#radicalthoughtoftheday

[imonthatnextnext]

THIS IS MY CONFESSION ON 4.17.18 In a social media world that's more pretensive & sensationalized for the sake of "likes" or going viral, I'd like to think that all of my posts are rooted in reality, generosity & #transparency no matter how much approval or feedback it gets. My aim is always to inspire, support or encourage my followers as a #human & especially as a #Christian, even if it is just ONE PERSON, in spite of my heart that may hunger for more, Hence my new segment: #CONQUESTCONFESSIONS When you have any bit of a platform, you're often looked at a superhuman, when truthfully, you're just as broken, scared & insecure as those looking up to you, no matter what position or fame you're attached to. Listening to @iamchelseaiam's Instastories about #ABeautifulWeek partly inspired this post, because it reminded me of what I went though. The hardest thing for an #ARTIST sometimes is ENJOYING THE PROCESS OF RELEASING #NEWMUSIC (OR ANY CREATION) & DEALING WITH THE #ANXIETY THAT COMES WITH IT Very few things have been more excruciating In the past I've been angry, disappointed, depressed & saddened in the midst of a single/album release & that's after knowing my musical acumen is pretty good & I've produced more than acceptable art at the very least, but then comes the 'garbage' your mind deals with: Why didn't it get more likes, plays or views? Why are my friends or church family sharing it? Does anyone believe in what I'm doing? Did I just piss away thousands of dollars in recordings? etc. etc. It's a roller coaster of emotions However this #scripture in particular has helped immensely of late & it's 1 Peter 5: 6-8: Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert & of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour Kinda puts everything in perspective from the natural to the spiritual doesn't it? When it comes to creativity on God's behalf, you just gotta release it into the universe at his appointed time & let #God have his way & do the rest Written by #CONQUEST #RadicalThoughtOfTheDay

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D O N ' T W A S T E Y O U R T I M E This past Sunday March 11th, Pastor @sirlouisii of @therockbrooklyn preached a powerful sermon that spoke on the value of time & knowing when it's a time to be great, especially when it comes to the things of God. @obj aka Odell Beckham Jr. probably could've used that sermon over these past few weeks, because with all his GREATNESS, Odell has often had an issue with bad timing and how it reflects on his performance & his image To highlight a couple examples: 1) There was NO TIME for losing it on the sidelines of a football game to the point of violently hitting a safety net that apparently 'hit' back 2) Taking a mini-vacation with your teammates before the biggest playoff game of your career (against the Aaron Rodgers led GREEN BAY PACKERS no less) that you ended up losing was probably BAD TIMING & 3) Making spectacular plays before & during initial season games but dropping the ball when it really counts also falls into the 'BAD TIMING' category But just when you thought that it couldn't get any worse, Beckham Jr found himself videotaped with an Instagram model & drugs that looked a lot like weed & cocaine for all the world & every media outlet to see, judge & criticize, while in the middle of negotiating to be the HIGHEST PAID FOOTBALL PLAYER EVER Talk about not being in position to be GREAT That last sentence in particular was a major part of Pastor Straker's sermon, and it definitely applies. GOD wants us to be GREAT in him, but we have to be in a position to receive his GREATNESS & ELEVATION or risk losing it all. Moses was not in his proper position so he lost out on the promised land, Peter was out of position & timing when he cut off the soldier's ear that Jesus had to heal & Odell may be in danger of not maximizing on his greatness because of a bad optic & the company (fellowship) he keeps in the social media age. More than me being a GIANTS fan & a fan of his game. I pray he understands, values and comes to know the importance of time belonging to GOD & not him Written by CONQUEST #RadicalThoughtOfTheDay #OdellBeckhamJr #DontWasteYourTime #GodsTiming #NYGiants #NFL #ATimeToBeGreat #CONQUEST #CONQUEST43

