rush hour

...we had a day off yesterday. We left B-More around 3pm. Why did we do that. Can u say "Rush Hour Traffic"??? We were enroute to Atlanta which is about an 11 hour drive from Baltimore. Halfway to Atlanta we had been requested to come thru a radio station in Greensboro, NC called WUAG

Very dope! We rocked live on the air. It was exactly what we needed. It woke all of us up and put all of us in a good mood. But most of all it got Jumbo wired enough to drive the rest of the way to Atlanta so I could sleep. Haha!!! Yeah. For real, it's a dope show. My man Jack (the host) there is really cool and has a lot of love for Hip Hop. Big up to Jarred (the engineer). They both looked out for us. We played for at least half an hour on air then followed up with a live interview. College radio is where it's at. We just need to know where the late night eats are in Greensboro, NC. Before makin that last haul into Atlanta, cats was scroungin' for a spot eat. Blaah, blaah, blaahh, Denny's AGAIN!!! NOOOOOOO!!!
VURSATYL

no room at the Inn!

...no room at the Inn! We had reservations booked for weeks prior to our arrival in Phillie. Somehow the hotel manages to lose our reservation. It's Halloween night, and there is a masquerade ball going on in the hotel lobby and Mezzanine above the lobby. Whoa! I was reminded that Halloween is an excuse for adults to get as close to being totally naked in public, as humanly possible. Haha! The cats were outside unloading the van, as usual, while I was "checking-in". Yeah, I was "checking-in", but I was having so much drama, I had to get a little comic relief by peeping some of those costumes. There were several "Adam and Eves". Several "Adam and Steves". One couple wore nothing but Hoola Hoops. Nurses, Lil Jon look-alikes, Trapeze Artists, Gypsies, Belly Dancers, She-Devils, He-Devils, Skinny Dippers, Britney Spears Impersonators, and my personal favorite Halle Berry "Catwoman" wannabees. All the while, the person at the front desk just DOESN'T WANT TO GIVE US ANY ROOMS!!! This Person seemed to be getting some sort of twisted pleasure from watching me look completely bewildered! This was the result of having a reservation confirmation number, same credit card we used to reserve the room with, picture ID, etc.??? And NOTHIN!!! Maybe I should've worn my Suge Knight costume with my attachable "Whoop Hand"...... Haha! Word. Next time. By the time the hotel figures it out, we're supposed to be on stage. Leave the luggage. Hop a cab to the venue. Do the do. Get love. Cheesesteak Time. Cab ride back to the telly.... Stop! Why do I get in a long discussion with a Cab driver from Ethiopia who insists that Hip Hop started in Philadelphia 15 years ago by Stevie Wonder??? What can u say to that? Later!
P.S. Can't forget to say "One Love" to my people 'All Purpose' MC Extraordinare and all around True Hip Hop representative. U the Man 'Purp! Right On for swingin' thru!' And of course our homegirl from the 503rd; Activist, Revolutionary, one half of Good Sista Bad Sista, and one of the Illest Poets I know, Walidah Imarisha. Thanks for comin' Walidah. It means the world to us to see u there! Peace
VURSATYL

money earnin..

...we got to NY about 4am. Drove around for 2 hours trying to find various relatives place of residence. Dropped Shines off in Manhatan. Took Libretto to the Bronx. Me Jumbo headed to Mt. Vernon. Got to bed about 6am after driving from Boston. Slept til about 12noon. Got up and made a mad dash for Fordham Road in the Bronx. That's my spot! My mans put me up on it back in the day. So whenever we get to NY, that's a must do. Fordham Road. Whatever u lookin for, u can find it if u spend sum time. This record, we wanted to let people in a little more. So brace urself... Me and Jumbo are clothes fanatics! Yep! I said it. We always have been though. Thing is we only really get down and dirty about 3 or 4 times a year. Wich just so happens to be the amount of times we wind up perfomin in NY. U know? We save up, cash bottles, slang joints to Buffalo Exchange and all that to get ready for our semi-annual splurge fests out east. We grew up in that Slick Rick era when it wasn't a bad thing to stretch out every now and then. Hey! Loosen up! U gotta allow us at least one vice. Some people smoke, drink, snort, sniff etc. We splurge. What? 1st day is Fordham. 2nd day is 125th in Harlem. We also had to hit Canal St. Put it like this, we went so bizerk u almost can't sit down in the van. Haha!!! We did it big but we came to NY with one MAIN objective in mind, RIPPIN IN BROOKLYN!!! And it all came together. Ladies and gentlemen! Appearing with Lifesavas tonight for a one time only performance. Playing lead guitar! Give it up for VERNON REID!!!! That's right from the legendary rock group Living Colour, the lead guitar player Vernon Reid drove out to Brooklyn to play with Lifesavas at the South Paw! He was so mellow and down to earth it was unreal! He wasn't trippin on nuthin. He was just loungin and kickin it with us as though we had known each other for years. It was one of the true highlights of my carreer. That might have been the biggest moment I've ever had doing this music thing. To be honored with the talents of some one of his stature. That was a blessing! Give Thanks. Needless to say the crowd went WILD jus like we did when Vernon began his solo. The energy in the room just exploded. Pure Natural High. There's nothin like that. I'll never forget that night!
VURSATYL

B A N A N A S

...Boston was BANANAS!!! The club was divided by a pole in the middle of the audience. So the audience was forced to clique up. There were like 2 seperate pools of die hard fans and new recruits. Although we've been to Boston numerous times, it always surprises me how many people are familiar with the movement. I always say that "the crowd makes the show". Boston proved my point. When the crowd is thick and has a lot of energy, it pushes you to another level. U have to dig deep and give that extra somethin. Feel me? That was definitely one of those shows, I didn't want to end. But we had to shake and make our way to the city. NY that is. That's where we try to cram 2 weeks of shopping into a 4 hour time slot before sound check. Records, clothes, more records, sneakers, more records and did I mention RECORDS??? Next stop 125th Street Harlem, USA!!!
VURSATYL

throwin up the "L"

...SOLD OUT!!! Yessir! You ar reading it correctly. Sold out in Middletown, CT in Crowell Concert Hall @ Wesleyan University. We couldn't believe it! It was a Huge hall and @ soundcheck the sound was wack. We all said "here we go again". To our surprise this is arguably the "Best Show Of The Tour". It was auditorium or stadium style seating. Like in a movie theatre. People left they seats and Ey'body was packed in @ the stage or standin in the aisls and on seats. There was so much good energy, it didn't even matter that the sound was wack. We turned that hall into a house party. It was dope. People knew all the words. One dude stood out in the crowd the whole show throwin up the "L". Gotta love that! Basically we left the stage and was like "WHOA!!!". Cats immediately started givin up! "Yo this the best one...!!!" I can't front, it was bananas! Message from Jumbo: "Rubybeth the 1st person to come at Jumbo about what inspired Skeletons. The novel Beloved she wins Megabucks! " For all my people who came. I wish we could've hung out but cats was crazy tired. I had paper work to do. As well as writing to do for this album, so I broke out right after the set. Ususally I like to parlay after the set and rap wit people as much as possible. Ya'll can feel free to hit me up at vursatyl@lifesavas.com. We can build like that. Be Well.
VURSATYL