I wanna thank everybody involved with this whole Fathers Week ordeal. I literally got the idea 2 nights before the week started so a HUGE thank you to everybody that gave testimonies (quick turnaround time). If this inspired you, blessed you, encouraged you, opened your eyes, WHATEVER...I'm grateful & very happy that it did SOMETHING.

Dads get such a bad wrap. But anybody with some issues, whether it be promiscuity, bitterness, or just being LOST overall, you can usually root it to something happening with their father. So I make it a point to congratulate those dads that are going hard & doing their thing for their children. Accepting their responsibility.

I wrote "Heaven On Earth" because I missed my kids. I'm not around them everyday to enforce my role as a father on them, so I wrote it from the perspective of "this is what I thought the moment you were born. These are the aspirations I have for you". I've been told by a few people the song has led them to tears & for that I'm in awe. So today, I give this out for free, for everybody to enjoy, because today will be EXTREMELY difficult for me. Another day without my kids. So if your kids are around, hug them. If your dad is around, hug him. Even if your dad wasn't around, forgive him.

Happy Fathers Day.

Fathers Week: Day Seven: Heaven On Earth

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For day six, I was interviewed by @BriteComplexity, who also did a review for Snooze Button II a few weeks ago. This by far was the HARDEST interview I've ever done, it was a difficult conversation. I didn't wanna lie & act like this Father's Day isn't gonna be tough, as have 4 the previous 5 (had my daughter for Father's Day last year). But I felt the need to share my story for the reasons I share anything else...for self-reflection & for you guys. So shout out to the dads out there, if you have your kid with you, give them a hug & tell them you love them.



A Father's Story- Armond Goss

Fathers Week: Day Six: A Father's Story

12:07 AM

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Ahhhhhh the infamous stepfather. Is there any job less desirable?? And it seems the older you get, the stronger the need, and the higher the qualifications needed to be one. It's not easy to take on the responsibility of raising another man's kids, whether that man is in the picture or not. So today, we champion those of you that have stepped to the plate. Again, no need to intro this one...just do me a favor & visit her blog @ innerpink.blogspot.com. Thank Me Later...(sorry)


When I met George I was five years old. That was old enough to clearly remember WHO my father was and know that this was someone new. He said we could call him "uncle" George and that he was just a friend of our mother's but we knew... We knew.

Fast forward to 1990 and he was now our stepdad. We were now 12 going on 13, and George had been to every school play (he was my "voice coach" when I had to learn "Oklahoma" and "surry with a fringe on top" for our school play Oklahoma), recital, service, everything. He'd taken us to museums, art galleries, plays, fencing, taught us chess, bought our first tape recorder to make our own stories, our first turn table and record. Everything we did he was there. George was still an anomily to us though, full of stories, laughter, discipline. By this time we had come to call George "Phoffer" - Phoffer is a mixture between Father and "hasenpheffer" some make believe food on a bugs bunny cartoon that George, Rashaan, and myself loved. We loved the way George would yell "hasenpheffer!!" We had warmed up to him... My brother more than me.. I was still holding out for my biological. But our biological father was moving more and more out of the picture.



I can only speak for myself when I say I was glad that George was there but I wanted MY dad. If you've heard of the Terrible 2's they are nothing in comparison to the terrible teens. Every moment I got and everytime George tried to set boundaries I was quick to throw up "you're not my father". He never spoke ill of my dad in retaliation but I KNEW it hurt him to hear that. Here is the man that's taking care of me when my father wouldn't. When I wanted a rabbit, he got it, when some dumb boy said I wasn't pretty because I had braces, he would say "awww babe you AND that 8head of yours is beautiful" (inside joke) when I took up studying the upright (bass) he introduced me to a new level of jazz & classical music and stories within the music, when I tried out for performing arts he listened to my fears and hopes and encouraged me every step of the way, when I played at carnigie hall he yelled that's MY daughter, the first time I was published he said, that's MY blood, that's mines! And yet I said I wasn't. When Duffy (biological) would make appearances, George never made it a peeing contest; he would graciously step aside and let Duffy "play" daddy while HE was father. Protector, provider, encourager. He even went so far as to cover up my biological fathers faults so that we would continue to honor him.

