420 am…for the music.

so…in less than 24 hours, this is happening:

…and guess who’s up getting his set list together?

I listened to a TEDx talk on the art of procrastinating and how for some people it’s just the only way for them to tap into their genius/best work.  so on one hand…i totally agree and plan to blow everyone’s mind and NOT be nervous about rocking before “the toughest musician in hip hop history” — on the other hand, i want to stop fuckin’ procrastinating and leave myself more time to dive into the meticulous art of editing and ultimately getting a sincerely good night’s rest…but se la vie….the latter is not in my cards tonight.

so we start from the top of an hour long playlist (which has to be condensed into a 25-30 minute set list), with none other than “Dizzy, Sonny, & Sonny” .

…somewhere between “After Hours” & “I Know That You Know” i’m going to find that cool ass transition and flip it into a great segue somehow…. yeah; i ultimately don’t want to hit the stage with what i’ve already done, and since my “newer songs” aren’t ready to go; i’ll have to improvise, and nothing says improvise like freakin’ jazz sessions; especially with Dizzy, Rollins, and Stitt #wincity (4:50 am)

(5:42) ok…i’ve worked my way up to another classic, i won’t mention or post, cause i can’t have another nosey producer digging through my  crates for ideas to work with — i will say i’m rather proud of my team, good guy collective for 1) stepping up the plate and being down to rock and being all around supportive of artistic growth — shout out to frank n’ o’ too; day-1’s still got heat in the chamber.

3)iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii ….. fell asleep.

4) 1:00 PM — breathe in, breathe out. managed to line up all the songs before I passed out. slept SO good (thanks, Jim Beam).  writing a new song for this one. beat called “no soap” by A.T. — his production has always held me down, really looking forward to cranking this out up for the first time tonight. fire fire fire — procrastination is king. can’t remember last time i wrote one i’m feeling like this. but to my new-news — don’t try this at home — i’m a professional and would HIGHLY suggest against putting a new piece on stage the same day you made it. lol

4) 9:00 PM  — i’m in the spot. Got my set laid out…too nervous to post this now cause I don’t trust my ability to re-read, edit, and all that jazz so will post at a later date 🙂

I can say that I didn’t go with the jazz interludes, but rather threw in some of my SIR WOODS BROTHER instrumental efforts as a buffer between my opening cuts and the two tracks i’m going to perform (with Bush) off of our Loose Leaf days. that should go over pretty well i’m sure cause that shit is just dope.  anywayz…. ttyl.

5) 11:40  AM // 11/28/16

So the show went well. Very well. Except for the Moola. and that’s a no no.

However. Learned a LOT about & from my team that night;  everybody nailed their sets, and Count was an inspiration as always.  I personally hated my set, not cause I didn’t kill it, but I didn’t have that ‘new shit on deck ready to go’. I get so stretched (stressed) out with my other ventures, the live element isn’t getting the attention and energy it needs.

so I’m sitting in hindsight looking at what can be improved and what moved me the most.  Off top, I gotta say it was Modifi’s set first…he rarely gets to do his thing, and he’s rocked out two sets in the last month’s time. His OCD really shines in his stage set up, i don’t think I saw ONE wire crossed or a piece that wasn’t evenly set at an equal distance from the little table he was working from. very architectural / aesthetically pleasing to the eye; HOWEVER, i think the main surprise for the audience, is to not expect such a rich southern sound from the guy with curly hair, glasses, and a pea coat, but he DIGS IN and let’s it fly.  shit had me so charge, I HAD to hype man a bit at the end of his set leading into mine.

Secondly, between Wigs and Bush, you get this sincere feeling that they’re 100 with the vibrations they chose to share. It’s rather refreshing to hear ’em shake the walls, cause that’s all you heard if you wasn’t IN the building.

And last but not least; Count Bass Muthafuckin’ D — Dude is my hero. Well, one of them. You can tell this is his life (or atleast a HUGE facet) when he steps on stage and hits those keys. I asked him what he was planning on doing and he said he was gonna “hit those keys a bit, then walk around and talk to ’em” and that’s an understatement to what actually went down. Though we didn’t get the complete “Instantly New” experience (i.e. complete with the PERM OUT COUNT), we did get what happens when an artist is truly “in the pocket” with they’re sound — he could’ve done that shit in his sleep. Beats were wanging and it was a relief to here some of my favorite cuts (from Dwight Spitz) become some of my fellow nay-sayers favorites too; cause let’s me honest — with a style SO polar opposite mainstream b.s. and unique from MOST underground hip hop; Count’s sound can be considered an acquired taste – the lyrics are super conversational and void of punchlines and metaphors left and right and a lot of the songs are less than 2 minutes long — so the back to back experience of each beat grabs u then lets you go before you know it, unless you KNOW it — which i think is dope. no..KNOW it’s dope. cause thanks to count and some of what i’ve heard of #childishgambino ‘s newest project; the industry / radio formatted songs aren’t giving us what we REALLY need half the time. It’s kind of like how once you get hooked to Indy Films, you can’t really get into Hollywood as much — something’s obviously missing.

so glad i ain’t miss it.

