Movin' Up From Down Under Loud.com Blog #4

Week #4: Persistence

Any given self help guru, successful musician or smug actor will tell you that persistence is the key to everything. That shit used to drive me crazy; like it was the answer for everything. As a teenager with a generally negative worldview, I saw most things as pointless; and persistence was the last thing on my mind with pretty much anything.

So as I got older and (arguably) wiser, I slowly and accidentally realised that what these folks have been spouting for years was actually not so far fetched. Personally, I’ve been into Hip Hop for around a decade and a half, and started spitting when I was maybe 15 years old. Nothing but a love for the music kept the passion burning, and as it got more serious and as I learned more, I never realised that I was actually ‘persisting’ with anything.

The various crews came and went; yet I never gave up. As one door closed, another one opened, as the saying goes. Every time. And I never quit. Yeah, there were times when I felt like ‘what’s the point?’, when I thought that everyone was against me and there was no way anything would ever come from all the heartache, when I momentarily lost the passion to do it as a result of the bullshit surrounding me. But every time, without exception, I got past it and something always appeared to show me that yes, young Jedi, it’s all worthwhile.

This was never as true as with The Movement Fam. All of us have been through similar experiences over the years, so we understood each other. And I guess there is a shared knowledge – nay, belief – that we will, whatever the odds, succeed with our music. This belief has resulted in an unwavering persistence that is uniform throughout the Fam, and we just know that it will be the one key aspect that will take us to where we wanna be.

And just like everyone, we’ve experienced a lot of people telling us to quit. I dare say we’d almost experience more of this than the average North American, due to the fact that we’re Australian and folks down here just don’t understand what we’re trying to achieve. Most of the scene here doesn’t aspire to succeed outside their own city, let alone make an impact on the other side of the world, so the fact that we’re unashamedly doing so doesn’t go down too well with a lotta people.

There’s also hella ups and downs (as with anything in life). Some days, it feels like everyone is on our side and we can do no wrong; other days, it’s like noone cares and what we’re trying to do is hopeless. Either way, we find the guts to just keep at it. And I think the main thing is that every day, without fail, we always manage to do something, no matter how small, towards our music that helps us move in the direction of our goals. All that shit adds up, you know. And before you know it, boom, you look back and are amazed at how much you’ve achieved. It’s a crazy thing.

Plug of the week: My man Kevin Nottingham did a great interview with us just prior to our US/Canada trip:

http://kevinnottingham.com/myblog/2008/09/12/artist-spotlight-the-movement-fam/

So until next time, keep at it, keep movin’ and keep educated.

http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com Do yourself a favour and check it out.

Blessings,
Cee.
The Movement Fam.