Not only was George my father. George was a MAN. When I grew up realized the definition of a man was someone who didn't need to tear down or throw dirt on someone else for his own validation. I'm lucky I got to tell George who he was to me and how he affected me and how sorry I was for my teen years. Even when I apologized he told me it had long since been forgotten that he understood and it never changed his love towards me. I'm glad that he was my father, my dad, my phoffer.

George passed away in March. This fathers day is particularly tough. But I can honestly say I had an amazing father figure in him and I am truly glad to have called him Dad.

Father's Week Day Five: The Stepfather

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Father's Week Day Five: The Stepfather

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I'm truly inspired by Danielle's story. We went to high school together...kinda. While my friends & I ran the mean streets looking for house parties to crash, Danielle stayed at home. She was the first person I knew to have a baby in high school. Funny how not even 10 years ago that was a rare occurrence & now they're building day cares in schools. Anyway, the reason I asked Danielle to tell her story & not any of the other millions of "single mothers" we see nowadays is because, although her story could be classified as typical, it's very unique. A child is not an excuse to settle, or be angry, or expect a sympathetic handout. In Danielle's case, her son heightened her drive while many pull over to the side of the road & nap. And today, by her own standards & not the world's...she made it.

Common said it best “There are too many black women who can say they’re mothers but can’t say that they’re wives”. That quote in itself implies much more than the lack of marriage in the black community. It implies the lack of families. In far too many cases, the husband less woman is raising fatherless children. It is the plights of the fatherless that far too many women forget about as they drown in their husband less reality. It is this situation that has brought so many women to “play daddy” and it is this situation that brings me to reflect on my own experience as a single mom.

You will never hear me say that I am “the mom and the dad”. I have learned that it is far too difficult just being me without trying to be someone else in addition to that. Despite being a single mom at age sixteen and broken from the relationship with my son’s father; I knew better than to pretend that I was going to fill the void left in his wake. I think all women intuitively know this. The way they reconcile this understanding is what sets each single mom down their own path. I reconciled it this way; I have to be the best I can be for my son and give him the best life that I can give him in spite of any circumstances that arrive. I will never know the kind of man and father my son’s dad might have been, so I have reconciled never to try and be what not even he could be for my son. Standards should be set based from experiences for when they are based in myth, they are not attainable. While we all set out with the best intentions to fill the unseen voids, I knew that I could only be the best me and that while I wish my son would never have to experience the voids left by feeling abandoned or unloved by his father, I knew that was not possible. With that understanding I set goals to lessen the pain my son would feel by those voids where possible and to not create additional ones with my own behavior. I knew being the best mom I could be would mean hard work, sacrifice and selflessness. I also knew that being a single mom would mean twice as much of all of these. I had to decide that with each challenge I faced and overcame, I would become a better mom and my son would have one more brick laid in his foundation to make him stable and to help him better cope with the voids I could not fill.

When my son was two months old and I had finally resolved that the relationship with his father was a terminal one, I also resolved to use the “single” in single mom as an adjective only and not as a verb. Single might describe my situation but I was determined that it would not determine the actions I would take. I knew that using my single mom status in my actions and decision making would be the crutch that allowed me to settle for being less of a mom than I knew I was capable of and would allow me to provide less of life for my son than I knew I was capable of providing. Like most, I felt the pain of the dream I had lost as my picture of my family dissolved when my son’s father walked out the door. I had to decide that the tears were ok but the anger had to go. I had to decide that this dream was the only one he was ever going to take from me and that just because he got this one, didn’t mean I had to give him the rest. Of course I always dreamed of walking down the high school and college graduation isle and the wedding isle before walking into parenthood. I had to decide to keep dreaming of walking down those isles. I had to decide to keep those dreams and to set my goals based on the dreams I had always had. Maybe the journey would look different, and maybe it would be harder, but I knew I had to continue on that journey.

