2004 was a breakthrough 12 months in my life. This might be crucial 12 months of my skilled life; on my twenty fifth birthday – June 3, 2004 – I published my first blog post. From that moment on, my life and profession were never the identical. Even though I had a day job that provided me with a salary, advantages, and paid day without work, within the second half of this 12 months I began getting opportunities to write for web sites that I had previously spent reading. One of such spaces was Allhiphop.com, which in 2004 was considered one of the few hip-hop web sites and, subsequently, an especially popular online place for everybody enthusiastic about culture. Put a pin in it.

2004 was also quite a big 12 months for independent hip-hop releases. March 23, 2004 was the day that considered one of hip-hop’s most classic albums, MF Doom, and Madlib’s “Madvillainy” were released, however it was also the day that one other notable project was released: “Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition” – a joint album by rapper Murs and (on the time) producer recent to the scene, 9th Wonder. 9th Wonder is, after all, the producer of the infamous North Carolina hip-hop group Little Brother. Murs was a rapper from Los Angeles, the Living Legends group, but I knew him from a separate joint album with rapper Slug (from the AtmOSfera group). Slug and Murs formed a gaggle called Felt and in 2002 released the album “Felt: A Tribute to Christina Ricci”.

Back in 2004, hot on the heels of his well-deserved fame as producer of Little Brother’s debut album “The Listening” and its inclusion on Jay-Z’s 2003 album “The Black Album,” I used to be almost willing to hearken to anything produced by 9th Wonder. I picked up Madvillainy and Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition on the identical day, and each albums appeared in rotation all year long (and years after, to be honest). 9th Wonder’s signature production was amazing, but what really stood out to me was the bond with Murs, who, despite rapping a few city I hadn’t yet visited and a life I didn’t know outside of films set in Los Angeles, lowered the bars , which made me feel like I saw and understood his life. I’ve at all times had a soft spot for Everyman rappers; Make no mistake, Murs (and rappers like Phonte and Blueprint from Soul Position) were top-notch lyricists, but their storytelling and lyrics relied on references and ideas that seemed familiar to me.

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Murs also has an absolute knack for storytelling. Song “Walk Like a Man” it was so cinematic that I remember pondering that somebody should take this idea and turn it right into a short film, which he finally did. In addition to telling a story, the song is made up of three parts, and the beat of the second part was considered one of the best beats I actually have ever heard, and I still feel that way. 9th Wonder’s ability to craft an emotionally charged beat is an ideal fit for Murs’ voice, and, well, there is a reason this album was so highly rated in 2004. It’s an album filled with interesting stories about life in Los Angeles as a rapper whose fan base doesn’t at all times match the people whose lives are most concerned with the content he talked to directly on the stage of making the album, “And this is for…”

Thanks to the contacts I made within the blogging world, I used to be given the chance to write an article for the primary time Allhiphop.com in October 2004. When I got my second likelihood the next month, I thought of this song after I wrote an article for Allhiphop.com in November 2004. The second article for this site was a chance for me to explore a subject that bothers me: the best way hip-hop fans complain about the whole lot and how artists can perceive it. The song “And This Is For…” was played over and another time while I used to be writing the title track “Hip-Hop Confusion: Is This What It’s For?” arguing that we, consumers and fans, have never been pleased and that, subsequently, artists should simply create music that most closely fits who they were at that time of their lives.

The decision I made in this text modified my trajectory much more. I put my email address at the top and received emails from rappers, managers, agents and individuals who read the article and agreed, and some desired to work with me. Of course, the album itself didn’t change my life, however it inspired me to write. I actually have long admired Murs’ ability to inform stories that might be told. Although I do not write rap lyrics, I often draw inspiration from rappers because I used to be raised on and by hip-hop. And the song “And This Is For…” introduced ideas I used to be fascinated by too. And after I was given the chance to create art that synthesized my thoughts with the themes, I did it. Is “Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition” a classic hip-hop album? Maybe not, but only because Murs wasn’t a household name on the time. The album is pretty much as good now because it was in 2004.

Murs and 9th Wonder collaborated on future projects and each achieved huge success independently. However, that first project struck me at a time after I was searching for art that might speak to my development as a author, and I still consider this album to be the muse of my profession. It helped me get on Allhiphop.com and push my profession forward.

Now I do know who that is for.