Stole from the hood & gave it back to the rich, on some backwards Robin Hood shit—robbin’ hood shit.

i use the internet as a tool for my way of life. not as my way of life.

Isn’t it odd that we’re willing to spend $300,000 to buy an accredited but ultimately useless academic line on our resume, but we hesitate to do a month of hard work to create a chunk of experience that’s priceless?

STEVE JOBS - 12 RULES OF SUCCESS

1. Do what you love to do. Find your true passion. Do what you love to do a make a difference! The only way to do great work is to love what you do.

2. Be different. Think different. “Better be a pirate than to join the navy.”

3. Do your best. Do your best at every job. No sleep! Success generates more success. So be hungry for it. Hire good people with passion for excellence.

4. Make SWOT analysis. As soon as you join/start a company, make a list of strengths and weaknesses of yourself and your company on a piece of paper. Don’t hesitate in throwing bad apples out of the company.

5. Be entrepreneurial. Look for the next big thing. Find a set of ideas that need to be quickly and decisively acted upon and jump through that window. Sometimes the first step is the hardest one. Just take it! Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.

6. Start small, think big. Don’t worry about too many things at once. Take a handful of simple things to begin with, and then progress to more complex ones. Think about not just tomorrow, but the future. “I want to put a ding in the universe,” reveal Steve Jobs his dream.

7. Strive to become a market leader. Own and control the primary technology in everything you do. If there’s a better technology available, use it no matter if anyone else is not using it. Be the first, and make it an industry standard.

8. Focus on the outcome. People judge you by your performance, so focus on the outcome. Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected. Advertise. If they don’t know it, they won’t buy your product. Pay attention to design. “We made the buttons on the screen look so good you’ll want to lick them.” “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”

9. Ask for feedback. Ask for feedback from people with diverse backgrounds. Each one will tell you one useful thing. If you’re at the top of the chain, sometimes people won’t give you honest feedback because they’re afraid. In this case, disguise yourself, or get feedback from other sources. Focus on those who will use your product - listen to your customers first.

10. Innovate. Innovation distinguishes a leader from a follower. Delegate, let other top executives do 50% of your routine work to be able to spend 50% your time on the new stuff. Say no to 1,000 things to make sure you don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much. Concentrate on really important creations and radical innovation. Hire people who want to make the best things in the world. You need a very product-oriented culture, even in a technology company. Lots of companies have tons of great engineers and smart people. But ultimately, there needs to be some gravitational force that pulls it all together.

11. Learn from failures. Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.

12. Learn continually. There’s always “one more thing” to learn! Cross-pollinate ideas with others both within and outside your company. Learn from customers, competitors and partners. If you partner with someone whom you don’t like, learn to like them - praise them and benefit from them. Learn to criticize your enemies openly, but honestly.

I’ve said this here before but I learned more about rap in my first year or two of blogging than I did in the 20 previous. Sites like Somanyshrimp and Gelandweave were covering C-Murder and Camu Tao in the same breath. The Houstonsoreals and GovernmentNames were shining all kinds of light on unheard local artists while not alienating outsiders.

I don’t see that diversity of opinions and taste and ideas in rap blogs in 2009. Everyone has gone off and formed their little tribes, simply reaffirming what they already know and patting each other on the backs for it. I don’t get the idea that anybody really wants to be exposed to anything that doesn’t fit their particular world view which is why a list like this is pretty much pointless.

You can play a shoestring if you’re sincere.

I thought this would be a real intellectual and critical movement. It seems to have settled instead into hipsters copy-and-pasting press releases.

Speaking primarily of other hip-hop blogs, it is shocking how little thought or discovery goes into the most successful sites. These blogs have become nothing more than press outposts for major labels and the handful of indie artists with strong enough publicity behind them. Their feeds are nearly identical to my junk mail box.

THE SEVEN BLUNDERS OF THE WORLD

1_ Wealth without work
2_ Pleasure without conscience
3_ Knowledge without character
4_ Commerce without morality
5_ Science without humanity
6_ Worship without sacrifice
7_ Politics without principle