What I came to find out is, while my journey was different and hard, it was also more beautiful and full of love and pride than it would have been under any other circumstance. I walked through the same doors and worked toward the same goals I had always thought I would, except I had my little man on the journey with me and therefore always had a reason to stay motivated staring back at me with little brown eyes. I often hear that my journey was extraordinary because of my single young mom status. But for me it is the journey I always wanted to take no matter the order of the milestones on my path. Maybe the circumstances make it extraordinary to some people, but I’ve always considered any other path extraordinary (out of the ordinary). Ordinarily people dream big, set goals and follow them. They would never let anyone else’s presence or lack thereof, high jack their dreams or cause them to change the standards they have for themselves as a friend, lover parent or human being. Contrary to the extraordinary, my journey with a father less child has been a precise and calculated effort to be ordinary just like every mom that wishes only to give her child the best life possible with an unwavering determination to not settle for less whether being single gave me an excuse to or not.

Fathers Week: Day Four 'My Journey With A Fatherless Child'

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L-Win is a little brother to me. We first met back in 2003 when he used to constantly ask me to check out his music. He was maybe 16 & I heard incredible potential, as his rhymes were better than a lotta grown men on TV & the radio. One of the most incredible stories of his very colorful & unique life was the fact that he was raised only by his father from the age of 13 on. So I asked him to talk a little bit about his experience with a 'single father'.

My father, far from perfect, was nevertheless always there. One word to describe him would be "reliable". How can I linguistically capture the essence of our relationship? Unconditional love. When I was 12 my cousin (who is now incarcerated) and I ran the streets with very little supervision. My mother would do her best to protect me from a cold city, but the older I got, the looser her grip over me became. At age 13, my mother passed and I had to go live with my father. Over the years my mother's side of the family had talked negatively about my father. Consequently, I wanted nothing to do with him. My families down-talk was not unfounded, but inappropriate when in the presence of myself, his child. After a short stint of staying at my dad's house, he then moved me in with his mother (my grandmother). To me it appeared that he was trying to simply put me off on someone else. In retrospect, I can see that I needed more supervision, being in a high crime rate and gang activity section of Chicago.

My father worked full time, and it made it difficult for him to watch after me. Although we didn’t live under the same roof, my dad still stayed in constant contact with me, keeping tabs on everywhere I went. Since I’ve been under his care, I have never needed anything. Till this day, when I need help, whether it be help monetary or just advice, my dad is there. A relationship that was once tarnished by the circumstances has become stronger than ever. In May of 2010, I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since that day, my father has finally begun to view me how I’ve always wanted; as a man capable of making my own decisions.

L-Win's album "The Transition" is available for free @ http://lwin.bandcamp.com

Fathers Week: Day Three 'Just The Two Of Us'

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Fathers Week: Day Three 'Just The Two Of Us'

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As I said earlier, each day this week I'm going to feature different types of fathers we see in today's society. Our first feature is from a really good friend of mine, Patrick Murakami. I really can't intro what you're about to read, all I can say is, it's phenomenal, touching, & it led me to tears. Enjoy

First of all, shout out to all the Dads out there, we don't get enough credit lol, second of all, shout out to my son Lucas, because for so many reasons other than the obvious, I wouldn't be doing this if it weren't for him. I love you son and of course a huge shout out to my Dad, love you pops!

I didn't know what to write, or what to say about life before and during Lucas. I'm so accustomed to talking about him when I'm not around him. Usually everything is about what he or what we had just done that same day or recently. I had to take a trip into the back of my mind and reminisce of how fast these past nearly 5 years have flown by. I can't really give you the full essence of 5 years or lifetime in a few brief paragraphs, but I'll try to be clear, concise and quick.



The birth of a first child to a parent is overwhelming. As long as you aren't a dead beat, anyway. (Thats a whole another blog though lol.) Anyway, I'm blessed that I was married, was able to experience the full nine months of Lucas being just a peanut into alien looking conehead he was when he came out. I kissed him and his mom good-bye everyday I went to work, and we play fought when he was on the inside and we listened to music. We didn't know until the minute he came out that "he" was going to be a he. Sparing folks details, basically after cutting the cord, I seriously looked at him for about 45 seconds to a minute to debate on whether he was Caleb, or Lucas, give me a break, 2 minutes prior we thought "he" might've been Evan Elizabeth...obviously we know what I chose.

