Y'knahmsayin? (Do You Know What I'm Saying?) Y'knahmean? (Do You Know What I Mean?)

by FRANK PETERS

Overview

Does this sound familiar? “Grammy Award winning hip hop artist (fill in the blank) has been arrested again for (fill in the blank)”. Regardless of the level of success these artists have accomplished, many cannot free themselves from the shackles of the streets. Either by association with people who still live that lifestyle, the “I’m rich and above the law” mentality, or I need to get in trouble so I can appear to be “keeping it real” so my street credit rises, these artists have an uncanny knack for finding trouble.

If you accept that people are drawn to the music, the question is simple. What do you do about it? Do you ignore it and hope that they outgrow it. I learned “Hope is not a strategy.” If we accept people are going to listen to the music anyway, the best thing to then do is to highlight the positives. Use this book. It gives positive, uplifting, thought-provoking, inspirational, and motivating quotes and paraphrases from some of hip-hop’s most controversial artists. This book is a tool to help. Enjoy!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780983196013
Publisher:	TDP ENTERPRISES, LLC
Publication date:	12/01/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	265 KB

About the Author

Frank Edward Peters II was born March 25, 1975 in Los Angeles CA. He always had a penchant for creative writing and memorization. Although, as a child, he was not a fan of music and could not dance to save his life, he still had an attraction to the business of it at an early age.

Like most teenagers at the time, Frank’s friends were deeply into Hip Hop music. Two of them, Eltra Moody and Kenny Morone, formed a rap group MyndTwyst at Westchester High School in Los Angeles, CA. Frank recognized an opportunity for big money. He approached his friends and asked them how much they would pay him for being their friend and they laughed in his face. They suggested that if they hit it big, he could be their “roadie” and carry their bags which didn’t sit well with Frank. He did research to find other positions since he didn’t rap, dance, dj, nor produce.

Frank left his dream of getting rich with his friends alone as he searched other opportunities to get money, like finding a job. He landed jobs working at minimum wage places such as Taco Bell, and McDonald’s throughout high school. None of these jobs suited him well.

Although Frank loved to learn and was identified by the State of California as being “gifted and talented”, he did not do well in the traditional school setting. He received poor grades, not because the work was too difficult but on the contrary, too slow. His attention would wander. He would act out in class and it caused him to be expelled from a few schools. In addition, he was angry after his best friend, Jason Jones was killed in a gang-related shooting. Frank was conflicted. The gang culture weighed heavily on him. He even considered joining and retaliating until his friend Damon Farris (who was shot with Jason) advised that Frank had a different role to fill like being a not a gangmember.
In order for him to graduate on time, Frank checked himself out of Westchester High School and into Del Rey Continuation so he can study at his own pace. It not only allowed him to graduate on time but to actually finish school a semester early. He considered what Damon told him. He mulled over college. He would eventually apply although he was not accepted due to a 1.67 GPA.