1. THE CAUSE, EFFECT & HOPE FOR THE FUTURE!

SUNDAY APRIL 16, 2017

SO, HERE GOES SOMETHING (I HOPE). AT THE RISK OF LOSING THE SUPPORT OF THOSE WHO HAE NOT DECIDED THAT IM "OUT 2 LUNCH". I INTEND TO TRY TO RELATE EXACTLY WHY IVE BEEN SO STRESSED & DOWNHEARTED FOR SO LONG. ALSO, ITS REALLY THE REASON I KEEP WINDING UP AT ODDS WITH MY NEIGHBORS & FELLOWS & SUCH. IT MAY SOUND TRITE, EVEN RIDICULOUS. BUT THIS IS THE TRUTH, AS FAR AS I KNOW IT.
AS YOU KNOW, I WRITE SONGS. IVE BEEN WRITING SONGS SINCE I WAS A LITTLE KID, & USED TO SING THEM TO MY COUSINS & SOMETIMES TO THE AUNTS & UNCLES. EVENTUALLY, I BEGAN TO KEEP FOLDERS OF THEM, ALL MY SONG IDEAS THAT I WOULD ONE DAY PRODUCE & PERFORM.
I HAD AN ECLECTIC PALETTE EVEN AS A KID, I LIKED IT ALL. SO MY SONGS WERE USUALLY SOMETHING OF A "MASH-UP", DIFFERENT STYLES COMBINED. EITHER THAT, OR SOMETHING THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE "ROCK & ROLL" OR BLUES, I JUST HAD TO BE OUTSIDE THE BOX - EVEN THEN, AND AT THAT TIME "THE BOX" WAS 1970S ERA R&B, SOUL & FUNK. DONT MISUNDERSTAND, I LOVED THAT MUSIC, IN FACT, EVERYONE THAT KNEW ME KNEW HOW MUCH I LOVED ARETHA FRANKLIN AND PARLIAMENT/FUNKADELIC. BUT I MAY'VE WRITTEN MY OWN MUSIC IN DIFFERENT STYLES OUT OF A FEAR OF BEING COMPARED AND NOT MEASURING UP. HMMM, MAKES SENSE TO ME NOW. ANOTHER REASON MAY BE THAT ALL MY LIFE I LOOKED TO & IDOLIZED THIS UNIFYING PRINCIPAL. I ALWAYS HAD FANTASIES OF ALL THE PEOPLE COMING TOGETHER, UNITED TO FEED & HOUSE EVERYBODY. IT ALSO COULDVE BEEN BECAUSE OF THINGS THAT OCCURRED THAT I WAS TOO YOUNG TO REMEMBER. I WAS BORN IN 1963, IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. FROM 4 TO 7 YRS OLD IT WAS 1967 - TO 1970 WITHIN A MILE OF WHERE THE L.A. ROCKBAND "THE DOORS" FORMED & STORMED. SEVERAL FAMOUS ROCK SHOWS WERE TAPED AT THE SANTA MONICA CIVIC AUDITORIUM. AND I GO CRAZILY & HAZILY REMEMBER HIPPIES EVERYWHERE. AS A 5 YR OLD I HAD SOME KIND OF CONNECTION TO A PIANO TEACHER NAMED GARY HINMAN, WHO WOUND-UP GETTING KILLED BY THE MANSON FAMILY. I THINK ONE OF MY BABYSITTERS HAD TO MEET HIM AT HIS OFFICE & TOOK ME ALONG, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. SO I HAD A "ROCK & ROLL" ELEMENT IN MY BURGEONING, BESIDES ALL OF THIS, OUR LITTLE ENCLAVE AS MULTIRACIAL, AFTER ALL.
