diVERSEcity

L.A.S.E.R.S. Tour

iWrite — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 22:05:22 +0000

This is long overdue (about 3 months to be exact) but its better late than never.

Friday, September 16, 2011.

I knew Lupe was gonna be in the area. In fact, I told myself a while ago that if I didn’t see Lupe before the end of the year that I would denounce as a fan. So I purchased tickets. Bought two as a matter of fact. I dragged my co-workers and my sister down to the Marriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia on this brisk Fall evening for a concert that I will never forget.

It was SUPPOSED to be Lupe, Wale, Big Sean and Miguel. I was excited. However, about a week before the show, we found out Big Sean was no longer performing. A little disappointing but still excited nonetheless. So. We stood for about an hour waiting for the gates to open. Another two hours before the show began and it would be an additional two hours before Lupe even hit the stage.

But it was worth the wait.

Lupe Fiasco’s first female artist on his label 1st and 15th, Sarah Green, did her thing. Still trying to make my mind up about whether or not she will actually make it to mainstream. I guess only time will tell. In the meantime, check her out. Some other randoms performed but to be honest, they didn’t make that great of an impression on me.

Fast forward through Miguel’s performance and press play on Wale’s. The one thing I can’t stand about Wale is that he does WAYYY too much when he performs. At this point, the crowd got crazy. Wale jumped into the crowd. Walked all the way through the sea of people pushing and scratching to get at him (I am among these fans) and then back on stage. Other than his “I want to cause a riot” stunt, his set was pretty good. I was right in the front, so I purposely wore my Towson sweatshirt for Bait

Lupe never disappoints. He reached back and pulled from F&L, definitely performed most of LASERS, and everything in between. He even dedicated a few songs to the Occupy Wall Street movement and to the issues in Palestine. I appreciate Lupe’s effort to make his fans aware of political and social issues.

I managed to capture a few images on my friends EVO (my phone died before the show even started). I think they’re pretty good for a camera phone.

All in all, the concert was great. And not just because I’m a fan. I left the pavilion and my legs were numb because I stood so long. But it was worth every moment.

Next time, I won’t wait so long to tell ya’ll about it.

Coming Soon

iWrite — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:49:49 +0000

Hey DVCers

I just want to say thank you so much for your consistency. My blog wouldn’t be what it is if I didn’t have consistent readers and supports.

With that said, I’m in the process of getting my life together and that includes being more consistent in posting. I’ve been to more poetry and hip hop stuff in the last couple of months than I’ve been to in my life. I’ve got some back reviews, some video, some pics. It’s all coming to a screen near you real soon.

I’m headed to busboys for the 11th hour slam tonight and then Graffiti DC is also this month. Who knows what ill find in between. So keep it locked (a la Free and AJ) don’t go nowhere and again thank you for being consistent even when I’m not. Love you guys!

iWrite.

V.O.W. – YaYa

iWrite — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 21:32:39 +0000

“This girl right here standing in front of us, she’s my favorite poet. And I’m trying not to embarrass myself because last time I did,” said Leslie, one of my all time favorite people in the world. We were standing in line at Busboys and Poets and Rasheed Copeland and YaYa were both standing in front of us waiting for the 11th hour poetry slam. I had no doubt in my mind that they were dope because I trust Leslie’s judgment.

But I had no idea what “dope” really meant…until they both stood in front of the mic. They were amazing. YaYa was a petite woman with a headwrap that reminded me of Aunt Jemima and her style was dope (check out the checkered blazer in the vid – hotness). I remember thinking, “how old is this girl?!” She looked so tiny, but her voice sounded so old. It was amazing.

I later went to the Howard U Poetry Cypher and had no idea that they both were performing. Again, they were amazing. I managed to capture YaYa’s final piece. Again, the image isn’t the greatest but I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

iWrite.

Graffiti DC

iWrite — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 13:34:36 +0000

This week, while I take a break from the monotonous life of prepping for grad school, I thought I’d step outside of my box and head down to U Street for a few events. Second up on the agenda was Graffiti DC, an event that I had gotten far too many ignored e-mails about. It was great. I almost didn’t go.

As we climbed the stairs at 8:20pm, 20 minutes after the event was supposed to start, and realized that there were no seats, I was slightly disappointed in myself. I knew that I should have attempted to get there earlier but in my hesitation, I blew my chance at a seat.

But, I digress.

The poets were amazing. The feature was a petite girl from New York with big hair. I loved her hair. She talked about being a call girl and an alcoholic. She made light of it but I saw the truth in what she said. I felt the pain in every line of her poems. I admired her for standing on the stage and revealing her story. It was real. It was great. Much respect.

I managed to get her last piece as my phone began to die. Again, the recorder on my phone is the worse so forgive the image and hear the words.

Oh yea, follow @GraffitiDC on twitter.

iWrite.