#music #is #a #labor #of #love

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thinking About You….

Oh dear, “Weekly” Blog O’ mine….

HOW does 186 hours go by and I don’t find the time to reconnect with you?

Before I ran across THIS blog, I surely thought it was impossible, but now I am PROUD to announce that I at least think about weekly. which is phenomenal, since you can’t call, text, follow, share or retweet anything I do online without my help, and come to think of it… It’s as if you’re the most functional indolent EVER.

More often than not, I find myself saving pictures on my phone to share with you later; HOPING that you’d like their captions and story lines enough to want to share it with the world. In the hopes that you would someday forgive me for all of my neglectful actions and behavior, over the past few years, and I must admit that you’re ability to take the high road in this relationship is uncanny; especially since I REFUSE to promise you jack shit in regards to making a progressive change. HOWEVER, you should know that there IS a deep seeded want to do better, and I plan on doing my part to make it so. cause every successful relationship needs a compromising balance of expectations, and mine for you– have been way too high. so let’s start today…

My last (non-archived-five-year-fan-boy-crush-on-sara benincasa) post was a shrewd PSA about a house party release show, for BLACK DOOM, that was truly awesome, but still no excuse for treating you like a freakin’ cork board. this isn’t craigslist or back page.  I share my thoughts here; and in HINDSIGHT — I’m glad that show went well (for the audience), and I took the mistakes made (behind the scenes) as a great lesson in show facilitation, team building, and money management — on the flip side; it’s been a catalyst for this new found appreciation of creating and sharing. hence…writing to you now while my head is spinning with the million-and-one other things I feel I must do from my never ending list of things to do 🙂 so yeah.. BOOM. PING. POW… BAM.. i’m back…..

song of the day:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRE SIDE NOTE:  This was for some damn reason just SITTING in my drafts and never published from like…5 freakin’ years ago…smh.  I am opting not to edit it, since it was my original writing on this wonderful human being, who’ve i’ve been following on twitter ever since, so …. yeah….

—————————————————————-

i’m now a fan of SARA BENINCASA simply because i think she’s hot. yes. i’m a writer, i’m a poet, i think a lot, i have the gumption and reserve to admit my reasoning is shallow. #dontjudgeme

i’m sure it has something to do with her ability to mix pink n’ brown, but definitely something to do with the fact she’s hilarious. humor turns me on. #judgeme if you don’t feel the same about a good laugh paired with a ‘fuck load of hair’ (c)s. benincasa — oh yeah, she’s an author too.

and so the count down is up….

that’s right….one day left.

tomorrow feeling like some point of no return, and i’m freaking out a bit. my anxiousness in over drive right now cause I just want everything to go smoothly — not perfect — but smooth. i’m thinking about everyone’s experience. the LAST thing i’m worried about is music — no body on this bill is a rookie — everyone’s got the passion for the craft to bring it home — i’m thinking about details on the facilitation end that most people drop-ball on; i want there to be enough food, enough drink, enough TP and air freshner, enough copies of the CD — enough MERCH — and more specifically; christmas lights.

consciously i know i’m just being too damn cerebral

the house is a great space

the people are cool as all damn get-out

the crew’s putting in on bizzeer,

and the line up is solid-snake.

and if i’m really going to be transparent ….. (think about it)….i’m half torn about my personal life, and i’m finding really NO time to even address certain issues right now. it kind of like refusing to having that argument before u clock into work, but you REALLY want to say fuck it, and see what you already know is gonna happen, happen? – yeah…that’s me. somewhere. fleeting through these finger tips as I type.

i gotta make sure there’s enough mics.

enough solo cups.

enough trashcans.

enough thumb tacks.

enough music to distract.

enough music to contain

enough balance to sustain the moment…….i really don’t think i’m going to sleep tonight. i can feel it.