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T E A C H I N G V I S I O N In the words of Erykah Badu: What a day, What a day! Having a vision for your life in natural or in the spiritual is rarer commodity than one would think. There's a reason why certain dudes on the corner have been on that same corner for 30 years with no sign of moving on or why people find themselves in consecutive destructive relationships with no end in sight.... And a lot of it has to do with a lack of VISION It's what I thought about when I looked my newly formed but increasingly troublesome 4th grade class I had the pleasure of introducing the idea of VISION to on this Tuesday afternoon.... And it first it was rough Really rough.... Rough to the point I had to RAISE MY VOICE to demand the respect for myself and the group leader assigned to them because they were doing WAAAAY TOO MUCH Truth be told.... I hate raising my voice like that.... It's the last resort I try to avoid like a plague.... But it got my kids CRITICALLY THINKING about what their envisioned for the future and what they needed to do to achieve it. It got them thinking about their hopes and even their fear about even having a VISION as BIG as the ones they shared on their sheets of paper, and it was enough to speak to greater conversation about who they really are In essence, I pretty much challenged my kids to WRITE THE VISION & MAKE IT PLAIN for themselves. Granted, these visions may or may not be what God intends for their lives, but it was a start for a lot of the kids who never really thought about it (even in the natural) before entering my class. @sirlouisii recently preached at @therockbrooklyn that parents often bear and raise children based on the vision they have for their lives. With that said, if there's an opportunity to introduce to the idea of being a visionary to someone living aimlessly, we should jump on it immediately, because once we do that, the opportunity to introduce them to a KINGDOM (OF GOD) VISION become much more of a possibility Written by Jason Andre Roberts aka CONQUEST #CONQUEST #CONQUEST43 #LocklessMONSTER #Vision #KingdomVision #Visionary #Visionaries #GodsPlan #GodsVision #RadicalThoughtOfTheDay #TeachingArtist

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D E E P E R T H A N A G E S T U R E In addition to needing some time away due to personal issues.... I stayed off social media as much as possible also in part to avoid stumbling unto any "BLACK PANTHER" spoilers before I had a chance to see what I personally consider a TOP 3 #MARVELSTUDIOS MOVIE. Still, from the movie's trailer to the pics I inadvertently saw of movie goers emulating it after seeing the film, THE #WAKANDA GREETING (as I call it) was hard to avoid & to me, it was dope to walk out with a new way to greet anyone of any race knowing that you both have this cinematic experience in common So after she surprised me with an early morning appointment at an AMC theater with T'Challa & 'em, I quickly suggested to my fianceé that we should take pics of us doing 'the move'. After seeing the movie though, she was more inclined to do it. But for her & anyone else who may or may not totally understand it, allow me to break down why certain physical gestures are a key part of black cultural expression & why you have a right to indulge or not indulge in it, even if you're BLACK yourself One of the biggest (and often most misunderstood) examples of the aforementioned is the 'black fist in the air' gesture that we've seen done by Olympians on the medal podium to civil rights leaders to Beyoncé in her 'FORMATION' video & they all surround one basic meaning: a call to resistance of oppression & injustice, nothing more, nothing less. Unfortunately, if you're not in the know, you can easily perceive those gestures as racist or separatist & it'll be hard to see a fictional 'Wakandan' greeting that was a salute amongst their people as innocently as Asians bowing to each other or European men kissing each on the cheek as a form of 'hello'. However, you still have a choice to express yourself as you see fit. You can give a firm handshake or a 'pound', march in #BlackLivesMatter rallies or be an amazing person to all people to fight for inclusion, speak the King's English or in coded slang & dress in full AFRIKAAN garb or like a emo-rocker to see #BlackPanther & still be BLACK In the end, be true to your authentic self #RadicalThoughtOfTheDay #CONQUEST43 #CONQUEST

[imonthatnextnext]

N O M O N K E Y | A L L K I N G Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Get it all the way together @hm S/O to @mrchrisclassic who reinvented this formerly disrespectful image that was somehow approved by the negligent marketing team at H&M. Here's his words on what inspired his remix: I made this because I dont wanna see this young Kings face anymore with the shirt he was hired to wear by H&M. I'm almost certain the Persson Family and their $31 Billion wont care in Sweden but...this lil guy will see his pics and the mockery one day because the internet doesnt erase...so I just hope he gets to see this one or any like it that celebrate him.  #mysavoirfaire #CONQUEST42 #CONQUEST #RadicalThoughtOfTheDay #EndRacism #StopRacism #HnM #StopRacistImagery #BlackBoysAreNotMonkeys #BlackBoysAreFutureKings #ImOnThatNextNEXT #EngagingTheCulture #ChrisClassic #ChildrenAreTheFuture

[imonthatnextnext]

