Finish Your Breakfast...

What up, world?

Checking in with an update from the Ozone layer of this air that I live in, where being high off life is a constant cruising altitude.

I've been working on sooooo many things presently that I've noticed my progress on everything as a whole is being noticably slowed down because I'm allowing my progress (or lack of) on one item to mentally affect my approach towards other items on my itinerary.

My buffet-style appetite for life used to work for me, but I'm starting to realize that my mental metabolism has slowed over the years, and now is the time to start fully digesting what I put on my plate, so I can make sure my eyes aren't bigger than my stomach.

So yes...I'm still working on a couple projects that are important to me: i.e. my book, RANT, my album.
But I'm taking my time on those while I continue to work on the main course: being a better father, a better mate, and a better man.

Let that boy cook,

O

The Calibration

To whom it may concern,

After much thought and reflection, I have decided to officially start working on The Calibration, my follow-up to my first album, The Balance. I'm extremely excited, optimistic, and focused on my upcoming work towards this project. Stay tuned!!!!

Chucktown What,

O

Silence

louder than life
it speaks volumes,
screams infinite words into a vacuum of opportunity.
a golden fleece covering the ear of Mother Nature's tongue;
a presence felt by marked absence.
louder than life
it echoes in consciousness;
a cold breeze in heated moments,
a fire stoked in polarizing intent.
louder than life
it whispers of hope,
in the language of our better nature;
it murmurs of death
in the voice of the enormity of humanity.
insightful words blind to the ear
heartfelt thoughts numb to expression
a future gift lost to an unwrapped present.
a symbol of reverence to the dead,
a caricature of communication to the living,
louder than life.
its song will always be
heard.

An Idea

i had an idea of Love,
at first a fleeting flirtation
that i chased with reckless abandon until I caught it.
infatuated with the thrill of a new journey,
i got lost in a maze of unrequited love
and found the bittersweet taste of a dream deferred.
now, I find my palette piqued
with an appetite for chocolate curves,
a passion for mahogany ideals,
a thirst for caramel kisses,
and a desire for a sepia-toned picture of Her
in white dress.
i had an idea of Love,
now I have
the.
real.
thing.

OSA

Fork In The Road

As a Libra, I can admit that at times in my life I have been indecisive and struggled with decisions for a number of reasons. Sometimes I didn't want to ruffle anyone's feathers or hurt others...sometimes I didn't want to change my routine and stray too far from my comfort zone.

Sometimes the fear of the unknown influenced me to stay rooted in situations that had no opportunity for growth.

But now I look at a difficult life decisions as a blessing...as a chance for new life...new friends...new opportunites. The past is the past, and although I try to learn from it, nobody wants to have an appetite for the same things over and over and over again.

That being said, I'm extremely hungry for life right now...and though I used to be wary of forks in the road of my life...now I salivate for them.

Let's Eat...

O

Flu season...

Well folks, I'm wrapping up recording of The Vaccine, which will be my next mixtape.

Be warned! This is probably the most personal project I've ever done. I touch on everything that's been going on in my life that past couple of months, and I try to be as honest as I can be as an artist.

So yeah, people are gonna be shocked, but I'm prepared for that.

Why?

This is what I do,
O

Reset Button

I don't know how many old heads still remember the gaming system known as Nintendo, but there was a button that cats hated to have to press, because usually the only time this button would be pushed is when things got completely out of control or the game happened to freeze and no further progress could be made.

In the game called Life, I just pushed the reset button.

Though I'm feeling a way about having to make such a drastic decision, I have no regrets, misgivings, or second thoughts for taking such an action.

I wish that me and Her could have made it work, but the truth of the matter is that work still needs to be done on the work-in-progress that is Omar Sharif Arthur.
I'm on a track to completely rebuild my life from the ground up, which is crazy considering all of the sacrifices I've made since my Daughter blessed me with her presence. But relationships come and go, life goes on, and the war continues.

With that said, I burned the field that I toiled on in hopes of harvesting great rewards, and now I'm replanting....reassessing....rebuilding.

The good book tells us that the race goes not to swift nor the strong, but to those who endure, and I literally just had a Red Bull and Vodka, lol.

So now with my newfound wings, I'm flying...not to a set destination, but wherever the winds of destiny happen to carry me.