Before I delve into life as father, I want to discuss a little about life as me, so people can see the full spectrum. Does the term "babies making babies" strike a chord within? Because essentially that's what I was. I was 20, I worked a job, that though gave me management skills, was still very "juvenile." How far can you grow, managing a game store, when outside of work you're playing games full time (I was trying to go pro playing them competitively) and when you're not playing you're reading or watching videos on them and "practicing." Really it was a hobby turned drug. I used to give an excuse that it kept me off the drugs, and out of trouble, but it consumed me. Seriously, ya'll would laugh at the idea of having an intervention for somebody playing video games, but the truth is that I would get physically ill, if my ps2 broke, or if my arcade stick died, and the Tilt at the Chapel Hllls mall was closed. When you would rather have people think you're out partying or cheating, because you don't want people to know you're playing games again...its bad lol. Don't judge me, you had crack, cocaine, weed and/or alcohol, I had my Street Fighter, and at least I can remember everyone of my good times, and I got paid for it.



Anyway, shortly after Lucas was born, I thought to myself that I can still juggle fools in Tekken, and also my lifestyle with my son and my wife. The harsh realization, was that I couldn't. So I hung up the sticks, like rehab, I went through my up and downs, said things I'd take back and fought empty fights. I remember one day, I was feeding my son dinner, and he was about 4 months old. He was full in his belly, he was messy as heck, and he just was staring at me. Relying on me for his every need. He'd laugh, he'd cry, he'd yell, and it was all amazing. It was like being in love for the first time. You know what I'm talking about, the first time a girl says she loves you, the first time you fall in love with God, the first time you ever kissed, the first time you ever did anything that you were so proud of. Except you knew that this time, this love wouldn't fade. I can't really explain what its like to have that feeling, when everything else you've ever known has always been temporary, or conditional. The pureness, the innocence, though it can be trying at times, its so purely therapeutic, and euphoric as well.

Fast forward to now, my relationship with my son, is undescribable. I crave him, and he craves me. There was a time when suicide would get a foothold on me and hold me until I would fall and give in. Can't say the thoughts don't come in and out, but now I have a reason to keep fighting, and keep going. Life is unbearable at times, if I can be honest, its a crustacean of hell, with nothing but plot and challenges which you can't escape within. Yet everyday I get to hear my son say goodnight. He's like the good looking, the innocent and the best parts of me. The parts in the mirror I can't see, but I always wanted too. He's proof that there are things in this world worth fighting for. So everyday is "Fathers Day" for me. Nothing but respect for any parents, whether your a mom, a dad ,grandparent, sibling...its tough and it takes a certain type of person with gusto and heart to fulfill those empty needs.

Fathers Week: Day Two 'My Son, My Life, My Father's Day Plight' by Patrick Murakami

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Fathers Week: Day Two 'My Son, My Life, My Father's Day Plight' by Patrick Murakami

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01 Armond- The Wiretap (Episode 1) by thedeaconsmusic

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Here's an interview I did with The Wiretap, a subsidary of The Deacon's Music, a Christian music website that focuses on not only promoting independent Christian artists, but also giving them advice & tips on the music business. The site is ran by my boy & fellow STLien Damon Dugger. We chopped it up for about an hour & a half, but the interview's a little less than that. Definitely one of my favorite interviews.

Armond- Interview With The Wiretap

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Armond- Interview With The Wiretap

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As (some of) you know, this Sunday is Father's Day. The one day out of the year we let dad sit in his favorite recliner, give him the remote & let him eat the big piece of chicken. In today's society, our father's (& good men in general) are not championed or appreciated as much as they should. They're grouped together, generalized & stereotyped as lazy, passive & irresponsible. Let me say, that I do agree that there are a large percentage of PEOPLE (not just men) that inhabit those characteristics very well. But this week, I decided to take the time out to spotlight the male species; who are we? What makes us tick? What do we want? While I don't have all the answers, I do hope to provide a glimmer of insight into our dominion.

