Ladies and Gentleman, the wait is finally over. FUCK SWAG IS HERE!!!!

Click either picture to download and, for God’s sake, ENJOY!

The only shows on tv I watch

And I know I haven’t really been nurturing this blog like I should but you just wait ’til after the mixtape drops

Here’s where the fear kicks in

Being an artist is a very tricky thing. This past 6(?) months (or however long it’s been from the idea of this mixtape to its culmination) has been filled with mainly 2 emotions: excitement and FEAR. Allow me to explain:

EXCITEMENT!

And why wouldn’t you, I or anyone else feel excited after  accomplishing something? After finishing something that they set out to do- especially a task as off the beaten path and all-consuming as this? Plus, knowing a few different outlets that are at your disposal and willing to let people know about said project.

It’s great because excitement allows me to say, “This is it! THIS is what’s gonna get my name out there and catapult me a place where I can start making money by doing what I love.” With the connections, good feedback, and amount of effort put into “Fuck Swag,” I can only help to feel excited and as though this is really the last first step I’ll ever have to take.

But then there’s

FEAR

And this is where things start to suck. What if, nobody likes it? Or even worse, what if, even with all of my connections and friends, nobody even listens to it? If it doesn’t even make a “boop” on the radar? James, what if you put a chunk of your life into this project (both subject-wise and time-wise) and your life stays exactly the same.

Ughh, those last three words make me cringe but, it’s definitely a real fear that I have. The entire process has been a roller coaster with excitement as the peaks and fear as the valleys; two extremes that make working on this almost everyday a quite the chore at times.

Maybe some of you know how badly I want this. Chances are, a lot of you may not. Well, I want it more than anything. So for me to be overtaken by crippling fear 50% of the time I’m trying to make progress with music is..well..it’s just horrible design. And it fucking sucks.

I’m not writing this for sympathy.

But as my deadline hangs over my head a mere three days away with quite a bit to do, and as my pupils contract and chest tightens when I think about what kinds of results it could have- well, I figured I’d just let you in on that. Something you probably don’t see or hear from a lot of other musicians out there.

My birthday is the release date. Is that not dedication. Yeah, it’s not a huge deal, but it’s my 21st! What are my plans? Releasing the mixtape. As of now, that’s all.

Stay well,

The Machine
James C. Shahan III

FUCK SWAG Update!!!

Yes, I did write a “Say You Will” remix. No, I wasn’t going to put it on the mixtape…until today. I went to re-record the hook of one of the songs and figured I’d record this remix at the same time. After it was all said and done, I walk in, and everyone is stunned. Bottom line, if I don’t put it on the mixtape, people will have me killed. So, Fuck Swag just got 20 tracks! Wooohoooo!

Oh, and don’t worry: it’s still coming out on the 26th!

Who loves ya?

Song from upcoming mixtape “Fuck Swag”

Just wanted to give you guys a little something before the mixtape hits on the 26th. Enjoy!

http://www.imeem.com/themachineraps/music/KxAFGAz6/the_machine_i_aint_got_nuthin/

Daily Wisdom #1

“Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another” – Either someone famous that she got it from, or my friend Vivi McKinney.

Ow…my BALLS!

I don’t get it…I just don’t get it. I caught some of this Matthew McConaughey and Katie Holmes movie the other day- the one where they’re looking for treasure- and wouldn’t you know it, a guy gets hit in the balls. With. A. SHOVEL! Now, usually I would just cringe and get over it but not this time. My mom, who was the primary watcher of said film, started laughing when this happened. So that got me to thinking: Why do people feel ok laughing at a man who’s just been hit in the jewels?

Why is it that as a whole, our society can see a man’s testacles being smashed and get humor out of it? Do you know how much that hurts!?! Ladies, I know you have to go through childbirth, which is a pain that no man will ever understand, but if there was something that we do go through that could ever get .0000000001% close to that, it’d be a blow to Mr. Scrotes.

Of course, the biggest mystery to me is why guys think it’s funny and do it to each other. My DAD has hit me there and believe me, I was not in a laughing mood.

Here’s one of those rare double standards where men are the ones who are at the disadvantage. Would anyone dare laugh if someone took a fist to a woman’s ovaries? I think not. Hell, we wince when a woman is struck in any kind of fashion. Don’t get confused, I’m definitely NOT complaining about that; it shouldn’t be any other way. Alls I’m saying is, since it isn’t ok to hit a woman anywhere, we need to at least have the same courtesy about a man and his genitalia. Or at least not to laugh when it happens. Thanks.

Maximum Introtential

Hello world. For those of you who don’t know me, allow me to introduce myself.

I am The Machine and I am a rapper (well, really an emcee, but most people don’t know the difference so, using the “r-word” is just easier for people to understand). My new mixtape entitled Fuck Swag will be available for free download on February 26th (my 21st b-day!). I will post the link for download here as well as on myspace and facebook. I also write for URB magazine. I’m a serious gamer (fighting games are my main shit) and infinitely interested in all things sexual.

Music is my life however and even in these desperate times, I am simply trying to achieve my dream: to be a world-renowned emcee. Not because I need to be famous; because I need to be heard.

So, what is themachineraps.wordpress.com? Well, it’s a place where you can connect with me, both before and after the fame, fortune and glory. Here’s where you’ll find rants, raves, stuff I care about, stuff hopefully you care about and, of course, my music.  Don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I love meeting new people and I want to know that people are listening!

Happy travels,

The Machine

P.S. Yeah, I post under “dolphinassistedbirth” and not “themachine” because that was taken. Besides, it was part of a particularly flabbergasting episode of Penn and Teller’s “Bullshit.”