Journey at 1570 ½
(dedicated with love to the Lit Ex Massive)
by The Seventh Sun
Enter at 1570 ½…
Welcome and thanks for coming
Let us pray:
Dear Lord,
Emancipate my soul and spoon-feed me
To future generations of Hip-Hop Beatniks
Making my stay eternal
In the memories of the Youth.
Amin.
We Black Africans.
We Brown Latinos.
We Red Native Americans.
We Yellow Asians.
We White Europeans.
We Children of the Spices Diaspora.
We come together as letters
Making musical words and phrases
As a joyful noise unto Allah-subhana-t-ala.
All this energy captured
In a dank, dark dungeon
As 1570 ½ North Damen Avenue
Deep below the waistline of the city with big shoulders
Deeper than any underground movement
Masked by the blessings
Of pure smoke clouds inhaled and exhaled,
The Essence of the Creator,
Incense and the spirits of our ancestors.
This is the place where I was
Re-born.
This is the place where I shall
Never die.
This is the place where we
Vibe vicariously on the syllables of our Family -
One People, One Folk -
Orally oozing post natal love
Once impregnated in fertile mental ciphers
Imprisoned no more.
We are the odd-fellows:
Gods and goddesses who don’t quite fit
Into the neat patterns of societal embroidery.
At the forefront of revolutionary resistance
Screaming, “Viva La Razaâ€
We want to be FREE!
In this place we are free.
Free to bask in our freedom
At 1570 ½ rotations per minute
Traveling one thousand five hundred seventy and one half degrees
We are emancipated by this word -
SPOKEN.
Spoken as individuals
Spoken as collective
Spoken with style and savvy
Spoken with true love
We
Are
Free.
Once again thanks for coming out tonight.
Power and Peace!
Goodnight.
Exit at 1570 ½…
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Hip Hop started my love of putting pen to paper and improvising words in the late 70s/early 80s in Buffalo (Humboldt Park, baby!). Chicago's pre-love jones underground scene in the late 80s/early 90s fueled my fire for poetry (Spices, Hot House, LITERARY EXPLOSIONS). DCs weekly poetry sets in the mid 90s gave me a chance to woodshed my craft (It's Your Mug, Mango's, Cup-o-Dreams).
The fertile ground of Birmingham and Atlanta in the late 90s / early 2000s allowed me the opportunities to take my art to a higher level, while influencing and helping a lot of others with whom I came into contact. Events that I co-founded and hosted in Birmingham include THE CIPHER, featuring Infinite Currents, (1998-2000); verbal vybz featuring the music of Jothan Callins (1999-2000); and Urban Groovz (2000-2002). Urban Groovz featured performances by local and nationally known poets, musicians and DJs, including Eric Essix (Birmingham), Jessica Care Moore (Detroit/Atlanta), afro blue (Atlanta), Anthony David (Atlanta), Sunni Patterson (New Orleans), G-Soul (Birmingham), On Purpose (Birmingham), Tehut-9 (NYC) & Cha Cha Jones (Atlanta). The montly musical set was provided by our house assets DJ Berraco (LatinSoul Productions, Tuscaloosa) and Mecca's Groove (Birmingham). See my friends list for other names you might remember from Urban Groovz. I also performed at various events in Atlanta, including the FunkJazz Cafe, Elevations (Club Kaya), and Righteous Vibes (Soul Vegetarian Cafe).
Since 2003, I have been on a hiatus from the poetry scene. I am looking to get back out there. One of my major inspirations is the life of John Coltrane and his path of development in taking his music from the constraints of the blues into free-er and more varied forms.
Other writing influences include the following: Hip Hop, Reggae, Jazz, world history the relationship between man and The Most High, and an infatuation with women of color. I published first pook of poetry, FULL MENTAL JACKET (c. 1999, Noir Design Studios), in December 1999.
Cops: McCain Worker Made Up Attack Story, Pittsburgh Woman To Be Charged With Making False Repo
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/24/politics...
The return of the big Black boogie man ala the Susan Smith story.