I was on the bus the other day, coming from getting some seafood because I was headed to Europe for some Tanya Morgan shows in London and Barcelona the next day. I figured I wasn’t going to be eat much over there so I better get my grub on now. A girl coming from school sees me and after telling me she likes our music, she says, “Why you on the bus, though? You be on VH1!”

I didn’t have an answer.

I mean, I could’ve at least been in a cab, right? The truth is I was on the bus because I took the train to the seafood spot and I was getting my transfer on instead of spending another $2.25 to get back on the train. Yeah, dropping an underground classic album doesn’t pay!

Only in underground hip-hop can you rock a show in another country with 10 dollars in your pocket. It's not always like that, though. Sometimes, you’re in a baller ass hotel with free clothes on and a fat check from some company. Sometimes, you’re in some small town flirting with some chick only so you can try and sleep on her couch. With 60 bucks off of the door and the same shirt you had on yesterday and Tuesday, too.

It happens!

Maybe I just kept it too real, I’m sure I’ll hear from some colleagues about that last one. Haha… But that’s what it is; ups and downs. Listen to the many songs about it! “Show Business” by A Tribe Called Quest is a good one. It’s like a love song that sounds totally different once you’ve experienced love and heartbreak.

Some of the songs about the music business sound like audio mirrors once you’re in it. I wouldn’t trade my life for a more traditional one at all, though. I’m just a kid from the ’hood that made some music and it’s taken me places I would’ve never seen. I’m living for my family and friends that haven’t seen these places and done these things. That makes me more proud than owning any car could.

But I gotta get paid so I can make that girl on the bus proud. Haha…

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