..::check these queens out::..






Star 69






featuring...






sy smith

kat, carlo, brian, caine and i went the flypoet show at lush last night. it is a night of music and spoken word at a club setting. the vibe was dope. i have always been invited to go but never had a chance to. i am so glad i did.



star 69 is dope musical group of talented nubian queens. they have so much stilo, it was sickening! their music was an alternative fusion of jazz, hip hop, and neo-soul. you can get a feel of their style by listening to sy smith's 2000 release, one like me . the other two singers, i recognized as res' back up singers. their charm eminates thru the stage as well.



we also got to see saul williams last night, sans the band. i am sorry, but i know alot of folks think he is played out but i beg to differ. i have heard alot of bad and mediocre spoken word out there. many people fail to tighten up their pieces on the page before they take it to the stage. spoken word should be a harmony between writing, concept, and delivery and saul exemplifies that. don't get me wrong; don't go out and try to SOUND like saul williams. find your own voice, but do it in a way that is unique. challenge yourself. saul has given me the desire to write again.



things that bother me about spoken word:...

1. slam-the-square-in-the-circlular-hole rhymes- if it don't rhyme, don't change the damn word to make it rhyme ( like saying "classay" instead of classy")

2. hammer rhymes- dude, don't emphasize the last damn syllable to show us that the words rhyme, like "hickory dickory DOCK, the mouse went up the CLOCK!"

3. rhyming with TION words- challenge yourselves, chicken heads!!!

4. please stop talking about... the revolution (its not coming cuz you are writing about it instead of doing it) , that racism is bad (we all know this and the KKK won't go to open mic venues), that love you have not met yet (it won't get you booty), love and mango juice (since when are mangos required for sex and everybody notes that ?), and your magical grandmother ( hahaha joel). tell me solutions, your thought process, your feelings. i already know what is going on because i read activist pamphlets and the news.
5.yelling your poems- okay, i get the point. you are mad.

6.taking me on a tangent ride- stick to your subject and close it. stop taking me on tangents. i end up saying "what the hell are you talking about?" in the middle of your poem.

7.you don't have to refer to jazz all the time- underground punk got some great thinkers as well

8. you don't have to dress a certain way to do spoken word- self explanatory

9. pseudo emcees- you are either a spoken word artist or an emcee or a spoken word artist that talks about emcees. go for it all the way or don't go at all.

10.people not being themselves- give me YOU. give me your essence encompassed in a series of verses



what are your pet peeves?