28 Days of Afropunk - Day 2 - Cleveland

As we all started to get settled in and get to know one another, it became instantly clear to us all that we would have to drop all pretense and live literally right on top of one another for 1 month. Everything was starting to fall in-line and we began to roll into a routine. The energy surroundint the tour was beginning to swell as Saul Williams had decided to explore another level of his creativity and had unleashed Niggy Tardust, an alter-ego, generator of creative generation, a vessel for self-expression. From the heart and soul of us all but first that of Matthew Morgan the vision for Afropunk was materialising, the dream finally becoming a reality... We met up with American Fangs as we rolled into The House Of Blues in Cleveland Ohio. Saul and I and Brendon (Director/Producer) and David (Director/cinematographer) decided to capture some film of the city, notably the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Saul decided to take a tour but only after we had quickly captured a question on camera - my first time all alone on camera with Saul Williams. He had suprised me with his humour as I had falsly attributed a seriousness to his personality based solely on the content of his work. I wasn't ready for his playfulness and the depth of his experience. I'm still a novice compared to the legend that stood beside me... And I was in for a ride!
........You're gonna have to wait to see if they even leave it in the final edit for the piece we put together for Afropunk.com check daily for updates...

28 Days of Afropunk - Day 1 - New York City

Wow!

I don't even know what to say! After endless hours of pre-production and planning, the day was upon us. Our first show of our first National tour - Afropunk is bringin it to the streets and coming to your town!

So, first it's the anticipation... Saul Williams is the headliner, one of my favorite poets and someone who inspired me to start writing - would be meeting us at the Blender Theater in Manhattan. Part of a great line up of other Punk Rock/Hardcore bands who I would be meeting for the first time. Activator, CX KiDTRONIK, Tchaka Diallo and Rough Francis. My job for the day... production and of course your on-camera personality. It's up to me to show you these cool bands and bring you a little piece of their spirit. So of course the pressure was on. But more than that, you just never know what you're in for... Here's how it went...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! 

"Come here!" interview...

"Over there!" - interview, 

"Get over here now Chris Rock is here!"

"Come over here Niggy Tardust is ready to go - he's got his make up on!"

Make it happen, lights, energy, action!

And then it was over! It was 10 hours that flew by in what felt like 3. Then we all loaded up on the tour bus and headed for Cleveland. 12 people, bunk beds and really close quarter for the next 28 days, 10 men and 2 ladies. I can't wait! HA! You can check out all the cool people we saw and all highlights for the evening at Whitney Summer's blog @ afrospunky.blogspot.com.

So I'm out for now, but I'll catch up with you all in Cleveland - Afropunk, I'm out!

Thunderous Fists

Giant, thick hands coming down over and over on my head, my body. A pounding in my ears so loud, so deafening it almost hypnotizes me, wills me to give in and give up. From that pound to the next, there is conciousness... I know I should be paralyzed by fear, but somehow my body is still moving. My legs kicking, my arms flalling, my mind retreating. Retreating, screaming to the rest of me. "What are you doing!", "What is he doing! Don't hurt him, just let him finish...". With every kick my mind yells STOP! With every punch my body screams NO! Daddy NO! He doesn't hear me and the beating goes on for what seems like forever. And then some how I'm up and I'm running or I'm just moving as fast as I can away, away... So I make it to the kitchen and I can feel him right behind me, right behind me... I pick up the first thing, the biggest thing that i can find - a chair. I point it at him like a lion tamer staring a feroceous beast in the mouth. For an instant, we both freeze. I look at him with not a tear in my heart and with defiance in my eyes. My chest heaving and the chair my only sign of weakness shaking like a leaf. He takes a step forward, I counter him backwards and again we are frozen. Our eyes lock and in the silence his roar is deafening. "When I get my hands on you" he growls, "I'm gonna kill you, I'm gonna fucking kill you." Somehow, my defiant soul responds, "you fucking put your hands on me...". Suddenly, the phone rings. Once - the silence hasn't yet been broken. We are locked in a joust, repeating ourselves, waiting for the other to back down. Almost from a distance the second ring is heard. On the third ring he blinks, snaps out of his trans, turns and walks away. I stand there my arms trembling, my eyes locked on him as he moves slowly away from me. I stand frozen My father just told me... My heart broke and from it oozed crimson tears as I crumpled, exhausted to the ground. That was it... and yet the tears would not fall from my eyes, because my eyes were not deceiving me. What I witnessed was something a child should never have to see. How did I feel that day?
Beaten not by his fists but by his rage, by the humiliation he had imposed upon me. He was supposed to love me and yet the look in his eyes...

