Weapon Of Expression : A Listening Guide

So it all started one day relaxing, listening to beats and searching for a movie to watch.

I got set on one of my favorite films I haven’t seen in a while, “Finding Forrester”, about a young student-athlete (Jamal Wallace) whose exceptional test scores merited him the opportunity to transfer to a prestigious private high school where he could flourish as a student and also better his chances of getting a basketball scholarship. Amidst this he stumbled upon the house of a reclusive renowned author (William Forrester) because of a dare from his friends and later developed a relationship with William . From there, William helped mentor him as a writer and there relationship became mutually edifying.

As I continued to watch the film, there were some things that stuck out to me that I didn’t notice the first time I viewed it. There were so many similarities to Jamal and I. Even some of his friends shared similarities to some of mine. The weirdest coincidence being his best friend in the film’s nickname being “Fly”. My closest friend from middle school to high school’s nickname was “Flya”, and often times I called him “Fly” for short. As if the names weren’t close enough, they actually looked and dressed a lot alike. I thought to myself “How didn’t I see this?” Then I began to write.

I’d found the theme for my next musical offering. It was originally titled “The Novelist”, but later transformed into the third installment of my “Weapon of Expression” series because of how introspective the writing had become. This project is not conceptually aimed, but definitely inspired by my findings about the film and does make strong references to the film.

At a young age I aspired to be a writer. I later became a collegiate student-athlete majoring in print journalism. Which proves the passion for writing never left. This project is a collection of writes that document the events, about a span of a year, from the day I rediscovered that film up to my newest chapter of life. Everything from graduating college and wondering what’s next, to living with my friend and his wife and son, to working full-time at a factory and at the town bakery the remaining hours of the day, to wondering will I ever be able stand on my own two. The writing proved to be therapeutic for me and it all came together. Altogether this piece was the result of me taking Forrester’s advice to Jamal in the film, “ The first rule of writing…is to write.” Hope you all enjoy it!

Releases 9.18. at NoiseTrade & Audiomack for free download.

God Bless, J.Murph.