RG3, Redskins, Guestlist . . .

Courtesy of http://www.ballhogsradio.com

What's good folks ? ! D-Natural back atcha again ! !

4 those that don't know, I am a proud Prince Georges County, MD, native of the DMV & loyal Redskins fan ! ! I've been to see some great games live at the ol RFK stadium & @ FEDEX Field, where I worked the gates for our very 1st game there ! I've bled burgundy and gold for years ! ! It's great that the fans are excited about the addition of RG3 & I am 2 ! ! It's gonna be our year and I'll be cheering every step of the way ! Through all the rough times and the great ones, I'll still be there 4 my Skins ! !

I hope our new quarterback can get adjusted to this new level of play now in his career. I do know that he comes from a good family and is a very hard worker so I think he's gonna do very well ! Just watch. When we win our first game, I'll be right here to inform all off you AND release some dope music on that day ! ! Matter of fact, I might just do a few versions of my own Redskins songs ! !! I can create anything, so we'll see what I come up with ! And speaking of my music -------- > >

D-Natural "Guestlist" http://artisticvisionzproductions.bandcamp.com/track/guestlist

"Guestlist" is my latest in this series of releases I've dubbed the appetizers. This is my latest single in that series until I release more of my new material that I know you guys have been waiting for ! !

I can't wait 2 share more with you guys ! ! ! More of my music and poetry on the way, plus some other surprises ! ! !

Till the next time, keep the faith and keep chasing your dreams ! !

D-Natural, Artistic Visionz Productions

Virginia Country Bound . . . . .

What's up world ?!? D-Natural here back at you with another blog of mines ! I know it's been awhile since I've blogged here . However, as I've said in the past, whenever you don't see me blogging here, it's only because I'm MAD BUSY working really hard at alot of other things. But this here blog has always been one of my main priorities and as I stated from the very 1st blog here back in 2009, my mission here is to take you every step of the way with me as I grow with my music, poetry, and production company : Artistic Visionz Productions ! !

All the photographs you will see in this post are among the many that I shot when I visited my family in Southern Virginia over the spring break . For those of you that don't know yet, I'm moving ! ! Yes finally getting away from the hustle and bustle of DC city life for calm pastures, clean air, and the simple living that rural life can provide. Now don't get me wrong, I will always love my hometown of Capitol Heights, Maryland and everywhere I travel to upon this planet, I will ALWAYS represent ! However, it comes a time when after you have planned and worked as hard as I have, the opportunity presents itself to get out of the hood and Capitol Heights is the HOOD . You see, a man must move on . Seeing police helicopters(birds of the ghetto) fly over your head eyeing you from the sky ALL DAY, everyday, because they are trying to monitor all the Madness in the town, getting harrassed by the police in the streets because they thought you were someone else, fiends on the corner constantly begging you everytime you walk past for money to support thier habits, ignorant thugs & hoodrats who want nothing but to cause you drama in the streets, it gets old . You turn on the news and learn that someone was just shot yet again around the corner from you . Sometimes I look around and think , " How in the hell did a person like ME come from an area like this ? " I know though, that I owe that to God and my mother, a strong single parent who did the very best she could to protect and shepard me through the darkness so that I would find my light, which as you can see, I DID ! ! !

So, the time has come to move on and continue to show the world who I am and what I'm about so that I may return back to Capitol Heights and help make it better than it was when I left it, which I will do some day ! Fortunately, I will still be in my beloved DMV, just residing now in the V part ! So I'm really digging that ! I've built up a strong local network of folks here in the area and it's still plenty of work to be done with them. I've found a place near my family in Southern Virginia to move to and even have a van that I now own there waiting for me. Getting a van was the best option seeing how my music business is getting larger and I'm gonna have alot of traveling to do along with my all music equipment which consist of my keyboards, guitars, basses, amps, mics, cords, my MPC, etc . . . I'm also transferring to a college down there where my grandpa used to be one of the deans at, where I am going to finish my bachelors degree in business in a special accelerated program and probably pick up another bachelor degree in the process. I'm at the Junior level (3rd year) of college now with my studies which I somehow managed to complete all within the last year and a half while singlehandedly running Artistic Visionz Productions, traveling, producing music, writing poetry, growing my photography/video shooting skills and the other thangs I'm involved in ! ! ! Wowzers ! ! BUT somehow I've managed to do it all BY MYSELF ! ! I even earned a Twitter Shorty Award nomination in the social media world, in the top 40 ranking for the Radio category, around this time last year in the process which I'm extremely proud of . . .

