This year I resolved to re-establish myself and complete my book this year. Since I have recorded my first album, there is still work to do as far as promoting my music.

For all who still endeavor to do something, there is nothing like making it happen, utilizing whatever resources you have. It’s not always money, but you may be able to help someone as they help you. I am a firm believer in helping others and have become more comfortable in asking for help when I know I need it. We may, at times, feel like a superhero, but just wearing the cape isn’t enough. There’s always someone to be accountable to or to hold you accountable for your actions or lack thereof.

To all of my producers, from OPM Music Werx, to Put It Down Productions to Project 360 Studios, I am ETERNALLY grateful for having your support and your encouragement as I went through the process for the first time. JCole was always patient and kind in the recording process, Bay and Lapala were always coaching and pruning the sound, and Barry was always encouraging me to be creative and to just go for it!!! You all have taught me a lot and I think on it frequently.  I look forward to getting back into the studio and doing something new this year. Patience yet, is a virtue, so as I have acknowledged there is still much to do with the first work, I am excited that there is an opportunity for a second work.

To Imani Lateef, husband and manager, thank you for continuing to believe in me. What made this whole endeavor possible was your committment to helping me believe that I actually could when others said I could but watched from afar, hoping that I wouldn’t.

I am forever grateful for the opportunity to share with listeners and fans everywhere! God Bless and Keep you this New Year and always!

Peace and Sound,

YASU

I hope all is well with you and yours this Holiday Season. Life is well for me as our family prepares for  a new arrival in just a few more months. 2008 has been a blissful year and a challenging year.

My album is still doing well although I have not promoted it often. Family is the most important thing to me, so they always come first, but my love for music is always in my heart. Being an independent artist gives me the freedom to do what I want, when I want to and it allows me to take care of what I need to take care of when necessary. So I am grateful for that.

One thing  I have learned about myself is that I am very creative and I do have a lot of ideas. Implementing them, however, takes more time for me. I think many artists, whether audio or visual may face similar challenges. There’s so much, it may be hard at times to stay on any one idea to see it through. My hope is, since 2008 was the first time I actually produced a complete product with the album, that next year, I will be able to follow through with more projects I have set in motion.

As you know, also, The Yasu Embassy is not just about music, but there is a mission. My purpose is to always shed light upon life’s situations and to write about them. The good and the bad, the happy and the sad are all included in my lyrics and the book I have been working on. All this time has not been idle, I have been developing the story for the book I plan to publish some time in 2009. Along with that, I am always exploring ideas about what I can do to promote the arts and unity in this community. There have been set backs with the theft of my laptop, but I still have the ideas jotted in notebooks, but all that I have written so far has been lost and there was no back up for me. SO I do have to start over  with a lot, but I at least still have the ideas and concept for new songs,  music, and books.

It is the hope that this Holiday Season will bring you all Love, Peace and Happiness!

Peace and Sound,

YASU

Summer has gone, Autumn is here. Even this season seems to be breezing by with the dips in temperature as of late. Over the summer, I took time off to vacation with my family. At summer’s end we learned we are expecting a baby in the Spring! This is an exciting time for us.

In the coming months, I will not be doing shows, but may make appearances at special events, including the holidays. This week I will be at Friendship Baptist Church for their “Holy”ween Family Night. It is a time for the community to come together and have a safe, fun-filled night as an alternative to Trick or Treating. Friendship is located at 5301 Nebraska Ave. Toledo, OH 43615 and the festivities begin at 6:30pm. On November 14th, I will be at Crusaders for Christ 908 Woodville Rd. Toledo, OH 43605. This is a youth service, free and open to the public and begins at 8pm.

As you know, I write in different genres, but my main focus is on life situations. Recently, I began working on an idependent project with a few local artists, Elevated Thinkin’, ReediusMaximus and Sid Deluxx. Together we four are called Indie Sol Rey. The root of our collaboration is a combination of sounds, hip hop and neo soul; and lyrics that are relatable, realistic. New music may be released soon so stay tuned. If that weren’t enough, I am outlining a book that will be published in the near future.

The Yasu Embassy is the umbrella for all of my endeavors. YASU is a Japanese nickname, the actual name means Peace and Sound. And embassy is housed with ambassadors (people on missions). It provides a home for me to explore my ideas and passions and gives me a vehicle to share them with you. My mission is to write and sing about my life in as many ways I possibly can, and I am always endeavoring to live in peace with a sound mind.  The Yasu Embassy is the ink that illustrates this for me.

If you haven’t heard my album yet, you can hear samples here. As always, I am grateful for the support from near and far I have received this year. There is still a lot that can be done with the album, so I will continue promoting it. I have also been writing, lately the tunes have been leaning more to Worship Music, which is most dear to my heart. I also have written about more life situations, some of which will be recorded with Indie Sol Rey and some as a solo project. I am also accepting track submissions. Please e-mail me for further information: yasuembassy@gmail.com.

Finally, if you are in the Toledo, Ohio area and are looking for a recording studio or producers, check out Project360studios and OPM Music Werx. And if you love fine art and/or need an artist to custom design a logo or website, please visit Lateef In Stereo.

Photos from my Summer Shoot are courtesy of Brooks Photography. You can see them here.

Thank you stopping by The Yasu Embassy. Please check back for more updates!

Peace and Sound,

YASU

My New Year always seem to begin in the Spring. So I actually celebrated mine last April. It just so happened that in April, I also began my studio journey for The Imitation of Life. Until then, I was just writing songs that were never sung anywhere, let alone being recorded. I have always written based on where I was in life at the time. It is not a coincidence that my New Year will begin again in the Spring, since my album is to be released then.

I have had time to reflect as I was on vacation the last two weeks. The Holidays often seem to bring out the best and the worst of folk. You think about where you have been, what went wrong and what went well, then you make the best of the Holidays, mending broken areas, spending time of quality with loved ones and friends, and you ultimately endeavor to “do better” the next year. But what if “next year” doesn’t arrive at its expected time? Or what if time just stood still?

I stopped making New Year’s Resolutions some time ago. I find it hard enough to complete a to do list, let alone set a goal for the New Year. But I do make long term goals that tend to have a longer expected date than it may actually take to get it done, and I do set short term goals. However, I work best under pressure, when there is a deadline…most of all, I try to practice being realistic more than anything else. I am not trying to be a Superhero even if my nature tends to sway in that direction. I’ve ended the saga of being the “be-all” and there are no re-runs of “make everyone comfortable and happy”. There is no script; my story is divinely composed and directly implemented by me.

The lyrics I write, the melodies I compose, all come from life experience. My timetable isn’t synchronized with any watch or calendar. The tales I write and sing of are true to my life, and are most closely fashioned to neo (which means new) soul.

I am both excited and and apprehensive as the The Imitation of Life is becoming. Like the birth of child, you do all that you can to prepare yourself for its arrival, yet you are afraid of the unknown during and after childbirth, but you have the will to go for broke to be the best parent you can be. That is my approach in music. I care not, to be the best there is, but to be the best at what I do. The hardest labor I had was 72 hours and that child is healthy. The shortest labor I had, produced a preemie with preemie health issues. In childbirth, sometimes that cannot be helped. Nevertheless, I desire not to produce something that is released before its time, therefore I am grateful for the length of labor and hopeful for its livelihood once it arrives on March 20th!

Everyday that I wake up is a “New Year”. Everyday I live, I am myself.

-YASU