To The Billboard: episode 2 "Bridging The Gap"

Welcome sneak peekers, admirers, haters, and supporters.
Thank you for reading my blogs, and thank you for dropping comments.
It kind of surprised me how much people are touched, whether in a good way or a bad way(mostly good), by the last blog. ("When I NEED HELP, I ALWAYS ASK----100 views a day is the most for me--) We have so much important people from different areas of life drop in with their honest thoughts. Suddenly it all made sense to me where I really stand. The position I have grown into. I decided to put it up for the public so everyone thats a fan of pinoy hip hop can get a sense of the type of turmoil that goes on behind the scenes that can affect the progress of everybody's movement. thank you SoulSonic TV
This will be my last piece I will write about this subject, then i will move on and push forward with my wishes, and my plan to reach the BILLBOARD,

Am I relevant to Pinoy Hip Hop? Yes I am..
Am i the more relevant than others in gettin awareness and attention for filipino hip hop to reach the world internationally? by looking at the response... YOU TELL ME!

So I will remain to play my part and move forward with what I know will win at the end.
I will continue to support other positive movements that call for my presence, i will fight for what is fair, and what is right.
I will continue to speak my mind. I will not be afraid of those who try to stone the greatness of this movement.
They will never bury me without a fight, my words are relevant, the people don't lie, They will never take me down alive.
I will continue to make the effort in bridging the gaps between, old school pioneers to up and coming younger talent, camps/organizations/families of hip hop in the Pi and throughout the world, Brooklyn NYC (The Mecca) and the Philippines, the streets and the corporate world.
I feel good, much better about a lot of things because of whats happening, and what i got out of the people who I've been talking to and left comments.
It is up to me and nobody else to lead the charge without complaint. (the Crab mentality will always be there, so i will learn to go around it, make sure it doesn't get a hold of me to pull me down) I know myself, and how sincere I am with everything, and whats great is many know me for the same way I know myself.
we are keepin it moving.

Before I touched ground in the Philippines with intent of making it in the rap game, i had a reputation in my community in Brooklyn as someone who were able to bring people together. I even put up my own barber shop where it became the neutral zone for everyone to come in peace and share information, ideas, friendships. I guess it is naturally in me to be someone who prefer to bridge the gap between people rather than having everyone divided and bickering. If you take a peek at my last blog I wrote, (the first episode for SoulSonic TV, titled "WHEN I NEED HELP, I ALWAYS ASK") and take a look at everyone who responded and left comments, you will see different types of people who care about my situation.

from Nasty Nes (rapattcklives.com), KC Montero, to P DOG (who runs PROOF of D12 R.I.P label), to Fernandoe Poe Jr's son Ron.. to Australian magazine people who had so much praise for my efforts, etc etc etc its just crazy how much and how many different types of people in the world besides pinoy hip hop fans are aware of my movement, and my efforts. I like name dropping as long as I have proof that its true. I don't get big headed, Ive always kept my level of confidence at even keel (which can be sometimes misinterpreted as arrogance "KAYABANGAN DAW")

