A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared, he sat
and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body
through that little hole.
Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as
far as it could and it could go no farther. Then the man decided to help the
butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of
the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily.
But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to
watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would
enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened!
In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a
swollen body and shriveled wings.
It never was able to fly.
What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the
restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through
the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the
butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved
its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us
to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would
not be as strong as what we could have been.
And we could never fly.
P.S. Everything I have achieved in the music business so far is because no human has helped me, so I learned a lot of things about music and the business, but also trained myself to be able to face hardships as they are and take both fails and vistories as lessons and stepping stones. I do business and collaborate with a lot of people, but it has always been favour for favour or just business. Nobody has ever just came up to me and said: "Hey, I just want you to get from where you are straight to the top and I want to help you out of my genuine intentions." If somebody ever helped me in music business I would not know about great things in songwriting, production, using software, engineering, organizing concerts and festivals, getting a band together, designing and printing CDs, web-sites and many many other things, but very important - patience and not giving up EVER, which I learned because I was on my own. I give thanks to the Lord for my struggles. I feel I am still in the cocoon, getting ready to get out of it and one day I will FLY.
Welcome to the world of Jahna Sebastian, singer/songwriter/producer and visionary
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
Saturday, 4 December 2010
Samurai quote of the day
Life is like unto a long journey with a heavy burden. Let thy step be slow and steady, that thou stumble not. Persuade thyself that imperfection and inconvenience are the natural lot of mortals, and there will be no room for discontent, neither for despair. When ambitious desires arise in thy heart, recall the days of extremity thou has passed through. Forbearance is the root of quietness and assurance forever. Look upon the wrath of the enemy. If thou knowest only what it is to conquer, and knowest not what it is to be defeated, woe unto thee; it will fare ill with thee. Find fault with thyself rather than with others.
Ieyasu Tokugawa (1543-1616)
Ieyasu Tokugawa (1543-1616)
Friday, 19 November 2010
Six Million Ways to Live so I Chose My Own
There are millions of choices presented to us every day, but the hardest thing is to stick to your own way. I don’t play the Fame Money Game. When I was packing my suitcase to live Russia in June 2006 I was offered to sign with one of the top executives in Russian music business. I didn’t do it, and I don’t look back. Signing that contract meant giving away my creative freedom and ability to produce and write my own songs, express myself and grow as musician and instead possibly performing one hit for some time, lipsyncing it through the speakers of countless concert halls in Russia for some funny money (not more than I was earning already by doing shows independently) and after a few months or a year being replaced by another “fresh face”, in order to stay relevant than you would have to find a “sponsor” to pay for TV and radio rotation, otherwise your career is thrown out the window. If you step on the commercial road in Russia, you loose street credit and there is almost no way back after being rinsed out by the System.
My mother turned down loads of deals while I was a child, because she didn’t want me to enter the Fame Money Game. Later I understood why, and I know she was right. The TV show “Star Factory” (Russian version of “X-Factor”) was holding auditions right in a concert hall at my uni, where I was studying (Russian Academy of Music), the queue was massive, people traveled from all around the country to be auditioned. I was 17 at the time and I didn’t even go there, because I felt it was not my way anyway. First of all, it was not about singing and your skills, neither you would be allowed to have any creative control, you become a slave basically. Second, mixed race people were rarely seen on TV, there was only one dark skinned TV presenter at the time, and for anyone of darker complexion becoming a pop star meant allowing to take a piss out of the skin color and no way you could embrase anything to do with your ethnic background. I am not going to be finger pointing, but this is what was happening to a couple of mixed race singers who were indeed promoted and shown on TV. I was not ready to pose like a clown. I wanted to explore sound engineering and learn to play piano. Next year I did audition, but for something totally different – master class with American vocal coach Seth Riggs, which was held at my uni too. This time it really had a meaning to me, because if you are chosen you would get a free master class from him, learn great things about speech level singing and otherwise people were paying $100 for a ticket just to watch this whole thing. Again there was a queue of Russians from all over the country, who traveled to try and get there and the auditions were held for two days in a row from the early morning till late. I was chosen for the master class eventually, which was held at our concert hall. I learned a lot that day, it was a blessing.
The learning experience and the meaning is very important, like sign posts on this one big road of life. I have been making music all my life and doing it professionally (meaning getting paid) since 2004. I was offered to be part of girl bands and other pop projects, but I chose to start with a reggae scene for the love of reggae music and opportunity to perform my own lyrics and tell the messages I wanted as opposed to commercial stuff I was offered, sing live instead of being forced to lipsync. I do music for the love of music, because I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT MUSIC. Russian music business is an extremely closed circle, controlling everything, Russian underground scene is broad and wild, but nice.
I always wanted to learn about different aspects and sides of music creation, all the ways the musical sound exists in the world. Even when I feel the most anxious I read music tech magazines and it calms me down somehow.