Happy Trails,

O

The Reset Button

Ahem,

Taking a break from the dramedy that is my life to post a quick blog. All things considered I've been better than some, and worse than others, so no complaints.

Finished YLRN3 so I'll be posting either individual tracks or the whole shebang up here for my imaginary fanbase to listen to. Self-deprecating humor aside, it's actually pretty good shit (Hi, Haters).

Other than that, still in GA (though I'm on tale of two cities status with my work/home situation), still getting my Daddy learning curve on (mini-me is on the verge of walking now!!!), and still perfecting the project that is Omar Sharif Arthur (26 years and counting...).

Just caught a second wind, so hopefully things should be turning around and settling into a more stable and positive situation, but with my luck...who knows.

"Game+Hustle...that means fuck ya..."

Catch up niccas,

O

Tweet, tweet, tweet...

Oh yeah...I tweet now.
www.twitter.com/ofeez

Bird's the word,

O.

All in a day's work...

Ahem,

Fun weekend...drove to Columbia, chillaxed with D.I.G. and Dtune (the triangle offense strikes again), recorded 20 songs, AND drove back to ATLanta...and that was all on Saturday.

But.....back to life, back to reality...which means job-hunting, diaper-changing, dinner-cooking, dish-washing, and basic family-manning.

Even took Mini-Me to the pool today to get her swim on...see?


All in a day's work...someone tell Cris Abrego to holla at me! (I'm sure someone will make some sense of that)

Living the dream,

O.

Pulse Check...

I am still alive and well...
Shit has been mad hectic, particularly as a result of this fucked economy, but all things considered I am counting my blessings:

Young Journee Gabrielle is 8 months, healthy, and soon-to-be walking.
Thanks to support from family the probation situation has been resolved and is now over.
Job situation is relatively stable as of today (I'm not gonna hold my breath on it, though).
And God Willing, I will begin recording Y'all Losing Right Now Vol. 3 this weekend, as I take some time to head back to SC get some ME time outside of the hustle and bustle of life in Metro Atlanta.

So all in all, the glass is still half-empty, but I'm content.
Some people don't even have the glass anymore...

Cheers,

O

Back to the Future...

Guess who's back in the A?

Moved back to Atl last weekend and have been getting settled in.

So far, I am extemely happy to be back.
I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing my daughter everyday, and being with my woman has improved our relationship immensely.

The sacrifice?
No more running the streets, clubbing crazy-like, and drinking like a fish.
Surprisingly, I'm not bothered by this in the slightest.

I always thought that being a father and mate would be too boring for me to ever handle.

Now that I'm in that space, I can say that the thrills I receive from waking up to my woman, and tucking my daughter in on the daily far surpass the mindless bullshit I was enveloped in for far too long.

Time to put away childish things.

Say goodbye to the bad guy,

O

Back to the Future...

Hello World,

The most sporadic blogger is here, and I'm here to report that I am on the verge of two life changes: one unexpected but HUGE, one anticipated but DOPE.

Both should be wrapped up in time for Cupid's day, so suffice to say moves will be made in roughly a week (Lord's Will).

So to those who talk with Omar or those who rock with OFeez, stay tuned...

Take that, take that...

O

Attention:

To whom it may concern:

I am now working on my new mixtape:

Y'all Losing Right Now Vol. 2

For those who haven't heard the first joint I'll be posting that soon.

Support local artists dammit!

I got a kid to feed...lol.

I'm focused man, tell Shawn Holla at me mannnn!

Still the best rapper in SC! (tru!)

Che-che-check out my melody,

O

Allow me to reintroduce myself...

A new year!
2008 was irony defined.

Uneventfully eventful.
Joyfully sorrow.
Unsatisfyingly content.
Progressively backwards. Gratifyingly insatiable.
I'm sure you get the point...

I had a baby girl.
I dealt with legal issues.
I made the best music of my life.
I got divorced.
I lost a great job.
I got another great job. I brought sexy back.
I was confronted with my ugly ways.

With all of the ups and downs that I experienced last year I'm approaching this new year with a new attitude.

Newfound focus.
Newfound confidence.
Newfound priorities.
Newfound love.

Most people approach a new 365 with a solitary resolution.
But for me, 2009 is all about the 'Re':

The Re-Up,
The Rebirth,
The Rekindling,
The Reintroduction.

