I never knew a luh- luh-love like this had to be something for me to write this.
-Common
Back in the day on Ashland, I remember my late mother singing to me with veins popping out her neck. Sexy D (her nickname) had a smile like sunshine and voice like butter. Her one gold tooth and gold chains complimented the high notes and her finger
snaps. Round away girls were the neighborhood queens in the 90's.
I want a girl with extensions in her hair
Bamboo earrings, at least two pair
A Fendi bag and a bad attitude
That's all I need to get me in a good
mood
-LL Cool J "around the way girl"
Jazz and blues were my parents--because Moms sang her blues and Pops' slick bars was jazz in your ears. The day my father was murder, I made a vow to keep the family legacy alive. Straight up! Never
underestimate the power of the African drum. My elder told me the drum is just another heartbeat. The heartbeat rhythm we hear is the universal life force, and that's why we move our feet. Similar to the drum, the 808 is currently what most producers use to invoke spirit. I call that "feeling"-spirit, you may call it something else but its all "energy in motion". Our ancestors and distant relatives on the continent beat the drums for every special occasion- weddings, births, transitions,
war and peace. As I mention before, the Djembe is the pulse of our tradition to celebrate!
Music speaks louder than words.
-African Proverb
*Let me clear my throat*
My Hip Hop love story with the drum/808 started on Ashland sometime ago when my grandmother brought me and Keenan (my baby brother) a Casio piano, cassette tapes and a Karaoke machine. In addition to my late parents’ musical abilities, my grandma was also a singer.
Instruments and harmony were a big deal in our family. I failed to mention my grandmother’s gifts were motivated by her desire to stop me from being a tomboy and playing basketball with the neighborhood boys. It didn’t take long before my love for basketball was replaced by a love for music. Keenan and I became a dynamic duo! Kmac became the engineer and adlib expert while I rapped about whatever. My grandmother’s strategy worked because I ditched my neighborhood posse for the studio! That moldy
basement studio was now my newfound home. "Childish-T and Kmac" transformed the moldy basement into a “state-of-the-art" studio. We found a new peace. That new peace was the "power of expression."
Hip Hop isn't just music
its a spiritual movement of
Blacks!
Lauryn hill said it best, we found a new purpose with Hip Hop and it gave us wings out the hood.
My book "Hip Hop Saved My Life:
A Black Girl Narrative is now Available!
Get your signed copy!