If I needed to base my career off of scandals in the media, I could have done it long time ago and ride it until the wheels fall off. I could have taken many stories to UK and Russian tabloids, but I am not here for that at all. Folks are ready to jump on negative stuff too fast, while positive things have to fight there way to gain attention. There are no reality TV shows coming either, because it is not relevant to what I do. I record music, I produce for other artists, I engineer in the studio and mix tracks, do live shows and a bit of acting – this is my job. I am more interested in how to set up an LFO on a saw tooth in my favourite synth for a bass line or adjust a threshold on a compressor in Logic with the right ratio, attack and release for a kick drum than making a career out of gossip and scandals. I choose my own way over getting famous by any means. I don’t need to try to be famous, because there is a way that I reject, the way that has ALWAYS been there open, literally brought to me on the plate, but I rejected it. I believe that fame and money should be earned by hard work and contribution to culture, then it has a meaning and becomes part of the experience. I am not against making good money at all, if you are involved in great art and are fortunate enough to be appreciated and recognized during your life time for that – that is a true blessing. There are many great people in the history though, who were not accepted by their own generation because they were ahead of their time. Success is really measured by relation between opportunites, work and effort, the length of the road to success and what price had to be paid for it (not the soul though, which is priceless). Freedom is about going for opportunities that agree with what you feel as opposed to slavery of being forced to promote certain things in order to get money and fame. In other words, for an artist there is a different way of being themselves and going for opportunities that agree with that as opposed to trying to fit in and hustling for anything just to stay in the spotlight. I have lost opportunities that don’t agree with my way, but I have gained a lot of knowledge and experience that became part of my journey and growth.
This is the vision I had to put into my songs “No Illusions” and “Fame Money Game”. I am free.
My mother turned down loads of deals while I was a child, because she didn’t want me to enter the Fame Money Game. Later I understood why, and I know she was right. The TV show “Star Factory” (Russian version of “X-Factor”) was holding auditions right in a concert hall at my uni, where I was studying (Russian Academy of Music), the queue was massive, people traveled from all around the country to be auditioned. I was 17 at the time and I didn’t even go there, because I felt it was not my way anyway. First of all, it was not about singing and your skills, neither you would be allowed to have any creative control, you become a slave basically. Second, mixed race people were rarely seen on TV, there was only one dark skinned TV presenter at the time, and for anyone of darker complexion becoming a pop star meant allowing to take a piss out of the skin color and no way you could embrase anything to do with your ethnic background. I am not going to be finger pointing, but this is what was happening to a couple of mixed race singers who were indeed promoted and shown on TV. I was not ready to pose like a clown. I wanted to explore sound engineering and learn to play piano. Next year I did audition, but for something totally different – master class with American vocal coach Seth Riggs, which was held at my uni too. This time it really had a meaning to me, because if you are chosen you would get a free master class from him, learn great things about speech level singing and otherwise people were paying $100 for a ticket just to watch this whole thing. Again there was a queue of Russians from all over the country, who traveled to try and get there and the auditions were held for two days in a row from the early morning till late. I was chosen for the master class eventually, which was held at our concert hall. I learned a lot that day, it was a blessing.
The learning experience and the meaning is very important, like sign posts on this one big road of life. I have been making music all my life and doing it professionally (meaning getting paid) since 2004. I was offered to be part of girl bands and other pop projects, but I chose to start with a reggae scene for the love of reggae music and opportunity to perform my own lyrics and tell the messages I wanted as opposed to commercial stuff I was offered, sing live instead of being forced to lipsync. I do music for the love of music, because I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT MUSIC. Russian music business is an extremely closed circle, controlling everything, Russian underground scene is broad and wild, but nice.
I always wanted to learn about different aspects and sides of music creation, all the ways the musical sound exists in the world. Even when I feel the most anxious I read music tech magazines and it calms me down somehow.
If I needed to base my career off of scandals in the media, I could have done it long time ago and ride it until the wheels fall off. I could have taken many stories to UK and Russian tabloids, but I am not here for that at all. Folks are ready to jump on negative stuff too fast, while positive things have to fight there way to gain attention. There are no reality TV shows coming either, because it is not relevant to what I do. I record music, I produce for other artists, I engineer in the studio and mix tracks, do live shows and a bit of acting – this is my job. I am more interested in how to set up an LFO on a saw tooth in my favourite synth for a bass line or adjust a threshold on a compressor in Logic with the right ratio, attack and release for a kick drum than making a career out of gossip and scandals. I choose my own way over getting famous by any means. I don’t need to try to be famous, because there is a way that I reject, the way that has ALWAYS been there open, literally brought to me on the plate, but I rejected it. I believe that fame and money should be earned by hard work and contribution to culture, then it has a meaning and becomes part of the experience. I am not against making good money at all, if you are involved in great art and are fortunate enough to be appreciated and recognized during your life time for that – that is a true blessing. There are many great people in the history though, who were not accepted by their own generation because they were ahead of their time. Success is really measured by relation between opportunites, work and effort, the length of the road to success and what price had to be paid for it (not the soul though, which is priceless). Freedom is about going for opportunities that agree with what you feel as opposed to slavery of being forced to promote certain things in order to get money and fame. In other words, for an artist there is a different way of being themselves and going for opportunities that agree with that as opposed to trying to fit in and hustling for anything just to stay in the spotlight. I have lost opportunities that don’t agree with my way, but I have gained a lot of knowledge and experience that became part of my journey and growth.
This is the vision I had to put into my songs “No Illusions” and “Fame Money Game”. I am free.
Sunday, 7 November 2010
Equality is good for everyone
The wider the gap between the rich and the poor the more problems rise in the societies.