Mostly everyone that responded and are bothered by what i wrote, If you study it carefully, you will see that It was just a miscommunication thing between a lot of people. Me and Sarah Meir, which she made clear to me, and put me on my spot which I respect tremendously. even though she is probably slightly upset with me for saying what I thought, I know it's not that much of a big deal where I cant patch it up (thats my Steak Fam and they still believe in me) Artstrong, Dash and B Roc. Dash and B Roc agreed to put a compilation together for "To The Billboard Movement" to surprise me, that required a little funding which had B Roc and Dash asking artists for a thousand each for its production. Apparently Artstrong who has seniority and been through the hardest struggles with in Hip Hop in the PI hip hop industry felt that B Roc' who is one of Philippines up and coming go to producer didn't approach him with the proper etiquette. So Artstrong decided to tell his team not to support my cause, which I could never be angry about, because its not mandatory for anyone to help me, specially if i don't have money to pay anyone for their services yet, As I had in the past when I was under E-Real( who became bankrupt tied down to real estate issues in San Diego, CA..E-Real is another long story....maybe in future episode i will explain) But Artstrong and B Roc have made attempt to iron out their difference. i hope they both swallow their PRIDE, (Word to J-NUR) stated by the Quaran. "Pride is a tool of Satan to divide us human beings", I hope they communicate better and keep it moving on a positive note.
But I could just imagine what if I didn't write that blog they wouldn't know that there was such issues, they would have continued on shaking each others hand and smiling in front of each other's faces forever without knowing. (di nagkaplastikan na naman at nagkataniman ng sama ng loob habang buhay kung hindi sila nagusap).
H Town responded, although I don't understand why he would later erase his comment on the blog ,but I'm glad to see that he reads my blog in my myspace as well. and i am happy that he at least made an effort sharing what he felt about it. I beleive that H has nothing but good intentions, I never accused him of making a lot of money off the Hip Hop Awards as others had accused him of, the fact is I believe he lost a lot of money trying to build up hip hop in the PI. I spent a lot of time with this dude. I still consider him a friend, and I hope I still am to him. I understand how we parted ways a little bit. With him starting up EMPIRE which was a record label that catered to Pikaso, KrazyKyle, Young Pic, three rappers who I had encounters with in the past ( all for different reasons), so do the Math. It's only logical that he has to help out his artist more.
And he would later admit that to me, that it's business. I cant hate on that. so I handled my business and continued to make a name for myself in a rapid pace . Then H would later on announce that EMPIRE is no longer a record label , it has changed to marketing, events, and a distribution company.
I've seen H Town change his mind about a lot of things, i heard promises of Redman Method Man coming to hip hop awards, Chad Hugo of Neptunes is visiting, He could get me on the cover of pulp for hip hop edition (which i later on found out that pulp mag didn't even know who I was until i went there on my own and spoke to the Editor myself, because deep inside i felt that I was being held back, i was being politicked out of my due props, I was still close to H town at that time, and I was pushy with asking him to bring me to PULP, sometimes I could get real pushy, so when I reached inside the office with H town,guess what? Joey were showing H town the layout of the articles that would be in the magazine, AIKEE had a big page, Hip hop girls washing cars, Gloc-9 was the cover, and as he kept talkin and showing H town, they were talkin bout the deadline was sneaking up, and i was wondering why i was nowhere to be found, i was not even mentioned. I was heated at the time, but i didn't show it on the spot, making a scene on the spot would have not been a good look for me, instead i kept calm and tried to figure out quickly how i can be in the magazine..My question within myself is, "How are you going to mention the possibility of having me on the cover and then consider not even giving me an article", and I knew I was one of the most buzzin rapper at the time, if not the most; So i kept my poise, I took Joey Dizon's number (which is not familiar with the hip hop movement for he is soaked in the rock world, so H Town is the responsible voice of Hip hop when it comes to presenting current Hip Hop news to Pulp magazine)I took Joey's info myself, made an appointment to see him on my own so I could present to him what I have done, and the accolades I have accumulated in my short stay in the PI, and why I deserved way more than not getting mentioned at all.. I even had the audacity to say I belong on the cover for all the shit I am doing for hip hop sa pinas (kinapalan ko na talaga ang mukha ko) Then Joey invited me in the office once more to get interviewed; funny thing is, as the editor was interviewing me H Town has called him at the same moment talking about maybe putting Mike Swift on the smaller sections .....As Joey spoke to H Town I can't help but to smirk deep inside, "Im with him right now, Im doing an interview on him with a four page layout", Joey stated over the phone. now Joey has no idea that something might be going on, I just hinted to him the concept of how an artist can be politicked out of a situation and he looked at my stuff and evaluated and judged fairly on how he would present it(thank you sir Joey for everything, I hold that article dearly close to my heart, because I had used it to further reach what i always been longing for, and it has helped me to where i stand now, and that is close to the ultimate goal of being a recognized filipino international artist). but at that point I realized that my suspicions were correct. because H Town was running EMPIRE it was smart of him to do what he did as a business man. it was never personal, it was business with H Town. I respect that. I remained friends with him, not as close, but we chilled, played ball, smoked a few blunts. I was even responsible for bringing back his old helper, and runner, Wilson G who has helped him with a few accounts for his company, to his stable of helpers. But business is business.

I don't want beef with people, I'm too grown for that now. i realized that the Philippine hip hop industry is too poor to be wastin time on beefing. My whole purpose was to bring people as close together as possible to be one giant voice to help bring positive attention (i know im sounding like a hypocrite to some for I was responsible for having altercations with 3 different rappers in my short stay, one thing I could say about that is at least I handled it like man, instead of beefing under my breath, and talking behind each others back, we came to a conclusion because of my aggressive approach, and now i can shake their hands look at them face to face with each others respect) instead of talking shit behind their backs , pag nakatalikod tapos pag nagkita plastikan o takot. Long story for each one of them, but thats the past, i keep it moving forward.


