping Creative Writing Alive

Creative Writing is a subject that isn’t touch upon by a lot of school in the nation, due to all the budget cuts in school funding. Schools throughout the nation have to cut down on any extracurricular activities such as creative writing. Gerald Richards the national chief executive said the following are main subjects’ schools focus on primarily; math, science, technology, and engineering. GERALD RICHARDS: "I think there is much more of a focus on science, technology, engineering and math. There's a lot of a focus on testing and a lot of the teaching that's going on in schools is focusing on the test and passing the test rather than thinking about how do we get kids to think."

He emphasize on how the students are just learning how to take tests and passing them, which is pretty sad because of the lack of creativity can have the students become like drones in society. If we don’t want the students to become robotic, then we need to find ways to incorporate creativity into the mix.

            Creative writing and art needs to be established as one of the main subjects in the school’s standard curriculum, because kids these days don’t have the creativity they should have for future occupations. Creative writing and art is essential to a lot of jobs out there in the market. If you don’t have the ability to write creatively, then that means you won’t have the ability to think creatively. Creativity doesn’t only lie within writing and art; creativity can spark from technology as well. Think about any Apple products. Do you think the IPod or the IPhone was created overnight? No! It took Steve Jobs and the Apple organization years to think of these innovative products. So we can see that you can find creativity everywhere, but creativity has to start from some place.

            That some place is at school, because that artwork or writing can be the pathway for a young adolescent to become a famous artist, poet, or even CEO of a billion dollar company. Although creativity should be a part of the school curriculum, the school funding is not support it. So instead of it being a lost at school there are other places students can express their creativity. There is a place in San Francisco, Mission district that is meant to give the students the ability to express and create stories, poems, and artwork. This place is called 826, because it is located at 826 Valencia Street. It’s not your ordinary tutor, where people help you with your reading, writing, and math. It’s a place where students can become imaginative and become as creative as they want to be. This is a facility that creates confidence to all the students who go there and participate.

One of the students in San Francisco is Sofia Marquez.

SOFIA MARQUEZ: "I get to use my imagination -- that's why I like writing."

So, we should find ways to incorporate creativity into the school system, because we want the students and children to become less like robots and more like creative beings.

Breaking Writer's Block

Breaking Writer’s Block

Have you ever had that moment where you are just sitting in front of a paper or computer screen and you are giving it a blank stare, because you can't process any kind of ideas to write about-- that is what you call a writer's block. If you suffer from this block, then this blog will help you overcome or prevent having this blockage.
Writer's block is a common occurrence when writers plan to write  novels, blogs, articles, papers and etc. There are a lot of symptoms when it comes to writer's block, whether it be self-consciousness or you didn't do any kind of research on the topic you write about; this list can go on forever. The one symptom I personally experience a lot from writer's block would be stress. Stress is a big cause for this lack of ability to write anything and stress can come from any kind of daily events or personal life issues. The daily event of having school and work full-time puts this physical stress on me that makes me tired and sleepy, so writing is the last thing on my mind. Now a days, dealing with school and work, I rarely can do my hobby which was to write poems.
But when I do get that opportunity, I always run into that writer's block, because I don't have any topics to write about. Not knowing what to write about gets really frustrating and I always think in my mind that an idea will pop up, but that block is always there. So, I actually took the time to go online to find ways to overcome or prevent this obstacle for you and I.

               What I found for breaking this writer’s block for creative writing helped me a lot on how to search for specific topics to write about. I found a list of where creative writing ideas spawn from.  This was just a small list I found at www.makeliterature.com of where creative writing can come from. Don’t limit yourself on this small list, there are tons of ways to where creative writing ideas come from, but these five were recommend places to where ideas could be found—Other people observation, Newspaper and Magazines, World out there, Your bookshelf or Local Library, and Your personal experiences.

                When I was on www.makeliterature.com, this website gave me tips and ideas on how you can become a better writer. This website also had links to other websites that can help you overcome the writer’s block and help you become the writer you imagine yourself to be. These tips consisted of alerts and trackers that would remind you when there are ideas and topics that relate to your topic of interest. The alert system is an easier procedure in which you type in your topic of interest and the system will email you the related site, video and etc.

