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Growing up I had several nicknames. I believe everyone should have a signature. Everyone should have a brand that they can call their own. Your brand is the most valuable thing you own. It’s something that uniquely makes you who you are and set’s you apart from other people. From Michael Jordan’s “Jumpman” to Chris Paul’s “CP3”, we know Russell Wilson as “DangerRuss” or Lebron James simply as “The King”. Myself I had Coolcutta Calhoun and Cpreezy. But my favorite nickname growing up was Double-O AK. It sounds really funny I know, but it was a signature that was important to me. It stood for:

O-One

O-OF

A-A

K-Kind

OOAK or Double-O AK. In high school, some people just called me Double O. I remember my best friend coming up to me and using that name all of the time. I remember in college when I was in the marching band at Winston-Salem State and people calling me O-Oak and asking, what does it mean? My response, I am one of a kind. I am an original. There is nobody else like me. God made me unique in my own right. I do not care about fitting in. My question to my readers out there is, what is your signature? What is your brand? It means much more than just your nickname. Be original, be unique. After all, that is what Double O AK is all about anyway. Be one of a kind. Dare to be different. Don’t conform to the mold that society tries to fit you in. Dare to dream! Have faith! God did not put you hear to “blend in” but to “stand out”. One of my favorite songs is a Christian rap song by rappers Lecrae and Andy Mineo entitled “Say I wont”. In the song they go back in forth on the hook, “Say I wont, why ya’ll scared to be different?” That’s it! Roman’s chapter 12 tells us “Do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Powerful is the thought of non conformity. I’m not saying that a nickname is the answer to all life’s problems. I am simply stating that God obviously values originality and diversity. If He didn’t, He would have made us all the same! This is why i created Vintage Retroman! I am different and i know it. The things of that past delight me. I challenge you my reader, that if you do not have a signature or a brand for yourself, make one! You will pat yourself on the back later.

V.R.

The excitement, exhilaration, and nervousness of taking the car out of park and letting it slowly roll for the first time. Today, as a father I had the fun and slightly scary opportunity to take my 14 year old daughter out driving for the first time. The look on her face when I told her that we were headed to the empty auction overflow lot was priceless! She couldn’t believe that not only was she about to drive, but actually drive DAD’s car! A V6 3.5 liter full sized sedan is not the ideal first car for most teenagers, but like my dad said to me almost 18 years ago “This car has more character than your mom’s 4 cylinder 1.8 liter.”

As she slowly and reluctantly moved the gear shift from park to drive, my heart pounded. It pounded not only because the car moved forward. It pounded harder because my little girl, my oldest of 4 children, was driving. It pounded because I had flashbacks of this much younger princess in her room, resembling my current other 6 year old little girl. It pounded because of the thoughts before high school, before movie dates with friends, before boys liking her, she was so dependent on me and her mother. She is becoming an independent young lady. Oh God, am I losing my little girl?

Will she get her license, become so engulfed with school, work and friends and forget that I even exist? As I am caught in a whirlwind of thoughts, she is so intently focused on not making a mistake. “Put my turn signal on. Break slowly around the curve. Don’t hit anything. Just a little gas, not too much” she whispers to herself. I tell myself “she needs me, stay focused!” Alright sweetie, you are doing a great job! Just continue to be cautiously confident like you are doing, and you will be just fine. After watching her drive for about 45 minutes and guiding her on how to park and make a 3 point turn, she was getting the hang of it! She looses her edge, and begins smiling and laughing! Between several exchanges of “good job” and “it’s okay, you will get it right the next time”, my heartbeat slows.

Something tells me, “This is what you are supposed to be doing. Keep doing your job dad.” When it was all said and done my daughter looked at me, smiled and said “Thanks for taking me out driving and believing in me. I feel much better now.” On the ride out when I was back in the drivers seat, I asked “Do you want to go to the store and get a few things?” She said a resounding Yes with a big smile! I knew at that moment that I had not lost my daughter at all. Just because she is growing up, doesn’t mean she is going off. Just because she has friends, doesn’t make me or her mother any less important. Just because she has a life, doesn’t mean she doesn’t want me as part of it.

This was a defining moment for me. This is not only because she drove successfully. What makes these moments so sweet is the fact that God gave them to us as opportunities to teach our children and mold them into model citizens. It is important for my children to grow up to be safe drivers. You never know, that could save someone’s life one day. For me it was only a test drive, 45 minutes out of my day. For her it was a confidence booster, a chance to let her friends know “Hey, I know how to drive too! I have done it with my dad.” Most importantly, it is our kids saying “Hey dad, thank you for trusting me enough to take the risk of letting me grow up”. Think back to when you were 14, and it will all make sense.