We all agree that women, more specifically mothers, are an integral part of our lives. They carry us around for 9 months, feed us & change our diapers. They are our very first example of what love looks like. However, there are some things that a woman just cannot do, and this is where a man comes in. Based off my personal experience, I would say that men provide children with their identity.



To a young boy, his father is an example of strength, responsibility & leadership. Men show you how to effectively wear different hats. How to discipline & be stern & still love; how to show affection without being perceived as feminine. How to be a balanced member of society. How to run his own household when he obtains one.



For a young lady, her father is the example of what she's to look for in a man. Her husband better treat her 100 times better than her father ever would. He creates & builds the level of respect she should have for herself. Women are moreso emotional & a man is that logical balance she so desperately needs. He is her first example of what a "rock" is. Unwavering in times of challenge & conflict.

But today, you see more & more of the vicious cycle that has seemed to grip millions of our men. More often than not, fathers are absent in the lives of their children. Some voluntarily leave; whether due to fear of responsibility or conflict with the mother. Some are forced out; the mother has either replaced a willing father with another man or she cuts him off, no phone calls, no contact. All the while holding the memory of their growing child over that man's head. At the end of the day, all we see is a single parent household & the father has the blame.



How a woman can say in one minute "I don't need you, I can do this by myself" & soon as the child begins act out she cries out "these children need their father" is beyond me. What this tells me is that the father is a strong adhesive in the family structure. He is the glue; the largest piece of the puzzle. How many young men turn to drugs, gangs, & womanizing to overcompensate for the lack of a father? How many young women become manipulative & promiscuous because their father never pulled them aside & showed them how to be a lady? And how many single women are walking around seeking a man without a clue as to what to look for because there has been no model present?

I'm not here to bash, and I really hope I'm not saying anything new to you. We all know that bad news & gossip travels much faster than good. And to say there isn't a level of truth in any of the presented accusations is a lie in itself. However, before we can attack a problem head on, we must admit that it indeed is an issue. So all this week I'll be showcasing different shades of fatherhood. The young boy raised by a single father, the womanizer who changed his life after the birth of his child, the single woman who was forced to become daddy & the ever so desired 2 parent home.

I welcome you to Father's Week...

Father's Week Day One: Stuntin Like My Daddy

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Father's Week Day One: Stuntin Like My Daddy

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The 1st single from Snooze Button II is being featured on one of the largest online platforms for Christian hip-hop!!!!

DaSouth.com put up "Beautiful Ashes" featuring my mans & em J Carter this afternoon & I'm geeked!!! I love how God always sends you reminders like "I got this, I'm still in control & I've still called you to do this". So I'm humbled & appreciative, as much as I can be.

So to all the new fans that may be reading this here's a quick introduction

My name is Armond
I'm 25 years old
I'm a father of two
And I refuse to let you label me

Some of the things I say may have you looking like:

or

But I'm positive more than anything else you'll hear my heart & see past the "words" to grab hold to the intention of the message I'm conveying.

I have an album "Dreaming Out Loud" that you can purchase here


I also have a mixtape I just dropped Memorial Day weekend entitled "Snooze Button II" that you can grab here


Finally I did a project called "The Nina Mosley Experience" that you can download here


Look to the left & you can hit me on Facebook, follow me on twitter, even add me on myspace if you still do that sort of thing.

WELCOME!!!!

Beautiful Ashes feat J Carter featured at DaSouth.com

4:19 PM

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Beautiful Ashes feat J Carter featured at DaSouth.com

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I got my 1st review for Snooze Button II late last night & I'm floored. Granted the writer is a very good friend of mine, but it means absolutely NOTHING in the grand scheme of things. The way we began our friendship was basically "guns blazing". You're doing this wrong & I'm doing this wrong. Normally, correction in friendships happens much later (if at all), but I knew her for maybe 2 weeks & we immediately began plucking each other. It was a welcomed change to the surface relationships we're all so very used to. So by no means am I expecting a "scratch my back & I'll scratch yours" anything from her.