                The links were portals to other website that help you become the writer you potentially can be. Certain links like www.writinghood.com showed you a list of ways on how to overcome writer’s block. There were 12 tips on how to overcome writer’s block. 1) Read your friend’s articles or post-- which is definitely helpful, because your friend’s ideas can help you created your own ideas. 2) Get away from the screen or desk—this tip helps you become less fatigue and allows for your brain to relax. 3) Use it as an opportunity—this can be the chance you can learn while you write about your topic. 4) Go back to basics—even though we live in an era where technology rules now, we can actually go back to using pen and pencil to stimulate creative writing. 5) Write about writer’s block—weird to believe that this will help you, but look at what I am doing for this blog. 6) Look at what you had written in the past—your past writing experiences can create new ideas for future writing. 7) Ask your readers for ideas—your readers are the people that are loyal to your writing, so have more people have ideas for you is a blessing. 8) Find an interesting or shocking statistics—readers have interest in statistics. 9) Write a list—writing a list can help you build ideas for future writing. 10) What’s popular right now?—popular topics in media and news are interesting topics to write about. 11) Take inspiration from music—writing about your favorite artist, song, or album can spark up ideas for your blogs. 12) Just give up—this tip is to have you come back to the idea later, if you are stuck in writer’s block.

                Hopefully, these tips and ideas for overcoming writer’s block can help you become a better writer, because it certainly helped me become a better one.

If you have any questions or comments, please write them below in the comment section.

Thank you,

Kevin Ha

Tupac immortalized in words

Tupac immortalized in words


Tupac who was the most influential rapper/hip hop artist of all time had a conscious mind and heart when it came to the social issues of poverty and violence within the Black American community. Tupac was great as a rapper/emcee who created awareness of the Black American issues, but he was even greater as a poet who influence people to explore their creative writing abilities.
I for one are the many who is influence by Tupac's creative writing, because he draws a story by using words that effects your emotion and mind. Just by reading one of his poems, I can feel his emotions whether it be sorrow, anger, or even love and emotions are essential to poetry. If you don't put emotions within the poem, then the poem will sound robotic or boring.
One of his poems name "Jada" is about Jada Pinkett-Smith (Famous actress and wife of Will Smith). Below is the poem if you like to read it and think of what the poem is about.

u r the omega of my heart
the foundation of my conception of love
when i think of what a black woman should be
its u that i first think of
u will never fully understand
how deeply my heart feels 4 u
i worry that we'll grow apart
and i'll end up losing u
u bring me 2 climax without sex
and u do it all with regal grace
u r my heart in human form
a friend i could never replace 
The poem is about the platonic relationship he develop with Jada Pinkett-Smith during his time of
incarceration. The poem express his love as a friend for Jada and how she exemplifies the true meaning of a "real black woman." 

His words are one of a kind and they can never be replace or ever be forgotten. Even though he is not here with us today, his words are keeping him alive in our minds and hearts. If you want to read more of his poetry you can visit this website http://www.alleyezonme.com/poetry/index.phtml. Also, if you want to listen to his music you can Youtube search Tupac music or even buy his existing albums.

If you have any comments let me know below.

Thank you,
Kevin Ha

Is Hip Hip really dead? (controversy)

Lack of Creativity in Hip Hop Music Today


The question--Is hip hop really dead?


Hip Hop music these days are not what it use to be, because of the digitization of musical tracks that make the genre fake or less creative. Also the genre is changing due to the new up incoming artist that use auto-tune to enhance their vocals to make the track or song more attractive and listenable. Nowadays, teenagers and early 20 year olds' listen to the degraded hip hop genre due to peer or media influence. When your friends listen to hip hop tracks that consist of auto-tuning you will automatically listen to it, because people are influence by each other. I have to admit, I am a person that listen to lyrical contents within a track and I argue with my friends about how I am not going to listen to hip hop that have integrated auto-tuning, but I was to quick to admit i won't. Eventually, I have given in to my friends' obsession of the new auto-tune hip hop and gave it a shot by listening to it. I am not going to hate on the track, because the track definitely is catchy, but I will hate on myself if I see myself listening to it all the time. Besides being influence by peers, the media plays a big part on what hip hop tracks we listen too. Our media will only play the hip hop tracks that are catchy and poppy, which defeats the purpose of calling it hip hop, because in actuality its infused hip-hop/pop.
Hip hop in general shouldn't sound poppy like you will hear from a pop track, the art form of hip hop music is to exert creative lyrical writing and relevant beats. Although, in order for the music corporations to make money they need to extract the most important part of the hip hop music and infuse digital vocalization into the track. That to me is just wrong, the music industry shouldn't change the way artists put together their music.
Just take it for example, My favorite artist right now is Lupe Fiasco who has immense talent in making legitimate hip hop tracks and he doesn't deviate his style to fit to the music industries' generic infuse hip hop/pop. Although Lupe Fiasco keeps it real with legitimate hip hop, the other portion of mainstream hip hop world has infuse itself with poppy beats to make money and appeal to the general public. To further understand this change in hip hop, Keith Kawaii has written an article that gets expertise's opinion on the changes of hip hop.
An article by Keith Kawaii reiterates on Sasha Frere Jones' and Simon Reynolds' (an iconic rap/hip hop artist in the 80's) rant about how hip hop has lost its "Blackness" in the current hip hop arena. Simon Reynolds being an iconic rap/hip hop artist himself states that "hip-hop has simply dropped the innovation baton, losing it's taste making position in the broader culture."--http://www.tinymixtapes.com/features/hip-hop-really-dead


