The Bop ~Mighty Mini.

Let's start with the back story. Without going into details, I have been affected by another medical issue, currently on my third course of anti-biotics, and have spent time in A&E, subsequently being referred to a surgeon. Mark Matthew (Mighty Mini) was very concerned when it came to his attention as I had posted the original version of this song on Facebook last Thursday whilst waiting to see the surgeon. I was listening to it in order to take my mind off matters, one of the stress relieving techniques that definitely helped in that situation. Mark  decided to cheer me up by creating an entirely new video- and how much fun is it!! I think Mark has chosen some excellent clips, and having such a love of dance I'm thrilled with it. In fact, while speaking dance I'm still following everything to do with the untimely 'deletion' of Stephen 'tWitch' Boss- dancer and former DJ on the Ellen DeGeneres show. For more information follow my channel recommendation for Brainwavezz Advice Topics. Brainwavezz covers every subject he tackles in detail and is very knowledgeable about the music industry, a former rapper himself. Brainwavezz has really opened my eyes during his coverage of the tWitch saga and I can plead total ignorance of all things Illuminati prior to my recent online education. I think we benefit from an awareness of what is really going on in so many industries these days.

Mark recording in Ipswich

I want to add a little something highlighting the Law of Attraction. I was not well enough to post my usual Sunday contribution yesterday and this morning decided it needed to be a musical item. Today, I spotted this in my newsfeed- Thank you universe! I always believe strongly in vibes, so somehow, Mark connected with the need and felt his natural inspiration flowing. This is a fantastic example of how things work and who knows where this video might lead!

Mark and I met many years ago and before long he asked me to write his bio, which was a very interesting experience. The main things I recall were that he had spent many years in Ipswich and, in addition to singing, Mark grew up playing the saxophone. I am pretty sure he also taught music to young people and I do remember suggesting Mark pick up the sax again, and was pleased to see he followed my advice several years later. Mark has since posted many solo's on Facebook and also went on to record new material. He has worked with different producers including David.D.Fly, Flyvation records, who recently occupied the #1 spot on Reverbnation Jazz Charts, Urban Delight Ent and 24 Karat Recordings.  

Kyra Jae

When it comes to collaborations of any sort you really benefit from having a good vibe rolling. After completing the bio we decided to have a go at writing some songs together and in some ways it was a mini adventure- no pun intended! Once again, this is something I really wanted to do for many years. Mark and I definitely clicked which came through as we started the writing project, lyrics literally bouncing between us and developing into a really good flow quickly. The first song we wrote was 'My Queen, My Empress,' which started as a Reggae track and described the feelings Mark had for his baby daughter. At some point we went up to Ipswich where the song was either recorded or re-recorded- too long ago to recall this accurately. Mark did another cover of it later in a different genre, however, I like the original best! 

Ipswich was without doubt an experience and a half. Without going into too much detail I really felt the depth of the vibes... think hazy! TJ Production studio was owned by a Jamaican friend of Mark's who was there with his crew. That was one of my wildest studio experiences, especially memorable as they recorded more than the one song and brought along a singer,  Kyra Jae, to write and sing 16 bars of vocals. I remember sitting there and writing 16 bars of rap, just because I felt like it, which certainly made an impact. I can't spit 4 shit so to speak, but back in the day I actually wrote rap pretty well and had connections with some extremely good rappers, all American. To this day DHP, Da Hood Politician, still wants me on one of his tracks- DWL- with this accent? At some point during the night it started to rain extremely heavily and one of the guy's girlfriend phoned to check on him. She said a few words which he took and ran with, producing an entire track. This is one of my top memories, that feeling of being present throughout an instantaneous recording experience.

The Bop was written in London, however, I was not present when it was recorded. This was a fun track to write and originally the concept was based along the lines of sitting on a bus with your headphones on, cut off from everything. It developed from there, which you can follow in the lyrics, really showing how music is a form of escapism, which I can verify following my hospital experience- the perfect track! For more on this subject, I wrote recently about my techniques to survive during depression and music really helped me then- changed my life in fact!

I hope to have time in which to do some more song writing going forwards- it's been quite a few years. In fact, it's time to experience a long period of excellent health which would enable me to use more of my times productively. Amen to that. 

Over to you!!! Do you have a great story to tell? What have you overcome and how? Are you organizing an event that you’d love to share? Have you written an article, poem or short story you would like featured? If so, please contact me with brief info via my Facebook Group Its Braap and I will get back to you. And subscribe to our YouTube channel at  Its Braap TV

Jaz McKenzie~ The Word Magician