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Showing posts from December, 2013

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CANEI: Constant and Never-Ending Improvement

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CANEI: Constant and Never-Ending Improvement Great Day, Family. This reflection is for the Elders, Warriors, and Nation Builders out there who understand that growth doesn't stop at a certain age or title. This one is personal—and tribal. Because I’m walking this path, just like you. Today’s theme? CANEI : Constant and Never-Ending Improvement. From Kanai to CANEI: How the Journey Began Long before it was a concept, CANEI was my life. Back in the early days of Gye Nyame, I had the honor—and the challenge—of raising my sons. I was blessed with a contract through a program called Kanai that allowed me to work with African American boys many deemed “difficult.” But what they called “difficult,” I called “diamonds in the dirt.” These young men became the Gye Nyame Boys , and we birthed what would become the Gye Nyame House . Through that sacred work, I realized something powerful: self-improvement wasn’t enough. We had to aim for self-mastery. That shift in perspective laid th...

The Magic Hour

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The idea of starting this show came from a conversation I had with one of my brothers. This was long before the internet was in our pockets and shaping our lives the way it does today. We made a plan to create a internet radio station called "GyeWeb Radio", that independent artist could use to promote their music. We wanted to provide a venue for the unheard artist to air and promote their skills. The ultimate goal was to help independent artist build a fan base outside of the main music industry and develop a revenue stream to support what they do. We felt that the industry was choking the life out of Hip-Hop, and we had a grand plan to save it. Unfortunately the cost at this time would have been in the 10's of thousands of dollars. With the financial crisis looming and by getting caught up in the "Great Real-Estate Hustle" we didn't have the money to finance the project. Fast forward about 10 years and now with the advancements in the internet and the dev...

Humbleness As A Tool

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I have noticed that many people lack humbleness, I guess that this principle has been dismissed as something that is old fashion and has been thrown on the scrapheap of history. Humbleness, I have found to be a necessary weapon of a warrior. Humbleness is one of the major principles that need to be honed and sharpened in the old and young.  How can you learn if you have no humbleness? Yes high self esteem is important, but for some reason humbleness has been removed from the concept of esteem and replaced with false pride. In order to learn we have to be able bow our heads, close our mouths, and open our two ears. There is no learning without a humble heart. In order to learn we have  be willing to admit our ignorance about a situation. Admitting ignorance requires humbleness which  is important and can not be done by someone who has confused pride with self esteem. Admitting ignorance to someone or an institution is the first step to being able to gain the knowledge the...