 

 

 

Black Doom Mixtape Release Set for July 22, 2016

BLACK ATTICUS of THE GOOD GUY COLLECTIVE PRESENTS:

WHAT: Black Atticus’ sophomore solo mixtape effort, completely dedicated to MF DOOM,

with lyrics and songs written over Doom productions.

WHEN: Available for FREE DOWNLOAD July 22, 2016

WHERE: http://www.facebook.com/blackatticus via LIVE SHOW at HAWTHORNE HOUSE in SOUTH KNOXVILLE // LINE UP & ADDRESS TBA via the Black Atticus FB Page

WHO:  ATTIKANE // ATTICUS DEL NEGRO // J.J. WOODS // SIR WOODS BROTHER //

G O O D G U Y  C O L L E C T I V E  // featuring // STARR DA POET // KELLI TURCZYN // AMELIA PARKER// DREW DRAKE // TANK // WERDE // 7 FIGGAZ // SPOOK // BOBBY FUEGO// J BUSH // ONE HOUR PHOTO // SANIYAH X // DJ WIGS // MORIAH // XZAVIAN WRUSHEN //ALONZO RODGERS // BRANDON GIBSON // JAYMO JANGLES // OUT OF PLACE

————————————————-

WHY THIS PROJECT:

      1)  cause “It’s Been A Long Time…”

      2)  cause Doom’s Dope

2 1/2) cause he only came to save the game like a memory card

2 3/4) cause some of you don’t know that line

       3)  cause creatively…Good Guy charges me………..rent

       4)  cause I AM said I can

       5)  cause those beats kept haunting me in my sleep.

       6) cause it’s time to get sandwich

       7) cause I can’t get the stems for my actual album yet

       8) cause Rhea Sunshine’s my sister from another mister

       9) cause I needed to get Benny Smith some new shit to spin ASAP

     10) cause those bitches thought they could stop us.

      11) cause STARR’ll be pissed if he spent all that time mixing and i don’t.

      12) cause Sir Woods is my Brother.

      13) cause Ashley Capps n’ them should book us.

      14) cause I wanna do this full time

      15) cause the egos behind most mics just need to be fans again.

      16) cause it was written…i mean tagged….(by chris jones).

      17) cause i spent almost a year on it to make sure it’s dope.

      18) cause Jose Diaz, Jr. did all that kick ass artwork.

      19) cause it’s come this far and I might as well have twenty

     20) cause i wrote it for you.

————————————————–

I made the Black Doom project for both personal and professional reasons.

Personally, I just feel it’s time to flex and push myself creatively, especially  after spending three to four years devoting the bulk of my musical creativity to THE THEORIZT (not to mention the two years prior, with LOOSE LEAF).  The urge to do it solo or spearhead a project has done nothing but get stronger over the years, especially with the formation of Good Guy Collective– we mutually agree that each of our artist should push themselves and find their own audience, and their own sound — our individual efforts, supports the collective’s successes; plus it’s very refreshing to be connected to artist who are just as dedicated to growing as you are. That said; I had to define what growing as a recording / performing artist means to me, personally. Without going into the substantially long ass list of goals I have, I will share where it starts for me:

making. better. music. that represents how I feel, what I hear, and what I want to say.

i feel that this project is a good predecessor to what I have in the works for my discography, plus it’s been a great learning experience.  through this project, I learned how to collaborate better with different voices, i learned the grueling process of post-production work ‘ain’t no hoe’, and ultimately how to trust what I’m hearing all the time in my head…….especially those voices that tend to rhyme well over whatever beat i’m listening to at the moment 🙂

My professional reasons for putting this out first, before my actual solo album (tentatively titled: PARK CITY KING / PARK CITY PEDESTRIAN), is just as strategic as it is simply for the love. I’d rather not assume anyone who knows me is even waiting to add this to their personal rotations and playlist; it’s out of the blue,off the radar, and i’m pretty much in a cubical making cold calls over here.  This is me (re)introducing myself, trying to connect through a simple mantra of common ground: ‘you can’t lead without first learning how to follow’– so in this context — ‘before that spot light works, you GOTTA be a FAN first’; and that’s who I want to connect with first; fans of this art form; and participants of this culture worldwide.

‘With this [ black doom ] mix tape I’m able to share my love for this culture, for its sound, my knack for song writing, and the blessing it is to have so many talent friends willing to help it be everything I’m hearing in my head! To top it all off  I get to pay homage to my favorite hip hop artist ‘at the same damn time’ ; I love it!!!

