I think when you love hip-hop as much as I do that you need to be involved in the culture actively somehow. I have written about it for years. I cover hip-hop topics in this blog often. I used to write record reviews, stories, and interviews for the university newspaper back when I was still as student. That was a lot of fun.

I started writing rhymes around age 11. My first song attempts were horrible. I couldn’t rhyme on time or beat. I worked at it and learned quite a lot about putting together rap songs. It was just a hobby but something that I enjoyed.

I even learned how to DJ and beatbox. After a few years of messing around and having fun, I managed to write a few songs that I am proud of. I’ve even had the opportunity to perform my songs live in a variety of situations. I absolutely love it. It is an amazing feeling performing original material on stage.

It’s been a long time since I’d written a song. That’s why I was so surprised last week when I managed to write a few new ones. One is called “This Sport” and I compare our daily lives to a sport. It’s a good metaphor and I think the song really works. I wrote another song called “Make a Difference.” The chorus goes, “You can make a difference by being you / You can make a difference this much is true.” It’s one of those feel good, inspirational songs.

I have been considering, possibly, going into the studio this summer to record a demo of a few of my songs. I have time to write but I don’t really have time to produce or record right now. Still a Chase March album sounds like a pretty good idea. I will have to write some more and see if I can put together enough songs for an E.P. I could even release it digitally and see what happens. This sounds like a really good idea.

Tomorrow, I will be starting my series A Brief History of Hip Hop. This series is broken up into key components of the culture. I will be posting up the entries on Thursday and Fridays for the next several weeks. I hope you enjoy it.