NELSON MANDELA ALSO HAD THAT LIFELONG DREAM OF A UNITED WORLD. WE HAVE (HAD) THE SAME BIRTHDAY. SO, THE POINT OF ALL THE ABOVE IS THAT I DO - SERIOUSLY & SINCERELY - WRITE COUNTRY SONGS, AS WELL AS EVERY OTHER KIND, FROM THE TIME I WAS A KID. AND BY "WRITE A SONG" I MEAN CREATING MELODIES & WRITING LYRICS. IN 2003 I WAS IN "THE HOLE" FOR THE MOST PART OF THE YEAR. FROM JANUARY 1, ALL THE WAY THRU OCTOBER, I WAS CORRESPONDING WITH A FRIEND AT ANOTHER PRISON. WE HAD TO HAVE SPECIAL PERMISSION TO COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER & WE DID. MOST OF THE TIME WE SHARED POETRY & LYRICS. I WAS WRITING SONGS. HE HAD A GIRL ON THE STREET WHO WOULD DOWNLOAD LYRICS TO FAMOUS MUSIC FOR HIM. HE'S SEND ME ALL KINDS OF STUFF'. LED ZEP- BOB DYLAN, PRINCE, LAURYN HILL, RISE AGAINST THE MACHINE, ETC. IT WAS IN APRIL OF 2003 THAT I WAS LOW ON PAPER & BEGAN PUTTING MOR THAN 1 WORK ON A SINGLE SHEET OF PAPER. IT WAS THE STARTING OF THE WAR IN IRAQ.
ON 1 SIDE OF A PAGE I WROTE A POEM THAT HAS 3 SEGMENTS OR MOVEMENTS. ITS ALL "OPERATION, DOVER", IT WAS WRITTEN ON 4/2/03/ ITS ABOUT YOUNG SOLDIERS BEING TAKEN TO IRAQ AND THE FAKE BACKSTORY THEY FED US ABOUT "WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION" THEIR DEAD BODIES ARE THEN BROUGHT BACK TO DOVER, DELAWARE. THE OTHERSIDE OF THE PAGE CONTAINS SOME PERSONAL NOTES ABOUT LYRICS I INTEND TO ASK MY FRIEND FOR, THE START OF A SONG - UNTITLED - CONTAINING LYRICS I USED LATER IN ANOTHER SONG, AND A SONG WRITTEN - BY ME - ON EASTER SUNDAY 2003, WHICH JUST HAPPENED TO BE "4/20" (AND TODAY IS EASTER SUNDAY 2017) THAT SONG IS CALLED "MY SUNDAY".
You've seen my photo. I'm black. It's not unheard of, but it is rare to find black men who write country songs. What's the likelihood that iI would write a slow country burner about enjoying a day at home with the catch-phrase "Get my Sunday on"? I mean, I could've chosen to express myself with R&B, blues, hard rock or a ballad or some rino. But I wrote a slow, melodic country song called "My Sunday", with the theme & catchphrase that says "Get my Sunday on."
I know, for many reasons, that my friend & I were being monitored - everything we wrote to each other. Also, once I got out of "the hole" and onto the prison yard I transferred to, I was monitored on the telephone. I sang that song to my sister. Anyway, that was back in 2003. A lot of thigns have happened over time: other songs stolen from me, etc. Two yrs ago, the country duo Florida/Georgia Line had a number 1 hit record with "My Sunday (Get My Sunday On)." I'm basically helpless without an attorney. And I would really love to have help with this. An attorney that would work with me "pro-bono"? Perhaps, or for a cut-rate. It would be great if someone could even turn me into an entertainment attorney who would investigate this situation for me. I do know that it's not too late, because that suit filed last year against The Mighty, Mighty Led Zepellin about their ubiquitous megahit "Stairway to Heaven" from way back in the early 1970s.
I believe I have a winnable case. But the point here is that my gift of musicality has become problematic in an unforeseen way. In retrospect, I realize that I would've done better if I hadn't spoken about the theft at all. Maya-Angelou had a saying that one shouldn't complain because it alerts the bullies & thieves in the neighborhood that there's a victim in town.
I internalized that fact, that my "intellectual property" wasn't safe in my cell among my possessions. And that pushed me, sort of, over the edge, into paranoia. It became a self-fulfilling prophecy. It seems at times that things occur now because I expect them to. So we have been working on transitioning out of that kind of self-defeating thinking. I've taken some precautions & learned a few new tricks to tamp down the hate & envy. I'm doing better now.