You know what I find incredible? Music artists today really have it made as far as ease of work in making songs and albums. It’s easier than ever today to grab a smartphone, record a song, make a dance, put it on YouTube or other social media and you have the next big hit right? Everything is computerized, user friendly technology in production, with voice altercation, and visual with HD quality video recording. Soulja Boy truly revolutionized the use of this technology back in 2007 with his hit YouTube song and dance “Crank dat”. Truth be told, anyone with a phone today can come up with a song, record it and if it’s “lit” enough with the millennial’s, you may hear it on the radio. One would think with this ease of work in the music industry, an influx of new artists, and more exposure than ever before that record sales would be soaring in 2017 right? Wrong. According to a Billboard article in 2016 by Ed Christman, “Album units overall fell 13.6 percent, with 100.3 million total sales. Digital album sales fell to 43.8 million, from 53.7 million in the first half of last year. New album releases have been most affected by the continued contraction, falling 20.2 percent overall, to 44.1 million units.” What are the reasons behind the decline? This is where I beg to differ with many people. Industry insiders believe it mostly has to do with the ease of availability of music, social media, leaking albums early, illegal downloads, etc. While that may be true, I believe the the quality of the music has had the greatest impact on music sale decline the past decade in spite of easy availability. Remember back in the 80’s and 90’s when hip-hop had everything from turntables to beat machines? I remember growing up and watching reviews on albums like Dr Dre’s “The Chronic” and Tupac’s “All eyes on me” go multiplatinum over periods of weeks. The i would grab the latest edition of “The Source” magazine to see the mic rating, in hopes of my favorite new albums receiving the coveted “5 mics” Countless other Hip-Hop and R&B artists would put so much time and effort into their albums, we couldn’t wait for them to be released. From DMX to TLC, from NWA to Outkast, from Too Short to A Tribe called Quest, from Bad Boy to Death Row these artists were mainstream, yet seem to take their work personal regarding quality. Isn’t it ironic that they did not have the technology of today? Isn’t it ironic that the availability was no where near what it is today? Yet, there was something so nostalgic about walking to the record store with that yellow Sony Walkman, spending the $10-$15 on a cassette of Nas’s “Illmatic”, and letting the whole album play from beginning to end over and over, and feeling like it was the first time you’ve heard it? Classic albums and classic artists put in the hard work to make quality albums, and the quality is what sold them in my opinion. We still see glimpses of hope today in creative artists like Kendrick Lamar and Drake, whose last albums were quality and both just so happened to go platinum plus despite early leaks and illegal downloads. It does still happen, but it is very rare today. In conclusion of my analysis, i just have one thing to say. Believing voice altercation can replace lyrism, digital technology can replace studio time and talent, and social media exposure can replace the grind of selling an album based on it’s merit, is the definition of musical irony, in my humble opinion.

Remember your dream? Remember how before life got in the way, you once felt that the skies the limit? Before the weight of your job…before the responsible “adult life”. The truth is, everyone has regrets. No one has accomplished everything they set out to do. Still, does that mean that adulthood should take away your dreams? No! As a kid growing up in the 80’s in North Carolina, i was the youngest of 8 children. Humble beginnings, i grew up in “the hood”. My parents were pretty poor, but worked hard to provide. Our house was always filled with music and smells of soul food. My mom kept a garden, and i would help her keep it up to enjoy fresh vegetables. Probably the only garden in “the hood”. Interesting fact, i was a little black boy that grew up in the Mormon church, conservative with Christian values. As if that was not strange enough, i remember during the day listening to my dads old tapes of James Taylor and the Eagles, and at night sneaking away to my brothers rooms as they listened to NWA and Slick Rick. I had dreams of becoming a star in something. Music, maybe football? Police officer? Maybe…..Fireman, eh, not so much. But one things for sure, i knew i was different. Fast forward to 2017. After spending years in corporate America i felt success, but unfulfilled. My blog is one to open your mind and look at the world through the lens of V.RetroMan. A world of critical thinking, without being overly critical. A world of objectivity, along with understanding. A world dedicated to the realist, while at the same time not selling short the optimist. Welcome to my blog, my world where i encourage those whose dreams have become numb, to step out on faith and activate a new purpose. This is me, Chuck C. aka, V.RetroMan.