Just another day...

Aaahhh Unity Feast...Mmm, Mmm Good!

This past weekend was very interesting, delicious, and very fulfilling. Sunday was Unity Feast at Manny's house, it was pretty cool. We ate some lovely pasta dishes, played UNO and Spades, and hung out with the family. A pretty chill Sunday all together.

Saturday...I returned from Richmond, tightened up one of my client's locs and went home. It was so lovely outside and I really didn't feel like sitting in the house but I didn't hear of anyhting going on in Hampton Roads so, home is where I stayed. I took time to really reflect and put a few things in order. I've noticed lately that at times we, people, find ourselves looking for things to do, trying to stay busy all the time. However, sometime we really need to be still and let everything going on around us. I am not saying be complacent and loose all drive you have...what I ams aying is "Self Time" is very important and we should appreciate any chance we have for our self. Trust me, you will miss it.
Later on Saturday night, I had a long overdue conversation with a supa cool dude. That conversation took me back to my high school days. We literally talked on the phone for 4 hours. The thing that was so genuine about it is that the topic of being intimate, dating, sex...none of the typical "male/ female" conversation topics never surfaced. We spoke on quite a few topics but none of the fore mentioned were brought up and I thoguht that was pretty cool. Perhaps I have just been out of the male/ female, dating/ friendship circa for a few years but it seems that with the new way of living in the 2K is casual partners and the chances of finding quality conversation is few and far in between. It was very fulfilling to have easy convo.

Friday was yet another interesting day. I went to Richmond to attend Soul Power Friday Malcolm X Born Day Celebration. I won't speak too much about the details of what took place, I'll just say...I am secure with my spiritual preference right now and the one thing I don't like is when people try to shove their beliefs down my throat. This one female in particular obviously hoaned some major insecurities about herself, due to the fact that I have a some what passive personality I suppose she found this as an opportunity to flex her muscles and mold my mind. So I let her dig her own grave. Why do people feel the need to show off in front of folks? Overall Friday was cool with the exception of that one female.

Since When Does Hip-Hop Hump Speakers???!!!

Ah...the weekend. And what a lovely weekend it was.

For starters, I was off work for one solid week. It felt so good not having to wake up to the annoying sound of my alarm clock, piece myself together, and drag my body to work...only to sit at my desk for 2 hours and literally search for something that I am motivated to do. A small vacation was very necessary.

So Friday...
Dan Tres graduation party was going to be this past Friday, 5.5.06...everybody was ampted. However, due to certain circumstances...the party has been pushed back and it will be going down this December. We still decided to go over tot he crib. I linked up with a friend from high that I hadn't seen in years...he still looks delicious. :o> So we hung out most of the night...it started to drizzle a little bit and a few folks, including myself, rolled on home.

Saturday...
Ashwa Kwesi, my first time seeing this elder speak. Sankofa 2006 was off the freaking chain. African Dance, Capoeira, excellent food for thought...what more can you ask for. MAP did there thing, I am so glad that they didn't let a little financial trouble prevent them from going forth with this event. Excellent, marvelous show.

Sunday...
Chillax mode. I was really trying to be good on Sunday. I started Mrs. Robin's (Cerrone's mother) locs, then head over to Danny' for the Unity Feast. I called before to went over to Danny's to make sure that they didn't need anything...by the time I got there, no food (which is a good thing, it's unity feast). However, a sistah was starving for some good vegetarian cooking. Que Sara Sara I suppose.

Good Ol' Monday
I woke up at 8 am, called Tara (my sistah friend) and did a time check with her...of course she laughed as we exchanged many phone calls throughout the day.--Fast Forward--
Myself and a few other folks had early access to the concert...we're in line all ampted talking about hip-hop, hip-hop, and more hip-hop. **Really quick...I ran into this female before the show who said she was a fan on CoMMoN. I asked her, "When did you develop your love for hip-hop?" She couldn't answer...I asked her "When did you first notice CoMMoN?" Her reply:

Her: Um...I believe it was 1988
Me: 1988 really...what was the name of his first album?
Her: Um...I really don't remember but, I love him...he is...
Me: Can I borrow a dollar?
Her: I only have a 5 dollar bill...sorry

*Silence, think about it*

A true head would know what time it is.

So the night went on...my home girls and I were standing in the front row (as usual). The unfortunate event of the night was Shuger passing out. Trish, A.K., and Godchild helped her over to the side of the venue. Thank goodness she was okay.
I was severely disappointed by CoMMoN's performance, he pumped the speaker yall. Yes, he pumped the speaker. I don't mean he lost his balance and almost fell off stage...no...I mean he deliberately got down and pretended to pump the speaker as if it were a female. Naturally, the ladies went wild but not I...I am not a groupie, I love hip-hop. He's nice looking but...c'mon. Perhaps I am bias at this point because of the deep appreciation & respect I have for the culture. I don't understand...or maybe I don't want to. I dunno. The Roots rocked the sold out show...CoMMoN disappointed me....it was bananas.

