Blog #3 Viva La Revolucion

Have you heard of Occupy Wall Street? You should've by now, if you haven't you musta been under a rock like the Geico commercial.

It's crazy how much we've been lied to...

feedin us false truths dats designed to....

Trick or treat us, but we ain't got the sweet tooth....it don't matter which cavity u hide, they'll still reach u.

To the 99%, look how long u been asleep

how come the minority, prey on us like we weak?

what takes us couple years, they make in a week

so u slavin' to reach the top of the peak

all the while our own brothers tryin to pull you underneath...

crabs-in-bucket mental, can't do it before me

but if the left foot said that to the right, you'll never leave....take a step, stand up for what u believe...

See me? I want a future for my young seed

and for him, they can take my breath, just so he breathes....God give me the strength so that my words reach...the masses, giving strength to the weak, separating the goats from the sheep, and the tares from the wheat.... no lukewarm,cool off or get burned from the heat!!!

This is just a little inspiration for those who don't know, to understand  how I flow.....get down with the movement....We Are DILINGA MOVEMENTS, we stand diligent and upright in times when people living low and dirty. That's why we believe the Occupy Wall Street Revolution is so crucial right now,  because it doesn't matter where you live, some how you are affected by what goes on on Wall Street, furthermore the government. Big up all revolutionaries, who set the pace before us, whether it was Harriet Tubman, Marcus Garvey, Sam Sharpe, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Che Gueverra, Huey P Newton, Assata Shakur, For the first time in a long time, people are really seeing the system for what it is: hypocritical. 

Like why is it, for you to be successful in this country, you have to go to college, putting yourself in serious debt in the process (you know, when you assume all those student loans), just to start life (if you're lucky enough to even land a job) in a negative position? Hmmm? You're not on a even or balanced playing field, you're already under, and that's exactly where they want to keep you!!! I mean you don't have to take the student loan route, you CAN take the military deal. Oh yeah!!! Sign up for three years or more and we'll give you college, just do what I say, don't ask questions, don't have a mind of your own and everything will be fine. Suicide or Murder? your choice. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm not here to bash the military, I was in the ARMY for three years. I fought in OIF1, we weren't sitting in a office in AC all day, no we was doin checkpoints, patrols, escorts...the whole nine. If that works for you, it works for you, but it wasn't for me. I seen the racism straight up, most of those cats, thats in there is from middle American suburbia, they don't know better. They are instilled with patriotism, from they are young. Their great great grandfather fought in the Civil War ....for the Confederates. In fact, they still rock that flag, proudly. Or how about the four-wheelin, deer hunting, rednecks, from the South? Many of them come from communities where there are less than 10,000 people, and its either black or white with random asians sprawled about, so the majority of them know nothing about diversity until they enter the military. And why is it that the recruiting stations are so prevalent in the black and hispanic/latino neighborhoods?

These rants or raves doesn't apply at all if you are rich, your bills are covered and clear. You don't even have to work, you just do it for the "experience."

What ever happened to truth, justice, and the American way? hmmmm??? People say they came to the U.S. to live the American dream, now they are showing you its a nightmare. All of sudden they want to lay down tight immigration laws, when it was immigrants who literally built this country from ground up. From the beginning of American history, immigrants have played a vital role in the economic development of this nation. People work hard to ensure their families have a secure place to rest their heads as well to eat, and in the last few years that has been taken away from millions of families, with the planned economic recession. While the common man and woman, fight to keep their heads above water, the towering corporation with their millions and some billions of dollars worth of stock and equity, actually receive "assistance" from the government "to get on their feet." Now, does that make any sense to you? Occupy Wall Street Now. How much of your check (if you're lucky enough to still have a job) goes towards social security? if you are 30 years old now, by the time you're 50-55, I guarantee that will be gone. Occupy Wall Street NOW. For those who aren't actually present in person, give your support. As Bob Marley said, "Get Up Stand Up, Stand Up For Your Rights!!, Get Up Stand Up, Don't Give Up The Fight" The Revolution is now.

Blog #2 Defining The Creative Me

I love creativity. They say for you to be original is unoriginal. Nas said, "No idea is original." I would agree to some degree. But I definitely believe the ways that someone may go about expressing their "original" idea is what is truly creative. Like how many people want to be artists? or wish they could draw? many....but how many actually go about doing it? how many different styles of painting are there? fine art, abstract, etc. How about the brush strokes? how many different paints are there to choose from? I'm saying all that to say this. There are many ways to do a task, and its up to the individual to choose the way in which he or she goes about doing it. That my friend is usually the creative part. Creativity is love. Creativity is passion. Creativity comes from....the Creator. Dat should be like a duhhh!? Right?!? Creativity is Thought. What do you think about? What's in your environment? Are you positive or negative? That definitely has an impact on how you think, and how you perceive life and visa versa. 

My first creative avenue was through art. I've been able to draw since I was like three. I used to love the cartoons of yesteryear, Thundercats, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ghostbusters, G.I. Joe, The Real Ghostbusters (with Slimer), Care Bears, Alvin & The Chipmunks, Captain N & The Game Masters, just about anything Disney.....the list can go on and on. I loved and admired the animation styles in all of them.