Why is it that in developed countries like US, UK the problems of violance, obesity, teenage births, imprisonment rates, mental illness including drug and alcohol addiction are still very high? It appears that no matter how rich the country is, the level of crime and health problems do not get better. Among the thirty richest countries of the world the once with the smaller gap between the rich and the poor have less of those problems. Poverty in itself is not a set value, different standards of life are considered to be live by poor people in various country. In Africa and India, clean water and food are the essential needs, however in UK the one who lives below the government poverty line here can wash and buy food, and even might have a car. However, it is how people in the same society relate to each other makes them considered poor or rich. People are comparing each other's lifestyles and it is clear that the higher the social ladder and the more steps one needs to take to get from the bottom to the top the more frustration is caused by this inequality. With the way the media shows every aspect of the society and TV or computer with Internet access in almost every household in developed countries particularly emphasizing on consumerist and material values more than a lot it doesn't get better. In some of the rich countries like UK some people steal and kill other because of they want to get a Gucci something to get street credit and pass into VIP room, in developing countries (I hate the terms deviding the World into the First, Second and Third) people do the same for survival and a loaf of bread. In both cases people want are obviously not very happy whith where they stand in their society. In other rich countries like Japan, on another hand the level of crime and health problems is much less than in US, but the gap between the rich and the poor is much smaller. Rich people all over the world are generally happier, healthier and live longer than the poor. In the times of recession the gap gets bigger because poor people get more poor but it does nothing to the rich. There are many factors that play the role in why the gap exists and in bigger in certain countries than the others, certainly if we could look for solution to make the world more equal we would make a better living.
Why is it that in developed countries like US, UK the problems of violance, obesity, teenage births, imprisonment rates, mental illness including drug and alcohol addiction are still very high? It appears that no matter how rich the country is, the level of crime and health problems do not get better. Among the thirty richest countries of the world the once with the smaller gap between the rich and the poor have less of those problems. Poverty in itself is not a set value, different standards of life are considered to be live by poor people in various country. In Africa and India, clean water and food are the essential needs, however in UK the one who lives below the government poverty line here can wash and buy food, and even might have a car. However, it is how people in the same society relate to each other makes them considered poor or rich. People are comparing each other's lifestyles and it is clear that the higher the social ladder and the more steps one needs to take to get from the bottom to the top the more frustration is caused by this inequality. With the way the media shows every aspect of the society and TV or computer with Internet access in almost every household in developed countries particularly emphasizing on consumerist and material values more than a lot it doesn't get better. In some of the rich countries like UK some people steal and kill other because of they want to get a Gucci something to get street credit and pass into VIP room, in developing countries (I hate the terms deviding the World into the First, Second and Third) people do the same for survival and a loaf of bread. In both cases people want are obviously not very happy whith where they stand in their society. In other rich countries like Japan, on another hand the level of crime and health problems is much less than in US, but the gap between the rich and the poor is much smaller. Rich people all over the world are generally happier, healthier and live longer than the poor. In the times of recession the gap gets bigger because poor people get more poor but it does nothing to the rich. There are many factors that play the role in why the gap exists and in bigger in certain countries than the others, certainly if we could look for solution to make the world more equal we would make a better living.
"When Love Comes Around"
My new track "When Love Comes Around" is out and it was recorded exclusively for the compilation by mixtape.me
Jahna Sebastian - When Love Comes Around (Multivizion Music) by multivizionmusic-1
Дата релиза: 2010
Стиль: Русский рэп
Качество: 320 kbps
Количество треков: 22
Общее Звучание: 01:11:59
Размер: 156 Mb
Проект wWw.Mix-Tape.Me. Представляет вашему вниманию сборник - «Summer 2010». В отличии от предыдущих, уже полюбившихся многим слушателям сборников «Твой голос vol.1,2», данная сборка включает композиции с оригинальными продакшином. У каждого слушателя есть определенные вкусы и требования. Сборник «Summer2010» с этой точки зрения получился универсальным. Легкие, зажигательные треки окунут вас в летний зной и поднимут настроение до максимума. Интересный подбор артистов и игра стилей не оставят вас равнодушными. На сборнике приняли участие известные исполнители такие как:
Lojaz, Витя Космос (Чёрный Пояс), Туман, YG (Prime Rhyme), ПаПа Ку (Prime Rhyme), KaBaN, Rap-Обойма, Крайм Волшебник (Da Gudda Jazz) и другие...
Высокий уровень композиций дает возможность выпустить нам этот сборник на дисках.Желаем приятного прослушивания. С уважением коллектив wWw.Mix-Tape.Me.
О сборнике
Проект wWw.Mix-Tape.Me представляет вашему вниманию сборник "Summer 2010". В отличии от предыдущих, уже полюбившихся многим слушателям сборников "Твой голос vol. 1 и 2", данная сборка включает композиции с оригинальными продакшеном. У каждого слушателя есть определенные вкусы и требования. Сборник c этой точки зрения получился универсальным. Легкие, зажигательные треки окунут вас в летний зной и поднимут настроение до максимума. Интересный подбор артистов и игра стилей не оставят вас равнодушными. На сборнике приняли участие известные исполнители, такие как: LoJaz, Витя Космос (Чёрный Пояс), Туман, YG (Prime Rhyme), ПаПа Ку (Prime Rhyme), KaBaN, Rap-Обойма, Крайм Волшебник (Da Gudda Jazz) и другие... Высокий уровень композиций дает нам возможность выпустить этот сборник на дисках. Желаем приятного прослушивания. С уважением коллектив wWw.Mix-Tape.Me.