After the Show it's the After Party...
Derek 32zero! My dude for real, the brotha is something so serious. First of all first, I've always wanted to be a b-girl too...so I made an attempt to challenge Danny and Rasheed, don't know how I did but I am hurting today. So we danced for a minute then it was time for the show to start. Derek 32zero and Jon Bibbs ripped Kelly's a new a**hole. I love seeing those two perform, it was so beautiful.

The rest of the night was history...the party was over at 1:45 and everyone rolled on home. It was a supa dope weekend.

My Saturday A Poem...A Hip-Hop Song

Woke up this morning...planning, plotting, somewhat worrying.

I have a lot of things I need to do and not a lot of time to do it. I have failed myslef but at least I recognize it and I am not putting them on anyone else. I could have followed the syllabus and passed, instead, I procrastinated and fell behind...it's my fault, I take the blame.

Jumped out of bed after going over that in my head...and cleaned up my house, staring with the living room, moved to the dining room, then to the kitchen, and last my bedroom. Cleaning up helps me put things in order...may soound funny but and orderly house symbolizes and unoderly life. I am spontaneous but I need order when it comes to matters of the home, career goals, and thoughts (depending on the particular thought). My house was clean, I felt as though I could breathe a bit easier...ligther. It was 12 noon. Sankofa starts at 1pm, gotta get ready to go.

Jumped in the shower...and got dressed, took my sewing machine to Wal-Mart for some basic instructions, then I was off to Sankofa. I drove through the city listening to Fela...don't know the exact name of the some but it sounds like "Water Have No Enemy". The song I am speaking of was sampled on Common's album "Like Water for Chocolate" as his father spoke over the track.

Try that sometime, grab and old school soulful cd, some Afro-Beat, your favorite song...ride through the city, through the hood...and notice how the groove of the neighborhood flows with the music. It can be a very beautiful experience even in the grimmiest of neighborhoods. Today was beautfiul...sunny, warm, kind, and inviting and I loved every minute of it.

I had the pleasure of seeing Ashwa Kwesi speak. I am really without words, in a good way. As I sat in the lecture, there were some many thoughts running through my mind about history, what this "American" nation is built upon, Afrika...so many thoughts...the babies, our next generation, the ancestors, our past generations...there is so much of everything everywhere. So much to learn, so much to unlearn...where does one begin. I thoroughly enjoyed myself at Sankofa today and I look forward to the next Sankofa.

Afterwards, we went to MP Island Carribean Cafe for some grub and down time. Today felt like a dream...felt like a "back in the day" day. I really don't know how else to explain today...it was beautiful and it felt so good...as poetic as a poem and as good as a Hip-Hop song with all the Jazz and Soulfulness one could take.

Freedom Class
Sankofa was full of so many goodies; Afrikan Dance, Capoeria, Jewels...lots of jewels. I ran into a brotha I hadn't seen in a few months, Manny. He's a cool, down to earth brotha. We briefly caught up on the past few months, in doing that he mentioned my blog. Basically he said I should update more...I'm cool with that because I always have a lot on my mind but rarely blog it. So I'll try to stay on my toes from now on.

As Brother Latif and Mr. Kwesi spoke today...I thought about the children, the youth. There were some babies running around the center today and I loved how free they were. When I was in elementary school, we had recess...from what I've heard about school these days, recess is a thing of the past. I brougth that up to pose this question. What would a freedom class be like? Picture this:

From grades K-12th, for 45 minutes to 1 hour out of the school day, every classroom of children will have "Freedom Class". In Freddom Class, there is no particular subject to study...only what the children or youth want to do. I know some maybe thinking, "Isn't that a bit unstructured"? Not really. Although the fore name of the class is Freedom, the purpose is intended to open the minds of the youth. Brother Latif said that he'd give the children their would, tell them they have 25 minutes to finish it and they can sit anywhere in the class to do it. I thought that was fresh for real. What if school devoted an entire period to free range of thought for the youth...they'd come in class, put their book bags by the door, grab a piece of paper and each day, the teacher would tell them to write down one thing that is on their mind.
For example, one day they'd come in class and the reacher would say, "Write down what the first thing that comes to your mind", another day, "Write down how you feel about math, another day, "Write down your goal(s) in life", after they've finished, they'd have an open discussion about it. Sometimes the class would be inside, if it's warm the class can go sit on the grass outside, and so on and so forth.

I mean...I know that it seems like somewhat of a scattered idea but think about how Freedom Class can boost the morale of the youth. Sometimes children just need someone to talk to instead of always having to sit in a structered setting...that's apart of the balance right?
Just a thought...

Catching Up...