This reinforces my opinion on how hip hop has not been the same and how it mutates the original style to fit to the broader culture like pop fusion. But the question is still up in the air, "Is hip hop really dead?" 


Well, according to Reynolds, he explains that hip hop is dead, but he also states that the death of hip hop isn't a bad thing, because it  needs to die in order for something new to emerge. "According to Reynold, yes, though he says the death of a genre isn't necessarily a bad thing, just a necessary step in order for new styles to emerge." In a sense, hip hop is not dead, but undergoing the stage of reincarnation. Hip hop can never die, because its always changing and constantly adapting to the social changes in the music industry. 

In order to get a good sense of hip hop changing, the following two music videos gives you an audio example of the transition from lyrical orientated hip hop to pop/R&B/ hip hop infusion.

The follow video is one of Lupe Fiasco's original track on his album "Food and Liquor" which has encase his true creativity and talents of poetic writing.

This track from Lupe Fiasco has 90,000 views worldwide. Which is a very small portion of the world who uses Youtube. Now, let's take a look at another hip hop artist who has been up incoming in the music industry. His artist name is Waka Flocka Flame. Waka Flocka Flame is part of the reason why hip hop is changing. The follow video is called "No Hands" which has a catchy chorus and a tone that is fit more for the nightlife. 

You can tell by just listening to the track that there is substantial difference in lyrical content and in-depth meaning between these two hip hop songs. This shows us that hip hop is on a path to reinvent itself to adapt to the zeitgeist. Zeitgeist is the general cultural, intellectual,ethical, spiritual, and/or political climate within a nation or even specific groups, along with the general ambiance, morals, sociocultural direction, and mood associated with an era.--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeitgeist

Let me know what you think by writing a comment below.
Thank you

maximizing the creative right brain

Maximizing the creative right brain

We all know when it comes to our brain, we have two sides that make us humans posses the ability to think logically (left side) and creatively (right side). The left side of our brain posses the characteristics of being logical and fact-orientated, so there won't be any imagination or creativity involve. Although the left side of the brain  works in such a conventional way, its cranial counterpart is perceive as the exact opposite. Our right side of our brain posses the characteristics of feeling and imagination, so basically the side of our brain that allows us to think up of creative thoughts and symbols. Perfect example of using the right side of our brain is our times as an adolescent. Think of the times when you were a kid and you would create imaginary friends and create art in preschool. These were the times where we used our right side the most and it explains how as adults only a few of us still use the right side of the brain. As an adult, we look at life differently, because we need to develop a mind that revolves around reality and social norms such as making money after college. Our left side dominates when we grow older, because our environment develops our minds to be ready for the future work environment.

An article by Dan Eden explains more about how our educational system deviates our thought process away from the right side and more towards the left. "Experiments show that most children rank highly creative (right brain) before entering school. Because our educational systems place a higher value on left brain skills such as mathematics, logic and language than it does on drawing or using our imagination, only ten percent of these same children will rank highly creative by age 7. By the time we are adults, high creativity remains in only 2 percent of the population" 

This explains why as an adults it is harder for us to think creatively, because our school system pushes us towards the left side of the brain rather than the right side. In order to maximize the creativity of the right brain,  Dan Eden has a method in which you can shut off the left part of your brain and concentrate solely on your right to increase creativity. 


"Methods have been devised to "shut off" the left brain, allowing the right side to have its say. Creative writing courses often use this method to combat "writer's block." The logical left side is easily bored by lack of input and tends to "doze off" during such activities as meditation (repeating a mantra or word over and over) or in sensory deprivation environments. The right brain is then able to "sneak" into our consciousness, filling our minds with emotional and visual vignettes and freely associated images. All too quickly, though, the left brain will assert itself and dispense with these irrational images, asserting its Spock-like logical dominance and the right brain will have to be content to find expression in dreams." 