So as the butterfly goes through stages before it can fly, I'm branching out of my cocoon to a different environment, around new unfamiliar people, new territories and artistic venues. Just as I did late last year in New York (check my last October blog), I'm expanding Artistic Visionz Productions to new horizons ! ! It is all very exciting ! ! Everyday I'm stronger, wiser, and more skillful. I'm understanding more of what I'm doing in an ever changing music industry and it's becoming clearer what direction(s) I wanna go in. One of the the good things about being near my immediate family in Virgina is that I will have access to my grandpa's church, which is where my music career started at 4 years old, and where I taught myself to play all the instruments I play. When my grandpa, a Pastor, it's not using it to preach at his services or do any other functions, I'm gonna turn that joint into my live recording studio ! ! ! I'm gonna get started almost right away when I get down there working on all those live solo albums that I'm planning to release as well as complete the work on my studio albums that I should have released by now in between my college studies ! ! It's gonna feel good to take it back to where it all started at this stage in my musical development, playing the very instruments I grew up learning and playing on as a child ! !

I can't express enough how excited and ready I am about this new transition I'm in ! !

In other news . . .  I'm about to release in the next blog post after this one, my next appetizer for you guys to vibe to while I'm completing the several music and poetry projects I have in the works ! ! I've mentioned my song called "Guestlist" in previous blogs and I've decided to go ahead and take it out my vault of unreleased work . It was originally set to be included on an early prototype of an album I was working on along with my other single I have out "Madness". I felt it's only right to release it now, in hopes that you guys will enjoy it while I steadily work on the much much newer material that I have in store for you guys ! ! So please stay tuned for that, u digg ? ? word

So with ALL that said , until the next I return here with a personal update, please keep the faith and keep chasing your dreams ! ! As you can see, I sure still am ! ! ! Stayed tuned here of course for all my latest music, poems, photographs, videos, collaborations, and other surprises I haven't revealed yet ! !

I just wanna say THANKS to all my fans/followers/supporters from the bottom of my heart for keeping up with me ! It truly means more than any of you will ever know ! Peace

D-Natural, AVP

Drums n the key of D-Natural . . .

What's up good people ! ? ! ?

It's your favorite music producer/poet back for another installment of this here blog of mines ! ! I shot this new video earlier 2day, while fulfilling my side duties as drummer 4 my church ! Being that this is that last weekend of Black History Month, in honor we performed "Lift Every Voice and Sing" for the second song . . Enjoy ! !

I am sooo happy 2 fill you guys in on all the INCREDIBLE opportunities coming my way ! Artistic Visionz Productions is really growing and reaching alot of people out there all over the world !

4 right now, I'll just say that it seriously looks like I'm goin to be working with some of YOUR favorite artist soon ! ! Some of these artist you hear on the radio right now, or see daily on MTV ! ! ! My years of paying dues and working extremely hard is really payin off ! !

So I have alot of work ahead to fulfil some request soon to be coming my way from some majors . . Stay Tuned !

And you know of course, I'm still releasing brand new instrumentals 4 everyone 2 vibe 2 . Along with my new single out called "Madness", I have more new solo singles/appetizers on the way ! !

Also new collaborations in the works to produce more music for my current roster of clients . New poems, photos, and videos on the way as well ! ! Yeah, I REALLY STAY WORKING ! ! ^_^

My grind is non-stop ! Aside from managing all the latest interest in Artistic Visionz , yall know you man is also a full time student in school ! I love my new school I have transferred 2 ! Can't wait to entertain the whole campus with what Artistic Visionz has to offer and make some new fans ! I'll be documenting more of my life on campus as a student and sharing it with you all soon !