                                                                                                                                  – Black Atticus

THE INFLUENCE:

—  I first heard DOOM over 10 years ago (and had already been writing and rhyming to this production and didn’t really know it), but didn’t really catch on to how sick his skills were, until I heard him on ‘QUITE BUTTERY‘off COUNT BASS D‘S Dwight Spitz album, when I was living in Nashville and going to Nossi College of Art in Rivergate.  I’m a huge fan of how Count lays his tracks out and beats, and to hear Doom on that Bass D sound like that really hooked me in. Granted, It wasn’t his most intricate verse but the clear use of no hooks, an endless stream of clever one-liners, and seemingly the  most on-beat-yet-off-beat flow anyone has ever managed to patent into a rhyme style, got addictive to my ears.

He wasn’t boring the shit out of me, like most rappers, infact, I couldn’t wait to hear more!

So I asked around, called up DJ’s i knew, fellow fiends and they hooked me up with whatever they had — I went to the store and copped the Viktor Vaughn album; I searched online and found forums and hip hop boards dedicated to trying to decode all he was saying (WAY before rap genius ever existed) – and if you weren’t flipping out about the rhymes, you was flipping out about his sample-selections and beats!! it was a complete package —  Doom wasn’t/isn’t commercial, but has commercial success (rumored to have amassed the largest underground following of any genre by mid-2000’s) — this was setting a new bar of balance in my mind; between commerce, sample twerks, and a bomb verse –it’s all possible.

“As I reminisce never forgot when I was very broke
Shot the Henny straight, couldn’t afford to cop the cherry coke” – MF Dumile

THE BEATS & PRODUCTION:

dope beats move me to write something or start freestyling. period.

The first songs I ever wrote to his beats was ‘B-Girl Charmer‘ (with my boy S.T.A.R.R.)* and another cut called ‘The Ooh I’ — we put em out on our ‘Live From The Apartment’ projects, like waaay back in the day, when I think we were both getting our footing on the fact we want to really record music. I take that back….he KNEW he wanted to record (and was already doing so), however I had never done anything solo at the time, since I was initially with the Fluid Engineerz; so hearing Doom;s production kind of motivated me to write and rhyme in a different way — plus at the time, no one really wanted me to sing on a song (and I don’t blame ’em lol) but it was very liberating to get that creatively out of system — the fear n’ whatnot.

THE RHYME, STORY, & SONG:

What eventually sealed the deal on this release, was my cousin Jarius Bush’s 30/16 Challenge. I entered the first year, finished with merit, and by time it was over, 1/3rd of what ended up being ‘Black Doom‘ was essentially written out. I’d be a fool to not admit I was intimidated to my thing over these tracks, cause any die hard doom fan knows: he doesn’t sing. he doesn’t do hooks.

Bass D, is this thing on?
Any thing we do, never on no sing song
Always from the heart no matter who got no bling on
DOOM keep it movin’ back and forth like ping-pong – MF DOOM

But after sitting down with DJ Wigs and spending a few days, just listening over what had already been done over MF tracks ( everything from mixtapes to mash ups) ; we concluded, that there have been more fails then wins over this productions.  A fail would be to try to rhyme like him. So no talking in third person, or trying to match that witty dark sense of humor — like that’s like comedians stealing each others sway and delivery — it’s funny, but not natural; and definitely no off-beat mash ups — the course was clear.  I’ll go the exact opposite direction and stay true to my own form. At most, I do have a few verses where I feel i’m “rapping under the influence” (RUI), but definitely not copping a style, since the flow flips to each song.  I’d just love to know the man himself heard it someday.

THE FEATURES:

 — The range of features on this mixtape is somewhat indescribable. I got everything from witty and raw ‘BARbarians’ (like 7 Figgaz, Spook, Bobby Fuego) to classically trained opera singers, like Brandon Gibson. I can’t really explain how in the world I managed to hear parts for all these artist, but it happened in a very natural fashion;

they were all willing to come to the lab and record, once they got there, they were so professional and comfortable in the space, that songs came out wonderfully. They already liked the lyrics, and I wrote parts specifically for most of their voices; other just happened to work out great, such as Xzavian Wrushen and Alonzo Rodgers on ‘Same Change’ — they came in, went over the words a bit, and just made it their own — ditto for Drew Drake and Amelia Parker’s assassination of ‘The Switch Blade Skate Jam’.  If I learned anything while making this project, is that there’s value in having the right person doing the right job; the right voice, to bring life to the right words. Hands down; i’m very grateful to even know people who go ‘talent on tap’ like that!!!