Personally, I try to meditate or shut off the left side of my brain by taking a shower. This relaxes my mind and allows me to escape the real world and develop images and words that form together to make my poems. 
Hopefully after reading this you can try to relax your mind and begin to explore your creative side. If it is a success, let me know by leaving a comment below.

Thank you,
Kevin Ha

Latin Phrase (Dum Spiro Spero)

Dum Spiro Spero- While I breathe, I hope.

I know that Latin is a dead Roman language, but it's still a form of writing and to me the meaning behind a certain Latin phrase "Dum Spiro Spero" really jumps out at me. Dum Spiro Spero, which means "While I breathe, I hope." Or another interpretation is "As long as I breathe, I hope." I choose this phrase, because of the stories it holds and why this phrase is significant to a demographic. This phrase hold significance to a certain demographics which are the people in the south, more specifically African American in the south. The phrase Dum Spiro Spero is a state motto for South Carolina, adopted in 1776, the motto is form as part of official great seal.
I just find that Dum Spiro Spero holds so much meaning to me, because I tend to depend on Hope to get me through life. This phrase reminds me how writing in any language can exert some kind of creativity and motivation/inspiration. If you speak a different language, just think of writings or phrases that are creative and motivates you to do something about your life or how it effects your life. That's what makes creative writing so important, because its influential, motivational, and inspirational.

what I want to do with my writing?

what I want to do with my writing?

The question of what do I want to do with my creative writing? Well, like I stated on my previous post, I would love to perform at a poetry slam and express what I kept inside me for all these years. That is one step I will love to take when I have  the free time to keep up with my writing. For the time being, I am trying to balance full time work and full time school, because I need to support my family financially. So, this step is going to have a roadblock for now, but eventually I'll get pass these roadblocks and complete this step of performing my poems.
Performing my poem is one step of mine, but I'm also planning on collecting all my poems that I have written throughout the years and publish them. I'm doing this, because I want to have people read my writings and acknowledge the fact that writing is not just an assignment or a chore to some people, but it can be fun and inspiring. Besides having people read my writing and acknowledge that writing is not a daunting task, but something fun, I want people to feel the different emotions I express in my writings.
My emotions are something that reinforces my writings, because writing with no substance is stale and mundane. I want my readers to feel the times I was at my lowest in my life and the joyful times I had when my little sister was born. So, those are some of the solutions I have came up with for the question that I have ask myself, but there are more solutions that are awaiting me in the near future.

Knock Knock

Knock Knock

First time I have seen this, I was immediately blown away by his voice and the meaning of his poem. I couldn't relate myself to his poem, but the power of his voice manages to create a vivid image of what he is talking about. I feel that I am him when he knocks on the glass window in the penitentiary's visiting booth. The emotion and power of his voice just run through my whole body, creating a sense of sorrow yet optimism.
When I see people performing their own poems on stage it makes me want to be up there and express my writing. Even though it is a dream of mine to perform at a poetry slam, my presentation skills are not up to par. Personally, I need to work on my stage fright and overcome this obstacle if I want to be performing in front of a live audience.
Currently, I am working on this phobia by doing a lot more presentations in my business classes, so I can deal with the hundreds of eyes that are staring at me. The feeling of a head rush and trembling hands when they stare at me are minimizing and becoming to be less frequent when I perform or present. Hopefully, in the near future I can find a poetry slam that I can sign up for and deliver the best poetry performance of my life.

The reason why I chose this topic: creative writing

The reason why I chose this topic: creative writing

I chose to blog about creative writing, because I was inspired by my Eng 214 teacher in SFSU and my classmate in that course. It was that one day where our teacher assigned us a creative writing assignment and for me I didn't take it to serious, because I am a perpetuating procrastinator. Like my previous sentence stated, I waiting until the last minute to do this assignment. I chose to do this assignment in the shower, because that was the only place that allowed me to collect my thoughts on this assignment. To my wonders, I managed to create my own style of poetry, which consisted of rhymes and repetition. To me I thought it was okay, until the day came where we had to present our assignment to the class. The teacher made us switch up our assignment, so we wouldn't know who's assignment was presented. Nerves and goosebumps began to arise when my poem was presented by one of my classmate. After all the presentations, one of the student raised their hand to ask the question of who's poem consisted of this rhythmic and repetitive style? As everyone was looking for the author, I rose my arm to allow everyone know I wrote the poem. To my surprise, the student was so blown away by the poem that he gave me a fist bump for writing a simple yet meaningful piece of poetry. I was shocked that my poem (which was written in 15mins) had such an impact on my classmate as well as the teacher. My teacher thought my poem was so creative and clever that she implemented the poem into her reader for next year's course. From that day on I took my time in the showers and wrote some more poems that I did on my leisurely time. The previous two post are my poems that I wrote for in the semester that I took Eng 214.

