The Writer's Block: Mag of October

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So October has come and with it the chill in the wind. Also, I’d advise you to beware of ghosts, ghouls or the odd homeless person. Anyhow, September was an inconsistent month. On one side we had a new SS champion but on the other side only 2 pieces made the HOF. Well, with a plate of pasta in tow, let’s delve into the meat of things. Hopefully, it should be a good read and you can leave your adorations or hate in the form of feedback.
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To recap on the previous F and F, we talked about Chris Black, biters and other general pest control measures. So, were my pest control methods effective…I don’t know, this sites full of roaches so the previous month can’t be used as a benchmark due to inconsistencies. Kind of like how you can’t truly test the PS3 or the Xbox360. There is no way to have a benchmark for the systems to be tested against, why am I telling you this? Well, it has been fervently discussed in the Vidiot Stadium, with the odd insults hurled as well, interesting stuff. As for OM, guys I am really disappointed that only 2 pieces made it into HOF. Furthermore, they were both collaborations and not solo pieces. Either the OM readers are misers and have lobster mentality or people are just not writing up to par.

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Whichever one it is, we need some CHANGE!

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The Mag: Frontpage News!____________________________________________
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Interview
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Interview conducted by: P. Macto
Interviewee: James?
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P. Macto

So, how is life, work, things and binges?

James?

Life is good, I've managed to fuck up with two great girls in two months and I have memory problems from alcohol. Work is great because I don't have a job - still searching, and I'm about to move into my first house which isn't too exciting, no job = no rent.

P. Macto

You said you wanted to give me £50, you must have forgot due to drinking....Anyhow, it seems writing has taken a backseat in recent times so, where has the focus and drive shifted to?

James?

It's not so much just writing, even my art has stopped, graffiti's stopped, design has stopped as well as all my writing. I still do a bit here and there to pass time, but other than that I think my life's just losing track. A lot of it is to do with my independence, I guess when you throw yourself in the deep end it takes up a big part of your time trying to swim.

Hustle hustle hustle! Haha

P. Macto

Yeah, creativity for me is driven by motivation. You can't be motivated when your environment or current life experience is de-motivating. So, I recently read 2 of your poems, like most of them, you have a style that seems like you’re talking to the person. Present tense like, personally I like that style a lot, is there any reason you choose to right like that?

James?

It's easy, because it's exactly how I’d speak it. And there's no point in trying to dress something up - I'm a designer and live by the rule of simplicity. Say enough but not too much. I think it helps invite people to get on my level - rather than impress I aim to connect, and in my eyes that's the point of creativity in any social setting.

P. Macto

Good answer, I agree with it to an extent..Personally, I like to make things much grander or more subtle, at time more exaggerated. What do you think are the main problems or flaws in current RB poetry?

James?

The main problem is reputation. The less reputation you have, the less you're allowed to say. If you try and say something really outspoken you get suppressed and told you're trying too hard to impress. But if you enjoy a reputation on RB all you need to do is speak and people will conjure up a world of praise for you - I’m guilty of taking advantage of that but at least I’m down to earth about it
Rather not name names of the people I wish would see differently, but they aren't on any roster I’m on and they don't have posts by me in their threads.

P. Macto

Dammit, I'm retired in UE...hope this interview takes me out of the equation lol....what are your opinions on a previous Mod, Kevin Brown?

James?

Lol, you're not in the equation and neither is anybody that's been in UE, apart from maybe one or two from the WV days, but it's been ironed out. Kevin Brown I think is a great creative writer. I don't say poet, for a lot of picky reasons, but regardless I think he's just a little too stubborn. In the previous IE I remember being ostracised by him because I beat Gemeaux with a verse he claimed 'Had no content', although it's the way I’ve always written and it's the way I still write today.

P. Macto

I remember that, I had to explain to him what 'content' I saw, anyhow the reason I asked that was because any current mod that swayed as much as he did would be booted from the league, do you think it comes back to reputation again?

