Caught up in the matrix of "The Bluprint 3"

Ever since buying this CD (yes, I still buy cds) I cannot get the lyrics out of my head. Each track speaks to me and that is why I believe so many millions of people have been mesmerized by Jay's latest masterpiece. I had to physically break myself free from playing it everyday on my way to work...it was crazy. Not only are the beats fresh and innovative, Jay's metaphors take tale-telling to a whole new level. So today, I dedicate my entries to you, Hov!!

MIND: (from 'So Ambitious')..."Just whispering behind my back, no vision, lack of ambition, so wack!/Motivation to me, is them telling me what I could not be, oh well"...
Man, when the haters come out in full force, I just sing this to myself in my head. I must say- the major haters in my life have become some of my biggest motivators. I thrive off of resistance and opposition. Call me an egomaniac, but I enjoy proving people wrong. Most of my ambition comes from my persistence in defying the cards I was dealt at birth: female, Black, Puerto-Rican, ghetto..I wasn't supposed to succeed. Anthony, Candy and Marjorie had bigger and better plans for me.

BODY: (from 'What We Talkin' About?')..."Talkin' bout progress I ain't lookin' back/You know I run track try not to get lapped"
Well, from 1986-1992 I did run track - and I was pretty good. One of the major instructions from our coaches during meets, "don't get lapped". So what did that mean to us? Run faster, push harder, don't give up, focus on the finish line. That's exactly what got me back in the gym on a regular basis over the last couple of months. It's all about the progress that I intend to make, not about the times I've fallen off the gym/fitness wagon in the past. If I kept focusing on that, I was never going to make any progress in the future. Before I knew it, 30 mins. of cardio turned into 60 mins. - 1 day a week turned into 3 sometimes even 4. That's what I'M TALKIN' BOUT!

SOUL: (from 'Run This Town')..."Life's a game but it's not fair/I break the rules, so I don't care/So I keep doin' my own thing/Walkin' tall against the rain"

I mean, what else can I say about that verse? 2009 rained down pretty hard on me at times - monsoon strength I thought. My umbrella ripped up in the wind, shoes got all soaked, hair was ruined...but I kept walking tall against all of the rain. Sometimes that's what we have to do in life - say "Eff the rain, I gotta do me!" 2009 has taught me all about my own level of endurance and perseverance. Thought about throwing in the towel a few times 'cause things just seemed too heavy to bear - but that's when I had to dig a little deeper, get a little dirtier, trudge a little farther. Guess what, all that hard and agonizing work built some pretty solid muscles.

ETC: (from 'Empire State of Mind')..."Concrete jungle where dreams are made of/There's nothing you can't do"

I had so many dreams growing up in Harlem for the first 18 years of my life. When my family moved away in '92 I realize that I moved away from my dreams as well. There is truly a vibe in NYC that doesn't exist anywhere else I've ever been. If you dream it, you can be it. It's like my batteries get recharged each and every time I come into the 212 area code...I feel alive, refreshed, re-energized, refocused. My current area code may say "617" but I am truly back to living with an Empire State of Mind!