"Damn..."

Let me be clear, I am one of the happiest people you will ever meet. I often get in trouble for smiling all the time when shit is "just not funny." lol But recently it seems as if my obstacles have been mounting at an exponential rate and it has been affecting my outlook.

I titled this post "Damn..." because that's occasionally the way I feel about things that happen in my life.

Im sure eveyrone goes through struggles to achieve their dreams with the exception of Hulk Hogan's daughter, RUN DMC's girls, RUN DMC's son, and lil BOW Wow. And since I don't fall on that list, I am obviously not an exception.

I have been trying to find the right producer for my mixtape for quite some time now. A couple weeks ago in DC, I met a guy named Tony Skinn, a professional basketball player currently starting for a team in Italy. We talked, met up, he listened to my music, and his face quickly became scrunched because he thought my stuff was "tough" (meaning good). So he called up a DC producer named Native and told him that he wanted to get me into the studio. Tony explained to me that it was a $100,000 studio complete with a soundfoam booth, all the mixing boards, and a movie theatre. He also told me that Native would consider working with me for free since we had a mutual friend in Tony.
No charge for studio time!!!!
Stupid nice equipment!!!!
This is every musician's dream!
That night and the following week I practiced my verses every day after I got home. I wanted to burn the studio down in one take. I stayed up late just practicing my cadence, my delivery, my tone, my breathing. I practiced everything. Tony had me so hyped I told him I wanted to get in there as soon as possible. So we scheduled our studio time for the first available slot: next Friday at 7pm.
-->Fast forward to next Friday at 7pm: I am waiting on the street as Tony comes to pick me up. (you know how shit always runs later than expected)
--> 7:30pm: Tony scoops me. (picks me up from my residence)
--> 8:00 - 10:00pm: Driving towards the studio. Tony is calling the producer. Native isn't picking up his phone. (This happened for literally two hours...just sitting in the car like WTF)
--> 10:01pm: Tony turns to me and says, "Yo I don't know why he isn't picking up the phone...im sorry...you want me to take you home."
--> 10:02pm: I look down at my blackberry staring at my verses that I was ready to record and I say to myself "Damn...".

Lets review:
- Meet a great connect.
- He likes my music enough to put me on.
- I practice for a week straight.
- I spend an entire week thinking about this moment that could possibly change my career.
- The day comes and....nothing

Its funny because this is the kind of shit that happens on a monthly basis. You get a contact, you try to set something up, then it falls through. And all you can say to yourself is... "Damn..."

As much as it sucks, this is the life of an individual who is trying to pursue his dreams, follow his heart, abandon logical thoughts and conventional lifestyles. This is a day in the life of Horace...just another average guy trying to trade "Dockers for Dunks".

If you've got a Docker to Dunks story that details your struggle while pursuing your dreams, follow me on twitter and I will DM (direct message) you my email. I will take your story and showcase it on the blog!

- Horace