James?

RB = Reputation Battles. And yes now you put it that way, he did sway lmao. Didn't notice that him attacking me was actually swaying :/ Yeah it's all reputation; it's not what you know it's who you know. Just as much as it's about how you present yourself. Anybody can act big, but stick a HoF in their sig and they're pretty much taking leaps and bounds up the rep-ladder.

P. Macto

Reputation does and will continue to play a big part of RB. Another problem I have is when people say a piece doesn't have emotion....when you read or write a piece, how do you make it more emotional without fabricating that emotion, as I truly believe many RB readers prefer fabricated emotion than the actual raw feel.

James?

All you have to do to fabricate is exactly as the word means. Find interesting words that go well together and that's pretty much it. Anything else such as fitting it to a structure, keeping a foundation underneath your words etc, is basic ability to write a piece. A lot of people do prefer it, but the most enjoyable part of that is being able to get a good response out of the same people with something simple, the way I prefer to write. Much more satisfying on a pleased-audience perspective.

P. Macto

Great answer, young bucks should take heed...Anyhow, have you ever been told your piece has too much or not enough imaginary? If so, what the hell is imaginary, even I don't know that (no that isn't a typo, I have actually seen people say imaginary countless times lol)

James?

I don't know haha, the most obvious meaning is originality, even though it'd be grammatically off with that word. Ahh, I guess if we go with imagery, I’ve been told both. Even on one piece. I guess I write for myself so you can take what you want from it on the imagery scale; there really isn't a lot to my writing as far as visuals go though. I think people are too hung up that they need to 'see' something in some writing rather than be able to connect with the writing. On a rap site, people should bare in mind that they nod to music because they connect and agree with it, from either the sound or the lyrics, or both. No visuals needed to be able to comprehend what somebody's saying.

P. Macto

Yeah that is true, I have seen piece that are littered with good and valid description and metaphors be told that there was a lack of imaginary, say originality or creativity people! Back to you, do you think that certain writers, due to their age, really don't know any more than 2 components of imagery, description and metaphors are like the 2 components seem to be paramount.

James?

I wouldn't say age, since being on RB I’ve seen people of all types treat it like the trinity of writing. But that's not to say they aren't good components, I mean if used well they can make a piece. Basically there are factions of writers that live by it, and then there are the writers that go against it just because the writers they respect say its bollocks. The people who are above it are far and few nowadays, it started out as a rule of thumb, now it's an OM and PS culture.

P. Macto

That it is indeed. If you could give advice, no longer than 1 average sentence, to newer or struggling writers what would it be?

James?

Ok, advice to newer writers - we're RB, we don't care what you write. Write for yourself, and remember: he who dares, wins.

P. Macto

Well good advice, any last shout outs or cliche stuff you wanna say?

James?

UE, PE, Lazy heads, alcoholics anonymous, Mythical Soul Dragon Killer, and all my d/r's, hold tight!

P. Macto

Thanks for the interview. Well that's all Mozart wrote and the fat lady sung.
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The nominations that made HOF for September will be listed here.
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Mentors
by Cry and Chris Black

An interesting collaboration. This piece was similar to the ‘Old School’ Tupac track. Though, it did make things seem a little bleaker than they are. Though, I was compelled to agree with many of the points this piece made therefore, it was inducted into the HOF.

Reclusive Rehab
by Bobericc and Ntalek

Surprisingly, the only other piece to make HOF was rather rant-ish. I don’t know, maybe peeps are getting all emotional and stuff. This piece had a slick flow, real good and fluid and also contained some intelligent lines. Good work guys.
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This segment will reflect the feelings that readers have on a group of, randomly chosen, writers.
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The guys who were part of the Jury in this edition were Truth, Messiah, Cry and Engivale, and as a Jury they have been given a slight amount of anonymity…whereas their comments will be displayed but you, as a reader, will not know who said what.
The writer who will be commented upon are Mariah, Spoken Deity, Ntalek, Martyr and last but not least Brandon Cee . So the Jury is out folks!
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Mariah

Comment by the Judge:
An upcoming writer, who at her young age has shown signs of intelligence though, the intelligence is often tainted by immaturity. Well, Jury do you agree?