Howard U’s Poetry Cypher: Queen GodIs

iWrite — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 04:58:48 +0000

Tonight I ventured down into the famous U Street District of D.C. with Eazy for the Howard University Homecoming 2011 Poetry Cypher. Now, I will admit, I am slightly a newbie to these types of events. I figured I’d just start going to things if I want to network and meet new folks. I’m finding that everyone has such beautiful energy and I’m grateful to have met them.

One person in particular, however, I’ve been dying to meet since I first saw her on the HBO mini-series Brave New Voices back in 2008; Queen GodIs. I imagined that she would be six feet tall and be statuesque like a goddess. Man, was I right. Literally, she isn’t 6 feet tall but her spirit makes you feel like she towers over you. Her make-up was flawless, her outfit was beautiful, her poetry was breath-taking.

I. Am. A. Fan.

Not to mention, she shouted me out on stage! It just made my night. And of course I got footage. For once, my phone did not die on me. The image isn’t all that great but you should still be able to hear her words. I had to split the video up into sections because it was so long. Her entire performance was 25 minutes! But it was worth every minute of it.

Queen, if you are reading this, from the bottom of my heart…thank you for being the inspiration that you are to me. This is my dedication to YOU!

More to come…iWrite.

Push Some More – Enyaphace ft. Jarmone

iWrite — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 21:11:30 +0000

Like the Christian poetry, when most hear Christian rap or gospel rap, they tend to turn their ears off. But I commission you all to crank the volume on your ears for a second and take a listen to a hot artist by the name of Enyaphace.

I don’t know this brother personally, but I have had the pleasure of hearing his music and his rhymes for the past four years or so. I’m always in awe when I see Christian artists who are actually talented and don’t settle for mediocrity. So many of them do and I’m left with the “I knew this would be whack” face.

If we say that our music is to glorify God, and God is excellent, then how do we glorify him with mediocrity? That’s just basic deductive reasoning there. No mystery.

I digress.

This artist, my fellow poets, hip hop heads and lover of the arts, is definitely worth your listen today. I’m sure Enya would love to know what you think of his music and his ministry; I know I do. Enjoy.

-iWrite

The Other Woman

iWrite — Tue, 03 May 2011 03:43:35 +0000

I started this poem about three years ago. This recording is a very raw version, I’ll be recording it soon. Let me know what you all think. Check out peaceofme2.wordpress.com for the words to the poem.

6 Foot, 7 Foot – Swagged out…

iWrite — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 20:14:37 +0000

Usually my post derive from some random encounter with a sick artist. Well, this time was no different. I logged onto Facebook, like the junky that I am, and scrolled through my news feed. I stumbled upon a video that my soror posted. She and I laugh REALLY hard when we hear Lil Wayne’s “6 foot, 7 foot” because she thinks that he’s saying ”easy bunny banana.” (LOL). So at first I didn’t pay any attention to it, however, I watch it and was floored almost immediately. This girl is BANANAS (no pun intended, lol)!!! First of all, her voice is BEAUTIFUL. Second, her swag is out of this world! THIRD, I’ve seen vocalist remake rap songs and NEVER have I seen someone embody the swag of the original artist. She took Wayne’s words, ate ‘em and regurgitated them with her own twist. I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT! Let me know what you guys think. I’m definitely a fan.

here’s another one for you:

In the words of C. Breezy…”I’m done.”

“I Will Wait For You” – V.O.W.

iWrite — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 01:14:42 +0000

Being honest, usually when people post or send stuff to me on Facebook, I ignore it. I’m not a real big Facebook-head like I used to be. However, so many people were talking about this particular video that I had to watch.

Boy was I blown away.

I admit, a lot of the Christian poets that I’ve seen haven’t really hit the mark when it comes to spoken word. I mean the ability to braid God’s truth with metaphors and similes. I haven’t even come close to being able to do that. Maybe I’m just blind or ignorant to the good Christian poets out there (besides the ones that run in my own circle but this woman of God blew me away. She is an official poet of P4CM (Poets 4 Christ Movement) a church based in Los Angeles, CA. I don’t know much about the poet known as Janette, but I promise when I find more, you’ll know. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

“The Show Goes On…” – V.O.W.

iWrite — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 18:44:20 +0000

The title is so appropriate for this post and my life. So much has happened in such a short period of time. I have been working like a Hebrew slave for the past five months.

But the show must go on. So I’m sure I’ve lost a few readers but I can make a promise to those that are still hanging on that this year is going to be a great one for diVERSEcity. So be on the lookout.

I’ll start the year off with a Video of the Week. As we embark on a glorious (I’m claiming it) year, we have the pleasure of experiencing Lupe Fiasco’s HIGHLY anticipated third album, “Lasers.” I don’t know about you but I’ll probably pre-order my copy just to make sure it doesn’t sell out on me. I think this is going to be some of Lupe’s best work and I can’t wait to hear what you all think. Until then, check out the video for his latest single “The Show Goes On.”