The FEATURES for BLACK DOOM:

Grant ‘Tank’ Williams

Drew Drake & Amelia Parker

Kelli Turczyn

Spook Spookson

Bobby Fuego

Jaymo Jangles

Out of Place

One Hour Photo

DJ Wigs

Moriah

J-Bush

S.T.A.R.R. the Poet

Brandon Gibson

Xzavian Wrushen

Alonzo Rodgers

Saniyah X

Werde

& 7 Figgaz

BLACK ATTICUS BACKGROUND:

Black Atticus is a spoken word poet and hip hop recording artist from Knoxville TN. He made his start in music and poetry in the early 2000’s, debuting with The Fluid Engineerz, who managed to gain their first international sales with their first vinyl pressed single; “Love For This” , eventually he became part lead vocalist and co-song writer for The Theorizt. His voice has been heralded throughout the South East as a competitive slam poet, which has gained him national ranking for over a decade now. Locally, he’s been the most nominated Hip Hop artist of the year for ten years running, and is currently the 2016 Poet of the Year.

Throughout his career, thus far,  he’s shared stage with legends such as Macy Gray, Cee Lo Green & the Soul Machine, Blue Print, K.C. & Jo Jo of Jodeci, Astronautalis, Bus Driver, Killah Priest of The Wu Tang Clan, Milo, Natti Lovejoys, Cesar Comanche, Edgar Allen Floe, The Theorizt (which he was part front man / lead vocalist and song writer),  Tim Lee 3, M.U.G.A.B.E.E., Paula Larke, Egon, Count Bass D, Scienz of Life, Aftah Party,  and more.

Currently Atticus is the founder and host of Dual City Open Mic Event called Poboys & Poets, based in both Knoxville & Nashville TN.  He speaks often to schools and groups about the art of language and conducts workshops with non profits, such as The Carpetbag Theatre and Alternate R.O.O.T.S.  His passion is in poetry, music, and teaching so if you’re interested in booking, please contact him for HOSTING, WORKSHOPS, PERFORMANCE, and SPEAKING at blackatticus@gmail.com

Dream Travel Flow *NEW BLACK ATTICUS SINGLE*

DREAM TRAVEL FLOW by Black Atticus (produced by Average Thought) this track is FOR PROMO ONLY

So Break Go On Ok So Long by Black Atticus

So Break Go On, Click Picture for FREE DOWNLOAD

RED TAILS: a movie for people who know air is valuable.

One of the main things i’m never ever surprised about when meeting someone new is whether or not they’re interested in movies.  it’s really a said-given, a modern day commonality of gross proportions, an extremely short journey towards discovering things we have in common; it’s high-school pimpin’ at it’s lowest form, and if you DON’T like watching movies, I’d rather NOT find out by directly bringing movies up –this is a gold trait I’d rather discover more naturally and in-the-moment; it makes you MORE BELIEVABLE; so by any and all means I try to SKIP this part of the initial “getting to know you” conversation as much as possible:

me: “so what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?”

her: “Oh I love to hang out with my friends <as opposed to kicking it with enemies & haters!?>,go shopping, listening to music, ya know?! <sips drink a sec, til eyes widen with self-discovery> OH! and Watching Movies!!! I LOOOVVEE a Good Movie!!”

normally the macrologist in me says: “oh really?! <leaning forward as if interested & surprised> what kind of movies do like?”

while the realist in me  WANTS to say: “of course you do. air is valuable. ”

Yet let us not deter from the severity of this week’s point:  getting out the house, meeting up at the theater with your family/friends, to watch watch the new Red Tails movie during it’s OPENING WEEK — starting THIS FRIDAY Jan. 20-27th #supportchange #occupygrowth

HOW DOES A MOVIE, TV SHOW, COMMERICIAL, or MEDIA OUTPUT DEFINE US?

– glad you asked 🙂

As a resident of KNOXVILLE, TN — i’m by geographical definition ‘a southerner’, a beneath the mason-dixon-liner; and I’m reminded every winter by my friends “up north”  and “out west” :

NORTH: “…you call THIS cold?! HAHAHA!!! you’d NEVER survive a december in Cleveland”

WEST: “… snow is against my religion!– you should come out here, black, cause i’m STILL rockin’ da flops n’ shorts, homie!”

and I sincerely can’t count the amounts of times I’ve run into people, who’ve never been to the south, who IMMEDIATELY assume that we STILL have dirt roads everywhere, we all wear over-alls, drink moonshine with every meal, and JUST-NOW got the internet a few years ago; because ALL they ever saw about the south was  DOLLYWOOD COMMERCIALS. so yes…media plays a HUGE roll in what’s known abroad.