I guess I got my swagger back,

O

New Mixtape On The Way...

Knocked out 14 songs over the weekend. Got some more mixing and tweaking to do, but should have 40+ mins of real rap out before the summer's over.

Y'all Losing Right Now Volume 1.

Omie's Home,

O

"Bitter" Vindication?

Barack Obama April 12, 2008:
"But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there’s not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of these small towns...the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them...so it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

NASHVILLE, Tennessee July 27, 2008:

A man who opened fire inside a church, killing two people with a shotgun hidden in a guitar case, was frustrated at being unable to find a job and blamed liberals and gays, police said on Monday.

"It appears that what brought him to this horrible event was his lack of being able to obtain a job, his frustration over that, and his stated hatred of the liberal movement," Knoxville Police Chief Sterling Owen told reporters of Sunday's incident at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church.

I'm not saying...I'm just saying,

O

My Current Mood...

Happy.
no need for excuses,
no urge for complaints,
no wanton desire to graze on greener pastures.
Simply full of complete contentment,
Simply Full,
simply...
Happy.

Down For The Count

There has been a very interesting turn of events concerning the results of the New Hampshire Primary, where Presidential Candidate Hilary Clinton defied the odds and beat Senator Barack Obama. Congressman Dennis Kucinich has requested a statewide recount of the election results, and is calling for a manual count of all of the ballots cast in the Primary.

The reason for this request is multi-fold: Polling data taken prior to the primary projected a sizable victory for Obama prior to the actual voting, and exit polls (which are traditionally representative of the actual results) also favored Obama. In fact, of all the candidates on the Democratic side, the only candidate whose actual results differed significantly from the exit poll data was Hilary Clinton, who pulled in 9% more support than exit polls indicated.

Also, a preliminary examination of the results by the Election Defense Alliance, a non-profit organization that works to uphold the validity and fairness of American elections, has raised some questions regarding the consistency and uniformity of the results in NH. While all of the votes were cast on paper ballots, a mixture of hand counting and optical scanning using Diebold machines were used to tally the results. It appears that the validity of the voting results obtained using the optical scanning may have been either skewed or misreported in Clinton's favor.

Bruce O'Dell, who is responsible for data analysis at the E.D.A., had this to say about their findings:

Theron Horton and I have confirmed that based on the official results on the New Hampshire Secretary of State web site, there is a remarkable relationship between Obama and Clinton votes, when you look at votes tabulated by op-scan versus votes tabulated by hand:

Clinton Optical scan 52.95%
Obama Optical scan 47.05%

Clinton Hand-counted 47.05%
Obama Hand-counted 52.95%

The percentages appear to be swapped. This seems highly unusual.

Here's another interesting tidbit that the data points out, of all the candidates, the ONLY person who gained support when comparing the optical scans against the hand counted ballots was....
Hilary Clinton. Hmmm...

In any event, Kucinich has already put up the money necessary to start the recount, so we'll see how things develop in the next few days/weeks. Things should get pretty interesting in the Granite State.

I'm not saying I'm just saying,
O

Cry Me A Winner...

I thought that it was an accepted fact of life that there is NO crying in Politics. However, in the New Hampshire Primary, a presupposed Obama victory was transformed into a slim Clinton win in the Granite State. Words cannot accurately define the way that I felt as I watched the poll results come in that night, and saw the effect that a near emotional breakdown could have on some portions of the American populace.

I won't argue on whether or not the show of emotion by Hilary was contrived, but the fact that the effect of people seeing a Presidential candidate on the verge of tears manifested itself in a substantial level of support at the voting booth is one of the reasons why I am beginning to lose faith in the American people, as well as this "Democracy" that we all are a part of. While I accept that the emotional component of humanity should always be accepted as a part of life, the fact that a sizable percentage of women in NH shifted towards Hilary following her emotional episode is laughable, pathetic, and a sign of the times.

For the record, I'm not sexist, chauvinistic, or the type of guy that feels that crying is a sign of weakness. But, the fact that within a 24-hour period, a candidate with an average lead in the polls of about 8 points would end up losing by 3 points, mainly due to a reactive influx of women voters in response to an emotional outburst, is just crazy to me.

Politics as Usual,
O