untitled poem

I've seen her before, where did I see her from?
Oh ya, my mom showed pictures of her, when I was barely one.
Her body so majestic, it can make you weep.
I dream about her everyday when I go to sleep.

Mom, Mom!! Tell me more about her!
Does she have the aromas of a blooming flower?
Does she have the strength of an independent woman, yearning for power?
Does she have the sense to love me, when my heart turn sour?

I've seen her before, where did I see her from?
Oh ya, my mom showed pictures of her, when I was barely one.
Her love is like ecstasy, she can make you high.
I want to see her now, but i can't yet! *sigh*

When can I hear her sing?
When can I see this magnificent thing?
When can I touch her soul with this promise ring?

Growing to love her even more, i can't bare it no more!
I bought a plane ticket to see her and there I soar!

I finally see her! She was the BOMB!
I asked her for her name, her name was Vietnam!

My own creative writing

This was an example of my own creative writing. This poem was a spur of the moment writing, where my emotions transformed into words.


dear life,

life, why are you so cruel?,
im addicted to your success, but you made me a fool,
i took one step forward and you push me ten steps back,
puttin me in a position like a homeless on crack,
day in and day out thinkin why am i even here,
left hand cigarettes and right hand Belvedere,

next thing i kno, youre putting gashin pain to my heart,
she left me and said," we need some time apart!"/
4 years into the relationship, i HATE you life,
she was perfect in every way, she could had been my wife,
but i knew it was comin, because it cant be true,
cuz a fallin slum like me is WAY past overdue/

I felt it comin, a drop of sorrow runnin down my face,
and i felt a sense of loneliness lurkin throughout my place/
holdin a glass of death, i kept on drinkin,
seein her with me, but i knew i was just dreamin/
why? why? why?

LIFE, why are you so cruel?,
she is ONE in a billion, she was my jewel,
but you had to take her away and AGAIN made me a fool/
her womb carried a seed of me,
and i punched myself, because of YOU they cant be wit ME/

*gulp* gulp*gulp*

it burns my heart when death swims throughout my body,
but i drink to infinite, cuz i cant hear it say daddy/
here i am blackin out, overdose on death and now im on my death bed,
next thing i know i see myself in a hospital bed/
then there i see her, the beautiful goddess that carries my child,
i said to her, please stay wit me, cuz life without you is like playin wit jokers, wild/

she said to me i cant, please dont make me do this,
i plead to her, why? I dont want our kid to be born and ill miss,
because it is what i need in order to get to bliss/

She cried, but it wasnt tear of sorrow, but the tear of confusion,
And she said GOODBYE and walkout until she was out of my vision/

Months past and i was still the same, but one day i came across the beauty that walked away/
I went up to her and i asked her "how you been?",
she replied great! and replicated my question to me askin "how you been?"
I said great, but with a bellowed voice :(

she said her kid is growin up healthy,
she also said she married a man, who is very wealthy/
in my mind i thought, what a gold digger!,
but i cant compete wit him with only 4 figures/

And she handed to me a picture of our baby boy,
i smiled a smile that had to be contained, but it bursted out wit joy/
She smiled and said goodbye again,
but i didnt mind, cuz in my mind i was thinkin when?

When can i see my baby boy?

After i receive the picture, life didnt really suck like before,
because i have a picture that tells me i have someone to live for!

Controversy

1)      Controversy among hip hop and its lyrical content can stir up a commotion of how it can influence the minds of the listener.

2)      Controversy among poetry and how certain poets are judge upon their reputation as an entertainer.

