This song was the set of lyrics that kick started the writing process 4 this album. It actually wasn’t even a song as much as it was a journal entry. It was my feelings about life at the time. I had started 2 recover from a very messy year of struggle. Themes that I talk about extensively…or I should say things that I would eventually talk about extensively. But writing from this place I was more optimistic…a feeling that would surprisingly diminish over the following years. But at this stage in life things were finally regaining its purity and beauty. I was working on an ambitious concept album that was coming 2gether nicely and I had my 1st child on the way…there was nowhere 2 go but up! It was exciting and scary at the same time but I was ready 2 embrace it. “Life as we know it, trying not 2 blow it theres not 2 many options 4 a lover slash poet…summed up my life as a whole. Pending fatherhood I knew I couldn’t fail anymore…I couldn’t take the ez route…my daughter deserved everything …we deserved it…and I was determined 2 get it. I didn’t have any other option…I could only fake it 4 so long and I was growing tired of pretending that my day job actually had a meaning other than providing a paycheck u know. Music was gonna b what paid my bills but also what soothed my soul…they always say it’s not working when u do something u loved and this…was the only thing I loved, so it was time 2 switch gears.



Unfortunately that was not 2 come 2 pass. The song sat on the shelf for almost 2yrs because I couldn’t find the right hook or centerpiece 2 bring it all 2gether. Im positive I brought 5 or 6 different singers and songwriters 2 the table in hopes of bringing it 2 life and showcasing it’s…idk magic, but nobody seemed 2 have the spark it required. Maybe the feeling wasn’t there 4 them or they couldn’t hear the emotion in the track. It was so special 2 me at the time of writing I didn’t even record my verses 4 reference, I would literally perform it in the studio 4 every writer I brought 2 the table 4 it, cuz I wanted them 2 FEEL what it made me feel…and the results were always, just not what I wanted. Now that’s not saying they were bad ideas…just not what I wanted…they didn’t match my excitement. So I shelved it. Never recorded my vocals…even pondered selling the track.



And Then Magic…

I had been speaking with another local musician 4 quite some time about getting 2gether 2 work on some music…technically I think we discussed working 2gether 4 the good part of a year & a half b4 ever linking up. Between life and scheduling issues it just seemed 2 never lend itself 2 working out. Im also kind of a firm believer in the notion that u cant force anything, so I didn’t push it…I just assumed that when it was time we’d make it happen. So anyway here we r a cpl yrs later. Im once again down on my luck, had jut recently had 2 close the doors on my studio building due 2 epic fuckery by management…So I was back at square 1 …recording in the basement at home, feeling like I had regressed 10yrs & I have this artist come thru 2 check out ideas. We jam a little bit and knock around ideas and the vibe was good, I sent him home with a handful of trax 2 write and vibe 2 just 2 see what he could cook up. On a whim I threw the Ambition instrumental on the disc with no explanation, no concept, no word. Really 4 no reason and thought nothing of it. 48hrs later he hits me back saying he had some ideas he wanted 2 show me. Then he mentions that he had written something 2 the spare track that I had sent as well & I was like cool, I was intrigued by what direction he would take it. I wanna say like a day later he comes thru 2 show me his ideas and im really impressed, like excited impressed because what he came back with was dope and came 2gether really quick by most standards. I was amped. Then he had me put on the untitled track so he could run thru it 4 me. He starts singing…and b4 we even got 2 the hook I knew that THIS…was what the wait was 4…this was the missing link and the song immediately felt complete. The strangest part is that we had never discussed it. never discussed what I was looking 4 or what sound I wanted. Hell he didn’t even hear my verses until AFTER he showed me what he had written. It was kismet. We laid it down and knocked it all out in 1 take. And it’s taken it’s place as 1 of my favorite songs in my catalog…

Ladies and Gentlemen…



Pflames feat Damien

Ambition