Jury member #1:
To me when she joined I thought she was just Brandon’s little sister fooling around after he had shown her the site but she developed her skills very quickly in the text and topical areas. She used her brother’s advice and many others on the board to broaden her mind, think outside the box, and learn to get so many different takes on the topics in which crossed her path and begun to execute them to a very high standard. Now in the short stint she has had in the major leagues on our boards she has become a highly respected head and a force to be reckoned with, I have to say that she is becoming a complete member on the site and being just 15 years old she has the possible future to become a legend.

Jury member #2:
well, the chick is good. really cryptic and intense writing, but good nonetheless... sometimes she's a bit of a rambler... she can say weird things that have nothing to do with her pieces as well some of the time... occasionally she's over confident, but has backed her tough talk up with results in the past.

Jury member #3:
I think she has what I like to call "young writer's syndrome" - where she thinks most of her stuff is golden, but in reality, she'll go back and look at it in four years and shake her head. Then everything she writes at that stage will be better, but four more years after that, she'll again be ripping the old stuff apart. She has the talent, who knows if she has the discipline, but she is still stuck trying to find a voice and an identity as a writer, her work tends to mimic the work of other writers she's seen and that's a good start, she just needs to develop some more opinionated work. Once she knows more about the world around her, she'll be ready to describe it.

Jury member #4:
Mariah is overrated plain and simple. Also, she has lame comebacks for all the hate she gets. Chris Black was right about everything he's ever said about her. The IJL-lumminati conspiracy is very real if IJL is in your sig you'll reap the benefits of it immediately, I believe Mariah is a prime example. However besides a few accusations where the Sarah Palin in her arose and needed to be smacked back down we haven't argued, she is also a very responsible moderator.
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Spoken Deity

Comment by the Judge:
He's a guy with a cool head and a good knack for word placement. His poetry is often interesting and thought provoking. What say Jury?

Jury member #1:
Spoken Deity is as chill as chill gets. A great writer and also someone who has the best intentions of the site and its members at heart. It was an honor working with him and i send a late congratulations to him for making IJL.

Jury member #2:
Quite an unknown quantity with me to be completely honest with myself, this guy just kind of hit the board and hit the ground running in my eyes. He now has become quite the poet and is becoming well known across the poetry ranks in Poetic Scriptures, having had a few pieces inducted into the hall of fame and now beginning to show his way in the OM section also, like I said I don’t know to much about him, but I enjoy reading whatever he writes, be in topical or poetry and expect him to come good by the end of next year and challenge for a season title.

Jury member #3:
on a poetry standpoint, the dude is brilliant. Really has room to grow in OM, but I can say not much. I'm almost certain he will be one of the top writers in the seasons to come.

Jury member #4:
I'm not a big fan of poetry, but I've perused a bit of his work and came to the conclusion he has some real talent. His structure is unique, he doesn't try to write like someone else, he writes like himself, and that is refreshing... A promising writer who should keep elevating.
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Ntalek

Comment by the Judge:
A great guy to talk with, and a great writer to. Though, was his signing out of IE suspect?

Jury member #1:
Fuck Ntalek lol but seriously I love the guys writing and his light attitude. I love his ability to take a joke which is something quite a few of his fellow crew members should absorb.

Jury member #2:
Where do I start with this fellow, he came to rapbattles just another dude wanting the dream and I actually noticed he had talent. So I took him under my wing when I ran a crew back in 06 to help him try and bring out his quality. With the help of people like Baron, me and the other members began to progress faster than I’ve seen anyone else, now he is a solid topical head and solid poetry head, in just 1-1 and a half years I think he has won the award of best rookie/newbie and participates rather well in SS and IE where his elevation shows no signs of stopping. I tip Ntalek to in a couple of years if still here to champ SS and champ IE whilst becoming a countless member in the HOF part of OM.