What's any show without a memorable theme song hmmmm? Music has been around me since before I was me. My father loves music and has been playing and singing music from as long as I've known myself. I been hearing Bob Marley, Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, Garnett Silk, Josey Wales all that.
My mother loved music too and so I heard Elvis to Dolly Parton, to Michael Jackson to Whitney Houston. I say all that to say this: Music has become such an intricate part of my life. I listen to it, dance to it, write to it, work to it, fall asleep and wake up to it. The Hip Hop influence grew from being around friends, being on the streets, going to school, etc. I started to make my own mixtapes when I was in like the 6th grade, recording them off the radio, CD's and LP's. I used to let my tape rock, till my tape pop!!! Literally, ask anybody in the hood, they used to call me the reggae Radio Rahim! Thats how I really started to experiment with sound and practicing deejaying/selecting. This is when I really learned about dancehall for myself: Shabba Ranks, Buju Banton, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Spragga Benz, General Degree, Lady Saw, Patra, Shaggy, Sizzla, Capleton, etc.

Anyways, to cut the long story short, I still deejay...at least when I can. I now actually perform songs that my brother and I write as Dilinga Movements. We have that reggae hip hop mixed, with the cultural fusion twist....we use our music as tools to educate, uplift and entertain our people. For a lack of knowledge our people perish. 
I view the world in a very artistic manner, everything can be drawn, or painted visually or aurally....so you can see what I say, if you understand what I mean. The power to be able to captivate and control someone's mind at least for that moment, or to at least spark it to generate thoughts and feelings is amazing, and not to be taken lightly. 

  
We call that WORD, SOUND, POWER. 
This is another reason why I got back into school to strengthen my art skills and take it to the next level, to learn the technical aspects of it. By learning video editing, and web design, I can build my own website and have the ability to do it for others. All of this just works to be incorporated with my music.  Oh, and don't be shocked when you see us in some exclusive gear.....I design clothes too!!! We're about building our brand, Dilinga Movements. On a mission with great visions. Be Blessed

Blog #1 BACK TO SCHOOL

Since starting school again I feel a resurgence of myself begin to rise. I have always had mixed feelings about college. When I was young I always said to myself I wanted to be the first from my family to attend and graduate college. As I grew older, I noticed how many people who had their college degrees were extremely book smart, yet lacked the common sense to sort through the simplest of matters. To me, that made no sense what so ever. So somewhere along the way,  I deviated from the original plan to go to college.
Maybe the fact that I didn't actually graduate from high school helped contribute to that. I immediately got my GED after leaving high school, attending an "alternative school," and received it within about 3 months. I started to look for employment doing odd jobs here and there, a little construction, carpentry work but nothing permanent. I grew tired and impatient of asking my parents for money and going to locations that had "Now Hiring" signs placed outside and when I applied and was denied. After, being rejected for the last time, I headed immediately to the recruiters office on Jamaica Avenue.

I enlisted in the U.S. Army for three years, I was stationed in the Mid West, deployed in the Middle East, where I spent one year in combat in Iraq from April 03-04 with my unit, Charlie Battery 4th Battalion 1st Field Artillery (4-1 FA). 
I thank God for everything he does, he works mysteriously, sometimes we don't know whats going on but he always knows whats best for us. I thank Jah because I'm here in one piece, with all limbs still intact, no IEDs, no gunshot wounds, despite the number of instances where something could've really happened. I don't care what anyone says I KNOW GOD PROTECTED US, particularly me. After coming back home to NYC and seeing the neglect of the veterans, who served their country, getting offered minimal wages for my experiences and sacrifices, I returned back to the Middle East. I was out there for two years, while I was there a son was born to me, in Jamaica (don't ask thats a whole other entry unto itself) his name is Jr AKA "Mini-Me." Wish I could see him. Now I'm back and since I've returned I looked immediately to get into school so that I have the best chances to to ensure my son is taken cared of.


I started at TCI during the summer session of 2011, enrolling in the Information Technology program. During that time I learned a lot but I was just going through the motions. I did a couple of performances during that time (did I mention that I'm a reggae artist/song writer? If I didn't my bad ;} ) and also got into a couple of projects because of my brother, Lenx Dilinga namely a brand we can truly identify with called, "I AM CULTURE" you can check that out at: www.theinternationaldesign.com  Anyways, I started to shoot some promotional videos for them, by chance especially at the recent "Reggae Rhythm & Blues Festival" at Roy Wilkins Park in Jamaica, N.Y. where we shot footage of a variety of reggae artists in the industry. You can check them out on youtube and type in Dilinga Movements.Thats the Mavado Sightings video, but you can see the other I AM CULTURE videos on youtube as well. Anyways, while chopping up and editing the footage for that which was Labor Day week, I asked myself and decided, you know what? Why don't I just do digital media arts? And so here I am in my 4th week of school around many creative, like minded individuals....in short, I'm lovin' it like the McDonald's commercial says. Dealing with Photoshop, while learning about the Apple OS in combination with my computer drawing class is definitely increasing my skills, technical know-how and confidence. I would tell anybody to do definitely do what you love doing and go for it like flies on crap.