Трек-лист
1) Just D, Akstini, K. Krestyaninov, Dj Jee - Если ты готов (Production by DJ Jee)
2) Gringo - Этим Летом
3) LoJaz feat. Туман - Девочка
4) МС Золотой feat. Багира - Азарт (S.A. Production)
5) D-Two feat. Djeneva - Дай мне сил (D-two Production)
6) Проект 61 feat. Masta - Girl (Masta Production)
7) Крайм Волшебник (Da Gudda Jazz) - Вдыхай (Резонанс Rec)
8) В.М. и Кристи - Love Smile
9) Stereo feat. Adony - Нам не нужен повод
10) Jahna Sebastian - When Love Comes Around (Multivizion Music)
11) Rap-Обойма feat. N.J.Lil, Lady In Red - Билет в Рай (Production by Jee)
12) Х-Тype & Вика – Мая (P Production)
13) МС Интеллигент - Ошибка
14) Папа Ку - На студийке (Prime Rhyme)
15) Витя Космос (Чёрный Пояс) - В одном слове
16) Инвариант - Наедине с Тобой (Production by Dogman)
17) XXZP. – AКМ (Mase1 Production)
18) YG Unit - 1G (Prime Rhyme)
19) KaBaN - Пальцы
20) V.1.n.T. - Главное Правило (Production by Лиар)
21) Va Bank - Я подарю тебе (Production by Бяк)
22) ONka – Да, я такая
Jahna Sebastian - When Love Comes Around (Multivizion Music) by multivizionmusic-1
Дата релиза: 2010
Стиль: Русский рэп
Качество: 320 kbps
Количество треков: 22
Общее Звучание: 01:11:59
Размер: 156 Mb
Проект wWw.Mix-Tape.Me. Представляет вашему вниманию сборник - «Summer 2010». В отличии от предыдущих, уже полюбившихся многим слушателям сборников «Твой голос vol.1,2», данная сборка включает композиции с оригинальными продакшином. У каждого слушателя есть определенные вкусы и требования. Сборник «Summer2010» с этой точки зрения получился универсальным. Легкие, зажигательные треки окунут вас в летний зной и поднимут настроение до максимума. Интересный подбор артистов и игра стилей не оставят вас равнодушными. На сборнике приняли участие известные исполнители такие как:
Lojaz, Витя Космос (Чёрный Пояс), Туман, YG (Prime Rhyme), ПаПа Ку (Prime Rhyme), KaBaN, Rap-Обойма, Крайм Волшебник (Da Gudda Jazz) и другие...
Высокий уровень композиций дает возможность выпустить нам этот сборник на дисках.Желаем приятного прослушивания. С уважением коллектив wWw.Mix-Tape.Me.
О сборнике
Проект wWw.Mix-Tape.Me представляет вашему вниманию сборник "Summer 2010". В отличии от предыдущих, уже полюбившихся многим слушателям сборников "Твой голос vol. 1 и 2", данная сборка включает композиции с оригинальными продакшеном. У каждого слушателя есть определенные вкусы и требования. Сборник c этой точки зрения получился универсальным. Легкие, зажигательные треки окунут вас в летний зной и поднимут настроение до максимума. Интересный подбор артистов и игра стилей не оставят вас равнодушными. На сборнике приняли участие известные исполнители, такие как: LoJaz, Витя Космос (Чёрный Пояс), Туман, YG (Prime Rhyme), ПаПа Ку (Prime Rhyme), KaBaN, Rap-Обойма, Крайм Волшебник (Da Gudda Jazz) и другие... Высокий уровень композиций дает нам возможность выпустить этот сборник на дисках. Желаем приятного прослушивания. С уважением коллектив wWw.Mix-Tape.Me.
Трек-лист
1) Just D, Akstini, K. Krestyaninov, Dj Jee - Если ты готов (Production by DJ Jee)
2) Gringo - Этим Летом
3) LoJaz feat. Туман - Девочка
4) МС Золотой feat. Багира - Азарт (S.A. Production)
5) D-Two feat. Djeneva - Дай мне сил (D-two Production)
6) Проект 61 feat. Masta - Girl (Masta Production)
7) Крайм Волшебник (Da Gudda Jazz) - Вдыхай (Резонанс Rec)
8) В.М. и Кристи - Love Smile
9) Stereo feat. Adony - Нам не нужен повод
10) Jahna Sebastian - When Love Comes Around (Multivizion Music)
11) Rap-Обойма feat. N.J.Lil, Lady In Red - Билет в Рай (Production by Jee)
12) Х-Тype & Вика – Мая (P Production)
13) МС Интеллигент - Ошибка
14) Папа Ку - На студийке (Prime Rhyme)
15) Витя Космос (Чёрный Пояс) - В одном слове
16) Инвариант - Наедине с Тобой (Production by Dogman)
17) XXZP. – AКМ (Mase1 Production)
18) YG Unit - 1G (Prime Rhyme)
19) KaBaN - Пальцы
20) V.1.n.T. - Главное Правило (Production by Лиар)
21) Va Bank - Я подарю тебе (Production by Бяк)
22) ONka – Да, я такая
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
Read about "Fame Money Game"
Read about "Fame Money Game" (Russian)
http://hip-hop.kg/enrap/relen/1614-jahna-sebastian-fame-money-game.html
http://hip-hop.kg/enrap/relen/1614-jahna-sebastian-fame-money-game.html
Saturday, 9 October 2010
"Fame Money Game" lyrics
"Fame Money Game" produced by Jahna Sebastian
download:
http://limelinx.com/files/8d66cc907090a74b1080809f7f29da45
Fame … Money … Game …
Who is really playing?
Fame … Money … Game …
Who is really playing?