BRIDGING THE GAP:
From Bringing Jonan Aguilar's music to Sarah Meir who was power 108 DJ at the time, to bringing Buwang of Dongalo to THE COMMUNITY, to putting God's Will (a rookie who hasn't earn the name he has earned today yet in my legendary album on the same track on the tagalog side titled Alamat (featuring Syke, MC Dash, D-Coy, Gloc-9, Francis M., and myself produced by B-Roc.....sayang i almost had kuya Drew on the same song, but he had already given me a verse for ma way, plus i didn't tell him that I had all these people in it but I tried to sneak one pass him, But legendary album is not out yet (would never come out until i have money for BILLBOARD the Movie).) So kuya Drew .. baka gusto mong magbagsak ng isang verse..hehehe.. para classic talaga!!).. Linkin B Roc closer to kuya drew who is his neighbor, to taking Lil AwAW to my mall shows ( I remember KrazyKyle telling me "Why did you bring Lil AwAw to the show for ?, ain't he Dongalo?" in my head I was like huh? This is my motherfuckin show, ill bring who the fuck I want!!) then about ten months later When I came back to the Pi from Brooklyn once more, two days fresh off the plane Francis M. let me hear a song that said "I'm mayabang like Mike Swift" and there goes for that story.... taking PBA imports to Power 108, to bringing Jimmy Muna to Tuesday troop mansion, to even introducing Young Pic to his wife who's a very good friend of Tuesday Troop, etc. etc etc.. way too many to mention..
Point blank!! I like bringing people together and bridging the gap with all types of people to have better understanding of what I feel life should be. No bias, respect towards differences, togetherness, loyalty, power in numbers, and peacefulness.

I am no saint nor I am righteous, but I have my principles in tact and never stepped on anybody's shoes to get to where im at. I have respect for everyone but fear nobody, but God. I cant wait to show everyone how much appreciation I have for those that helped me get here, I have the utmost love, respect, and admiration for our Kings of Rap .. Andrew E. and Francis M. I cant wait to tell you my views of how i got close to these two, and how I earned their praise. Although I am not in touch with them heavy as I use to be, I know that they have never turned me down when I needed help, and even offered it without me asking in the past.

These people helped me, because I helped myself. They believed in me because I believed in myself, which is something i suggest for up and coming rappers in the PI to do. I probably feel more attached to Kuya Drew, Francis M., Sarah Meir, H Town, even Toni Toni (i use to go to Rockwell church with this fool), Who I'm so mad at (not in a bad way) he's my boy, he just be dissin the brother!! I do care for their affection (pause, no homo) more than others because of these testimonies they had given me. Because of it I became who I am, they left me no room to turn back and retreat. I use to watch these testimonies everyday for a year to get inspiration from. Till this day I carry all the pressure to make sure I don't fail them, and make them proud. I still watch it to get inspired off to work even harder. I probably feel closer to them as they do towards me because of it. Here's a message to them with all honest truth, which is the only way i know how anyway, thats to be truthful.
"I am still the same person, whatever got lost in translation through the changing times, I am still the same person, i am still on track to prove that all the words you have said about me hold true. Don't let anything else stop you from believing in me"
And as for SoulSonic TV, where i had doubts in the beginning about this site not being biased, with all the variety of information you are dishing out from the past to the present that covers a lot of pinoy hip hop in the world, i have nothing but praise and respect for you. I wish you guys lots of luck and success. please never erase the haters that post up their thoughts (at least if its hate towards me, because sometimes they really tell you what they feel the truth is to them) I always enjoy their perspective, and even welcome it. Specially the ones that threaten you physically, i cant wait for them to approach me face to face, they're probably the ones that want to take a picture with you and get your autograph. LOL heheheheh hahahahah bwahahahah .lol
To The motherfuckin Billboard!!! Hollar atcha BOY!!

P.S. KUYA DREW.. sayang sana najan ako sa DONGALO RAP AWARDS !! and I NEED ONE OF THEM SHIRTS WITH YOUR FACE ON IT, yung suot ni OMAN.. ILL WEAR IT WHEN I PERFORM HERE IN NYC.
INGAT MGA KAPATID , HANGGANG SA SUSUNOD..

-Mike Swift

Note: You can also checkout Mike Swift's Myspace Artist Page for other Comments.. http://www.myspace.com/mikesweezy