August 5, 2002

I've recorded the backing tracks already for that CD and narrowed down which songs are gonna be on that CD, which now has 10 songs. By God's grace, I've chosen one of my favorites beats for the song that I've selected as the first single. Besides singing and playing instruments and recording them, I also love spending time writing and programming beats. 

August 6, 2002

I'm not arrogant and I don't have a chip on my shoulder, but I tend to be quiet and I keep to myself. I do shun certain aspects of the industry. There are certain things in this industry that I cannot get excited about. Some aspects of it  just aren't good and I've known that for a long time. If something holds no value to me, why should I pretend that it does.

Just because something is successful, it doesn't mean I like it. There are many successful CDs that I do not like at all and they hold no value to me, but there are some CDs that were not commercially successful that I enjoying listening to. 

August 9, 2002

It's 11:11 pm, it's been a long day and I'm tired. I started work earlier today. There's a new song I'm working on for one of the other 3 CDs I mentioned. This song is not for my CD and it's a style of music that I've liked for a while, but hadn't written in before. By God's grace it turned out really well. I really like it. It's new and interesting and I had fun recording it. Listening to the playback was nice.

I also wrote lyrics for a few other songs that I hadn't finished yet. Those songs are for one of the other albums I mentioned. I have to record those soon, because I've already started recording that CD and I've recorded about a 1/3 of it.

I went out in the afternoon to run some errands and pick up a few things. I made lasagna for dinner. I put it in the oven about 20 minutes ago. I'm gonna take a bath, have dinner, read a few pages of the current book I'm reading, pray and read the Bible and then go to sleep. Goodnight.

August 10, 2002

I'm having a great day. I spoke to my dad this afternoon. As I've said before he is a DJ and musicologist. He's been a DJ for 38 years now. Talking to him this afternoon was a bit emotional. We talked about our family and about music. He spoke about all the musicians he's known over the years, some still living, some have passed.

By God's grace, he really has a gift for music. I always enjoy the stories he tells me about different musicians, producers and athletes (he was a professional soccer player). I always learn something. He has an interview this evening with a German film company. He's done a lot of interviews about music, but he is very humble about it all. 

I recorded a song this evening. Thank God it turned out well. The recording session was really nice. It wasn't a long session. I finished the vocals in about 10 minutes. As usual, I didn't do the background vocals yet, but like I've said before, I don't really like doing lead and backgrounds in the same session. It's not like I'm tired though and it's just a few lines. 

I just tried a piece of chocolate named after a famous classical music composer. He composed a lot of great symphonies. He spent many years composing music and now his face is stuck on a little candy bar. I don't know if I should laugh or cry...but the chocolate was good though.

I'm taking the evening off. I'm going out to the movies...and no I don't have a date. I'll tell you when I do. There are people asking me out a lot, but I don't think they are right for me. By God's grace I'll know when I find the right guy.

August 14, 2002

I spent a part of the morning working on the British albums I've been putting together. I'm also trying out several new computer programs today. Some of them are really good. A few months ago I was pleasantly surprised with one studio program in particular. It's great when you find products that actually add something new and significant to your work.    

I'm going to record in a few minutes. It's a really lovely song from one of the other CDs I'm working on. I've been singing and humming the song on and off for the last half an hour while I worked on other things. I'm ready to record it now. I'm looking forward to recording it and hearing how it will turn out. It's always interesting hearing the playback.

August 16, 2002

It's 5:49 pm. I just did some recording. I was working on one of the other CDs I mentioned. It was a good recording session. I feel like God really inspired me. It's really great when you feel that way when you're working.    

God willing, the CD single for Contemporary Girl will be available on line for purchase on the shop page of the web site shortly and then in record stores shortly after. Contemporary Girl will also have a DVD single that will be released when the video is released. The DVD includes both videos for the song and some behind the scenes footage.

My album is titled "Aisha" and is tentatively scheduled for release in December, providing I finish it in time. It's about 85% completed now. I would put more excerpts from the album on line to give you a preview of the CD, but for security reasons, I'd rather wait until closer to the CD's release date. I'm also trying to finish the other projects I've been working on in order to release them right after my CD.   

My little god-brother just called me and told me he got his glasses today. He was having trouble seeing the board from where he sits in class. School started this Wednesday and children were not too enthusiastic about it. Yet parents are strangely happy and celebrating. They get their homes back after summer vacation, so of course they are happy. During the conversation today he said he will call me back because he has to go walk his dog "Runnings," as in the Jamaican phrase cool runnings. I mean, how Jamaican can we get. Whatever happened to names like lassie or spot.

August 17, 2002

Made good progress today, praise God. I recorded three and a half songs. I didn't finish the 4th one. I started recording at about 6pm this evening, took a few breaks and finished recording at 11:50pm. Thank you, hold your applause! -Aisha waves like British royalty-. Yes, I took my vitamins today, well no, not really (though I should). It was a wonderful recording session. I feel great. I think it's the most I've recorded in one day. By God's grace I was so inspired. These songs were ballads from the other CDs that I'm working on, not my debut album. 

I did some writing for a up-tempo song this morning, but I'm not finished with that song yet and with the type of song it is, if I'm not careful, it will end up sounding cheesy. Earlier in the day, I spent time scouting locations for one of the projects I'm working on. I enjoy scouting locations. I know what I want the project to look like and if I'm not thrilled about a place, I'm not going to want to film there.

There is a lot of paperwork involved with filming, whereas with music it's different because it's confined to studios. It's mostly music notation and with home studio recording, the production coordination isn't as complicated. It's basically start recording at this time, stop when you've finished the recording or when you're tired and you know the address. The kitchen is the cafeteria and the living room is the lounge...ok now I'm laughing. However, with any kind of filming you have to go through different channels and there is a lot more work...not that I'm complaining.

August 2002

2:12 am. I spent yesterday doing paperwork and working on the retail side of the company. It's great starting from the ground up and watching the company grow. It makes you appreciate everything so much more. Yesterday, I watched a program on TBN where the preacher talked about journaling the accomplishments God has blessed you with in your life and it made me think of this page which is my diary. I write about my day and my thoughts on this page and I really enjoy that. It also helps me organize my thoughts. I do thank God for the great progress that has been made and I feel really good about what has been accomplished. The diary shows the progress that's been made over the past few months.

We had a lot of rain yesterday evening for a couple hours starting at about 5:00 PM... and when it rains, I have a tendency to get sleepy. I mean rain works on me like kryptonite. I get drowsy and start yawning. So, I went to take a nap. I carried pen, paper and a micro cassette recorder with me. I wrote and sang a few more lines to the song I'd been working on then fell asleep. I slept for about 2 hours. I got the melody and some of the lyrics for the song on Saturday, but didn't finish the lyrics. I'm not gonna record the song tonight though. I haven't mixed my album yet, but it is almost completed.   

I haven't eaten dinner yet. The day before I made stir fry for dinner and carrot juice and tonight I made barbeque/jerk chicken. My mom likes carrot juice, so I made it for her. She doesn't like when I add sugar to the carrot juice, yet she will eat a slice of cake. I'm just teasing and don't tell her I said that. I like adding condensed milk to it.  

I'm yawning now, goodnight.

August 30, 2002

Please read the August 30th article on the sound off page, thank you click here