SO HOW COULD SUPPORTING THIS MOVIE “CHANGE THINGS”?

1) It’s expansively educational.

It gives the viewer an in depth view on a story previously swept under the rug by common history.

2) It’s fights racism; see previous answer and read on 🙂

3) It supports the spreading of a rare known truth in a way that should make it easier for future movies to follow suit —

the ABSOLUTE power of films goes beyond my ability to describe in words here on this blog, but none of us can deny that we’ve been watching them and effected by them in some form or fashion; the main fashion in which I’m concerned about is knowledge obtained between the “viewer: reader ratio”.

UNFORTUNATELY most of us (especially kids-teens-youth) would rather see the movie than read the book. LEAVING the movie, tv, media (take out), etc — to be the end-all-learning station in a lot of cases pertaining to what happened in the past.

The real fire behind my writing is something that JAMIE FOXX said during the TONY AWARDS about DREAM GIRLS (a movie, with a predominantly African American cast,that received 8 awards that day and is quite possibly one of the best musicals in history) and how he was disappointed that the movie was playing in less than 40 theatres WORLD WIDE; whereas his other films have been in easily 200+ during their opening week.

Of course we all know any productions success is based upon it’s generated revenue, and very few of those movies receive a Tony Award (regardless of how much it sold) — so it would common sense that a movie with an all-star cast that amassed over 5 awards, should have and would have generated 10x’s what it did IF it had had the kind of exposure most block busters get. hell…BEYONCE (who played lead actress) alone gets more attention when she trips and falls on stage during a live performance.

HOW DOES A MOVIE GET WORLD WIDE? same way everything does from music to chia pets, it’s ALL about ‘distribution deals’ . FOR RED TAILS — GEORGE LUCAS himself has to write a check to get the movie made and another check to distribute this movie, cause ‘the hollywood powers that be’ would NOT support this film!!!!!! Which is odd because it has tons of actors (including CUBA GOODING JR.) who have done nothing but draw in audiences throughout their illustrious careers.  To not support this film, which depicts African American males in a different light then most previous movies (you know…instead of the LONE WOLF -1-in-a-million black men are THIS amazing; whereas this one is shows an  “all together” “collectively having integrity and courage) — is a blatant out-right slap in the face towards progressive change.

It’s very important that the ENTIRE story is shared with EVERYONE of all ages, in all countries across the globe.

“Courage Has No Color”

Asia Samson & The Cover Slam (reflection)

Tonight was probably the first time I’ve been so moved by poets, both local and traveling, in a long time.  Lane exploded from the jump, Kali made us laugh, Upset made us think (as always), and it was damn damn damn good to see Rhea back up on the mic, and Asia Samson’s feature was just complete — I (we) got to hear poems I’ve (we’ve) never heard him compete with, and it was refreshing to hear the humorous w/ the heavy for a change (samson never makes you laugh when he’s pummeling your team in a competition); nonetheless —

I don’t know if it was the story about his friend fighting cancer or the poem about his own personal bout or the poem about his father’s faith that got to me, but somewhere in the mix of his words, I got a real good reflection of what I’m missing; of what i’ve somehow been infected with along this journey of being a hypersocial-butterfly — and that’s, somewhere along the way i’ve grown weary of us not getting along.   I’ve beeen very aware of when disputes or disapproval begins to effect undertones, and whispers become malicious.  OF COURSE this isn’t the overall threading of the events, by no means, our track record proves that alone — but in the finer fabrics; there’s a tear here and there.  Something I imagine most wouldn’t notice, where my eyes have had years of experience — it’s just deciding to gather the energy to deal with it all, is evading my reasoning.  I’ve adapted this belief that it’s a complete waste of time to try and change someone’s mind; someones feelings, etc — until it hit me:  ‘…then why bother with poetry?!?!’

 

and THIS is what reminds me of what Asia did…he had us chant a few simple things between the stories and the pieces, that triggered me… (call and response style)

Asia: “STRUGGLE!!”

Us: “FIGHT!!”

Asia: “STRUGGLE!!!”

Us: “FIGHT!!”

Asia: “PEOPLE!!”

Us: “LOVE!!”

Asia: “PEOPLE!!”

Us: “LOVE!!”

that’s it! —  people. love.

and lie.

and live.

and cry.

and be — people.

and damn………….it’s my birthday.

thanks poetry.

Black Atticus: Monthly News Letter “When the Beat Drops”