Martial arts, swimming, politics, religion, economics, culture, travel, deep conversations, realizing new situations and unfolding rose petals with a silent whisper...okay, later for that...reading that makes me read it again to get the feeling anew. Damn, later for that...basketball (shooting guard in H.S.), football (quarterback in H.S.), and my passion is writing novels.
SMART. CONFIDENT. LOYAL. - 'HoodSweet' women who are worth more than a dime. To be a part of this movement to represent, earn a spot on the upcoming calendar, earn $$$$ selling the apparel & novels, host events as a HoodSweet model and be a part of this movement for Peace, Power, and Position, simply send in a few quality photographs (sexy, casual, formal), a few lines about yourself and why you consider yourself HoodSweet, your website (if you have one), and past modeling assignments (magazines, car shows, etc.). Are you currently under contract with a modeling agency? Experience is not necessary, only that you can be committed to what is about to go down. Let me know that you're prepared to represent by sending along your confirmation order for my book. And because this is really about doing something extraordinary, give me your vision of how you can best contribute to this global HoodSweet movement. Websites, magazine ads, events, album release parties, clothing, etc. We're doing it all. The twelve women selected for the calendar will be HoodSweet representatives. Opportunities are also available for someone to work directly with me in coordinating this movement. Computer skills, business acumen, and dedication is required. As this is a new business, salary is open-ended relative to our success. It's like Microsoft: those that shared the vision early on reaped the million dollar reward for their dedication. Only those who can truly believe and are prepared for the commitment to be a part of a grand hustle need apply.
Stuff that makes me feel some kind of way...depending on the mood - SEAL (romantic setting), Tupac (grinding), Biggie (flossing), Warren G (riding), the first D'Angelo (pimping and making a lot of love), Mary J. Blige (cuz she is so damn real). I could go on, let's see...SCAR (jazz when melancholy), and he should have been first - Jay Z (cuz he didn't get signed and turned into the CEO of HIP HOP through sheer hustle), Too Short (cuz the yay is in my blood, ask my father Kato), and I can't forget Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers, Bobby Womack, Smokey Robinson, and the man who I would turn the lights out to and sip on Moet - Curtis Mayfield (who can deny 'We People Who Are Darker Than Blue'?). Check that out for your soul one time.
"The Usual Suspects" is my all-time favorite. I'm a big movie man. A good weekend for me is brunch with live piano, egg/chicken/broccoli/mushroom omelet & orange juice, a movie and daytime love-making with conversation and laughter til nightfall when we hit the beach and the billiards hall. So, let's just say my favorite actors are Christopher Walken (cuz he's always cool), Samuel L. Jackson (for the same reason), Terence Howard (still cool), Robert DeNiro (gotta love a man that loves Black pussy), Al Pacino (one word - Scarface), Denzel Washington (he represents in a real way and still loves Pauletta - feel me?), and the list goes on. I like real cats who represent in a real way while being loyal to their craft. No gimmicks involved.
I don't really watch much television but I was feeling 'LOST' and the first two seasons of '24.' Seinfeld was cool but I never could get what it was all about (that's a joke...ha ha).
Like music, I read what moves me. I gotta pub my book first, though. My autobiography, 'Play My Hand: sex, violence, money, and murder of Raymond Cooks' is available online at www.Xlibris.com. This was my first salvo into writing. I'm currently into my eleventh novel. My first and second novels, 'HoodSweet' and 'Sour: HoodSweet II' are currently under contract and should be available by early 2007. Back to my self-published book, though. 'Play My Hand' was written while I was in prison and went to press while in the 'Segregated Housing Unit' (SHU) of the State Penitentiary while under investigation for trafficking narcotics. For an excerpt go to the Xlibris.com web site where I have a book/author page. The title speaks for itself. Not just about the gangs, dope-dealing, or time spent in jail, it is an examination of a black boy's life and the smoke before the raging fire that became my life. So, after what I thought was the life I was meant to live landed me in prison, I started to examine my life. And the result was this book. Foster care, group homes, gangs (Harlem Crip), dope- dealing, hustling, robbing, shooting, jail, jobs, teaching at Marcus Garvey Elementary School, working as the only Black in a multi-million dollar corporation, white collar crime, baby momma drama, the birth of my son, girlfriends, and all the other hood drama...it's all in my autobiography. It's the realest shit you'll ever read. Check it out and holla back at me. Now, to some of my favorite authors. James Joyce (Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man), James Baldwin (Go Tell It On The Mountain), Cheik Anta Diop (African Origin: Myth or Reality), Fyodor Dostoyevsky (The Brothers Karamazov), Mat Johnson (Drop), Eric LaValle (Slapboxing with Jesus), Alice Walker (The Temple of my Familiar)...and I could go on but I think you get the picture.
I believe that a hero is someone who is loyal to a cause and pursues that goal unceasingly for the benefit of humankind or close loved ones. Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Sojourner Truth, John Brown (if you don't know who he is, do your research), the Panther Party in its ideal, and riding in this same ship of magnificent human beings is my father Kato Cooks, who through his manifestation of manhood I have been allowed to come in from the dark and realize my full potential without risking my life to live rich. Groups: BRU affiliated...nuff said.