Jury member #3:
Sometimes I'm just not that into his writing, but then again I don't read his shit that often. I have liked some of his pieces a lot though... this dude's one of them "stuck in between" writers to me.

Jury member #4:
I think he's actually a pretty thought-provoking writer, when he puts his all into it, he's one of the better SS heads and OM writers, sometimes he seems to just half-ass his work though and I think that's just a lack of interest in his topic selections. He needs to write for himself more because that's when his work really shines. Good writer, but he needs to probably get fucked up a little less.
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Martyr

Comment by the Judge:
A good writer. Though, at times his temper or lack of maturity can make him say and do some surprising things. Jury, do you believe in him or against him?

Jury member #1:
A young poetry head, he's decent but I honestly don't know a lot about him. He has work to do, for sure, but he's alright. Just nothing earth-shattering about his work.

Jury member #2:
He may be a bit pushy when it comes to critique... he has that mentality that says I'm better than everyone here, but hasn't really shown it in my opinion. Maybe he is, maybe he isn't... but really I don't think the dude writes enough. That or I'm just missing his pieces when he drops them.

Jury member #3:
Very good head in my eyes and I believe on his day can slug with the very best of them. His writing skills are unique in my eyes and I don’t think there are many on the site who can match him when it comes to harbouring a topic and then utilising other things to nail his desired result. Just joining A.I I feel the guidance he will receive why he is there will make him follow in the path of so many others to grace this site. As I stated before with his technique and his self confident mind he could quite easily get HOF every month, legends and move on to higher things in the not so distant future.

Jury member #4:
Mart is an underrated writer. He brings something pure to light every time his pen hits the pad. He's another guy who has the best intentions of the site and its members at heart and I wish to collaborate with him asap.
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Brandon Cee

Comment by the Judge:
A good writer with a great sense for flow and rythm. Does the Jury agree?

Jury member #1:
Brandon Cee is a great writer. He is also someone i can just hit up on aim and chat about nothing with. He hasn't let his RB success go to his head either so kudos to Brandon.

Jury member #2:
A guy who shot to fame over night in my eyes, he’s been here for a few years and developed his own style and didn’t let other people criticise it and has got many HOF’s during his time at Rb by writing some very captivating stuff. The reason I stated he shot to fame over night is because of SS – Season 6. If someone had told me he was gunna win I’d have laughed not because I thought he sucked but because I didn’t think he had that higher standard of writing ability to match people like Tim, Baron P and so on, how did he prove me wrong, he wrote fantastic piece after fantastic piece and took the crown to join the few other heads to do so but backed up what he wrote in SS with drops of pure quality in OM. Brandon has since calmed down a little on his writing to focus on audio which I feel is a shame, I think Rb could do with his consistency and his 100% effort. Good writer in my eyes.

Jury member #3:
Same style, same wording, same rhyme scheme as Mariah... imo, they're both on the same exact level. and sometimes I even think they're the same person as far as their writing goes... it's always been a bit fishy, but it would also make perfect sense that one taught the other how to write and it rubbed off. Brandon actually surprised everybody by champing an SS season, but he did it, and you can't not give dude credit... he's a good writer...

