[DISCLAIMER] During my sophomore year of high school, the Lords of the Underground (L.O.T.U.G.), a hip hop trio composed of lyricists Dupré Kelly (DoItAll), Al’Terik Wardrick (Mr. Funke), and Bruce A. Colston (DJ Lord Jazz), came on to the scene with Here Comes the Lords (1993). The debut studio album contained the song “Psycho”, which was produced by Marley Marl, and represents the golden age of hip hop. Regarding the antiquated term “psycho,” I stated in Psychopathy and

[DISCLAIMER] *Lee (2023) spoilers contained herein. Earlier, I posted a blog entry entitled All of Lebanon Must Burn: What Have I Done to You? (6/22/2026). In it, I encouraged readers to consider use of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) regarding healthy and unhealthy negative emotions. Specifically, I demonstrated use of the ABC model as a method of moving from negative and unhealthy self-disturbance (e.g., rage) to negative and healthy self-distress (e.g., frus

[DISCLAIMER] Photo credit, property of Universal Pictures, fair use On the collaborative album From El Barrio, With Love (2020), by lyricist UFO Fev and producer Termanology, is the song “The Bad Guy” that features an audio sample from the film Scarface (1983). In particular, the character Tony Montana states in a restaurant room full of patrons: What you looking at? You’re all a bunch of fucking assholes. You know why? You don’t have the guts to be what you wanna be? You

[DISCLAIMER] Three years ago, I sat with my friend “Blanca” at her residence in Virginia. Not long thereafter, for a number of reasons, we went our separate ways. Understandably, people in both my personal and professional life may experience self-distress or self-disturbance about the loss of friendship. Regarding this matter, I consider my approach to care for mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”). Specifically, I frame this topic throu

[DISCLAIMER] On the collaborative album At Last (2010), by lyricist Eternia and producer MoSS, was the song “Goodbye” that featured an audio sample of the late singer and songwriter Janis Joplin. In particular, Joplin stated: This whole thing that’s happened to me, you see, this whole success thing, it hasn’t yet really compromised the position that I took a long time ago in Texas. That was to be true to myself, to be the person that was on the inside of me, and not play

[DISCLAIMER] I invite you to consider that one source states, “We’ve all heard the phase before – ‘Don’t cry over spilled milk.’ It’s a classic saying meant to remind us that getting upset over things we can’t change won’t do any good,” using milk as a symbol of something valuable, yet easily lost. Sometimes expressed as “there’s no use crying over spilled milk,” the meaning of this idiomatic expression infers that there’s no point in being upset over something that has a

[DISCLAIMER] When providing psychoeducational lessons on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I teach people about the ABC model of self-disturbance (how people upset themselves through use of irrational beliefs). Now, I’ll address a finer point of this psychotherapeutic model of wellness. For context, REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate how when an undesirable Action occurs and you Believe an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable assumption, n

[DISCLAIMER] With my approach to mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”), I use unconditional acceptance (UA). When teaching psychoeducational lessons on this helpful tool, I invite people to accept – without unfavorable conditions – that they are imperfect. For example, as a fallible human being, I don’t tell myself something along the lines of, “Unless I can be entirely without fault or defect, then I won’t endure without protest or react

[DISCLAIMER] When providing psychoeducational lessons on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I teach people about the ABC model of self-disturbance (how people upset themselves through use of irrational beliefs). Now, I’ll address a finer point of this psychotherapeutic model of wellness. For context, REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate how when an undesirable Action occurs and you Believe an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable assumption, n

[DISCLAIMER] Jeffrey (2016) is the fourth commercial mixtape by rapper Young Thug, featuring the track “Wyclef Jean”, which was produced by TM88 and Supah Mario. It’s reportedly in homage to singer and lyricist Wyclef Jean, yet the song bears no meaningful connection to Jean’s legacy. On the track, Young Thug addresses a one-night stand by stating, “I told her keep going on the gas, fuck the brakes. Only here for one night, let me put it on your face.” If you don’t compre

