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KAHN'S HIP-HOP TOY BOX 

What is "Kahn's hip-hop toy box?"  Well it's urban, pop toys, hip-hop action figures and vinyl figures that I decided to put in funny, political, and interesting situations.  Its really nothing more than toy photography with a hip-hop and urban twist.  Big up to my man's Valid for letting me use track "Validation" and "This Music" of your Reach High album.

Hip-Hop Toy Box Facebook page



Also, to check out the rest of photography from Kahn Santori - go to www.ksantori.com
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Entrepreneurship, Damon Dash, Guilt, and Understanding Your Personality  


Damon Dash made quite a buzz on the Breakfast Club when he challenged everyone to be their own boss.  Most of what he said was on point but it deeper than just, “not wanting to call another man boss.”



There are 3 big things I would like everyone to think about here.

1.     Don’t’ feel “guilty” if you aren’t the type to start and run your own business.  It doesn’t make you less of a man or a bad example for your children.  Millions of people have the mental stamina to push themselves through undergrad, post…Read more

New Creativity, New Venture, New Road- 

New creativity, new venture, new road.

Looking back; I remember being 12 years-old writing poems in the back of math notebooks,  14 years -old using a GE Boombox, a Radio Shack mixer, and a cheap turntable to record my on raps.   I worked to navigate my way to and through the fields of journalism, stage & page poetics, and wedding photography. and Finally: there was the task of resculpting and reshaping my physique after being overweight for about 7 years , All I have ever wanted to do was create. Thats it.…Read more

Piano Lessons, Jealously, and Fighting For Your Goals  

I remember sitting in front of my mother’s maroon piano.  Seconds seem like hours and hours seem like days.  “Practice,” yelled my grandmother from the other room.  Thus, I commenced to play Schubert, Chopin and Mozart.  Wishing I was outside at the same time.

 

The experience; to sum it up – I hated it!

 

I didn’t like the piano, I didn’t like practicing the piano, and I had stopped wanting to learn after the first month I got started.  Piano lessons were like quarter machine gum: after a few chews…

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Happiness, love, Careers, and Sports  

 

You can look at any of my participation in organized sports from middle school to high school and I guarantee you that I was far from an “impact player.”  Without going into too much embarrassing detail – I really can’t think of any major contribution during my stint of high school football.

 

However I can assure you that none of this ever bothered me.  Why?  Honestly; I loved the game (football) and that was the only reason I played.   I could watch the game for hours, not matter who would be playing…

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Go for the PASSION not the HUSTLE 

 

Every so often I’ll receive a request to take “party photographs.”  You know – Tupac/Rolls Royce/Mansion air brushed background type photos.  I’ll very politely decline the offer.  I don’t decline because I’m booked or because I think I’m “too good” for that type of photography.  Trust me; I know several photographers who make 2 or 3 thousand shooting events like that.  I turn those gigs down because I’m not passionate about that form of photography and I look at it as more of a “hustle” than an “art…

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Things the 37-year old Kahn would tell the 18-year old Kahn 

 
  1. Stop investing money in things that yield you little like clothes, cars, jewelry, & people.
  2. Listen to your grandfather now, he’s always right.  This will save you money & mistakes in the near future.
  3. You’re going to start falling in love with miscellaneous goals and pursing them sloppily.  STOP and think things through.
  4. In about 5 years you’re going to buy your first camera. Learn how to use it and don’t buy anything else until you do (because you’ll be
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Crying Son, Sacrificing life, business, Identify, and Being Happy 

 



I remember the day I went through my youngest son’s book bag when he 6 years-old. I found the usual - crayons, books, toys, and crumbs. As I looked through his school project folder I ran across a school assignment. It was a small stapled construction paper booklet in which he drew pictures of his emotions. When I turned to the page that read, “What makes me sad,” there was a drawn picture of him playing and crying while I was at my computer working. Talk about a guilt trip.
That year was 2009 and I was…Read more

You’re Starting point, Photography, DJing, Weight Loss, and Business 

I remember when I first decided I wanted to make photography more business than pastime. I tore through articles in various trade magazines and ran up a high credit card bill ordering software and miscellaneous photo equipment that I “thought” I needed.

I also had a friend who started a DJ business around the same time and spent all his paychecks on lighting equipment and multiple speakers to go along with the basic stuff he already had. After his first few paid gigs – he learned he didn’t need half the…Read more

The O.J. Truck, Snow Removal, Youth, and Eddie Bauer 

I was 19 and had my sights dead set on an Eddie Bauer Ford Explorer. There was just one problem – I couldn’t afford one. I still figured I could use my hooptie as a down payment and figure out the rest later.

While most car salesmen were quick to shoot down my dream – there was one that tried to persuade me into another option. I can’t remember the guy’s name, but he was a typical salesman: shite shirt, grey pants, and overly friendly. He called me, and told me he had sometime better than a Explorer but I…Read more

Old business, New business, Photography, and Loving your Customers 

     An old acquaintance of mine has been in the graphic design business since the 90s. He started in his mother’s basement; designing party flyers, and hustling. These days he has a standalone shop, office space, and his business is nationwide. I ran into him at Sam’s Club a while back and he made an interesting statement –

“You know Kahn, back when I started my business; I had the whole thing on lock because I was the only one that knew how to do it. These days, most people can learn how to do whatever…Read more

Following Through, Movies, Books, and CD’s 

My grandfather always encouraged me to make as many mistakes as I could. “Go ahead and make all your mistakes now Kahn, because the only thing worse than a fool is an old fool,” he constantly told me. He also spoke how he never got a good grasp on life until he turned 40. That’s when he effectively began to save money, bought a new house, and sat up the way he would put his children through college. My grandfather had learned how to “follow through.”

I changed majors about 25 times in college. Business,…Read more

Holding on, Holding you back, Pinehurst, and Tears 

October 8, 2008 was emotional; it was the day we moved. I know for some– moving is a yearly thing-lol. Me; the only address I’d ever known since I was 15 months-old was Pinehurst. I was raised there and my mother was raised there. I knew every creek in the floor, the trick to unlock the back door, the problem with the basement bathroom, and all the best hiding spots. But it was time: our youngest daughter was due any day, we needed more space, and I needed a legitimate home office/studio.

Knowing all of…Read more

Struggling, Trying to Make it, Positivity, and Getting Sent Home 

50 percent of my friends or acquaintances I see daily exchange these phrases: “Struggling,” “Another day, another dolla’,” “Same shit, different toilet,” “Trying to make it do what it do,” “Just taking it one day at a time,” “Trying to be like you man; you got the best hand,” and “Just trying to hold on and make it happen.”

The funny thing is a lot of the times – there is no truth in these statements (at least from my end). Somewhere in adulthood talking about your “successes” became mildly “unpopular.”…Read more

Finding yourself, self-evaluation, and growing 

One of the most commonly known phrases of self- evaluation is; “I have to find myself.” While all of us at different points in life began to seek deeper understandings of our souls – what we don't understand is that it's not a “one-time thing.” Finding yourself never stops.

When I was 22 I re-found myself spiritually. Through self-evaluation I realized that I was going to church out of tradition and ritual rather than going to seek spiritual enlightenment. Through another self-evaluation process at age 24…

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The Importance of People  

One of the most important things we can do with our lives is to connect with people that have the potential to help us. This doesn’t mean you have to necessarily be what’s called a “People Person” but you have to recognize when a person has the potential to help further your goals and at least try to reach out to that person. A few examples:

-In 1994 (my first year of community college) I found myself in a basic composition class. After about 1 week and 2 assignments, my teacher (Dr. Willey) suggested that…Read more