#h.b.y?

[iamhby]

My Story, Continued

Hey everyone.  I like to write these kind of entries on my birthday, just to sit back and reflect on everything that’s happened in the year prior.

To catch you up on things, I’ve gone from being the kid whose parents were told would never be capable of speaking or even making eye contact with people, to being embedded in some of the best and most flourishing scenes around.  Instead of rambling for awhile, I’m going to practice word economy, and keep it short and sweet.

I want to thank everyone from the world of Ham On Everything I run into on a regular basis, it’s awesome to be surrounded by such great people while I document cool shit.  Same thing goes for the world of battle rap out in L.A., shout out to everyone from King Of The Dot I come across when I do, and I’m looking forward to also being around for the first big URL event out in L.A. this summer.

This year though, now that I’m 27, I’m ready to push things into overdrive.  I’m ready to be more consistent with photography and videos, and I’m more confident than ever that I can rap my ass off on songs.  Remember, none of this was considered possible for me a long time ago, and now that I see all the love I get from every single one of you, that motivates me to excel beyond my expectations, and I don’t want to let you down.

-H.B.Y?/Michael Marshall

[iamhby]

Posted this already on Twitter and whatnot, but here's a little something for the battle rap fans that follow me on Tumblr.  Here's a quick prediction vlog (probably the most succinct battle rap prediction vlog you'll see) of what I think will go down at this weekend's King Of The Dot BOLA 5 event.  The card's pretty stacked, and I think there's going to be a couple classics going down at this for sure.  Shout out to KOTD, chea.

[iamhby]

2013: Thanks For Everything

As 2013 comes to a close, I'm reflecting back on how crazy, chaotic and surreal this year has been for me.  I'm not really sure if there was a lot of personal growth, but 2013 was a year of some serious professional growth.  Between doing photos and videos for AllHipHop (which led to everything from talking to Snoop Dogg at his birthday, capturing a moment where YG and Drake and Fat Trel were all united, covering the madness that was both Paid Dues and Rock The Bells, etc), being a host for YKTVLA (where I got to chop it up with Tech N9ne, the entire PNCINTL team, a nice chunk of the KOTD Fresh Coast all-stars and more), making myself a fixture at multiple Ham On Everything events (whether filming there, or getting ratchet along with thousands of others on a regular basis), and secretly becoming an even better rapper (the album is on the way, I'm linking up with some more beatmakers and singers to make this sound huge), I really can't complain on how things turned out this year.

With that said, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone I've had experiences with in 2013, here we go!  (*deep breath*)

Thank you: Tim Sanchez from AllHipHop, Erick Sanchez and David Rodriguez from YKTVLA, Meetro, Lx, Adam Weiss, David Romo, DJ Stereotype, Zachary Hendel, Asia Dee, Remy Fox, Drake, OB, DJ Mustard, Fat Trel, Casey Veggies, Anwar Carrots, Joshton Peas, Deena Jeaux, Ashlay Cashlay, Nolan Smith, KYLE, Chloe Riley, Blu, Senay, Tech N9ne, Mibbs and Like from Pac Div, Scoop DeVille, Edgar Sanchez, Dizaster, Lush One, Okwerdz, Poison Pen, TheSaurus, JC, Cortez, Harley from Epic Meal Time, Daylyt, Math Hoffa, Bigg K, Real Deal, Bonnie Godiva, RemyD, Cadalack Ron, Eric Andre, Senay, Gabe, Ace Knuckles, Ural G, A$AP Rock and A$AP Yams and A$AP Bari, Hopsin, Demrick, B-Real, iamSU!, Snow Tha Product, B-Real, RZA, Lyn, Chanel, Ericka, Yours Truly, Sasha, Xavier Wulf, Eddy Baker, Chippy Nonstop, Brennan, LIZ, Kid Sister, Twiggy Rasta Masta, Bootychaaain, Celly on the Telly, Kali Uchis, Layla, Yuna, Jessie Ware, Flako Siete, VerBS, Krystal, and everyone else who made appearances along the way.

Not bad for someone who was told for years he wouldn't amount to anything eh?  2013 was the first time in years where I really felt like I was embedded in a scene where I belonged, and I'm looking to prosper even more in 2014.  I may have a few different facets to my identity, but I'm nothing without any of you awesome people that I've been around during this time.  I'm ready to jump up to an even higher echelon, and show even more undeniable proof that you too can make your fantastic dreams an even better reality.

-H.B.Y?/Michael

[iamhby]

Here's the newest episode of H.B.Y? I did, right from Low End Theory at the Airliner.  Check out Mibbs and Scoop DeVille perform "Crack," as part of their first performance of their FREEBASS EP (Mibbs rapped on an EP entirely produced by Scoop DeVille, which you can get over at MibbsOverEverything.com), and also check out as I ran into the legendary (and honestly, he's my favorite rapper of all time) Tech N9ne!

[iamhby]

New episode I did for YKTVLA, behind the scenes at the Takeover event that the Fresh Coast division of King Of The Dot threw at Basement 818 in Sherman Oaks, CA.  Got some good insight from Dizaster, Cortez, Harley Morenstein from Epic Meal Time, Lush One and more from what was one of the best battle rap events of 2013.

[iamhby]

The Direction of ************

I think I’m starting to flesh out more of the general themes that are going to be all over the songs on ************.

You know how there’s been a bunch of R&B songs in the last two years that explore feeling alone in a crowded room (usually while under the influence)? I’m starting to think there’s going to be quite a few songs on ************ based around feeling at home around large groups of people in order to escape feeling alone in the real world (while also being catchy as fuck at the same time).

Back to work I guess…

[iamhby]

And now, for an epic-ass H.B.Y? episode I did for YKTVLA, at the HTV Jamz Pool Party that Ham On Everything threw at the Tropicana Pool inside the legendary Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood.  DJ Paul, Eric Andre, RiFF RAFF, Scoe and many more were out for the turn up, and things definitely turned up past the knob being broken.  Twerking, moshing, Remy Fox's birthday, awkward moments with a porn star and Eric Andre riffing on my name for a minute and a half went down, and it was all awesome. As always, salute to Adam Weiss and the entire gang at Ham On Everything for throwing the best parties in Los Angeles, and follow them on Twitter @HamOnEverything to find out when their next events are (and with it being summer, they're going all out with the parties). Subscribe to YouTube.com/YKTVLA for more episodes, chea!

[iamhby]

Ladies and gentlemen, bare witness at how real the turn up was at Ham On Everything's event Flex City Pt. 3: Trap Is Dead!  Ratchet Set and Crimekillz tore the roof off the place; the Sous Chef of Twerking, Remy Fox, gave a quick tutorial on twerking technique, and shit was very rare overall.  Shout out to YKTVLA for documenting Flex City Pt. 3, and if you want to go to a Ham On Everything event, follow @HamOnEverything on Twitter or go to HamOnEverything.tv to RSVP for the next event, chea!