Well, gotta go and finish writting this paper which is literally due later this morning when I get to school . . Yikes ! But I love rolling my sleeves up and getting the job done in the clutch !

Until the next time, keep chasing your dreams and keep the faith !

D-Natural, AVP

Madness ! ! ! ! !

D-Natural "Madness" >> http://artisticvisionzproductions.bandcamp.com/track/madness


What's up yall ? ! ?

It's yours truly D-Natural , back with another installment of this blog mines ! ! As usual, I've stayed on the grind and have recently had a huge surge of creative energy ! ! ! I've decided to dismantle my Poetic Soul EP , opting instead to release a few singles from that project seperately , while throwing the rest from that period in my vault . I've been thinking of things a lil bit differently now and have gone through some changes lately . This has me desiring a new approach to what I'm going to release at the beginning of this year . Don't worry though , you will see a Poetic Soul EP surface among the handful of complete projects I'll be releasing this year ! It's just right now I just feel like creating new things and releasing brand new things ! ! It's like I feel I have to keep up with my ever evolving sound ! That's the only way I'll write the best songs for myself as an artist, giving you the most accurate pieces of me ! I like to call my solo singles appetizers, because they are designed to keep you happy until I hit you with the full course !

Fortunately, as taste of things to come, we are gonna kick off some of my new solo material with my brand new single "Madness" . It's my very first release via the very awesome Bandcamp website ! In "Madness" , you find me getting my thoughts off my chest of how people and certain things in life annoy the hell outta me . When you have a mission and a goal in life to fulfil, one like me just desires to just grind without the drama of haters and other fools . But hey that's life, and even though they can be fustrating, you need such challenges so show your potential and allow you to grow. I simple give my response to such matters in my song here . I hope everyone enjoys it and if it's something you think you might wanna bump in your whip or your iPod, I encourage you to download  it for a recession-friendly price of 50 cents ! Your investment will be well appreciated ! Starving artist like me, need the support of our fans to continue to blossom so that we may continue to give you the great art you deserve .

Along with my new single "Madness", you can probably hear some brand new spanking beats I've recently released, on my widget player to the right of the page ! ! > > > >

These new tracks include "Sam" (named in honor of my dog Sam, who just passed after 18 long years of life!) "Simple" and "KeriKnowles" !

"Simple" and "KeriKnowles" were made after a friend of mines challenged me to make a some tracks in a certain amount of time . Since she was a fan of Beyonce and Keri Hilson, I decided to make a few joints in that type of vibe . .

As for other things, I've been working on more new beats/songs of course, more new poetry of course, new live video and other goodies I'm not goin to expound on right this moment . Just know I'm working, and now as you can see, I'm ready to start delivering ! !

Sam

I would like to dedicated this blog post to our beloved family dog Sam, who has finally gotten his wings after an amazing 18 years of life ! I took this photo of Sam during Thankgiving weekend last Novemeber . Little did I know , that would be the last time I could visit my brother from another mother ! !

 My mother first got Sam for my stepfather, when I was in the 7th/8th grade ! ! I just turned 28 years old , on the 25th of this month ! Mom called me to report that Sam passed away the day after my birthday . This was a huge loss to my family . Your pets become like members of your family . He was with us for 18 strong ,wonderful years ! That's alot of history and memories with an animal !

We can can learn alot from them ! The unconditional love, respect, protection, and care they give you can never be matched . They accept you with all your flaws ! I will be writing a song about Sam and putting it on one of my albums this year ! In the meantime, I've named one of my new beats "Sam" in honor of him ! I think that beat gives a nod to the type of spirit and personality he had ! ! He will will be missed but not forgotten ! I'll play fetch with you again boy, when I get up there ! ! RIP little brother . . .