Laptop confidential with Janelle Monae @ Afropunk 2009

Well... Good morning everyone!! So I just experienced my first weekend at Afropunk in Brooklyn and actually I'm kinda speechless... Ya RIGHT!! That ish was off the hook!! There were soo many people out, all day everday! Brooklyn YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!!
Of course the last day I went out to see Saul Williams and Janelle Monae... The hard working woman that I am I brought my laptop with me and was made to endure all of the snickers of my peers as I raised my ~$2000 17-inch MacBook Pro into the air to capture all the goings on of that day... Little did they know, I would be lucky enough to meet Janelle Monae later that day and challenge her to a dance-off!!!! Mwahahahahaha!
So without further adieu, please enjoy my unedited interview with Janelle Monae... (please ya'll be patient - I know you want to see yourselves on camera, but you have to give me time to put the whole thing together and do it up right! Ya heard!! So stay tuned for the full length edited version of all the goings on of Afropunk 2009!!)

And for all those of you who filmed me while I was filming Janelle, please feel free to send me that footage and I will put it in the finished piece... LOVE YOU BROOKLYN!!!

Whispering

Soft whispers in my ear.
Blowing gently, my heart racing,
My body tingling, I laugh quietly.

Soft whispers in my ear.
Speaking slowly, my heart racing,
My body tingling,
I inhale deeply and exhale slowly.

Soft whispers in my ear.
Slow speak becomes irregular,
My heart racing,
My body tingling,
I feel the tremble in your voice.

Speaking in my ear,
You tell me you love me but...
My heart races,
My body tingles,
My body numbs.

Soft whispers in my ear.
You love me but...
Not enough, not enough for forever.
My heart racing,
My body tingling,
My eyes watering.

Soft whispers in my ear.
You tell me you're sorry...
My heart breaking,
My body shivering,
Tears dripping from my chin.

Breathe Him

I breathe in the air as it relaxes me and makes me think of you,
Your sweet scent, the slightest hint of sweat enveloped in the musk of your cologne.
Your perfume soothes my senses, eases my fears and lures me to dream.
I exhale and embrace the thought of you,
Beautiful and carefree
Like a child walking, talking doing for the first time...
I breathe in the air and feel you,
Touching me and loving me,
In moments of innocence
When sleep is the only thing calling you.
Dreams of past days and past thoughts
Succumbing to present times and present thoughts.
I exhale and satisfied,
I wrap my arms around you,
Drawing your body - warm - to mine
Passionately enrapturing all of you,
As if to make you a part of me.
I breathe in the air and stop -
Stop breathing, trapping time,
Freezing the moment that we share
Together and without restraint,
Without prejudice.
A time without boundaries,
Forever to encapsulate our moment,
Unique to no one but one another.
Loving so much...
So much, that our respiration,
The heaving of our bodies moves in sync,
Abolishes our surroundings,
Blurrs our consciousness
And forces us to become one in the moment...
Forgetting, inhaling, exhaling, embracing - loving...

Laptop confidential - People in my neighbourhood

Well, here we go... As we speak, I am in Toronto, my home town, visiting family and friends. I haven't been here for over a year, and Toronto is changing soooo much. Everyone is doing well and loving life!

I decided that I would document all the goings on during my visit with my laptop (no I don't have a digital camcorder or a digital camera - so I'm makin due with what I got). I walked the streets of downtown Toronto for 2 days with my MacBook in hand and iMovie ready and waiting and recorded all the people I met and the places I went. Over the next few weeks you'll see all of my intimate one-on-one interviews of up and coming artists and entrepreneurs in Toronto and New York. Some people you may know, some you need to know - Zaki Ibrahim, MindBender, Sonja Den Elzen, Elicser, Francesca Nocera, Ravi Soup, Saidah Baba Talibah, Kamplex Seen, Lelani Dee, Jamila Malika and Mz. Chawles - my Toronto arsenal and beloved friends, you all made this so much fun. Thank you for your time and for sharing with me... Peace and blessings fam!!

And now an excerpt from...

Laptop Confidential
Lelani Dee (singing) with host Sandra Amarie (aka MissAmarie)

It all started with MovementCulture

So, it's been about 2 years... 2 years of learning, growing and rebuilding. I've now been in the great NYC for just over a year, and things are going just as planned. For those of you who don't know my story, here it is...


Many years ago I decided that I wanted to stop dreaming and start making my dreams reality. A young artist (singer, poet, actor, writer) struggling in Toronto, I carried not only my burden but all the burdens of my fellow artists. There is this thing that happens when we decide that we want others to see the artists we have always been. Somehow we forget that there is a business involved in what we do and that we are worth not what others think they should pay for art but much much more. So I did something about it and MovementCulture was born. An organization created to empower artists by connecting them with other artists and providing them a real platform to display their art.





Artists that many New Yorkers on the art scene know were a part of our debut event...

Fly Lady Di

Taha Clayton

Geology

Graph Nobel

and of course all of our Toronto Artists still doin it!!

They were great parties with food, music, peotry and of course some of the greatest Dj's always rolled through and made special guest appearances.

Eventually I was evicted from our amazing loft space that we had renovated and had created so many amazing memories in over the year. It was a tough time, court and such. But as we all know there is always silver lining if we are just patient.