[DISCLAIMER] When providing psychoeducational lessons on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I teach people about the ABC model of self-disturbance (how people upset themselves through use of irrational beliefs). Now, I’ll address a finer point of this psychotherapeutic model of wellness. For context, REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate how when an undesirable Action occurs and you Believe an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable assumption, n

[DISCLAIMER] Hate the Sin, Not the Sinner When enlisted in the United States Marine Corps (1996-2007), my religious foundation in the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Churches of Christ informed my worldview. Of course, as a fallible human being, my faith-based perspective wasn’t practiced perfectly. For example, I was taught Leviticus 20:13 which states, “‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to b

[DISCLAIMER] On The Imperial (1998), the only studio album by hip hop group Flipmode Squad, was the track “We Got U Opin, Pt. 2” that was produced by Da Beatminerz. It featured lyricist Buckshot, of Black Moon and Boot Camp Clik fame, as the song also sampled an earlier piece by Buckshot. In order of appearance on “We Got U Opin, Pt. 2”, Flipmode Squad members, all lyricists, were thusly featured: Rah Digga, Spliff Star, Baby Sham, Rampage, Lord Have Mercy, and Busta Rhym

[DISCLAIMER] On his sixteenth mixtape, By Any Means 2 (2017), rapper Kevin Gates released the song “No Trust” which was produced by Smash David and Diego Ave. Addressing his distrust of hoes (singular “ho,” slang for the pejorative term whore), Gates expresses on the chorus: I can’t even trust my heat, ‘cause sometimes that bitch jam And everybody that I meet swear that they gon’ hold it down And every bitch I thought I loved took my heart and went crash And every time I

[DISCLAIMER] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. The authors quote ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca who stated, “A benefit should be kept like a buried treasure, only to be dug up in necessity. . . . Nature bids us to do well by all. . . . Where

[DISCLAIMER] In the above photo, intentionally not edited so that I could authentically present a moment of imperfection (the quality or state of being imperfect—fallible, such as flawed in form, structure, or function), as a teenager, I knocked upon the hotel door of a female adolescent. For clarity, when referring to the physical action of hitting a door to announce one’s presence, the standard phrasing is “knock on a door”. Still, “knock upon a door” is also grammatica

[DISCLAIMER] When providing psychoeducational lessons on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I teach people about the ABC model of self-disturbance (how people upset themselves through use of irrational beliefs). Now, I’ll address a finer point of this psychotherapeutic model of wellness. For context, REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate how when an undesirable Action occurs and you Believe an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable assumption, n

[DISCLAIMER] On the album Rare (2017), by singer and rapper K Camp, is the song “Out the Loop”, featuring rapper Trouble, and which was produced by XL Eagle and Nard & B. On the chorus, K Camp states, “You[’re] so out the loop. You[’re] so out the loop!” This idiomatic phrase regards an individual who isn’t part of a group of people making decisions about particular matters, or who know about such decisions. As an example, I’m out of the loop concerning data centers, espe

[DISCLAIMER] On the mixtape Sinatra 2 (2017), by subjectively underappreciated lyricist Vado, is the song “Egos”. When filtered through the lens of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), particularly the ABC model, the track discusses unhealthy and healthy negative emotions. For example, Vado states, “A good nigga, I tried to be. Hate when you lie to me. No more apologies, obviously. It took a lot from inside of me to just leave silently and not become violently, hones

[DISCLAIMER] On the 2014 album The Tortoise and the Crow, by talented hip hop producers and lyricists The Grouch and Eligh, is the melodic track “So Complicated”. Noteworthy, I stated in a blogpost entitled Complex Systems vs. Complicated Systems: The term “complex” relates to a group of obviously related units of which the degree and nature of the relationship is imperfectly known. As an example, my cellphone is a complex system of components. Also, the American Psycholo