Verse 1:
How many times we’ve been tricked in this game
Trying to get money, power and fame
Until the point you realize you’re going insane
Cause devil’s infected your brain!
In a rat race set up by manipulators, soul traders
To track those who wanna be famous
Chasing paper, getting naked for the haters,
Blogs talking ‘bout the stars in the making
It’s good to dream, but better trash down illusion
I gotta make a way through this confusion
Been doing my thing since back home for a minute
But I ain’t signing up for slavery to succeed in it
I’ve been offered contracts for thirty years
To sell bubble gum until nobody cares
Posing like a clown, alter ego out
Washing brains of the youths, first you in then you out!
I coulda been a worldwide super trick star,
Super freak driving twenty five cars
Like them worshipping themselves in the mirror
Love ‘em, hate ‘em – you can never satisfy their ego!
I coulda been a worldwide super trick star,
Super freak driving twenty five cars
Like them worshipping themselves in the mirror
Love ‘em, hate ‘em – you can never satisfy their ego!
Fame … Money … Game …
Who is really playing?
Fame … Money … Game …
Who is really playing?
Verse 2:
How could you loose yourself in the vanity
The deal has been sealed, it’s virtual reality,
Your mind is controlled, you traded your soul,
Forgot your way back home, now reap what you sown
Lights flashing bright, smile for the cameras,
Feeding the media with the lies most desirable,
Chosen to promote Babylon into the masses,
Serving the masters as the rose-colored glasses
Sex tapes, drug abuse, anything to make it rain,
No matter how you get it, no riches will fit in your grave
But if you sold your soul for the road to stardom
Is a passage to hell, the price for fruit in the dark garden
Anonymous haters playing the game of trend setters,
Navigating away from issues that really matter,
Fake rebels slowly slipping into darkness,
Loosing the sharpness of their image and attract less
It’s a spiritual war, separating the wheat from the chaff,
Emancipating people from the Matrix,
Only faith in God and my baby
Saved me and gave peace
I coulda been a worldwide super trick star,
Super freak driving twenty five cars
Like them worshipping themselves in the mirror
Love ‘em, hate ‘em – you can never satisfy their ego!
Fame … Money … Game …
Who is really playing?
Fame … Money … Game …
Who is really playing?
download:
http://limelinx.com/files/8d66cc907090a74b1080809f7f29da45
Fame … Money … Game …
Who is really playing?
Fame … Money … Game …
Who is really playing?
Verse 1:
How many times we’ve been tricked in this game
Trying to get money, power and fame
Until the point you realize you’re going insane
Cause devil’s infected your brain!
In a rat race set up by manipulators, soul traders
To track those who wanna be famous
Chasing paper, getting naked for the haters,
Blogs talking ‘bout the stars in the making
It’s good to dream, but better trash down illusion
I gotta make a way through this confusion
Been doing my thing since back home for a minute
But I ain’t signing up for slavery to succeed in it
I’ve been offered contracts for thirty years
To sell bubble gum until nobody cares
Posing like a clown, alter ego out
Washing brains of the youths, first you in then you out!
I coulda been a worldwide super trick star,
Super freak driving twenty five cars
Like them worshipping themselves in the mirror
Love ‘em, hate ‘em – you can never satisfy their ego!
I coulda been a worldwide super trick star,
Super freak driving twenty five cars
Like them worshipping themselves in the mirror
Love ‘em, hate ‘em – you can never satisfy their ego!
Fame … Money … Game …
Who is really playing?
Fame … Money … Game …
Who is really playing?
Verse 2:
How could you loose yourself in the vanity
The deal has been sealed, it’s virtual reality,
Your mind is controlled, you traded your soul,
Forgot your way back home, now reap what you sown
Lights flashing bright, smile for the cameras,
Feeding the media with the lies most desirable,
Chosen to promote Babylon into the masses,
Serving the masters as the rose-colored glasses
Sex tapes, drug abuse, anything to make it rain,
No matter how you get it, no riches will fit in your grave
But if you sold your soul for the road to stardom
Is a passage to hell, the price for fruit in the dark garden
Anonymous haters playing the game of trend setters,
Navigating away from issues that really matter,
Fake rebels slowly slipping into darkness,
Loosing the sharpness of their image and attract less
It’s a spiritual war, separating the wheat from the chaff,
Emancipating people from the Matrix,
Only faith in God and my baby
Saved me and gave peace
I coulda been a worldwide super trick star,
Super freak driving twenty five cars
Like them worshipping themselves in the mirror
Love ‘em, hate ‘em – you can never satisfy their ego!
Fame … Money … Game …
Who is really playing?
Fame … Money … Game …
Who is really playing?
