My Books tentative title is Blame It On The Music. I wanted to highlight the impact music has had on my life. I took some of my favorite song titles and just elaborated on what they meant from my point of view.

[8] Scarface (On My Block) The Fix 2002

            I love the story-telling that Scarface is known for. On My Block is a story for everyone. Most of us have specific areas where we were raised. That area could have been a housing project, apartment building or a residential neighborhood. The block I spent most of my life on was Hickory. I take pride when I say I was raised on HICKORY. The people that lived there will feel the same way, I’m sure. I learned how to hoop on my block. Back then we didn’t care about going to the NBA; the goal was to be the best player on Hickory. Big Tone was the king of the backboard shot.  We had so many fun days on that block back in the day. Barbeques and cookouts were routine for us on my block. The people I grew up with weren’t just neighbors, we were a big family. I witnessed a lot of tragedy on Hickory as well. I saw a dead body for the first time walking home from elementary school. The whole hood was hurt when Tiffany died in that car crash. I still remember the shock of hearing that Darnell passed away. I saw broad day shootouts, group fights, drug sales and drug use. My block was no different from any other street in the hood. None of the behavior I witnessed frightened me, we were all accustomed to it. With all the negative things I recalled, I can recollect the good times the most. When we sat in the house and the windows began to rattle and shake, everyone knew it was Robbie D blasting his sounds. If I received an early knock on my door, it was probably Milford, he never wanted nothing either. If I walked outside and seen somebody fighting, nine times out of ten it was Juice. Whenever I heard basketballs bouncing it was DeTae dribbling up the block. Fast talking and curse words meant that Niecy was yelling at Wanda, Danielle, or Juanita. I will never forget when Kelly set Calvin’s clothes on fire imitating Angela Basset. (Waiting To Exhale) When I heard a ton of laughter I could almost guarantee it was Kevin or Ram baking Deshawn. The two kids always getting in trouble was Alan and Kape. Meka had the best birthday party ever next door in Re Re’s backyard. Ant was the person that everyone wanted to race. Gangsta(Tone) and Mo(Maurice) kept the dice games going on the corner. The soul food was always served by Deborah. Anybody that wanted to play the latest videogames went to the twin’s(Aaron&Anton) house. Sherry and Shana were the ones to go to if you needed your hair done. The broke down cars always found their way to our house, Pops was the neighborhood mechanic. Cube(Darien) was the grown kid on the block and Hamburger Steak(Dre) had the funniest nickname ever. When I drive down Hickory now it looks like a ghost town; there are few houses left and all of my friends have moved away. No matter what though, we will always have the stories: I will represent HICKORY forever.

15Mile/ The Village

            I can’t talk about my childhood experiences without mentioning my time spent in The Village. I was eleven years old when my mother decided it was time for us to move to Clinton Township, MI. I had never heard of the city before, all I knew was that 15 mile was far. We lived in the front, the first house going towards Harper. The first thing I remember about moving there was how bad The Village was supposed to be. I was warned to never go to the back at night time. Since there was a full basketball court back there I didn’t mind risking my safety, I grew up on 6 and 7 mile. My friends on Hickory thought we were moving to the real suburbs. Anybody familiar with the Clinton Twp. area knows that the Village is definitely the hood.  I used to go pay our rent to Ms. Alice(R.I.P) in the little office building. This was before I knew anything about low income or section 8 housing. I looked at my mother like she was a fool when she handed me $2 and told me to go pay the rent.  I met some of my closest friends while adventuring on 15mile. I attended a middle school and high school that was pretty diverse as far as attendance. Most of my free time was spent at the Village basketball court. This was a place for new people to make a name for their selves. Since almost everybody had nickname, it was only right that I got mine as well. My nickname had little to do with my basketball abilities. My childhood friend and basketball adversary Tone started calling me Chia, because he thought my afro looked like a chia pet. All my boys spent many summer days and nights on the Village court, except for the days the skunks decided to take over. We used to be pissed when the lights went out or when Chamar and Duce were out torturing people. The court was where the girls came to show off their outfits and watch the guys hoop. The dope boys parked their cars in the lot showing off their rims and blasting their sounds. I seen fiends get served, beat up and dunked on trying to hoop. Although the Village wasn’t perfect I’m proud to  have called it my home. I miss running around the hood playing football, hooping and just being around friends and even though the rims are gone, we still have the memories.