She's a writer (a very good one at that) & she decided to take it upon herself to review my latest mixtape. Like at hear it, here it go...

Visit Pink Complexity In The City
When I first heard of Armond It was January and I was home sick. He sent me a link to his music, I was in bed trying to muster strength to get up; I couldn’t play it from my iPhone…and I almost didn’t get out of my bed to go to my Mac and listen to him. I’m glad I did. After I heard “Scared of Me” and “Rearview” I told him Scared of Me was dope and I liked his art of storytelling. He replied “That ain't storytelling, that all happened to me”. You have my attention.

Every time he posted something I listened. Not listened to say I heard it but I LISTENED. I felt like I was on my “kick in the door” phase… “Took home ready to die, listened, studied it.”

He is ridiculously dope lyrically. I can say I have never heard anything like him. And why? Because THIS is his ministry. Word son? You rap for Jesus? But don’t put him in the “Christian Rapper” box just yet. It’s not that simple. It never is. He IS NOT a Christian Rapper. He pours his heart out on the paper, God as his pen and his life the words. He is the embodiment of a life poured out. Though you can hear his relationship with God in his music, if you listen you see the man too. And after all a real minister can show you them and lead you to Christ at the same time. He isn’t one sided, he won’t bore you with “Yea God’s” and “Robbo Sha Tah’s”. To put it simply, he is Dope and God uses him.

I see the #nowplaying RT’s on twitter, but I always wonder if people are really listening to him or do they just hear the dope beat and let a catchy line soak in to spit back at him. Human that I am I riddle myself with “who is he like lyrically; who does he remind me of?” Not his writing. And every time I listen to his music it reaffirms his gift. The man has skills. Indubitably. I’d put my money on him in a cipher any day son! *Insert Kevin Heart clap with each word*But have you ever listened to someone and FELT everything that they were saying, When they where joyous, you heard joy, When they were in pain you felt it. The ability to change the atmosphere with your words…Not to sound spooky but there is a magic to that. I’ve heard it before. Marvin Gaye. That ability to touch God and touch people. It is a musical gift that all musicians covet. And Armond has it in spades.

I have followed him from leaks to Dreaming Out Loud (if you haven’t got your copy get one, it will change your life) and now to Snooze Button II (a mixtape). He keeps getting better. A 13 track (actually 14, he dropped Illuminati last night) mixtape, Armond shows off lyrically yet again. He makes it look easy because it is to him. He uses Drake beats a lot but I won’t judge because after I hear him, when I listen to Drake I’m like “mehhh… Armond did it better”. It’s hard to pick a favorite on Snooze Button II because he left it all on the court with this one. From beats to lyrics he BODIED this. It is arguably one of the best downloads to me this summer and I know this because I kept every track on my iPod. And if you know me you know I am picky with my IPod space…I only have 16GB…


· Crashing Down - is NUTS. He took N.E.R.D’s Sooner or later and transformed it into WHOA.


· Cross Color, Starter Jackets and British Knight’s - I’m particularly partial to because He KO’d Eric B & Rakim’s “know the ledge” beat. I am a respecter of Hip Hop and everyone cant hop on every beat. Know the ledge if you don’t hold your own you get lost in the cut, he held his own.


· Open Gym ft. Rich Tunes – crazy. Rich Tunes is bananas and I hope he isn’t mad but his voice reminds me of Jadakiss and he is a witty lyricist. Him and Armond together was perfection.

I could go on and on about Snooze Button II but I don’t need anyone cueing Thugnificent’s “D^ck Riding” song. Besides, I’d rather you download it yourself and weigh in. It’s a pay what you want download that is worth $999.99. Its black Music Month and I’m not trying to stroke anyone’s ego, but I want to give Props where props are due. Armond is a force to be reckoned with. His ear is on the past and his lyrics are out of this world. He is doing things that will surely change Hip hop as we know it.

“Funny how God blesses you even more hilarious is what we don’t let Him do…” – Armond

Follow him on twitter @armondwakeup

www.armondwakeup.bandcamp.com

1st Review Of Snooze Button II

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1st Review Of Snooze Button II

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