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Time has shown that history repeats itself and poetry is the written and spoken beginning of Hip‐Hop... A starved musical world waited patiently on the making and release of the poetry & musical album experience of J. Ivy’s “HERE I AM” and in that time it proved to be worth the wait. Now the album experience of “HERE I AM” is extended into the transcribed format and philosophical journey titled “HERE I AM: THEN & NOW,” which deals with the connectivity of all races, genders and religion. “HERE I AM: THEN & NOW” also speaks to unifying the universal human race in the content and substance of living in the “Now.” The context of this experience uses past events to create a world that can do better because it knows better. It challenges the historical meanings of past struggles and the effects of it on our world today. Surely the inspiration of the album now matches the beautifully extended meanings of the albums song lyrics and additional poetry, giving it further emotional depth to the powerful messages and truths revealed in the poetry and it’s music. It will uplift and inspire the spirit of the reader from whatever place they are standing in. An unlikely weapon to combat negativity would be poetry in everyday domestic wars, but at it’s best it is the most lethal and courageous weapon to choose. The musical form of this book has been given the Moniker as a 2010 – 2011 Independent Classic that the truest of poetry and music critics have said is one of best albums ever made by a Poet/Hip‐Hop artist. Hip‐Hop’s Favorite Poet, J. Ivy, transformed his epic poetic musical gifts into life lessons that can be read and absorbed authentically in it’s literal form. It is sure to re‐bridge Poetry, Hip‐Hop and The Art of Reading. EXCERPT FROM “HERE I AM: THEN & NOW” “The economic structure of the World is truly developing into “The Haves vs. The Have‐Nots.” The middle class is becoming all but extinct and we are now fighting an invisible uphill battle that has been disguised by fear factoring events. As the leaders of the World play chess with our lives, sliding pieces into attack positions in attempt to take down their opposition, we the people have grown scared to speak up against their death defying moves. We are being terrorized by enemies near and far. In the mean time, some have become more powerful by worshipping and doing deeds for the devils of the world. Many of us are exhausted and running on “E.” Many of us are blind and clueless, chasing the tails of our own demons. Most times we can be our own worst enemy, standing firm and tall in the way of our progression. We battle with our selves and those around us. We battle our bosses and teachers, our parents and siblings. We battle the cashier behind the register, the co‐worker, and our peers in class. We battle those that look like us. We battle those that look nothing like us. We battle rival gangs. We refuse to be upstaged so we battle the last person that sang. We battle our egos and our egos battle everything standing in its way. We battle the beast inside and the beauties that stand by our sides. We battle the man in the mirror blackening our own visions. We battle our dreams with daggering doubts. We battle our mothers and our fathers. We battle our depressions and our obsessions. We battle our habits and our low self‐esteem. We battle those overseas. We battle the next‐door neighbor and the kids on the block. We battle over spoken words that we are unable to retrieve. We battle over money, oil, and land. We battle for control. We battle for women. We battle our doctor’s request. We battle our body’s natural remedies. We battle our spouses and miscommunications. We battle racism. We battle weight. We battle over church and state. We battle over love and hate. We battle when we mean to debate. We battle over sexuality. We battle masterful manipulators. We battle because we don’t understand one another. We battle envy, jealousies, and lust. We battle those we can no longer trust. We battle the mistakes we made in the past. We battle our anger. We battle the peace inside. We all have allies. We all have foes. Some are for us. Some are against us. Some sincerely care. Some could care less. For some, your light shines so bright that it helps guide their paths. For others, your light shines so bright, that they can’t help but despise it. Whatever the source may be, as human beings, we have a tendency to battle it out. Since the beginning, this Earth has watched its grounds become bleached by blood. Psychologically, we’ve all been scarred. Recklessly, thousands of wars have walked hand and hand with our existence. Some being large and lasting for years, some being small, lasting for days. Whatever the extent, disagreements have taken the lives of millions. And in most cases, more people have been killed in the name of GOD than any other reason. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. We truly are at... “WAR” ALBERT EINSTEIN STATED, “I KNOW NOT WITH WHAT WEAPONS WORLD WAR III WILL BE FOUGHT, BUT WORLD WAR IV WILL BE FOUGHT WITH STICKS AND STONES...” IT’S A WAR GOING ON... GUARD YOUR HOME, NOBODY’S SAFE... WE THE TERROIST, SOON WE GO HAVE TO PAY FOR THE AIR WE GET, THE WHOLE WORLD NEEDS A THERAPIST, CAUSE WE GOT ISSUES, WE GOT MISSLES READY TO SET IT OFF, ALL BETS ARE OFF, THEY CALLING YOUR BLUFF, NOW WHO’S TOUGH ENOUGH TO WATCH THEIR SONS AND DAUGHTERS FRY? WHILE THEIR CITIES BURN AND THEIR MOTHERS AND FATHERS DIE, I SWEAR I DON’T WANT TO SEE GOD CRY, DON’T ASK GOD WHY! WE DID THIS, I GUESS GREED IS BLISS, CAUSE WE WANT FOR MORE, WE WANT THE WAR, WE WANT THE POWER, IT’S THE FINAL HOUR, THE END OF TIMES, THE BATTLE STARTS WITHIN, SO I’M SPENDING TIME TRYING TO GET RID OF THESE SINS OF MINE, I’M ON RECORD HOLLERING AT FRIENDS OF MINE, FOR YOU & I I’M PRAYING, PLEASE TAKE HEED TO WHAT I’M SAYING, CAUSE FOR SO LONG WE’VE IGNORED GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS, WE’RE THE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION... I DON’T NEED I-MAX TO SEE THAT I’M LIVING IN CHIRAQ, IT’S A WAR OUTSIDE AND NOBODY’S SAFE, IT USE TO BE OVERSEAS, NOW IT’S IN YOUR FACE, ON YOUR DOORSTEP, IS WHERE WAR’S KEPT, THE PLAYGROUND IS THE BATTLEGROUND, IT’S A REAL BATTLE NOW, THE CATTLE NOW IS GENETICALLY MODIFIED, WHOEVER TOLD YOU THAT THE BEEF WE EAT DON’T MATTER LIED, YOU SEE THAT’S PART OF THE STRATEGY, THE WAR AIN’T PHYSICAL, IT’S ABOUT SPIRITUALITY, WHICH TRANSLATES INTO IDEOLOGY AND FOREIGN POLICY, THEY HAND OUT ORDERS WHILE THEY BATTLE OVER BORDERS, BACK HOME THEY DON’T SUPPORT US, THEY ENCOURAGE MOTHERS TO ABORT US, TRY TO CONVINCE THEM THAT THEY CAN’T AFFORD US, THEY CALLING IN THE NATIONAL GUARD, NOW THEY MARCHING TOWARD US, THE INTEL SAYS WE’RE IN HELL UNDER SPELLS BATTLING ANGELS THAT FELL, PLANES FLYING INTO BUILDINGS, STROLLERS BLOWING UP, THE HEADLINES (THE DEADLINES) FILLED WITH KILLINGS, THEM BOYS IN BLUE ROLLING UP, A ONE YEAR OLD BABY GIRL GOT GONORRHEA, NOW HOW IS THAT GROWING UP? MORE THAN EVER THE DEVIL’S BEEN SHOWING UP, DON’T CONFUSE IT, YOU DON’T BELIEVE ME, MAN, (TURN ON THE RADIO) YOU CAN HEAR IT IN THE MUSIC... WE AT WAR...”