The fact remains that I do come up with great song ideas, I'm a decent song writer & great performer. But, here I sit in the penitentiary - waiting and hoping for another shot at redemption out there. I'm worth it, I'm worth saving.
IF you scroll back on this site you'll find where I talk about being a really good rock singer, good country singer, good soul singer, jazz singer, etc. I wrote about how it confuses folks & kinda causes them not to take me seriously in any genre. That is in reference to people hearing or reading met alk about it only. Because when someone hears for themselves that's a whole different story.
That fear of others stealing my ideas has become the bane of my prison existence. It became so pervasive that it adversely affected virtually my entire program. So, I'm grateful and I'm proud to say that, at this time, I've finally got a handle on it.
HAving this outlet is a blessing. It's a channel, and I can use it to get ideas out. I'd prefer more interaction, though. So remember that any comments left will be forwarded to me through the snail-mail system. Or, I can be reached at this address:
Zawadi Diamond - AKA Michael L. Young
E95993
Salinas Valley State Prison (D2-121)
P.O. Box 1050
Soledad, CA. 939160 - 1090

From this point on I intend to make the very best use of this venue. I have some perspectives worth sharing, and I truly just want to be of some kind of help to somebody. I'm simultaneously in need of help myself. But that neither negates my intent nor taints my motive.
Truth - with a capital "T", is usually controversial. It upsets people on both sides of the issues. At this stage - I'm now in my mid 50's what I was once fearful of expressing is tame by today's standards, or should be.
It has taken me a tremendous amount of time just to complete this little message & get it out. There is a lot going on around me here and I haven't been comfortable enough to be productive creatively. But I'm sure now that the dry spell is over.
I wanna send out waves of love to all the folks who survived these recent "terrorist" attacks, those who lost someone, and those determined to help heal our world.
It's almost the 1 year anniversary of the murders at the Rise nightclub in Orlando, Flo. There was the concert in France. The Ariana Grande show in Manchester. There've been at least 2 gigantic bombings in Iraq and Pakistan. A man attacked 3 men - killing 2 of them, in Oregon & Believe, because they spoke up for 2 Muslim women that he was yelling at. For now, I want to state emphatically that I hate evil. I disfavor all harm & injury to civilians, women, children & innocents. But - with that said, I want people to think about what it is that "Ists" or even the Taliban really want. They want the U.S. and allies to get out of Iraq & Afghanistan. This is the longest "war" the U.S.A. has been involved in. It's really a simple matter that has been twisted in order to make it seem that the U.S. is justified in maintaining a so-called "footprint" in those countries. "9/11". It takes a lot of courage to look closely at the pills we've been forced to swallow. If one has the will & the heart for it, information is readily available that establishes 9/11 was orchestrated by the Saudi government. Since 15 of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi, why did the U.S. invade Afghanistan? Well, we already have a footprint in Saudi Arabia. Sadaam Hussain wasn't even thought to have had a hand in the September 11th, 2001 attack. Yet we used the weapons of mass destruction to invade. This was predicted in a book by William Cooper - "Behold a Pale Horse". But what's worse is the fact that there is a reference to blowing up the towers in a book I hear about when Timothy McVeigh was on trial.
They said on TV that it was Tim McVeigh's favorite book. I wanted to understand. It's been quite some time ago & I cannot quote it verbatim. But, the book is about white supremacists taking over the country, starting with the military & officers of the law murdering blacks & browns in the street - to start a "race war" after disarming the masses. The book is by William Pierce & it's called "The Turner Diaries". Although the book is obviously fictional, it's written like and I've heard taken by some as, a blueprint or a manual.
I am firmly on the side of right - peace - and justice. There's a little movie I saw years ago called "The Wolverines". It's about North Korean troops arriving on U.S.'s Pacific Shore. Some kids in Oregon become "insurgents" and fight the fight of guerilla warfare as best they can. That's exactly what the Taliban and Isis are doing. It's been 16 years now.
Stay woke!
Until next time
Peace
Zawadi
[image of inmate]

CDC# E95993 Date: 03/07/2017