I took a look at the last time I blogged, didn't realize it was March 3rd...been a while huh? Things have been really busy around here...film, school, work, events...I love it all regardless of stress, it's what I love to do. Well, I suppose a quick update would be helpful at this point...let's recap:

Womanifestation (3.26.06)
In case you didn't know, March was Women's History Month, although I celebrate 365 days a year, one month is set aside to observe women and their efforts and accomplishments. I've lived in Hampton Roads since May 2004 and I've heard so many great things that used to take place, i.e. Word of Mouth, Urban Safari, a couple of radio shows, etc. One of those things happen to be Womanifestion. Basically, Womanifestation is a showcase with a complete female line-up...oh the dopeness. Now, perhaps I just didn't look hard enough but...in Hampton roads, the only Women's History Month events I saw taking place were on college campuses or events that were "membership" driven, for example, the YWCA Awards luncheon...I don't remember the exact charge but it was roughly $50-$75 for the luncheon or upwards of those prices. I didn't really see anything locally that dealt directly with the community. I've heard people speak of Womanifestation as a thing of the past, they talk about how dope it was and the emcees, the singers, the poets, etc. I said to myself, why does it have to be a thing of the past...let's bring it back, the rest is history.
March 26, 2006 @ Mt. Gilead Missionary Baptist Church Family Life Center, Womanifestation took place. Overall, the event was pretty dope...we ran into a few road bumps but that is expected with any event. Phatz (of Jhunippuz Elite) and myself hosted the show and from what I hear, everyone had a ball. Oh the love. The lesson learned from this event: Never on a Sunday, always on a fun day. It seems that when people find out the event is going to on a Sunday, that kind of turns them away because they think about getting ready for work the next day, putting the kids to bed and getting them ready for school, etc., a lot factors in when dealing with Sundays, unless Monday is a non-working day. Nevertheless, the show was a success.

Back 2 Basics Hip-Hop Showcase 3.30.06
Yeah, it was approximately 4 days after Womanifestion. Didn't plan on it happening that way but here's what happened. There was another event schedule for that day...1 half of the U.G.L.Y. People (Sas, located in Texas) was scheduled to fly up for the event. Due to circumstances beyond my control, we had to cancel that event...the other half of the U.G.L.Y. People (Derek 32zero) called and asked me to put something together because his partner had already planned on flying up here, etc. So there you have it, call a couple of local groups & some b-boys, find a venue, hurry up some flyers, promote, promote, promote and you have show. Hamza the 7th Sun was another main artery that brought this event to life. It was supa dope...even though it was on a Thursday, people still came out to support. Argh these weekday events.
The line up was sweet, Jhunippuz Elite, Soul Students, Hamza the 7th Sun, Derek 32zero, the b-boys were in the house, Zulu Nation was in the house...it was a lovely event. Oh yeah, can't forget to mention Danny's wife, Ytunde...she makes the banginest (yes, that's a word) cookies. We were all fiending for more by the end of the night. [Sigh] Sometimes I wish I could build a hip-hop city.

April Showers brings May Flowers
April...spring time, should be a lovely time right? I guess I really can't complain, I just need to get my emotions in order...that would be like drying out the Atlantic with an 8 oz. cup. Overall, April was cool...had an event on the 14th and shot a video on the weekend of the 22nd...came out beautiful. I love what I do and I thank for every opportunity that is passed my way. I don't want to dig too far into April because I feel a rambling session coming on so I'll "Wrap It Up B".

And now the feature presentation...
May has just begun and my plate is full...full of personal things though. I'm moving, wrapping up with this college semester, want to go to summer school but can't afford to...I wouldn't consider these problems because I know that there are people in the world that are trouble with far more bigger situations than mine. However, these are the issues that I am dealing with that I feel I can't do anything about. Can't disregard them because they exists, can't down play them because they need to be handled...where does that leave me? Right back at square one, got s*** to do and don't know how it's gonna get done. Looking at the present state of the world, it seems like people you wouldn't even suspect to be in tight binds are in the same shoes as everyone else. Gas is $100 a gallon, the rent in VA goes up every year...from my stand point, those are the two major big deals. I have never been in a place where the rent goes up every year...why is that? I heard, "Well, VA is a commonwealth so they can pretty much do whatever they want." When does it stop? If the rent continues to go up at the rate it's going right now, people are going to be paying $900 for a $700 apartment, does it keep going up or will it go back to the original price? Craziness I tell ya. I dig VA...the Hampton Roads area but I don't think I can deal with the influx in prices. I'm pretty sure that it is done in different areas in different ways...it seems like as soon as you get a raise, the jack up the rent so you don't see the difference in pay...but you surely feel it. I don't want nor do I plan on spending all of my little extra dough on bills. One can never get ahead doing that. Perhaps that's what "they" want...for people to constantly focus on not getting ahead, fallbacks and what-not. [sigh]
I can't worry all the time though because I honestly have a lot to be thankful for. My dream has become a reality and this is only the beginning...that I am very thankful for. Although there have been set backs and upsets, I'll take that as a lesson learned and keep it moving.

I'm really tryna stay on top of blogging, since I probably won't be in school this summer...I'll have more time to blog.


**The picture at the top was borrowed courtesy of Okayplayer.com
I found it to be a pretty dope shot and wanted to share. Check out www.okayplayer.com for all the latest for delicious fresh new music. Peace**