Til the next time, keep the faith, and keep chasing your dreams ! ! Peace and Love


D-Natural, AVP

D-Natural @ The Legendary Nuyorican Poet's Cafe, NY (Sept/2011) [HD]

What's up , what's up ?? ! !

Rockin the legendary stage at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe was unreal ! ! I had first learned about the place through watchin the movie "Pinero" that starred Benjamin Bratt ! I was so taken with Pinero's story and the history of the cafe that I wanted to know everything about them ! ! Last year my chance came to actually rock the stage ! You can read more about my time at the cafe and NY in my September/2011 post ! Until the next time . .

D-Natural, AVP

D-Natural on drums . . .

What's up everyone !

I recorded this video of myself performing my duties as a drummer ! This is from the Christmas Day service we had at my church . Look 4ward to sharing more videos just like this one here ! I really had fun getting down on this joint here ! Featured on keys is the legendary Norman Weeks ! Enjoy and stay tuned for more new music and poetry ! It's on for 2012 babe !

Until the next time, peace and love !

D-Natural, AVP

Happy New Year from D-Natural & Artistic Visionz ! ! !

Happy New Year ! ! !

Been BUSY in the lab writting new songs, creating new music, writting new poetry and handling the usual music biz details ! I'm back this time around with my newest poem I wrote a few weeks ago . I thought it would be cool to start off this year with the second version of a poem I wrote a few years ago. It's a poem describing my current state of mind . I wrote this very fast and furiously in the middle of the day, like the mad man I am . I ended up writing it in 3 small acts, which I've never done. But that's how it came out of me that day. Kinda shocked myself when it came out that way. But my mind is very complex, so I guess it was needed to describe how I was feeling at that moment . Well until my next post , Enjoy ! !

Mid Day Question ( My State of Mind Part 2)

By: D-Natural

ACT I

Feel me in my friend
What type of mood should I be in ?
It should be a good mood right ?
That is, should it be ?
While in my mind, clowns laugh uncontrollably
How can it be ?
On such a beautiful day
I'm alive, someone must have prayed
Cuz last night I misbehaved
And this morning continues the rave
wayyyy down, deep in my batcave
where my thoughts make me my own slave !
Oh Behave
Austin Powers
Outside I look fine, but inside my soul's tattered
I know I'm not ugly, but I still make the mirror shatter
Shards of glass scrape my conscious
Whats all the science behind this madness ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Or Can it be ?
My mind is blossoming beautifully
However, old habits die hard
Perhaps that's why I get cut by the glass shards
Fools walking around thinking they hard
Walk in my shoes, and if you can, you will be my rockstar
Time amazes me with it's illusion
It flirts with me, by showing me benefits of my wisdom
The very nature of my fighting stance
Allows me to defeat any foe that wants to dance
But yet I remain
Trapped in the middle of the day
Confused with my blues
Can't play a song, if the instruments out of tune
I am a baffled buffoon
But don't judge me dude
The Now has yielded me
New chances of mortality
Every breath gets thee
Closer to being wealthy
But is it riches I seek ?
Maybe I have them already
In my mind where clowns laugh uncontrollably

ACT II

My soul is my horse to ride
I'll create a beautiful life in each stride
Though current reality confuses my paradise
My lush life awaits me when the time is right
But yet, time is after all a trick
My day doesn't have to be like this !
Wake up every morning to drown in my own abyss
I admit, I am intrigued by the extacy of the Devil's kiss
How guilty must I feel to embrace the slightest of it
But I was born a warrior for this battle
And I love dancing to the music of the serpent's rattle
Riddle
Why do all the question continue to come, when I know the answers ? ? ? ? ?

ACT III

I sometimes seek guidance
Speaking in tongues through my pen as I write it
Inside the are all the bad urges, no matter how hard I try to fight it
Can't give in to all the sensation
The reward must be in my resilience
Can you detect my pain in all this ?
Can you read the confusion I feel, as I write this ?
Do you think God will still allow me mercy, but without the pity ?
Why must I feel this way ?
To have so many question in the middle of the day