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Perception of music unbiased
When I was growing up in Russia there were two worlds of music in our view: pop artists who's image was more important than their music and other artists who's music meant to us more than their image. The first ones were all over the place, they were in magazines and on MTV - when it first appeared in Russia in 1998. Only thing we (when I say we - my friends and I) knew about the other ones was their music, which we couldn't really get from a high street music store - we had to buy bootleg CDs from specialized stores and a bootleg superstore called "Gorbushka". When I was 18 and that was a few months before I started performing my music professionally, I worked at one of the hundreds of stores in "Gorbushka" - selling world music and reggae and it was like an information point to many people who were interested in reggae and dub, and where they could actually get it. A few bootleg stores like that were the only places in Moscow where you could buy most of drum&bass, reggae, r&b, hip-hop and they were like these little spots of spreading news about new releases. This is where people would come and ask: "So what new albums have you got?" because there wasn't much known about artists other than Russian pop stars in the Russian media and will buy like ten CDs at once to listen to for the next month. Only in 2005 a section on reggae music was opened for the first time ever in a licensed music store and that seemed like a victory.The only gossip magazines were about Russian and a few foreign pop stars, who we were not interested in anyway, so that passed by me. Foreign press was almost unavailable, and a very few items of US and UK magazines were sold may be in two on three shops in the whole of Moscow and at a price that was equal to a weekly salary of an average person at the time - that was out of reach too. Hip Hop, reggae, drum&bass and jungle in our perception was the music to us that was free from gossip, publicity stunts, we knew about the artists one thing: their music and when it was released. In our minds it was different from Russian pop artists we were sick and tired of hearing about on TV every day. When I was 13 I recall only one music magazine that was available at the time and it was about mainly rock music - "Rovesnik", I used to save pocket money my mom gave me for breakfast to buy it. It was a window to foreign rock stars and the history of music. At the time Internet was not available everywhere and was so slow that it took 10 minutes to load a page, so it wasn't a popular source of information on music, PCs were rare in Moscow homes too. Once though I read an article about Lauryn Hill and this magazine would only cover a hip hop or soul artist only if their impact was so great you couldn't ignore it. I went and bought "Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" and I was the only one in my neighbourhood listening to her. It was so fresh and it is still one of my favorites. So from that time I started buying hip hop and later reggae cassettes (mostly at the time) and CDs along with my rock music. Because it wasn't easy to get this sort of music, once somebody got it, we would discuss a new album for a week. %98 of Russian music fans at that time would not understand lyrics of the non-Russian artist though, especially slang, because of lack of knowlegde in English, it was the beat and performance that was fascinating :) I learned about soul music from a friend I met at class at Russian Music Academy and it happened that her father was a big soul music collector. When I went to the big music store in Arbat, I didn't find any section on soul music, there was only a tiny spot called "jazz" and may be one our two soul compilations stuck in between jazz CDs. My friend's father had to order CDs and DVDs from United States and get them shipped to Moscow. My friend was like a window to r&b, soul and gospel music for me, she was my main information, only die hard music fans and collectors knew about Anita Baker, Faith Evans or CeCe Winans in Russia, it was so exclusive. Then I started listening to drum&bass and electronic music and again I didn't even know how the djs and artists look, nothing about their image. It was all about the music. When I was 16-17 I also used to go to a very closed member bar/club "Shtopor", where the entrance was masked and two metal doors were opened at secret password and fingerprints - that place was one of those little cultural islands where I learned about non-mainstream music, art and literature, also indie movies were shown there. Every piece of information was exclusive at the time and when I moved to London I almost drowned and got lost in this world of music and everything about it here ... In a way lack of information tought me to appreciate the artists for their music and what they are saying rather than anything else, and their story would only mean to us something if it directly linked to and inspired their music.
Tuesday, 28 September 2010
I'd like to thank everybody who appreciates my music
Special thank you to everybody, who appreciates my music and has supported me through all times. The most important is the message and what we create, we live and we learn, we share our experiences in the form of words, art, music, sculpture and much more. Love is the answer. There is no machine that created or manufactured my image, my music is reflection of what I feel and hear through space and time. Every single person who supports what I do is very important to me. Thank you.
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
Can there be roses without thorns?
There is nothing better than being able to work on my music 24/7 and spending time with my daughter, who I can't imagine my life without. That is the roses, but the thorns are everyday routine that I have to do like millions of women/mothers out there: the cycle of cleaning/washing/cooking/sorting out the mess around the house the children make and trying to make it, jobs we take on just because "it pays" instead of solidifying a career, and trying to stay positive because children want to see us smile and happy all the time, we can't afford to show them tears even when it's hard to hide. If I don't do the everyday routine - nobody's gonna do it. It probably makes a difference if you have a few family members to help you, but what if you don't? Even though it has never been easy, in the first year of the baby's life it is vital that the mother stays at home and puts career and everything else away. I did that, I was with my daughter 24/7 and I didn't have any babysitters. My mother helped me after I gave birth and then went back to Russia, but the sleepless nights straight out of the hostpital, those endless nights when the baby was waking up every hour to be fed were solely on me because I was breastfeeding. I couldn't sleep during the day either. Even when I came out of the hospital two days after I gave birth, when I came home with my daughter I had to assamble the crib for her ... My mom was back and forth to Russia because of her visa restrictions and at that time I was still dealing with my immigration case, so I had to rely on our finances only, never been on welfare, but then I wasn't entitled to it anyway, paid bills and everything as if I was any working person. Then when my daughter was about 6 months old my mother had to stay in Russia for the next 6 months and that was one of the hardest times in my life. I never had a friend who would babysit for me, so this cycle was all on me and even when I did radio interviews occasionally I had to take my daughter with me and hold her in my arms while standing up next to the microphone. Me and my daughter in the pram in the rain - that's like an endless story. Of course, I gave up on the club life and many other things, in fact for the past few years my life has been so anti-glamorous that I feel the need to wear official clothes in the house, so at least I stay focused on my work, which I mostly do from home. I wish I had someone help me clean the shit that would end up being all over the place within five minutes while I just went to check if the dinner was ready for my daughter and I. I wish I could send off someone to the shop to get milk whenever my daughter and I were both ill instead of me getting her in the pram (and that procedure would sometimes take quite a time) getting dressed and going out in the cold. I wish I could sometimes have a breather like all other young people of my age do and I haven't been on a holiday since I've been in London - for the past four years! In fact, for two years I stayed with my daughter all the time, no day care. With all these things though, I feel that going through these "joys" of motherhood %100 and personal sacrifice (career, private life for a time) is what establishes the bond with the child. It is the essence of unconditional love, because you do this without wanting something back, you just do it because you love your child. I know my mother did the same for me, now I have to look after her the same way. Then everything and your career spins around your child and the focus and the main goal is to achieve things in life for your child. May be if I had everything at my feet, nice and easy from the beginning I wouldn't appreciate simple things in life as much as I do now and won't be able to understand what millions of women are going through every day. So there is a reason for everything, and every cinderella dreams about this cycle being broken and only roses being left and that life would change one day, that all our efforts will bring fruits, and we can do what we love most, roses with no thorns - spending time with our children and doing work that we love 24/7.