BE MINDFUL OF YOUR PLATFORM Social media is the gift & the curse, and it's even more so for Christians. It's a "gift" because we have the potential to bless, inspire, educate, entertain, encourage and rescue people with one simple post that has the potential to go viral & reach millions across the world, or at the very least, reach a substantial audience or even just that ONE SOUL who desperately needed what you had to share.... The "curse" comes when the message behind your post is misinformed, easy triggered, dangerously emotional, not completely thought out, inauthentic and a misrepresentation of who you are & who you belong too, and it's even more of a curse if your "soapbox" is endorsed by a wide audience. An audience that hangs on your every word and has NO DESIRE to check you because 1) they're afraid to do so or 2) the rhetoric being spewed encourages their depravity, ignorance, hatred & carnal natures In 2017, we CHRISTIANS, DISCIPLES, BELIEVERS OF THE GOSPEL, "SAINTS" etc. etc. need to be even more cognizant of how & what we share on social media, especially if it's a popular or unpopular opinion of the world we currently live in. I'm not saying "APPEAR AS HOLY AS POSSIBLE" because that's not authentic, especially if we're doing it strictly for appearances, but when it comes to everything from the racial divide to President Trump to popular culture to sexual orientation, let's make sure that whatever we say on social media! (in terms of encouragement, protest or evangelism), pray that it is rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ, pray that it is administered with grace, pray that it is well informed & well studied, pray that your biblically sound Pastor can back it up & not rebuke it and pray that your words will ultimately lead someone to the salvation & sovereignty of JESUS THE CHRIST Have fun, but be responsible.... Remember your calling & who you represent #CONQUEST #CONQUEST42 #LocklessMONSTER #RadicalThoughtOfTheDay #Platforms #SocialMedia #SocialMediaResponsibility #Soapbox #Platforms #JesusChrist #TheGospel #Evangelism #TheGreatCommission #Matthew28Nineteen #Grace

[imonthatnextnext]

ROCK TEES: LIFESTYLE VS. TREND If you've been paying attention closely over the past few years, wearing ROCK MUSIC APPAREL is a fashion trend that's totally in vogue. To prove it, you'd be hard pressed to walk into Zumiez, H&M, Zara, American Outfitters & co. & not find METALLICA, IRON MAIDEN, GUNS 'N' ROSES & NIRVANA on sale. And to take it step further.... You'd be hard pressed to not find people of all races (including a lot of black people) wearing clothing that's repping those artists in regular or distressed versions In fact, you'd be hard pressed to not notice that the rock aesthetic is current fashion wave, especially with the evolution of distressed denim. But here's my question.... How of many of those people (that may include YOU) are real ROCK/METAL fans?.... And does it even matter? So here's my take.... My guess is that 50 to 60 percent of people who wear BAND merch or clothing inspired by ROCK BANDS today don't know any of band's discography, couldn't name one member of the band they're repping on their body or may not even like their music or listen to the genre at all. For them, it's a cool logo or graphic tee or a dope look..... And truth be told, that's perfectly fine. My only hope is that percentage would at least investigate the artists their "wearing" at some point. They might become a fan...or not, but I'd encourage them to do it. You just never know. Me on the other hand? I represent the 40 to 50% who are die-hard fans of the bands they literally wear on their sleeves. Anyone who knows me knows that rock music is a major part of my lifestyle, even as a hip-hop artist. So may even call it part of my artistic 'brand' so to speak, but more than anything, it's just part of an identity I've embraced since I was 8 years old. So I guess my point at the end of day is this.... Jumping on the latest fashion trend is cool if you can pull it off. But building a unique or geniune look based on who you are, may just be a bit cooler. Written by CONQUEST #CONQUEST #CONQUEST42 #LocklessMONSTER #Fashion #Style #CONQUESTfashion #FashionTrends #RockTees #Rock #Metal #RadicalThoughtOfTheDay #FashionTips #ImOnThatNextNEXT #EngagingTheCulture

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G A M E C H A N G E R S

Written by Jason Andre Roberts aka CONQUEST

It's so funny that my pastor posted this picture.... My pastor is Louis Straker Jr aka @sirlouisii of the @therockbrooklyn and this is his son on his way to school. Now there's two things I love in this shot taken by his Dad. One, he's wearing a stylish hoodie (I love a well fit hoodie, everyone who really knows me already knew that), and secondly, he has "THE GAME CHANGER" emblazoned on it.

I love the term #Gamechanger, it's one of my favorite phrases, I've used it in countless hashtags on IG and when I was the Head Teacher at summer camp, I named my kids (yep, you guessed it) "THE GAMECHANGERS", and during the months that we were together, I instilled in them that it was more than just a cool name we can shout in the hallways in various chants we came up with.

Being a GAME CHANGER is a state of mind in how you impact and engage your environment. It's how you stand out. It's how you are an influencer. And we're all capable of being gamechangers, no matter how popular you are or what office you carry, whether you're an artist or a teacher or a elementary, middle school, high school or college student or a President. God has given us all some sort of purpose to change the game.

That's my #RadicalThoughtOfTheDay.

#CONQUEST #CONQUEST41 #Gamechangers #Influencers #Purpose #Mindset #Vision #KingdomMindset #ReflectionsOfChristKingdom #ROCKbrooklyn #KingdomKid #PastorLouisStrakerJr #JesusIsLORD #ImOnThatNextNEXT