"Goodbye is the hardest word to say, this is a moment that I wished that I didn't live to see come..." -- Stevie Wonder

I got laid off.

On Aug. 31, I will be among the estimated 20 million Americans who are currently unemployed.

I never dreamed I would lose my job in the summer.

I thought I had some time before the ax would come down on me and my co-workers at the radio/media company. (I signed an agreement not to disclose or brickbat the company that I worked for.)

I enjoyed working with my co-workers. I had fun writing the daily music news and covering some of the biggest stories of my career, including, sadly, the death of Michael Jackson this past June.

I will sorely miss my gig as a music reporter and critic for that radio company.

Not only am I going to miss my job, but I'm going to miss traveling back and forth to New York City. I love the Big Apple -- the people, the traffic, the tourists, the ladies. I'm going to miss it all.

The silver lining in all of this is that now I can update Beats and Rants on a consistent basis. Vibe magazine placed me at No. 22 on their "Hottest Rap Blogs" list for a reason. The former editors are probably scratching their heads now like, "What the fuck were we thinkin', he hasn't updated his blog in months."

But despite the lapse in updates, I'm a veteran blogger who has been blogging since 2000. First, on Blogger.com but they shut my shit down after I started uploading music on my web page. (Yes, there was a time when uploading music and videos on your blog was actually a very bad thing to do.)  And then on Typepad in 2003, so I'm not a new jack at this. And quite frankly, I do this blogging thing very, very well. 

Also, to help you understand my plight as an unemployed music critic, please watch this video of veteran music critic Christopher R. Weingarten who talks about the future of music criticism on the Internets (don't be afraid of the "s")  and how people will opined about music via Twitter-verse.

And check out his Twitter page 1,000 Times Yes, in which he is reviewing a 1,000 CDs in one year 140 characters at a time.

But I'm optimistic that I will find a job in the near future.  Like my man Reverend Leon Lonnie Love says, "Everything's Gonna Be Alright."

At least I hope so . . .