P.S. At the same time I wasn't allowed to work and earn money due to my political asylum case being considered until May 2009 and I wanted to do things but was not allowed to say get paid gigs or sell music, get any job at all, I had to keep doing things for free just to stay occupied, because I love to keep moving and getting things going, then seeing fruits of my work. While my case was considered had to keep going through different stages of reconsideration in immigration court and sign in and out with my daughter at immigration point every two weeks. At the same time I was not entitled to get any benifits or discounts and be on welfare, so financially it was not easy at all. I already started new life from beginning when I moved to London in 2006 and then had to be on hold for two years and start again in 2009. When you are an immigrant in many cases you have to work 10 times harder and speed up because it's not the place where you have family, childhood friends and you have to build your network from zero. My daughter definitely keeps me focused and gives me inspiration to continue persuing my goals and helps me make the right choices, so right now I'm trying to combine everything, look after my daugher, work on my music as well as helping other artists, building my record label and do the house work like many other women out there :)
P.S. At the same time I wasn't allowed to work and earn money due to my political asylum case being considered until May 2009 and I wanted to do things but was not allowed to say get paid gigs or sell music, get any job at all, I had to keep doing things for free just to stay occupied, because I love to keep moving and getting things going, then seeing fruits of my work. While my case was considered had to keep going through different stages of reconsideration in immigration court and sign in and out with my daughter at immigration point every two weeks. At the same time I was not entitled to get any benifits or discounts and be on welfare, so financially it was not easy at all. I already started new life from beginning when I moved to London in 2006 and then had to be on hold for two years and start again in 2009. When you are an immigrant in many cases you have to work 10 times harder and speed up because it's not the place where you have family, childhood friends and you have to build your network from zero. My daughter definitely keeps me focused and gives me inspiration to continue persuing my goals and helps me make the right choices, so right now I'm trying to combine everything, look after my daugher, work on my music as well as helping other artists, building my record label and do the house work like many other women out there :)
Sunday, 19 September 2010
"Fame Money Game" by Jahna Sebastian
Produced by Jahna Sebastian
download FREE :
http://limelinx.com/files/8d66cc907090a74b1080809f7f29da45
Multivizion Music
Friday, 17 September 2010
Me playing domra in children's orchestra back in 96
When I was a kid I used to play in Russian children's orchestra, part of the Russian Ansamble named after Loktev. I played there for 8 years, this is the footage from a concert in May 1996, I was 9 years old at the time.
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
"No Illusions" music video
"No Illusions" out now on iTunes, Amazonmp3, eMusic etc.
Directed by Jahna Sebastian and Black Jack Productions
http://www.myspace.com/jahnasebastian
Multivizion Music/Insomnia Music Productions
Saturday, 21 August 2010
The Story of “Jah Soldiers” band
It’s about time when “Jah Soldiers” will re-surface and it’s starting with Mikhail, the original drummer of “Jah Soldiers” releasing his new LP on Multivizion Music. Over the years, he has made a transition into production.
“Jah Soldiers”
I saw a dream back in August 2005 while I was on a trip in London, that I should start a new band and a web-site in Russia and the name just came to me in flashing words – “Jah Soldiers”. That three months trip was very important for me and I came back to Moscow with fresh ideas and a new vision. I was 19 and full of enthusiasm like never before. At that time I was already a member of two other bands – reggae group “Muzungu” and p-funk live band “Clean Tone”, doing shows and recording, so “Jah Soldiers” formed very organically and I found all the members within a short space of time, with the drummer Mikhail and bass guitarist Kirill being the heart of the group. We played music that was a crossover between hip-hop, reggae and soul and the main idea was to stand up against neo-nazist movement in Russia, that rose very strong as organized crime by that time.
"Jah Soldiers" live in 2005
We attended antifascist events, we had S.H.A.R.P. (skinheads against racial prejudice) visitng our gigs and protecting us from neo-nazis who would gather near the tube station waiting for the crowd after the show to beat them up. One of our main songs was antifascist “How Come”.
