If you havent seen me lately, I apologize. Heres why: No amount of bad news is ever easy to take, but when you catch a punch in the gut, you instinctively reel. Within the span of a month, two matriarchs in my family had passed. My great aunt on my Mothers side of the family, and my grandmother. For my grandmother, it was a terribly bittersweet set of moments. Since my grandfathers passing in 2010, her health had begun to decline. My father was at risk as well, as he was acting as her SOLE caretaker (at 60+ years old), at the expense of his health. With some outside circumstances present as well within this situation, it became a bit of a powder keg for us all. During all of this, he hadnt had a chance to mourn. In a lot of ways, neither had I. I had to be steady for my father. As a person that views work/projects as a retreat, it became the first thing I tossed myself into. There was music, jams, finding friends jobs, traveling, etc. There was plenty that allowed me to push things down; a bad habit of mine. Being perpetually tired allowed me some degree of relief, and a chance to deal with all of it at arms length. I kept my facade up, stayed professional & punctual, and kept moving forward on a set of broken legs. But there comes a moment where we have to deal with all of it. I need a break. Not a matter of jovial chat, either. Mentally, Im back in a place that took me a long time to crawl out of; being a fool at some point, I tried to do it myself. This time, Ive had a group of friends and family that saw what was happening, and refused to let it keep going. Im still not in the best shape. And I may not be for a while. But I appreciate every single one of you more than you know, and the help youve offered me. Following the last few gigs I have this month, Im going to take a 2-to-3-month hiatus from my involvement in the Midwest b-boy scene, as a host, to get things shuffled back into place. Youll still see me at jams, but I wont be seeking any hosting opportunities for the time. The Midwest has a MASSIVE pool of talented masters of ceremony. I give HUGE props to SkyBrick, Keemo, Cj, Katrina, Jarius, Brave Monk, ak, and so many others. Look to these people to keep your jam running right, tight, and on time...and I say this because Ive watched them work. A HUGE set of thanks also go out to CrosOne, RekSick, Sneeks, Laura, Kosmo and others for having me as a part of their events this year. I managed to smoke a couple of milestones and etch some jams off the bucket list thanks to you, and Im eternally grateful. So, if Ive been distant, absent, or in shitty shape: Im so sorry. Gonna fly low for a bit, and come back stronger. Dont be a stranger; ask how this music project is coming along, or just shoot me a text message. Anything helps. With that said, I WILL see yall at Rep The Midwest 2014 and Open Breakin- House sessions at Columbia college this week. Thanks, yall. -- AMS (Boogie Knightz/NINJACHURCH)
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 18:59:16 +0000