3)      Controversy among writer’s salary and how they can be underpaid in certain times and situations.

top ten link for Writing Creatively

Top Ten Links about Writing Creatively

http://www.ourstressfullives.com/

I find this link really straight forward and it allows me to learn how to deal with my stress by using it to create great stories. I find it true, that stress is an important factor into writing motivational or inspirational stories, because we can see how stressful situation is overcome. It’s not that happy stories aren’t motivational, but a majority of the times when I watch movies, any sports movies will have a moment where they are caught in a stressful situation and they have to find ways out of this obstacle. That gives me the motivation to play sports, because I know that there is hope.

http://www.steveshapiro.com/2010/03/01/does-stress-limit-creativity/

This link was basically Steven Shapiro’s blog about him being stuck at a train station in the east coast. I thing I found interesting was that he basically contradicted the link that I posted before. I for one disagree with Steven, because I had dealt with stressful time and I found that I can be more creative while I am under pressure. All the poems and stories I had wrote in my life was during the times I was in an immense amount of stress and emotionally broken.  Although I can handle under pressure, Steven in his own opinion can be right as well, because there are times where stress can minimize your ability to comprehend or process information in a timely manner. It is basically how people take it in, there are no right or wrong way of channeling your stress.

http://viewzone2.com/bicamx.html

This link on Left brain, Right brain was extraordinarily interesting, because it explains the uses of the brain as two and not just one brain. The Left side of the brain would control the right side of the body and the Right side of the brain would control the left side of the body. I find it fascinating, because I more imaginative and use my right side of my brain more often than my left which explains why I would write more creatively than standard structure of writing. This link stirred up a good conversation at my work place and it shows that people are generally fascinated by their anatomy or their brain function.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1801648/freestyle_writing_let_your_mind_run.html?cat=3

I found this link interesting and important to me, because it shows that writing creatively or freestyle writing can get you paid. I know this link isn’t mind stimulating or stir up a conversation, but it’s important to me, because I would like to be a writing in the near future or even long term.

http://www.poemofquotes.com/articles/poetry_forms.php

This link is great for people who want to find a poetry style that they want to use, although being a poet you can have the ability to write in any kind of style, but for me I find that there are certain styles I can be consistently strong in. I love the diversity of different poetic styles, because it doesn’t get mundane and repetitive.

http://www.poemhunter.com/tupac-shakur/

This link shows the different poems Tupac Shakur had written, who in our life time was a great composer of musical tracks in the hip hop/rap genre. Although, Tupac Shakur was an individual with immense talent his life was cut short due to altercations, even though we seen him in the media with a gang like persona his lyrics not only in his music, but his poems show the real Tupac. Tupac was well known for music, but his poems were the ones that caught my eyes on how deeply composed and well thought it was. It shows the struggles him and his mother overcome and the path he had to go through in order to reach stardom. Tupac was pioneer for the hip hop/ rap genre, his poetic lyrics in his music spoke to many diverse groups who can relate. I chose this link, because I can relate to his music and lyrics and invoke controversial conversations.

http://keithsawyer.wordpress.com/

This link is Keith Sawyer’s blog on wordpress.com, I find his blog interesting and the topics he has on his blog can invoke a deep conversation.  I find it important to me, because I am a business major and I need to keep up with current news. I for one find blogs are more interesting than mass media, because I like to read on what other people think about for a certain subject and it gives me the opportunity to contradict or agree.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1147152-2,00.html

This link is about the Hidden secrets of the creative mind. The article from time.com is a Q&A site for us readers to find out what is true and what is false about how our mind’s work. Reading through the Q&A, I found it interesting to read about the question in regards to creativity and how that is processed and developed into innovation.

http://latin-phrases.co.uk/quotes/

I chose this link to be one of the top ten links, because in order to come up with a phrase or motto you need to experience a good amount of life in order for the quote to pertain to everyone or a certain group of individuals. To me there is an inspirational quote in Latin to spoke to me and made me believe in the possibilities and the hopes in life. “Dum spiro, spero” This quote means “While I breathe, I Hope” It takes a creative mind to make a phrase that is meaningful and can captures people’s mind and heart.

http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1993/4/93.04.04.x.html

I chose this link, because it’s a professor’s article on rap and its evolution in the US. Closely related, hip hop and Rap’s predecessor, in order to have rap you need to have hip hop mixed into the conversation. Hip Hop is not just a genre of music, but it is a vision or even an art form that people live by. Hip hop in its own sense can spark immense amount of creativity. The art so called graffiti, is an innovative vision, because it requires creativity as an essential element for it be have any meaning. Emceeing is another art form that require creativity, you need the creative mind set to direct or coordinate the crowd in a venue. This link can also stimulate a deep conversation revolving around the topic of hip hop and creativity.