Interview on antifascist demonstration in Moscow 2005
As soon as the band got started in autumn 2005, it changed the direction of my music, but also it magnified more racist attacks (than I have already faced growing up as a mixed race person), both verbal and physical, as if what we manifested had to be proved by reality. I felt like I was indeed in the war zone. On 5th of February 2006 my bass-guitarist and drummer were attacked by approx. 35 skinheads on their way to Bob Marley festival, which we were scheduled to open. We didn’t get to group together as we all were running a bit late, so they traveled their own way while I came by cab. I was at the sound check at the time of the attack, two minutes later after I learned what has happened I ran to the place and saw my bass guitarist lying in the pool of blood and his face was un-recognizable. I was screaming on the street, I couldn’t understand – “Why him? Why?” and he was only 17 …
We all were wearing our newly printed “Jah Soldiers” t-shirts and the show was supposed to start in half an hour. The attack happened in the pick time around 5pm in a very open space of a broad street with many people passing by. Bass guitarist was hospitalized with broken nose and multiple injuries. We went on stage and the guitarist played bass instead of him, nothing sounded the same without him, I made a long speech, I was devestated, shocked … After the show we went to police office, early in the morning when I came home I realized that it was time. Time to make a change, time to move on. Kirill had to be operated and treated, we had to cancel all our shows that were scheduled afterwards, I couldn’t see a possibility of changing the bass guitarist – the original “Jah Soldier” – I don’t think it’s possible to replace people when you are working in the team, especially in such a situation. I posted a message on our web-site www.jahsoldiers.ru and the forum online, after a few days it was copied thousands of times all over the web, than the newspapers started calling us and writing about it, than major tv channel NTV reported about the incident a week later, only than the case was opened by police. Fans gathered money in support of Kirill and to buy him a new bass guitar, because the neo nazis stole his guitar. However, none of the attackers have been jailed eventually. I was back and forth on trips to London for the next few months to complete my Degree at Academy. When the band started playing, little did I know what chapter in our lives it would open and how it would unleash years after. Now my drummer and I are ready to put our forces together once again but in a different form, I hope that Kirill will be with us, see new music coming soon.
Like Bob Marley's lyrics in "Iron Lion Zion"
I am on the rock and then I check a stock
I have to run like a fugitive to save the life I live
Im gonna be iron like a lion in zion (repeat)
Iron lion zion
Im on the run but I aint got no gun
See they want to be the star
So they fighting tribal war
And they saying iron like a lion in zion
“Jah Soldiers”
I saw a dream back in August 2005 while I was on a trip in London, that I should start a new band and a web-site in Russia and the name just came to me in flashing words – “Jah Soldiers”. That three months trip was very important for me and I came back to Moscow with fresh ideas and a new vision. I was 19 and full of enthusiasm like never before. At that time I was already a member of two other bands – reggae group “Muzungu” and p-funk live band “Clean Tone”, doing shows and recording, so “Jah Soldiers” formed very organically and I found all the members within a short space of time, with the drummer Mikhail and bass guitarist Kirill being the heart of the group. We played music that was a crossover between hip-hop, reggae and soul and the main idea was to stand up against neo-nazist movement in Russia, that rose very strong as organized crime by that time.
"Jah Soldiers" live in 2005
We attended antifascist events, we had S.H.A.R.P. (skinheads against racial prejudice) visitng our gigs and protecting us from neo-nazis who would gather near the tube station waiting for the crowd after the show to beat them up. One of our main songs was antifascist “How Come”.
Interview on antifascist demonstration in Moscow 2005
As soon as the band got started in autumn 2005, it changed the direction of my music, but also it magnified more racist attacks (than I have already faced growing up as a mixed race person), both verbal and physical, as if what we manifested had to be proved by reality. I felt like I was indeed in the war zone. On 5th of February 2006 my bass-guitarist and drummer were attacked by approx. 35 skinheads on their way to Bob Marley festival, which we were scheduled to open. We didn’t get to group together as we all were running a bit late, so they traveled their own way while I came by cab. I was at the sound check at the time of the attack, two minutes later after I learned what has happened I ran to the place and saw my bass guitarist lying in the pool of blood and his face was un-recognizable. I was screaming on the street, I couldn’t understand – “Why him? Why?” and he was only 17 …
We all were wearing our newly printed “Jah Soldiers” t-shirts and the show was supposed to start in half an hour. The attack happened in the pick time around 5pm in a very open space of a broad street with many people passing by. Bass guitarist was hospitalized with broken nose and multiple injuries. We went on stage and the guitarist played bass instead of him, nothing sounded the same without him, I made a long speech, I was devestated, shocked … After the show we went to police office, early in the morning when I came home I realized that it was time. Time to make a change, time to move on. Kirill had to be operated and treated, we had to cancel all our shows that were scheduled afterwards, I couldn’t see a possibility of changing the bass guitarist – the original “Jah Soldier” – I don’t think it’s possible to replace people when you are working in the team, especially in such a situation. I posted a message on our web-site www.jahsoldiers.ru and the forum online, after a few days it was copied thousands of times all over the web, than the newspapers started calling us and writing about it, than major tv channel NTV reported about the incident a week later, only than the case was opened by police. Fans gathered money in support of Kirill and to buy him a new bass guitar, because the neo nazis stole his guitar. However, none of the attackers have been jailed eventually. I was back and forth on trips to London for the next few months to complete my Degree at Academy. When the band started playing, little did I know what chapter in our lives it would open and how it would unleash years after. Now my drummer and I are ready to put our forces together once again but in a different form, I hope that Kirill will be with us, see new music coming soon.
Like Bob Marley's lyrics in "Iron Lion Zion"
I am on the rock and then I check a stock
I have to run like a fugitive to save the life I live
Im gonna be iron like a lion in zion (repeat)
Iron lion zion
Im on the run but I aint got no gun
See they want to be the star
So they fighting tribal war
And they saying iron like a lion in zion
Friday, 20 August 2010
More pics from "No lllusions" music video shoot
Get my new single "No Illusions" on iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster, eMusic.com and many more
video coming soon
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