I went out and furiously tried to find another space that we could keep doing what we had already started. It was tough but the space that we did find became something that I had been dreaming of since I was a child. A place to meet, eat and feel good... And so began Moja Tea Gallery. A small retail space in downtown Toronto where artists showed work and where I began making my epic fresh squeezed iced tea. Apple-Basil-Ginger Sencha Green Tea anyone?


TO BE CONTINUED...

who cares...

who cares about the mother with no home, no hope, no help.
who cares that our brothers have no role models to turn them from boys to men.
who cares that we can't stop sending our sons to war
and that with all we have achieved
that there is no control, moderation or concern
for all that we still have a grip on.
who cares about our daughters
who find their self-esteem in men who consider them
bitches, scanks and...
who cares that we all need role models and guidance
that we need to tear down this hierarchy of suffrance, greed and need.
who cares that the only person I can rely on is me
who cares that with all the money in the world
no one has to go starving,
that we can have everything that we need, want and can conceive.
who cares that the rich stay rich and the poor
well, they never get rich.
who cares that we all know that with all that we have, if we just shared the
wealth, education and freedom we could extend better lives to all people throughout the world.
who cares...

Fever of Love

I am humming all over
My heart beats two times just to keep up.
My mouth is dry
And the anticipation of you builds
With every memory of your smile.
The mirror of me only reflects you.
Our journey together conssumated in the silences.

When you left you took a piece of me. i felt it go...

She show's all her cards! uh oh...

Sonia:
"what year were you born?"
Malcolm:
"1975... you?"
Sonia:
"1972. This is the year of the ox... I was wondering what your chinese sign is? Do you know?"
Malcolm
“Monkey… I think…”
Sonia
“Of course” she says under her breath.
Malcolm:
“What’s ‘of course’?” he says with anticipation.
Sonia:
“nothing, nothing really, haha!”
Malcolm:
“Waiiit a minute! Spit it out!”
Sonia:
“Another time...”
Malcolm;
“Mysterious…”
Sonia:
“I just like to read about what astrology says about peoples personalities and
character”
Malcolm”
“so school me! Who am I?”
Sonia:
“so far you fit right into the monkey sign. And you’re a virgo?”
Malcolm:
“Whaa!”
Sonia:
“by the way you will come to find that I am exceptionally resourceful”
Malcolm:
“I knew that from the beginning”
Sonia:
“Soo – from what the horoscope says…”
Malcolm:
“??”
Malcolm:
“??”
Malcolm:
"????"
Malcolm:
“????”
Malcolm:
“????????”

They share a nervous laugh and a warm smile. Their eyes meet, but not for long. She looks down at her hands and fixes the bangles on her wrist as she scrolls down the page of her computer screen. He looks down at his shoes and pretends to brush something off his pants.

Sonia:
“It' really just confirms everything that I already see in you - it's a fun thing to read about when you first meet someone intriguing. It says here that you love to travel you are clever and charming and draw others to you…”

Malcolm shifts his weight in his seat and blushes slightly, but just enough to reveal his modesty.

Sonia
“You are quick witted and innovative – I agree – and have a total and intense belief in yourself”
Malcolm:
“Hey you're cheating and just reading your horoscope aren’t you?”

They share the same moment as before. This time their eyes lock for what seems like too long. She speaks to him with a coy smirk as she quickly picks up where she left off.

Sonia:
“Forget what the horoscope says, here’s what I think of you.”

Inhale, exhale slowly… knowing fully what she was about to reveal but not able to help herself when the moment was upon her.

“You are engaging, compassionate and loyal,
considerate intense and exceptionally creative.
You listen with your whole heart
And speak thoughtfully with your mind and soul.
You appreciate people and love women
..."

The words run away from her, too fast for her to catch them. Her heart booming in her ears. She stops only to breathe. Swept away by infatuation she swells a moment longer.

"You are playful and adventurous
And I love you’re mind...
How did I do?”
Malcolm:
“You forgot speechless and spellbound.”

They share another moment just like before. Where time stands still and thoughts become scattered with the thought of someone being in love with you.

Sonia:
“Wow...”
Malcolm
“Wow...”
Sonia:
“soooo... that happened...”

They're moment becomes awkward and forced for just an instant.

Malcolm:
“Ya”
Sonia:
“Ya... ummm...”
Malcolm:
“There would be so many things I too would say that would sound almost exactly like what you just cast now...”
Sonia:
“I'm going to write down what I just said, so that you can look at it and continue to be inspired by your spirit"
Malcolm:
“Particular souls are like mirrors, when their custodians work on polishing them. I think we just saw each other and the reflection caught us off God:).(guard)”
Sonia
“It was really good seeing you…”
Malcolm:
“Ya”
Sonia:
“Ya”

to be continued…

ha! made you look!!

I am sleepless and still asleep...
Last night I dreamed
A furrowed brow plowed through my decorum,
Pierced my solemnity
And grasped my dignity.

Sleepless though still asleep,
I tossed and turned out my insecurities
Envisaged my abilities
And gravity was lost in reverie.

I am asleepless...
awakened by the possibilities of dreams infinity