swishism

I’ve just been talking about the difference between creativity and artistry.

So why’s it so hard is a question I often ask God about artistry. I think there’s a number of reasons… I don’t know what they all are, of course–hence the question.

But difficulty, I think, is permitted for ‘valley-purposes’, brokeness and being broke, learning the sword (pen, brush, mic, guitar, whatever) , developing shadow-of-death cognition, learning to swallow sorrow, hard — perfect craft, to get really good.  I could go on, but I think  Homecut’s melancholic, head nodder ‘I don’t even know‘ hits the nail on the head, with stellar ‘been-there’ assurance and production.

Homecut - I Don’t Even Know Feat Corinne Bailey Rae & Soweto

But that’s not everything, just went the artist is ready to chuck to towel in, we all know she triumphs because of something greater than herself.  Her mountaintop vision is now a reality. Which is one more reason to love Homecut’s jubilant B-Side, this ones got wings!

Homecut - Not Far To Go

The album, No Freedom Without Sacrifice drops May 19

swishism entry artistry, corinne bailey rae, craft, hardship, homecut, hope, triumph

I’ve been considering the feedback Loop; a principle mentioned in Lupe Fiasco’s post yesterday about his song ‘The Instrumental’.

In short, it details an “individual [who] constantly observes the box [tv or radio] under the faint pretext he will observe information that will instruct him on how to discontinue his obsession with the box.”

It made me think about RSS feeds and twitter and all the other streams we use to keep us ‘ahead of the curve’.

If the information sources are not good then Lupe has a point, but
the idea he puts forward here presupposes that all information is useless and the observer is doomed to some recursive prison of futility.

The takeaway for me was
1) Always evaluate the source.
2) Don’t stop hoping.  The feedback loop works in positive and negative directions.  Take compound interest for example, or imagine if Edmond Dantès, prisoner in the classic, The Count of Monte Cristo had given up on escaping the Chateau d’If because there was ‘no hope’ in observation; the book would have had a different title.

Picture by ?o??ƒx™ , Creative Commons

swishism entry feedback, hope, observation, outlook

This is more of a double whammy, as it contains a pair of swishes. It’s taken from the opening piece in the book Selected Swishes

some.will.ignorantly.sing.hype to make a platinum disc double
some. will.illuminate.shrouded.hope at the end of the tunnel.

I guess it’s about choices. I’m often asked by kids I teach. “Have you heard of such and such emcee, or so so and so grime artist, and this is what I often feel like saying. In fact, next time I think I will.

swishism entry choice, hope