Dart Adams presents The Further Adventures Of Nowhere Man

The past few days have been fairly interesting. I've been asked to write a piece for a friend that was due on Monday which I haven't yet written. Why? I forgot that it was Memorial Day weekend and I'm still recovering from it today. I've also been contacted by more than a few fellow music journalists and bloggers that feel like they don't know if they can continue in the game anymore. More than a few of them have said that the passion is gone for them and things aren't what they thought they'd be like. You have bloggers on one side and people that are in the journalism industry on the other side thinking that the grass is greener where they aren't.

I often get asked for advice about the blogging game and music journalism in regards to how to break into it. What to do, what not to do and how do I manage to keep the passion that I have for blogging about Hip Hop, film or writing in general? Let me first say that I'm not immune to losing my passion for this from time to time and I've "quit" more times than I can count just to show up a couple of days later to write more blogs. Did I get in this too late to capitalize off of my blogging to get a job in music journalism seeing as how the print media is dying and journalism is a dying art in itself? It's sure looking that way! Will I stop? I doubt it, but don't think I don't wake up wondering if I'm even getting anywhere with all of this.

It's bad enough that some of my peers are still on that bullshit thinking that "blogger" is a blanket statement that automatically refers to hack writers that don't fact check and post content irresponsibly in the hopes of being first and getting the most traffic to their site. Bloggers are as different and varied as writers and journalists are. Don't think that just become you have a degree or have a desk or cubicle of your own that there aren't bloggers that could write you out of a job (myself included). If anything the blogger is a by product of readers being disallusioned with the traditional media's lack of objectivity and the deteriorating quality of journalism and not the other way around. Thank God for bloggers, they fill a void that the news and music print and television media haven't been able to fill.

In conclusion, I still write/blog. There may be a time when I either will be forced to choose whether or not to give this up and do something else or I finally get the opportunity to write professionally in some capacity. It may be comic books or graphic novels. It might be screenplays , movie scripts or film treatments. It may even be a novel or perhaps an editorial page of my own, who knows? The bottom line is I 'll be forced to make a decision as well one day. It's frustrating that I get props from so many people and I get my brain picked by folks in the industry so often and people know my name yet and still I have nothing solid or tangible to really show for it yet.

It's all well and good that I have a g-mail account full of messages from peers and writers @ music magazines give me props...I can't take that to the Apple Store down the street and cop an iPhone with it. Respect doesn't pay my bills, either. Trust me, I'm only human and I'm not above frustration. I won't quit but it's important to do what's best for YOU in each of your respective situations. Don't do what I do. I've turned down many a job just so I could have the freedom to say "fuck Cam'ron!". Meanwhile, I'm living off of Maruchan & Ramen Pride noodles...I should try to get them to add a banner! I mean, I'm sure I'm the ONLY blogger in history who got fired from eMusic for complaining about them not giving me more work/money via Twitter. I'm clearly not a good role model for fellow Hip Hop bloggers!

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