Jury member #4:
I think he's in that phase of "I'm 19 so I'm a grown-up." Maybe he's 20 now. Anyways, he's got a good head on his shoulders; I just don't think his true talent is in writing. His best work still leaves him behind the best on this board, which isn't a bad thing because he's multi-talented - his singing ability is probably the best on the board, and for a bunch of people who want to get paid to do audio-rap, Brandon probably has the best chance of actually making money with his vocal talents... As a writer, though, he's just never developed into the type of writer that makes you think differently about life, or tells a story that just really boggles you. Just the creativity is a little lacking, sometimes, is all. Mostly a very solid head, though, he's got an SS championship and though it was a weak season, it's still an SS championship. Only a few other heads have one of those.
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This is a section dedicated to the new kids, the fresh faces of the OM area. The ones, who the vets believe have a shot at HOF and more.
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Written by: Ntalek
Graphics by: P. Macto
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“When we talk in company we lose our unique tone of voice, and this leads us to make statements which in no way correspond to our real thoughts.”
-Friedrich Nietzsche.
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Well, that's all folks. It's been late night writing and due to Eid the mag got delayed. Next month may have a longer delay for 2 reasons. 1. I'm starting University again so will have less time and 2. It'll be my birthday on the 30th so I'll be celebrating whilst you all wait, eyes sore...pressing f5 every second for a sight of the new mag. Anyhow, hope you all enjoyed it and have a safe Halloween. Peace and Love, P. Macto.
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Dope mag.

You read it in 2 minutes :/

Portions..

I didn't read all of the interview.. and barely glanced through the judge and jury section.

Damn.... I got shouted out by Celz like 4 times. :love: UE, the lazy people thing, alcoholics anonymous... *looks at pint of john smiths next to me*, and his dickriders. ha!

great mag p. u caught me off guard... wasnt sure what you were gonna do with my pic lol.... but great job man... keep doing what's your good at... peace

Baron and mariah really NEED to be demodded. I think they are the reasons open mic has pretty much died, I like them both but mariah seems to always put herself in and is bias with who she puts in OM and baron is just lazy. Before these two got modded we had more than 2-4 people in a month, its really killing the fun of open mic with the 2 mods riding certain peoples dick.

Just my thoughts. If this post gets deleted, I'll repost somewhere that the mods of this forum can't delete it, it'll show that they know I'm right.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tragedian.

Baron and mariah really NEED to be demodded. I think they are the reasons open mic has pretty much died, I like them both but mariah seems to always put herself in and is bias with who she puts in OM and baron is just lazy. Before these two got modded we had more than 2-4 people in a month, its really killing the fun of open mic with the 2 mods riding certain peoples dick.

Just my thoughts. If this post gets deleted, I'll repost somewhere that the mods of this forum can't delete it, it'll show that they know I'm right.

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If you said this when Mariah FIRST got modded, I'd agree.


But right now, I disagree entirely. I think their both doing exactly what their suppose to be doing.

Well, thats your thoughts. I've just been watching this happen slowly before I'd turn around and say "they are not doing there job"

It made open mic alot more fun when you could drop a good piece and win HOF.

These two are only putting in like pieces from the best. OR pieces that they liked.

BUT Baron does deserve props for the mag, dope.

Thanks for the kind words all of you guys. Good shit Baron.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tragedian.

Baron and mariah really NEED to be demodded. I think they are the reasons open mic has pretty much died, I like them both but mariah seems to always put herself in and is bias with who she puts in OM and baron is just lazy. Before these two got modded we had more than 2-4 people in a month, its really killing the fun of open mic with the 2 mods riding certain peoples dick.

Just my thoughts. If this post gets deleted, I'll repost somewhere that the mods of this forum can't delete it, it'll show that they know I'm right.

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That's not true...Baron decides if Mariah gets in...stop lying to yourself. I guarantee they both know that and are not cheating you. Plus, the caliber of writers they are - they are judgmental on what goes in...maybe you have to finally work hard to get a mention for once. How hard of a concept is that?

Go Megan Fox, go!

I'm not talking about myself. Theres way to many pieces that should be in. Like how does Ntalek and boberic get in? They suck compared to BTK who DIDNT get in. Fuck outta here with that shit.

Your only saying that shit because she's your sister and your little IJL friend. Just like all of RB - you gotta stick up for your groupies.

Shits lame.